Heavy rains kill at least 16 in China

TORRENTIAL rains have killed at least 16 people and affected 1.5 million people in southern and northern parts of China.

The official Xinhua News Agency says the heavy rains over the past three days have affected 450,000 people and wiped out crops in the southern Guangxi region.

Another 730,000 people have been affected in the southern province of Jiangxi, and 312,000 are affected in the adjacent manufacturing powerhouse province of Guangdong.

Xinhua quoted a local government official as saying the direct economic losses so far are $US20.3 million ($A20.26 million), and that water levels in 10 reservoirs and several major rivers have risen above warning levels.

Xinhua said rainstorm-triggered floods have also hit areas of Inner Mongolia in the north of China.

View the original article here

Pottery 20,000 years old found in China

POTTERY fragments found in a south China cave have been confirmed to be 20,000 years old, making them the oldest known pottery, archaeologists said.

The findings, in the journal Science, add to recent efforts that have dated pottery piles in East Asia to more than 15,000 years ago, refuting conventional theories that the invention of pottery correlates to the period about 10,000 years ago when humans moved from being hunter-gathers to farmers.

The research by Chinese and American scientists also pushes the emergence of pottery back to the last ice age, which might provide new explanations for the creation of pottery, said Gideon Shelach, chair of the Louis Frieberg Center for East Asian Studies at The Hebrew University in Israel.

"The focus of research has to change," Mr Shelach, who is not involved in the research project in China, said.

In an accompanying Science article, he wrote such research efforts "are fundamental for a better understanding of socio-economic change (25,000 to 19,000 years ago) and the development that led to the emergence of sedentary agricultural societies".

He said the disconnection between pottery and agriculture might shed light on human development in the region.

Wu Xiaohong, professor of archaeology and museology at Peking University and the lead author of the Science article that details the radiocarbon dating efforts, said her team was eager to build on the research.

"We are very excited about the findings. The paper is the result of efforts done by generations of scholars," Prof Wu said. "Now we can explore why there was pottery in that particular time, what were the uses of the vessels, and what role they played in the survival of human beings."

The ancient fragments were discovered in the Xianrendong cave in south China's Jiangxi province, excavated in the 1960s and again in the 1990s.

View the original article here

Apple apologises after China attacks

A man walks past an Apple logo displayed above a street at a shopping mall in Beijing. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

APPLE issued an apology to Chinese consumers after government media attacked its repair policies for two weeks in a campaign that reeked of economic nationalism.

A statement Apple posted in Chinese to its website on Monday said the complaints had prompted "deep reflection" and persuaded the company of the need to revamp its repair policies, boost communication with Chinese consumers and strengthen oversight of authorised resellers.

State broadcaster CCTV and the ruling party's flagship newspaper, People's Daily, had led the charge, accusing Apple of arrogance, greed and "throwing its weight around" and portraying it as just the latest Western company to exploit the Chinese consumer.

The attacks started backfiring almost as soon as they began and were mocked by the increasingly sophisticated Chinese consumers who revere Apple and its products. State-run media also inadvertently revived complaints over shoddy service by Chinese companies.

Nonetheless, Apple responded with an apology from CEO Tim Cook.

"We've come to understand through this process that because of our poor communication, some have come to feel that Apple's attitude is arrogant and that we don't care about or value feedback from the consumer," Cook's Chinese statement said, as translated by The Associated Press.

"For the concerns and misunderstandings passed on to the consumer, we express our sincere apologies."

Chinese employees pose for photographers at the opening of an Apple store at a Chengdu shopping centre in December. Picture: AP

Although Apple enjoys strong support from Chinese consumers, the vehemence of the attacks and the importance of the Chinese market appeared to have persuaded the company to smooth its relations with Chinese consumers and authorities.

The People's Daily newspaper ran an editorial last Wednesday headlined "Strike down Apple's incomparable arrogance."

"Here we have the Western person's sense of superiority making mischief," the newspaper wrote. "If there's no risk in offending the Chinese consumer, and it also makes for lower overheads, then why not?"

Chinese observers accused People's Daily of gross hypocrisy and pointed out that the newspaper had maintained a stony silence when Chinese companies were implicated over food safety, pollution and other scandals.

Meanwhile, CCTV was shamed when it was revealed that celebrities had been recruited to blast the company on Weibo, China's version of Twitter, in what had been billed as a grassroots campaign.

"The public responded in two ways to this incident," popular commentator Shi Shusi wrote on his Weibo account. "One group supports this criticism but quite a number of people felt that there are state monopolies which have severely violated customer's rights, but which are not being exposed."

Apple CEO Tim Cook has apologised after state media slammed it as an arrogant, Western company taking advantage of Chinese consumers. Picture: AP

Popular business magazine Caijing said its readers identified a long list of abusers, including state banks that lend to those with political connections while stiffing ordinary savers with low rates on deposits; a government oil company that sets gas prices and other rates as it sees fit; and state telecom providers notorious for their lack of customer service.

"If media is going to go after Apple, let's hope they spare some thought for those big Chinese communications companies and other monopolies, the ones that enrich special interests in the name of being publicly owned," Cai Tongqi, a lawyer from the eastern province of Jiangsu, wrote on Weibo.

Consumers thus far seem unfazed by the state media's attacks on Apple.

Perusing the wares at an Apple reseller in Beijing's tony China World mall, recent college graduate Zeng Lu said she considered the controversy a sign of the Chinese consumer's growing maturity.

"It's great to see Chinese consumers standing up for their rights, but it's ridiculous for the People's Daily to get involved," Ms Zeng said.

"They should be criticising state companies instead."

Apple's popularity flies in the face of China's ardent attempts to push its own brands and develop internationally competitive companies. The company also has resisted trends to enter joint ventures and move research and development to China. It also ignores big state media such as CCTV and People's Daily. Apple relies on Chinese factories, though, to make iPads, iPhones and other popular products.

Despite the government's pressures, sales of Apple products in the region, which includes Taiwan and Hong Kong, grew 67 per cent to $US6.8 billion ($6.5 billion) in the first three months of 2013, compared with the same period a year earlier, according to the company. Apple sold 2 million iPhone 5s during the first weekend it was available in China, in December.

The region is Apple's third largest market, accounting for 13 per cent of all sales last year. More than 17,000 outlets sell its products in mainland China, a figure that includes 11 Apple stores and 400 premium resellers. In January, Cook said he expects China to replace North America as its largest source of revenue in the foreseeable future.

The attacks on Apple centre on complaints over Apple's repair policies in China - specifically its practice of only replacing faulty parts rather than providing new iPhones, as it does in other markets.

Critics say that allows Apple to avoid having to extend its service warranty by another year. Until Monday, the Cupertino, California-based company had kept silent apart from issuing a statement March 23 explaining its repair policy and pledging its deep respect for the Chinese consumer.

Yet consumers and analysts say the complaints hardly justify Beijing's campaign of vilification. Such nationalist outbursts are not uncommon, although previous campaigns against foreign companies have often been tied to perceived national slights, as often befalls Japanese firms.

Google was attacked after the company announced in March 2010 that it would cease censoring its search responses inside China. Beijing accused Google of being an arm of American "information imperialism."

Beijing is also angry over Washington's effort to exclude Chinese high-tech firms including Huawei and ZTE from the US market. A spending bill signed by US President Barack Obama two weeks ago includes a clause barring NASA, the National Science Foundation and the Justice and Commerce Departments from contracting with firms tied to the Chinese government.

Washington and Beijing have also sparred over more recent hacking attacks, including a highly influential report by cybersecurity firm Mandiant that tied Chinese hacking to a unit of the People's Liberation Army based in Shanghai.

Apple, however, may have been singled out simply because it is "the biggest open target," said Jim McGregor, senior counselor at consultancy APCO Worldwide.

"We're still seeing a lot of things wrapped up in economic nationalism," Mr McGregor said.

Even before Monday's apology, he had predicted Apple would make some sort of show of contrition to get its relations with the Chinese authorities back on track.

Duncan Clark, managing director of BDA China, a Beijing research firm, said the assault probably stems from a combination of factors, including the failure of Chinese companies to make breakthroughs in high-end consumer electronics.

"There's a general sense of frustration that China can't move further up the value chain," Mr Clark said.
 

View the original article here

Pottery 20,000 years old found in China

POTTERY fragments found in a south China cave have been confirmed to be 20,000 years old, making them the oldest known pottery, archaeologists said.

The findings, in the journal Science, add to recent efforts that have dated pottery piles in East Asia to more than 15,000 years ago, refuting conventional theories that the invention of pottery correlates to the period about 10,000 years ago when humans moved from being hunter-gathers to farmers.

The research by Chinese and American scientists also pushes the emergence of pottery back to the last ice age, which might provide new explanations for the creation of pottery, said Gideon Shelach, chair of the Louis Frieberg Center for East Asian Studies at The Hebrew University in Israel.

"The focus of research has to change," Mr Shelach, who is not involved in the research project in China, said.

In an accompanying Science article, he wrote such research efforts "are fundamental for a better understanding of socio-economic change (25,000 to 19,000 years ago) and the development that led to the emergence of sedentary agricultural societies".

He said the disconnection between pottery and agriculture might shed light on human development in the region.

Wu Xiaohong, professor of archaeology and museology at Peking University and the lead author of the Science article that details the radiocarbon dating efforts, said her team was eager to build on the research.

"We are very excited about the findings. The paper is the result of efforts done by generations of scholars," Prof Wu said. "Now we can explore why there was pottery in that particular time, what were the uses of the vessels, and what role they played in the survival of human beings."

The ancient fragments were discovered in the Xianrendong cave in south China's Jiangxi province, excavated in the 1960s and again in the 1990s.

View the original article here

Heavy rains kill at least 16 in China

TORRENTIAL rains have killed at least 16 people and affected 1.5 million people in southern and northern parts of China.

The official Xinhua News Agency says the heavy rains over the past three days have affected 450,000 people and wiped out crops in the southern Guangxi region.

Another 730,000 people have been affected in the southern province of Jiangxi, and 312,000 are affected in the adjacent manufacturing powerhouse province of Guangdong.

Xinhua quoted a local government official as saying the direct economic losses so far are $US20.3 million ($A20.26 million), and that water levels in 10 reservoirs and several major rivers have risen above warning levels.

Xinhua said rainstorm-triggered floods have also hit areas of Inner Mongolia in the north of China.

View the original article here

Heavy rains kill at least 16 in China

TORRENTIAL rains have killed at least 16 people and affected 1.5 million people in southern and northern parts of China.

The official Xinhua News Agency says the heavy rains over the past three days have affected 450,000 people and wiped out crops in the southern Guangxi region.

Another 730,000 people have been affected in the southern province of Jiangxi, and 312,000 are affected in the adjacent manufacturing powerhouse province of Guangdong.

Xinhua quoted a local government official as saying the direct economic losses so far are $US20.3 million ($A20.26 million), and that water levels in 10 reservoirs and several major rivers have risen above warning levels.

Xinhua said rainstorm-triggered floods have also hit areas of Inner Mongolia in the north of China.

View the original article here

Pottery 20,000 years old found in China

POTTERY fragments found in a south China cave have been confirmed to be 20,000 years old, making them the oldest known pottery, archaeologists said.

The findings, in the journal Science, add to recent efforts that have dated pottery piles in East Asia to more than 15,000 years ago, refuting conventional theories that the invention of pottery correlates to the period about 10,000 years ago when humans moved from being hunter-gathers to farmers.

The research by Chinese and American scientists also pushes the emergence of pottery back to the last ice age, which might provide new explanations for the creation of pottery, said Gideon Shelach, chair of the Louis Frieberg Center for East Asian Studies at The Hebrew University in Israel.

"The focus of research has to change," Mr Shelach, who is not involved in the research project in China, said.

In an accompanying Science article, he wrote such research efforts "are fundamental for a better understanding of socio-economic change (25,000 to 19,000 years ago) and the development that led to the emergence of sedentary agricultural societies".

He said the disconnection between pottery and agriculture might shed light on human development in the region.

Wu Xiaohong, professor of archaeology and museology at Peking University and the lead author of the Science article that details the radiocarbon dating efforts, said her team was eager to build on the research.

"We are very excited about the findings. The paper is the result of efforts done by generations of scholars," Prof Wu said. "Now we can explore why there was pottery in that particular time, what were the uses of the vessels, and what role they played in the survival of human beings."

The ancient fragments were discovered in the Xianrendong cave in south China's Jiangxi province, excavated in the 1960s and again in the 1990s.

View the original article here

Pottery 20,000 years old found in China

POTTERY fragments found in a south China cave have been confirmed to be 20,000 years old, making them the oldest known pottery, archaeologists said.

The findings, in the journal Science, add to recent efforts that have dated pottery piles in East Asia to more than 15,000 years ago, refuting conventional theories that the invention of pottery correlates to the period about 10,000 years ago when humans moved from being hunter-gathers to farmers.

The research by Chinese and American scientists also pushes the emergence of pottery back to the last ice age, which might provide new explanations for the creation of pottery, said Gideon Shelach, chair of the Louis Frieberg Center for East Asian Studies at The Hebrew University in Israel.

"The focus of research has to change," Mr Shelach, who is not involved in the research project in China, said.

In an accompanying Science article, he wrote such research efforts "are fundamental for a better understanding of socio-economic change (25,000 to 19,000 years ago) and the development that led to the emergence of sedentary agricultural societies".

He said the disconnection between pottery and agriculture might shed light on human development in the region.

Wu Xiaohong, professor of archaeology and museology at Peking University and the lead author of the Science article that details the radiocarbon dating efforts, said her team was eager to build on the research.

"We are very excited about the findings. The paper is the result of efforts done by generations of scholars," Prof Wu said. "Now we can explore why there was pottery in that particular time, what were the uses of the vessels, and what role they played in the survival of human beings."

The ancient fragments were discovered in the Xianrendong cave in south China's Jiangxi province, excavated in the 1960s and again in the 1990s.

View the original article here

Heavy rains kill at least 16 in China

TORRENTIAL rains have killed at least 16 people and affected 1.5 million people in southern and northern parts of China.

The official Xinhua News Agency says the heavy rains over the past three days have affected 450,000 people and wiped out crops in the southern Guangxi region.

Another 730,000 people have been affected in the southern province of Jiangxi, and 312,000 are affected in the adjacent manufacturing powerhouse province of Guangdong.

Xinhua quoted a local government official as saying the direct economic losses so far are $US20.3 million ($A20.26 million), and that water levels in 10 reservoirs and several major rivers have risen above warning levels.

Xinhua said rainstorm-triggered floods have also hit areas of Inner Mongolia in the north of China.

View the original article here

Heavy rains kill at least 16 in China

TORRENTIAL rains have killed at least 16 people and affected 1.5 million people in southern and northern parts of China.

The official Xinhua News Agency says the heavy rains over the past three days have affected 450,000 people and wiped out crops in the southern Guangxi region.

Another 730,000 people have been affected in the southern province of Jiangxi, and 312,000 are affected in the adjacent manufacturing powerhouse province of Guangdong.

Xinhua quoted a local government official as saying the direct economic losses so far are $US20.3 million ($A20.26 million), and that water levels in 10 reservoirs and several major rivers have risen above warning levels.

Xinhua said rainstorm-triggered floods have also hit areas of Inner Mongolia in the north of China.

View the original article here

Pottery 20,000 years old found in China

POTTERY fragments found in a south China cave have been confirmed to be 20,000 years old, making them the oldest known pottery, archaeologists said.

The findings, in the journal Science, add to recent efforts that have dated pottery piles in East Asia to more than 15,000 years ago, refuting conventional theories that the invention of pottery correlates to the period about 10,000 years ago when humans moved from being hunter-gathers to farmers.

The research by Chinese and American scientists also pushes the emergence of pottery back to the last ice age, which might provide new explanations for the creation of pottery, said Gideon Shelach, chair of the Louis Frieberg Center for East Asian Studies at The Hebrew University in Israel.

"The focus of research has to change," Mr Shelach, who is not involved in the research project in China, said.

In an accompanying Science article, he wrote such research efforts "are fundamental for a better understanding of socio-economic change (25,000 to 19,000 years ago) and the development that led to the emergence of sedentary agricultural societies".

He said the disconnection between pottery and agriculture might shed light on human development in the region.

Wu Xiaohong, professor of archaeology and museology at Peking University and the lead author of the Science article that details the radiocarbon dating efforts, said her team was eager to build on the research.

"We are very excited about the findings. The paper is the result of efforts done by generations of scholars," Prof Wu said. "Now we can explore why there was pottery in that particular time, what were the uses of the vessels, and what role they played in the survival of human beings."

The ancient fragments were discovered in the Xianrendong cave in south China's Jiangxi province, excavated in the 1960s and again in the 1990s.

View the original article here

Pottery 20,000 years old found in China

POTTERY fragments found in a south China cave have been confirmed to be 20,000 years old, making them the oldest known pottery, archaeologists said.

The findings, in the journal Science, add to recent efforts that have dated pottery piles in East Asia to more than 15,000 years ago, refuting conventional theories that the invention of pottery correlates to the period about 10,000 years ago when humans moved from being hunter-gathers to farmers.

The research by Chinese and American scientists also pushes the emergence of pottery back to the last ice age, which might provide new explanations for the creation of pottery, said Gideon Shelach, chair of the Louis Frieberg Center for East Asian Studies at The Hebrew University in Israel.

"The focus of research has to change," Mr Shelach, who is not involved in the research project in China, said.

In an accompanying Science article, he wrote such research efforts "are fundamental for a better understanding of socio-economic change (25,000 to 19,000 years ago) and the development that led to the emergence of sedentary agricultural societies".

He said the disconnection between pottery and agriculture might shed light on human development in the region.

Wu Xiaohong, professor of archaeology and museology at Peking University and the lead author of the Science article that details the radiocarbon dating efforts, said her team was eager to build on the research.

"We are very excited about the findings. The paper is the result of efforts done by generations of scholars," Prof Wu said. "Now we can explore why there was pottery in that particular time, what were the uses of the vessels, and what role they played in the survival of human beings."

The ancient fragments were discovered in the Xianrendong cave in south China's Jiangxi province, excavated in the 1960s and again in the 1990s.

View the original article here

Heavy rains kill at least 16 in China

TORRENTIAL rains have killed at least 16 people and affected 1.5 million people in southern and northern parts of China.

The official Xinhua News Agency says the heavy rains over the past three days have affected 450,000 people and wiped out crops in the southern Guangxi region.

Another 730,000 people have been affected in the southern province of Jiangxi, and 312,000 are affected in the adjacent manufacturing powerhouse province of Guangdong.

Xinhua quoted a local government official as saying the direct economic losses so far are $US20.3 million ($A20.26 million), and that water levels in 10 reservoirs and several major rivers have risen above warning levels.

Xinhua said rainstorm-triggered floods have also hit areas of Inner Mongolia in the north of China.

View the original article here

Heavy rains kill at least 16 in China

TORRENTIAL rains have killed at least 16 people and affected 1.5 million people in southern and northern parts of China.

The official Xinhua News Agency says the heavy rains over the past three days have affected 450,000 people and wiped out crops in the southern Guangxi region.

Another 730,000 people have been affected in the southern province of Jiangxi, and 312,000 are affected in the adjacent manufacturing powerhouse province of Guangdong.

Xinhua quoted a local government official as saying the direct economic losses so far are $US20.3 million ($A20.26 million), and that water levels in 10 reservoirs and several major rivers have risen above warning levels.

Xinhua said rainstorm-triggered floods have also hit areas of Inner Mongolia in the north of China.

View the original article here

Pottery 20,000 years old found in China

POTTERY fragments found in a south China cave have been confirmed to be 20,000 years old, making them the oldest known pottery, archaeologists said.

The findings, in the journal Science, add to recent efforts that have dated pottery piles in East Asia to more than 15,000 years ago, refuting conventional theories that the invention of pottery correlates to the period about 10,000 years ago when humans moved from being hunter-gathers to farmers.

The research by Chinese and American scientists also pushes the emergence of pottery back to the last ice age, which might provide new explanations for the creation of pottery, said Gideon Shelach, chair of the Louis Frieberg Center for East Asian Studies at The Hebrew University in Israel.

"The focus of research has to change," Mr Shelach, who is not involved in the research project in China, said.

In an accompanying Science article, he wrote such research efforts "are fundamental for a better understanding of socio-economic change (25,000 to 19,000 years ago) and the development that led to the emergence of sedentary agricultural societies".

He said the disconnection between pottery and agriculture might shed light on human development in the region.

Wu Xiaohong, professor of archaeology and museology at Peking University and the lead author of the Science article that details the radiocarbon dating efforts, said her team was eager to build on the research.

"We are very excited about the findings. The paper is the result of efforts done by generations of scholars," Prof Wu said. "Now we can explore why there was pottery in that particular time, what were the uses of the vessels, and what role they played in the survival of human beings."

The ancient fragments were discovered in the Xianrendong cave in south China's Jiangxi province, excavated in the 1960s and again in the 1990s.

View the original article here

Syria, China worst for online spying: RSF

SYRIA, China, Iran, Bahrain and Vietnam are flagrantly spying online, a media watchdog says.

A new report published on Tuesday entitled Enemies of the internet also singled out five companies - Gamma, Trovicor, Hacking Team, Amesys and Blue Coat - that it branded "digital era mercenaries," who were helping oppressive governments.

Syria's estimated five million internet users are subject to rampant state spying, Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF, Journalists without Borders) said in the report, which coincides with the World Day Against Cyber-Censorship.

Noting that 22 journalists and 18 internet users had been jailed, it said the network was controlled by two entities including the Syrian Computer Society (SCG) founded by President Bashar al-Assad.

The SCG, it said, controlled Syria's 3G infrastructure, while the Syrian Telecommunications Establishment (STE) controlled the majority of the fixed connections.

"When the government orders the blocking of a word, of an URL, or of a site, STE transmits the order to service providers," it said, publishing a leaked 1999 bid invitation from STE to install a national internet system in Syria.

The requirements include recording of online and offline activities, copying of all email exchanges from within Syria, and the ability to detect, intercept and block any encrypted data.

Damascus beefed up its monitoring in 2011 "adding new technologies to its cyber-arsenal" including proxy Blue Coat servers, RSF said.

Iran meanwhile is in the process of creating a home-grown internet system, citing a series of cyber attacks on its nuclear installations, RSF said.

"Applications and services such as email, search engines and social networks are proposed to be developed under government control," to allow for "large-scale surveillance and the systematic elimination of dissent."

Twenty internet users were jailed and one had been killed in the past year, it said, warning against the use of Iranian virtual private networks as it "will be like throwing yourself into the lion's jaws."

But in terms of sheer numbers, the "Chinese Communist Party runs one of the world's biggest digital empires, if not the biggest," RSF said, adding that individuals and companies have to rent their broadband access from the Chinese state or a government-controlled company.

"The tools put in place to filter and monitor the internet are collectively known as the Great Firewall of China. Begun in 2003, it allows for access to foreign sites to be filtered," it said, and to block feeds and content deemed undesirable.

"The Chinese cyber-dissident Hu Jia and his wife Zeng Jinyang have had policemen stationed at the foot of their apartment building for months," it said.

"China jails more people involved in news and information than any other country. Today 30 journalists and 69 netizens are in prison."

Bahrain, which with an internet penetration of 77 per cent is one of the most connected states in the Middle East, has seen a dramatic increase in surveillance and news blackouts in the past three years, RSF said.

Vietnam's network is shoddy in quality but under tight state control. Thirty-one internet users are in prison and internet cafes are tightly monitored with users obliged to show identity documents before using them.

RSF called for a ban on the sale of surveillance hardware and software to countries that flout basic fundamental rights and crack down on any opposition.

"The private sector cannot be expected to police itself. Legislators must intervene," it said.

"The European Union and the United States have already banned the export of surveillance technology to Iran and Syria. This praiseworthy initiative should not be an isolated one."

View the original article here

Pottery 20,000 years old found in China

POTTERY fragments found in a south China cave have been confirmed to be 20,000 years old, making them the oldest known pottery, archaeologists said.

The findings, in the journal Science, add to recent efforts that have dated pottery piles in East Asia to more than 15,000 years ago, refuting conventional theories that the invention of pottery correlates to the period about 10,000 years ago when humans moved from being hunter-gathers to farmers.

The research by Chinese and American scientists also pushes the emergence of pottery back to the last ice age, which might provide new explanations for the creation of pottery, said Gideon Shelach, chair of the Louis Frieberg Center for East Asian Studies at The Hebrew University in Israel.

"The focus of research has to change," Mr Shelach, who is not involved in the research project in China, said.

In an accompanying Science article, he wrote such research efforts "are fundamental for a better understanding of socio-economic change (25,000 to 19,000 years ago) and the development that led to the emergence of sedentary agricultural societies".

He said the disconnection between pottery and agriculture might shed light on human development in the region.

Wu Xiaohong, professor of archaeology and museology at Peking University and the lead author of the Science article that details the radiocarbon dating efforts, said her team was eager to build on the research.

"We are very excited about the findings. The paper is the result of efforts done by generations of scholars," Prof Wu said. "Now we can explore why there was pottery in that particular time, what were the uses of the vessels, and what role they played in the survival of human beings."

The ancient fragments were discovered in the Xianrendong cave in south China's Jiangxi province, excavated in the 1960s and again in the 1990s.

View the original article here

Heavy rains kill at least 16 in China

TORRENTIAL rains have killed at least 16 people and affected 1.5 million people in southern and northern parts of China.

The official Xinhua News Agency says the heavy rains over the past three days have affected 450,000 people and wiped out crops in the southern Guangxi region.

Another 730,000 people have been affected in the southern province of Jiangxi, and 312,000 are affected in the adjacent manufacturing powerhouse province of Guangdong.

Xinhua quoted a local government official as saying the direct economic losses so far are $US20.3 million ($A20.26 million), and that water levels in 10 reservoirs and several major rivers have risen above warning levels.

Xinhua said rainstorm-triggered floods have also hit areas of Inner Mongolia in the north of China.

View the original article here

Pottery 20,000 years old found in China

POTTERY fragments found in a south China cave have been confirmed to be 20,000 years old, making them the oldest known pottery, archaeologists said.

The findings, in the journal Science, add to recent efforts that have dated pottery piles in East Asia to more than 15,000 years ago, refuting conventional theories that the invention of pottery correlates to the period about 10,000 years ago when humans moved from being hunter-gathers to farmers.

The research by Chinese and American scientists also pushes the emergence of pottery back to the last ice age, which might provide new explanations for the creation of pottery, said Gideon Shelach, chair of the Louis Frieberg Center for East Asian Studies at The Hebrew University in Israel.

"The focus of research has to change," Mr Shelach, who is not involved in the research project in China, said.

In an accompanying Science article, he wrote such research efforts "are fundamental for a better understanding of socio-economic change (25,000 to 19,000 years ago) and the development that led to the emergence of sedentary agricultural societies".

He said the disconnection between pottery and agriculture might shed light on human development in the region.

Wu Xiaohong, professor of archaeology and museology at Peking University and the lead author of the Science article that details the radiocarbon dating efforts, said her team was eager to build on the research.

"We are very excited about the findings. The paper is the result of efforts done by generations of scholars," Prof Wu said. "Now we can explore why there was pottery in that particular time, what were the uses of the vessels, and what role they played in the survival of human beings."

The ancient fragments were discovered in the Xianrendong cave in south China's Jiangxi province, excavated in the 1960s and again in the 1990s.

View the original article here

Heavy rains kill at least 16 in China

TORRENTIAL rains have killed at least 16 people and affected 1.5 million people in southern and northern parts of China.

The official Xinhua News Agency says the heavy rains over the past three days have affected 450,000 people and wiped out crops in the southern Guangxi region.

Another 730,000 people have been affected in the southern province of Jiangxi, and 312,000 are affected in the adjacent manufacturing powerhouse province of Guangdong.

Xinhua quoted a local government official as saying the direct economic losses so far are $US20.3 million ($A20.26 million), and that water levels in 10 reservoirs and several major rivers have risen above warning levels.

Xinhua said rainstorm-triggered floods have also hit areas of Inner Mongolia in the north of China.

View the original article here