World Briefs

LONDON – Central London's financial district will begin installing bomb-proof recycling bins from next year, the company responsible for the product said Monday.

The bins, which cost around $60,00 each to produce and install, will also feature news and weather information on LCD screens that are part of the bins.

"From a blast technology side, it's just something that should be there," said Brian James, the chief operating officer of Media Metrica, the company providing the product."You don't expect to get into an accident, but you make sure you have seat belts," he told AFP.Media Metrica will fund the production, installation and maintenance of the bins after signing a 15-year contract with the City of London, the local authority that administers the capital's financial district.

TAIPEI, Taiwan – The highest-ranking Chinese official to visit Taiwan since the two sides split nearly six decades ago arrived Monday for economic talks he said were crucial for building trust between the longtime rivals.

The five-day trip by Chen Yunlin began amid tight security. Thousands of police guarded the airport and security forces erected tall barbed-wire barricades at Chen's hotel with large nets to block eggs and other items thrown by protesters.

Chen's visit is seen as the result of Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou's efforts since taking office in May to improve ties across the Taiwan Strait and end decades of political rivalry.

The two sides have been separated since the Communists won a bloody civil war and took over the mainland in 1949. China has long threatened to attack if Taiwan refuses to unify.

ISLAMABAD – THE U. S. commander running the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, held talks on Monday with Pakistani leaders who told him to stop U. S. strikes on militants in Pakistani territory.

Petraeus arrived in Pakistan on Sunday, at the beginning of his first foreign tour since taking charge of U.S. Central Command, highlighting U.S. concern about a country seen as crucial to stability in Afghanistan and to defeating al Qaeda.

U.S. analysts say Pakistan is facing a major threat from Islamist militants at a time when the nuclear-armed nation and its new civilian government are engulfed in extraordinarily difficult economic problems. Petraeus has been hailed as an outstanding military leader for helping pull Iraq back from the brink of civil war with a strategy that brought a "surge" of 30,000 extra U.S. troops. Both U.S. presidential candidates, have said they would put more focus on defeating the Taliban.