DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “China bans production of polycarbonate baby bottles” plus 9 more

BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- China began to ban production of baby bottles made of polycarbonate or containing Bisphenol A (BPA) on June 1, the country's quality watch dog said.
Agencies of quality and technology supervision at all levels should withdraw and cancel the certificates of polycarbonate baby bottle producers, said the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) in an online statement.
The announcement was made according to the ban released by six ministries including Ministry of Health, the statement said.
Baby bottle producers should recall the products made of polycarbonate or containing Bisphenol A in line with the ban and are not allowed to use recalled products to make plastic packages, containers and tools, it said.
Local quality watchdogs should strengthen the supervision, investigate and penalize violators, it said.
Polycarbonate is a thermoplastics that has many applications, while Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical widely used to make hard, polycarbonate plastics, such as baby bottles.
Traces of BPA can be released from plastic containers into the food they carry if these containers are heated at high temperatures. They may lead to early sexual development of children and could cause cancer, according to health experts.

BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- China's State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping (SBSM) has published a list of 46 domestic websites that offered online mapping services without obtaining permission, warning they would be punished if they fail to obtain approval after July 1.
Those websites include www.map.homelink.com.cn, www.beijing.map.8684.cn and other websites from which many Chinese Internet users search for bus routes or find the locations of real estate projects, according to a notice posted on SBSM's website Monday.
The SBSM did not elaborate on what punishment the website operators might face.
China launched a nationwide campaign to eliminate illegal online mapping services in March.
Administered by a coordinating board made up of 13 ministry-level agencies headed by the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping, the campaign is expected to address major violations, including unauthorized disclosure of confidential information on the maps and mistakes in drawing the country's borders, especially on islands and coastal areas.
China introduced a new licensing system for Internet mapping services last May and required all providers to acquire a license before the end of March.
As of mid-February, licenses had been granted to 105 websites across the country, including search giant Baidu, leading portal Sina, Nokia and China Mobile, the country's largest telecommunications operator.

GUIYANG, June 1 (Xinhua) - Rescuers have found the body of one miner at a flooded coal mine in southwest China where 11 others are still trapped, according to the rescue mission headquarters early Wednesday.
The body was found at around 10 p.m. Tuesday, more than 60 hours after the accident occurred at Fuhong Coal Mine in Jinyang New District of Guiyang City, Guizhou Province.
Rescuers are continuing to remove the sludge in the flooded shaft, and the rest 11 trapped miners still have survival chances but high density of gas has hampered the progress of the rescue mission , said Pu Jianjiang, chief of the provincial safety supervisory management bureau.
An initial investigation indicated that the mine failed to follow an approved design in production, which caused the accident.

BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Over 60 people, including government officials and telecommunication company employees, were implicated in the anti-corruption investigation revolving around a senior executive in China's telecommunication industry.
According to insider information learned by Xinhua, Ma Li, deputy general manager of the data service division of China Mobile, the country's top telecommunication companies, was seized by anti-graft authorities in March for corruption allegations.
The initial probe has shown that the amount of money involved in Ma's case is likely to top 110 million yuan (17 million U.S. dollars), the source said.
The insider also said that the investigation of Ma has helped to connect more than 60 other persons involved in corruption cases and the illegal money involved could exceed 350 million yuan.
According to a source who spoke to Xinhua, Ye Bing, chief executive officer (CEO) of ASPire Holdings, a corporation held by China Mobile, had been under investigation since mid-May. It is believed that Ye was among the people traced in the investigation of Ma's case.
As the ASPire corporation has been acting as a bridge between China Mobile and other data service providers (SP), if Ye is found be involved in corruption cases, more people and SP companies might be implicated.
However, while some of those targeted will be under investigation as suspects, others may be summoned merely as witnesses to provide testimony, the source added.
Beginning earlier this month, anti-graft authorities had launched a close investigation into the three top telecommunication service operator companies-- China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom. SP companies, in close relations with the three companies, are also being investigated.
The three telecommunication operators are also adjusting their policies in business cooperation to reduce the corruption risk.

BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) of China's manufacturing sector dropped to 52 percent in May, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) said Wednesday.
The PMI figure was 52.9 percent in April, 53.4 percent in March, 52.2 percent in February and 52.9 percent in January.

BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Following are the central parity rates of the Chinese currency Renminbi (RMB) against seven major currencies announced Wednesday by the China Foreign Exchange Trading System:
Currency           Unit          Middle Price (in RMB yuan)
U.S. Dollar        100                648.37
Euro               100                934.50
Japanese Yen       100                7.9662
Hong Kong Dollar   100                83.370
British Pound      100                1,067.38
Malaysian Ringgit  46.422            100
Ruble              431.35             100
The central parity of RMB against the U.S. dollar is based on a weighted average of enquired prices from all market makers before the opening of the market in each business day.
The central parity of RMB against the other six currencies is based on the central rate of RMB against the U.S. dollar of the same business day as well as the exchange rates of the six currencies against the U.S. dollar at 9 a.m. of the same business day in the international foreign exchange market.

BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- China's manufacturing activities continued to slow in May, with the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) of the country's manufacturing sector falling 0.9 percentage point month-on-month to 52 percent, according to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP).
It was the second consecutive month of decline for the PMI, a gauge of of the manufacturing expansion, in China, as the government took a series of tightening measures to curb soaring prices and cool the economy.
The PMI figure was 52.9 percent in April, 53.4 percent in March, 52.2 percent in February and 52.9 percent in January.
A reading above 50 percent indicates economic expansion. One below 50 percent indicates contraction. China's PMI has been staying above the boom-or-bust line for 26 months in a row.

BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese currency Renminbi, or the yuan,strengthened 8 basis points to an all-time high at 6.4837 per U.S. dollar on Wednesday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trading system.
The yuan's fresh central parity rate scrapped the previous record of 6.4845 per U.S. dollar set on Tuesday.
On China's foreign exchange spot market, the yuan can rise or fall 0.5 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.
The central parity rate of the RMB against the U.S. dollar is based on a weighted average of prices before the opening of the market each business day.

BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shares opened lower on Wednesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.23 percent to 2,737.06.
The Shenzhen Component Index lost 0.14 percent to 11,648.86.

BEIJING, June 1 (Xinhua) -- ChiNext Index opened 0.16 points higher at 846.48 on Wednesday.
The index, officially launched on June 1, 2010, on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, has a base value of 1,000 points.
The ChiNext Index, together with the Shenzhen Component Index and the Shenzhen SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) Board Index, makes up the three core indices reflecting the performance of China's stocks listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.