Beijing Times
November 1, 2007

The top headline in today's Beijing Times says that the price of 93 octane gasoline in Beijing rises 0.44 yuan per liter today. This is the result of a notification by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) that said that "prices of gasoline, diesel oil and aviation kerosene would be raised by 500 yuan ($68) per ton from November 1" to reduce the gap between domestic fuel prices and the soaring price of global crude.

The front page photo shows a modern hanging garden in Beijing's Haidian District. It was built atop four apartments and will be called the first rooftop green system.

Other headlines:

• The minimum pension standard for retirees has risen 55 yuan, to 675 yuan;
• The Bejing Olympic Ticketing Center suspended ticket sales Tuesday because the communications bottleneck needed more time to solve. The center may consider changing the "first come, first served" sales policy, officials said at a press conference yesterday;
• On Wednesday, Spain's supreme court sentenced the two main defendants in the Madrid train bombing to more than 42,000 years in prison.