Voice from Johannesburg

The Dalai Lama lashed out at China on Wednesday, accusing it of trying to "annihilate Buddhism" in Tibet and rebuffing all his efforts to reach a compromise over Tibet.

China shot back, accusing the Tibetan spiritual leader of using deceptions and lies to distort its policy in the region. The passionate back-and-forth highlighted the distrust, anger and frustration that separates the two sides and leaves little hope for success in recently resumed talks.

China indicated on Sunday it would take a hard line on the selection of a successor to the ageing Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in rare comments on the sensitive issue.

The final decision on the reincarnated successors to the Buddhist region's top lamas lies with Beijing, said Qiangba Puncog, Tibet's former governor and a delegate to the national parliament.

"It must get the approval of the central government otherwise the reincarnation will be illegitimate and invalid," he told reporters on the sidelines of China's National People's Congress session.

Cairo is negotiating with the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA) to build a similar model near the southern approaches to the Suez Canal, the Financial Times said, citing Egypt's investment minister.

"SEZone is going to be the first of its kind linked to a big investor," the Egyptian minister, Mahmoud Mohieldin, was quoted as saying.

Mohieldin said he expected the area to attract up to 3.5 billion dollars in investment in the first three years of operation.

Tarek Kamel, Egyptian minister for communications and information technology, said China's involvement in the Suez Economic Zone would benefit both sides.

Netizen: Craig 03/03

The Chinese government is one of the most efficient governments in the world. Such a government is really good for a large developing country. The surprising economic growth of China has proved it. Some people in Europe and US always criticize the Chinese government for such-and-such problems. But I don’t see any of them doing better than China. What can be better than a government that serves its people well?