Extracts. US Compensates China for Embassy Bombing The US government has paid a sum of US$28 million to the Chinese government for the property loss caused by the US bombing of the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia on May 8, 1999. Chinese Foreign Ministry <http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/> spokesman Zhu Bangzao Saturday said that the payment was made on January 19 according to an agreement reached between the governments of China and the United States <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/usa.html> . The US-led NATO's bombing of the Chinese embassy grossly violated the international law and the norms governing international relations, and it is the responsibility of the US side to make the compensation, Zhu said. China demands the US side conduct a comprehensive and thorough investigation into the bombing, severely punish the perpetrators and give a satisfactory account of the incident to the Chinese people, Zhu said. **** UN General Secretary Expects China to Play Bigger Role The United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Saturday in Beijing <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/province/beijing.html> that China, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, should play a bigger role in UN affairs. Meeting the press upon arrival on a visit to China at the airport, Annan said that China has participated in some peacekeeping operations with the UN, such as in East Timor, and sent observers to join other operations. "China has the capacity to do more," he said. Annan said that the purpose of his current visit is to discuss with Chinese leaders on issues related to the UN and "hot issues." As the traditional Chinese lunar new year approaches, Annan expressed his best wishes for the Chinese people, adding that he hope that the Chinese people will enjoy "good health, happiness, and prosperity" in the new year. The secretary-general also answered questions about the political situation in the Philippines <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/Philippine.html> , the Africa, and the Korea Peninsula. This is Annan's fourth trip to China since he became the secretary-general in 1997. **** China Mourns Kabila's Death China on Saturday mourned the death of Democratic Republic of Congo <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/Congo.html> (DRC) President Laurent Kabila. "We mourn the unfortunate passing of the DRC president who was assassinated," said foreign ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao in a response to a reporter's question. The reporter asked: "Recently the DRC President was assassinated and died and the DRC government has decided to hold a state funeral for him, what is your comment on this?" Zhu said, "We believe that the DRC government and people are able to solve the problems of their own country." "The Chinese government is willing to work with the DRC government to further promote the development of a friendly cooperative relationship between the two countries," he added. **** DPRK Top Leader Concludes China Tour Kim Jong Il, General-Secretary of the Central Committee of Workers' Party of Korea and Chairman of the National Defense Commission, paid an unofficial visit to China from January 15 to 20. Kim visited China at the invitation of Jiang Zemin, General- Secretary of the Central Committee of Communist Party of China£¨CPC £© and Chinese President, a spokesman with the International Department of CPC Central Committee announced in Beijing Saturday. **** Thousands of Spanish Protest Presence of British Submarine Between 70,000 and 80,000 Spaniards demonstrated for over two hours on Saturday in Algeciras, a port city in southwest Spain, against the presence of the British nuclear submarine "Tireless" in Gibraltar, local press reported. The demonstrators shouted slogans against the presence of the British ship. Among the demonstrators were 12 ecologists led by Francisco Casero, who have all been on a hunger strike since last Monday. About 100 people in the nearby city of La Linea de la Concepcion reportedly began their 22-kilometer-long demonstration march to Algeciras at 8:00 a.m. to join the protest against the nuclear submarine. Local police said a total of 192 buses from different parts of Andalucia and many people from Morocco and Ceuta were also marching to Algeciras to join the demonstration. "Tireless" has remained in Gibraltar since May 19 due to a malfunction in its cooling system. The governments of Spain and Britain have been trying to solve the problem since then, but have failed. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
