China Daily
China invites the world to Olympics
(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-08-08 20:31
Let the party begin. The Beijing Olympics are just a year away.
Sprawling Tiananmen Square was the center of celebrations for thousands of ordinary Chinese and hundreds of Olympic officials as countdown clocks across Beijing reach the one-year mark.
Performers hold banners during the one-year countdown celebrations for the 29th Olympic Games in Tiananmen Square in Beijing August 8, 2007.[Reuters]
The magic moment came at 8:08 p.m.and 8 seconds,marking one year until next year's opening ceremony on August 8, 2008.
The host city of Beijing invited the world to the 2008 Beijing Olympics with a dazzling song-and-dance and fireworks display.
Eight is a lucky number in China, and everything seems on schedule for Beijing to host the most awaited and most expensive Olympics in history. Beijing's new anthem, the just-released pop song "We're Ready", was part of a two-hour ceremony played out on a stage built under banks of searchlights.
"From what we have seen so far, the preparations for Beijing 2008 are truly impressive in every regard," said International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge, who is in Beijing this week meeting students, planting trees and greeting Olympic sponsors.
"I don't think we have ever seen preparations on this scale."
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2007-08/08/content_6017952.htm
Beijing blooms as Olympic flowers go on display
Updated: 2007-08-10 09:55
More than two million flowering plants specially bred for 2008 Beijing Olympics were presented to city residents as China marks a one-year countdown to the Games.
Forty-eight varieties of flowers featuring 132 colors, including maidenhair, marigold and petunias, which usually come into flower in May or October are displayed in full blossom in three areas:
-- on 7,000 square meters at "Shengfangyuan", a flower breeding center in southern Beijing's Huaxiang County that has hundreds of years of history in flower cultivation.
-- on 50,000 square meters outside the Olympic beach volleyball venue in the eastern Chaoyang district.
-- along a three-kilometer road connecting the villages of Huangtugang and Baipenyao, in Huaxiang County.
Li Xinmin, head of the Huaxiang committee of the Communist Party of China, said about 60 million flowers were needed to decorate parts of the city during next year's Olympic Games.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2007-08/10/content_6020951.htm
Beijing rolls out the red carpet
By Lei Lei and Raymond Zhou (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-09 07:05
In a lavish show of pageantry at Tian'anmen Square, the world was formally invited to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
All members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) were invited by IOC President Jacques Rogge to come to China as the country started the one-year countdown to the opening of the Games.
Last night's ceremony started at 8 pm, exactly one year before the opening ceremony of the Games on 2008/08/08. The number eight is considered auspicious in China.
"The Olympic Games are the celebration of the values of Olympics and of sporting ideals by the youth of the world. They engender dreams and inspiration in the hearts of young people everywhere. I therefore call upon you all to enjoy the Games one year from now," said Rogge.
The presidents of the Greek, Canadian, British, Russian and Chinese National Olympic Committees accepted the invitation letters from Rogge as representatives of national and regional Olympic committees.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2007-08/09/content_6018486.htm
Monsoon flooding kills 575 in South Asia
Updated: 2007-08-10 19:51
NEW DELHI - Authorities rushed food, drinking water and medicine to India's flood-hit areas on Friday to ward off epidemics, as thousands of people returned to their damaged homes and the death toll in South Asia reached at least 575 people.
Torrential rains have stranded some 19 million in the past two weeks across much of northern India, Bangladesh and Nepal, flooding rivers and submerging villages and farmland, officials said. Since the monsoon started in June, more than 1,550 people have died in India alone, the Indian Home Ministry said.
A reprieve in the monsoon rains created ponds of stagnant water that could breed diseases in thousands of flood-hit villages in India's Uttar Pradesh and Bihar states.
Doctors have treated more than 1,500 people for diarrhea caused by contaminated drinking water in 22 flood-hit districts in the past 10 days, said L.B. Prasad, director-general of government health services in Uttar Pradesh state.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-08/10/content_6022101.htm
US, Russia Missile Defense Dispute
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/world_missile_page.html
China: One step closer to the Moon
By Xin Dingding (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-11 07:33
China announced on Friday that its Moon probe project has entered the launching phase, and the satellite and the carrier rocket are ready for launch.
The China National Space Administration said on Friday that the first lunar orbiter, Chang'e I, and the carrier rocket, a Long March 3-A, have both passed testing.
The launch site, testing system and ground application system have also been completed for launch.
With all systems go, the leading team for the Moon exploration project gathered a mobilization meeting on Friday and announced the project had entered a new stage.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-08/11/content_6022342.htm
Nation plans to boost drug safety
By Zhu Zhe (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-11 07:33
The country's top watchdog for food and drug safety wants to make it mandatory for producers to recall defective, unsafe drugs and medical devices.
If producers do not carry out the recalls on their own, the government will order a recall and fine the producer up to three times the value of the products, according to a draft regulation published on the website of the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) on Thursday.
The regulation states that producers must inform the public and retailers if it is revealed their products are unsafe.
Retailers also must stop selling the products immediately or they will face a fine of up to 50,000 yuan ($6,600).
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-08/11/content_6022341.htm
S. Korean hostages freed: Taliban
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-08-11 23:54
KABUL, August 11 -- Two female South Korean hostages were freed by the Taliban on Saturday night, a purported Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi said.
The two hostages were free now and staying in Ghazni province, Ahmadi told Xinhua from an undisclosed place, adding they were in good condition.
They were freed as the Taliban leadership wanted to show a " good gesture" toward South Korean authorities, he said.
The Taliban wanted to accelerate the talks on 21 South Korean hostages by releasing the two females, he added.
Several South Korean diplomats and two Taliban delegates, who are Mullah Bashir and Mullah Nasratullah, carried out first face- to-face talks on the hostages on Friday and Saturday in Ghazni city, the capital of Ghazni province.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-08/11/content_6022739.htm
2 bodies found in Minn. bridge wreckage
Updated: 2007-08-10 08:55
MINNEAPOLIS -- Divers pulled two more bodies from the wreckage of the collapsed Mississippi River bridge Thursday, bringing the disaster's confirmed death toll to seven, more than a week after the span crumbled.One more body believed found in bridge ruins
Construction equipment that was being used for bridge repair before last week's bridge collapse stands amidst the other wreckage of the Interstate 35W bridge Thursday, Aug. 9, 2007 in Minneapolis. The bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River last week, claiming seven lives with several others missing. [AP]
Crews have been searching for at least eight people missing and presumed killed in the Aug. 1 collapse, including a mother and her young daughter and another woman and her adult son.
One of the two bodies recovered Thursday was identified as Peter Joseph Hausmann, 47, of suburban Rosemount. Police did not identify the other victim or say whether the bodies were found together.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-08/10/content_6020353.htm
A ninth victim found in U.S. bridge collapse
(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-08-11 05:36
MINNEAPOLIS - Recovery teams in Minnesota found a ninth victim from last week's highway bridge collapse, police said on Friday.
Four people are still listed as missing. The recovery operation since the August 1 collapse has been slowed by the tangled wreckage in the murky waters of the fast-moving Mississippi River, but the body of a man and the remains from two other victims were found on Thursday.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters announced that $50 million of the $250 million approved by Congress would be released immediately to help Minnesota with cleanup, recovery, and reconstruction of the bridge.
The Interstate 35W bridge was a vital artery that carried 140,000 vehicles a day.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-08/11/content_6022266.htm
Pakistani president to attend joint grand jirga in Kabul
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-08-11 01:12
ISLAMABAD -- Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has agreed to attend the concluding session of the Pakistani-Afghan joint grand jirga to be held in Kabul on August 12, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday.
Talking to private DAWN NEWS TV channel, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirmed that after receiving an invitation from Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Musharraf has agreed to attend the joint jirga on Sunday.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-08/11/content_6022183.htm
We're here, we're queer and we're proud of it
By Shan Juan (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-11 07:34
The straight definitely became the minority at a cheesy bar, dimly lit in pink, in downtown Beijing Friday night, where the shooting of the Heart of Crystal, China's first ever grassroots gay film was heralded to the mostly gay 100-odd audience.
The alternative tearjerker tells of the bittersweet romance between a pair of gay men, inspired by the 42-year-old Beijing-based gay illustrator Mao Zhiyong, also the director.
Due out for online screening by the end of the year, the small budget movie, based on Mao's personal experience, aims to show the true-life picture of China's millions of gay men and strive for more social tolerance for the community.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-08/11/content_6022349.htm
Market spared from crisis
By Xin Zhiming (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-11 07:34
The Chinese market remained relatively calm yesterday as the US subprime contagion spread to other markets in what could be the most serious crisis since the Asian financial turmoil in 1997.
But economists said there are potential risks that the crisis may later have a substantial impact on the Chinese economy.
The A-share Shanghai Composite Index edged down on Friday only by 4.7 points, or 0.1 percent after recovering from mid-session slump.
Asia's other major stock markets the same day fell as much as 4 per cent on concerns about a credit weakness in the US.
The Nikkei 225 index dropped 406.51 points, or 2.37 percent while the Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 80.19 points, or 4.2 percent.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-08/11/content_6022350.htm
Chinese "environment activist" sentenced to 3 years
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-08-11 10:49
YIXING, Jiangsu Province-- A Chinese man who claimed himself to be an environment activist has been sentenced to three years in prison on charges of extortion and fraud on Friday.
Wu Lihong, 39, a farmer in Zhoutie Township of Yixing City in east China's Jiangsu Province, was also fined 3,000 yuan (about 390 U.S. dollars), the Yixing City People's Court ruled.
The court said in October, 2003, Wu got to know that the Changzhou-based Wujin Dongfang Dust-removal Equipment Factory signed a contract with the No.17 Metallurgical Construction Co., Ltd, which was based in east China's Anhui Province, to provide dust filters to the company.
Wu went to the Wujin Dongfang factory and claimed himself to be an "environment activist" and he had close connections with the provincial and city-level environment protection authorities.
He threatened the factory that its equipment would not pass environmental tests and the factory would not be able to obtain due profits from its business partners if Wu failed to get kickbacks from the deal.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-08/11/content_6022450.htm
Audits weed out corrupt officials
By Cao Li (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-11 07:34
SHANGHAI: The cases of four government officials have been sent to the judicial department for legal proceedings. The government conducted an audit of the officials' departments over a three-year period.
Twenty-two others have been sacked or downgraded.
From 2004 to 2006, 785 officials and 113 leaders of State-owned enterprises (SOE) in Shanghai were audited. They were found to have misappropriated 1.385 billion yuan and mismanaged 7.14 billion yuan. Of this sum, 620 million yuan was directly related to officials or SOE heads.
Another 3.95 million yuan was used for their personal gain.
The Shanghai municipal government has vowed to conduct stricter supervision through auditing. A regulation stipulating the auditing of officials and SOE heads was introduced recently.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-08/11/content_6022345.htm
Ship sails to HK full of scientific discoveries
By Sun Xiaohua (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-11 07:34
HONG KONG: Dayang Yihao, or Ocean No 1, China's most advanced scientific research ship, arrived here on a maiden visit on Friday.
If weather permits, it will open its decks to 5,000 Hong Kong visitors at the weekend.
The ship will showcase some of its scientific findings from a just completed 220-day voyage.
China's only deep-sea research vessel, the Dayang Yihao recently discovered active hydrothermal vents, or "black smokers", on a ridge in the Indian Ocean.
Black smokers are formed when super-heated water from the ocean floor surfaces.
Sulfides in the superheated water often crystallize to create a chimney-like structure around the vent.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-08/11/content_6022346.htm
The right to die remains a thorny issue
By Zou Hanru (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-10 07:12
A terminally ill patient should be given the right to die.
That's the message a Hong Kong man has been trying to get across to the community and get through the corridors of power. His book on the same topic was a central attraction at the Hong Kong Book Fair late last month.
This man is not a human rights activist, nor a liberal politician expounding his pro-choice philosophy. He is a quadriplegic patient in Hong Kong who has asked former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa to grant him the right to die of his own accord.
Tang Siu-pun, 38, was a very healthy and athletic young man until he broke his spinal cord in a failed backward somersault during a gymnastic rehearsal in 1991. Over the next 16 years, he spent most of his time staring at the ceiling above his hospital bed.
Does a person like him deserve euthanasia? The law here says no.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2007-08/10/content_6020319.htm
Good services also key to the success of Games
By Li Xing (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-09 07:28
Beijing started the one-year countdown to the 2008 Olympics in the wee hours of yesterday by sending invitations to every corner of the world.
As a Beijinger, the changes taking place in my neighborhood, which is no more than a couple kilometers from the Olympic Stadium, mirrors the hard work the city has been doing to get itself ready. Signs directing visitors to hotels and Games sites have been erected at important exits of expressways and street intersections.
A six-lane thoroughfare is almost open right outside the residential compound where I live, reducing the years' long traffic congestion in the area. Trees and brushes are being planted to help reduce the effect of CO2 emissions.
More importantly, underneath the same street, the No 5 subway is on trial runs. The subway will naturally encourage us to leave a smaller eco-footprint when we visit the Olympic Village to the north and Tian'anmen Square and Wangfujing Street in the heart of Beijing.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2007-08/09/content_6018540.htm
Yangtze dolphin 'functionally extinct'
[ 2007-08-10 14:36 ]
The long-threatened Yangtze River dolphin has been declared "functionally extinct" after an expedition late last year failed to find any, international researchers have said.
Samuel Turvey, a conservation biologist with the Zoological Society of London who took part in the intensive six-week search, said no evidence was found of the freshwater dolphin, also known as the baiji, which was last spotted several years ago.
He said the dolphin's demise - a result of over-fishing, pollution and lack of intervention - was a cautionary tale and should spur governments and scientists to act to save other species on the verge of extinction.
"Ours is the first scientific study to have failed to find any," Turvey said in a telephone interview.
"Even if there are a few left, we couldn't find them and therefore can't do anything to stop their extinction."
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/language_tips/2007-08/10/content_6021752.htm
US candidates discuss China...
[ 2007-08-09 14:11 ]
Is China an ally or an adversary of the United States? The question, raised at seminars and US congressional gatherings all the time, dominated the televised public debate among Democratic presidential candidates in Chicago on Tuesday.
At a time when context is more important than the issue, almost all the speakers made tough-sounding speeches on China.
Those who followed the public debates between George W. Bush and Bill Clinton eight years ago might have been shocked by the present US president's verbal attack against his predecessor for his "too soft" policy toward China.
Today, Bush himself draws flak despite being quite successful in dealing with China.
That is what politics is all about in the US, or more specifically during the presidential campaign.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/language_tips/2007-08/09/content_6019188.htm
UK mulls scholarships for Chinese students
By Chen Jia (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-11 07:33
A British MP's bill to parliament could pave the way for more Chinese students to study in the UK.
According to a report in the Independent newspaper, Gordon Marsden, Labour MP for Blackpool South and a senior member of the select committee, proposed a bill on August 5 offering more scholarships to Chinese students.
He proposed that the new scholarships be "split three ways, with one-third UK government funding, one-third Chinese government and one-third businesses that are operating in China".
This would help bolster Britain's worldwide reputation as a centre for international students, the report quoted Marsden as saying.
Bill Rammell, the minister for higher education, welcomed the "constructive recommendations" of the MP, the Independent reported.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-08/11/content_6022339.htm
UK mulls scholarships for Chinese students
By Chen Jia (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-11 07:33
A British MP's bill to parliament could pave the way for more Chinese students to study in the UK.
According to a report in the Independent newspaper, Gordon Marsden, Labour MP for Blackpool South and a senior member of the select committee, proposed a bill on August 5 offering more scholarships to Chinese students.
He proposed that the new scholarships be "split three ways, with one-third UK government funding, one-third Chinese government and one-third businesses that are operating in China".
This would help bolster Britain's worldwide reputation as a centre for international students, the report quoted Marsden as saying.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-08/11/content_6022339.htm
Guards punished for helping jailed China tycoon
(Reuter)
Updated: 2007-08-10 23:06
SHANGHAI - A Shanghai court has punished four former prison officials who helped ease a jailed Chinese tycoon's time behind bars in exchange for money, state media said on Friday.
The four officials were given up to 11 years in jail, the official Xinhua news agency said.
Zhou Zhengyi, once named China's 11th richest man with an estimated worth of $320 million, was released from prison in 2006 after serving a three-year sentence for stock market fraud and falsifying documents.
Huang Jian, once head of the Shanghai prison system, and his wife received more than 400,000 yuan ($52,820) from Zhou in exchange for "looking after him and sending letters and documents for him", Xinhua added.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-08/10/content_6022162.htm
Players compete underwater
(newsphoto)
Updated: 2007-08-06 14:37
A player rides a bike underwater in a recreational game at Dalian Sun Asia Ocean World in Dalian, Northeast China's Liaoning Province August 5, 2007. [newsphoto]
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-08/06/content_5448603.htm
Income disparity getting worse: Report
By Xin Zhiming (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-09 07:17
China's Gini coefficient, a standard measure of a country's overall income inequality, rose to 0.473 in 2004 from 0.4 in 1993, according to a report by the Asia Development Bank (ADB) released yesterday.
It is the latest figure for assessing income disparities and crosses the international warning line of 0.4.
A coefficient of between 0.3 and 0.4 is generally deemed normal, but the larger it is, the more serious the inequality.
The World Bank said in a previous report that China's Gini coefficient was 0.45 in 2003, a figure that aroused widespread concern.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-08/09/content_6018187.htm
NDRC: GDP may grow 11.4% in third quarter
By Rong Xiandong (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-08-10 17:04
China's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow 11.4 percent in the third quarter of this year, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) predicted in a research report, according to The Economic Daily.
However, the growth rate doesn't mean economic overheating as the country's potential economic growth rate has risen to 11-12 percent from its previous 9-10 percent, said the State Information Center, under the NDRC, in the report.
The consumer price index (CPI) growth so far is obviously structural and therefore will not trigger overall inflation, according to the report.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2007-08/10/content_6021947.htm
Liquidity looms behind excess deposit reserve ratio
By Ding Qi (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-08-10 17:17
By the end of June, the ratio of excess deposit reserves, or money from commercial banks parked at the central bank above requirements, grew much higher than expected, indicating a setback in the financial authorities' tightening measures against excess liquidity, according to the China Securities Journal.
Why did the usually powerful monetary fists of the central bank fail this time? A probe into the financial mechanism as well as the market may lead to better understanding.
Assuming the monetary needs of commercial banks remain steady, the excess deposit reserve will go down with the hike in the required reserve ratio, since the extra money was transformed into the required reserves.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2007-08/10/content_6021953.htm
Riding the bull is certainly not easy sport
(China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-07 11:36
It's a record: 13 million yuan ($1.72 million) in 103 days. That won Wang Xiujie a sobriquet, too: "Big Brother Leader 777". But the nouveau riche's story didn't end like a fairy tale. He has been arrested for running an unlicensed securities consultancy business.
So what's the story behind the story? The answer lies in the charge of the bull in the stock market and the ever-increasing number of small investors. The Shanghai Composite Index has catapulted from 2715 on January 4 to above 4600 today. And during its peak, an average day saw more than 300,000 people opening A-share accounts.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2007-08/07/content_6015166.htm
Coca-Cola aims to make China its largest market
(China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-07 11:52
This year marks the 80th anniversary of Coca-Cola's entry into China, now its fourth largest market after the US, Mexico and Brazil.
The world's largest beverage company, which recently launched an $80 million global research center and new China headquarters in Shanghai, is planning to boost investment in sales infrastructure and product range in the country, a market that could become Coca-Cola's largest, the company says.
Doug Jackson, who became president of Coca-Cola China in April, talks with China Daily reporter Zheng Lifei about his company's goals and strategy in China.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2007-08/07/content_6015222.htm
Report: Japan to develop stealth fighter jets
(AP)
Updated: 2007-08-11 18:21
TOKYO _ Japan is set to develop its own next-generation stealth fighter jets to reduce its dependence on foreign technology and counter similar moves by China and Russia, a news report said Saturday.
Japan, which wants to replace its aging fighter fleet, has also made overtures to Washington on the possibility of purchasing the U.S. F-22 Raptor stealth fighter.
However, the U.S. Congress has repeatedly banned the sale of the plane to any foreign government, in an attempt to safeguard the country's advanced technology.
Japan's Defense Ministry now aims to test its own prototype stealth jet _ fitted with a domestic engine, advanced control system and radar-jamming device _ within five years, the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper reported, citing a budget plan submitted Friday by the ministry.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-08/11/content_6022570.htm
19 Phili. soldiers killed in attack
(AP)
Updated: 2007-08-10 10:05
MANILA, Philippines -- Suspected militants from the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group ambushed a troops truck Thursday and later battled pursuing soldiers, killing 19 soldiers and wounding 12 others, the Philippine military said.
The insurgents killed nine soldiers before fleeing the second major attack on government troops in recent weeks, said Maj. Eugene Batara, spokesman for the military's Western Mindanao Command.
Troops from the same unit pursuing the militants came upon a bigger insurgent group, sparking a firefight that left 10 soldiers dead and 10 wounded, said Army Col. Antonio Supnet.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-08/10/content_6021007.htm
2 arrested in US schoolyard deaths
(AP)
Updated: 2007-08-10 10:25
NEWARK, N.J. -- A 28-year-old man and a teenage boy were charged Thursday in the execution-style schoolyard killings of three college students and the wounding of another, a crime that has outraged this violence-marred city.
This photo provided by Newark police at a news conference in Newark, N.J., Thursday, Aug. 9, 2007, shows Jose Carranza, 31, who is wanted in connection with the killings of three college students Saturday night. [AP]
The arrests came within hours of each other, with police taking the 15-year-old boy into custody Wednesday night and the man, Jose Carranza, surrendering to the mayor on Thursday.
"We believe that others were involved in this heinous crime," Essex County Prosecutor Paula T. Dow said. "We're looking for them."
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-08/10/content_6021098.htm
16 Pakistani troops missing
(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-08-10 04:53
WANA, Pakistan - Sixteen Pakistani paramilitary soldiers were missing on Thursday in a region regarded as a hotbed of support for the Taliban and al Qaeda, and security officials feared militants may have abducted them.
The men went missing while being transported back to their base in Jandola, 50 km (30 miles) east of Wana, the main town in South Waziristan, a semi-autonomous tribal land on the border with Afghanistan.
"They were supposed to reach Jandola in the evening, but so far we have no information about their whereabouts," military spokesman Major-General Waheed Arshad said.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-08/10/content_6019989.htm
Breast implants linked with suicide
(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-08-09 10:30
WASHINGTON -- Women who get cosmetic breast implants are nearly three times as likely to commit suicide as other women, US researchers reported on Wednesday.
The study, published in the Annals of Plastic Surgery, reinforces several others that have shown women who have breast enlargements have higher suicide risks.
Loren Lipworth of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Tennessee and colleagues followed up on 3,527 Swedish women who had cosmetic breast implant surgery between 1965 and 1993. They looked at death certificates to analyze causes of death among women with breast implants.
Only 24 of the women had committed suicide after an average of 19 years, but this worked out to triple the risk compared to the average population, they reported. Doctors who perform cosmetic breast surgery may want to monitor patients closely or screen them for suicide risk, Lipworth said.
"The increased risk of suicide was not apparent until 10 years after implantation," the researchers wrote.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-08/09/content_6018865.htm
Blind man arrested for driving car
(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-08-07 09:23
TALLINN -- Police in the Baltic state of Estonia stopped a man who was driving erratically at the weekend, only to find he was blind.
The 20-year-old was driving in the southern city of Tartu early Sunday -- helped by instructions from his 16-year-old passenger.
"At first they thought he was just drunk, but the man kept missing the tube for the breath test, then they realized he was blind" and arrested him, Tartu Police spokeswoman Marge Kohtla said Monday.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-08/07/content_5448970.htm
Firm sees big impact from enlarging condoms
(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-08-10 09:20
LONDON -- British condom maker Futura Medical Plc said on Thursday that results of a study showed its new condom helped men have firmer and bigger erections, as well as a longer-lasting sexual experience.
Shares in the company, which specializes in sexual healthcare and pain relief, rose 14.5 percent to 59.25 pence on hopes the condom, which will be marketed by Durex condom-maker SSL International, could go on sale next year.
Futura said the study of 108 healthy couples showed its CSD500 condom helped men to get a firmer erection compared with a standard condom, increased penis size and made the sexual experience last longer, delivering statistically significant results.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-08/10/content_6020629.htm
Beheaded snake sends man to hospital
(AP)
Updated: 2007-08-10 09:20
PROSSER, Wash. -- Turns out, even beheaded rattlesnakes can be dangerous. That's what 53-year-old Danny Anderson learned as he was feeding his horses Monday night, when a 5-foot rattler slithered onto his central Washington property, about 50 miles southeast of Yakima.
Anderson and his 27-year-old son, Benjamin, pinned the snake with an irrigation pipe and cut off its head with a shovel. A few more strikes to the head left it sitting under a pickup truck.
"When I reached down to pick up the head, it raised around and did a backflip almost, and bit my finger," Anderson said. "I had to shake my hand real hard to get it to let loose."
His wife insisted they go to the hospital, and by the time they arrived at Prosser Memorial Hospital 10 minutes later, Anderson's tongue was swollen and the venom was spreading. He then was taken by ambulance 30 miles to a Richland hospital to get the full series of six shots he needed.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-08/10/content_6020628.htm
Experts uncover clue in rosacea progress
(AP)
Updated: 2007-08-06 16:50
WASHINGTON -- Their cheeks glow red for no apparent reason, the condition comes and goes and can worsen over time. It is almost like acne, but generally affects people age 30 to 60.
Researchers now believe they have found a key mechanism that drives rosacea, a possible clue that could point the way to a future treatment for the condition that affects 14 million people in the United States.
Overproduction of two inflammatory proteins results in excessive levels of a third protein that leads to rosacea symptoms, a research team reported in Sunday's online edition of the journal Nature Medicine.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-08/06/content_5448677.htm
Coffee may slowmemory declines in women - study
(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-08-07 09:20
WASHINGTON -- Drinking more than three cups of coffee a day helped protect older women against some age-related memory decline, French researchers said on Monday, giving women more reason to love the world's most popular stimulant.
A worker shows a dried coffee beans in Dili in this July 5, 2007 file photo. Drinking more than three cups of coffee a day helped protect older women against some age-related memory decline, French researchers said on Monday, giving women more reason to love the world's most popular stimulant. [Reuters]
Men did not enjoy the same benefit, they said.
"The more coffee one drank, the better the effects seemed to be on (women's) memory functioning in particular," said Karen Ritchie at the French National Institute of Medical Research, whose work appears in the journal Neurology.
The researchers followed more than 7,000 men and women in three French cities, checking their health and mental function and asking them about their current and past eating and drinking habits, their friends, and their daily activities.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-08/07/content_5448965.htm
Paralyzed gymnast stands up
By Yu Nan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-08-10 17:14
A paralyzed gymnast Wang Yan can stand up and get about with crutch, who recovered beyond doctors’ expectation since she broke her neck in an accidental falldown from uneven bars at the national championship early June.
“Wang Yan currently is about to get around by herself since the convalescence training just started a week before, said Wu Xiqin, chief coach with the Zhejiang Provincial gymnastics team.
The girl fell into a coma at the national gymnastics championships in Shanghai June 10 after landing head-first on the mat in her dismount from the uneven bars with her second and third vertebrae fractured.
Sources after the accident said that the girl would likely be paralyzed for life, but after surgery and treatment, her condition improved considerably.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/sports/2007-08/10/content_6021956.htm
China's July trade surplus at US$24.4 billion
(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-08-10 14:02
China's trade surplus soared to its second-highest monthly level on record in July, according to data reported Friday, amid mounting pressure by US lawmakers to sanction Beijing over trade and currency disputes.
July's surplus totaled US$24.4 billion, the Xinhua News Agency reported, citing the Chinese customs agency. That was a 40 percent jump from the year-earlier period and beat every previous month except June's all-time high of US$26.9 billion.
Analysts had expected the surplus to ease in July after exporters rushed to ship goods in earlier months to beat changes in tax policy meant to narrow China's trade gap.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-08/10/content_6021621.htm
Economy to grow 11.4 percent in third quarter
By Dong Zhixin (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-08-10 14:30
China's economic growth is expected to slow down to 11.4 percent in the third quarter from 11.9 percent in the previous three months, the State Information Center said in a report published on Friday.
Inflation will accelerate to 4.3 percent during the third quarter, 1.1 percentage points higher than that in the first half of this year, according to the report.
The think-tank under the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planner, attributed the predicted slowdown in Gross Domestic Product to three factors.
The government's efforts to curb high-polluting, high-energy consumption industries will affect the overall economic growth, the report said. The effect of the monetary tightening policies adopted in the first half is starting to kick in.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-08/10/content_6021707.htm
The Rock Hill Herald
Richburg fabric plant to close, cut 50 jobs
F. Schumacher center will shut down by March '08
By Adam O'Daniel · aodaniel@heraldonline.com
Updated 08/11/07 - 1:13 AM
RICHBURG -- F. Schumacher & Co. will close its distribution center in Richburg and lay off about 50 workers, the company announced this week, dealing another blow to Chester County's jobless rate.
Plant employees were told Tuesday that layoffs will begin in December, said Gail Maddox, vice president of human resources. By March 2008, the plant will close permanently, she said, and its dwindling operations will be moved to the company's Newark, Del., headquarters.
"These kind of business decisions are so difficult to make because we've been very visible in the community for so long," said Maddox, who delivered the somber news to workers during a plant meeting. "It's sad for everyone."
http://www.heraldonline.com/front/story/95065.html
Say goodbye to triple-digit temps, meteorologists say
By Adam MacInnis · The Herald
Updated 08/11/07 - 1:13 AM
People worried after a week of warmth can stop sweating -- figuratively at least.
The days of record-setting heat have come to an end.
Though it will still be warm, it won't be getting any hotter, meteorologists said Friday, predicting cooler temperatures in the 90s.
Temperatures peaked at 103 degrees in Rock Hill on Friday afternoon. Prior to this week, it had not been that hot since Aug. 23, 1983. Thursday's high temperature was 104 degrees, matching a York County record set on Sept. 6, 1954.
http://www.heraldonline.com/front/story/95066.html
Myrtle Beach Sun News
Strong storms slam Horry; at least 9 injured
From staff reports
/Charles Bryant/Special to The Sun News
Charles Bryant took this photo Friday night along U.S. 501 near the former Waccamaw Pottery area.
A violent storm late Friday caused extensive damage in western Horry County and left several trees downed, power outages and at least nine people injured, including two firefighters.
Authorities said a storm hit around 11 p.m. and quickly set off a barrage of calls from people reporting damage, injuries and power outages. Officials also are investigating a report of a possible tornado touchdown in the Loris area. No serious injuries were reported.
Emergency officials worked through the night Friday and into Saturday at the Horry County Emergency Operations Center, which is not yet fully operational, to coordinate storm clean-up efforts. Crews will work on clean up through this morning, said Todd Cartner, public information officer for Horry County Fire Rescue.
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/story/155099.html
Storm damage assessed
By Jonathan Tressler - The Sun News
Officials and emergency crews are working to clean and tally up the damage caused by violent weather that downed trees and power lines and caused significant damage throughout Horry County overnight.
Among the worst-hit area was the Duford community north of S.C. 9, said Lisa Bourcier, Horry County public information officer, this morning.
At the height of the storm, 1,839 electric customers experienced power loss, the bulk of whom were in Surfside Beach, Garden City Beach and Pawleys Island, said Santee Cooper spokeswoman Laura Varn.
Bourcier said there was a significant amount of damage to structures, trees down and other strom-related fallout on Mt. Olive Church Road between S.C. 917 and the N.C. state line in Duford.
She said seven people whose mobile home was overturned by Friday night's wind have been released from the hospital as have two firefighters who were injured when the apparatus they were driving to the scene of some storm damage hit a fallen tree.
The American Red Cross is assisting the seven residents who were displaced by the storm, Bourcier reports.
The Horry County emergency management department partially opened its emergency operations center at 11:30 p.m. to assist, according to Bourcier, and it closed shortly after 2:30 a.m. It will re-open later this morning.
Continuing coverage of the overnight storm will be posted throughout the day.
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/breaking_news/story/155165.html
DROWNING
23-year-old man dies in waterway
By Jonathan Tressler - The Sun News
Horry County Fire Rescue divers pulled the body of a man from the Intracoastal Waterway shortly before 4 p.m. Friday.
The man's friends, who are Brazilian and speak very little English, were at the scene in the 20 block of Smith Boulevard and called for help from a cell phone at 2:47 p.m., according to county dispatch records.
Rescuers launched a boat at 3:37 p.m. and recovered the 23-year-old man's body around 3:50 p.m., about 20 feet from shore.
Horry County Deputy Coroner Tamara Willard said she wasn't sure where the man lived locally.
His name was not available Friday.
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/story/155015.html
Waters reopen after likely shark bites
By Bruce Smith - The Associated Press
A man and a 9-year-old boy bitten hours apart while swimming along an S.C. beach likely suffered shark bites, a marine biologist said Friday, but local officials say the reports have not raised new concerns.
The waters along a seven-mile stretch of the Isle of Palms, which had been closed after the Thursday incidents, were reopened Friday to swimmers.
"It sounds from the extent of the bites they likely were shark bites," said Bryan Frazier, a marine biologist with the state Department of Natural Resources who said he would need to see photos to say for sure. "From what I've heard, they probably are shark bites."
The man and the boy, who were both treated at hospitals, were bitten within three hours of each other, said Isle of Palms administrator Linda Tucker.
The man was listed as stable at the East Cooper Regional Medical Center Friday after undergoing surgery, said Pam Tucker, a spokeswoman for the hospital. She said she could not release his name or the nature of his injuries.
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/story/155020.html
Tolling on I-73 gains federal approval
S.C. learns provision also allows private investment
By Kelly Marshall Fuller - The Sun News
A federal provision that would allow tolling on Interstate 73 or possible partnership with private investors to fund the large-scale road project was announced Friday to commissioners from the S.C. Department of Transportation.
The news pleased tourism officials, who are waiting for the construction of the road to help bring more visitors to the Grand Strand.
The planned road, which eventually will run from Horry County to Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., will be the first interstate connection to the Grand Strand, which receives at least 90 percent of its visitors by car.
Such a thoroughfare could introduce the area to thousands of tourists who otherwise might not visit, or it could provide an easier route for regular visitors, according to highway officials.
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/story/154972.html
110 in the shade
High temperatures, concern for players' health push back start of jamboree
By Terry Massey - The Sun News
GEORGETOWN You've heard of a countdown to kickoff. This was the cooldown to kickoff.
The start of Friday night's Battle of the Bay high school football jamboree was delayed by more than two hours while teams waited for the sun and and temperatures on the thermometer to sink.
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/192/story/155031.html
Leaders huddle over plans for area's growth
By Lisa Fleisher - The Sun News
TOM MURRAY/The Sun News
Barry DuVal, president and CEO of Kaufman & Canoles Consulting LLC, was the keynote speaker of the Growth Summit 2007.
At an economic summit packed with Grand Strand business and government leaders Friday afternoon, an unlikely moment of emotion from one of the elder statesmen reminded the group of the human need for a major interstate leading inland from the coast.
Joe Young, who had just been voted vice chairman of the S.C. DOT commission earlier that morning, choked back tears as he recalled the time when his family hunkered down in their house through Hurricane Hazel in 1954.
"[The house] began to shift," he said. "I prayed harder. And I realized how important the ability to leave was before a hurricane."
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/story/155014.html
Bombing in southern Iraq kills governor
By HAMID AHMED - Associated Press Writer
A powerful roadside bomb on Saturday killed the governor and police chief of a southern province that has seen fierce internal fighting between Shiite factions, officials said.
The bomb struck a convoy carrying the Khalil Jalil Hamza, the governor of the Qadisiyah province, and the provincial police chief home from a funeral service for a tribal sheik at about 5 p.m., army Brig. Gen. Othman al-Farood said.
Hamza and the police chief, Maj. Gen. Khalid Hassan, were killed, along with their driver and a body guard who were in the same SUV, according to al-Farood, the commander of the Iraqi army division in charge of the area.
The attack occurred in the town of Aajaf, as the convoy was headed back to the provincial capital of Diwaniyah, 80 miles south of Baghdad.
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/616/story/155159.html
3 men killed in Indiana mine accident
By KEITH ROBINSON - Associated Press Writer
Jane Bell/AP
Map locates area where three people were killed in a mine shaft; 1c x 2 3/4 inches; 46.5 mm x 69.9 mm
Authorities want answers to what caused three men to fall from a construction bucket inside a coal mine air shaft and plunge 500 feet to their deaths.
The trip in the open-top bucket Friday was routine, but the bucket was somehow upset as it was descending, said George Zugel, director of safety and health for Frontier-Kemper Constructors Inc. The company is building the 550-foot vertical ventilation shaft at the Gibson County Coal mine in southern Indiana.
"I can't express enough these were more than co-workers, these were our very close personal friends," Zugel said. "It's terrible."
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/616/story/154362.html
Regionalism Working?
Today's sixth Growth Summit should demonstrate that it is
Readers legitimately may wonder whether The Sun News' joint effort with Coastal Carolina University to foster a regional approach to planning and progress is doing any good. Today's Growth Summit, to be held at CCU's Wall School of Business between 1:30 and 4:30 p.m., is the sixth in a series that began in 2002.
Some observers legitimately are skeptical that regionalism is possible. Despite the newspaper's and university's consciousness-raising on the benefits of working cooperatively on regional problems, some local leaders still prefer to squabble. A case in point: the protracted inability of Horry County and the city of Myrtle Beach to improve air service at Myrtle Beach International Airport - a dispute that has grown tiresome beyond measure.
Observers who look past that example, however, can find evidence that cooperation across northeastern South Carolina is not only happening but obtaining results. The most shining example is the focus of today's Growth Summit: Interstate 73.
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/opinion/story/153823.html
Carolina Morning News
Tolls approved to fund I-73: I-73, for South Carolina, could cost $2 billion, require 80 new miles
Friday, Aug 10, 2007 - 11:25 PM
By Terry Ward
Officials from the S.C. Department of Transportation learned Friday that a request to collect tolls on the proposed Interstate 73 has been approved by the federal government.
The proposed interstate — from Myrtle Beach to Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. — will, if built, run through four counties in South Carolina, including Marlboro, Dillon, Marion and Horry counties.
“Bob Lee of the Federal Highway Administration told us that we will have tolling authority for I-73,” SCDOT director Buck Limehouse said.
During a meeting of SCDOT commissioners Friday, Limehouse said I-73 was accepted as one of five pilot projects in the nation that will be allowed to use toll funds for construction.
“It’s the first time ever that the federal government has allowed for tolls to be collected to finance the building of an interstate,” Michael Covington, SCDOT’s director of administration, said.
State lawmakers passed legislation in 2006 that will allow for toll collection to help finance I-73 construction, once it is built.
http://www.morningnewsonline.com/midatlantic/scp/news.apx.-content-articles-FMN-2007-08-10-0021.html
State asks for right to toll I-95
Friday, Aug 10, 2007 - 11:27 PM
By Terry Ward
The state has applied for the right to charge tolls on Interstate 95, an official with the S.C. Department of Transportation said Friday.
Michael Covington, the SCDOT’s director of administration, said South Carolina, along with North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia and Florida, has asked the Federal Highway Administration for permission to post tolls booths on the interstate.
The funds collected would be used for the refurbishment and maintenance of the interstate.
The application was made to the “Corridors of the Future” pilot program, Covington said.
He said he expects to get an answer from the FHA in September.
All five states would have to agree to collect the tolls in I-95, and legislation in South Carolina would have to be changed to allow for tolls to be collected on I-95, Covington said.
http://www.morningnewsonline.com/midatlantic/scp/news.apx.-content-articles-FMN-2007-08-10-0022.html
The Aiken Standard
Aug 11, 11:56 AM EDT
Hurricane Flossie upgraded to Category 4
By JAYMES SONG
Associated Press Writer
HONOLULU (AP) -- Hurricane Flossie strengthened to a Category 4 storm Saturday as it spun more than 1,000 miles south of Hawaii.
At 11 a.m. EDT, Flossie had intensified with maximum sustained winds near 132 mph, and was about 1,100 miles southeast of Hilo, Hawaii. Flossie was upgraded to Category 3 from a Category 1 overnight.
The storm was expected to weaken later in the day as it passed over cooler waters. It was traveling west at about 12 mph.
Jeff Powell, lead forecaster at the National Weather Service in Honolulu, said Flossie hadn't changed its course and was expected to pass the Hawaiian Islands early Wednesday with rough surf. A "ramp up" of surf on the Big Island was expected late Monday.
The island's southeastern shores could see waves of 8 to 12 feet, forecasters said, with the surf rising during the day Monday and peaking Tuesday. The island's South Point is the southernmost area of the United States.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TROPICAL_WEATHER?SITE=SCAIK&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Rex: Law could be burden on taxpayers
Sat, Aug 11, 2007
By ROB NOVIT
Senior writer
COLUMBIA — School districts with greater financial resources — the Aiken County district among them — may have to "tread water for a while" while the poorest districts catch up on funding, State Superintendent Dr. Jim Rex said Friday.
The S.C. General Assembly's property-tax reform measure is not going to be popular when it places a greater tax burden on the business community, he told reporters during a workshop on school-related issues.
Yet the legislation could help some struggling districts by providing them a minimum funding level that will be much higher than the state revenue they currently receive.
"About one-third of students in the state are severely disadvantaged," said Rex. "This state won't move ahead and have economic improvement until we address that huge percentage. The districts with more resources are going to have to play catch-up."
http://www.aikenstandard.com/news/327991412968681.php
Press breakdown brings delay
Sat, Aug 11, 2007
Due to a mechanical breakdown in our printing facility, the Aiken Standard had to print its papers in Charleston. We are working to correct the problem and apologize for any delays in delivery. Early deadlines required by this situation led to some late sports content being omitted.
http://www.aikenstandard.com/homepage/308776789242075.php
Train sparks junkyard fire
Sat, Aug 11, 2007
By KAREN DAILY
Staff writer
GRANITEVILLE — Flames leaped more than 50 feet into the already stifling hot August air Friday while junked buses, tractor trailers and automobiles at a salvage yard on the Aiken-Augusta Highway burned fiercely, coughing out thick black smoke into the atmosphere.
An Aiken County Sheriff's Office spokesperson said a caller dialed 911 at about 2:15 p.m. to notify emergency crews that a passing train had thrown sparks into the grass surrounding the railroad tracks and ignited a brush fire.
Gusting afternoon winds propelled those flames into the B &W Auto & Truck Parts junkyard at 278 Jefferson Davis Highway and ripped through the bowl-shaped yard, catching tires and large vehicles on fire.
http://www.aikenstandard.com/homepage/327991413145803.php
Recovery grinds on in Minn. collapse
By MARTIGA LOHN
Associated Press Writer
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Family and friends prepared for a double funeral on Saturday for a mother and daughter killed in the interstate bridge collapse, even as a grim recovery operation continued in the Mississippi River for five people still missing.
The bodies of Sadiya Sahal, 23, and her 22-month-old daughter Hanah, of St. Paul, were recovered by Navy divers more than a week after the Aug. 1 collapse. Eight people are confirmed dead.
"The family is doing their best to deal with very difficult time," Omar Jamal, a Somali leader acting as spokesman for the Sahals, said in a statement. The family feels "deep gratitude" to divers and others for their search, he added.
Sadiya Sahal, who was five months pregnant, was on her way to pick up a friend who needed a ride to work when the bridge collapsed. The nursing student had moved to the Twin Cities from Somalia in 2000.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BRIDGE_COLLAPSE?SITE=SCAIK&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Aug 11, 10:18 AM EDT
2nd drill hole reaches Utah mine shaft
By GARANCE BURKE
Associated Press Writer
HUNTINGTON, Utah (AP) -- A second drill broke through early Saturday to a mine shaft where officials hope to find six trapped workers, clearing the way for a video camera to be lowered and provide the first answers to the miners' fate.
Nearly 9 inches wide, the hole reached the mine shaft between just before 3 a.m., said Bob Murray, chief of mine co-owner Murray Energy Corp. Crews were removing the heavy drill steel and planned send down the camera within a few hours.
"We may not get a full view," Murray said. "There may be rubble in there ... and the camera may not see very far."
There has been no word from the miners since the Crandall Canyon mine collapsed early Monday. A microphone lowered into a smaller hole yielded no sounds of life and an air sample taken through the 2-inch hole detected little oxygen.
However, officials remained hopeful that the six men trapped in the mine were still alive.
"It's always been a rescue mission," Murray said after announcing the second drill hole was finished. "The activity is at a very fast pace. The progress is way too slow for me and I think for anyone."
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/UTAH_MINE_COLLAPSE?SITE=SCAIK&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
3 men killed in Indiana mine accident
By KEITH ROBINSON
Associated Press Writer
PRINCETON, Ind. (AP) -- Authorities want answers to what caused three men to fall from a construction bucket inside a coal mine air shaft and plunge 500 feet to their deaths.
The trip in the open-top bucket Friday was routine, but the bucket was somehow upset as it was descending, said George Zugel, director of safety and health for Frontier-Kemper Constructors Inc. The company is building the 550-foot vertical ventilation shaft at the Gibson County Coal mine in southern Indiana.
"I can't express enough these were more than co-workers, these were our very close personal friends," Zugel said. "It's terrible."
No other injuries were reported, and authorities said no one else was in the bucket. The "sinking bucket" can hold six to 10 people and is about 6 feet high, worker John Ervin said.
"I don't understand how this could have happened," Ervin said.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MINE_DEATHS?SITE=SCAIK&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Astronauts prepare for first spacewalk
By RASHA MADKOUR
Associated Press Writer
HOUSTON (AP) -- Astronauts on the space shuttle Endeavour prepared for their first spacewalk Saturday as NASA continued to analyze a disturbing gouge in the heat shield tile on the shuttle's belly.
The spacewalk will be to install a cube-shaped addition onto the international space station's frame. But an unscheduled spacewalk may be needed later to repair the damage to the shuttle if NASA officials decide it's necessary.
The damage, about 3 inches square, appears to have been caused by ice that broke off the fuel tank a minute after liftoff, though managers won't know for sure until they get more information.
The shuttle astronauts will inspect the gouged area more closely on Sunday using the shuttle's robotic arm and laser-tipped extension boom. If the damage is deep enough, they may need to patch it, said John Shannon, chairman of the mission management team.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SPACE_SHUTTLE?SITE=SCAIK&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Aug 11, 4:43 AM EDT
Sierra Leone holds presidential poll
By CLARENCE ROY-MACAULAY
Associated Press Writer
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) -- Sierra Leone held its first elections Saturday since U.N. peacekeepers left nearly two years ago, a vote that will test whether the diamond-rich West African country can transfer power peacefully after years of conflict.
Voters in the capital lined up with umbrellas under drizzling rain, in some cases hours before voting booths opened.
"I want change and development," Jaclin Johnson said as he waited to cast his ballot at a public school building in Freetown. "If the elections go on peacefully, there will be development."
Seven candidates are vying for the nation's top post, with 69-year-old Vice President Solomon Berewa the main front-runner. President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah, 75, cannot run again because of term limits.
In addition, 572 candidates are vying for 112 parliamentary seats.
One of the poorest nations in the world, Sierra Leone has struggled to rebuild after a decade of war and coups ended in 2002.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SIERRA_LEONE_ELECTIONS?SITE=SCAIK&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Security lacking in Salazar case
Sat, Aug 11, 2007
Aiken Standard Editorial
A Department of Energy engineer worked with a high security clearance at the Savannah River Site for 20 years, and no one discovered until he was ready to retire that his claimed background was filled with lies.
What kind of security checks does DOE put its workers through, and how could such errors allow our local facility to be put into such a compromising situation?
Martin Francisco Salazar was sentenced to a year in prison for lying to federal officials so he could have a security clearance to work at the Site. Mr. Salazar falsified the year and place of his birth. He was born in Nogales, Mexico, in 1958 but put on a security questionnaire that he was born in 1954 in Nogales, Ariz.
Mr. Salazar worked at SRS between 1985-2005 as an engineer. While there is no reason to expect that Mr. Salazar stole secrets or plotted to harm the facility, it is still unnerving that in spite of increased security throughout our country that it took 20 years to uncover the truth about this particular worker.
Are there others like Mr. Salazar in our DOE workforce? Are there others at SRS?
Hopefully, DOE will use this incident to do more thorough checks on those applying for positions and for those seeking security clearances. The Salazar case is an embarrassment to the security watchdogs in our federal government.
http://www.aikenstandard.com/news/story/308775163882042.php
Expect minor relief from heat
Sat, Aug 11, 2007
By HALEY HUGHES
Staff writer
After days of record-breaking heat, a small amount of relief is on the way.
Temperatures will begin to ease away from the triple digits beginning today with a high of 98 degrees expected. It will still feel hot, however, with a heat index of 102.
"It looks like it's going to be a little drier (today)," said Tony Petrolito, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Columbia. "It's not as excessive as it has been."
Heat index is a measure of how hot it really feels outside when relative humidity is combined with the actual air temperature.
http://www.aikenstandard.com/news/308776789153514.php
Graniteville landfill bursts into flames
Fri, Aug 10, 2007
By KAREN DAILY
Staff writer
GRANITEVILLE — A landfill blaze that plowed though acres of construction debris and brush could burn for several days before it is fully extinguished, officials said.
The fire started shortly after 3 p.m. Thursday, and was most likely the result of spontaneous combustion from a load of roofing shingles mixed with the oppressive heat, said Dave Eger, solid waste supervisor for Aiken County Public Works.
Decomposition at the landfill can create heat that can sometimes ignite the fumes from the materials, he explained.
When that happens, the fire can move quickly, adding that it is not unusual for landfills to catch fire.
He explained that about three years ago, a blaze that ignited under very similar conditions burned for more than nine hours before they were able to control the fire.
http://www.aikenstandard.com/news/story/327065975050078.php
Aug 11, 9:56 AM EDT
Hamas sweep nets 32 Fatah supporters
By IBRAHIM BARZAK
Associated Press Writer
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) -- Hamas militiamen detained 32 Fatah supporters across Gaza, half of them after breaking up a bachelor's party and beating guests with clubs and chairs, Fatah officials and witnesses said Saturday. Ten people were hurt.
Fatah-affliated Palestine TV broadcast footage Saturday of the arrests and later of the interrogation of a prisoner who Hamas claimed had been tortured to death by rival security forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas.
The prisoner, Moayad Bani Odeh, seemed to have suffered no visible injuries, though he was only shown from the waist up. He said he had not been mistreated, though it was unclear whether he was speaking under threat.
After taking control of Gaza by force in June, Hamas had promised amnesty to Fatah loyalists and it was not immediately clear whether the arrests late Friday and early Saturday signaled the start a crackdown on Fatah or were isolated incidents.
The broadcasts were the latest in increasingly ferocious attempts by Hamas and Abbas' Fatah movement to undermine each other's credibility. Hamas seized Gaza by force in June, defeating Abbas' forces.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PALESTINIANS_ARREST?SITE=SCAIK&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Aug 11, 7:49 AM EDT
UK livestock do not have foot-and-mouth
By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press Writer
LONDON (AP) -- Livestock on an English farm that were tested after showing signs of possible foot-and-mouth disease do not have it, Britain's chief veterinarian said Saturday. The result strengthens indications that the highly contagious livestock ailment has not spread beyond the small area where it was first discovered last week.
"The latest tests on the farm to the east of the surveillance zone are negative," Chief Veterinary Officer Debby Reynolds said.
Reynolds announced late Thursday that cows in a second area of the southern England county of Surrey had shown "mild clinical signs of infections" and were being tested. Officials established an exclusion zone around a farm previously unlinked to the outbreak and some 10 miles from the two confirmed cases of the disease.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on Saturday lifted restrictions around the farm, near the village of Wotton.
British authorities are increasingly confident that they have prevented foot-and-mouth from spreading to livestock across the country, a development that could have devastated the rural economy. An epidemic in 2001 led to the slaughter of 7 million animals and shut British meat out of world markets for months.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BRITAIN_FOOT_AND_MOUTH?SITE=SCAIK&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Now's your chance to try out for ballet
Fri, Aug 10, 2007
By APRIL BAILEY
Staff writer
The Aiken Civic Ballet Company is looking for new members.
Established in 1970, the Aiken Civic Ballet Company is one of the oldest continuing ballet companies in South Carolina.
The civic ballet will hold auditions tomorrow for new company members as well as new apprentices. Auditions will be held at 1:30 p.m. at 142 Greenville St.
"You don't have to be an expert; you just have to be able to participate in the class," said Linda Coffin, president of the civic ballet board.
Coffin said the nonprofit organization is primarily looking for males and females ages 13 or older to perform in this season's original ballet: "Pearl Blossom: A Cinderella Story."
http://www.aikenstandard.com/news/story/308310247414367.php
Dressage trainer, rider has great first year in Aiken
Sat, Aug 11, 2007
By BEN BAUGH Staff writer
Elaine Lash has set her focus on the future. The dressage trainer, instructor and rider is devoting her energies toward a number of goals.
One of her objectives involves Tom and Sandy Fitzpatrick's five year-old, 16. 2 hands, Hanoverian mare, Wonderland.
"My goal is to have Wonderland make it through inspections, and we're working toward having the mare achieve elite status through the inspections taking place on Aug. 28 in Conyers, Ga.," said Lash. "The judges will be evaluating her on conformation, in-hand, under saddle, and through a jump shoot. In order to be considered an elite mare, she'll have to score 7's and above. They're looking for a good all around horse."
Lash will also be competing in the United States Dressage Federation sanctioned show at Buckleigh Farm on Sept. 1 and Sept. 2.
http://www.aikenstandard.com/news/289562190578232.php
Charity event is looking for golfers
Sat, Aug 11, 2007
By HALEY HUGHES Staff writer
The fifth annual Mended Hearts/Aiken Regional Medical Centers charity golf tournament is looking for players.
Scheduled for Monday, Aug. 17, the tournament will be a four-player Captain's Choice, which means each team member will play their balls from location of the best shot until the ball is holed. Registration is $60 per player and includes golf, range balls, cart, gifts and lunch. Funds will benefit Aiken's cardiac enhancement programs including USC Aiken's Cardiac Rehabilitation Program and Mended Hearts Chapter 294.
The tournament will take place at the Reserve Club in Woodside Plantation, the first year at that location. The shotgun start will happen at 9 a.m. Lunch will be provided by Outback Steak House.
http://www.aikenstandard.com/news/308778331177646.php
Last Potter book to be focus of book discussion
Sat, Aug 11, 2007
By SUZANNE R. STONE Staff writer
The Aiken County Public Library holds a book discussion next week to talk about how a seventh-year Hogwarts student could possibly save the Wizarding world.
Participants in the event will discuss "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the finale to the popular young-adult fantasy series published July 21, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 14, in the library's meeting room. The discussion will be spoiler-heavy, children's librarian Jennie Beck warned.
"I've had a lot of phone calls from people asking about Tuesday," Beck said. "Most of the calls have been from adults, and I set it for 7 p.m. so adults could come. I'm expecting both adults and kids, because a lot of teenagers who started Harry Potter when it was first published are now grown up. I think having both age groups will give us an interesting perspective."
http://www.aikenstandard.com/news/327994471777060.php
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