In scenes reminiscent of a generation ago, Chinese are tapping friends and relatives travelling abroad to bring back electronic devices that are unavailable in China.

China on Saturday began fresh round of talks with United States on the North Korean nuclear issue after receiving signals that Pyongyang may be in the process of reassembling the Yonbgyon nuclear reactor.

China has indicated it was ready to consider supporting the India-US nuclear deal provided the Nuclear Suppliers Group can strike "a balance between nuclear non-proliferation and the peaceful use of energy".

US soft drinks giant Coca-Cola Co said on Wednesday that it planned to buy Chinese juice maker Huiyuan Juice Group in a $2.4 billion deal that would be its biggest acquisition in China.

As Pakistani Taliban claimed on Tuesday that they were holding two Chinese telecoms engineers as prisoners and would soon issue a list of demands, Beijing has urged Pakistan to rescue the hostages and ensure their security.

The death toll from the 6.1- magnitude quake that jolted southwest China's Sichuan and Yunnan provinces on Saturday rose to 40 on Monday, as authorities stepped up relief and rescue operations.

People's Daily, the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party of China, on Monday described Indo-US nuclear deal a "major blow" to non-proliferation, apparently reflecting the Chinese government's thinking on the issue.

Taiwan has dropped plans to develop cruise missiles that can reach China, in a move seen as part of the country's ongoing efforts to seek peace with China, a newspaper reported on Monday.

Iraq has signed its first major oil deal with a foreign company since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, a spokesman for the Iraqi oil ministry said, IRNA news agency reported on Sunday.

Chinese rescue teams carrying tents, quilts and sacks of rice have rushed to reach survivors of an earthquake that killed at least 27 people and has turned tens of thousands of homes into rubble and cracked reservoirs.

At least 22 people were killed, over 126 injured and thousands of houses destroyed on Saturday when a strong earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale hit quake-prone southwest China region.

India's only individual Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra asked the politicians on Friday to change their attitude towards sports by their sincere participation in the promotion of games in the country.

Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama was taken to hospital in Mumbai on Thursday after complaining of "abdominal discomfort," according to his aides.

The navies and the air forces of India and China are seeking to engage with each other for the first time this year to build up on the goodwill generated by the first joint exercise between the two armies last year.

Russia on Thursday tested an inter-continental missile, reports said, heightening tensions with the West as France warned the European Union could slap sanctions on Moscow over the Georgia conflict.

Impressed by Beijing Olympics - London - host of the 2012 Games, will woo Chinese firms for investment in the British capital's massive expansion plans.

Prachanda, who disappointed India by dispensing with tradition and visiting China as his first destination abroad after assuming office, has now a second close link with Beijing - his new bed.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was to meet his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao on Wednesday, as Moscow looked to bolster support in a diplomatic stand-off with the West over its conflict with Georgia.

China on Tuesday expressed its "dissatisfaction" over US comments on the sensitive issue of human rights and asked Washington to advise its citizens not to break the laws of other nations while touring abroad.

Annoyed by his high-profile visit to France, China on Tuesday asked the ageing Dalai Lama to stop his "separatist" activities and take "concrete actions" for future talks on the vexed Tibet issue.

North Korea said on Tuesday that it has stopped disabling its nuclear reactor and will consider restoring the plutonium-producing facility in anger over Washington's failure to remove it from the US list of terror sponsors.

China's Olympic gold medallists will get cash rewards of 350,000 yuan ($51,000), nearly twice the amount given for the Athens 2004 Games, state media reported on Tuesday.

President Hu Jintao of China conferred with South Korea's prime minister on Tuesday during a state visit focused on establishing a new strategic partnership between the Asian neighbors, key players in efforts to denuclearize North Korea.

Meteorologists dispatched eight planes to release rain dispersal chemicals and fired 241 rockets into incoming clouds to ensure a dry Beijing Olympics closing ceremony, state media said on Monday.

The Olympic Games have concluded but the spirit of service will live on in the hearts of many volunteers, who took great pride in their work looking at it as a contribution to history.