Hu Jintao meets with Lien Chan

Hu Jintao (R), General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, meets with Honorary Chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) Lien Chan at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 16, 2006.

Beijing zoo celebrates 100th birthday

Tourists pose for photos in front of the entrance at the Beijing Zoo April 15, 2006. The Beijing Zoo was opened by the government of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) on April 15, 1906 as part of an agriculture research complex. It was the first public zoo in China.

View of Chernobyl nuclear power plant

The photo taken on April 14, 2006 shows reactor No. 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, 130 kilometers north of Kiev, capital of Ukraine. Ukraine prepares to mark the 20th anniversary of the world's worst nuclear leakage triggered by an explosion happening at reactor No. 4 on April 26, 1986.

Ways of promotion to attract customers

A shopping center gives an offer of "buying goods worth of 400 RMB yuan to get 500-yuan voucher" to attract customers in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, April 6, 2006. Stores across China hold different ways of promotion to attract customers ahead of the country's week-long May Day holidays.

Road construction in Lhasa, Tibet

Vehicles run on North Ring Road No. 3 in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, April 15, 2006. Lhasa will carry out construction of 19 urban roads during the 11th Five-Year Plan period (2006-2010) to lengthen the city road mileage to 300.8 kilometers from the current 241.3 kilometers.

First Luoyang Peony Wedding Ceremony in Luoyang

A new couple from Canada kiss on the First Luoyang Peony Wedding Ceremony in Luoyang, central China's Henan Province,April 15,2006. A total of 100 new couples from home and abroad held a group wedding ceremony in the flourishing peony shrubs.The "Peony Wedding Ceremony" is scheduled to be held every year from now on.

Poppy cultivation in Afghanistan

An Afghan farmer weeds in his poppy land in the suburb of Mazar-i-Sharif, north Afghanistan, on April 15, 2006. According to a local official, poppy cultivation in Balkh Province increased from 10,000 hectares last year to 13,000 hectares this year, while the total amount of the poppy cultivation in the country decreased about 21 percent in 2005.

Cross-Strait Economic and Trade Forum ends

Jia Qinglin (R), chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, shakes hands with Lien Chan, honorary chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT), during the closing ceremony of the Cross-Straits Economic and Trade Forum in Beijing, capital of China, April 15, 2006. The two-day forum was closed on April 15.

Lien Chan pays tribute to Sun Yat-sen's cenotaph

Lien Chan (2nd R, front), honorary chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) Party, shows off his inscription during a visit to the Memorial Hall of Dr. Sun Yat-sen at Biyun Temple in Beijing April 15, 2006. Lien and his entourage paid homage to the statue of Dr. Sun Yat-sen during their visit to the Biyun Temple.

Concert marking 20th anniversary of U.S. raid

Aisha Gadaffi, daughter of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, speaks during the commemoration concert in Tripoli, Libya, April 14, 2006. Libya held a concert from late Friday amid the ruins of Gaddafi's residence, marking the 20th anniversary of a U.S. raid. The U.S. bombing on April 15, 1986 hit Tripoli and Benghazi and destroyed Gaddafi's home. Gaddafi lost his adopted daughter Hana during the bombing, Libya said.

Int'l conference in support for the rights of the Palestinian people

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addresses the opening ceremony of the third international conference in support for the rights of the Palestinian people opened in Tehran on April 14, 2006. Some 600 delegates from 50 countries, including 26 parliament speakers, as well as the representatives from militant groups Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah attended the three-day conference here initiated by Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei.

Miss Universe Ethiopia 2006

21-year-old Dina Fekadu poses after being crowned the Miss Universe Ethiopia 2006 in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, April 14, 2006. Dina Fekadu won the Miss Universe Ethiopia 2006 title.

Aigrettes spread wings

An aigrette spreads its wings to fly in the woods of Kongwang Mountain in Lianyungang,east China's Jiangsu Province, April 14,2006.In every April, large swarms of aigrettes flied here for a stay.