Washington, April 17 : The discovery of an ancient flute in Xinglongwa, China, has suggested that Chinese musical instruments could be 3000 years older than previously calculated.

Traditional Chinese musical instruments are believed to have originated from the reign of Huangdi, or the Yellow Emperor, some two thousand years ago.

But, a flute made of bones, unearthed at the Xinglongwa Site in Inner Mongolian in 1986, has changed the timeline for musical instruments in China.

The ancient flute was made from the bones of bustard, a kind of bird usually seen in Northeast China. The tube is 18 centimeters long, with finger holes still evident.

Tokyo - China has expressed a willingness to mediate in talks between North Korea and the United States on Pyongyang's nuclear programme, a Japanese media report said Friday.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told the Nikkei financial newspaper, "Maintaining the process is in the interest of each participant" of the six-party talks, which include Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Russia, China and the United States.

Many analysts see a breakthrough in relations between the United States and North Korea as necessary for the resumption of the six-nation talks.

Beijing, Apr. 17 : In an attempt to tighten the noose on the Chinese media, the nation's media watchdog has issued a circular sermonizing the responsibilities and credibility of the press.

The General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) has urged newspapers and organizations to verify the facts to ensure truthfulness and objectivity in their news coverage.

To facilitate it, the organizations must be strict in hiring reporters and editors. Those with a track record of fabricating news stories or seeking profit by abusing their jobs should not be employed, the circular read.

Beijing - Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev met with China's top legislator Wu Banguo Thursday, pledging to step up bilateral cooperation, state media reported.

Wu, chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress, said relations between the two countries were at an all-time high and that China would work with Kazakhstan to enhance cooperation in fields such as energy, transportation, mineral resources development and infrastructure construction, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Beijing  - China's Three Gorges Dam, due to be completed in November, is getting bigger every day on all fronts.

While officially the government said it has spent 180 billion yuan (26.35 billion dollars) on building the 185-metre dam and a reservoir stretching more than 600 kilometres, local critics and foreign observers said the real figure could be more than twice that amount, and that's just in the construction phase.