"Experimental Satellite No. 2" launched

A scientific experimental satellite named "Experimental Satellite No. 2" is launched by a Long-March 2-C carrier rocket at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, at 18:45 Nov. 18, 2004.

Kmart's merger with Sears creates 3rd largest retailer in the US

Photo taken on Nov. 17, 2004 shows a Sears branch store in Falls Church, Virginia. The US discount retailer Kmart Holding Corp. is to combine with Sears, Roebuck & Co. in an 11-billion-dollar deal that will create the third largest retailer in the United States.

Tibetan farmers benefit from rapeseeds sale

A farmer screens out the impurities in rapeseeds in order to sell at a good price in Lhunzhub County, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, on Nov. 18, 2004. In 2004, Tibetan Shenglu Technological Agriculture Co. Ltd. signed contracts for buying 4,500 tons of rapeseeds and 500 tons of walnuts with 106 towns in 18 counties in Tibet, enabling farmers to earn 21.9 million RMB yuan (2.65 million US dollars).

China issues first set of stamps of Chinese family names

The picture dated Nov 18 shows a stamp with a totem design of the Chinese family name "Wang". On Nov 18, China issued its first set of stamps of the top 100 Chinese family names in Beijing. Based on the outcome of the 1982 census, the stamps include the 100 most frequently-used surnames in China. This set of special stamps features a red Chinese knot, which symbolizes unity and luck, in the center and a totem design of the surname.

2004 Lebanese Auto Show

A new cabriolet of Audi is shown in the 2004 Lebanese Auto Show in Beirut, Nov. 17, 2004. Over 20 auto-makers including Daimler-Benz, BMW, General Motors and Audi exhibited more than 400 new cars.

UN Security Council holds extra session on Sudan's peace talks

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan (Front) addresses UN Security Council during a two-day extraordinary session in Kenya's capital Nairobi on Nov. 18, 2004. The session opened on Thursday will focus on pushing Sudan's north-south peace negotiations to a conclusion and stopping a separate bloody conflict in the western Darfur region. The UN Security Council has only met outside its headquarters in New York, on three previous occasions. The last time was 14 years ago.

Confucius Institute established at University of Maryland

Yan Meihua (L), director general of China's National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (NOCFL), and Dr. C.D. Mote (R), president of the University of Maryland, unveil the Confucius Institute on the campus on Nov. 17, 2004. NOCFL and the University of Maryland signed an agreement here to jointly create the Maryland Confucius Institute, the first of its kind in the United States, on Wednesday.