Beijing - Pirates off the coast of Somalia have seized a Chinese fishing boat and 24 crew including Vietnamese, Philippine and Japanese citizens, Chinese state media reported on Friday.

The Chinese vessel was held off the coast of the southern Somali port of Kismanyu late Thursday, the government's official Xinhua news agency reported from Mogadishu, the Somali capital.

The agency quoted an unidentified pirate leader as saying on the local Shabelle radio station in Mogadishu that the 24 crew were all "fine."

Shanghai - Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman marked the end of his career at age 36 as he and partner Kevin Ullyett bowed out in doubles at the Masters Cup to Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski of Poland 6-2, 1-6, 10-6 on Friday.

The round-robin loss put and end to the career of Bjorkman, winner of all four Grand Slams - with four different partners - as well as 15 Masters titles among his 54 career doubles trophies.

The Monte Carlo-based father of two cited his Davis Cup titles with Sweden in 1997 and 1998 as highlight moments of a standout career.

Hong Kong - Hong Kong fell into a recession Friday as government figures showed a second quarter of contracted growth with the economy growing just 1.7 per cent in the year's third quarter.

The rate of gross domestic product growth in the city of 6.9 million fell from 4.2 per cent in the second quarter to 1.7 per cent in the third, according to official figures.

The Hong Kong government responded by revising downwards its growth forecasts for the year from 4 to 5 per cent to between 3 and 3.5 per cent, meaning it anticipates a possible fourth quarter contraction.

Beijing - Shares on China's two stock markets gained more than 3 per cent for a second successive day on Friday, amid continuing expectation that the government plans more measures to bolster the economy.

The key Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks shares traded in foreign and local currencies, surged by 3.05 per cent to close at 1,986.44 points, up 58.82 points.

The smaller Shenzhen Composite Index jumped by 4.4 per cent, or 22.76 points, to end the day at 545.34.

The Shanghai index took its total gains this week to nearly 14 per cent, buoyed on Friday by the overnight surge on Wall Street.

Beijing - Four young women died Friday after jumping from a sixth-floor dormitory to escape a fire at a college in Shanghai, state media said.

The students "apparently panicked amid flames and thick smoke" after the fire broke out in their shared room at the Shanghai Business School, the official Xinhua news agency quoted local police as saying.

The two local women and two women from neighbouring provinces all died immediately upon hitting the ground, the agency said.

Taipei  - Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou said Friday that the Taiwan Strait is no longer a flashpoint because both Taipei and Beijing are striving for peace.

"In the nearly half a year since my inauguration, both sides have expressed goodwill and built more consensus and mutual trust," he said while receiving a delegation from the US non-profit Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "Therefore, the Taiwan Strait, which used to be the flashpoint in East Asia, is moving towards peace."