Learn Chinese: March 2008

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Free Chinese Lesson - Beijing Olympic Torch Relay Route unveiled

Sports / China

Beijing Olympic Torch Relay Route unveiled

(BOCOG)
Updated: 2007-04-26 20:42

The Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay will traverse the longest distance,
cover the greatest area and include the largest number of people,
according to plans released tonight during a grand ceremony held in the
China Millennium Monument in Beijing by BOCOG, the Beijing Organizing
Committee for the Games of XXIX Olympiad.

The planned route, revealed by Luo Gan, member of the standing committee
of the Political Bureau of CPC Central Committee, and who was joined by
International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge, would last 130
days and travel 137,000 kilometers. And the Beijing 2008 Olympic torch
design was unveiled by State Councilor and BOCOG first vice-president
Chen Zhili, with IOC Coordination Commission Chairman Hein Verbruggen
alongside.

Related readings:
Key facts about Beijing Olympic Torch
Artistic and technical features of Beijing Olympic Torch
The fuel for Beijing Olympic Torch
Burning system of Beijing Olympic Torch
Milestones of Beijing Olympic Torch design

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Chinese Online Class - Campus community reacts to Cho's words

WORLD / America

Campus community reacts to Cho's words

(AP)
Updated: 2007-04-19 12:57

BLACKSBURG, Va. - The chilling images of the gunman who was responsible
for the massacre at Virginia Tech silenced crowds near campus as they
played on television screens.

Mourners, who wished to remain anonymous, console each other on
Wednesday, April 18, 2007, [AP]

When the video of Cho Seung-Hui brandishing weapons, gripping a hammer
and reciting his angry, violent manifesto aired Wednesday night on "NBC
Nightly News," some stared grimly at the screens. Many shook their heads.
Others cried.

"Seeing those pictures - that just makes it more real," said Laura Sink,
22, an elementary education major, as tears rolled down her face. She was
gathered with about 50 others at a restaurant just steps away from the
campus where 32 people and Cho were killed Monday.

Most public places on Virginia Tech's campus were already quiet, because
so many students have left for home. But a few gathered around a TV at a
student center coffee shop.

Heather Brennan, a master's student who watched the report in the campus
student center, said, "It's just as he planned. He knew exactly what he
wanted to do and he did it."

At Rivermill, a downtown restaurant, one patron objected strongly when
the restaurant turned its television to NBC because she didn't want her
9-year-old daughter to see it.

"We turn her face away from the TV" to shield her as much as possible
from news of the shootings, said Teresa McCartny of Blacksburg, her voice
rising.

David F. Kibler, a professor of civil engineering who knew eight of the
victims well, said he didn't see news footage of the items in the package
sent to NBC ��- and didn't want to. But he said it was more proof that
Cho was disturbed.

"It's clear that he murdered 32 people in cold blood. There's not much
more to it than that," Kibler said. "It's difficult to explain this to
anyone, especially to students who are trying to return to their studies."

Top World News

� Abe meets Bush, renews sympathy for 'comfort women'

� Bombers strike at Iraqi army, civilians

� Putin firm in final union address

� US House OKs Iraq troop pullout bill

� Japanese PM to meet Bush in summit

Today's Top News

� China to act on pollution, warming gases

� Yang a popular choice as FM

� Hu, Lien stress cross-Straits peace

� US captures senior Al-Qaida operative

� Yang Jiechi named new FM, replacing Li Zhaoxing

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Learn mandarin - 'Gun culture' again target of criticism after killings

WORLD / Reactions

'Gun culture' again target of criticism after killings

(China Daily)
Updated: 2007-04-18 06:45

Foreign politicians and media once again attacked America's "gun culture"
yesterday.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said tough legislation introduced
after a mass shooting in Tasmania in 1996 had prevented the US gun
culture emerging in his country.

Virginia Tech student Daniel Hamilton writes on a memorial constructed on
the university's campus for the victims of Monday's mass killings
yesterday. Memorial services for those killed in the school shooting were
expected to be held later yesterday. AFP

After the shooting Australia imposed laws banning almost all types of
semi-automatic weapons.

"We showed a national resolve that the gun culture that is such a
negative in the United States would never become a negative in our
country," said Howard, extending sympathies to the families of the
victims at Virginia Tech University.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair and German Chancellor Angela Merkel
also expressed their sympathies.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II was "shocked" and "saddened," a spokeswoman
for Buckingham Palace said.

Along with her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, the queen is set to pay a
two-day visit to Virginia early next month to commemorate the 400th
anniversary of the Jamestown Settlement, her first visit to the United
States in 16 years.

Iran, at loggerheads with the United States over its nuclear program,
spoke out against the killings.

"Iran condemns the killing of Virginia university students and expresses
its condolences to the families of victims and the American nation,"
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said in a statement.

European newspapers saw a grim inevitability about the shootings, given
the right to bear arms which is enshrined in US constitution. In Italy,
the Leftist Il Manifesto newspaper said the shooting was "as American as
apple pie".

More than 30,000 people die from gunshot wounds in the United States
annually and there are more guns in private hands than in any other
country. But a powerful gun lobby and support for gun ownership have
thwarted attempts to tighten controls.

"It would be vain to hope that even so destructive a crime as this will
cool the American ardour for guns," the Independent newspaper said in a
commentary.

Gerard Baker, a columnist for The Times newspaper, feared worse was yet
to come: "The truth is that only an optimist would imagine Virginia Tech
will hold the new record for very long."

France's Le Monde newspaper said such episodes frequently disfigure the
"American dream".

"The... slaughter forces American society to once again examine itself,
its violence, the obsession with guns of part of its population, the
troubles of its youth, subjected to the double tyranny of abundance and
competition," it wrote.

Campaigners in other countries where gun ownership is common expressed
fears of a similar massacre.

Agencies

(China Daily 04/18/2007 page8)

Top World News

� Abe meets Bush, renews sympathy for 'comfort women'

� Bombers strike at Iraqi army, civilians

� Putin firm in final union address

� US House OKs Iraq troop pullout bill

� Japanese PM to meet Bush in summit

Today's Top News

� China to act on pollution, warming gases

� Yang a popular choice as FM

� Hu, Lien stress cross-Straits peace

� US captures senior Al-Qaida operative

� Yang Jiechi named new FM, replacing Li Zhaoxing

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Learn Chinese - Rockets rally past Kings 112-106

Sports / Basketball

Rockets rally past Kings 112-106

(AP)
Updated: 2007-04-09 11:45

Tracy McGrady had 40 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in his return
from a back injury, and the Houston Rockets made a late surge to snap a
three-game losing streak with a 112-106 victory over the Sacramento Kings
on Sunday night.

Yao Ming scored 18 points, while Luther Head had 18 and broke a
fourth-quarter tie with back-to-back 3-pointers that began a decisive
11-2 run. Houston swept its three-game season series with the Kings,
including two victories at Arco Arena, despite failing to make a field
goal in the final 4:42.

Yao and McGrady missed the Rockets' loss to Portland on Friday with back
problems, but both returned impressively as Houston pulled within a
half-game of the Utah Jazz for the Western Conference's fourth-best
record. Neither of the Rockets' superstars appeared limited by injury,
though Yao spent most of the fourth quarter on the bench.

Kevin Martin scored 24 points and Francisco Garcia had 16 for the Kings,
who lost for the eighth time in 10 games to practically guarantee the end
of their eight-year streak of playoff appearances.

After Head hit his difficult back-to-back 3-pointers to quiet the Kings'
home crowd, Rafer Alston added another on the Rockets' next possession to
put them ahead 98-91.

McGrady still hasn't recorded a triple-double in three seasons with the
Rockets, but he hit two free throws in the final minute to ensure his
first 40-point game since Jan. 16.

McGrady and Yao scored 16 points apiece in the first half, but Sacramento
took a 12-point lead in the second quarter with at least six points
apiece from four reserves.

Kings coach Eric Musselman continued his expanded use of youngsters
Ronnie Price, Justin Williams and Garcia -- mostly at the expense of Mike
Bibby and Brad Miller. Bibby scored just 11 points, and Miller had four.

Houston's Bonzi Wells, who spent last season in Sacramento and was the
Kings' best player in their first-round playoff loss to San Antonio, got
a mix of cheers and boos when he entered the game in the first quarter.
He was injured during the Rockets' first trip to Sacramento in January.

Wells botched his free agency last summer when he turned down a
long-term, $38.5 million offer from the Kings. Every NBA opening soon
filled, and Wells had to settle for a comparatively tiny deal in Houston,
where he has flopped.

During a quiet moment in the first quarter, a financially inaccurate fan
shouted "Thirty-two million, Bonzi!"

Martin made his 461st free throw of the season late in the fourth
quarter, breaking Otis Thorpe's franchise record for the most in one
season since the Kings moved to Sacramento in 1985.

Top Sports News

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� Reviving the Olympic spirit 75 years later

� Owen set for Newcastle comeback

� Gerrard rested as Liverpool eye Champions League

Today's Top News

� China to act on pollution, warming gases

� Yang a popular choice as FM

� Hu, Lien stress cross-Straits peace

� US captures senior Al-Qaida operative

� Yang Jiechi named new FM, replacing Li Zhaoxing

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Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Free Chinese Lesson - Britain says 15 sailors detained by Iran

WORLD / Middle East

Britain says 15 sailors detained by Iran

(AP)
Updated: 2007-03-23 20:28

LONDON - Iranian naval vessels seized 15 British sailors in Iraqi waters
on Friday, the British Ministry of Defense said.

British soldiers patrol in Kabul in June 2006. British troops in
Afghanistan have changed tactics, targeting top Taliban leaders in order
to counter their switch to a new wave of bombings and suicide attacks, a
senior commander said on Tuesday. [AFP]

The British Navy personnel were "engaged in routine boarding operations
of merchant shipping in Iraqi territorial waters," and had completed
their inspection of a merchant ship when they were accosted by Iranian
vessels, the ministry said.

"We are urgently pursuing this matter with the Iranian authorities at the
highest level and ... the Iranian ambassador has been summoned to the
Foreign Office," the ministry said.

A Pentagon official said the Britons were in two inflatable boats from
the frigate H.M.S. Cornwall during a routine smuggling investigation,
said the official, who spoke on condition on anonymity because he was not
authorized to speak about the incident.

He said the confrontation happened as the British contingent was
traveling along the boundary of territorial waters between Iran and Iraq.
They were detained by the Revolutionary Guard's navy, he said.

A fisherman who said he was with a group of Iraqis from the southern city
of Basra fishing in Iraqi waters in the northern area of the Gulf said he
saw the Iranian seizure. The fisherman declined to be identified because
of security concerns.

"Two boats, each with a crew of six to eight multinational forces, were
searching Iraqi and Iranian boats Friday morning in Ras al-Beesha area in
the northern entrance of the Arab Gulf, but big Iranian boats came and
took the two boats with their crews to the Iranian waters."

The Britain government said it had demanded "the immediate and safe
return of our people and equipment."

Top World News

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� British make arrests in transit attacks

� Rocket hits near UN chief in Baghdad

� North Korean nuclear talks break down

� World powers seek new Iran sanctions

Today's Top News

� Top US general plays down China threat

� China's richest oil strike near Dalian

� US urged not to sell arms to Taiwan

� Iraq's Sunni deputy PM hurt in bombing

� Funds transfer still a sticking point

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Learn Mandarin online - N.Korea plans to close nuke facility

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Chinese language - Plane crash kills 49 in Indonesia

WORLD / Asia-Pacific

Plane crash kills 49 in Indonesia

(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-03-07 09:16

Rescue worker search the wreckage of a Garuda jet at Yogyakarta airport
on March 7, 2007. Dozens of people escaped an inferno that erupted after
the Indonesian passenger jet overshot the runway and burst into flames on
landing in the cultural capital of Yogyakarta on Wednesday. [Reuters]

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia - At least 49 people died but scores escaped after
an Indonesian passenger jet overshot the runway and burst into flames on
landing in the cultural capital of Yogyakarta on Wednesday.

Dozens of passengers leapt from the plane's emergency exists into rice
paddy fields to escape the inferno, which reduced the plane to a
smoldering wreck of twisted metal.

"We found 48 dead bodies at the spot. One person died at Sardjito
hospital," provincial secretary Bambang Susanto told Reuters, referring
to the city's main medical center.

Chief Garuda spokesman Pujobroto said flight GA 200 was a Boeing 737-400
plane carrying 133 passengers and seven crew when it crashed at around 7
a.m. (0000 GMT) after a scheduled flight from Jakarta.

Australian officials said the flight was carrying a large group of
Australian diplomats, government officials and journalists who had been
accompanying Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, who was not aboard, on an
official visit to Indonesia.

Australia's Prime Minister John Howard said at least 10 citizens were on
board and some remained unaccounted for, including one defense force
liaison staffer and an Australian Federal Police officer.

Also missing was an embassy staffer traveling from Jakarta for Downer's
visit.

However, Garuda's media office said the plane carried just eight
Australians, as well as two Japanese, two Brunei nationals and seven
other foreigners.

Howard said he had received no information that would suggest terrorism
or sabotage was a factor in the disaster.

Yogyakarta, around 440 kms (270 miles) southeast of the capital, Jakarta,
is known as the cultural heart of Indonesia and is very popular with
tourists, although it is the off season at the moment.

DISASTER FOLLOWS DISASTER

The crash came a day after two powerful earthquakes hit the neighboring
Indonesian island of Sumatra, killing at least 70 people.

Crash survivor Din Syamsudin, the head of Indonesia's second-largest
Muslim organization, Muhammadiyah, told Elshinta news radio of his lucky
escape.

"Some passengers wanted to get their hand luggage. I cried to them, 'Get
out, get out'," he said.

"The plane was full of smoke. I just jumped from two meters high and
landed in a rice field." He said the plane burst into flames soon after
he escaped.

"I was sitting at the back of the plane and people started to jump out,"
Julianto, one of the survivors, told Metro TV.

"Many escaped the plane," he added.

Ruth Meigi Panggabean, who works for aid group World Vision, told Reuters
that passengers had been warned it would be a turbulent flight.

"Upon landing, I could feel something irregular. As we approached the
ground and I could see roofs from our window, the plane was still swaying
and shaking."

"Then the plane was slammed to the ground and skidded forward and slammed
once again before come to a stop," Panggabean said.

She said many people got out and under the circumstances "the passengers
were fairly calm and the evacuation process was quite orderly."

Survivors were taken to a number of area hospitals.

"We are treating 10 to 15 passengers. They are all fine. An
8-months-pregant woman is o.k., and so is her baby," said Constantine, a
nurse at Panti Rapih Hospital.

Indonesia has suffered from a string of transport accidents in recent
months, including an Adam Air plane that disappeared in January with 102
passengers and crew on board, and a ferry sinking in late December in
which hundreds died.

The series of accidents had sparked the government to set up special
commissions to look at the state of transportation safety in the
sprawling archipelago of 17,000 islands.

Top World News

� Jetliner catches fire in Indonesia, 8 die

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� Russia capable of hitting US missile shield - general

� Iran may have halted nuke program

Today's Top News

� China aims to rid dire poverty by 2010

� Plane crash kills 49 in Indonesia

� China urges Japan to face up to history

� Man on moon possible within 15 years

� At least 82 dead in Indonesia quake

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Free Chinese Lesson - Athlete and actress give New Year blessing

Sports / Celebrity

Athlete and actress give New Year blessing

(sina)
Updated: 2007-02-14 11:16

Shuttler Bao Chunlai poses for a group of photos for Power Sports, a
Chinese language sports newspaper before the Chinese Lunar New Year comes
to give readers New Year blessing. [sina]

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Top Sports News

� QPR suspend assistant manager after China brawl

� Beckham to play at Old Trafford for charity game

� Chelsea heading to China in 2008

� Diamonds forever like Clijsters's decision

� Robinho joins list of discontented at Real

Today's Top News

� Six-Party nuclear talks yield breakthrough

� US trade deficit hits new record high

� 100,000 officials punished in 2006

� Parents pick lucky year for "piglets"

� Graft prevention body to be set up

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Chinese Online Class - Astronaut suffered 'mental anguish'

WORLD / Newsmaker

Astronaut suffered 'mental anguish'

(AP)
Updated: 2007-02-08 08:56

This photo provided by Andrea Rose, sister of astronaut Lisa Nowak, shows
Nowak, right, and her husband Rich and their twin daughters on the
occasion of the babies' baptisms in the spring of 2002 in Houston.
[AP/file]

Houston - Lisa Nowak chose a juggling act of dauntingly high difficulty:
to be an astronaut and a mother of three.

Her background -- high school valedictorian, Naval Academy graduate, test
pilot -- seemed to equip her for the challenge. Yet as she and some of
her acquaintances acknowledged, the stresses on her and her family were
extraordinarily intense.

Related readings:
NASA astronaut released from jail
Astronaut charged with kidnap attempt

On Wednesday, transformed from space hero to criminal suspect, Nowak
returned to Houston for a medical assessment, a day after she was charged
in Florida with attempted murder and attempted kidnapping in what police
depicted as a love triangle involving a fellow astronaut.

The woman viewed as a role model by the schoolchildren she often
addressed was met on the tarmac by police and escorted into a waiting
squad car after her release on bail. Her head was covered by a jacket.
She faced a medical exam at Johnson Space Center.

NASA, at a loss to explain what went wrong, said it would revamp its
psychological screening process in light of Nowak's arrest. The review
will look at how astronauts are screened for psychological problems and
whether Nowak's dealings with co-workers signaled complications.

Nowak's children were with her husband, Richard, who works for a NASA
contractor. She was being replaced as a ground communicator for the next
space shuttle mission in March, a job in which she would talk to the
astronauts from Houston during their flight.

Some part of any breakdown may defy rational explanation, but those who
know Nowak and NASA could sense the stress she was under.

Dr. Jon Clark, a former NASA flight surgeon who lost his wife, astronaut
Laurel Clark, in the 2003 Columbia disaster, said Nowak provided
invaluable support to his family then, at the cost of losing time with
her own family.

"She was the epitome of managing a very hectic career, making sacrifices
to accommodate her family," Clark said in a telephone interview. "All
those stresses can conspire to be overwhelming. ... Clearly she suffered
a lot of mental anguish.

"There is a lot of marital stress in the astronaut corps in general, a
huge amount," Clark said. "It's not unheard of for things to change into
relationships that are beyond professional."

Clark also said there can be extra pressure on NASA's female astronauts
-- and the men, like himself, who marry them.

"They made more sacrifices than the 'Right Stuff' guys," he said,
comparing women astronauts to the original all-male astronaut corps.
"They have to balance two careers -- to be a mom and wife and an
astronaut. ... You don't come home at night, like most of the male
astronauts, and have everything ready for you."

1 2

Top World News

� N.Korea nuclear talks resume amid optimism

� Shooting erupts on Israel-Lebanon border

� US military says copter down in Iraq

� Iraq PM urges start to Baghdad crackdown

� Suspects questioned over Pakistan airport attack

Today's Top News

� N.Korea nuclear talks resume amid optimism

� President Hu: We are forces for peace

� Astronaut suffered 'mental anguish'

� Security crackdown in Baghdad

� Nuke talks reopen amid upbeat signs

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Learn Mandarin online - Women's relay group wins, men's misses in last lap

Sports / Center

Women's relay group wins, men's misses in last lap

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-02-01 10:27

China's Cheng Xiaolei (No.4) pushes teammate Zhu Mile (No.3) to speed up
during the women's 3,000m relay at the 6th Winter Asian Games January 31,
2007. Chinese squad teamed up by Wang Meng, Fu Tianyu, Zhu Mile and Cheng
Xiaolei won the gold 4:13.293. [Xinhua]

1 2 3 4 5

Top Sports News

� China extends Winter Asiad dominance

� Beckham, Ronaldo moves dominate transfer deals

� Bayern sack coach,re-appoint Hitzfeld

� CBA all-stars roster announced

� China extends Winter Asiad dominance

Today's Top News

� Hu's visit strengthens ties with Cameroon

� Paulson urges faster yuan revaluation

� Taiwan textbook revision slammed

� One arrested in Boston devices ploy

� Entrepreneurs' 'original sin' unfounded

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Monday, March 24, 2008

Free Chinese Lesson - UEFA may flirt with idea of 24-team Euro champs

Sports / Feature and Column

UEFA may flirt with idea of 24-team Euro champs

(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-01-19 17:39

LONDON, Jan 19 - One issue at the heart of the game is almost guaranteed
to unite everyone in soccer no matter which club or national team they
support.

From FIFA president Sepp Blatter downwards, the general consensus is that
there is too much soccer being played -- every day, every week, every
month, every year.

Blatter has repeatedly called for the top division of every major soccer
league to comprise no more than 16 teams.

Managers, meanwhile, continually complain that their players do not get
enough rest or recovery time between matches.

The players increasingly moan about fatigue and career-threatening stress
injuries brought about by playing too many games.

Many committed fans are unable to afford tickets or give up the time
needed to go to all the matches they would like to see.

But despite all this, UEFA are about to discuss whether to agree a
proposal to conduct a feasibility study into increasing the size of the
European Championship from 16 to 24 teams.

The issue is on the agenda at next week's UEFA Congress in Duesseldorf
and, at this stage, the expansion of the tournament is not a foregone
conclusion.

But if the proposal is accepted and a study provides welcoming answers,
then either the 2012 or 2016 European Championship could be made up of 24
finalists rather than 16.

BIDS SUBMITTED

One immediate problem facing UEFA is that the candidates to host the 2012
finals long ago submitted their bids based on a 16-team finals.

Italy, who hosted a four-team Euro finals in 1968 and an eight-team event
in 1980, is one contender to stage the 2012 Championship and there are
also joint bids from Poland-Ukraine and Croatia-Hungary.

The decision will be taken in Cardiff on April 18 and while Italy could
easily cope with a 24-team tournament, as when they hosted the 24-team
World Cup in 1990, there are no guarantees the joint bidders could handle
double the number of teams.

One intriguing aspect of any feasibility study is whose opinion UEFA will
canvass.

As the World Cups of 1982, 1986, 1990 and 1994 proved, a 24-team format
does not lend itself easily to a knockout tournament.

Sixteen or 32-team tournaments work on a far simpler principle than a
24-team event with the top two in each group reaching the knockout stage
of the competition.

CONTRIVED RESULTS

However, 24 teams are far harder to whittle down with the number of
matches and time restraints having a huge bearing on the format of the
competition.

Adjusting the rules to establish who goes through to the next round can
also produce contrived results.

This happened in the infamous 1982 World Cup group match in Gijon, Spain
between West Germany and Austria when a 1-0 victory to the Germans would
ensure that both they and the Austrians advanced at the expense of
Algeria.

Horst Hrubesch scored for Germany after 10 minutes and neither team had a
meaningful shot for the rest of the game.

Although a 24-team tournament would increase the number of matches and
the demands on the players accordingly, UEFA may have a brilliant hidden
agenda in their planning department.

Europe's governing body has 52 member associations -- just under half of
whom could take part in a 24-team finals.

It would be very simple for UEFA to abandon long-drawn out qualifying
groups and, after eliminating four teams, pitch the remaining 48
countries against each other.

They could play home and away legs with the aggregate winner going
through to the finals.

At a stroke, UEFA could cut hundreds of matches, have a finals every year
and earn vast amounts of television money.

The fact no-one would be remotely interested in the competition would no
doubt be counter-productive but it would certainly guarantee less soccer,
fewer matches for the players and less pressure on the wallets of
beleaguered fans.

The game awaits UEFA's decision with bated breath.

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Today's Top News

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Learn Mandarin online - Expensive new US spy satellite not working: sources

WORLD / America

Expensive new US spy satellite not working: sources

(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-01-12 11:16

U.S. officials are unable to communicate with an expensive experimental
U.S. spy satellite launched last year by the U.S. National Reconnaissance
Office (NRO), a defense official and another source familiar with the
matter said on Thursday.

Efforts are continuing to reestablish communication with the classified
satellite, which cost hundreds of millions of dollars, but "the prognosis
is not great at this point," said the defense official, who asked not to
be identified.

A Delta II rocket for United Launch Alliance lifts off at Vandenberg Air
Force Base, Callifornia, December 14, 2006. [Reuters]

"They have not yet declared it a total loss. There are still some
additional steps that can be taken to restore communication," the
official added, noting some satellites had been recovered in similar
situations in the past.

The official said the problems were substantial and involved multiple
systems, adding that U.S. officials were working to reestablish contact
with the satellite because of the importance of the new technology it was
meant to test and demonstrate.

The other source said the satellite had been described to him as "a
comprehensive failure."

There was no suggestion by either of the sources that the satellite had
been purposely damaged as part of a terrorist attack. Another government
official said he had no information about any attacks on U.S. satellites.

The National Reconnaissance Office, which designs, builds and operates
reconnaissance satellites for the U.S. military and intelligence
communities, had no comment.

Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer with the Harvard- Smithsonian Center For
Astrophysics, said the satellite in question could be a classified NRO
satellite launched into space on December 14 from Vandenberg Air Force
Base in California, which did not appear to be part of any "existing
pattern."

The NRO satellite identified only as L-21 was the first ever launched by
the newly merged rocket launch units of Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin
Corp..

1 2

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Learn mandarin - Turkmen president dies of heart attack

WORLD / Asia-Pacific

Turkmen president dies of heart attack

(AP)
Updated: 2006-12-21 14:25

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan -- President Saparmurat Niyazov -- who created a
vast cult of personality during two decades of iron-fisted rule over
arid, energy-rich Turkmenistan -- has died, officials said Thursday. He
was 66.

Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov attends a government meeting in
Ashgabat in this December 27, 2002, file picture. [Reuters]
A terse report from state television said Niyazov died early Thursday of
heart failure and showed a black-framed portrait of the man who had
ordered citizens to refer to him as "Turkmenbashi" -- the Father of All
Turkmen.

"It happened overnight. The president has died," a government source said
on Thursday.

Niyazov underwent major heart surgery in Germany in 1997 and last month
publicly acknowledged for the first time that he had heart disease. But
he did not seem seriously ill; two weeks ago he appeared in public to
formally open an amusement park named after him outside the capital.

Niyazov had led Turkmenistan since 1985, when it was still a Soviet
republic. After the 1991 Soviet collapse, he retained control and began
creating an elaborate personality cult.

He ordered the months and days of the week named after himself and his
family, and statues of him were erected throughout the nation. He is
listed as author of the "Rukhnama" (Book of the Soul) that was required
reading in schools. Children pledged allegiance to him every morning.

It was unclear who may be in line to replace Niyazov or how the
succession process would be conducted. The funeral is to be held on
Sunday.

"His death means a terrible shock for the republic, its residents and the
political class. It's comparable to a shock the Soviet Union felt after
Stalin's death," Vyacheslav Nikonov, head of the Moscow-based Politika
think tank, was quoted as saying by the RIA-Novosti news agency.

Turkmenistan -- a majority Muslim country dominated by the vast Kara Kum
desert -- has the world's fifth-largest natural gas reserves, but Niyazov
failed to convert that wealth into prosperity for his country's 5 million
people.

Earlier this year, the leader announced he would provide citizens with
natural gas and power free of charge through 2030. But he has also tapped
the country's vast energy wealth for outlandish projects -- a huge,
man-made lake in the Kara Kum desert, a vast cypress forest to change the
desert climate, an ice palace outside the capital, a ski resort and a
130-foot pyramid.

Niyazov was born February 19, 1940. His father died in World War II and
the rest of his family was killed in an earthquake that leveled Ashgabat
in 1948. He was raised in an orphanage and later in the home of distant
relatives.

Niyazov attended Leningrad Polytechnic Institute in Russia to study power
engineering and worked at the Bezmeinskaya Power Station near Ashgabat
after his graduation in 1966.

Named head of the Communist Party in Turkmenistan in 1985, Niyazov was
named president of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic in October 1990
and led his nation through its October 27, 1991 independence. He was
elected president of the new independent Turkmenistan in 1992 with a
reported 99.5 percent of the vote. In 1994, an alleged 99.9 percent of
voters supported a referendum allowing him to remain in office for a
second five-year term without having to face new elections.

In 1999, he was effectively made president for life after parliament
removed all term limits, but an August 2002 gathering of the country's
People's Council -- a hand-picked assembly of Niyazov loyalists --
nonetheless went further and endorsed him as president for life.

Under Niyazov's rule, Turkmenistan adopted a strict policy of neutrality
and spurned joining regional security or economic organizations that
sprung up in the wake of the Soviet collapse.

But Niyazov supported the US-led anti-terror campaign in neighboring
Afghanistan, allowing coalition airplanes to use Turkmen airspace and
humanitarian agencies to pass through to deliver aid.

Niyazov also pursued strong nationalistic policies to encourage the use
of the Turkmen language over Russian and banned access to
Russian-language media, leading to an increased exodus of some of the
country's most educated citizens and decimating its school system.
Secondary education has been reduced in Turkmenistan to a required nine
years, causing human rights groups to complain of a deliberate attempt to
dumb down the population and prevent dissent.

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Learn Chinese - Zheng/Yan take women's doubles tennis title

Sports / China

Zheng/Yan take women's doubles tennis title

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-12-15 08:43

China's Zheng Jie (L) and Yan Zi hug as they celebrate after beating
Chinese Taipei to win the women's doubles tennis final at the 15th Asian
Games in Doha December 14, 2006. [Xinhua]

China's top seeds Zheng Jie and Yan Zi beat off a strong comeback from
Chinese Taipei's fourth seeds Chan Yung Jan and Chuang Chia Jung to win
the women's doubles tennis title at the Doha Asian Games here on Thursday.

The Chinese duo needed only one hour and 30 minutes to thrash the Chinese
Taipei pair 6-1, 7-6 (5) to bring the second gold medal for China in the
Asiad tennis tournament.

Zheng Jie also won the women's singles title on Wednesday, beating
India's Sania Mirza in the final.

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"In the second set, our opponents played very well. They were a real
threat to us. This is a final match so we were a little bit nervous, but
we were able to keep up," said Yan Zi, who is ranked fourth in the world
in the women's doubles.

"Whenever an opportunity came, we tried to seize it, but sometimes we
played impatiently. We just tried to keep the score tight and never
really thought about the gold medal," she added.

Australian Open and Wimbledon winners Zheng and Yan had three breaks in a
row to take the first set 6-1 and then combated off a 0-3 deficit in the
second and held on to force a tie break, where the Chinese finished with
7-5.

"We trained very hard so we were well-prepared. We are very happy to win
the gold medal as it is my first Asian Games gold medal. We will try to
keep the form and achieve the good results next year," said Yan.

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Sunday, March 23, 2008

Chinese Online Class - Chavez snubs US overture for dialogue

WORLD / America

Chavez snubs US overture for dialogue

(AP)
Updated: 2006-12-06 11:09

CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez snubbed a US overture for
dialogue on Tuesday, saying he is always willing to talk but doubts
Washington sincerely wants to improve relations.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez greets his supporters upon his arrival
to National Electoral Council to attend the ceremony wherehe is
officially announced as the re-elected president in Caracas, Venezuela,
Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2006. [AP]

Chavez, who overwhelmingly won another six-year term in elections Sunday,
said if the US really wants to take meaningful steps, it would halt the
war in Iraq and extradite a jailed Cuban militant who is wanted in
Venezuela for a 1976 airliner bombing.

"They want dialogue but on the condition that you accept their
positions," Chavez said at his first news conference since Sunday's vote.

"If the government of the United States wants dialogue, Venezuela will
always have its door open," he said. "But I doubt the US government is
sincere."

The comments from Chavez came shortly after US Ambassador William
Brownfield congratulated Venezuelans on a peaceful vote and expressed
Washington's willingness to seek a less conflictive relationship with
Chavez.

"The president was re-elected by the decision of the Venezuelan people,"
Brownfield told the Venezuelan broadcaster Union Radio. "We recognize
that and we're ready, willing and eager to explore and see if we can make
progress on bilateral issues."

Brownfield said the United States and Venezuela share an interest in
cooperating on issues including combatting drug trafficking,
international crime and terrorism, as well as trade and energy issues.
"Venezuela is a partner of the United States, for geographical reasons,
for historical reasons," he said.

The United States remains the No. 1 buyer of Venezuelan oil, but tensions
have often precluded dialogue. Chavez accuses Washington of backing a
2002 coup against him, while US officials worry about the health of
Venezuela's democracy in a government dominated by Chavez and his allies.

Chavez also said his landslide re-election victory in a vote marked by
the highest turnout in years showed Venezuela supports a radical turn
toward socialism.

Chavez spoke after the elections council formally declared him the
winner, defeating Manuel Rosales with nearly 63 percent of the vote.
Electoral officials said turnout was about 75 percent. Chavez won some
7.2 million votes out of more than 11 million cast, the results showed.

"Those who voted for me didn't vote for me. They voted for the socialist
plan, to build a profoundly different Venezuela," Chavez said, praising
the Rosales camp for accepting his victory. "I want to salute the
responsible opposition ... It was time they assumed the attitude of true
democrats."

Rosales, meanwhile, said that although the opposition suffered a setback
in the vote, it has won a victory of sorts by uniting forces to challenge
Chavez in the future.

"This is a political triumph in the middle of an electoral setback,"
Rosales said. "We are going to continue fighting."

Recent polls suggest Venezuelans hold a variety of opinions about
socialism. An Associated Press-Ipsos poll last month found that 37
percent favored a socialist economic system, 22 percent favored
capitalism and 33 percent preferred a mix of the two.

Eighty-four percent opposed adopting a political system similar to that
of Cuba, which has become Venezuela's close ally under Chavez.

During the news conference, Chavez read a note from ailing Cuban leader
Fidel Castro congratulating him on his victory. Chavez said he could tell
from the signature that Castro was gaining his strength back.

On Tuesday, Cuba's Communist newspaper published a brief message on its
front page that was signed with Castro's name.

"The victory was resounding, crushing and without parallel in the history
of our America," read the message in the Communist Party daily Granma.

Chavez has said he plans to seek constitutional reforms to end
presidential term limits and enable him to run again in 2012. Rosales
pledged to fight that bid with a proposal instead to reduce terms to four
years.

Chavez also has said he plans to deepen oil-funded social programs aimed
at reducing poverty. He says he will fully respect private property,
though he also pledged to deepen agrarian reform and has hinted he might
nationalize Venezuela's largest telecommunications company.

Electoral observers from the European Union said in a preliminary report
Tuesday that they backed the results of Sunday's election and that
overall the vote was carried out smoothly and securely.

However, the EU mission noted a few areas of concerns, including a high
participation of public employees in Chavez's campaign events, unbalanced
coverage in both state and private media, and a heavy use of government
advertising by Chavez, and to a lesser degree, Rosales.

Monica Frassoni, the Italian head of the EU mission, said complaints had
been received of alleged pressure on public employees to vote for Chavez.
She said such pressure would violate electoral laws, but the mission was
not able to evaluate those complaints.

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Chinese language - Darfur rebels conduct raid on oil field

WORLD / Africa

Darfur rebels conduct raid on oil field

(AP)
Updated: 2006-11-28 10:33

KHARTOUM, Sudan - Darfur rebels attacked an oil field in a rare extension
of their campaign eastwards toward the Sudanese capital and said Monday
the military garrison guarding the field had surrendered.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir addresses journalists from various
Western capitals in a three-hour long video conference on Monday, Nov. 27
in Khartoum, Sudan. The Sudanese president on Monday again rejected
United Nations troops in Darfur as 'colonial,' but hinted he was still
trying to find a middle ground with the UN on how blue helmets could
support the existing African peacekeeping force in the wartorn region.
[AP]

But the government said its forces repelled the assault and were in full
control of the Abu Jabra oil field Monday.

The attack on the field on the edge of South Darfur appeared to be
another sign that Darfur's violence was spreading across the region

"The government garrison guarding the oil field was totally destroyed,"
the National Redemption Front rebel group said in a statement. "Numerous
soldiers, including high-ranking officers and generals, have
surrendered," the rebels said, claiming to have shot down an army
helicopter and to have captured a "substantial amount" of weapons and
military vehicles.

A Sudanese military spokesman denied the army had surrendered, saying its
troops had "inflicted heavy causalities on the rebels, who withdrew from
the area." He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with official
policy.

The rebel raid came amid heightened violence in Darfur, where
pro-government janjaweed militia have been accused by the United Nations
of forcing 60,000 people to flee their homes this month. Violence in
Darfur over three years has killed 200,000 people and displaced 2.5
million.

Western nations are seeking to deploy UN peacekeepers in the troubled
zone, but Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir Monday restated objections to
UN troops on the ground, referring instead to a middle ground where UN
peacekeepers could support the existing African force currently deployed.

Al-Bashir's comments came as UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he was
expecting a final commitment from Sudan on a deal reached in principle
earlier this month for the UN to conduct a "hybrid mission" with the
African Union force in Darfur.

Khartoum had first signaled it was satisfied with the agreement but has
since backtracked on the nature of the mission, opposing the idea that
peacekeepers and the force's command structure could come from outside
the AU.

During a three-hour long video conference with journalists in several
international capitals, al-Bashir did not detail Khartoum's exact
position on the latest compromise deal, but said he had concerns over the
force's make up.

"The Secretary-General's position is a positive step, but we have
reservations on a joint force and on its command structure," al-Bashir
told reporters.

A Sudanese official in the oil industry said Abu Jabra's capacity had
been damaged in the attack, but insisted it would not affect overall
production. The state-owned facility pumps up to 10,000 barrels per day -
a relatively small output. The official spoke on condition of anonymity,
citing the sensitivity of the issue.

Observers fear Darfur's violence threatens to destabilize the entire
region. Neighboring Chad accuses Sudan of backing a rebel raid that
briefly took a large Chadian town and threatened the capital in recent
days.

To the south of Darfur, the Central African Republic also alleges Sudan
is backing a local rebellion. Khartoum denies both charges, but aid
workers in the west Darfur town of El Geneina said they had seen Chadian
rebel groups operating freely in the area. The aid workers spoke on
condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Sudanese officials say the country produces about 500,000 barrels per day
and that oil revenue should be at least $4 billion this year, more than
half of the government's income.

Most of Sudan's oil reserves are in the south of the country, which is
now semi autonomous under a separate peace agreement that southern rebels
signed with the government in January 2005.

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Learn mandarin - Palestinian shields foil Israeli strikes

WORLD / Middle East Conflict

Palestinian shields foil Israeli strikes

(AP)
Updated: 2006-11-20 10:41

BEIT LAHIYA, Gaza Strip - Hundreds of Palestinians serving as human
shields guarded the homes of two top militants Sunday, a new tactic that
forced Israel to call off missile strikes on the buildings and
re-evaluate a mainstay of its aerial campaign in Gaza.

Palestinians gather around the wreckage of a car after it was targeted by
an Israeli missile strike in the Zeitoun neighborhood in Gaza City Sunday
Nov. 19, 2006. An Israeli aircraft fired a missile at a car traveling in
Gaza City, wounding nine people, including two Hamas militants inside the
vehicle, hospital officials said. The Israeli army confirmed the
airstrike, but gave no details on the target. [AP]

In recent months, the Israeli air force has repeatedly struck the homes
of militants after warning residents by phone to clear out. Israeli
security officials said they did not know how to respond to the human
shield tactic, but pressed ahead with other airstrikes Sunday.

In Gaza City, an aircraft fired a missile at a car, killing one man and
wounding nine, including two Hamas militants. Four of the wounded were
children, ages 5 to 16, who suffered shrapnel injuries, hospital
officials said.

The military said the target of the strike was a vehicle carrying senior
members of the Hamas rocket launching operation.

The standoff over the homes of the militants began late Saturday when
Mohammed Baroud, local leader of the Popular Resistance Committees, was
informed by the army that his house would be hit. The three-story
building is home to 17 people from Baroud's family. Another militant from
Hamas also received a warning.

Instead of fleeing, though, the two decided to stay in their homes and
called in reinforcements. They were quickly joined by crowds of
supporters, including dozens of armed men, who gathered on balconies,
rooftops and in the streets outside.

"Death to Israel. Death to America," the crowds chanted. Local mosques
and Palestinian TV and radio stations also mobilized supporters.

1 2

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Chinese language - Iraq gunmen kill 10 Shiites, abduct 50

WORLD / Middle East

Iraq gunmen kill 10 Shiites, abduct 50

(AP)
Updated: 2006-11-12 07:33

BAGHDAD- Sunni gunmen ambushed a convoy of minibuses Saturday night at a
fake checkpoint on the dangerous highway south of Baghdad, killing 10
Shiite passengers and kidnapping about 50. Across the country at least 52
other people were killed in violence or were found dead, five of them
decapitated Iraqi soldiers.

Police said the mass kidnapping and killing was near the volatile town of
Latifiyah, about 20 miles south of Baghdad in the so-called Triangle of
Death.

Shiite Muslims, a minority in that district, have routinely come under
attack from Sunni insurgents who control the territory. The highway
passing through the region from Baghdad leads to Najaf, the holiest
Shiite city in Iraq. Shiite pilgrims have become a favorite target of
Sunni gunmen, although it was not immediately known where the victims of
Saturday night's assault were headed.

Sectarian revenge killings in Baghdad and the mixed Sunni-Shiite regions
surrounding the capital have reached civil war proportions. Morgues
across a wide sweep of the center of the country are full as Shiite
militiamen and death squads range through the region killing Sunnis.

The Shiites are falling in large numbers as well in attacks from a
growing network of Sunni insurgent groups, including radical
organizations such as al-Qaida in Iraq. The U.S. military has admitted in
recent weeks that its mission to pacify the capital has not met
expectations. And now the problem appears to spreading outward at an
extraordinarily rapid rate.

The spiraling violence coincides with increasingly strident demands from
the Shiite-dominated government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for
American forces to pull back into bases and leave Iraq's cities and towns
under the control of his military and police forces. But the highly
partisan troops and police are believed to be involved in sectarian
killings themselves or to look the other way, allowing Shiite death
squads and militias to operate unmolested.

In the capital, the United States military offered a $50,000 reward for
an Iraqi-American soldier kidnapped nearly three weeks ago.

Ahmed Qusai al-Taayie, a 41-year-old translator from Ann Arbor, Michigan,
was handcuffed and driven away by gunmen of a rogue Shiite militia while
visiting his Iraqi wife and her family on Oct. 23.

Al-Taayie's uncle last week said he had received through an intermediary
a demand of $250,000 from the kidnappers, but there was no word on
further communications.

There were no reported deaths among America's 152,000 service men and
women in Iraq on Saturday. U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and Gen.
George Casey, the top commander in Iraq, oversaw a Veterans Day ceremony
at which 75 members of the armed forces from 33 countries were sworn in
as American citizens.

In Baghdad, eight people died and at least 38 were wounded when two bombs
hidden under parked cars exploded among noontime shoppers in downtown
Baghdad's Hafidh al-Qadhi square. Police and a medical workers said at
least 38 others were injured in the explosion at the formerly bustling
area on the eastern bank of the Tigris River.

A Slovak and Polish soldier were reported killed overnight by a roadside
bomb. Slovakian defense ministry spokesman Vladimir Gemela said the two
died when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb near Kut, 100 miles
southeast of Baghdad where coalition troops have fought fighters with the
Mahdi Army militia loyal to the radical anti-American cleric Muqtada
al-Sadr.

The deaths marked the 18th among Polish troops and fourth among those
from Slovakia, which has about 100 troops in Iraq operating jointly with
the 900 Polish troops in the country.

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico has said his country will pull its
troops out of Iraq in February.

Baghdad police 1st Lt. Thayer Mahmud said his men found 25 corpses dumped
in several parts of the capital in the 24 hours from 6 p.m. Friday.

A Samarra police captain, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he
feared retribution, said the city morgue had received the beheaded bodies
five soldiers who were kidnapped last week in the Meshahda area, 20 miles
north of the capital.

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Saturday, March 22, 2008

Chinese Mandarin - Iraq may reinstate Saddam backers

Chinese language - Rice speaks on North Korea

WORLD / Photo

Rice speaks on North Korea

(Agencies)
Updated: 2006-10-26 09:43

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaks about North Korea during
remarks at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, October 25, 2006.
[Reuters]

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Chinese language - Bush meets Hu Jintao's envoy

CHINA / China

Bush meets Hu Jintao's envoy

(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-10-13 08:35

US President George W. Bush meets Tang Jiaxuan, Chinese President Hu
Jintao's special envoy and State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan in the Oval
Office at the White House in Washington October 12, 2006. [Reuters]

US President George W. Bush met with Chinese President Hu Jintao's
special envoy, State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan in the Oval Office on
Thursday.

During the meeting, Tang delivered a verbal message from President Hu to
Bush, and stressed that it is in the interests of China and the United
States, as well as the interests of Northeast Asian countries to realize
the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, maintain peace and
stability on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia.

China and the United States should enhance cooperation, handle the
nuclear issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ( DPRK)
appropriately and prevent the situation from getting worse or even
getting out of control, Tang said.

Tang said the DPRK nuclear issue is now at the crossroads and China hopes
all parties concerned should keep coolheaded, seek to resolve the issue
through consultations and dialogue and work for an early resumption of
the six-party talks.

For his part, Bush thanked President Hu for his verbal message, and
stressed that the Untied States and China should cooperate more in
safeguarding the peace and stability in Northeast Asia.

The United States is committed to seeking ways to resolve the DPRK
nuclear issue through diplomatic and peaceful means, Bush said.

Earlier Thursday, Tang met with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley and exchanged views with
them on issues including the DPRK nuclear test, the six-party talks and
the Northeast Asia situation.

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Chinese School - Afghans may soon back Taliban

WORLD / Asia-Pacific

Afghans may soon back Taliban

(AP)
Updated: 2006-10-09 08:33

KABUL, Afghanistan - NATO's top commander in Afghanistan warned on Sunday
that a majority of Afghans would likely switch their allegiance to
resurgent Taliban militants if their lives show no visible improvements
in the next six months.

Gen. David Richards, a British officer who commands NATO's 32,000 troops
in Afghanistan, talks to The Associated Press in Kabul, Afghanistan,
Sunday, Oct. 8, 2006. NATO's top commander in Afghanistan said Sunday
that the majority of Afghans will decide within a year whether to abandon
the international community's efforts here and instead support resurgent
Taliban militants. [AP]

Gen. David Richards, a British officer who commands NATO's 32,000 troops
here, told The Associated Press that he would like to have about 2,500
additional troops to form a reserve battalion to help speed up
reconstruction and development efforts.

He said the south of the country, where NATO troops have fought their
most intense battles this year, has been "broadly stabilized," which
gives the alliance an opportunity to launch projects there. If it
doesn't, he estimates about 70 percent of Afghans could switch their
allegiance from NATO to the Taliban.

"They will say, 'We do not want the Taliban but then we would rather have
that austere and unpleasant life that that might involve than another
five years of fighting,'" Richards said in an interview.

"We have created an opportunity," following the intense fighting that
left over 500 militants dead in the southern provinces of Kandahar and
Helmand, he said. "If we do not take advantage of this, then you can pour
an additional 10,000 troops next year and we would not succeed because we
would have lost by then the consent of the people."

NATO extended its security mission last week to all of Afghanistan,
taking command of 12,000 U.S. troops in the war-battered country's east.
The mission is the biggest ground combat operation in NATO history and
gives Richards command of the largest number of U.S. troops under a
foreign leader since World War II.

Some 8,000 U.S. troops will continue to function outside NATO, tracking
al-Qaida terrorists, helping train Afghan security forces and doing
reconstruction work.

Afghanistan is going through its worst bout of violence since the
U.S.-led invasion removed the former Taliban regime from power five years
ago. The Taliban has made a comeback in the south and east of the country
and is seriously threatening Western attempts to stabilize the country
after almost three decades of war.

Taliban militants have acknowledged adopting the suicide attacks commonly
used by insurgents in Iraq, launching 78 suicide bombings across
Afghanistan this year which have killed close to 200 people, NATO said
Sunday.

There were only two suicide attacks in 2003 and six in 2004, according to
Seth Jones, an analyst for the U.S.-based RAND Corp. He said there were
21 in 2005.

Richards, who will lead the NATO forces in Afghanistan until U.S. Gen.
Dan K. McNeil takes over in February, said the Taliban may lose support
among Afghans if it continues the attacks.

"The very cowardly use of suicide bombers, the tragic use of suicide
bombers, reveals weakness on the part of the Taliban, not strength," he
said.

Richards said NATO troops have also seen an upsurge in violence along the
eastern border with Pakistan since that country's government signed a
deal with pro-Taliban militants last month to end fighting that broke out
after the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001.

U.S. military officials have said the number of attacks on coalition and
Afghan troops has tripled in the tribal border region. Afghan and Western
officials have repeatedly accused Pakistan of not doing all it can to
block the flow of insurgents over the border, but Pakistan has rejected
the charge.

Richards, who will travel to Pakistan for meetings with military leaders
on Monday, urged "partnership and cooperation rather than confrontation"
in dealings with Pakistan.

The U.S.-led coalition and Afghan forces killed five suspected insurgents
in a clash in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, the Ministry of Defense
said. One suspected insurgent was detained following the gunfight in
eastern Paktika province.

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Friday, March 21, 2008

Free Chinese Lesson - American soldiers burned in retaliation

WORLD / America

American soldiers burned in retaliation
(AP)
Updated: 2006-09-24 10:08

An al-Qaida-linked group posted a Web video Saturday purporting to show
the bodies of two American soldiers being dragged behind a truck, then
set on fire in apparent retaliation for the alleged rape-slaying of a
young Iraqi woman by U.S. troops from the same unit.

The Mujahedeen Shura Council - an umbrella organization of insurgent
groups, including al-Qaida in Iraq - posted a previous video in June
showing the soldiers' mutilated bodies, and claiming it killed them. It
was not clear whether Saturday's video was a continuation of that
footage, or why it was released.

The new footage came hours after the posting of another al-Qaida video,
an apparent re-release of a tape showing the execution of a Turkish
hostage - by the man purported to be the new leader of Al-Qaida in Iraq.

The images would be the first of Abu Ayyub al-Masri to be released since
the group announced that he had succeeded Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was
killed by a U.S. airstrike in Iraq on June 7.

Both videos appeared just as Sunni Arabs in Iraq began Ramadan, the
Islamic holy month. U.S. officials have warned that attacks could
intensify during Ramadan.

It was impossible to identify the bodies in the second video, but it was
believed to show Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, and Pfc. Thomas Tucker, 25,
who went missing after being attacked by insurgents on June 16 at a
checkpoint south of Baghdad. Their remains were found three days later,
and the U.S. military said they had been mutilated.

The video showed masked men dragging the corpses and later setting them
on fire. Below the graphic footage is a subtitle: "The two soldiers
belong to the same brigade of the soldier who raped our sister in
Mahmoudiya."

The U.S military has charged four soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division
�� Spc. James P. Barker, Sgt. Paul E. Cortez, Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman and
Pfc. Bryan L. Howard - in the March 12 alleged rape and murder of
14-year-old Abeer Qassim al-Janabi in Mahmoudiya, about 20 miles south of
Baghdad. Sgt. Anthony W. Yribe is accused of failing to report the attack
but is not alleged to have been a direct participant.

A fifth suspect, Pfc. Steven D. Green, was discharged from the army
because of a "personality disorder" before the allegations became known.
He has pleaded not guilty to rape and murder charges and is being held in
a civilian court in the United States.

Mahmoudiya is an extremely violent region in Iraq in an area known as the
"triangle of death" for the numerous attacks by insurgents.

The two slain soldiers also were from the 101st Airborne Division.

The video of the Turkish hostage first appeared on Aug. 2, 2004. It shows
what has since then become an iconic scene of violence in Iraq - three
masked men standing behind a hostage seated on the ground.

The militant in the middle, identified in the latest Web posting as
al-Masri, reads a statement in Arabic, and then the hostage, Murad Yucer
from Ankara, reads a statement in Turkish. After Yucer finishes, al-Masri
shoots him three times in the head.

The scarves make it impossible to identify the three militants. However,
a statement posted alongside the video says the execution was performed
by Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, al-Masri's militant name.

Al-Masri, a Sunni Muslim, has been relatively silent since taking over
control of al-Qaida in Iraq - a sharp contrast with al-Zarqawi, who
frequently issued audiotapes and even a videotape that showed his face a
few weeks before he was killed.

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Learn Mandarin online - Annan snubbed, ignored in Iran meeting

Learn Mandarin online - Two Britons held for bomb plot

WORLD / Middle East

Two Britons held for bomb plot
(AFP)
Updated: 2006-08-11 20:38

ISLAMABAD - Pakistani authorities said they had arrested seven people
over a plot to blow up multiple airliners, including two British
nationals who were allegedly key players in the terror scheme.

The Britons, both of Pakistani descent, were seized last week and
provided vital information that helped to bust the plot while five local
militant "facilitators" were arrested separately, officials said.

Pakistani authorities said they had arrested seven people over a plot to
blow up multiple airliners, including two British nationals who were
allegedly key players in the terror scheme. [AFP]

British Home Secretary John Reid thanked Pakistan for its assistance
after the arrests, which Islamabad said were part of a coordinated
operation with British and US intelligence.

"One of the suspects was arrested in Karachi and another was arrested in
Lahore. Both the men were British nationals of Pakistani origin and were
key members of the Britain-based network of militants," a senior
Pakistani government official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"The arrests in Pakistan were made prior to the action in London. They
were in full knowledge of the plot to blow up the airliners and the
information was passed on to Britain and US intelligence," the official
added.

Foreign office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said Pakistan "played a very
important role in uncovering and breaking this international terrorist
network. There were some arrests in Pakistan which were coordinated with
arrests in the UK."

Pakistani agents also arrested a network of five domestic extremists in
connection with the London plots, a security official said, saying they
had acted as "facilitators" for the Britons.

Another security official said late Thursday that at least three of the
people arrested in Pakistan had links to Al-Qaeda.

London's Guardian newspaper quoted a British government source as saying
that an intercepted message from Pakistan telling the bombers to "go now"
had triggered the arrests.

Pakistan stepped up security at its own airports Friday following
Britain's announcement that it had thwarted a plot to wreak "mass murder"
by simultaneous bombings of planes bound for the United States.

Authorities were also investigating some financial transactions made by
an unnamed foreign Muslim welfare group to at least a dozen branches of
banks in Karachi and northwestern Peshawar city, a security official.

Page: 1 2

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� Terror plot probe under way in U.S.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Chinese School - UN powers hit snags on Iran nuke resolution

WORLD / Middle East

UN powers hit snags on Iran nuke resolution
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-07-20 09:10

Major powers were at odds on Wednesday on how to make legally binding
demands that Iran suspend uranium enrichment and stop work on a reactor
that can produce plutonium, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said.

US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton. The Security Council
stalled on calling for a halt to Israel's deadly strikes against
Hezbollah in Lebanon, as it mulled a lasting solution centered on the
disarming of the militant Lebanese militia.[AFP]

In informal talks, Russia and China raised questions about a U.N.
Security Council resolution that Western nations want adopted. Their
concerns were similar to disputes over a North Korea resolution last week
on how to make their demands mandatory, participants at the closed-door
talks said.

"The good news is everybody had instructions," Bolton told reporters.
"The bad news is they didn't all agree.

Bolton said that while there was agreement to make mandatory the
suspension of uranium enrichment "what we have not reached agreement on
is the precise formulation of the words that will do that."

The draft under consideration is an updated version of one introduced by
the United States, Britain and France in early May but never adopted. It
includes threats of sanctions to curb Iran's nuclear program, which the
West fears is a prelude to bomb-making.

The text will also set a date, not yet determined but possibly by the end
of August, for Iran to comply.

The meetings, which resume on Thursday, included Germany and the five
Security Council members with veto power -- the United States, Britain,
France, Russia and China, the main negotiators on Iran.

At a July 12 meeting in Paris, all six countries agreed Iran had given no
indication it would engage seriously on a commercial and technological
incentive package offered to Tehran if it were willing to suspend its
nuclear programs.

The six also agreed to adopt a Security Council resolution that would
make the suspension mandatory.

If Iran still refused, they said then, "We will work for adoption of
measures under Article 41 of Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter," which calls
for sanctions.

To Germany's U.N. Ambassador Thomas Matussek, this meant using Chapter 7
in the current and any follow-up resolution, he said on Wednesday.

Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin refused to comment on Chapter 7
on Wednesday but said, "There must be no misunderstanding about the
seriousness of the international community ... and the seriousness of the
need to dispel all doubts about the nature of the Iranian nuclear
program."

During the debate over North Korea's missile launches last week, China
forced council members to work around Chapter 7 and other language and
changing words, such as "decide," to "require."

Chapter 7 makes a resolution legally binding while the North Korean
resolution, according to some experts, was politically but not legally
binding.

Chapter 7 also provides for military action as well as sanctions,
providing a specific resolution is adopted to that end. Recalling the
invasion of Iraq, China and Russia fear the United States and its allies
would enforce the resolution without council authorization.

Tehran, which maintains its program is to produce energy only, has shown
no sign of suspending its nuclear work and said it would not reply to the
incentive offer until August 22.

Iran is building a heavy-water nuclear reactor at Arak, 120 miles (190
km) southwest of Tehran. Western nations are concerned the plant's
plutonium by-product could be used to produce nuclear warheads.

Spent fuel can be processed to extract weapons-grade plutonium. The
plutonium can also be mixed with enriched uranium to produce fuel for a
special type of nuclear reactor.

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Chinese Online Class - Klinsmann quits as Germany coach

Sports/Olympics / Soccer

Klinsmann quits as Germany coach
(AP)
Updated: 2006-07-13 11:20

Juergen Klinsmann walked away from the German national team on Wednesday,
carrying a backpack with two soccer balls for his children and leaving
trusted assistant Joachim Loew in charge.

"I feel burned out," Klinsmann said at a news conference while fighting
back tears. "I have a great wish to be back with my family and my
children and to get back into normal life."

Germany's outgoing national soccer team coach Juergen Klinsmann smiles
after he announced his resignation at the German soccer association (DFB)
headquarters in Frankfurt, central Germany, July 12, 2006. Klinsmann
resigned four days after his team reached the third place in the FIFA
2006 World Cup and the DFB announced his former assistant Joachim Loew as
new head coach for the national soccer team.[Reuters]

Klinsmann dismissed reports that he had been approached to take over the
U.S. national team.

"There is absolutely no interest on my side and no contact," he said.

The 41-year-old Klinsmann stepped down four days after leading Germany to
a third-place finish at the World Cup, earning praise across the nation.
He ignored calls to stay, from Chancellor Angela Merkel down to the
ordinary fans.

Merkel said she was "very sad" to see him go. Franz Beckenbauer, who has
won the World Cup with Germany as a player and coach, said Klinsmann
should have taken more time to make a decision.

"Juergen would have perhaps come to a different conclusion then," said
Beckenbauer, the most influential figure in German soccer.

Klinsmann, who won the 1990 World Cup title as player, was a novice coach
when he was unexpectedly given one of the biggest jobs in soccer two
years ago.

Klinsmann delegated much of the practical work and, in Loew, has left a
hand-picked successor who is likely to keep the team's open, attacking
and entertaining style.

"We are deeply convinced that we have established ourselves in the top of
world soccer again. We have a young team that can only improve," Loew
said.

The two met during a coaching course and Klinsmann hired Loew to be his
assistant when he took the Germany job.

"He was never an assistant; he was a partner, who had his own areas of
responsibility," Klinsmann said Wednesday.

Loew won the German Cup in 1997 as coach of Stuttgart and the Austrian
championship in 2002 with FC Tirol Innsbruck. He has also coached in
Turkey.

Loew's two-year deal runs through the 2008 European Championship,
co-hosted by Switzerland and Austria.

"Our goal is to be European champion," said Loew, who was credited for
designing the national team's game plans.

Klinsmann boldly promised that Germany would win its fourth World Cup
title. Although he fell short of that goal, his young team captured the
nation's imagination and swayed even its biggest critics.

Klinsmann dropped some veterans, brought in American fitness trainers,
composed his staff of trusted, former teammates and, most importantly,
changed the team's dour, safety-first style into fast-paced, attacking
soccer.

His methods were met with skepticism and open criticism from many in the
media and the soccer establishment. By the time the World Cup was over,
Klinsmann had become a national hero, but he remained vague about
extending his contract, which ended with the World Cup.

He didn't watch Sunday's final and went to a Black Forest resort for two
days to think things over and consult with his American wife, Debbie.

"She told me it was my decision but I told her that I didn't have the
energy," Klinsmann said. "My decision wouldn't have been different even
if we had won the World Cup title."

Klinsmann never gave up his home in California, and his commute to
Germany was a main source of friction between him and the soccer
establishment.

With qualifying for the European Championship looming, Klinsmann would
have been required to spend a lot more time in Germany.

"It would have been much more difficult," he said.

Michael Ballack, who became Germany's captain under Klinsmann, regretted
his departure.

"It's a pity that Klinsmann is not continuing," Ballack said. "It was a
lot of fun. I am pleased, though, that we now have a coach in Joachim
Loew who knows the team and who will continue in the same style."

Klinsmann and German soccer federation officials didn't exclude some kind
of future cooperation.

"He is leaving as a friend," said Theo Zwanziger, a DFB co-president.
"He's not going away from the DFB, the link won't broken. We'll be
staying in touch."

Klinsmann said he would remain in "close contact" with Loew and the
players.

Loew's first game in charge will be the Aug. 16 friendly against Sweden,
which Germany beat 2-0 in the second round of the World Cup.

Germany starts qualifying for the 2008 European Championship in September
in a group that contains the Czech Republic, Ireland, Slovakia, Wales,
Cyprus and San Marino.

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Thursday, March 27, 2008

Free Chinese Lesson - Beijing Olympic Torch Relay Route unveiled

Chinese Online Class - Campus community reacts to Cho's words

Learn mandarin - 'Gun culture' again target of criticism after killings

Learn Chinese - Rockets rally past Kings 112-106

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Free Chinese Lesson - Britain says 15 sailors detained by Iran

Learn Mandarin online - N.Korea plans to close nuke facility

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Chinese language - Plane crash kills 49 in Indonesia

Free Chinese Lesson - Athlete and actress give New Year blessing

Chinese Online Class - Astronaut suffered 'mental anguish'

Learn Mandarin online - Women's relay group wins, men's misses in last lap

Monday, March 24, 2008

Free Chinese Lesson - UEFA may flirt with idea of 24-team Euro champs

Learn Mandarin online - Expensive new US spy satellite not working: sources

Learn mandarin - Turkmen president dies of heart attack

Learn Chinese - Zheng/Yan take women's doubles tennis title

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Chinese Online Class - Chavez snubs US overture for dialogue

Chinese language - Darfur rebels conduct raid on oil field

Learn mandarin - Palestinian shields foil Israeli strikes

Chinese language - Iraq gunmen kill 10 Shiites, abduct 50

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Chinese Mandarin - Iraq may reinstate Saddam backers

Chinese language - Rice speaks on North Korea

Chinese language - Bush meets Hu Jintao's envoy

Chinese School - Afghans may soon back Taliban

Friday, March 21, 2008

Free Chinese Lesson - American soldiers burned in retaliation

Learn Mandarin online - Annan snubbed, ignored in Iran meeting

Learn Mandarin online - Two Britons held for bomb plot

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Chinese School - UN powers hit snags on Iran nuke resolution

Chinese Online Class - Klinsmann quits as Germany coach

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