DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “6.3-magnitude quake hits Solomon Islands” plus 9 more

BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter Scale hit Solomon Islands at 2:37 a.m. Beijing Time Monday, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.
The epicenter was monitored at 6.1 degrees south latitude and 154.4 degrees east longitude with a depth of about 40 kilometers, the center said.

BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua) -- The following are the central parity rates of the Renminbi (RMB) against seven major currencies announced Monday by the China Foreign Exchange Trading System:

Currency           Unit          Middle Price (in RMB yuan)
U.S. Dollar        100                650.89
Euro               100                837.38
Japanese Yen       100                8.0496
Hong Kong Dollar   100                91.639
British Pound      100                1,053.30  
Malaysian Ringgit  46.416            100
Ruble              432.45            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, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shares opened lower on Monday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.23 at 2,864.38.
The Shenzhen Component Index inched down 0.38 percent at the opening to 12,110.97.

BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese currency Renminbi, or the yuan, Monday weakened against the U.S. Dollar (USD) as the central parity rate of the yuan was set at 6.5089 per USD.
The yuan weakened by 72 basis points from the previous trading day. It hit a record new high of 6.4948 per USD on Wednesday.
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, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Following are home news items to be covered or pursued by Xinhua on Monday:
1. China Exclusive: Urumqi's slum makeover drive gets steam
2. China's Chongqing requires companies to disclose additives used in  hot pot ingredients
3. Lifestyle diseases trouble Tibetans as living standard improves
4. TV News Magazine: CHINA VIEW
Editor's Notes: China View from CNC World is a 30-minute daily English in-depth news program that brings global audience a panorama of what happens across China and face-to-face interviews over hot issues in China that interest people around the world.
Global viewers can tune into CNC English programs via Asia-Pacific Satellite-6 at 134 degrees east longitude, with parameters set as "6065MHz/3840MHz." The programs can also be viewed at www.cncworld.tv
5. Click on Today
6. Qiang embroidery Reborn in SW China    
7. Old man and his English Corner

BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua) -- China's stock index futures opened lower Monday. The contract for settlement in May, the most actively traded, opened 5.2 points lower at 3,120 from the previous close.
The June contract opened at 3,130, down 6.8 points from the previous close. And the contract for settlement in September opened 4.2 points lower at 3,168.8 points.
The contract for settlement in December fell 7.4 points at the opening to 3,216.8.
The stock-index contracts, agreements to buy or sell the Hushen 300 Index at a present value on an agreed date, are designed to allow investors to bet on and profit from both gains and declines in the market.
The index futures were launched at the China Financial Futures Exchange (CFFEX) and started trading from April 16, 2010. The CFFEX has set the base value for all the four contracts at 3,399 points.

BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua) -- ChiNext Index opened 1.57 points higher at 911.34 Monday.
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.

BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua) -- China's trade surplus may drop to around 100 billion U.S. dollars in 2011, the China Securities Journal quoted a central bank advisor as saying in a Monday report.
Li Daokui, a member of the monetary policy committee of the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, made the remarks at the 3rd International Business Development Forum held in Beijing on May 14, according to the report.
Li said in the report that the country's trade surplus is likely to decrease to 120 billion or even 100 billion U.S. dollars by the end of the year, compared with 2010's trade surplus of 180 billion U.S. dollars.
Li said that he expects the proportion of China's trade surplus to its gross domestic product (GDP) to drop below 2 percent this year and suggested that the government should make an effort to reduce the ratio, according to the report.
China's trade surplus rose to 11.43 billion U.S. dollars in April after registering a trade deficit of 1.02 billion U.S. dollars from January to March this year, the first quarterly trade deficit in six years, according to the General Administration of Customs.

KUNMING, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Two officials in southwest China's Yunnan Province have been suspended after a local country club was found to be illegally renting farmland for the construction of golf courses, local authorities said.
The club, which has three golf courses near the famed Stone Forest karst field in Yunnan's Shilin Yi Autonomous County, was accused of illegally renting arable land from farmers to build new golf courses. The karst field is a popular tourist attraction in the area.
Gao Yunhua, deputy director of the Stone Forest's tourist zone management committee and Duan Mingzong, an official with the county's development and reform commission, were suspended from their posts and are under investigation, said a spokesman with the county's information office on Monday.
Gao claimed that he did not think the project was illegal, as it could raise tax revenues and increase local employment, according to a CCTV report on the case.
China imposed a ban on the construction of new golf courses in 2004 to protect the country's shrinking land resources.

BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shares closed the morning trade session lower on Monday with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.28 percent to finish at 2,863.02.
The Shenzhen Component Index moved down 0.08 percent to end at 12,146.78.