Beijing - The United Nations said it was concerned by high levels of ignorance and stigma towards HIV/AIDS in China, as it released the results of a survey of 6,000 people on Friday.

More than 48 per cent of respondents in six of China's major cities said they believed they could be infected with HIV through mosquito bites, while 83 per cent had never looked up information on HIV/AIDS and 30 per cent did not know how to use a condom, UNAIDS said in a report.

Nearly 65 per cent said they would not be willing to live with someone infected with HIV, 48 per cent said they were unwilling to eat with an HIV-infected person, and 41 per cent were unwilling to work with an HIV-infected person, the report said.

London, September 26: If reports are to be believed, China’s state news agency had published a dispatch from the country’s three latest astronauts describing their first night in space in the Shenzhou VII space craft before they had even left Earth, indicating that the agency had faked the report.

According to a report in the Telegraph, a message from the Chinese astronauts was released before the mission had even set off.

The article, by the Xinhua agency, described the Shenzhou VII space craft orbiting the Earth and outlined a conversation between the astronauts.

“First-level measurment arrangement,” said one taikonaut - the Chinese word for astronaut.

Beijing - Astronauts aboard China's Shenzhou VII spacecraft began assembling a spacesuit Friday in preparation for the country's first spacewalk, state media said.

The three astronauts unpacked the Chinese-made suit Friday morning but the complete assembly would take about 15 hours, the official Xinhua news agency said.

The agency also said the spacewalk was not expected until Saturday afternoon after earlier reports that it would take place Friday.

Shenzhou VII moved from an elliptical orbit into a circular orbit 343 kilometres above the Earth early Friday in preparation for the spacewalk, and the craft had completed 
11 orbits, as scheduled, from Thursday night to midday Friday.

The latest manned mission taken up by China, is being termed a remarkable step towards success for the country, as it is being hoped that this mission besides marking the first spacewalk for the nation, will also help in making a permanent space station base. 

Tonight, a Shenzhou-VII capsule will blast into the space carrying three yuhangyuan" (astronauts). It will do so on board the Long-March II-F rocket from the Jiuquan spaceport in Gansu province in the northwest China. 

Beijing - China's Shenzhou VII manned spacecraft adjusted its orbit early Friday in preparation for the country's first spacewalk later in the day, the government said.

Shenzhou VII moved from an elliptical orbit to a circular orbit 343 kilometres above the Earth at 4:05 am (2005 GMT Thursday), state broadcaster China Central Television reported.

China launched three astronauts in Shenzhou VII on a Long March-2F carrier rocket Thursday night from the Jiuquan space centre in the north-western province.

The scheduled three- to four-day Shenzhou VII mission includes a spacewalk to be carried out by astronaut Zhai Zhigang at about 4:30 pm (0830 GMT) Friday.

Taipei  - China has approved Taiwan's request to send a delegation to investigate its tainted milk products and exports to Taiwan, officials said Thursday.

The team of health experts are ready to leave for Beijing on Sunday, they said.

The latest development came as Taiwan's Health Minister Lin Fang-yue resigned to take responsibility over the public outcry over policy reversal by health authorities in dealing with the Chinese milk crisis.