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BEIJING, June 18 (Xinhua) -- The Beijing Olympic Cultural Festival will feature many activities with Beijing residents most welcomed to participate in, the organizing committee of the Beijing Olympic Games (BOCOG) said here on Monday.

The three-week Festival, the fifth and the last one before next year's Games, will kick off on June 23, when BOCOG starts the selection process for Beijing Olympics torchbearers.

There will be the "Olympic Rhythms" open air concert lasting from June 24 to July 14 with more than 300 pop stars making their appearances, singing Olympic songs with their fans.

International Forum for Beijing Olympics will take place, for the fourth year running, on June 24 and 25 while 2007 Beijing Cultural Forum is held to discuss how to deliver a "People's Olympics" on June 28 and July 12.

The 100 or so activities also include Beijing International Sports Film Week, a series of exhibitions by people with a disability as well as "Fitness for All" Sports Festival.

The Olympic Cultural Festival will be launched at Beijing Shijingshan International Sculpture Park and end at China Millennium Monument on July 15.

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BEIJING, June 18 (Xinhua) -- A big number of city volunteers will be needed to provide information, language and emergency services during the Beijing Olympic Games and Paralympics, said the organizers here on Monday.

Liu Jian, director of Volunteer Department of the Organizing Committee of the Beijing Olympic Games (BOCOG), said 400,000 city volunteers will be recruited and the recruitment started Monday.

"People as young as 14 can apply for the voluntary job on the condition that they get the permission of their guardians," said Liu. According to city volunteer general policies, people born before June 30, 1994 are eligible. For applicants under 18, they should get permission from their guardians.

"Actually we welcome parents to join their children instead of merely agreeing them to apply," he said.

"Compared with Beijing Games and Paralympics volunteer selection, we set lower standards in choosing city volunteers.

"If you are willing to do something for the two Games and have at least 12 hours of spare time then, you can apply," he said.

City volunteers will work at least three shifts with four hours each.

"We will set up 500 voluntary service posts around Olympic venues and in other major areas in Beijing, providing information, language and emergency services," he added.

Beijing residents can go to respective government website of the districts or counties they live in for application forms or people can dial 86-10-12355 to apply.
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BEIJING, June 25 -- A total of 23 events have been on display in Shanghai on Sunday as part of the celebrations to mark the 100-day countdown to the Shanghai Special Olympics 2007.

The celebrations were spearheaded by a jogging attended by at least 20,000 citizens, including some mentally handicapped people.

The mini-marathon was augmented by art shows, rummage sale, autograph-signing and some donating ceremonies.

"I came here to give my support to those mentally handicapped people, they are born equal," said Wang Junxia, China's former 5,000-meter Olympic champion, who headed the jogging. "And they can compete and live as everybody else does. I would like to call on the attention from all the corners of the society to those people."

According to Han Zheng, mayor of Shanghai and Chairman of the organizing committee of the Special Olympics, all the preparation has been well underway, with building a harmonious ambiance for the Games and the mentally handicapped people as the priority.

"We don't build new venues, we don't make profits from the Games, all we need to do is make it public and have more people involved to create a civilized and harmonious environment for the mentally handicapped people," Han said at Sunday's Special Olympics 100-day countdown ceremony.

The 12th Special Olympics World Summer Games will be held in Shanghai from Oct. 2 to 11. More than 10,000 athletes and coaches, 20,000 family members from over 160 countries and regions are expected to show up.
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BEIJING, June 24 (Xinhua) -- Former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch said on Sunday that he believes the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing would be the best ever in Olympic history.

"I would like to repeat I am sure that the Olympic Games in Beijing will be the best in Olympic history," said Samarach when addressing the opening ceremony of the World Olympic Collectors Fair in the Chinese capital.

Part of the fifth 2008 Olympic Cultural Festival, the fair is being held in China for the first time, featuring a large display of pins, stamps, coins and other memorabilia bearing the Olympic rings. Other items on display will include Olympic torches, trophies and warm-up suits. There will also be a collection of Olympic-related stamps donated by Samaranch to the Lausanne-based Olympic museum.

Over 320 exhibitors from 30 countries and regions will display their Olympic collections.

Olympic pin trading has become a tradition, arising from the first modern Olympics in Athens, Greece, where athletes, officials and judges exchanged cards with their names and titles affixed.

Beijing Olympic organizers launched a pin-designing contest in May, welcoming people from all over China to share ideas about the Beijing Games. The Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee (BOCOG) has issued over 500 types of Olympic pins with the figure expected to reach 4,000.
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LOS ANGELES, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Conference of Mayors on Monday passed a resolution supporting Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The resolution encourages all Americans to support Chicago's bid and embrace the ideals of the Olympic Movement.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors passed the resolution at their annual meeting, currently taking place in Los Angeles. The annual meeting is being hosted by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who took the lead in shepherding through the resolution.

"This resolution is a clear sign of the unwavering, bipartisan support for Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games and shows that leaders from around America respect the ideals and guidelines that have sustained the Olympic Movement over the years," said Chicago 2016 chairman and CEO Patrick G. Ryan. "It's another positive development in an incredibly exciting process."

"I want to thank Mayor Daley and the Conference for their continued support of our efforts. I'd also like to thank the Conference not just for recognizing the benefits the Games can bring to our community, region and country, but also the benefits that having the Games in America can have on the Olympic Movement."

"It's an exciting time to be a Chicagoan as we continue to embrace sport and celebrate excellence."
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BEIJING, June 26 (Xinhuanet) -- A report recommending that internet and video gaming addiction be considered a mental disorder was watered down after a heated debate broke out among delegates at the American Medical Association's annual convention in Chicago, media reported Tuesday.

Some of the delegaes said more study is needed before excessive use of video and online games -- a problem that affects about 10 percent of players -- could be considered a mental illness.

"There is nothing here to suggest that this is a complex physiological disease state akin to alcoholism or other substance abuse disorders, and it doesn't get to have the word addiction attached to it," said Dr. Stuart Gitlow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York.

While occasional use of video games is harmless and may even help with some disorders like autism, doctors said in extreme cases it can interfere with day-to-day necessities like working, showering or even eating, they added.

"Working with this problem is no different than working with alcoholic patients. The same denial, the same rationalization, the same inability to give it up," said Dr. Thomas Allen of the Osler Medical Center in Towson, Maryland.

Researchers in Britain found that 12 percent of gamers are "addicted" according to World Health Organization criteria, and researchers in the United States found that as many as 10 to 15 percent of gamers are affected by "overuse," the report said.

"However, as with findings on long-term aggression, there is currently insufficient research to conclude that video game overuse is an addiction," the report concluded.
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PHNOM PENH, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The Thai government has provided the Cambodian government with medicines and medical equipment for the prevention and control of bird flu, local newspapers reported Tuesday.

The aid, approved at a signing ceremony at the Cambodian Ministry of Health, is in the framework of a joint project to fight avian influenza signed by Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand, Chea Moneth, Deputy Director of the Communicable Disease Control Department in the Health Ministry, was quoted by the Koh Santepheap as saying.

The donation consists of 53 bird flu testing kits, four cases of masks, nine cases of N95 masks, 17 cases of Latex gloves, four cases of hand-washing gel, and seven bags of Surveillance and Rapid Response Team (SRRT) equipment, the newspaper said.

The Thai government has spent 2.5 million U.S. dollars on the aid from a fund it set up in 2005 to help the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) fight outbreaks of the virus, reported the Kampuchea Thmey newspaper.

The aid aims to strengthen the capacity of hospitals in the border provinces of Thailand, Cambodia and Laos, it added.
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BEIJING, Jun 26 (Xihuanet)-- Byetta, a diabetes drug formed of a hormone minicking a compound in the Gila monster's spit helped people with type 2 diabetes lose weight, according to a three-year study presented in U.S. Monday.

People with type 2 diabetes can neither produce enough insulin nor properly use it. The hormone called exendin-4 found in the lizard's saliva works to boost the production of insulin in order to regulate blood-sugar levels.

The study of 217 patients with type 2 diabetes found when the patients get an adequate good blood-sugar control over the three years period on the drug, they also get weight loss averaging 11 pounds.

"Overweight and weight gain is an almost universal problem for people with diabetes," lead researcher Dr. John Buse, chief of endocrinology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, said in a statement.

The study also found Byetta might improve the body's own insulin production.

The study was funded by two drug companies -- Amylin Pharmaceuticals (AMLN) and Eli Lilly (LLY)-- that collaborate on the development and commercialization of exenatide.

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NEW DELHI, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The number of people across the globe consuming drugs has remained constant since last year, a report released here Tuesday by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said.
The report was released by the United Nations (UN) worldwide to mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse And Illicit Trafficking.

The report said there are signs of stability in production, trafficking as well as consumption for almost all drugs including cocaine, heroin, cannabis and amphetamines.

There are 200 million people on drugs worldwide, which is 4.8 percent of the world population aged between 15 and 64 years.

A message by UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa, released here, said there is some ground for optimism that the run-away train of drug addiction is being slowed down.

Antonio said people worldwide must impress upon their governments, family, friends and co-workers the need to continue and push back against drugs.

With regards to Southeast Asia, the report said the region is closing a tragic chapter that has blighted the Golden Triangle for decades. The region is now almost opium free.

However, since the region is not free of poverty, farmers remain vulnerable to temptations of illicit incomes.

Farmers need assistance to move to alternate farming and need financial assistance.

The same goes for Afghanistan and Andean nations.

In 2007, the report said, the UNODC plans to open regional narcotic information-sharing centers in central Asia and the Gulf to check drug trafficking.
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BERLIN, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Three swans were found dead with bird flu in a second German state one day after authorities confirmed six cases of bird flu in the southern state of Bavaria, local reports said Tuesday
The health ministry in the eastern state of Saxony said three dead swans were found near Leipzig and a quick test confirmed that they were infected with the deadly H5N1 virus, said a report by German news agency DPA.

Authorities said the infections could still be isolated cases. Experts have yet to establish if the infection is connected to the bird flu outbreak in the neighboring Czech Republic, said the report.

The H5N1 bird flu virus has been found in geese and turkeys in a total of four farms in Hungary, Britain and the Czech Republic this year.

According to the World Health Organization, the H5N1 virus has killed nearly 200 people out of more than 300 cases globally since2003.

Health experts fear that H5N1 could develop the characteristics of seasonal flu and begin spreading easily among people, causing a global outbreak that could kill millions. ??
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BEIJING, Jun 27 (Xinhuanet) -- Doctors are more likely to be wasting patients' valuable time when they want to make their patients more at ease by chatting, according to a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine Wednesday.

In the study, researchers recruited 100 actors posing as new patients to pay 113 visits to 100 primacies care providers.

After analysis of the visit transcripts, researchers find that 34 percent doctors talked about their own health, personal life, or political views during the visit, 85 percent of which are not useful or relevant to the patient.

What is more only 21 percent of the time does the physician return to the patient topic preceding the disclosure.

"We found that physician self-disclosures were often non sequiturs, unattached to any discussion in the visit," said researcher Susan H. McDaniel, PhD, of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, and colleagues in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Researchers believe these disclosures detract in some way from the doctor-patient relationship. The doctor-centered disclosures actually benefit the doctor, not the patient.

"They should not use self-disclosure. If they want to complain about their rent or the stress of the work, they should complain to their colleagues, not their patients." McDaniel said.

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BEIJING, Jun 27 (Xinhuanet) -- Los Angeles County launched a campaign against sexually transmitted diseases by using drink coasters, murals, sidewalk chalk art and other unconventional approaches Tuesday.

The campaign is to combat rising rates of sexually transmitted diseases like syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhea, targeting at gay, bisexual men, African American women and Latinas.

The county will spend 1.3 million U.S. dollars in efforts to reach "people who are not going to be watching mainstream television or reading the newspapers," according to Dr. Jonathan Fielding, director of the county Department of Public Health.

In Los Angeles, over 30,000 women get chlamydia every year, and syphilis in homosexual and bisexual men increased 365 percent between 2001 and 2005.

Although the county Board of Supervisors ordered a campaign last year, "it hasn't made the kind of progress that we absolutely need to make," said Fielding.

Craig E. Thompson, executive director of AIDS Project Los Angeles, praised the new campaign as being "sexier" and more likely to capture people's attention than the previous effort.

"We go from campaign to campaign," Thompson said. "Maybe we get people's attention for a while, then we don't have anything out there."

Michael Weinstein, president of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, also praised the new campaign and hoped that the county can set up a system in which every sexually active person gets screened at least every six month. ??
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LOS ANGELES, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Hollywood socialite Paris Hilton probably could not wait for her release from a Los Angeles jail, but some of her neighbors said they dread her return, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.

Already annoyed by the wild parties the 26-year-old hotel heiress has thrown since she moved in, her neighbors in Hollywood Hills are bracing for her expected return Tuesday and the ensuing crush of media.

Residents of the affluent neighborhood fear a repeat of June 8,when paparazzi and other media representatives flooded in to follow Hilton's tearful ride to court and then to jail as helicopters buzzed overhead, according to the newspaper.

"Dear Neighbor, since the arrival of Paris Hilton to our neighborhood, we've seen our quality of life deteriorate," reads a flier being distributed around the neighborhood where Hilton leaves, on a twisty road of gated homes above the Sunset Strip. It called for a united stand by the neighborhood when Hilton gets out of jail.

Christopher Hauck, a resident who lives across the street from Hilton, said that just her parties were disruptive, with guests urinating in public and stumbling about drunk.

"I'm amazed that people have tolerated it as long as they have," he told the newspaper.

Paparazzi were camping out at the jail in a Los Angeles suburb overnight just in case the "Simple Life" reality television show star is released sooner than Tuesday, which is when authorities say Hilton will be let out.

Hilton was sentenced last month by a Los Angeles judge to 45 days in jail for driving on a suspended license in violation of her probation in a drunken driving case -- which was reduced to about 23 days for "good behavior."

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca was accused of giving Hilton the star treatment when he tried to reassign her to home confinement after just three days in jail, citing an undisclosed medical condition. A judge ordered her back to jail the next day.

Baca said that because of her celebrity status, Hilton actually received harsher punishment than most people convicted of the same offenses.

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BEIJING, Jun 26 (Xinhuanet) -- Washington D.C. Judge Judith Bartnoff Monday dismissed the case of a dry cleaning customer suing for 54 million U.S. dollars over a pair of misplaced pants and ordered the plaintiff to pay the defendants' court costs.

The plaintiff Roy L. Pearson, an administrative law judge, claimed that the dry cleaners' "satisfaction guaranteed" in the shop window poster misled customers and broke consumer protection law.

Pearson accused the Chungs, the dry cleaner, of losing a pair of suit pants he had brought in for 10.50 dollars and entitled him to thousands of dollars for each day over nearly four years since 2005.

"A reasonable consumer would not interpret 'Satisfaction Guaranteed' to mean that a merchant is required to satisfy a customer's unreasonable demands,?? said Bartnoff. ??

"The court finds that the plaintiff is not entitled to any relief whatsoever,?? Bartnoff added.

Lisa A. Rickard, U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform President, called the 54 million-dollar lawsuit "the epitome of a frivolous lawsuit." However, "the case highlights a bigger problem."

"Some will say this outcome proves the system worked, and justice was served. To the contrary, this case only proves that the system is truly broken and in bad need of repair," she said.

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BEIJING, June 26 (Xinhuanet) -- Hollywood Tom Sizemore was sentenced to 16 months in state prison by a judge who ruled the alleged discovery of methamphetamine in the actor's car had violated his probation in a previous drug case, media reported Tuesday.

Sizemore was arrested last month with another suspect. In court papers, Deputy District Attorney Sean Carney alleged that Sizemore violated his probation by being under the influence of methamphetamine, opiates and marijuana, and by possessing methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.

Sizemore faces up to six years in prison if convicted of all the charges. He has been in jail without bail since June 5, when he surrendered on a warrant alleging he had violated his probation.

Sizemore was convicted in 2003 of domestic violence involving his ex-girlfriend, former Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss. He remained free pending an appeal.

In October 2004, he pleaded guilty to a felony count of possession of a controlled substance identified as methamphetamine and was placed on probation. The probation was revoked in 2005 when Sizemore was caught using a prosthetic device during a drug test.

His probation was later reinstated, but he tested positive for drug use last year and was given another three years' probation, authorities said.

"Sizemore has been in every program, and here he is again. He abused the privilege of probation and needs to be in a lockdown setting," Superior Court Judge Cynthia Rayvis said.

(Agencies)
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LOS ANGELES, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Troubled Hollywood celebrity Paris Hilton was released from jail Tuesday after serving a three-week sentence in a case that roiled local political waters with charges of hypocrisy and favoritism.

The 26-year-old hotel heiress made a red carpet-type exit from a Los Angeles jail early in the morning, smiled brightly, waved demurely and fell into her mother's arms after 23 days in sheriff's custody for driving on a suspended license.

Her triumphant emergence concluded an episode that began as another story about a young celebrity in legal trouble but expanded to reflect both fissures within local justice system and community misgivings about unequal treatment.

While Hilton was driven off to freedom in a Cadillac Escalade luxury SUV, on her way -- not to her own Hollywood Hills home, but to her parents' compound in the exclusive Bel-Air area, paparazzi and television crews pursued the vehicle on the ground and from the air.

According to a spokesman of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Hilton thanked the guards, nurses and other staff before leaving the jail, where she was incarcerated in the medical ward.

It was reported that CNN's Larry King will get the first crack at interviewing Hilton about her jail life. She is slated to appear on the network's "Larry King Live" Wednesday evening.

Paris Hilton was sentenced to 45 days in jail last month for driving on a suspended license in violation of her probation in a misdemeanor alcohol-related reckless driving case, but her sentence was reduced to about 23 days for "good behavior."

County Sheriff Lee Baca was accused of giving Hilton the star treatment when he tried to reassign her to home confinement after just three days in jail, citing an undisclosed medical condition. Hilton was ordered back in jail the next day by the judge.

Paris Hilton to do 1st post-jail interview

Jailed socialite Paris Hilton will give her first post-prison interview on veteran CNN newsman Larry King's show on Wednesday, the cable network has confirmed. Full story

Paris Hilton to serve more time in jail

Paris Hilton will have to serve more time in jail than most inmates sent to L.A. County Jail for similar offenses, according to media reports Wednesday. Full story

Officials ask report on Paris Hilton's release

Officials here asked Tuesday for a report on why Hollywood celebrity and hotel heiress Paris Hilton was sent home from jail last week, amid persistent claims that local law enforcement gave the socialite preferential treatment. Full story

Paris Hilton determined to stop acting "dumb"

Paris Hilton has decided that she will no longer "act dumb."

The remark was made in a telephone call Sunday with Barbara Walters, in which Hilton described her brief spell behind bars last week -- after which she was released and then sent back to jail by an outraged judge. Full story

Paris Hilton leaves the Los Angeles County Correctional Facility in Lynwood, California June 26, 2007. Hotel heiress Hilton, who commanded as much attention behind bars as on the Hollywood party scene, regained her freedom on Tuesday after serving three weeks in jail for violating probation in a drunk-driving case.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Paris Hilton leaves the Los Angeles County Correctional Facility in Lynwood, California June 26, 2007. Hotel heiress Hilton, who commanded as much attention behind bars as on the Hollywood party scene, regained her freedom on Tuesday after serving three weeks in jail for violating probation in a drunk-driving case.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Paris Hilton leaves the Los Angeles County Correctional Facility in Lynwood, California June 26, 2007. Hotel heiress Hilton, who commanded as much attention behind bars as on the Hollywood party scene, regained her freedom on Tuesday after serving three weeks in jail for violating probation in a drunk-driving case.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Paris Hilton leaves the Los Angeles County Correctional Facility in Lynwood, California June 26, 2007. Hotel heiress Hilton, who commanded as much attention behind bars as on the Hollywood party scene, regained her freedom on Tuesday after serving three weeks in jail for violating probation in a drunk-driving case.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Paris Hilton talks to reporters as she arrives at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards in Los Angeles, California June 3, 2007.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Rick and Kathy Hilton leave the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles June 12, 2007. The couple were there to visit their daughter, Paris Hilton, who is serving a jail sentence for violating her probation on a driving under the influence of alcohol charge. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Photo Gallery>>>

Paris Hilton's house with yellow ribbons and two American flags adorning the front gate is shown in West Hollywood, California June 21, 2007. Hilton is currently serving her sentence for probation violation and is scheduled to be released from jail on June 25, 2007. Hilton's neighbors have raised concern with officials about their neighborhood being swarmed by news media upon her release. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

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BEIJING, Jun 27 (Xinhuanet) -- A producer sued his former employer CBS news Monday for 50 million dollars in New York, claiming he was discriminated against for being gay and was fired for publicly discussing his assault experience, according to media reports Wednesday.

Richard N. Jefferson, 52, had started as a producer for CBS in January 1989 until he was fired on Nov. 20, 2006.

He was beaten with a tire wrench in a gay-bashing incident while on vacation in St. Maarten, an island in the West Indies on April 6, 2006.

Jefferson later complained about the slow response of the St. Maarten police to the attack and demanded a full investigation.

Jefferson said that senior vice president Linda Mason had asked him "appropriate questions" and tried to control his public comments about the incident.

"She told me this was a gay rights issue and I said it had nothing to do with gay rights; I was the victim of a crime," Jefferson said.

Jefferson claimed CBS "improperly pried into his private life, dictated his after hours activities, restricted his First Amendment rights, created false complaints about his performance," and then "terminated him on the basis of his sexual orientation," seeking up to 50 million dollars in damages from CBS, CBS News and Linda Mason.

CBS spokeswoman Sandra Genelius said Jefferson's contract was not renewed "due to legitimate issues with his performance that had been previously discussed with him," and the lawsuit reveals "a stunningly selective recall of the facts."

CBS News supported Jefferson's "right to discuss the attack publicly and to seek justice, which he clearly did," Genelius added.
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BEIJING, June 27 -- Tim Henman overcame Carlos Moya 13-11 on his seventh match point in the final set yesterday, completing another emotional five-set victory and giving Britain's long-suffering fans hope for another title run at Wimbledon.

A double-fault by Moya on the third match point of the 24th game of the set gave Henman a 6-3, 1-6, 5-7, 6-2, 13-11 win that enthralled the Center Court faithful at the All England Club.

Henman, a four-time semifinalist playing in his 14th Wimbledon, had been tied 5-5 with Moya in the fifth set when the first-round match was stopped by darkness on Monday night. Henman missed four match points at 5-4.

"It would have been pretty sweet to finish it off last night," he said. "Perhaps this scenario is even better."

The two men returned to Center Court after Amelie Mauresmo had opened the defense of her women's title yesterday by beating Jamea Jackson of the United States 6-1, 6-3 in just over an hour.

That was slightly less time that it took Henman and Moya, the 1998 French Open champion and former No. 1-ranked player, to complete their match.

Both players pulled out some brilliant shots under pressure - including aces, running passing shots and stab volleys - to keep the match going.

Henman saved two break points while serving at 11-all - the first with an ace down the middle, and the second with a stunning second-serve ace, a high-kicking delivery into Moya's backhand corner.

In the next game, Henman got to 15-40 on Moya's serve by lifting a soft backhand lob that just drifted over the leaping Spaniard's racket. Henman squandered the first match point with a mishit backhand return, and Moya saved the second with a backhand volley winner. After an error at deuce, the match ended with Moya hitting a second serve long.

"You'd like to finish on a running forehand pass, but at that point you're open to any gifts," said Henman, who has a tradition of pulling out five-set victories at Wimbledon.

Henman has lost in the second round at Wimbledon the last two years. The last British man to win the title at Wimble-don was Fred Perry in 1936, but Henman has been closest to ending that streak.

"This place is so special to me and I've had so many experiences over the years I always believe that good things are going to happen," he said.

Mauresmo, who beat Justin Henin in last year's final, is seeded only No. 4 because she was sidelined following an appendectomy in March and had a groin problem that led to an early exit at the French Open.

"It's great to be back as the defending champion here," Mauresmo said. "I feel good. This year is a little bit different because I didn't feel that well at the French Open, so it definitely makes it better here this year for me."

Mauresmo was never really tested by the 158th-ranked Jackson, who underwent hip surgery in December, hasn't won a match on the tour this year and looked shaky in her first Center Court appearance.

Mauresmo, who set the tone by going to the net on the first point for a winning forehand volley, raced to a 5-0 lead before the 20-year-old Jackson held serve for her first game.

Jackson settled down and took more chances in the second set, but it wasn't enough.

In other early women's action on a chilly day in southwest London there was a harsh lesson for junior world champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

The 15-year-old Russian was handed a wildcard in recognition of her Australian and US Open junior titles but was no match for Slovakian 10th seed Daniela Hantuchova, losing 0-6, 1-6.

In men's play, No. 9 James Blake beat Igor Andreev 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to extend his record over the Russian to 5-0. Other winners included No. 13 Richard Gasquet, No. 15 Ivan Ljubicic and No. 26 Marat Safin.
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BANGKOK, June 27 (Xinhua) -- A number of top badminton players led by world NO. 2 Chen Jin and third-ranked Chen Hong will take part in the 2007 SCG Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold next month.

The Chinese stars head the 120,000 U.S. dollars tournament, which will be held at Bangkok's Nimibutr Gymnasium from July 3 to 8, local newspaper the Bangkok Post reported on Wednesday.

It has attracted 400 shuttlers from 40 countries and it is the biggest event ever held by the Badminton Association of Thailand, said the association's president Charoen Wattanasin.

"The tournament attracts many world-class players because it is one of the 2008 Olympic qualifying events," said Charoen.

Apart from Chen Jin, who was the 2007 Swiss Open champion and last year's Thailand Open runner-up, and world No. 3 Chen Hong, the Chinese squad also include Thailand Open defending champion Chen Yu, who is ranked fifth in the world.

Thailand's challenge will be led by world No. 8 Boonsak Ponsanawho is seeded fourth in the tournament. The Thai star will take on Malaysia's Pei Wee Chung in the first round of the men's singles.
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BEIJING, June 26 -- Not content with gold medals and millions of dollars in endorsements, Liu Xiang says he is ready to smash the 110m hurdles world record for a second time.

"I think I have the chance to break the world record again this year and I am sure I can run faster," Liu was quoted as saying on Sina.com. "Breaking the record requires a lot of factors and also luck, so I cannot tell how I will perform. But I think this year is probably the right time.

"I know a lot of people have very high expectations of me, but I won't set a target for myself before any tournament. I am not a high jumper, there is no clear standard for me. All I want to do is to win the race."

Liu broke the world record with a time of 12.88 seconds in Lausanne, Switzerland in July last year and prior to that he had equaled the record of 12.91 when he won the Olympic title in Athens in 2004.

The 2007 season has started promisingly, with the 24-year-old winning five out of six international tournaments.

A 12.92 victory in New York earlier this month, the fastest anyone has run this season, made him the only one on the planet to go sub-12.94 four times.

"The recent victories have made me more confident about winning at the worlds," said Liu. "Osaka has been a lucky city for me because I have never lost a competition there."

Liu's coach Sun Haiping is also confident that his man can do the business at the World Championships in Osaka in September.

"He is able to win there," Sun was quoted as saying on Sina.com. "Sometimes I joke that I wish the Beijing Olympics would take place this year, as I am sure Liu would win the gold medal.

"He is in incredible form and his desire to compete is really, really high. His times have always stayed around 13 seconds.

"Now with the world's best all coming together, it is a good chance for Liu to compete with them and better know their form ahead of the Beijing Games.

"The rankings show that Liu is very strong. We want to keep the top position as long as possible."

The Osaka tournament also gives Liu the opportunity to fill the one hole in his CV: the lack of a gold medal at the world championships.

"Gold is my sole target at the worlds in Osaka," said Liu after returning to Beijing after two weeks training and competing in the United States.

"I think the time is ripe for me now. I've had some great performances over the past two months and I've trained really hard and stayed away from injuries, so I am confident I will taste gold in Osaka this time."

He will face stiff competition in Osaka from American Dominique Arnold and Doucoure.

Legs Insurance

Following nightmare injuries suffered by gymnast Wang Yan and star spiker Tang Miao, Sun is planning to buy Liu an insurance policy - for his legs.

Wang and Tang both broke their necks last week and may remain paralyzed for life.

"Liu has life insurance from the national team but I hope there is a kind of insurance that is specifically for his legs," said Sun. "There isn't this kind of insurance in China, but given his legs bring not only world records and gold medals but also guarantee a big market behind him, I will talk with officials about it."

Liu is arguably the most popular athlete in China and his endorsement fees have rocketed over the past two years to make him the second richest Chinese athlete behind Houston Rockets center Yao Ming.

He recently signed a deal with Amway reportedly worth 10 million yuan (US$1.25 million). His earnings have increased 30 fold since 2004.

Liu has a total of seven sponsorships this year for products ranging from sports equipment to credit cards.

According to his coach Sun, the sponsorships are divided into different levels with a top contract costing over 10 million yuan (US$1.25 million) and the second level five million yuan (US$625,000).

But Liu says the deals are more about the fun than the money.

"I don't put pressure on it," he said. "Staying on the track the whole day makes me dull, I need to relax off it, for example by making some ads or public appearances. I think this is also a good way to communicate with my fans and give something back to society."

Local media estimate that the young Olympian could be earning more than 20 million yuan (US$2.5 million) per year.

Liu will leave for Paris later this month for the Golden League event that takes place on July 6.
from http://www.cdao.com.cn

BEIJING, June 26 -- Former Ferrari technical manager Nigel Stepney has accused the Formula One team of waging a dirty tricks campaign against him amid legal proceedings and allegations of sabotage.

"I have confidence I'll be cleared by the legal process that is now taking place," the 47-year-old Briton told the Sunday Times newspaper.

"It is just part of a dirty tricks campaign and everything is in the hands of my lawyer, so we'll wait and see what happens."

Ferrari said on Thursday that they had started court action against Stepney, who remains an employee, but declined to give details. A spokesman said they had also started internal disciplinary procedures against the Briton.

Stepney said in February that he was open to offers after expressing unhappiness at management changes following the departure of technical director and compatriot Ross Brawn.

He was moved to a new role, in charge of team performance development and away from the racetrack, before the start of the season in March. The Briton has also been linked to a possible switch to struggling rivals Honda.

Stepney had previously played an important role in leading the pit crew at races after joining Ferrari in 1992 as chief mechanic. His time at the team coincided with Michael Schumacher's golden period there.

Italian and British newspapers have mentioned a mysterious white powder that was allegedly found in the petrol tanks of the Ferrari race cars six days before this year's Monaco Grand Prix.

The Sunday Times said Italian police had also searched Stepney's house near the Maranello factory and left with a small container.

A Ferrari spokesman refused to comment on the speculation on Sunday, other than observing that "clearly there are a few papers that are very well informed".

Stepney, holidaying in the Philippines with his partner and child, dismissed suggestions that he had fled the country.

"Why would anyone say I am not contactable," he told the Sunday Times. "I booked the flights through the Ferrari travel office. They know where I am."
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BEIJING, June 26 -- Juan Pablo Montoya demonstrated his road racing prowess again by stretching his final fuel load to the limit and grabbing his first NASCAR Nextel Cup win at Infineon Raceway on Sunday.

Montoya, who qualified a disappointing 32nd in the 43-car field for the Toyota/Save Mart 350, was the first driver to win on the Northern California road circuit starting further back than 13th.

The Colombian driver, who jumped from Formula One to the American stock car circuit late last season, got his first Cup win in his 17th start and gave team owner Chip Ganassi his first win in NASCAR's top series since Jamie McMurray won in October 2002.

"It's huge" Montoya said. "I would say right now it's the biggest thing I've done. In open-wheel, that's what I was meant to be winning in. In stock cars, I wasn't.

"To get our first win in our first year is huge. We know we're a little bit behind on some of the ovals, but I think this is a big boost for everybody working in the shop."

Series points leader Jeff Gordon overcame a 41st-place start to finish just behind Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart in seventh with a strategic effort in the first road race for NASCAR's new Car of Tomorrow.

Gordon, who became a father for the first time Wednesday when his daughter, Ella Sofia, was born, and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson, the reigning Cup champion, were both banned from practice and qualifying on Friday and had to start from the rear of the field after NASCAR inspectors found their cars had illegally modified front fenders.

Both drivers and their crew chiefs face more penalties from NASCAR in the next few days, but they ran hard to overcome their handicapped start Sunday. Johnson's fuel strategy didn't work as well as Gordon's and, after getting into the top 10 for a while, he finished 17th.

Montoya, whose only other NASCAR victory came earlier this year in a Busch Series race on the road course in Mexico City, passed McMurray, who now drives for Roush Fenway Racing, eight laps from the end and stayed out front of the 110-lap event on the 1.9-mile (3-kilometer), 12-turn course.

"I was very surprised by the level of the drivers here on the road course," Montoya said. "In Mexico, we had a really good car and the top five cars were really strong. But, behind that, it was really easy."

The winner got past McMurray for a moment two laps earlier, driving his Dodge past McMurray's Ford in the slow hairpin near the end of the circuit, but Montoya got too wide and McMurray was able to squeeze back by.

The pass that counted came in turn two, with Montoya getting under McMurray's car and passing easily.

"I saw he was always hugging that corner and I thought, 'This is it.' I knew I could pass him there," Montoya said.

Donnie Wingo, his crew chief, said it was mostly Montoya's ability to conserve fuel that won the race. Wingo figured Montoya would run out about a lap short of the end.

"Today, we had to play a little bit of catchup, so we had to take a gamble there at the end," Wingo said. "He did a great job on saving fuel, everybody did a good job on the stops and the motor shop did a great job. Without the fuel mileage we'd have never made it."
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CARACAS, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The presidents of Venezuela and Bolivia, Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales, will attend the opening game of the 2007 Copa America, where Bolivia plays Venezuela.
The latest edition of the world's oldest soccer competition for national teams will begin at 8:45p.m. local time at the Pueblo Nuevo Sports Stadium in San Cristobal, Tachira, one of the nine sites for the 42nd Copa, some 816 km west of Caracas.

Morales's presence was confirmed on Friday in a statement from the Palacio Quemado, the Bolivian president's office. Morales will travel with a committee of 40 to the match.

Chavez's attendance was confirmed when his presidential security staff began arriving in the Tachira city on Monday night.

Jaime Escalente, chief of Tachira state's Number One Command, said that 6,500 officers would provide security in San Cristobal.
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KUALA LUMPUR, June 27 (Xinhua) -- India's Feroz Ali won the Proton Terengganu Masters title in Kuala Terengganu, capital of Malaysia's northern state of Terengganu on Tuesday, local media reported on Wednesday.

A late challenge by Malaysia's golfer Mohd Rashid Ismail failed to stop Feroz, the New Straits Times said.

The turning point for the 37-year-old Feroz, who finished the day with three-under 69, was at the 11th hole when Mohd Rashid missed a 2-foot par putt.

Feroz, a former Indian Open champion, kept a 3-shot lead up until the 15th when Mohd Rashid managed to close in and trail by one with two straight birdies.

"I was consistent enough throughout the day although it was hard to stay focus Rashid and Shaifubari hot on my heels," said Feroz after the prize presentation ceremony.

Mohd Rashid, meanwhile, said he only had himself to blame for missing some good opportunities but was satisfied with his overall performance in the 3-day tournament.

Another Malaysia's athlete, Shaifubari Muda also made a late charge with 5 birdies to share second place with Mohd Rashid with a similar total scores of 207, taking home 19,500 ringgit (5,735 U.S.dollars) each while the champion received a trophy and 35,000 ringgit (10,294 U.S. dollars).
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BEIJING, June 27 -- Wet track, headwind - nothing appears to slow new American sprint sensation Tyson Gay.
The 24-year-old put on history's most impressive 100-200 meters show at the weekend in booking his trip to August's world championships in Osaka, Japan.

No sprinter has run 9.84 seconds for 100 meters and 19.62 seconds for the 200 in the same championships.

Only one man has run a faster 200 meters - world record holder Michael Johnson, who clocked 19.32 seconds for gold at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

"He will become the best 100-200 combination ever," sprint coach John Smith, the mentor of former 100 meters world record holder Maurice Greene and numerous Olympians, told Reuters after watching Gay at the US championships.

Statistically, Gay has already achieved that honor. His runs of 9.84 seconds in the 100 and 19.68 in the 200 last year pushed him past Namibian Frank Fredericks as the combined fastest in the two events.

The US championships only amplified Gay's hold on the honor.

The 100 meters run came into a headwind of 0.5 meters per second on Friday. Only Greene, in his 9.82-second dash to the 2001 world title, has run faster into a headwind.

On Sunday, Gay rushed through a slight headwind to his 19.62-second clocking in the 200 on a wet track.

"It was probably as perfect as it's going to be in these conditions," Gay said.

Family motivation

"After the prelims (on Saturday), I did not want to run, Gay said. "But my family is here and they motivated me, and I wanted to come out and do my best for them."

Gay's coach, Lance Brauman, was not present.

He is in prison on embezzlement, theft and mail fraud charges related to using student assistance funds at a Kansas community college to pay athletes, including Gay, for work they did not do. Gay was not charged.

Prior to leaving for prison in November, Brauman gave each of his athletes, including Gay and world 200 silver medalist Wallace Spearmon, notebooks with their workout schedules.

The coach and his athletes also talk by phone, Gay said. They cannot call him, however. Brauman must initiate calls.

He was scheduled to watch Gay's races on television.

Record challenge

Gay also has turned to retired sprinter Jon Drummond, an exceptional starter who won Olympic relay gold, for assistance.

"From where he was, it was a 180 (degrees improvement)," Drummond said.

"Tyson never lacked speed or turnover. He just had a lot of technical flaws," Drummond said of the former collegiate champion whose best global showing is fourth in the 200 at the 2005 world championships.

Now, Drummond said, "I would not be surprised if he ran 9.6 (in the 100), not at all. If anyone is going to do it, he has the potential."

Before the national championships, Gay proved he could challenge Jamaican Asafa Powell's 100 meters world record of 9.77 seconds.

He blitzed to a time of 9.79 seconds with an assisting wind in May, then clocked 9.76 in early June but was denied a world record because of an aiding wind.

"I believe I can run 9.73 (seconds) or faster," Gay said.

When Gay will first meet Powell this season is unclear.

Gay's first scheduled race in Europe is a 200 meters at Lausanne on July 10. He is also considering a 100 or 200 at Sheffield on July 15.

European promoters no doubt will be seeking other races after the past weekend.

"He's not big, but is strong for his size," said Smith of the 1.83 meter, 73 kg Gay.

"Tyson's maturity also is impressive", said collegiate coach Pat Henry, who will guide the US men at the worlds.

"He has done a great job of running fast and staying healthy and knowing when he has got to be at his best," Henry told Reuters.

"He is probably prepared to meet any challenge that is thrown at him," he added.

"He has the potential to run very, very fast."
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BEIJING, June 26 (Xinhua) -- "The overseas craze for learning Chinese has spread from university to primary and secondary education," said a senior official with the Office of Chinese Language Council International here Tuesday.
At the opening ceremony of the "Chinese Bridge for American and Korean Schools," an exchange program on Chinese language teaching, 1,000 primary and middle school principals from the United States and the Republic of Korea expressed their interest in adding Chinese lessons to their school curricula.

Incomplete statistics show that more than 800 U.S. universities and 300-plus universities in the ROK have already offered Chinese courses. And the number continues to rise.

Latest statistics from the U.S.-based Society of Modern Language Research show that the number of primary and middle school students learning Chinese in the United States increased from 33,000 in 2002 to 50,000 in 2006.

"The huge demand for Chinese courses overseas poses challenges and opportunities," said Xu Lin, director of the Office. "These exchange programs spur school-to-school cooperation."

According to Xu, the American and ROK principals will visit 18 Chinese provinces and cities, talk with Chinese counterparts, and sign cooperation agreements with them. Once links are established, the Chinese schools will dispatch teachers to counterpart schools and help compile teaching materials.

With most of the principals visiting China for the first time, the Chinese organizers include cultural exhibitions, lectures and Chinese lessons in the program.

Chinese Minister of Education Zhou Ji said language is a key to cultural exchange. Young people should learn both their own language and other languages.

"We have to help people learn foreign languages," Zhou stressed. "Cooperation on language teaching will benefit young people from all three countries and promote bilateral and multi-lateral ties."

Prior to this, the Office of Chinese Language Council International had sponsored the visit of 400 U.S. headmasters and 110 British headmasters; most of them signed agreements with Chinese counterparts.

The Office said that 30 million people are learning Chinese the world over, but predicted the figure will hit 100 million by 2010.
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HAVANA, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of youth organizations from Cuba and China reaffirmed their close ties when they met here Monday.
Yang Yue, secretary of China's Youth League central committee, was heading a delegation on a visit to Cuba.

Yang met with Julio Martinez, first secretary of Cuba's Young Communist League (UJC) national committee.

Yang expressed admiration for the young Cubans braving the economic blockade imposed by the United States on Cuba for nearly 50 years.

Martinez briefed Yang on Cuban youth's political preparation and offered to show him the UJC's social programs.

Yang, who arrived in Cuba on Saturday, is scheduled to visit the Cuban Communist Party headquarters, the Foreign Ministry and the island country's legislature, the National People's Power Assembly. He will also speak to the Information Sciences University and to young Chinese students there.
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ROME, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Italy Monday handed back to Pakistan a precious haul of stolen antiquities.

Italy's art police spotted the 100 or so figurines, bowls and terracotta works, some dating back to 5,000 BC, at a northern Italian antiques fair in 2005.

The vendor was trying to pass them off as earthenware from Thailand.

The police, helped by experts on Oriental art, succeeded in establishing the true provenance of the artifacts and their huge value, the local media reported.

Italy will send a team to Pakistan to help restore the artifacts.

Handing over the articles to Pakistani Ambassador Mirza Qamar Beg, Italian Culture Minister Francesco Rutelli said: "Italy returns works to countries with legal title to them and wants to get its own works back from museums which have them" -- a reference to a long-running dispute with the John Paul Getty Museum in California.

Rutelli said Italy had started talking to museums worldwide to secure the restitution of plundered artifacts.

"Some of them have understood and are giving back what was stolen, while others have not understood."
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CHRISTCHURCH, Brunei, June 26 (Xinhua) -- United Nations will help the reconstruction of the Al-Askari Holy shrine, in Samarra (Iraq), badly damaged by two attacks in February 2006 and June 2007.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Government of Iraq signed a memorandum of understanding on June 24.

UNESCO Director-General Matsuura said here Tuesday the commitment of the Iraqi authorities and the international community to work together on the reconstruction of this highly symbolic site"is a reason for hope."

"Respecting cultural heritage is one of the fundamental principles of the reconstruction process for a country such as Iraq, and a decisive step towards national reconciliation," said Matsuura.

The reconstruction will start as soon as security conditions are guaranteed and will continue over a period of ten months.

The first phase of the project includes preventive works, an assessment of needs and the preparation of the final restoration project.

The total budget amounts to 8.4 million U.S. dollars.

The United Nations Development Group Iraq Trust Fund (UNDG ITF)will provide 5.4 million U.S. dollars and the Government of Iraq 3million U.S. dollars.

The Al Askari shrine is one of the holy sites of Shi'ite Islam.It is home to the tombs of Ali Al Hadi, the tenth imam, who died in 868, and his son Hassan al-Askari, the eleventh imam, who died in 874.

The explosion on Feb. 22, 2006 caused the collapse of the shrine 's Golden Dome and of the Ali al-Hadi shrine.

The explosions of June 13, 2007 destroyed two 36-meter-high minarets of the Al-Askari shrine.
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CHRISTCHURCH, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The World Heritage Committee inscribed Tuesday the Galapagos (Ecuador), and Niokolo-Koba National Park (Senegal) on UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger.

The World Heritage Committee, meeting for its 31st session in Christchurch, made this decision as it is reviewing the state of conservation of sites inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List, which totals 830 sites.

The Committee said the move is to mobilize support for their conservation.

Prior to the Christchurch session 31 sites were put on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

Situated in the Pacific Ocean some 1,000 km from the South American continent, the 19 islands of the Galapagos and their surrounding marine reserve have been called a unique living museum and showcase of evolution.

They are threatened by invasive species, growing tourism and immigration. The number of days spent by passengers of cruise ships has increased by 150 percent over the past 15 years, for example.

This increase has fueled a growth in immigration and the ensuing inter-island traffic has led to the introduction of more invasive species.

Inscribed in 1978, the Galapagos is the first site to have been placed on the World Heritage List. Its boundaries were extended in 2001.

Inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1981, Niokolo-Koba National Park is located along the banks of the Gambia River. The forests and savannahs of the park are home to a rich fauna, which includes Derby elands (the largest of the antelopes), chimpanzees, lions, leopards and a large population of elephants, as well as numerous birds, reptiles and amphibians.

The site is endangered by poaching and by plans to construct a dam on the Gambia River just a few kilometers upstream from the property.

The dam threatens to stop the flooding of the grassland of the site, which is essential to sustain wildlife.
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MACAO, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The Macao 2008 International Jewelry Exhibition will be launched here from June 14 to 17 next year, local media reported Tuesday.

The Macao Post Daily quoted Cheung Chi Won, chairman of the Hong Kong Jewelry Manufacturers Association, as saying that the exhibition is hopefully to attract 500 world jewelry manufacturers, mostly from Southeast and East Asia.

Many business people regard Macao as a platform to enter the China market, which brings the jewelry exhibition to Macao, Cheungwas cited by the newspaper.

The hosting Hong Kong organization has a long history in holding jewelry exhibitions in Hong Kong and Las Vegas, according to the newspaper.
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BEIJING, June 26 -- People admire Shanghai's development when they see the staggering Pudong skyline, but last week a group of British designers were getting very excited about a normally unremarkable patch of Pudong.

The land will be the future site of the UK Pavilion, located on the Pudong side of the World Expo site, beside the Lupu Bridge.

The six visiting teams of British architects and designers are involved in a competition to design the UK Pavilion for the 2010 World Expo, both the pavilion and the exhibition itself.

The UK has chosen to build a 6,000-square-meter pavilion. The constructing budget for the pavilion, said to be no less than 10 million pounds (US$19.94 million), will be shared by the government and the final winner of the competition, according to Barry Nicholson, consul for Trade and Investment.

After selecting these teams from 40 design groups, the contest organizer, Malcolm Reading & Associates, arranged a trip to Shanghai for the teams to help inspire their final proposals.

"We thought it was quite worthwhile to spend the time doing this because we are looking for an important team for an important building," said Malcolm Reading.

"We want the architects to know how grand the site is and how much work there will be with this project, as well as letting them understand the culture of Shanghai," he said.

James Gibson, managing director of DCM Studios, told Shanghai Daily that they hadn't realized the tremendous scale of this Expo.

"We have so much to do here," said Gibson. The British architect is very interested in building the pavilion for the World Expo. The competing teams even include the creators of the London Eye - the largest Ferris wheel in the world - and the first woman to win the Pritzker Prize, considered the top award in architecture.

"The UK has been very active in preparing for this Expo," said Chen Jiang, an official with the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination.

"What attracts us here is that the UK Pavilion in Shanghai is a very high-profile project and it will represent the British people and government," said Gibson.

Mark Bingham from Draw Architects and Ross Hunter of Graven Images, working jointly in the same team with Gibson, noted that Shanghai isn't just a growing exciting, economic powerhouse, it's also sophisticated city where it would be possible to do exciting design work.

Compared to traditional Beijing, the culture in Shanghai is more open-minded, said Bingham, not conservative at all. It is a place for innovation and challenge, he added.

Gibson revealed that their pavilion will be designed with young Chinese people, between 15 and 25 years old, in mind. "The real messages must be delivered to them, so that's a big issue, they are the target audience," he said.

Reading said one of the key themes will be sustainability.

"It will say lot about British culture in the 21st century and it will point to what issues people are likely to face in the future, such as climate change," said Reading.

The British consulate will do some research into what Shanghai people are expecting from the Expo, and then they will decide their approach.

After the competing teams have submitted their preliminary ideas, the models of their plans will be showcased at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London between July 26 and September 6.

The winning design will be announced in October. Construction is expected to kick off in 2009.

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BEIJING, June 26 (Xinhua) -- All three major Chinese stock indices climbed slightly after slipping for two trading days in a row, with scientific and technological sectors as the major driving force in the late session.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index concluded Tuesday's trading at 3,973.37 points, up 32.29 points, or 0.82 percent, with a daily transaction volume of 126.76 billion yuan (16.7 billion U.S. dollars).

The key stock index, which covers both yuan-denominated A shares and foreign-currency-denominated B shares, moved between 3,818.85 and 3,976.19 points.

The Component Index on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange crept up 110.16 points, or 0.84 percent, to close at 13,219.41 points with a turnover of 61.41 billion yuan (8.1 billion dollars).

Analysts said speculation over a possible new interest rate hike and resignation of Chen Tonghai, chairman of Sinopec, a heavyweight on the Shanghai bourse, contributed to selling, which dampened the market mood in the morning session.

It is rumored that Chen was involved in the alleged corruption case involving former Shanghai leader Chen Liangyu, but analysts said the resignation would not affect the performance of the largest oil refiner in China.

Sinopec was driven down by the rumor in the morning session, but managed to bounce back slightly at the end of the day to close at 98.98 yuan, up 0.27 percent.

The analysts attributed end of the bearish run in the late session to the fact that no "bad" news had come yet from the monetary authorities.

Most other heavyweights climbed gradually with China Life, the country's largest life insurer, a major exception, and falling 2.52 percent to 43.14 yuan.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rose 0.6 percent to 4.99 yuan, while the Bank of China was up 0.4 percent to 5.03 yuan.

Despite the lackluster in the morning session, defense industry shares performed well all the way following the recent promulgation of new guidelines to transform military industrial enterprises into joint-stock companies. According to the guidelines, the shareholding reform might allow limited foreign investment in China's weapons makers.

The Shanghai exchange recorded 611 gains and 357 losses and Shenzhen bourse, 452 gains and 209 losses.

On Tuesday, the Hushen 300 Index, which tracks 300 companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, closed at 3,928.21 points, up 50.62 points, or 1.31 percent, from the previous close.
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BEIJING, June 26 (Xinhua) -- China is intensifying monitoring of short-term capital inflows in a bid to curb speculative money rushing in from abroad, according to a statement on the website of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.
It will also detect and penalize fraudulent export activities, which often disguise speculative capital inflows, according to the statement.

Speculative money often flows into China for investment in Chinese equity markets and in real estate projects, threatening the nation's macro economic control, the statement said.

Forex inspectors are required to investigate products and service trades, external debts and real estate and tourism sectors.

Meanwhile, inspections of banking services have been stepped up, as commercial banks are major institutions dealing with forex settlement in China.

The statement said the investigation could help efforts to identify the main channels and forms through which speculative capital flows in and to detect loopholes in government policies, which need to be amended.

Last year, the administration penalized 19 Chinese commercial banks and 10 foreign-funded banks which violated forex control rules, according to the statement
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HONG KONG, June 26 (Xinhua) -- A decline on Wall Street and trading activity ahead of a futures settlement this week dragged Hong Kong shares slightly down Tuesday by 18.78 points, or 0.09 percent.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index opened at 21,800.77 and closed at 21,803.57, fluctuating between 21,755.29 and 21,950.02 during the day's trading, with a total market turnover of 74.21 billion HK dollars.

Two of the four major stock categories lost ground. The finance fell 105.36 points, or 0.31 percent to close at 33,461.35. The Commerce and Industry went down 25.68 points, or 0.21 percent to close at 12,317.70. The other two major stock categories gained. The Utilities rose 226.59 points, or 0.66 percent to close at 34, 743.65. The Properties moved up 256.37 points, or 1.02 percent to close at 25,503.92.

Blue chips in Hong Kong were mixed. HSBC, the heavyweight of the market, went down 0.07 percent to close at 144.10 HK dollars, on concerns about the deteriorating quality of the subprime mortgages.

Mobile Giant China Mobile rose 0.65 percent to 84.80 HK dollars on news of a possible A-share listing.

The three insurers witnessed profit taking finally after days of strength. China Life was down 0.55 percent to 28.30 HK dollars.Ping An went down 4.03 percent to 54.80 HK dollars. PICC P&C fell 8.26 percent to 6.22 HK dollars.

Analysts said local stocks will likely move in a narrow range between 21,800 and 22,000 before Thursday's futures expiration, but they said flush liquidity would continue to support share prices in the long term.

'In the long term, the index is still in an upward trend due to ample liquidity, but in the short term, coming IPOs will likely pull liquidity out of the stock market in July,' said Y.K Chan, strategist at Phillip Capital Management (HK).

'There is a strong resistance level at 22,000. The index needs additional good news like a further expansion of China's Qualified Domestic Institutional Investment program to pass through the resistance level,' said UOB-Kay Hian Ltd. director Steven Leung.

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HONG KONG, June 26 (Xinhua) -- China Development Bank (CD announced Tuesday that it will issue five billion yuan (about 657 million U.S. dollars) RMB bond in Hong Kong, which is the first Chinese currency bond to be launched outside the Chinese mainland.

  The two-year bond, which will be synchronously sold to institutions and individual investors from June 27 to July 6, yields three percent annually. The return is relatively high compared to the 0.7 percent interest rate for six-month deposit here, with the anticipation of RMB appreciation.

The minimum subscription for an individual investor is 20,000 yuan, and at least one billion yuan of the bond is targeting at retail investors.

The joint lead managers and book runners for the bond issue are Bank of China (Hong Kong) and the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited. The distributors comprise of 14 placing banks with branches in Hong Kong, including Bank of Communications, China Construction Bank (Asia), Dah Sing Bank, and The Bank of East Asia.

The bond did not apply for independent ratings. CDB Governor Chen Yuan explained that despite the bank's on-going market-oriented reform, CDB will adhere to its mission of helping to achieve the government's goals, and "our debt rating will also remain intact."

CDB is China's largest policy bank and solely owned by the Ministry of Finance. It has been raising capital by issuing bonds since 1998, and has been given sovereign ratings by Moody's, Standard and Poor's and Fitch Ratings.

Analysts say both Hong Kong and the mainland could benefit from floating RMB outside the mainland.

"The issuance of RMB bonds here will strengthen Hong Kong's status as an international financial center," Ma Delun, assistant governor of the People's Bank of China, said at the launch ceremony of the bond.

The issuance of renminbi bonds in Hong Kong signifies the city's role as the country's premier international finance center, giving local investors more choice, said Henry Tang, financial secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, when addressing the ceremony.

"The arrangement is a fresh step in Hong Kong-Mainland co-operation," he said.

Noting the renminbi is the fourth currency to go on the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) System, Tang said this will facilitate the trading or the liquidity of the renminbi bond.

"Although the total amount of renminbi in Hong Kong is not very large, about 25 billion HK dollars, I think that with further co-operation and integration between Hong Kong and the Mainland in terms of financial and monetary instruments, the pool can only grow," he said.

Tang said there is no plan to list renminbi bonds on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange because many of the brokers are not on the RTGS system.

He said if more companies can go on the RTGS system on the approval of Mainland authorities for renminbi transactions, then there will be better liquidity so it can be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Joseph Yam, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, said he believed that RMB businesses in the bond market may pave the way for similar businesses in Hong Kong's soaring stock market.

"In Hong Kong, a free capital market, the price of RMB bonds will fully mirror international investors' expectations of RMB's revaluation, which is of reference value for the foreign-exchange reform of the Chinese currency," said Yang Tao, a researcher with the Institute of Finance and Banking of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Besides, the floating of RMB bonds outside the mainland will give China more say in pricing RMB derivatives, he said.
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BEIJING, June 27 -- The mobile phone after-sales service sector has become an emerging lucrative market in China and is set to boom in the coming years, a research firm said on Tuesday.

Beijing-based CCID Consulting said the handset after-sales service sector generated 3.19 billion yuan in revenue last year, up 16.8 percent year-on-year, an indication that it's becoming a profit center for manufacturers.

That marks a major departure from the traditional perception that after-sales service, as part of manufacturers' customer service offerings, is an internal non-profit segment, according to Jiang Lifeng, an analyst with CCID Consulting.

The researcher forecast handset after-sales services revenue would see compound annual growth of 19.8 percent between 2007-09 and hit 5.48 billion yuan by 2009.

The tough competition in China's handset market has boosted consumer demands for after-sales services.

Unlike most markets elsewhere in the world, China's handset sector is overcrowded, with about 80 manufacturers bombarding consumers with new models each month.

According to the Ministry of Information Industry (MII), 900 new models were launched in the domestic market in the first five months of this year.

A shortened product development cycle has resulted in a rise of consumer complaints against quality. A survey by CCID Consulting found 69 percent of consumers have had their phones fixed.

Currently there are more than 70,000 handset maintenance and service outlets in China, but most are small, local and uncompetitive.

CCID Consulting said the increasing profitability of after-sales services would lead to an industry consolidation or the creation of some large national independent service providers.

Besides maintenance, value-added services such as software downloads, upgrades, refurbishing and content services are also fueling a boom in the after-sales service market.

In 2006, 18.2 percent, or 600 million yuan, of the handset after-sales service revenue was generated from value-added services, compared with 2.5 percent two years ago, according to CCID.

Some manufacturers might seek to outsource a part of their after-sales services to third-party companies, the consultancy said.

"We would not outsource our after-sales services, but we are ready to serve users of other brands, apart from our own customers," said Shi Yuanzheng, head of domestic maker Haier's customer services.

from http://www.cdao.com.cn

BEIJING, June 27 -- It's occurred from Airbus to Lenovo, General Motors to Citigroup, and Dell to Motorola. A string of multinational companies (MNCs) have entered into merger and acquisition deals or carried out internal restructuring, resulting in layoffs.

Jobs are usually slashed in developed markets, such as the US and Europe. But in emerging markets, including China, jobs are usually maintained and even added. In some cases, senior management positions are moved to developing nations.

Citigroup Inc in April said it would eliminate 17,000 jobs, or 5 percent of its workforce, as part of a broad restructuring plan designed to cut costs and bolster its stock price.

It also declared that more than 9,500 jobs will be moved to lower-cost locations worldwide, including China and India.

Behemoth aircraft maker Airbus announced in January it would cut 10,000 jobs across Europe, as well as transfer three plants and share research and development cost with partners over the next four years.

The move is to help the company's pre-tax profit reach 210 billion euros by 2010, compared with a negative pre-tax profit last year. It also hopes to accumulate 5 billion euros in cash between 2007 and 2010.

While the job reduction plan did not cover China, some senior managers have been sent to the world's fastest-growing market.

Lenovo Group, the world's third-biggest PC maker, said in April it would lay off 1,400 people, mostly in the US and Europe.

The effects of the restructuring will be felt hardest in Raleigh, North Carolina, where roughly 20 per cent of jobs will be cut or relocated to emerging markets like China, India and Eastern Europe. Through the restructuring, the company expects to save about $100 millon in the current fiscal year.

"The main driver of (the layoff) trend is cost savings, considering how much lower the cost of labor is in developing marketplaces," said Leigh Baker, senior advisor of human resources consulting services firm New Leaders International.

However, Andy Xie, former Morgan Stanley chief economist in Asia, said that labor costs have continued to climb, particularly in China's eastern coastal provinces, due to renminbi appreciation and a shortage of skilled workers.

A survey from the London-based Economists Intelligence Unit showed that China's average labor cost increased $1.36 per hour in 2005, up 72 percent by 2001, and is to double to $2.70 per hour by 2010.

Baker said that in addition to the cost of workers, MNCs' decision to keep or expand their workforce in China is due to the large market.

"Normally, they want a lower manufacturing cost base for their global business," Baker said. "Secondly, they want to supply the local market and can only be competitive against local companies over time if they have a similar cost base."

Bill Amelio, Lenovo's chief executive, said the reason behind relocating jobs to emerging markets was to be "closer to Lenovo's suppliers and manufacturing operations".

PepsiCo, the world's No 2 soft drink company, has announced a plan to double its workforce in China over the next half decade as it fights for a bigger slice of the growing market.

Meanwhile, because of the shortage of experienced local senior managers, MNCs transferred senior foreign managers to join the local management team.

"Those senior managers are assigned to implement corporate production, supply, financial and other business systems, all of which require in-depth knowledge of the systems themselves and long work experience in MNCs," said Baker, a veteran MNC consultant.

Baker forecast that MNCs will ultimately phase out their senior foreign managers and replace them with Chinese managers they have been training to take over.

He said Chinese managers will be more effective in managing Chinese staff and operating in the local market, which can save costs and improve corporate profit growth.

(Source: China Daily)

from http://www.cdao.com.cn

BEIJING, June 27 -- As ordinary people pay more attention to needs such as health, convenience and comfort, their consumption habits are also changing.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the average income of China's urban residents continued to grow rapidly last year. The 2006 survey about Chinese residents' quality of life by Horizon Research Consultancy Group also shows that urban residents are optimistic about income and living standards in the coming year.

Improving living standards enables city dwellers to go beyond basic material satisfaction, and pay more attention to demands such as health, convenience and comfort. But the trend also leads to changes in their consumption habits, which poses a new challenge for Chinese companies.

Health & convenience

Currently, 86 percent of urban residents recognize health as top priority, according to the Horizon Research's Health Index report of China's urban residents. As more people become white-collar workers, spending on sports, pressure-relief and healthcare services and products will increase. We have already seen people paying more to stay healthy. Presently, urban residents spend an average 62.42 yuan for tonics each month and 148.4 yuan at gyms.

Meanwhile, urban residents' entertainment interests are growing increasingly varied. According to the 2006 Life Style Survey of Chinese Urban Residents, city dwellers are spending more and more time in front of TV and computer screens. A click of a mouse or remote control helps people get the information and entertainment they want.

Meanwhile, visiting pubs, online chatting and attending parties are becoming popular among young city residents.

As their purchasing power rises, people are also presented with more choices. And urban residents are attaching more importance to individual expression. The phenomenon reinforces the idea that people are more concerned with emotional demands. Our study finds that 74.5 percent urban residents hope their clothes, accessories and so on are different from others and reflect their personal tastes.

The tastes of urban residents are changing at a rapid pace. Take clothes for example: during the past six months, urban residents bought 4.6 pieces of clothing on average. People born after 1980 bought 6.4 pieces of clothes.

Meanwhile some products that were used to be considered durable goods are now becoming fast moving consumer goods. More than 16 percent of urban consumers change mobile phones every year, and 26.1 percent of them change handsets every two years.

The trend makes it difficult for new products stay in fashion. No matter how popular they are when they launch, they will be quickly replaced by new items.

Traditional Chinese consumers focus mainly on the functionality of products, but now urban residents put more emphasis on personal demands, such as taste and style. We have found urban residents have spent an average of 10,000 yuan on fashion in the past year, about one-fifth of their total expenditure.

Fashion is now becoming an important part of the economy. More than 40 percent of city dwellers think fashion is an important part of their life and are willing to spend more to become fashionable.

There is a phenomenon worth mentioning regarding fashion spending. People at different income levels are willing to pay for something beyond their income level. For example, low-income urban residents have developed a taste for luxury products and some of them are willing to buy luxury goods by reducing their expenditure on daily consumption.

Also, those with comparatively lower incomes, such as fresh graduates and young students, allocate more than one-third of their expenditures on fashion consumption, far more than senior white-collar workers and the new rich. We found that more than 20 percent of the people we surveyed have saved for a while to buy luxury goods.

The trends we mentioned above are now the most dramatic changes in the economic life of Chinese people. But they only represent the nation's affluent city residents. Actually, despite growing consumption, there is still a huge low-income population with very limited purchasing power.

from http://www.cdao.com.cn

UNITED NATIONS, June 26 (Xinhua) -- A UN border assessment team proposed on Tuesday measures to improve Lebanon's border security, including the creation of a Lebanese multi-agency mobile force and the deployment of international border security experts.

In a report to the UN Security Council, the team, which was dispatched to Lebanon in late May to monitor alleged arms smuggling into Lebanon, said "the present state of border security was insufficient to prevent smuggling, in particular of arms, to any significant extent."

"There is still substantial room for improvements on the Lebanese border security management, some of which can only be reached through assistance and support from the international community," it said.

Therefore, the report recommended the establishment of a "multi-agency mobile force focusing on arms smuggling with the purpose of creating seizure results within a short time span through its intelligence and rapid interception capabilities."

It also proposed the deployment of "international border security experts" to the multi-agency force and other relevant Lebanese units to help improve the country's border security.

Other recommendations included the establishment of "a dedicated border guard agency" and training programs, as well as establishing cooperation with Syria to ensure "a joint effort to secure border and prevent illegal cross-border activities."

Known as the Lebanon Independent Border Assessment Team, it was dispatched to Lebanon from May 27 to June 15, during which it held consultations with Lebanese officials to assess border security with a focus on preventive measures against arms smuggling.

In a presidential statement issued in April, the Security Council expressed concern at reports of illegal movements of arms into Lebanon, and called on UN chief Ban Ki-moon to send such a team.
from http://www.cdao.com.cn

VIENNA, June 26 (Xinhua) -- A UN report said on Tuesday that the world drug markets have undergone "significant and positive" changes, and drug-related crimes have been under effective control.

Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the Vienna-based UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said in a statement that "the run-away train of drug addiction has slowed down. For almost all drugs, cocaine, heroin, cannabis and amphetamines, there are signs of overall stability, whether we speak of production, trafficking or consumption."

The 2007 World Drug Report said coordinated drug law enforcement by the international community had driven up the volumes of drug seizures.

"More than 45 percent of the cocaine produced in the world is now being intercepted, up from 24 percent in 1999, and more than a quarter of all heroin, against 15 percent in 1999, is seized," said the report.

However, "Africa is under attack" as cocaine traffickers from Colombia and heroin smugglers in Afghanistan were seeking new routes through Africa, the official said.

He called for a quick address of this threat in a bid to stamp out organized crime, money-laundering and corruption and to prevent the spread of drug across Africa.

Meanwhile, due to deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, opium production in 2006 reached 6,100 tons, 49 percent higher than the previous year, according to the report.

from http://www.cdao.com.cn

TAIYUAN, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The government of north China's Shanxi Province on Tuesday dispatched 11 teams comprising police, labor and other officials to supervise the crackdown on labor abuse.

The teams will go to each county in the next 15 days to check that local authorities have investigated every brick kiln and enterprise suspected of labor abuse and how they dealt with the kilns and enterprises.

Shanxi governor Yu Youjun also ordered the teams to investigate local authorities to see if and how officials involved in the forced labor are punished.

The province launched a crackdown on labor abuse and illegal brick kilns on June 14 after a forced labor scandal made headlines all over China in early June, sparking outrage among the public and arousing concern among the central leadership.

The laborers were forced to work more than 15 hours a day on poor food. Dogs were used to prevent them from escaping. Many received burns and other injuries working in hot kilns.

Officials announced on Friday that 359 people, including 12 children, have been rescued from illegal brick kilns in Shanxi.

Yu Youjun has apologized over the forced labor scandal, promising to do everything in his power to root out illegal practices.

from http://www.cdao.com.cn

TIANJIN, June 26 (Xinhua) -- China will make efforts to establish a biological security system in 20 years to fight against bio-terrorism and prevent serious epidemic diseases, according to a report released here by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) on Tuesday.

The report, issued at the International Biological Economy Meeting held in Tianjin, said by the end of 2007, China will develop vaccines and medicines for genes used in bio-terrorism and the physical protective technology and equipment, and establish a monitoring network over bio-terrorism.

A research center to exam and prevent serious epidemic diseases will also be established, according to the report.

The country will also further develop the security evaluation technology of genetically modified plants, the report said.

The meeting, held by the MOST, Tianjin Municipal Government and the United Nations Development Program, attracted 262 biological experts, including Nobel Prize winners, from home and abroad.

State Councilor Chen Zhili attended the meeting and delivered a speech, stressing the development of biotechnology.

from http://www.cdao.com.cn

BEIJING, June 26 (Xinhua) -- China's quality watchdog cracked 23,000 cases of fake and low-quality food from December 2006 to May 2007, involving 200 million yuan (26 million U.S. dollars).

A total of 180 food manufacturers were shut down during the six months for making substandard food or using unedible materials for food production, said Han Yi, a senior official with the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, at a press conference on Tuesday.

The administration launched the nationwide fight against illegal food production and processing in December last year, mainly targeting food makers in the countryside and food for everyday consumption, including baby milk powder, rice, wheat powder and meat products.

In 2006, China's industrial and commercial authorities ferreted out 68,000 fake food cases and withdrew 15,500 tons of substandard food from the market, according to the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. Forty-eight cases were handed over to judicial departments.

from http://www.cdao.com.cn

BEIJING, June 27 -- The country's leaders demonstrated their commitment to energy conservation on Monday by attending a conference in Beijing dressed only in their shirt-sleeves.

Broadcast on national prime time news, the meeting, chaired by President Hu Jintao, featured a host of high-profile figures, almost all of whom were wearing light-colored shirts.

"The scene was a sharp contrast to previous meetings, which invariably featured a sea of formal black suits," Huang Wenqing from Beijing, said.

The move followed a call made earlier this month by members of the State Council for office workers to dress casually in a bid to save electricity.

The call followed a cabinet order that the temperature of China's public buildings must not rise above 26 C in summer.

The order to cut energy use applies to schools, office buildings, supermarkets, restaurants, shopping malls, government agencies and private owners of public buildings.

Fan Xuecheng, a cabinet official in charge of supervising energy conservation in government bureaux, said air conditioners account for about 30 to 50 percent of the total power consumption of office buildings in summer.

"So there remains the huge task of controlling energy use in the summer," Fan said.

At least 300 million kWh of electricity and 150 million yuan ($19.7 million) would be saved if air conditioners in Beijing's public buildings were set to 26 C, the People's Daily Online said.
from http://www.cdao.com.cn

BEIJING, June 27 -- The Ministry of Civil Affairs engaged a level-4 emergency response mechanism yesterday afternoon to deal with the damage inflicted by the heavy rains that have doused East China's Jiangxi Province.

So far 32 people have died as a result of the rains in Jiangxi.

Rainstorms killed 48 people and 12 more were missing yesterday in Jiangxi, Hubei, Zhejiang, Hunan, Guizhou provinces and Shanghai Municipality, the ministry said.

Lightening strikes were the leading cause of death, killing 37 people. Seven died in flashfloods, and collapsing houses killed four.

Level-4 is the minimum threshold for an emergency response by the ministry. It is triggered when between 30 and 50 people die in a disaster. The response typically involves the release of funds and the dispatch of a ministry work team to help coordinate disaster-relief work.

The disaster has so far affected 3.6 million people, and 73,000 people have been evacuated.

It has also resulted in economic losses of 1.06 billion yuan ($138 million).

Clashing cold and warm fronts are to blame for the violent showers that fell on the eastern part of Southwest China and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River between June 22 and 25.

Water shortage in Jilin

Meanwhile, in Northeast China's Jilin Province, the severest drought in the region's history has resulted in a water shortage that is threatening 288,700 people and 181,300 livestock.

Recent rainfalls have amounted to only 10 percent of what they were last year.

As the hot and dry weather is expected to continue, the drought is not likely to ease up and could actually get worse, weather authorities said.

Some 1.3 million hectares of farmland have been affected by the drought, while 36,000 hectares are almost entirely dried out, according to Jilin provincial disaster-relief authorities.

Nineteen small and medium-sized reservoirs have dried up, and 12 cities have been hit by water shortages.

The soil is cracking because of the drought, and many farmers have begun to worry about the autumn harvest.

from http://www.cdao.com.cn

BEIJING, June 27 -- China's bioeconomy will witness more dynamic development, with its output reaching new heights in the coming years, the country's science and technology chief said yesterday.
"The total output value of the bioindustry will reach 500 to 800 billion yuan by 2010. The industry value will be about 1,600 billion yuan by 2015. By 2020, the value of the segment will hit 2 to 3 trillion yuan, accounting for more than 4 percent of the country's domestic gross product," Wan Gang, minister of science and technology, said in Tianjin yesterday at the opening ceremony of the 2007 International Conference on Bioeconomy.

China will adopt a three-step strategy to strengthen its science and technology muscle, according to Wan.

The first step, from now until 2010, will mostly involve technology accumulation. In the second stage, until 2015, China will emerge as a world power in the area and in the third, until 2020, the country will focus on holding on to the top position.

The minister said China has set 10 priorities, such as agriculture-oriented biotechnology, medical biotechnology, biofuel technology, environmental biotech and marine biotech, in driving its bioindustry.

The country is also attaching more importance to making breakthroughs in 35 categories of key biotechnologies, such as stem cell and genetic modification technology, Wan said.

The science and technology chief contended that to further drive the bioindustry forward, one of the keys lies in improving the financing mechanism and creating a better investment environment.

Echoing Wan, State Councillor Chen Zhili said more favorable fiscal, taxation, financing and intellectual property right protection policies are needed to cultivate a better industrial environment for bioeconomy.

Biotechnology can help lower the cost of agricultural production, facilitate medical revolution, upgrade industrial manufacturing, reduce emission and ease the problem of energy shortage, said Xu Guanhua, former minister of science and technology.

from http://www.cdao.com.cn

KATHMANDU, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Thirty-five children have died of an unknown disease in Kalikot district over the last two months, according to the Kalikot District Public Health Office (DPHO).

Local leading media group's website THT Online reported on Monday that in Khin of Kalikot district, some 380 km northwest of capital Kathmandu, the children got cough in the beginning followed by fever, chest pain and finally died after profuse discharge of blood, Katak Mahat, a health worker at the DPHO said.

A mobile health team was sent to the region to bring under control the disease, which has gripped over 1,000 children there, he added.

Katak, who returned from the affected area to the district headquarters in connection with controlling the epidemic, said although the epidemic was not brought under full control, the situation was not so serious.

Some health personnel have stayed behind and medicines left there to control the epidemic, he added.

Local newspaper The Kathmandu reported the same case last week as 30 kids in Khin of Kalikot district died of a diarrhea epidemic between May 16 and June 21. Most of the dead belong to dalit communities, belonging to lower caste. The outbreak has also spread into the neighboring villages.
from http://www.cdao.com.cn

KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's Health Ministry declared the country free of bird flu, the New Straits Times reported on Monday.
There had been no new bird flu cases in the last few days, said Datuk Lee Kah Choon, parliamentary secretary of the Health Ministry.

"Nobody in the country had been infected with the H5N1 virus inthe past two weeks," he said in the northwestern state of Penang on Sunday.

Earlier on June 6, the H5N1 strain of bird flu virus had been detected near Paya Jaras Hilir village in Selangor State, west of Kuala Lumpur.

This was the first bird flu case in Malaysia since bird flu occurred in February and March of last year.
from http://www.cdao.com.cn

ABU DHABI, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Dubai Ambulance Services Center will soon introduce new services to streamline the rescue of heart patients in collaboration with Dubai police, UAE's local newspaper Khaleej Times reported on Monday.

Experiments are being conducted on the new services for heart patients on the basis of an initiative to establish an electronic link between the Operation Room of Dubai Police and heart patients in critical condition, said the report.

Under one program, heart patients will be provided with small size alarm devices linked with the police operation room, which will help them call the ambulance by pressing a button.

Officials in the police operation room will be able to determine the location of the patient using the geographic information system and send the ambulance to the patient.

A second system includes programming of the patient's mobile phone, linking it to the police operation room. On pressing the button of their mobile phones or calling 999, a message will go to a family member of the patient, emergency center and ambulance car which will be rushed to the patient's house.

Dubai Ambulance Services Center is also working in collaboration with Dubai police to set up a database, which will include heart patients with crucial cases so that rescue teams could reach the locations of the patients and has full information about the patient's health condition.

Dubai, one of the seven emirates in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is a financial and shopping center in the Middle East region
from http://www.cdao.com.cn

KATHMANDU, June 25 (Xinhua) -- More than 60 persons have fallen ill after they consumed the anti-elephantiasis medicines distributed by the Dhading District Health Office (DHO) in central Nepal, local leading media group's website eKantipur reported Monday.

In Dhading district, some 70 km west of capital Kathmandu, the DHO had distributed medicines to 380,000 people of the district free of cost in the last two days.

Altogether 65 persons fell ill very soon after they consumed the medicines, the health workers said, adding that the patients are undergoing treatment in a primary health post at the village.

Medical personnel informed that the common symptoms seen among individuals after consuming anti-elephantiasis pills are nausea, headache, and vomiting and unconsciousness.

According to World Health Organization website, Elephantiasis is also called Lymphatic Filariasis, which puts at risk more than a billion people in more than 80 countries. Over 120 million have already been affected by it, over 40 million of them are seriously incapacitated and disfigured by the disease. One-third of the people infected with the disease live in India, one third are in Africa and most of the remainder are in South Asia, the Pacific and the Americas.
from http://www.cdao.com.cn

BEIJING, June 22 (Xinhuanet) -- A new Noregian study, published in the June 22 issue of the journal Science, analyzed the IQs of nearly 250,000 Norwegian 18- and 19-year-old draftees and found that older siblings had higher scores than younger siblings.
Another study by the same authors, but published recently in the journal Intelligence, looked at more than 100,000 Norwegian brothers and found first-borns on average had an IQ 2.3 points higher than their younger brothers (the IQs were all taken when the brothers were 18 or 19, so they compare the older brother's score at that age to the younger brother's score when he reached that same age).

"These are probably the two most important studies on birth order and intelligence in the last 75 years," said psychologist Frank Sulloway of the University of California, Berkeley, who wrote an analysis of the latest study for Science.

Unlike earlier studies that compared the intelligence of first-born children to those born later (and that also found that first-borns have higher IQs), the Science study looked at the social order of the children in a family, which does not always correspond to actual birth order in cases where there is a death in the family.

By comparing children who lost an older sibling, for instance, and so were treated as the eldest child, to those who were actually the first-born of their family, the authors showed the former group had similar IQs to the latter group.

"The second-borns who lost an older sibling are becoming like a first-born" in terms of IQ, Sulloway said. Sulloway says the new research rules out criticisms of earlier studies that argue that the findings were an artifact of other factors in the data, such as family size and parental IQ.

Paradoxically, younger siblings start out in life with higher IQs: Because younger children haven??t yet mastered the skills their older siblings have (for example, language or math skills), they actually degrade the learning environment of their elder brother or sister.
But eventually, around the age of 12, this trend reverses and the older siblings overtake their younger siblings.

from http://www.cdao.com.cn

BEIJING, June 22 (Xinhuanet) -- An international research team is expected to leave July 1 from the Arctic archipelago of Svalboard aboard an icebreaker on a 40-day journey see if the Gakkel Ridge -- a hydrothermal vent system near the North Pole --could harbor never-seen-before life forms that have remained isolated for tens of millions of years.

"This is an exciting opportunity to explore and study a portion of Earth's surface that has been largely inaccessible to science," said expedition chief scientist Robert Reves-Sohn, a geophysicist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Massachusetts.

The Gakkel Ridge is part of the mid-ocean ridge system, which transects the globe like seams on a baseball. Ocean ridges are like underwater mountains and occur between Earth's tectonic plates that slip apart as fiery hot fluid full of minerals spews through the gap. For the organisms that can tolerate the heat, zero sunlight and bizarre diet, it's an oasis.

"The region has been mostly separated from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans for millions of years, so whatever lives there has since been evolving in relative isolation ?? much the way animals in Australia did," said expedition scientist Tim Shank, a hydrothermal vent biologist at WHOI. "We are likely to find completely new suites of species with never-before seen adaptations."

The Gakkel Ridge spreads one-third of an inch annually, 20 times slower than other ridges. The slow pace results in a unique vent system, the scientists say, because material deep in Earth's mantle (below the crust) gets exposed on the seafloor.

That means the vent fluid will have a different chemical make-up from other hydrothermal vents, which, when combined with eons of isolation, means the region could support life forms similar to those of primordial Earth or other watery planets.

A trio of robotic underwater vehicles, named Puma, Jaguar and Camper, will be the noses, eyes and hands of the researchers, diving 1.8 to 3 miles beneath the ice cap where the ridge lies. The autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) were developed specifically for the Arctic.

First, the Puma will pinpoint any hydrothermal vents by sniffing out the chemical and temperature signals. Second, the Jaguar will image that portion of the seafloor. Finally, the Camper will scoop up rocks, sediments, and any living creatures.

from http://www.cdao.com.cn

BEIJING, June 25 (Xinhuanet) -- The Hubble Space Telescope has imaged Ceres and Vesta, two of the largest known asteroids, revealing craters and other features that will soon be the targets of close-up observations by NASA's Dawn spacecraft.

Ceres, also considered a dwarf planet under the new planet definition, is round and 590 miles (950 kilometers) wide. About the size of Texas, Ceres contains some 30 to 40 percent of all the mass in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Vesta, the other target, is irregularly shaped and about 330 miles (530 kilometers) wide -- about the size of Arizona.

On July 7, NASA plans to launch Dawn on a four-year journey to the asteroid belt. The robotic probe will go into orbit around Vesta in 2011 and Ceres in 2015. The new images will help astronomers fine tune mission plans.

The picture of Vesta enabled astronomers to map the asteroid's southern hemisphere. A crater there, caused by an ancient collision, is 285 miles (456 kilometers) across. Researchers have known the collision created many smaller asteroids that they call vestoids.

Color differences in the image reflect differences in surface chemicals, some of it possibly due to volcanic activity, that Dawn will explore for clues to the asteroid's interior structure. The effects might be similar to dark "seas" and bright highlands on Earth's moon, astronomers said in a prepared statement.

The picture of Ceres reveals bright and dark regions that could be topographic features such as craters, researchers said. Or they could just show areas of different surface material.

Ceres' round shape suggests its interior is layered, like Earth's is, astronomers said. It might have a rocky core, an icy mantle and a thin dusty crust. There also could be water inside.

from http://www.cdao.com.cn

BEIJING, June 25 (Xinhuanet) -- The space systems arm of European aerospace company EADS announced plans at the Paris air show to build a four-passenger rocket-equipped jet to hurl space tourists 60 miles above Earth for three minutes of weightlessness and a view of Earth's curvature.

Astrium's mock-up of the proposed spacecraft's front section showed specially designed seats that swivel to minimize discomfort for passengers travelling at three times the speed of sound. Astrium is seeking partners and hopes to be able to launch the project work next year, with the first space flights starting in 2012.

"We think there is a market for this, people are willing to pay," said Astrium's designer for the project, Jerome Bertrand.

The passengers, who will pay as much as 268,000 U.S. dollars, can unbuckle to float around and gaze through any of the Astrium jet's 15 windows before the pilot guides the craft back to Earth.

Virgin Galactic, part of billionaire businessman Richard Branson's Virgin Group, will begin taking space tourists into suborbital space for 200,000 dollars per ticket next year if that project remains on schedule.

Astrium's executive jet-sized craft is designed to take off from a normal runway, powered by two turbofan jet engines.

Once it reaches an altitude of 8 miles, it ignites a rocket derived from EADS Astrium's Ariane series burning liquid oxygen and methane to push the craft to 100 km above Earth.

from http://www.cdao.com.cn

BEIJING, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Symantec Corporation, the world's largest security software provider, announced on Monday a compensation package for Chinese users for a faulty update to its Norton anti-virus software, which paralyzed many computers across China last month.
Individuals users who were affected will have the period of validity for the anti-virus software extended by 12 months, plus free data backup and restoration software, according to a statement from Symantec.

Affected enterprise users will get permits to use Ghost Solution Suite, the statement said.

The move came after angry Chinese users demanded compensation and even began legal proceedings against the company.

The updating of the Chinese version of the Norton software, which started on May 18, wrongly identified two critical files of the Microsoft XP operating system as malicious codes and deleted them, causing computers to collapse.

However, Symantec said Monday about 50,000 users were badly affected, "which is different from media reports".

It had been reported that millions of computers in China have been affected by the faulty update, while some users said they suffered great losses from computer collapses.

A Chinese lawyer named Liu Shihui is seeking 1,644 yuan (213 U.S. dollars) in compensation for losses caused when his computer was paralyzed due to the update.

Liu claimed he had to hire technicians to restore his computer system and save data on May 20 after Norton service agencies refused to help him.

A Beijing client also filed a lawsuit seeking compensation of 50,000 yuan for data lost from his laptop.

An on-line survey by www.sina.com.cn, a leading Chinese portal website, showed Monday that about 74 percent of respondents said they would think twice when buying the Norton anti-virus software.
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BEIJING, June 25 (Xinhuanet) -- U.S. researchers have found a primitive, shrew-like mammal fossil in Mongolia that reaffirms cousins of modern mammals arrived on the scene just as dinosaurs disappeared about 65 million years ago.

Analysis of the fossil refutes recent molecular studies that hold modern mammals may have lived long before the dinosaurs died out at the end of the Cretaceous period, which began 145 million years ago and ended with the impact of an asteroid 65 million years ago.

"The fossil itself is the least interesting part of the story scientifically," said John Wible of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, whose research appears in the journal Nature.

He said the discovery of a new shrew-like mammal in 1997 ?? Maelestes gobiensis ?? led to an exhaustive analysis of the fossil record that dates the emergence of modern mammals at the end of the Cretaceous period 65 million years ago.

Placental mammals ?? like dogs, cats, mice, whales, elephants, horses and humans ?? give birth to live young after a long gestational period. Of the 5,416 species of living mammals, 5,080 are placentals.

"We wanted to test whether there were any Cretaceous placentals," Wible said in a telephone interview.

"If the molecular dates are correct, we should be finding things that look like modern placentals in this time period and we are not."

They found that none of these Cretaceous forms of early mammals are related to any living placental mammals. "They are just extinct dead ends," he said.

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by Huang Yanan
DHAKA, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Dhaka Zoo which is situated in the west of Bangladesh's capital has enforced family planning on lions to control the number of the animal.

Dhaka Zoo Curator Fazlul Haque said Monday when being interviewed by Xinhua that they started to enforce family planning on lions last year because they are facing accomodation problem due to rapidly increasing population of lions.

"We have 19 lions, including 12 males and 7 females. But our capacity is only 8," Haque said, adding "we are keeping fertile males and females in separate cages to control birth of new babies."

Dhaka Zoo imported a pair of lions from India in 1988. Since then, the number has increased from 2 to more than a dozen.

The zoo has given 6 lions to different local zoos in the country over the last few years, but the number is still big.

Haque said they have sought help from other countries, like Kuwait and Nepal, but there is no active response yet.

"We are trying to export some lions, but no country has given the interest," he said.

Haque said Indian lions are not as attractive as African lions, that is perhaps the reason why other countries are not seeking for the Indian lions.

He said even though the number of the lions is beyond their capacity, they could not release the lions to forest because the forest in Bangladesh is not suitable for the lions to live.

Each lion in the zoo eats 12 kg of meat per day which cost 1764 taka (about 25 U.S. dollars) and they eat six days a week.

"It is a big burden for us," Haque said.

Dhaka Zoo, run by the government, is under Fishery and Livestock Ministry.

Established in 1974, Dhaka Zoo has about 189 species of animals. It attracts around 10,000 visitors every day.
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BEIJING, June 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Scientists are closer to proving a theory is fact after locating a 10-mile-thick layer of magma beneath the Earth's crust that may be part of a fluid band of molten rock circling the globe.

Researchers Daniel Toffelmier and James Tyburczy of Arizona State University found the layer using a technique that measures changes in weak electrical currents flowing through the Earth's mantle rock.

The current is created when the solar wind, a continuous flow of charged atomic particles emitted by the sun, interact with Earth's magnetic field, called the magnetosphere.

The chemical make-up of the rocks affects their conductivity. By measuring changes in the current at different depths, the scientists were able to detect distinct rock layers, including the "invisible" magma layer.

"Rocks are semiconductors," Tyburczy said. "And rocks with more hydrogen embedded in their structure conduct better, as do rocks that are partially molten."

The discovery, detailed in the June 21 issue of the journal Nature, partially confirms a recent hypothesis by two Yale University geoscientists who say a band of molten magma circles the Earth about t 250 miles beneath the planet's crust, near a hypothetical "transition zone" separating the planet's two mantle layers.

The theory is that as the rock rises from the lower mantle to the upper mantle, it expels all the water in its crystal structure and melts. The researchers detected the molten layer beneath Tucson, Arizona. They aren't sure how far the sheet extends, but say there is little chance any of the molten rock will erupt at the surface.

The discovery only partially confirms the Yale scientists??idea, since it reveals a molten magma layer only beneath one spot on the Earth. But "finding that sheet of melt-rock tells us we're on the right track," Tyburczy said.

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BEIJING, June 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Following hundreds of small earthquakes Sunday suggested underground magma was shifting, scientists on Tuesday found lava oozing from a new breakout point on Mount Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes.

The small outbreak oozed about 150 feet from a 600-foot-long fissure in a forest about eight miles southeast of Kilauea's summit, the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said on its website.

When a field crew arrived, lava was moving sluggishly and the fissure was emitting heavy smoke and steam. By the time the crew left four hours later, the lava had stopped flowing and the smoke and steam had decreased significantly.

Part of the park on the Big Island remained closed to protect public safety while researchers examined the latest lava breakout.

Kilauea has been erupting continuously since Jan. 3, 1983, sending lava from the Pu'u 'O'o cone through a system of tubes to the ocean where it forms new land over time.

In Hawaiian tradition, Kilauea is home to Pele, the volcano goddess. Lava is said to be her physical representation.

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BEIJING, June 24 -- Chinese mainland actress Vicky Zhao won the Media Award for the most popular actress during the ongoing 10th Shanghai International Film Festival, scheduled from June 16 to 24.

Vicky Zhao won the award for her breakthrough performance as a taxi driver in "The Longest Night in Shanghai." The nationally projected film was hailed for its potential at the box office.

The 31-year-old actress missed the awards ceremony on Friday as she is shooting a new film "The War of the Red Cliff", directed by John Woo. She expressed her thanks for the honor over the phone.

The most popular actor award went to 47-year-old Taiwan actor Winston Chao, for his portrayal of Sun Yat-sen in a revolutionary's love story.

The Media Award held by CCTV-6, the China Central Television's movie channel, focuses on the development of Chinese films.

Cast members attended the premiere of "The Longest Night in Shanghai" in Beijing on June 20, 2007.(Sohu Photo)

Chinese actress Vicky Zhao attended the premiere of "The Longest Night in Shanghai" in Beijing on June 20, 2007.(Sohu Photo)

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BEIJING, June 24 -- "Bliss" from China, directed by Shen Zhiming, is chosen as the best film for its sincerity and artistic integrity. Golam Rabbany Biplob of "On the Wings of Dreams" from Bangladesh is awarded for his clear thoughts and the spirited story-telling. "The Case" is selected as "the College Students' Favorite Asian Film".

As one of the most important parts of Shanghai International Film Festvial (SIFF)'s Jin Jue Forum, the Asian New Talent Award aims to find and support young film makers from Asia, which will help them to contribute for the film art and the industry.

The Asian New Talent Award is the only award with prizes. Under the principle of Innovative, Energetic and multi-cultural, the prize will do help in realizing new talents' new plan and their films' distribution. Zendai Group, who invests in culture industry, sponsors this year's Asian New Talent Award with 150,000 RMB for the producer of the BEST FILM and the best director winner respectively. In addition, the Zhoushan Government provides each winner 300,000 RMB worth of film studio use.

With 101 films from 21 countries and regions signing up for the competition, the Asian New Talent Award shows its Asian impact in its 4th year. Finally, 10 selected films, which reflect the latest change of Asian young film makers, are nominated. Especially with the rising of some once film weakness, it has been a growing focus on what their living and working condition are and how they present their countries and nations and paint for the colorful world film industry.

Winner of the Asian New Talent Award

BEST FEATURE FILM: BLISS

Best Film of Asian New Talent Award of the 10th Shanghai International Film Festival goes to "BLISS" from China. The film is chosen for its sincerity and artistic integrity.

BEST DIRECTOR: Golam Rabbany Biplob ("On the Wings of Dreams" from Bangladesh)

Best Director of Asian New Talent Award of the 10th Shanghai International Film Festival goes to Mr. Golam Rabbany Biplob of "On the Wings of Dreams" from Bangladesh. He is awarded for his clear thoughts and the spirited story-telling.
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LOS ANGELES, June 24 (Xinhua) -- Universal's modern-day Noah comedy "Evan Almighty" swept the box office at North American theaters this weekend by selling about 32.1 million dollars worth of tickets, according to preliminary box office figures released Sunday.

But with the production budget rumored at the ever biggest 175 million dollars for a comedy, the Steve Carrell film fell short of industry expectations, some analysts said.

Meanwhile, the sleeper hit of the weekend may be the horror film "1408," which debuted in second with an estimated 20.18 million dollars. The MGM movie is based on the Stephen King short story about a man who specializes in debunking paranormal occurrences -- only to discover terror in a creepy New York hotel room.

Speaking of the weekend-opening gross of "Evan Almighty," Paul Dergarabedian, president of the Los Angeles-base box office tracking firm Media By Numbers, said the expectations were definitely higher than what it came in.

However, he said the movie might do well over time as audiences-- especially Christian audiences -- continue to discover it.

The superhero sequel "Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer" fell from first last week to a close third with an estimated 20.15 million dollars over the three-day period.

"Ocean's Thirteen," the third installment in the George Clooney and Co. crime caper, grossed about 11.3 million dollar in fourth in its third week in release, while romance-comedy "Knocked up" came in fifth with an estimated 10.6 million dollars in its fourth week.

Final box office figures for U.S. and Canadian theaters over the weekend will be released Monday.
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BEIJING, June 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Jailed socialite Paris Hilton will give her first post-prison interview on veteran CNN newsman Larry King's show on Wednesday, the cable network has confirmed.

King would interview Hilton in a one-hour special on Wednesday, just 24 hours after the 26-year-old star is released from prison in Los Angeles, a spokeswoman said Saturday.

The show, "Larry King Live," does not pay for interviews.

In a statement released through her publicist, Hilton said she was pleased to be telling her side of the story on King's show.

"I am thrilled that Larry King has asked me to appear on his program to discuss my experience in jail, what I have learned, how I have grown and anything else he wants to talk about," she said.

Hilton, 26, is expected to be released from jail on Tuesday after serving roughly half of her 45-day sentence for violating probation in a drunken-driving case.

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BEIJING, June 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Paris Hilton is to be released from jail Tuesday and the big question she and her fans confront is has she changed, is it a change for the good, and will she stay changed?

Hilton, the ultimate let's party and pose for photos girl, says she prayed a lot in jail and found religion, she wants to build a halfway house for women recently released from jail, and she hopes the paparazzi will go away and leave her alone to do good deeds in peace.

"I would like to make a difference," the 26-year-old hotel heiress told Barbara Walters. "God has given me this new chance."

Dorian Traube, a professor of social work at University of Southern California says making a difference is easier said than done.

"If this indeed has changed her, then the transition will be very difficult because she'll have to find a new purpose in life" beyond being queen of the party scene, Traube said. "Her life will have to change drastically, which is going to be tricky because she's going to be in the public eye more than ever."

Constant attention, along with society's "sick fascination with failure," will make Hilton's transition more challenging, Traube said.

"She has almost set herself up to fail because there's been so much talk about how she's a changed person, how she found religion and she prays all the time," she said. "People are bitter for the notoriety she has for having done very little other than party, so they're standing around waiting for her to fail."

Hilton said she is "much more grateful" after spending time in jail.

"I appreciate everything now and I think there was a lot of bad people that I was around," she told E! "I don't want to surround myself with those types of people anymore."

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BEIJING, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese national soccer team coach Zhu Guanghu revealed that he had already made preparations for the semi-final match at the upcoming AFC Asian Cup finals in July.

"We have studied our group match rivals and set different tactics to face them," said Zhu after Monday morning's training session.

"We've also studied our possible quarter-final opponents and that of the semi-final. We focus on how to control and contain them to greatest extent under extreme hot and damp weather of Southeast Asia."

Chinese players are training in a harmonious atmosphere, which satisfies the boss.

"You can feel that the team is unprecedentedly united. That's a prerequisite for overcoming troubles in any big tournament."

"There are no big injuries within the team. Only Sun Jihai and Sun Xiang have some old injuries, but they can still play."

China's target is to reach the last four at the Asian Cup. They will meet co-hosts Malaysia in their first group match on July 10.

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LONDON, June 25 (Xinhua) -- European soccer governing body UEFA has announced that European teams will play fewer matches to qualify for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.

All 53 UEFA members will be drawn into eight groups of six teams, and one group of five. The nine group winners will qualify directly and the best eight runners-up will play home and away playoff matches for the remaining four places.

"It's a good compromise solution, because I wasn't really happy with the format for the last qualifying competition with groups of seven and eight teams," said UEFA President Michel Platini, who is in favour of smaller groups.

The executive committee of European soccer's governing body also discussed the future format of the Champions League and UEFA Cup from 2009 to 2012.
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SOFIA, June 24 (Xinhua) -- Emil Koen, manager of Bulgarian basketball club CSKA, and its president Vladimir Fedyaev, have been identified as the two Bulgarian victims in Sunday's heavy crash in western France, the state-run BTA news agency reported.

The tragedy happened in early Sunday morning. The two Bulgarians, who were driving a BMW, crashed into a bus in the opposite direction. The BMW driver and passenger were killed in spot, and about twenty-four of the passengers suffered injuries, but none of them is in danger, BTA said.

Local police believes that the Bulgarian driver fell asleep behind the wheel, lost control over the vehicle, which then rushed into the opposite lanes of the road.

Emil Koen and Vladimir Fedyaev were to meet on Sunday representatives of the break-away union of European leagues ULEB and return to Sofia on Monday.
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HARARE, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Zimsun Leisure Group Limited has said it is set to increase hotel accommodation by 1,000 rooms throughout the country as it seeks to fortify the domestic market while preparing for arrivals ahead of the 2010 World Cup to be hosted by South Africa.

The country's leading hotel group said the expansion program would be executed through the construction and upgrading of existing hotels in the country's major resort areas such as the Eastern Highlands, Harare, Masvingo, Beitbridge and the majestic Victoria Falls.

Group chief executive Shingi Munyeza said within the next five years demand and room occupancy would increase three-fold hence it was essential for the group to keep abreast of such an anticipated increase and be able to cater for it.

In line with the development, the group has already entered into an agreement with an unnamed contractor to expand and operate hotel facilities in the country's resorts including Eastern Highlands and in Kariba.

The planned expansion of the group's room capacity in the local environment has seen it entering into an agreement to expand and operate existing hotels in the Eastern Highlands.

"The development, which is expected to come on stream in 2009, will enhance the group's local product offering and is likely to increase our market share in the popular tourist destination," he said.

Munyeza added that Zimsun was also looking at capitalizing on the FIFA 2010 World Cup.

Apart from the influx in tourist arrivals in the country expected in 2010, Munyeza said the group was also negotiating to accommodate the FIFA delegation in its hotel facilities.

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SOFIA, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The general manager of Bulgaria's volleyball club Levski-Sikonko Georgi Zaharinov died in a hellish car crash on Monday, reported BTA news agency.

The tragedy happened near Veliko Tarnovo, central Bulgaria. Zaharinov was driving his Citrone, returning to Sofia. In the opposite lane, an Opel, owned by the Bulgarian Central Bank, appeared suddenly in the lane of Zaharinov, and crashed head-on-head into the Citrone.

Zaharinov and a 47-year-old woman in the Opel died on spot. The chief statistician of Bulgarian national team of volleyball in the Citrone and 4 passengers in the Opel were seriously injured and transported to the nearest hospital. Their lives are in danger.

As the result, the main road linking Sofia and Varna is temporary closed.

Zaharinov was the third sport leader killed in car crashes in the past 48 hours. Emil Koen and Vladimir Fedyaev, manager and president of Bulgarian basketball club CSKA, were killed in another car crash in western France on Sunday morning.
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Donations are made as part of the celebrations to mark the 100-day countdown to Shanghai Special Olympics 2007.(Xinhua Photo)

BEIJING, June 25 -- A total of 23 events have been on display in Shanghai on Sunday as part of the celebrations to mark the 100-day countdown to the Shanghai Special Olympics 2007.

The celebrations were spearheaded by a jogging attended by at least 20,000 citizens, including some mentally handicapped people.

The mini-marathon was augmented by art shows, rummage sale, autograph-signing and some donating ceremonies.

"I came here to give my support to those mentally handicapped people, they are born equal," said Wang Junxia, China's former 5,000-meter Olympic champion, who headed the jogging. "And they can compete and live as everybody else does. I would like to call on the attention from all the corners of the society to those people."

According to Han Zheng, mayor of Shanghai and Chairman of the organizing committee of the Special Olympics, all the preparation has been well underway, with building a harmonious ambiance for the Games and the mentally handicapped people as the priority.

"We don't build new venues, we don't make profits from the Games, all we need to do is make it public and have more people involved to create a civilized and harmonious environment for the mentally handicapped people," Han said at Sunday's Special Olympics 100-day countdown ceremony.

The 12th Special Olympics World Summer Games will be held in Shanghai from Oct. 2 to 11. More than 10,000 athletes and coaches, 20,000 family members from over 160 countries and regions are expected to show up.

A kid poses for photos in front of a sculpture of the mascot of the Shanghai Special Olympics 2007 and a countdown board on Sunday, June 24, 2007. 23 events are on display in Shanghai on the day as part of the celebrations to mark the 100-day countdown to the event. (Xinhua Photo)

Xi Jinping (center), the secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Shanghai Municipal Committee and two representatives of mentally retarded athletes push the button to unveil the 100-day countdown timer, June 24, 2007. (Xinhua Photo)

KATHMANDU, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The UNESCO has removed the ancient temples and monuments of Kathmandu valley from the United Nations World Heritage list of sites in danger, local leading media group's website THT Online reported on Monday.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) committee on World Heritage Sites said on Monday the removal of the sites from the list recognized improvements in conservation and management.

The committee praised Nepal's work in protecting the "outstanding universal value" of the sites in the face of urban development.

The seven Nepali world heritage sites in Kathmandu valley, where capital Kathmandu locates along with Patan and Bhaktapur, were added to the world heritage list since 1979 and onto the danger list in 2003.

Among its eight cultural heritage sites, seven are in Kathmandu valley. These are four groups of Hindu and Buddhist monuments, as well as three ancient royal palaces of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur.

The 10-day 31st World Heritage Committee has been holding annual meeting in Christchurch, New Zealand from Saturday. The committee meetings consider new site nominations, sites in danger, site management and protection. They will also draw up lists for possible future World Heritage sites.
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CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The World Heritage Committee decided here on Monday to keep Dresden Elbe Valley (Germany) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

But it asked Germany to provide an alternative solution to traffic management than the bridge currently planned in the site inscribed on United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)'s World Heritage List in 2004.

The World Heritage Committee, meeting in Christchurch of New Zealand for its ten-day 31st session, accepted that if present plans for a bridge were replaced by a solution that respected the outstanding universal value of the cultural landscape, the site would remain on the World Heritage List.

Otherwise, the Committee decided, Dresden would be struck off the List.

The Committee last year threatened taking the unprecedented step of delisting Dresden Elbe Valley because of plans to build a four-lane bridge across the river.

This year, the Committee reaffirmed its commitment to preserve the credibility of UNESCO's World Heritage List and gave the German authorities four more months to find an acceptable solution.

The status of the site, which was inscribed as an ensemble that integrates the celebrated baroque setting and suburban garden city into an artistic whole within the river valley, will be re-examined by the Committee next year.
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File Photo (Source: chinadaily.com.cn)

BEIJING, June 25 -- A crowd of thousands, comprising both foreign and Chinese faces, gathered in Tianshui, Gansu Province, yesterday to honor Fuxi, revered as one of the ancestors of the Chinese nation.

Held outside the main gates of the 600-year-old Fuxi Temple, the ceremony was attended by Xu Shousheng, governor of Gansu Province, who personally read the funeral oration. This was the 19th Fuxi public memorial ceremony since their inception in 1988.

Tianshui, the birthplace of Fuxi, is considered a cradle of Chinese culture where such crucial skills as hunting, farming, fishing and the whole of Fuxi culture first blossomed in China.

Based on the wealth of documentary records and archaeological discoveries uncovered, Fuxi culture is estimated to have originated over 8,000 years ago. According to documents dating back to pre-Qin times (before 248 BC) and historical books from the Han dynasty (206 BC-220AD), Fuxi was honored as forming the bloodline of five other emperors (the Yellow Emperor, Zhuanxu, Ku, Yao and Shun) and the head of three august ones (Fuxi, Nuwa and Shennong).

Long admired as a vital region in China, Tianshui has had the good fortune of being the birthplace and dwelling of many forefathers of the Chinese nation represented today by Fuxi. Each year, thousands of Chinese flock to the city to honor the memories of their ancestors and hold ceremonies for Fuxi.

Prior to Qin Shihuang (259-210 BC) who is credited with becoming China's first emperor by after uniting the country in 221 BC, ancient Chinese believed in an even older emperor who lived as much as six millennia before Qin.

Fuxi was respected by tribes from near and far, as he taught them to weave fishing nets, feed animals and farm. The wise forebear also established a rudimentary type of social governance, laid down original marriage laws and composed his community's first music.

But among all of Fuxi's accomplishments, that which Chinese lore holds in the highest esteem is the bagua, or the Eight Trigrams. The bagua is a fundamental ancient Chinese philosophical concept, generally depicted as an octagonal diagram with a trigram dominating each side.

(Source: China Daily)

File Photo(Source: chinadaily.com.cn)

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BEIJING, June 25 (Xinhuanet) -- A new research paper published Friday takes another look at the remains of three people found at Masada (the desert fortress famous as the scene of a mass suicide nearly 2,000 years ago) and given a state burial by Israel as Jewish heroes.

The remains, the study says, could actually be those of the Jews' Roman enemies.

The two male skeletons and a full head of woman's hair were discovered in a bathhouse by archaeologists in the 1960s. They were thought to belong to a family of Zealots, the fanatic Jewish rebels said to have killed themselves rather than fall into Roman slavery in A.D. 73, a story that plays an important role in Israel's national mythology.

The remains, as were other bodies found at Masada, were recognized as those of Jewish heroes by Israel's government in 1969 and given a state burial, complete with Israeli soldiers carrying flag-draped coffins.

But anthropologist Joe Zias and forensics expert Azriel Gorski write in a paper in the June issue of the journal Near Eastern Archaeology that the remains buried with honors may have been Romans, not Jews.

The paper zeroes in on the hair, noting the odd absence of a skeleton to go with it. The researchers' new forensic analysis showed the hair had been cut off the woman's head with a sharp instrument while she was still alive.

Zias' attempt to unravel the mystery led him to the Old Testament's Book of Deuteronomy, where a passage says that foreign women captured in battle by Jews must have all their hair cut off, apparently to make them less attractive to their captors.

The way Zias sees it, the woman was attached to the Roman garrison at Masada in A.D. 66 when the Zealots seized the fortress and killed the soldiers. Jewish fighters threw two Roman bodies into the bathhouse, which they then used as a garbage dump, judging by other debris found inside. The Zealots treated the woman captive according to Jewish law, cutting off her hair, which they threw in with the bodies.

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BEIJING, June 25 (Xinhuanet) -- A skull found in a pile of bones near Lima, Peru, may have belonged to the first gunshot victim in the Western Hemisphere.

The skull was found among a large group of bones of ancient Incas, who had died violently in the early 1500s as the Spanish Conquistadors battled the native empire. The bones were in shallow graves, leading archaeologist Guillermo Cock to speculate the burials were done hurriedly during conflict, perhaps an uprising against the Spanish in 1536.

"We didn't expect it. We saw this skull and saw the almost round hole and thought people must have been shooting around here recently," Cock, who found the remains.

To be sure this was a gunshot wound the skull was studied by forensics expert Tim Palmbach at the University of New Haven, who brought in other experts.

Al Harper, director of the Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science in New Haven, Conn., said the team "tried to rule out all kinds of causes of the hole ?? a rock from a slingshot, spear, sledgehammer." Harper and Palmbach studied the skull with a powerful scanning electronic microscope.

"We all thought it was a million-to-one chance that we would find any traces of metal on a skull that old, but it was worth a try," Harper said in a statement.

What they found were fragments of metal from a musket ball impregnating the area surrounding the hole.

"This conclusively proves that the person was killed by a gunshot, and he is the first identified shooting victim in the Americas," Cock said.

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BEIJING, June 25 (Xinhua) -- All three major Chinese stock indices plummeted on Monday amid speculation over the possibility of further interest rate hikes.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended Monday's trading at 3,941.08 points, down 150.36 points, or 3.68 percent, with a daily transaction volume of 143.3 billion yuan (18.9 billion U.S. dollars).

The key stock index, which covers both yuan-denominated A-shares and foreign-currency-denominated B-shares, peaked at 4,131.13 points but slipped to 3,912.42 points.

The Component Index on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange slumped 616.46 points, or 4.5 percent, to close at 13,109.26 points with a turnover of 75.56 billion yuan (9.9 billion U.S. dollars).

The governor of the central bank, Zhou Xiaochuan, said over the weekend that if the consumer price index (CPI), a major gauge of inflation, continued to rise, he could not "exclude the possibility of raising interest rates again".

The People's Bank of China raised rates twice this year, with the latest coming on May 19 when the benchmark one-year deposit rate was raised 27 basis points to 3.06 percent. Also in May, the CPI rose 3.4 percent, the highest in two years.

Eight hundred and seventy companies recorded losses and only 105 registered gains on the Shanghai stock exchange, while the Shenzhen bourse saw 631 losses and 64 gains.

The major heavyweights slumped, with the exception of China Life, the country's largest life insurer, which rose 2.51 percent to 44.53 yuan.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China fell 1.59 percent to 4.96 yuan, the Bank of China, went down 1.57 percent to 5.01 yuan, and Sinopec, China's biggest oil refiner, down 5.74 percent to 13.47 yuan.

Despite the market gloom, defense-industry-related shares performed well following the recent promulgation of new guidelines to transform military industrial enterprises into joint-stock companies.

Space Sci-tech soared by its daily limit of 10 percent to 10.35yuan, Space Machinery and Electronics went up 1.86 percent to 14.26 yuan, and Chengfa Sci-Tech rose 3.28 percent to 26.79 yuan.

On Monday, the Hushen 300 Index, which tracks 300 companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, closed at 3,877.59 points, down 173.84 points, or 4.29 percent, from the previous close.
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HONG KONG, Jane 25 (Xinhua) -- Strong profit-taking pressure and broad declines throughout Asia sent Hong Kong's benchmark index lower on Monday, breaking a six-session winning streak that resulted in a rise of over 1,400 points, or 7 percent.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 177.56 points, or 0.8 percent, to 21,822.35.

Turnover reached 83.96 billion Hong Kong dollars (10.76 billion U.S. dollars), down from 95.81 billion Hong Kong dollars (12.27 billion U.S. dollars) Friday.

Analysts said they expect the blue-chip index to trade near 22,000 points in the coming days on futures-related demand, though they said a correction will likely follow in July given the spate of initial public offerings that will drain liquidity from the stock market.

For this week, analysts said they expect the blue-chip index to trade near 22,000 points on demand linked to futures trading. In the next few days, "the market is likely in the hands of bulls who have bullets to hold the market strength till the futures expirations on Thursday," ICEA said in a research note Monday.

Among blue chip stocks Monday, 34 out of 39 ended in the red, dragged by a sharp correction in the Chinese mainland stock markets in the afternoon, as well as the broad decline in regional bourses.

The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks both A and B shares, ended down 3.7 percent at 3941.08, extending Friday's 3.3 percent decline on expectations for more tightening measure.

Most of Asia was also down, dragged by weak performance on Wall Street Friday.

Japan's Nikkei Index fell 0.6 percent to 18,087, South Korea's Kospi ended down 0.8 percent at 1758, and Sydney's benchmark S&P/ ASX 200 index fell 0.8 percent to 6,329.8.

China-related shares were the biggest decliners on the local market. The China Enterprises Index, which tracks the movement of Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong, fell 1.6 percent to 12,040.90.

Among those companies, oil producer Sinopec was down 2.9 percent at 8.79 Hong Kong dollars after the abrupt resignation of Chairman Chen Tonghai, who quit for "personal reasons".

China Construction Bank fell 2.3 percent to 5.20 Hong Kong dollars. Bank of China declined 0.8 percent to 3.91 Hong Kong dollars, and ICBC fell 0.7 percent to 4.34 Hong Kong dollars.

The finance sub-index plunged 342.10 points or 1.01 percent to 33,566.71.

The properties sub-index slid 340.55 points or 1.33 percent at 25,588.10.

The commerce and industry sub-index went down 57.17 points or 0.46 percent to 12,343.38.

from http://www.cdao.com.cn

BEIJING, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of China (BOC), the nation's second largest bank, has said its overall performance and financial results will be unaffected by the cases of irregularities and violations of rules revealed in last year's government audit.

The National Audit Office found some BOC branches had failed to strictly adhere to the government's macro-economic controls and the bank's own credit approval policies, the bank said in a statement on Monday.

The investigation into the bank's 2005 financial status, carried out between April and September last year, also revealed insufficient mortgages were required for some note transactions due to inadequate checks, and some branches failed to work in accordance with the financial assessment norms, according to the BOC statement.

The audit identified risks in a small number of highway construction loans and said the bank's disposal of non-performing loans needed improvement.

The lender said problems uncovered mostly dated back to prior to the bank's shareholding reforms in 2004, adding the majority of loans involving compliance breaches had been recovered, disposed or settled, and preparations had been made in previous years for deduction of the other non-performing loans.

The bank said it had already tightened its control over mortgages in note transactions, and had adjusted its accounting rules by the end of 2006 to better regulate its financial assessments.

The National Audit Office said the report of the BOC audit finding would be publicly available sometime after July.

China's state-owned banks have been repeatedly asked to improve internal controls and risk management before public listing.
from http://www.cdao.com.cn

HONG KONG, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Hang Seng China Enterprises Index on Hong Kong Stock Exchange fell 198.81 points, or 1.62 percent, to close the day's trading at 12,040.9 on Monday, snapping the index's streak of six consecutive days of gains.

The H-shares index, initiated in August 1994 and readjusted on March 12, 2007, tracks the overall performance of 41 Chinese mainland state-owned enterprises listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Hang Seng China H-Financials Index lost 115.47 points, or 0.82 percent, to close at 13,926.52.

The H-Financials Index, initiated on Nov. 27, 2006, tracks the performance of eight major banks and insurers of the Chinese mainland.

Hang Seng China-Affiliated Corporations Index dropped 12.79 points, or 0.31 percent, to close at 4,148.34.

The index tracks the performance of 31 locally listed companies with a significant equity interest held by entities in the Chinese mainland.

Hang Seng Mainland Composite Index went down 35.99 points, or 0.93 percent, to close at 3,853.05.

Introduced on Oct. 3, 2001 and readjusted on Sept. 11, 2006, Hang Seng Mainland Composite Index gauges the performance of 103 Hong Kong-listed companies with principal places of business in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland.
from http://www.cdao.com.cn

BEIJING, June 25 -- Visa Inc, the No. 1 credit-card company, earned 465.1 million U.S. dollars last year according to a regulatory filing that gave investors a first look at the company's books ahead of a proposed initial public offering.

Operating revenue was 3.9 billion dollars and operating expenses were 3.19 billion dollars for the fiscal year ended September 30, according to the filing on Friday, which details a reorganization of the San Francisco-based company. Profit was 525.9 million dollars in the six months ended March 31 as Visa's operating margin almost doubled, Bloomberg News said.

Visa announced in October it would combine most of its global businesses and sell shares sometime next year to become more competitive. Investors have bid up shares of MasterCard Inc, the second-biggest card company, more than 330 percent since their debut in May 2006, and Morgan Stanley is completing a spinoff of the Discover card unit this week.

"The IPO is going to be highly popular among investors after the success of MasterCard," said Craig Maurer, an analyst at Calyon Securities USA Inc. "It's going to generate significantly larger buzz than MasterCard. That's the benefit of coming second, and Visa clearly has the edge in size."

Visa didn't set prices or timing for the share sale. While the filing said the offering will raise 1.54 billion dollars, the figure is used to calculate the registration fee for the company and the actual sum raised may be higher. Maurer said the share sale could ultimately raise more than 25 billion dollars.

Visa is combining its businesses excluding Europe to save money, facilitate the share sale, streamline decision-making and make acquisitions easier, the filing said.

The company's operating margin swelled to 34 percent in the six months ended in March from 18 percent in the fiscal year that ended in September.

Visa and MasterCard, based in Purchase, New York, collect fees from retailers on every transaction that moves through their networks. Merchants have charged both issuers with conspiring to impose inflated rates, leading to federal antitrust lawsuits. In the filing, Visa said it's facing about 50 class-action and individual antitrust suits brought on behalf of merchants.

Some of the proceeds from the share sale will be used to cover settlements or judgments tied to litigation, Visa said.

Visa, MasterCard and banks including Citigroup Inc agreed in July 2006 to pay 336 million dollars to their customers to settle antitrust lawsuits over currency conversion fees charged on foreign transactions. The filing said Visa agreed to pay 100 million dollars to settle federal actions and 20 million dollars for related California cases.

from http://www.cdao.com.cn

BEIJING, June 25 -- OAO Gazprom, the world's biggest natural-gas producer, and Eni SpA may build a pipeline from Russia to the European Union.

This will bypass neighbors that have threatened to block supplies on existing routes, Bloomberg News reported.

The 900-kilometer South Stream pipeline could go under the Black Sea to Bulgaria and then split in two, Eni Chief Executive Officer Paolo Scaroni told reporters in Rome on Saturday. The project will now go through feasibility studies, and construction may start as early as next year, he said.

It will carry gas equal to as much as a third of German demand.

State-controlled Gazprom, seeking to bolster European sales and cut transit risks, has announced three new pipeline projects in 12 months. Neighbors including Ukraine and Belarus are used as transit countries for Russian gas sales to EU nations and both have threatened to block supplies because of pricing disputes.

"Gas is a political commodity nowadays; economically speaking, this project is not really justifiable," Vladimir Matias, managing partner of Asset Capital Partners, said on Saturday by phone from Vienna.

The new pipeline will provide a direct route into Italy and Austria and mirrors Gazprom's project with E.ON AG and BASF AG to build the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany.

South Stream will avoid the need to send gas through Ukraine and Belarus, while Nord Stream bypasses the Baltic states, which often have tense political relations with Russia.

Gazprom, based in Moscow, already supplies a quarter of Europe's gas needs. The company's profitability depends on exports since state-set gas prices in Russia are about a fifth of those in Europe.

Russia is seeking to regain control of energy assets and has pressured foreign investors into relinquishing their projects in the country. Royal Dutch Shell Plc ceded control of its US$22 billion Sakhalin-2 project to Gazprom in December, while a unit of BP Plc on Friday announced the sale of its 63 percent stake in a Siberian gas deposit to Gazprom.

For Eni, Europe's fourth-largest oil company, the pipeline would secure gas supplies for Europe's third-largest gas market behind the United Kingdom and Germany.

Italy buys 86 percent of its gas abroad, mainly from Algeria and Russia. The new pipeline may carry as much as 30 billion cubic meters of gas a year.

from http://www.cdao.com.cn

KAMPALA, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Heritage Oil Corporation, a company exploring oil in western Uganda, has said the country's new oil discovery in the region shows a multibillion-barrel oil potential estimated at 7 billion U.S. dollars.

State-owned New Vision on Monday quoted an Irish newspaper, The Post, as saying that the oil reserves from the Kingfisher well discovery could be ten times greater than what was previously believed.

Heritage Oil, a Canadian-based international oil company and Tullow Oil, an Irish company jointly own the Kingfisher well on block 3A in Bunyoro, Hoima district.

On March 1, Heritage Oil company said in a statement that final tests from Kingfisher, one of Uganda's oil wells in the western region located on the shores of Albert lake, indicate that a maximum daily output of 13,893 barrels, increasing the country' s potential to begin commercial production.

The Kingfisher discovery is so far the largest finding in Uganda.

A highly-placed source in the Ugandan energy ministry on Sunday said it was possible that the area held oil reserves to that magnitude.

Uganda is planning to begin petroleum production with a mini-refinery as early as 2009, making its first step of shifting from a fuel importer to a self-reliant country, which would save the country millions of dollars annually.
from http://www.cdao.com.cn

KAMPALA, June 25 (Xinhua)-- The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has destroyed fake goods worth 300 million U.S. dollars in the past four years.
The products include rice, biscuits, engine oil, generators, electric cables, juices and cosmetics, tooth brushes, batteries, petroleum jelly and skin creams.

Some of the goods were either rejected or re-exported, Deus Mubangizi, head of quality assurance was quoted by state-owned New Vision on Monday. But he was worried that some of the rejected products could still be on the market.

"Members of the public must take serious precautions when buying some of these items especially cosmetic products and body lotions that contain mercury and hydroquinone that are dangerous to our skins," he said in a statement.

"We appeal to suppliers and those in the tendering business to ensure that UNBS inspects the goods before to avoid transporting and re-exporting goods back to their countries of origin," he said.

He said the East African Community was working out modalities for the harmonization of regional standards.

"We want to have the same standards such as goods from Kenya are tested in Uganda using the same standards," he added.
from http://www.cdao.com.cn

ABU DHABI, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Dolphin Energy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced here on Monday that it has produced the first gas from its wells in Qatar.

This is a major step of the company's Dolphin Gas Project, which involves the production and processing of natural gas from Qatar's North Field and transportation of the dry gas to the UAE and Oman.

"Raw gas is now being transported by dedicated sealine to Dolphin Energy's brand-new gas processing plant at Ras Laffan Industrial City in northern Qatar," a press release by the Abu Dhabi-based Dolphin Energy said.

"This gas is currently being used in testing all aspects of the plant, as start-up procedures and safety checks are undertaken," the press release added.

Once all procedures are tested and verified, up to 2 billion standard cubic feet of refined methane gas will be compressed each day for transport to the UAE through the company's export pipeline.

Established in March 1999, Dolphin Energy is owned 51 percent by Mubadala Development Company on behalf of the government of Abu Dhabi, and 24.5 percent each by Total of France and Occidental Petroleum of the United States.
from http://www.cdao.com.cn

??Hamas armed wing released an audio message for the Israeli captive corporal.
??Earlier, a spokesman for the captors said Shalit was alive and healthy.
??Hamas still stick to their demands to exchange the soldier for Palestinian prisoners.

Gilad Shalit (File Photo)

GAZA, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Hamas armed wing, the Ezz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, released on Monday an audio message for the Israeli captive corporal Gilad Shalit to mark the one-year anniversary for his abduction.

The message said, "I'm the soldier Gilad Naom Shalit, held by Martyr Ezz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades.

"Dad, Mom... Brothers and sisters... My colleagues in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF); I send you greetings from my jail, and I'm yearning to see all of you.

"I have completed a year in captivity; my health condition is still deteriorated and I need chronical treatment in hospital.

"I'm sorry that the Israeli government and the IDF are not interested in my case and their neglecting of al-Qassam's demands though they should comply with the demands to get me freed from my prison, especially as I am on a military mission with a military order. I am not a drug dealer.

"Thousands of Palestinian prisoners have mothers and fathers as I do and they must reunite with them.

"My hope is big that my government will take care of me and respond to the Mujahedeen's demands." said Shalit in the message, which could be downloaded from the website of the Ezz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades.

Earlier, a spokesman for the captors said Shalit was alive and healthy.

It was the first time that Hamas released a recorded message since its armed wing, along with another two armed groups, kidnapped Shalit in an armed attack on an Israeli army base in southeastern Gaza Strip.

Hamas, the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) and the Army of Islam still stick to their demands to exchange the soldier for a number of Palestinian prisoners, said Abu Mujahed, the PRC spokesman.

The three groups kidnapped the Israeli Corporal a year ago in across border raid on his military base just a few kilometers behind the security fence between Israel and Gaza.

The factions "insist on their humanitarian demands of freeing female prisoners, children, patients, old, leaders of factions and those who face long sentences," Abu Mujahed said.

He accused the Israeli government of blocking the progress on Shalit's case by not dealing seriously with the offers that the factions sent through Egyptian mediators.

The Israeli government "returned the progress to the zero point," said Abu Mujahed, adding that the factions can keep the soldiers for years.
from http://www.cdao.com.cn

HARARE, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The Zimbabwean government has gazetted the Indigenization and Economic Empowerment Bill which seeks to create an enabling environment for greater participation in the economy by indigenous people, The Herald reported on Monday.
The proposed law provides for the establishment of an Indigenization and Empowerment Fund to finance the acquisition of shares, working capital and other forms of finance, the newspaper said.

The National Investment Trust of Zimbabwe will be constituted as a special account of the envisaged empowerment fund. This will not affect the interests of the unit holders and deed of trust.

According to the official newspaper, the overall goal is to achieve at least a 51 percent shareholding by indigenous people inthe majority of businesses in all sectors of the economy.

The Minister of Indigenization and Empowerment will be mandated to review and approve the indigenization arrangements.

Sufficient time will be given to businesses concerned
from http://www.cdao.com.cn

HARARE, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mawampanga Mwanananga has urged the governments around the globe to lower their military budgets in favor of peace operations and development projects.

Mwanananga was quoted by The Herald on Monday as saying that it was high time for armies to shift their attention to train peacekeepers.

He made the remarks when speaking at the graduation of 26 officers from 10 SADC countries and Algeria who underwent a 10-daySADC Peace Support course at the SADC Regional Peacekeeping Training Center in Harare last week.

"I think it's high time our armies concentrate on training peacekeepers and stop regarding peacekeeping as too costly, while on the other hand contingents of hundreds, if not millions, of army men and women to war time and again and nobody points a finger," said Mwanananga.

The objectives of the course included developing a thorough knowledge of peace support operational guidelines, examining the multi-dimensional nature of peace support operations and assessing the international human rights law.

Mwanananga said the course sought to prepare participants for the numerous challenges they were likely to face on peace missions.
from http://www.cdao.com.cn

CAIRO, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's state security court on Monday sentenced Mohamed Sayyed Saber, a nuclear engineer at Egypt's state-run Atomic Energy Agency, and two others to 25 years in jail for spying for Israel, the Egyptian official MENA news agency reported.

Ali Islam, the head of the Egyptian atomic agency, testified that Saber illegally obtained the classified documents from his department, kept them for 10 years in defiance of regulations that prevented him from keeping them in his possession, MENA added.

Saber was accused of stealing confidential reports from the agency and handing them for 17,000 U.S. dollars to Israeli Mossad (Israeli intelligence agency) in an act that could harm the national interests.

Prosecutors asked the court to give him maximum penalty for hacking into the agency's computer system, stealing the classified documents and selling them to Israel.

Saber, 35, who was arrested at the beginning of the year, had pleaded not guilty to the espionage charges and looked shocked when the verdict was read out.

During the trial, Saber insisted that any information he had divulged was already in the public domain.

The two others, a Japanese one an Irish one, were tried in absentia and received the same sentence of 25 years in jail.
from http://www.cdao.com.cn

GENEVA, June 24 (Xinhua) -- The performance of the global economy over the last few years has been extraordinary, and high level growth is expected to continue in 2007, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said on Sunday.

In its annual report, the Basel-based BIS, known as the central bank of central bankers, said the real growth of global economy has been maintained around levels that are among the highest recorded in the postwar period, and many of the world's poorest countries have shared in this growing prosperity.

It noted that underlying inflation levels have generally remained subdued, despite significant upward shocks to most commodity prices.

Record global trade imbalances have been easily financed and exchange rates have been generally stable.

"The combination of developments is so extraordinary that it must raise questions about the source and, closely related, the sustainability of all this good fortune," the report said.

At BIS's annual general meeting on Thursday, BIS General Manager Malcolm Knight highlighted the uncertainties currently facing markets and policymakers.

They include the possible resurgence of global inflation, the evolution of current account imbalances, and potential vulnerabilities in financial markets and financial institutions.

Knight noted that behind each set of concerns lurks the common factor of highly accommodative financial conditions. A further tightening of monetary policy might then be needed, as well as action to reduce still high government deficits and debt in many countries.

Countries that, in principle, have floating exchange rate regimes should allow their currencies to adjust more freely, he said.
from http://www.cdao.com.cn

SINGAPORE, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The West should stop the hypocritical blame game and work collectively with developing countries to fix the global warming problems, Asian panellists said Monday at a session on sustainable growth on the second day of the World Economic Forum on East Asia.

Commenting on a recent Dutch government-funded study that showed that China has overtaken the U.S. as the world's biggest polluter producing the highest level of carbon dioxide emissions in 2006, Nor Mohamed Yakcop, Malaysia's Second Minister of Finance, said that singling out China was pointless. "It's wrong, there should not be hypocrisy," he added.

Yakcop pointed out that factories in China contributing to the pollution are mostly owned by American and European multinational companies (MNCs) that are benefiting from China's cheap labor resources.

China and other developing countries have little choice but to continue to welcome foreign investments, he said.

"We can't slow down because we've got plenty of poverty," the Malaysian minister said, adding "The growth momentum has to be kept up; sustainable growth emphasis must be growth."

Also speaking in the panel discussion, Chen Feng, chairman of China Hainan Airlines, recalled watching a television documentary on the destruction of Beijing's imperial garden Yuanmingyuan by fire 146 years ago when Anglo-French forces stormed the building. Denouncing them as "bandits" for their role in the destruction, Chen said he supports the need for collective global action in tackling the serious environmental problem.

Masatoshi Wakabayashi, Minister of the Environment of Japan, said there is a need for a new global mechanism to achieve the G8 objective of reducing greenhouse emissions by half in 2050.

He believed that the initiative of the U.S., announced ahead of the recent Heiligendamm summit, to call a meeting of major gas-emitting countries, was a "very significant" step forward in the global effort on environmental protection.

The two-day forum, under the theme "The Leadership Imperative for an Asian Century", has brought together over 300 business, government and civil society leaders from 26 countries to discuss the current challenges facing East Asia. Through the program pillars Asian Leadership, Risk Management, Sustainable Growth and Competitiveness the participants will identify the leadership opportunities and challenges that will shape an "Asian Century."

from http://www.cdao.com.cn

BEIJING, June 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Talks on an international treaty to update broadcast rights taking into account Internet needs fell apart Friday because countries were not able to agree how much technological and legal protection to give broadcasters, a U.S. official said.

The talks, which were held under the auspices of the United Nation's World Intellectual Property Organization, were meant to smooth the way for an intergovernmental meeting in November to approve a treaty.

"It became clear that there was no agreement on any of the fundamental issues of the treaty," Paul Salmon, head of the U.S. delegation, told The Associated Press. "There was no question that countries were negotiating in good faith. It's just that despite our efforts we are nowhere near agreement."

Disagreements over issues such as whether protection against piracy should cover only traditional broadcasting methods, such as cable, antenna and satellite signals, or whether it should include retransmission over the Internet proved to be the deathknell of the talks.

European countries wanted to give broadcasters rights over any content they transmit - even if they did not originally produce the content.

That type of rights-based treaty is opposed by electronics and telecommunication companies such as Intel Corp. and Verizon Communications Inc., as well as librarian groups and consumer advocates. They say it would stifle technological innovation and could prevent people from playing legal music or films over their home networks.

The groups have lobbied for a narrow treaty protecting only the signal itself from piracy. Salmon said delegations would discuss how to proceed on Friday.

from http://www.cdao.com.cn

ANKARA, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Foreign ministers of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) countries stressed the importance of cooperation among member countries as well as boosting ties with the European Union (EU) on Monday.

At the opening session of BSEC foreign ministers' meeting held in Istanbul before the BSEC 15th anniversary summit, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul called on the members to "turn the BSEC into an effective international organization," according to the semi-official Anatolia news agency.

Underlining the importance of energy, Gul said that the international community is getting ever more interested in the Black Sea basin, which is rich in energy, adding that BSEC countries can have significant cooperation in this field.

Gul also highlighted the importance of regional trade, calling on member states to lift obstacles to trade by signing preferential trade and free trade agreements.

For her part, Greek Foreign Minister Theodora Bakoyianni, whose country is also a member state of the European Union (EU), said at the meeting that "joint projects with the European Commission and reforms made by the BSEC would be two achievements of the current summit."

"Greece is working to establish a new EU regional policy and bring a new dimension to the BSEC," noted Bakoyianni.

Bakoyianni stressed that Greece will contribute to the Black Sea coast highway and maritime journeys.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov also called for joint efforts to fight against international crimes and terrorism.

Bulgarian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ivaylo Kalfin appreciated the relations between the BSEC and the EU, saying it has become closer in the last decade.

Foreign ministers from Moldova, Albania and Armenia pledged their countries' part for strengthening ties among the organization.

Foreign chiefs from Romania and Azerbaijan also called for a dynamic relationship with the EU and the BSEC.

BSEC is comprised of the Black Sea littoral states -- Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine -- as well as Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Greece, Moldova and Serbia.

The BSEC turned into a fully-fledged regional economic cooperation organization as the BSEC Charter, signed on June 5, 1998, was put into force on May 1, 1999.

from http://www.cdao.com.cn

BEIJING, June 25 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) has issued a Class A warrant for the arrest of a 42-year-old man suspected of murdering four villagers.

Ning Yongfeng, a native of Jiuzhou village, of Langfang city in north China's Hebei Province, allegedly killed four of his fellow villagers with a hunting rifle at around 11 p.m. on Saturday, the MPS said.

Anyone who provides information that leads to Ning's arrest will receive a reward of 50,000 yuan (6,580 U.S. dollars), according to the MPS.

Local police said the fugitive was probably armed and have informed citizens via the media that the killer is on the loose.
from http://www.cdao.com.cn

SHENYANG, June 25 (Xinhua) -- About 4 million people are fighting a lasting drought that has been affecting almost 2 million people and 65 percent of the farmland in northeast China's Liaoning and Jilin provinces for nearly a month.

In Liaoning, more than 1.6 million people and 733,700 head of livestock are suffering from drinking water shortage, 159 reservoirs have dried up, and 44,507 wells have experienced insufficient water output, according to statistics from the Liaoning Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

The drought, the worst to hit Liaoning since records began in 1951, has affected more than 2 million hectares of farmland, or 65percent of the province's total, statistics show.

More than 2 million people have been mobilized to combat the drought in the province.

In Jilin, 333,500 people and 351,500 head of livestock are facing water shortage, and the drought has also affected nearly 2.7 million hectares of farmland, 65 percent of the province's total, according to statistics from the Jilin Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

Jilin has spent nearly 300 million yuan (37.5 million U.S. dollars) for disaster relief and dispatched about 2 million people to combat the drought.

High temperatures and inadequate rainfall since the beginning of June are said to be the cause of the drought.
from http://www.cdao.com.cn

by Zhang Yashi

HONG KONG, June 25 (Xinhua)-- While people in Hong Kong are fervidly looking forward to seeing the new giant panda pairs presented by the Central government of China as a gift in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the city's return to the motherland, animal keepers at Hong Kong Ocean Park give the utmost attention to the national treasures for their good health.

Starting his career as an animal caretaker at Ocean Park about 27 years ago, Paul Ng Nai Kwong, now the animal behavior and enrichment manager, has his experience of keeping giant pandas piled up from 1999 when Hong Kong got its first pair, "An An" and "Jia Jia," from the Central Government.

"Before that, we didn't have any experience of taking care of giant pandas and we began from zero," Ng told Xinhua in a recent interview. He said that it was a great challenge for the park, yet he felt extremely happy and exciting because "that was the first time Hong Kong has its own pandas permanently."

At that time, Ng and his colleagues were sent to Wolong in southwest China's Sichuan Province, where "An An" and "Jia Jia" came from, to learn panda keeping skills.

In order to get a clear picture of the living habits of "An An"and "Jia Jia", they took turns to observe the pandas in the outdoor even in cold and windy days.

Eight years' experience of panda keeping has made Ocean Park more proficient in taking care of the new cubs. "Having the experience of keeping 'An An' and 'Jia Jia,' we are confident that 'Ying Ying' and 'Le Le' (the new pair) will get use to the new environment soon," said Ng.

Upon their arrival on April 26, the new cubs were transferred straight to the park's panda house which is temporarily closed. After the 30-day quarantine, they have been doing well and are now having another 30 days of accommodating period.

"'Jia Jia' cares about having contact with people, it's not just food alone that can attract her attention, and for 'Le Le', he's a fussy eater having preference for sweet food like apples," Ng was delighted when telling those panda stories which fully revealed his love and care towards the animals.

During the interview, Ng mentioned time and again the importance of maintaining good relationship with animals which he believes is the key to successful training, which will in turn, lead to the healthy growth of the animals.

Giant pandas also gained affection from the public. "Some years ago, a panda mania couple went to the panda house with their digital cameras every morning and stayed until closing," Ng said, the couple kept visiting for about half a year.

At an activity that allowed people chances to learn to take care of animals at the park, Ng met an elderly participant who insisted on laying the bamboo for the giant pandas all by himself even though he had difficulties in walking.

"He wanted very much to taste how it was like to take care of pandas and to express his care to them, it was so touching," Ng said.

The Panda blog set up by the park for "Ying Ying" and "Le Le" is another proof of the pandas' popularity. It attracted tons of visitors to browse through and to leave their words asking about the pandas' latest situation.

It has been 10 years since Hong Kong's return to the motherland. As a member of the public, Ng was happy to see the Central Government showing concern about the city's development and he felt honored to be the keeper of giant pandas.

"I'm in the hope that 'Ying Ying' and 'Le Le' may give birth to baby pandas in the future which implies Hong Kong's prosperity," said Ng.
from http://www.cdao.com.cn

HONG KONG, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Three decades ago when Hong Kong was still under the British rule, English and Cantonese were the most popular languages in Hong Kong.
It was during that time that Cheung Dan, a Beijing linguistic scholar established a Mandarin school here, vowed to teach the Hong Kong people how to speak Putonghua (Chinese mandarin).

She set up the Hong Kong Putonghua Vocational School (HKPVS), with the belief that the language would be important in Hong Kong and must be spoken by every Chinese.

At the beginning, the lessons were taught at home because there were only a few students.

Worse still, her efforts in promoting Putonghua aroused suspicion from the Hong Kong government under the British controlled. "I was suspected as a spy from the mainland," said Cheung, who moved to Hong Kong from Beijing in the late 1960s.

After Hong Kong's return to its motherland in 1997, Cheung's school has been enlarging with the increasing number of students. Now HKPVS has 8 teaching centers in Hong Kong, though far from being enough compared to the outnumbered Hong Kong people eager for Putonghua-learning.

"It is a big contrast," Cheung recalled.

New learners, most of whom are "white collar", queue up at the HKPVS to enroll themselves. "The impetus to attract Hong Kong people to learn Putonghua lies in the booming economy of the Chinese mainland and its growing business tie with Hong Kong," Cheung said.

Over the past 30 years, HKPVS has trained over tens of thousand of students including those from enterprises, organizations, primary and secondary school students and teachers.

HKPVS carries out tailor-made Putonghua training to its corporate clients, among which are CLP Power, Jardine Group, PCCW, Citibank, Standard Chartered Bank, Morgan Stanley, major hotels and various HK government bodies, etc.

After Hong Kong's return, with the support of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, schools in Hong Kong began to teach Putonghua lesson, which was listed as a compulsory subject.

Putonghua is becoming more and more popular in Hong Kong. Notices and advertisements for Putonghua lessons can be seen all around the city, including the underground railway stops, trendy magazines, and even on lampposts.
from http://www.cdao.com.cn

HONG KONG, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The Shenzhen Bay Port and the Shenzhen Bay Bridge, which is also known as the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Corridor, will commence operation on July 1, a spokesman for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government said Monday.

"The Shenzhen Bay Port will be officially opened after a ceremony at noon on July 1, and passenger and cargo clearance facilities will be opened for public use from 6 p.m.," the spokesman said.

"The Shenzhen Bay Port will initially run for 17.5 hours a day, from 6:30 a.m. to midnight. Hong Kong and Shenzhen sides will assess when to provide a 24-hour service after the Port has been in operation for some time," he added.

To allow sufficient time for the clearance of passengers and vehicles before the closure of the Shenzhen Bay Port at midnight, the Shenzhen Bay Bridge will be closed to northbound traffic at 11: 30 p.m. every night, including July 1.

When the Shenzhen Bay Port is commissioned, passengers can cross the boundary through the new crossing by taking cross-boundary coaches, franchised buses, green minibuses or taxis.

Hong Kong's immigration and customs facilities will be co-located with those of the Chinese mainland at the Shenzhen Bay Port under the co-location arrangement, the first of its kind to be implemented at control points.

Hong Kong and its neighboring city Shenzhen are making final preparations for the commissioning of the Shenzhen Bay Port and Shenzhen Bay Bridge.

Various departments and units from Hong Kong and Shenzhen have conducted joint trial runs and drills to familiarize themselves with the operation of this new infrastructure.

The 5.5 kilometer-long Shenzhen Bay Bridge is the fourth vehicular boundary crossing between Hong Kong and Shenzhen. It links the new control point at the Shenzhen Bay Port in Shekou with Ngau Hom Shek in the northwest New Territories.

It is expected that two-way daily traffic and passenger flows will be 29,800 vehicles and 30,800 passengers during the initial period of opening. The anticipated traffic and passenger flows will increase to some 60,300 vehicles and 61,300 passengers each day in 2016.
from http://www.cdao.com.cn

FOSHAN, Guangdong Province, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Salvage workers have retrieved three more bodies and the last two of the four vehicles which plunged into a river after a road bridge collapsed ten days ago in south China's Guangdong Province.
One body was found in a small white truck salvaged on Monday morning and another two, believed to be brothers Wu Weilin and Wu Weihong from Jiangmen city, were recovered from the cab of a blue truck.

Seven bodies and all the four missing vehicles have now been retrieved after the bridge collapse. Workers are still searching for the remaining two missing people, who are believed to have been traveling in the cab of a truck that was salvaged on Sunday.

Four vehicles carrying seven people and two road workers were thrown into the Xijiang river in Guangdong on June 15 when, in heavy fog, a cargo vessel traveling along the river ploughed into a section of the 1,600-meter-long Jiujiang bridge that spans the river, causing part of it to collapse.

The bodies of a man and a woman were recovered from the river on Friday after workers hauled out a truck with the license number "Yue A KM983" registered in Guangzhou.

Another two bodies, identified as the two missing road workers, were retrieved downstream on June 17 and 18.

Workers salvaged a second truck on Sunday, licensed Shenzhen "Yue B 72420", but no bodies were found inside.

Investigators have said the collapse had nothing to do with the quality of the construction of the bridge which opened to traffic in 1988.

Six crew members of the vessel "Nanguiji 035" have been detained by maritime police.

Preliminary work has begun on repairing the bridge. The work is expected to be completed by the end of the year, local authorities say.
from http://www.cdao.com.cn

BEIJING, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Floods have caused 155 deaths and over 10 billion yuan (1.3 billion U.S dollars) of economic losses this year, said an official with the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters on Monday.

Cheng Dianlong, deputy director of the office of the headquarters, said so far the total area affected by floods has reached 1.641 million hectares and the total affected population stood at 31.77 million.

from http://www.cdao.com.cn