Wen Jiabao re-elected as China’s Premier

BEIJING—Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was re-elected Sunday for five more years. Wen, 65, was the sole candidate for the job. Xinhua news agency, which reported from the National People’s Congress, or parliament, did not immediately give the number of votes cast in favour of Wen.
His re-election completes the top leadership line-up for the next half-decade, the legislature having given President Hu Jintao another five-year term on Saturday. About 3,000 kilometres (1,800 miles) away, in the Tibetan capital Lhasa, the situation was calm but tense two days after violent clashes between protesters and police that left at least 10 dead.
The unrest could not have come at a worse time as the world’s focus on China is as intense as ever, and likely to build further, as the August start of the Beijing Olympics approaches. Another source of embarrassment is the Wen administration’s pet project of building up a “harmonious society”, which clashes with the situation in Tibet today.—Agencies