Gulf tour significantly enhances mutual political trust, Wen Jiaobao

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is now back in Beijing following his Gulf tour.
Wen Jiabao saysChinahas cooperative relationships with the Gulf countries in the field of energy, as do other countries. But he also says his latest visit was to boost mutual trust.
Talking about complicated situations including the ongoing tension connected withIran's nuclear activities, the Premier says oil transport through the Strait of Hormuz should not be undermined.
"The oil trade betweenChinaandIranhas been justified. And I thinkChinais not the only country doing oil trade withIran, and it is the same withLibya. The Strait of Hormuz should be kept open under all circumstances."
The premier also reaffirms thatChinawishes to see the entire Middle East region nuclear free and stressed thatIran's nuclear issue should be resolved through dialogue.

China's Sunway BlueLight supercomputer goes into operation

A Chinese-produced supercomputer has officially gone into operation at the National Supercomputing Center in Shandong's capital of Jinan.
The Sunway BlueLight supercomputer, which has been built with domestically produced microprocessors, is capable of performing around a quadrillion calculations per second.
The Sunway is among the 20 fastest supercomputers in the world.
The computer was first installed in September, and had been undergoing 3 months of testing before its official launch this week.

U.S.announces new measures to streamline visa processing

In what could ultimately be a significant procedural change, theUSgovernment has announced it's launching a new pilot project to streamline its visa application process.
As part of the new plan, qualified foreign visa applicants who have already gone through the interview process to get an initial visa won't have to go through the interview process again.
The US Homeland Security Department says the new program will help save tourists -- particularly Chinese tourists -- time and money.
It's expected to open up around 100-thousand interview appointments for Chinese travellers who want to go to theUnited Statesfor the first time.
Obtaining US visas has been notoriously difficult following the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

58 injured in earthquake in northeasternIran: report

Dozens of people have been hurt, following a strong earthquake in northeasternIran.
The quake, measuring 5.6 on the Richter Scale, struck late Thursday afternoon about 60-kilometers west ofIran's holy city of Mashhad.
With a shallow depth of around 10-kilometers, the strong shaking has left close to 60 people hurt.
The strong quake in northeasternIranhas also disrupted communications in the area.
Strong earthquakes are not uncommon inIran, and are prone to causing significant damage, given the poor state of infrastructure in many of the rural communities in the country.

Toxic chemical spills in Dresden campus, dozens injured

A toxic chemical spill at a university in Dresden,Germanyhas left dozens of people sickened.
A group of freshmen students were doing an experiement when the chemical leak occured, creating a noxious gas that has sickened at least 70 people.
Witnesses say they believe the chemical involved is arsine.
That is a highly toxic chemical that can lead to heart, liver and kidney failure.
So far no fatalities have been reported.

Perry quits U.S. presidential race, endorses Gingrich

Texas Governor Rick Perry has decided to hang up his hat in the GOP nomination race.
Two days ahead of the South Carolina caucuses, Perry has announced his withdrawl from the Republican presidental race, and has decided to throw his support behind Newt Gingrich.
The former Republican House Speaker has since thanked Perry for his support, and has called on Perry's supporters to rally behind a self-described 'Reagan conservative.'
If Perry's supporters do get behind Gingrich, the South Carolina primary could become a tighter contest.
Recent polling in the state has put Gingrich at 24-percent support, 10-points behind front-runner Mitt Romney.

Kodak files for bankruptcy protection

Despite attempts over the past couple of weeks to avoid it, Eastman Kodak, the company that invented the hand-held camera, has filed for bankruptcy protection in theUS.
However, Kodak says its bankruptcy won't affect its operations in the Asia-Pacific or Europe, and only affects itsUSsubsidiaries.
Kodak also says it has already arranged 950-million U.S. dollars worth of credit from Citigroup.
The 132-year-old photography firm has struggled to keep up with its competitors in the digital market, who have been quicker to adapt to the new digital era.
Kodak employs 19-thousand people whose jobs may be affected by the bankruptcy proceedings.
The company's shares have been suspended following the announcement.
They last traded at 36 cents per share.

Google named best place to work in U.S.

Fortune magazine has named Google the best place to work in theUnited States.
The magazine says, in part, because the Internet search giant hired about 7-thousand people this year, the company has moved from 4th on the list to 1st.
The Mountain View, California-based company is famous for its lavish perks that it has for its employees, which includes caring for virutally all their basic and -- sometimes not so basic -- needs.
Google co-Founder Larry Page tells Fortune that if you treat your employees with respect, they tend to return the favor to the company.