New Palestinian president sworn in

Rawhi Fatouh, Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), delivers a speech after swearing in as the temporary chairman of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Nov. 11, 2004. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat passed away in a French military hospital outside Paris at 3:30 a.m. (0230 GMT) on Thursday at the age of 75.

Palestinians in deep sorrow

A Palestinian young man cries after hearing the news of the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Nov. 11, 2004.

Chinese artists stage performance in Brazil

Artists from China and Brazil perform at a large-scale performance party "Acclaim for Friendship" held at Claro Hall in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil on Nov. 10, 2004. Artists from China and Brazil staged together to commemorate the 30th anniversary of establishing formal diplomatic relations between the two countries.

2004 China Robot Expo opens in Beijing

An industrial robot developed by a Japanese company operates at the 2004 China Robot Expo opened in Beijing Nov. 11, 2004. Industrial robots, special robots for the purpose of bomb disposal and life service and robots for education and entertainment which were made by 30 companies from home and abroad are displayed during the four-day expo.

Olympic champions Zhang/Gao edged out

China's Zhang Jun/Gao Ling (L) acts during the quarter-final of mixed double at the China Open badminton in Guangzhou, southern China's Guangdong Province, Nov. 11, 2004. Zhang/Gao was edged out by Indonesia's Nova Widianto/Lilyana Natsir 17-14, 4-15, 15-6.

Chinese president meets Portugese PM

Chinese President Hu Jintao (L) meets with Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Santana Lopes in Porto, a port city in northern Portugal, Nov. 10, 2004.

Multimedia Short Message Service witnesses fast development in China

The photo dated January 14, 2003 shows a staff member of an internet content provider displaying a mobile phone which received a piece of multimedia short message in Beijing. The Multimedia Short Message Service (SMS) has witnessed a fast development in China since it debuted two years ago, winning a total of 16 million customers, most of whom fall into the youth category. It is expected that the multimedia SMS customers will surge to 45 million with revenue of 2 billion yuan (approximately 250 million US dollars) by 2005.

Anti-smuggling important to state interests

The work to strike smuggling is important to safeguard China's state interests, said Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao Wednesday when visiting an exhibition on China's anti-smuggling work.

Coffin of Arafat transferred to Cairo

The coffin of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is carried by the guard of honor during a ceremony of paying last respects to the remains of Arafat at Villacoublay military airport in Paris, Nov. 11, 2004. The A319 plane which carries the remains of Arafat has left Paris for Cairo. (Xinhua Photo)