Beijing - China Tuesday called on French President Nicolas Sarkozy to cancel his planned meeting with the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

It was time for the French side to make a choice, foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said in Beijing.

He also warned that political and economic ties between Paris and Beijing would suffer if Sarkozy pursued the planned talks.

France, which currently holds the EU presidency, should respect China's concerns and take concrete measures, he said.

Beijing, Dec. 2 : In a major revision of numbers, China’s Ministry of Health has acknowledged that nearly 300,000 children became sick after consuming milk tainted with the toxic plastic melamine.

According to the ministry’s web site, this casualty figure is probably the largest the country has ever experienced.

The ministry said in a statement late Monday that authorities across the country found that 294,000 babies had suffered from urinary problems after consuming milk powder tainted with melamine.

Hong Kong  - All 21,000 tickets to see three Chinese astronauts who performed the country's first spacewalk were snapped up in a matter of hours in Hong Kong Tuesday.

Thousands of people queued up at 21 distribution outlets across the former British colony to get the free tickets for the appearance by the astronauts at the Hong Kong Stadium on Sunday.

The astronauts are due to fly into Hong Kong on Friday for a four-day visit, after which they will go to the gambling resort of Macau, a one-hour ferry ride from Hong Kong.

The spacewalk by Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng in September generated patriotic fervour that Beijing appears keen to capitalize on.

Prague - Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek met with the Dalai Lama amid tensions between China and the European Union over French President Nicolas Sarkozy's plans to meet the exiled Tibet's spiritual leader during his Europe tour.

Topolanek's spokesman Jakub Stadler confirmed that an hour-long "private meeting" took place Sunday at the premier's official residency, the Kramar Villa.

China strongly opposes the Dalai Lama's meetings with foreign heads of state and government.

SHENZHEN, China, Nov. 30  -- Henrik Stenson and Robert Karlsson combined to shoot 9-under-par 63 Sunday, helping Sweden bag a four-stroke win at the World Cup of Golf in Shenzhen, China.

Sweden completed the event at 27-under 261, and won it for the first time since 1991.

Sunday's format was foursomes or alternate shot.

"It's a great honor to play for your country, and obviously even better when you win," Stenson said. "Sweden only won it once before in 1991 so it was about time that we changed that."

SHENZHEN, China,  Nov. 30 -- Henrik Stenson and Robert Karlsson combined to shoot 9-under-par 63 Sunday, helping Sweden bag a four-stroke win at the World Cup of Golf in Shenzhen, China.

Sweden completed the event at 27-under 261, and won it for the first time since 1991.

Sunday's format was foursomes or alternate shot.

"It's a great honor to play for your country, and obviously even better when you win," Stenson said. "Sweden only won it once before in 1991 so it was about time that we changed that."

Spain, a co-leader with Australia after Saturday's third round, got 2-under 70 from Miguel Angel Jimenez and Pablo Larrazabal and was the runner-up at 24-under 264.