Beijing  - Drops on world markets and rising oil prices sent Chinese stocks plummeting Friday with the Shanghai bourse losing more than 5 per cent of its value.

Taipei  - Taiwan, in its latest move to ease tensions with China, plans to allow local officials to visit China, a newspaper said Friday.

Stade, Germany  - Cracking a wall of

Beijing  - North Korea would submit a formal declaration on its nuclear programme to China on Thursday, a Chinese official said, in a move that could prove a key step towards ending the programme.

Taipei - Taiwan eased restrictions on economic ties with China on Thursday to prepare for the arrival of Chinese tourists and for easing tension with China.