Zhou Xiaochuan, Governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, has proposed creating a super-sovereign reserve currency as part of the ongoing reform of the global monetary system.

Zhou suggested the international reserve currency that is disconnected from any individual nation in a signed article posted on PBOC's official website on March 23. He said that the currency would be able to remain stable in the long run, thus removing the inherent deficiencies caused by using credit-based national currencies. According to Zhou, the International Monetary Fund's Special Drawing Right has the potential to act as a super-sovereign reserve currency.

Zhou, who has served as governor of PBOC since December 2002, said that the creation of a new reserve currency is a long-term goal that requires foresight and courage from state leaders of various countries.

Scientist Warns of Mutated SARS Virus

Renowned molecular biophysicist and structural biologist, Rao Zihe, recently warned that a mutated virus of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) might trigger new diseases.

Focusing on studies of protein engineering and physiological functions, Rao found a way to design anti-SARS drugs soon after the outbreak of the epidemic in 2003. The discovery won him the Trieste Science Prize, the top award from the Third World Academy of Sciences.

Rao, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is also president of Tianjin-based Nankai University. After receiving his PhD from the University of Melbourne in 1989, he joined a research group at Oxford University, where he served until 1996.

Curler Captains Team to Gold

Chinese curlers, skippered by Wang Bingyu, earned a gold medal by defeating Sweden 8-6 in the finals of the World Women's Curling Championship in Gangneung, South Korea, on March 29, marking a milestone in Chinese curling history.

Despite a loss to rival Canada in the opening match, Wang's team made 10 straight wins in a row in the round-robin phase to enter the semifinals. When China and Denmark drew 2-2 in the semifinals, Wang broke the deadlock by scoring three points. Wang then went on to secure the team a victory over Sweden with an equally excellent performance in the title match.

Wang, born into a sporting family in Harbin in 1984, is nicknamed "Betty Wang" by the media. Her father is an ice hockey trainer, who sent young Betty to learn curling skills in her early school years. When the national curling team was established in 2002, the same year China officially joined the World Curling Federation, Wang became one of its first members.

At the 2006 World Women's Curling Championship, Wang inspired her team to finish in fifth place. One year later, Wang and her teammates obtained a Canadian coach who greatly improved their curling skills.

"The international financial system should undergo necessary reforms in an all-round, balanced, gradual and effective manner to prevent a similar crisis in the future."

Chinese President Hu Jintao, in an interview with Xinhua News Agency before he departed for the G20 anti-crisis summit in London on April 2

"There is a ghost called the 'Cold War' and a virus called 'the Theory on China's Threat' overseas. Some people, possessed by this ghost and infected with this virus, 'fall ill' from time to time."

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qin Gang, when denying overseas rumors of a so-called "Chinese cyber spy network" at a news briefing on March 31

"In London, Washington and Paris people talk of bonuses or no bonuses. In parts of Africa, South Asia and Latin America, the struggle is for food or no food."

World Bank President Robert Zoellick, warning on March 31 that a slowdown in the developing world will push millions into poverty in 2009

"The true power of Earth Hour can be seen in the tremendous opportunity for individuals, communities, businesses and governments around the world to unite for a common purpose, against a common threat which affects us all."

Carter Roberts, President and CEO of the World Wildlife Fund that sponsors Earth Hour, an event on March 28 when nearly 4,000 cities and towns in 88 countries dimmed nonessential lights from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. to highlight the threat of climate change

"We emphasis our solidarity with Sudan and our dismissal and rejection of the decision handed down by the International Criminal Court."

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, while releasing the communiqué of the Doha summit on March 30, saying that Arab leaders attending the summit reached an agreement on rejecting the arrest warrant of the International Criminal Court for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for his alleged war crimes in Darfur