BEIJING
China objects to U.S. glossy-paper tariffs
The Chinese government on Saturday criticized a U.S. proposal for new tariffs on some paper goods, saying it goes against recent trade talks.
“It’s unacceptable, and China strongly demands the U.S. to reconsider the decision,” China Commerce Ministry spokesman Wang Xinpei said in a statement on a government website.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez on Friday imposed duties on two Chinese manufacturers of glossy paper. The move, which marked a reversal in policy for the first time in more than 20 years, was made to counteract alleged Chinese government subsidies to exporters.
SYDNEY, Australia
City flips off lights to ponder warming
The Sydney Opera House’s white-shelled roof was darkened Saturday night along with much of the rest of the city, which switched off the lights to register concern about global warming.
The arch of Sydney’s other iconic structure, the harbor bridge, was also blacked out, along with dozens of skyscrapers and countless homes in the 4 million-strong city, in an hour-long gesture organizers said they hoped would be adopted as an annual event by cities around the world.
Mayor Clover Moore said Sydney was “asking people to think about what action they can take to fight global warming.” Restaurants held candle lit dinners, and families gathered in public places to take part in a countdown, sending up a cheer as lights blinked off.
TOKYO
900 musicians play in longest concert
Japanese musicians overcame fatigue and a major earthquake to set the record for the world’s longest concert Saturday, playing 184 hours nonstop in a program that ranged from Beatles classics to traditional harp music.
Over 900 musicians ages 6 to 89 took turns performing in the nine-day marathon – with breaks of no more than five minutes between acts.
An official from Guinness World Records was on hand to certify the record.
The previous record was set in Canada five years ago with a concert that lasted 182 hours, according to Guinness.
AHMADABAD, India
Poachers likely killed two rare lions, cub
Forest guards recovered the carcasses of two rare Asiatic lions and a cub believed to have been killed by poachers on the outskirts of their only natural habitat in western India, a wildlife official said Saturday.
Nine of the endangered lions have been killed in the past two months, raising fears for the future of the rare cats, said Bharat Pathak, Gir National Park’s conservation officer.
