Beijing, Sept 13 : Unlawful dairy farmers supplying defective fresh milk are to blame for the contamination of the milk powder from Sanlu Group that has caused the death of one Chinese baby and kidney stones in about 140 others.

According to the China Daily, an announcement from the government of Shijiazhuang, where Sanlu is based, said an initial investigation had shown some milk providers had added an industrial contaminant, melamine, to diluted milk to boost their profits.

Islamabad, Sep 13 : Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Lou chi Hoi is pressing the Pakistani Government to make efforts for the release of two kidnapped Chinese engineers after the abductors said they would exchange the engineers for 15 Taliban militants.

In a press statement issued on Friday, the Chinese Embassy urged the government to hold peaceful negotiations with the abductors.

Foreign Office Spokesman Muhammad Sadiq said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was in constant contact with the Chinese Embassy.

He also said that the Interior Ministry was seeking a peaceful solution to the issue and had assured them that the engineers would be recovered soon.

Beijing - The death toll in mudslide that buried a market and several buildings in the northern Chinese province Shanxi rose to 178, the state-run Xinhua news agency Saturday quoted officials as saying.

Five days after the mudslide, rescue efforts by thousands of volunteers continued but hopes of finding survivors were fading, as exact casualty numbers remained unclear. 

Officials said the mud would be cleared off the ground by Sunday, but rescuers encountered difficulties clearing the sludge from two ravines.

Sarajevo - Bosnia and China agreed Friday to seek closer economic ties, and a Bosnian official said his country would welcome Chinese investment.

Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Dejiang signed three cooperation deals in Sarajevo after a visit to Germany and before heading to Macedonia for talks also expected to focus on trade and investment.

"We agreed that we should significantly strengthen our economic and trade cooperation," Bosnia-Herzegovina Prime Minister Nikola Spiric said.

Beijing - Chinese art has been trendy in the west for a while, but now "a real hype" has developed, says Lorenzo Rudolf, creator and director of Shanghai's ShContemporary, Asia's largest art fair.

The Swiss art manager is riding on the crest of the wave, having elevated ShContemporary to its prominent position in only its second instalment, with 150 galleries from 25 countries participating.

Lorenzo believes Asia's art booms stems from the rapid economic development, which also brought a "certain liberalization."

The global art business, however, remains heavily, too heavily in his view, focused on the United States and Europe, where it enjoys a privileged existence.

Washington, Sep 12: The United States and China are holding talks about what to do if the government in Pyongyang collapses after North Korean leader Kim Jong Il became physically impaired from a stroke apparently suffered last month, FOX News reports.

A senior Bush Administration official said that although Kim may not be close to death, the US does not accept reports from South Korea that he’s on his way to a rapid recovery.

The official told FOX News the United States is naturally engaging the Chinese about what to do if there is ensuing instability in North Korea. There is no logical successor to Kim. He has not been grooming one of his sons to replace him, as Kim’s father, Kim Il Sung, groomed him.