Beijing  - The EU's top diplomat called Monday on the Chinese government to resume talks with the Tibetan government-in-exile while welcoming a memorandum from Tibetan exiles on their vision of autonomy.

"For a long time, the Chinese wanted to see a written position," EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said of the Tibetan proposal made during the latest round of talks in November.

Taipei  - In another sign of improved cross-strait ties, China on Monday allowed the second part of the World Buddhism Forum to be held in Taiwan.

After attending the first part of the forum in China, some 500 delegates from about 50 countries and regions flew in five chartered flights Nanjing to Taipei.

The delegates include various countries' Buddhist leaders, monks and nuns as well as scholars.

Beijing - The European Union on Monday welcomed US President Barack Obama's invitation to a climate change forum for the world's major economies as well as his change in policy from his predecessor, who was criticized for obstructing anti-global-warming initiatives.

Beijing  - China will reopen its Tibet Autonomous Region to foreign tourists from April 5, following the suspension of visits during sensitive anniversaries, state media said on Monday.

"Tibet is harmonious and safe now," Bachug, head of the regional tourism administration, told the government's official Xinhua news agency.

"Travel agencies, tourist resorts and hotels are well-prepared for tourists," Bachug was quoted as saying.

"Reception work was suspended in March for the sake of travellers' safety," he said.

New York/Toronto  - A spying operation that infiltrated computers - many of them belonging to governments - in 103 countries has been uncovered by a group of Canadian researchers, the New York Times reported Sunday.

Victims of the malicious software, or malware, include computers in: the offices of the Dalai Lama; Tibetan exile centres around the world; NATO headquarters in Brussels; and the Indian embassy to the United States.

In all, 1,295 computers might have been accessed and had documents copied by the system, which the researchers dubbed GhostNet.

Manila - A Hong Kong journalist was under fire in the Philippines on Sunday for calling the South-East Asian country a "nation of servants" in a column about disputed areas in the South China Sea.

In his March 27 column for HK Magazine, titled "The War At Home," Chip Tsao denounced the Philippines' claims to the Spratly Islands, which are also claimed in whole or in part by China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia.