Customers experience old Beijing flavor at Quanjude restaurant

An "old shopkeeper" invites a lady from Shanghai to experience an old Beijing's peddler's life at the Quanjude Restaurant in Beijing April 7. The 141-year-old Quanjude Restaurant, famous for roast duck, launched "old Beijing culture festival", where customers will experience charms of dining culture in the time-honored restaurant amid a thick atmosphere of old Beijing.

Exhibition of Uzbek photographs opens in Beijing

As part of Uzbek cultural week in China, an exhibition entitled "125 years of Uzbek photography" opened Friday morning at the Oriental Art Gallery, Millennium Monument of Beijing, which will last till April 11.

Badly-injured panda to receive surgery in Shaanxi

Professor Li Youjin with the animal research center of the 4th Military Medical University's Xijing Hospital was examining a badly injured giant panda on April 7. The examination found the 20-year-old male panda suffering from splintered fracture of thoracic vertebrae. The doctors would perform surgery on the panda to restore the thoracic vertebrae later. The panda was found in the Changqing Natural Reserve in Shaanxi Province on April 4th.

Iraq's new president sworn in, PM named

Iraq's newly elected President Jalal al-Talabani (L2) takes the oath under the supervision of Medhat al-Mahmoud (L1), head of the judicial council, in the parliament during the inauguration ceremony along with his two vice presidents in the US-protected Green Zone in central Baghdad, April 7, 2005. Talabani was sworn in on Thursday, followed by the official naming of a prime minister to form a transitional government in weeks. Adel Abdul Mahdi (R1), a Shiite politician, and Ghazi al-Yawar, a Sunni leader from a prominent Arabian tribe, were also sworn in as the vice presidents.

Spectacular scenery of Fenghuang

The picture features a Diaojiaolou (hanging attic) of the Tujia Nationality in the Fenghuang County of Hunan Province. Hailed as "most beautiful town" in China, Fenghuang, the town at the middle reach of the Tuojiang River with history of more than 1,000 years, still retains traditional layout and features of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Japanese autumn/winter 2005 fashion show

A model presents a creation by a Japanese designer during the Japanese autumn/winter 2005 fashion show in Tokyo April 6, 2005. The fashion show was opened on March 28.

Homeless children at Nias Island

A homeless child holds cookies supplied by rescue organizations, in Indonesia's Nias Island, April 7, 2005. More than 160 homeless children have been installed thanks to the relief operations by international rescue organizations.

Terrorism response exercise held in the US

Staff members of a hospital in New Jersey treat mock victims during Top Officials 3 (TOPOFF 3), a terrorism response exercise coordinated by the US Department of Homeland Security. April 6, 2005.

Premier Wen meets with PM of Bangladesh

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (R) meets with Prime Minister of Bangladesh Khaleda Zia in Dhaka April 7, 2005. Wen arrived in Dhaka April 7 for a two-day official visit.

Probe into assassination of Hariri likely

A woman and her child pass by a fresco full of signatures demanding for investigating the Feb. 14 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri in Beirut, April 6, 2005. The local press released Wednesday that UN Security Council was likely to vote this week on a draft resolution presented by the United States, Britain and France Monday, calling for the establishment of an international independent commission to investigate the assassination.

Protest against killing seals in Washington D.C.

Members of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) stage a "die-in", imitating a pile of bloody, dead seals outside of the Canadian Embassy April 6, 2005, in Washington, DC.

Chinese leaders meet Colombian President

Wu Bangguo (R), chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress, shakes hands with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe during a meeting in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 7, 2005.