Fourth piece of My Dream to be staged

Photo taken on May 25 shows actors and actresses at the press conference for the fourth piece of dance drama My Dream. The dance drama, including 13 pragrammes such as Qianshou Guanyin (Bodhisattva with 1,000 hands) and Butterfly Lover will be staged in Beijing on June 3 and 4.

Bush, Blair defend Iraq policy

US president George W. Bush (R) and visiting British Prime Minister Tony Blair speak to journalists at a joint White House press conference in the US capital, May 24. Blair made it clear that it is the whole world��s responsibility to support the new Iraqi government.

Overweight pets pick up "human lifestyle" illnesses

Chief vet with Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to animals in Australia said recently that pets might pick up "human lifestyle" illnesses as the non-governmental organisation has accepted many overweight pets, including cats, dogs and even a rat. File photo provided by Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Australia shows an overweight pet cat.

China-Kazakhstan oil pipeline goes into operation

Crude oil from Kazakhstan began to fill the pipeline at Alashankou port in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region at 3:10 in the early morning, May 25, which marks the official operation of China-Kazakhstan oil pipeline. It is said that this is the first time for China to import crude oil from abroad via pipeline. Started in September 2004 and completed in October 2005, the 962.2-km km oil pipeline starts at Kazakhstan's Atasu in the west and terminates at China's Alashankou in the east.

Watermelon festival

A farmer shows the watermelons of two varieties during the watermelon festival held in Zhongmou town, central China's Henan Province, May 25, 2006. Zhongmou town, renowned as the hometown of watermelon, held various activities during its watermelon festival, which brought lots of pleasure to farmers and tourists.

Drill for emergency accident

A fire engine sprays water over a fire during a drill on the emergency accident of chemical plants in Shaoxing, east China's Zhejiang Province, May 25, 2006. More than 800 of firemen, policemen and medical workers attended the drill here on Thursday.��

Knowledge of AIDS prevention publicized in Beijing

People hand on a "Red Ribbon" made of thousands of heart-shaped cards at the Nanguan Park in Beijing, capital of China, May 25, 2006. Over 200 people, including AIDS prevention volunteers of Dongcheng District and representatives of workers from other areas, took part in an activity of publicizing the knowledge of AIDS prevention Thursday.

Suns beat Mavs in Game 1 of Western finals

Phoenix Suns Steve Nash (C) encourages Boris Diaw of France (R) and Tim Thomas during the final minutes of their 121-118 win in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals during the 2006 NBA playoffs in Dallas, Texas May 24, 2006.

Sandstorm blasts china's northwest

A resident wraps her coat closely about herself while walking on the street in Lanzhou, capital of northwest China's Gansu Province, May 25, 2006. A sandstorm with heavy wind hit the city Thursday.

Fine artworks on display

A visitor views an artwork at the Shanghai Spring Art Sharon exhibition in Shanghai, May 24, 2006. Shanghai Spring Art Sharon was inaugurated on Thursday, involving thousands of works of over 100 galleries and art institutes from a total of 13 countries including China, Fance, United States, Italy and Russia.

Bird flu virus detected in Romania

A sanitary worker sprays disinfectant on a truck in the surrounding area of a bird flu quarantined zone in Bucharest, capital of Romania, on May 24, 2006. H5N1 bird flu virus has been detected in two of the city's six districts.

Palestine slams US-proposed Israel's unilateral act

A peddler wanders beside an Israeli checkpoint and the seperation barrier between Ramallah and Jerusalem on May 24, 2006. The Hamas-led Palestinian government on Wednesday slammed the U.S. administration for giving a green light to Israel's unilateral act.

Annual dragon boat contest inaugurated

Photo taken on May 25 shows two dragon boats in Rui'an, east China's Zhejiang Province, May 25, 2006. With over 500 teams participated, the annual dragon boat contest of Rui'an was inaugurated on Thursday to greet the coming of Chinese Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese traditional lunar calendar, or May 31 this year.

China's top legislator meets Greek PM

Wu Bangguo (R, front), chairman of the Standing Committee of the China's National People's Congress, walks with the Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis (L, front) in Athens, capital of Greece, May 25, 2006. Wu Bangguo met with Costas Karamanlis on Thursday.