The U.S.-China Business Council is now wading in on the controversial US Senate bill connected to China's currency.

The USCBC is suggesting the bill would do more harm than good.

The US-China Business Council has been a strong advocate for seeing the Renminbi become more in-line with the market.

However, the business organization says the Senate bill could derail that.

The Senate-sponsored bill -- which still needs House and Presidential approval -- could lead to tarriffs on countries the US feels artificially undervalues its currency.

 

 

China demands safe return of Chinese ships, sailors: FM spokesman

The Chinese foreign ministry says the Chinese government is now working with Thailand, Myanmar and Laos to try to ensure the safe return of Chinese sailors who are currently stranded on the Mekong River.

The three countries are going to help assist Chinese patrol boats to reach the stranded ships to aid their safe travel back to China.

Numerous Chinese cargo boats, along with dozens of crew members, are trapped along the Mekong River, after the major southeast Asian waterway was shut down to commercial boat traffic following last week's attack on Chinese crews.

 

 

Thirteen miners trapped in flooded mine in NE China

Officials with a local government in Heilongjiang have now revealed that 13 miners are trapped in a flooded coal mine.

The miners have been trapped since late Tuesday afternoon at the mine in the city of Jixi, which is about 50 kilometers from Heilongjiang's southeast border with Russia.

Rescue work is underway.

It remains unclear at this point what caused the mine to flood.

 

 

China lends helping hand to cash-strapped small firms

The State Council, China's Cabinet, has now given its formal approval to an earlier pledge by Premier Wen Jiabao to help out cash-strapped small businesses here in China.

The promise of more central government support comes following revelations that dozens of small business owners in the city of Wenzhou -- which is virtually all driven by small and medium-sized enterprises -- have either fled or killed themselves because of the massive debt they owe.

Around 80 small business owners in the city owe a combined 1.6-billion US dollars in loans they took out from non-banking consortiums.

The business owners in Wenzhou began approaching private financiers amid the heavy tightening on bank loans here in China this year.

 

 

Gaddafi's fourth son captured in Sirte: NTC defense official

Fighters with Libya's transitional government now say they've captured one of Muammar Gaddafi's sons in the city of Sirte.

Mutassim Gaddafi is the elder Gaddafi's 4th son.

He was a national security advisor under his father's rule, and is believed to have been coordinating the pro-Gaddafi stand in Sirte.

Meanwhile, an NTC official has suggested that they will announce they have complete control of Sirte in the next 24-hours.

The transitional government in Libya has said that it will declare national liberation once Sirte is completely under its control.

 

 

US imposes sanctions on Iran's airline over ambassador killing attempt

The US government has imposed sanctions on a commercial Iranian airline which it says provides funds and transport for Iran's elite forces.

The sanctions follow the alleged plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Washington.

The US is claiming that Iran is behind the plot, an accusation that is being firmly reputed by Iran.

Under the sanctions, Mahan Air's US assets will be frozen and US companies will be banned from doing business with them.

Saudi Arabia is on record saying Iran will "pay the price" for the alleged plot.

 

 

Christmas Day underpants bomber pleads guilty

A Nigerian man accused of trying blow up a US-bound flight on Christmas Day two years ago has pled guilty to all charges.

24-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab has admitted to all eight charges against him in court, including terrorism and attempted murder.

Anthony Chambers, his standby attorney, says his client made the decision by himself.

He faces a life sentence.

The Nigerian hid powerful explosives inside his underwear and boarded a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day in 2009.

However, he failed to detonate the explosive device after passengers and crew restrained him and extinguished the flames.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for the botched attack.

 

 

U.S. House Oks long-stalled trade agreements

The U.S. House of Representatives has finally approved three free trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama.

The Senate is expected to ratify the bill.

The United States signed the trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama during the tenure of Bush number 1.

But the Democratic-controlled Congress at the time never brought the agreements up for a vote.

This has given the Obama administration time to renegotiate areas it found objectionable.

 

 

6 killed in Southern Calif. shooting

At least six people are dead, and three others have been seriously wounded, after a shooting in California.

A man burst into a beauty salon just south of Los Angeles and opened fire.

The suspect was then arrested a few blocks away.

Police say the man had numerous weapons in his vehicle.

While the motive for the rampage remains unclear, it's being reported that the suspect may have been involved in a domestic dispute with one of the women working at the beauty salon.