Munich - Uigur emigrant leaders in Germany charged Monday that China was stepping up a crackdown against militants of the Turkic-language minority in advance of this summer's Olympic Games.

China has described the Uigur autonomy movement and Rabiya Kadeer, leader of the Uigur World Congress, as terrorist.

In Munich, where there is a permanent Uigur community of 600, Kadeer said recent violence had included the shooting deaths of five Uigur students on July 9 during the search of homes in the town of Urumqi, and the public execution the same day of two Uigur.

He said armed troops compelled 10,000 people to witness the execution by gunshot.

Taipei- Taiwan's top negotiator with China suggested Monday that Taiwan and China should sign an economic cooperation pact and a peace pact to promote peace in the Taiwan Strait.

Chiang Ping-kun, chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), made the proposal while reporting Taiwan-China ties at the monthly meeting of the Presidential Office.

Taiwan-China ties have moved from the 1949-1987 period of confrontation to the 1988-2008 period of economic exchanges, the report said.

Beijing - China and Russia signed a final agreement on disputed border areas on Monday, with Russia reportedly conceding 174 square kilometres, including two small islands in a border river.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, signed the agreement after talks in Beijing.

"We just signed a protocol on the eastern part of the Sina-Russian border," Yang told reporters at a joint press conference.

"It means that 4,300 kilometres of border between us has been demarcated," he said.

Lhasa (Tibet), July 21,: The recent demonstrations by people of Tibet, which disrupted the normal life, according to the Chinese have harmed development work being carried out by the Chinese Government.

The vice chairman of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, Baima Chilin, who was recently in Lhasa, has blamed the Dalai Lama and his supporters who, according to him, instigated violent protests in Tibet.

During the anti-China riots on March 14, the activists had allegedly burnt several shops and a school building in Lhasa. The violence left 18 people dead and several others as injured.

New Delhi, July 21: Ending more than 40 years of negotiations, Russia will soon return 174 sq km of territory on the northeast border to China.

The two countries will sign an agreement to this effect during Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s two-day visit to Beijing that starts today.

According to the agreement to be signed, Russia will return Yinlong Island (Tarabarov Island) and half of Heixiazi Island (Bolshoi Ussuriysky Island).

The islands are at the confluence of the Heilongjiang and the Wusulijiang rivers that serve as the natural border between the two countries, the China Daily reported.