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A Boeing 767-300ER airplane named "FLY! PANDA" with a panda-shaped pattern on its body is displayed as invited guests pose next to it during an unveiling at New Tokyo international airport in Narita, east of Tokyo July 24, 2007. The special airplane, designed and operated by All Nippon Airways Co., was made to mark the 35th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Japan and China. The vessel, which is also made to mark the company's 20th anniversary of airline service between Japan and China, is scheduled to commence its service, with the panda design, in July 25 to Beijing. [Reuters]

SANYA, Hainan- Two Chinese naval vessels left here on Tuesday for an 87-day tour that will take them to Russia, Britain, Spain and France. The guided missile destroyer Guangzhou and the supply ship Weishanhu are under the command of Major General Su Zhiqian, deputy commander of the South China Sea Fleet of the Chinese Navy. The Guangzhou -- 155 meters long, 16 meters wide and with a displacement of 5,850 tons -- is said to be one of China's newest naval vessels. The two ships will travel more than 23,000 nautical miles, stopping in Russia's Saint Petersburg, Britain's Portsmouth, Spain's Cadiz, and France's Toulon in succession. More than 500 soldiers and officers are on board the vessels. They will join activities for the Year of China in Saint Petersburg and hold joint rescue exercises with the British, Spanish and French navies.

Westinghouse President and CEO Steve Tritch (L) shakes hands with Wang Binghua, Chairman of the State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation of China, during a signing ceremony to build nuclear power plants at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing July 24, 2007. [Reuters]

China on Tuesday finalized a contract with a consortium, led by the US-based Westinghouse Electric Co, to build four nuclear power reactors in the eastern part of the country.

Neither party revealed the amount involved in the contract but earlier media reports had estimated it to be $8 billion.

China will use Westinghouse's AP1000 technology to build the four reactors, two of which will be in Sanmen, Zhejiang Province, and the others in Haiyang, Shandong Province.

The cooperation between China and the US will be "crucial" in the development of the country's third generation nuclear power technology, Vice-Premier Zeng Peiyan said.

"The contract will result in the first-ever use of advanced US nuclear power technology in China," Westinghouse President and Chief Executive Stephen Tritch said.

Based on standard Westinghouse pressurized water reactor technology, AP1000 is "the safest, most advanced nuclear power technology in the world". It has been chosen for at least 12 reactors in the US to be built in the next 10 to 12 years.

The deal is expected to generate at least 5,000 jobs for Westinghouse and its consortium partners, the company said.

Work on the first reactor is expected to begin in 2009, and it will become operational in late 2013. The other three are expected to come on line between 2014 and 2015.

Japan's Toshiba took majority control of Westinghouse last October. Two months later China signed an MOU with the company for the four reactors after it outbid competitors Areva of France and Atomstroiexport of Russia following a two-year negotiation process.

Nuclear power is the most important electricity generating method after thermal power and hydropower in China, and the country has become the third-largest nuclear power producer in Asia. Only Japan and South Korea generate more nuclear power.

All nuclear reactors in operation or being constructed in China have employ the first- or second-generation technology from France, Canada or Russia.

This year the country formed the State Nuclear Power Technology Corp (SNPTC), which is mainly in charge of developing third-generation nuclear power technologies. The registered capital of SNPTC is 4 billion yuan ($528.89 million).

The central government will fund 60 percent of the company, and the rest will come from four large State-owned enterprises, including the country's two nuclear conglomerates CNNC and China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Co.

Ding Junhui of China takes a shoot in the Men's snooker doubles final at the Asian Games, in Doha, December 6, 2006. China's Ding Junhui and Tian Pengfei beats Chan Wai Ki and Marco Fu Ka Chun of Hong Kong, China to win the gold medal.

Models present mobile phones as visitors examine new products at the LG booth during the first day of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Telecom World 2006 in Hong Kong December 4, 2006

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Chinese coach Li Yongbo praised his team for surpassing expectations at the Madrid world championships which ended on Sunday.

Chinese coach Li Yongbo praised his team for surpassing expectations at the Madrid world championships which ended on Sunday.

Li had challenged the team to better the two golds, four silver and one bronze taken at the last world championships. They finished with four of the five gold medals at stake in Madrid.

"Due to limits on the number of players at the tournament, the level of competition was greater than before and the achievement was even less easy," Li told the China News Service agency.

Li particularly praised top-seeded men's doubles pair Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng.

"This perfect performance should really lift their confidence in preparing for the Olympic Games," Li said.

He also said China had proved its superiority in the women's doubles where Gao Ling and Huang Sui beat Zhang Yawen and Wei Yili in an all-Chinese final.

"Although we might drop the odd match, our overall superiority is unassailable," he said.

Li was less pleased with the mixed doubles - the only event in which Chinese hegemony was broken at the championships, after Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms beat Anthony Clark and Donna Kellogg to win gold in an all-English final.

"I believe they didn't play their best. In principle, there should have been at least one team to break into the semifinals," Li said.

Master-MVA Aspar's 125cc rider Alvaro Bautista (19) of Spain leads the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi, north of Tokyo, September 24, 2006

China's 08 Olympics soccer team were beaten 2-0 by their Japanese counterparts in a friendly on August 7 held in Qinhuangdao, Hebei Province.

This match seemed to be auguring things to come as a month later, defending champions China were downed by North Korea 2-1, losing their spot in the semifinals of the AFC U-17 Championship.

Adding insult to injury, the national team, coached by Zhu Guanghu, would obtain more red cards than goals in two games against Singapore, casting a shadow on their bid for qualification for next year's Asian Cup finals.

"Deviating from the correct path, more than a decade of professional reform has produced very little effect," the 62-year-old Jin Zhiyang was quoted by China Youth Daily as saying on September 14.

Jin, former head coach of Beijing Guo'an and Tianjin Taida and assistant coach of the national team during the 2002 World Cup.

Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil returns a ball to Simon Aspelin and Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden during their Davis Cup play-off doubles tennis match in Belo Horizonte, Brazil September 24, 2006.

Benfica's Georgios Karagounis (R) fights for the ball with Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo during their Champions League Group F soccer match at the Luz stadium in Lisbon September 26, 2006

Top seeds Jelena Jankovic of Serbia and Na Li of China were among Tuesday's first-round winners at the U.S.$175,000 Guangzhou International Women's Open.

The U.S. Open semifinalist Jankovic eased past Chinese Meng Yuan 6-0, 6-2, while Li leveled Russian Galina Voskoboeva 6-3, 6-4 at the Tennis Courts of Fangcun Sports Center. Li will battle her countrywoman Tiantian Sun in the second round here.

Two other seeds advanced, as No. 4 Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues grounded Russian Alina Jidkova 6-1, 6-3 and No. 8 Belarusian Anastasiya Yakimova erased Chinese qualifier Shengnan Sun 6-2, 6-1.

Sixth-seeded American Meghann Shaughnessy was sent packing by Croat Jelena Kostanic 6-4, 6-4 on Day 2.

Other opening-round winners were Aussie Alicia Molik, Dutch qualifier Elise Tamaela and Chinese qualifier Jing Ren. Molik fought back to take out American Vania King 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 7-5.

The 2006 Guangzhou winner will collect U.S.$28,000. Chinese Yan Zi defeated Spaniard Nuria Llagostera Vives in last year's finale.

Olympic champion and world record holder Liu Xiang continues to dominate the IAAF world rankings for the men's 110-meter hurdles after winning his event in Shanghai last week.

Liu Xiang of China (L) celebrates as he wins the 110 meters hurdles ahead of Allen Johnson of the U.S (R) during the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix athletics meet in Shanghai September 23, 2006.[

Real Madrid's Raul celebrates scoring against Real Betis during their Trophy of Carranza soccer match at the Ramon de Carranza stadium in Cadiz August 18, 2006. [Reuters]

Real Madrid's David Beckham looks on during their Trophy of Carranza soccer match against Real Betis at the Ramon de Carranza stadium in Cadiz August 18, 2006.[Reuters]

Real Madrid's Ruud Van Nistelrooy (L) celebrates his goal against Real Betis with team mate David Beckham during their Trophy of Carranza soccer match at the Ramon de Carranza stadium in Cadiz August 18, 2006.[Reuters]

Host team China started the fifth day of competition with two gold medals and one silver from the 10,000 meters walking race.  ²é¿´È«ÎÄ

China's Yao Ming (R) is fouled by Italy's Denis Marconato during the first round of the world basketball championships in Sapporo August 19, 2006. [Reuters]

China's Yao Ming goes up to shoot against Italy during the first round of the world basketball championships in Sapporo, northern Japan August 19, 2006. [Reuters]

China's coach Jonas Kazlauskas (R) and center Yao Ming react during their game against Italy in the first round of the world basketball championships in Sapporo August 19, 2006. [Reuters]

China's Yao Ming dunks against Italy during the first round of the world basketball championships in Sapporo, northern Japan August 19, 2006. [Reuters]

Nigeria's Aloysius Anagonye (L) dunks the ball beside Venezuela's Victor Diaz (C) and Nigeria's Gabe Muoneke during their match at the world basketball championships in Sendai August 20, 2006. [Reuters]

Italy's Andrea Michelori (L) drives past China's Yao Ming during the first round of the world basketball championships in Sapporo August 19, 2006. [Reuters]

Oscar Torres of Venezuela dunks during their second round match at the world basketball championships against Venezuela in Sendai August 20, 2006.[Reuters]

Venezuela's Richard Lugo (C) struggles for the ball with Nigeria's Ime Udoka (R) and Jeff Varem during their match at the world basketball championships in Sendai August 20, 2006. [Reuters]

L-R) China's Liu Yanan (top) celebrates with teammate Wang Yimei after winning a point over Azerbaijan during their FIVB World Grand Prix preliminary match in Hong Kong August 19, 2006. [Reuters]

Australia's Sam Mackinnon (C) hangs down from a basket after his dunk shot during their first round match against Brazil at the world basketball championships in Hamamatsu, central Japan August 19, 2006. [Reuters]

Australia's Sam MacKinnon (R) goes for a basket as Brazil's Anderson tries to stop him during their first round match at the world basketball championships in Hamamatsu, central Japan August 19, 2006.[Reuters]

Australia's Andrew Bogut (2nd R) and team mates celebrate their 83-77 win over Brazil after their first round match at the world basketball championships in Hamamatsu, central Japan August 19, 2006.[Reuters]

Competitors practice for the 2006 Qingdao International Regatta sailing competition in Qingdao, China's eastern province of Shandong, August 20, 2006. The races begin on August 21, with the regatta as the first trial of an official venue for the upcoming 2008 Summer Olympics.[Reuters]

competitor practices for the 2006 Qingdao International Regatta sailing competition in Qingdao, China's eastern province of Shandong, August 20, 2006. The races begin on August 21, with the regatta as the first trial of an official venue for the upcoming 2008 Summer Olympics.

competitor practices for the 2006 Qingdao International Regatta sailing competition in Qingdao, China's eastern province of Shandong, August 20, 2006. The races begin on August 21, with the regatta as the first trial of an official venue for the upcoming 2008 Summer Olympics.

Iranian military forces run from the down-draft of a helicopter, during a training exercise in Zahedan, in the southeastern province of Sistan va Baluchistan, Iran, on Saturday Aug. 19, 2006. Iran on Saturday launched a series of large-scale military maneuvers aimed at introducing the country's new defensive doctrine, state-run television reported. [AP Photo]

Iranian military forces alight from a helicopter during a training exercise in Zahedan, in the southeastern province of Sistan va Baluchistan, Iran, August 19, 2006. Iran on Saturday launched a series of large-scale military maneuvers aimed at introducing the country's new defensive doctrine, state-run television reported

Iranian army helicopters lift equipment during a war game in Sistan-o Balouchestan province, southeast of Tehran, August 19, 2006. Iran on Saturday launched a series of large-scale military maneuvers aimed at introducing the country's new defensive doctrine, state-run television reported.

LeBron James (C) of the US goes up to shoot as China's Yao Ming (L) guards during the first round of the world basketball championships in Sapporo, northern Japan August 20, 2006.

US player Dwight Howard (L) fights for a rebound with China's Yao Ming during the first round of the world basketball championships in Sapporo August 20, 2006. [Reuters]

Dwyane Wade (C) of the US goes up to shoot past China's Yao Ming during the first round of the world basketball championships in Sapporo, northern Japan August 20, 2006. The United States crushed China 121-90 to underline their status as favourites at the world basketball championship, [Reuters]

Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, a transvestite from India, looks at a dress made of condoms by Brazilian artist Adriana Bertini at the International AIDS conference in Toronto August 17, 2006. The exhibit aims to get people comfortable about condoms, especially those living in countries where the little piece of latex is considered taboo.

Brazilian artist Adriana Bertini poses with one of her dresses made of condoms on exhibit at the International AIDS Conference in Toronto August 17, 2006. The exhibit aims to get people comfortable about condoms, especially those living in countries where the little piece of latex is considered taboo

Liu Xiang, the 110m hurdles world record holder and Olympic champion, runs as he stars in a film promoting the image of Shanghai, in front of the Grand Theatre in Shanghai August 19, 2006.

Tehran - Iran on Sunday test-fired a surface-to-surface short-range missile a day after its army launched large-scale military exercises throughout the country, state-run television reported.

Washington - The United States hopes it will avoid filing lawsuit to the World Trade Organization against China to fix trade problems that have strained relations, the top US trade official said on Friday.

"Quite frankly, I'd rather not litigate in the World Trade Organization," US Trade Representative Susan Schwab said in an interview taped for C-Span television's "The Newsmakers," which will air on Sunday.

"I would rather have China fix the problem whether it's a market access problem or a problem related to intellectual property or so on," she said.

Schwab will travel to China in late August after attending the annual economics ministers meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, next week.

The United States, the European Union and Canada already have taken one step toward a WTO case against China for tariff policies they said discriminate against foreign auto parts.

Washington also has been considering another case aimed at getting Beijing to toughen its enforcement of laws against pirating and counterfeiting goods.

American companies said they lose billions of dollars in China each year because of the fake goods, some of which end up back in the United States.

Schwab said she planned to discuss both issues with her Chinese counterpart, as well as US concern that China honor commitments to open its financial services market.

The United States also wants China to become much more engaged in nearly 5-year-old world trade talks, which were suspended last month after countries failed to agree on how much to cut agricultural and manufacturing tariffs.

China's environmental chief has blamed fraudulent project approval procedures and slow construction of pollution control facilities for the rise in pollutant emission in the first half of the year.

Encephalitis B has killed 26 people in China so far, as seven more were reported died from the disease in the north of the country.

Beirut, Lebanon - Standing in the midst of the rubble of south Beirut, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora called the Israeli bombing campaign "a crime against humanity," and Lebanon's defense minister warned any group that breaks the Middle East ceasefire will be dealt with harshly.

Sapporo, Japan - The United States crushed China 121-90 to underline their status as favourites at the world basketball championship on Sunday. (See Full Coverage on the FIBA World Championship 2006 )

Beijing - Prolonged hot weather and severe drought have left 18 million people in China short of drinking water and damaged vast areas of arable farmland.

Beijing - Prolonged hot weather and severe drought have left 18 million people in China short of drinking water and damaged vast areas of arable farmland.

China's Liu Hong survived a yellow-card warning to claim the women's 10,000m race walk title at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Beijing on Saturday.

The 19-year-old clocked a personal best time of 45 minutes and 12.84 seconds under sweltering conditions, while compatriot Chai Xue finished sixth in 48:09.51.

Russia's Tatyana Shemyakina was edged to the second position in 45:34.41, while Romanian Anamaria Greceanu finished the podium after clocking a distant 46:45.67.

Liu, who has been mainly practising the 20 km, attributed her victory to her tactics.

"I was too anxious and the yellow card alerted me. I tried to relax after that and raced better," Liu told a post-match press conference.

"We've prepared well for this race and were confident about clinching the title.

"The result proved that our tactics were quite right," she added.

Liu guessed that Chai ran out of energy so that she could not stay in the leading pack.

"It's a pity that Chai did not catch up with me in the final stage. She might be too tired," Liu said.

HAVANA - Acting President Raul Castro said Cuba remains open to normalized relations with the United States, but warned the Bush administration in his first comments since assuming power that it will get nowhere with threats or pressure.

SHANGHAI: China's largest commercial lender, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), denied on Friday that loopholes in its online banking system had caused the loss of customers' funds.

However, about 200 of the ICBC's e-banking customers from across the country, who claim to have lost sums up to 389,000 yuan (US$48,600), have demanded compensation from the bank.

Experts said that improvements are needed to ensure the security of China's online banking system, noting that the incident would put off many potential customers.

The security of online banking was placed under spotlight recently when the 200 alleged victims of ICBC's defective Internet banking service formed an alliance to safeguard their rights and threatened to take the bank to court.

A number of cases have been revealed recently in which online banking customers suffered losses as a result of hacking, fake websites or viruses.

In the latest incident, a court in East China's Zhejiang Province ordered a branch of the Agricultural Bank of China to compensate Hong Rongyao to the tune of 102,500 yuan (US$12,800) after his password was stolen and a large amount of money was taken from his account.

But the large number of victims of ICBC's allegedly defective online banking system has drawn particular attention.

"We will file a collective lawsuit and ask for compensation for the losses resulting from the loopholes in ICBC's online banking system, and end the bank's infringement of its customers' rights," the organizer of the customer alliance said on its website.

The lender was also accused of failing to deal with hackers and being unable to provide a safe online banking network. Each victim's name, place of residence and the amount of money lost was posted on the site.

A man named Pang Feng from Shanghai lost 389,000 yuan (US$48, 000), the largest amount on the list.

The site also posted a wanted notice for a man, aged around 30, who is suspected of stealing 427,000 yuan (US$53,400) from ICBC's online banking service.

But the bank fought back on Friday. A statement on the ICBC website said that customers' failure to safeguard their card numbers and passwords had caused the losses.

The bank, pointing out that its online banking service has 20 million customers, said that the losses were "isolated cases."

Since 2003, the lender has required its customers to use USB-Shield, a patented customer certificate to help avoid risks such as hacking, fake websites or viruses.

"The large number of alleged thefts shows that commercial lenders' online banking services are not 100 per cent secure," said Li Hong, dean of the banking studies department of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.

"The incident might have an impact on customers using the service in the future," he added.

BEIJING - China raised rates on Friday for the second time in four months in the latest effort to slow a boom in credit and investment that risks destabilising the world's fourth-largest economy.

The People's Bank of China, the central bank, said on its Web site (www.pbc.gov.cn) that it had ordered an increase of 0.27 percentage point in commercial banks' benchmark one-year deposit and lending rates.

Tests carried out into China's first AIDS vaccine suggest the drug could prove effective at protecting people against the HIV virus, the Ministry of Science and Technology announced on Friday.

Belgium's player Stein Huysegems controls the ball during a training session of the Belgian squad in Kraainem near Brussels, August 14, 2006

German national soccer players (L-R) Bernd Schneider, Lukas Podolski, Thomas Hitzlsperger and Manuel Friedrich head footballs during a training session in Berlin August 14, 2006. The German national soccer team will play against Sweden in a friendly soccer match in Gelsenkirchen on August 16. [Reuters]

Barcelona's newly signed soccer player Gianluca Zambrotta stretches during his first training session with the team in Barcelona, Spain August 15, 2006

Barcelona's newly signed soccer player Liliam Thuram (R) speaks with team mates Ronaldinho (C) and Samuel Eto'o (L) during a training session in Barcelona August 15, 2006

Yao Ming, right, and Wang Zhizhi, left, of China try to grab the ball from Andrew Bogut of Australia, center, during the match of the 2006 Stankovic Continental Champions Cup Tuesday Aug. 15, 2006 in Kunshan, China. China defeat Australia 63-61

Yao Ming of China, right, tries to pass the ball as Brad Newley of Australia, left, defends during the match of the 2006 Stankovic Continental Champions Cup Tuesday Aug. 15, 2006 in Kunshan, China. China won over Australia 63-61

Li Changchun(C),a member of the Standing Committee of Political Bureau,the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee,attended the opening ceremony and announced that the 11th IAAF World Junior Championships opened in Beijing Chaoyang Sports Centre August 15, 2006

A performance at the opening ceremony of the 11th IAAF World Junior Championships that opened in Beijing Chaoyang Sports Centre August 15, 2006

The 11th IAAF World Junior Championships opened in Beijing Chaoyang Sports Centre August 15, 2006

The 11th IAAF World Junior Championships opened in Beijing Chaoyang Sports Centre August 15, 2006.[

Spanish bullfighter Fernando Cruz waits to start a bullfight at the Maestranza bullring in Seville August 15, 2006.

Bullfighter Antonio Barrera is tossed by a bull during a bullfight at San Sebastian's Illumbe bullring August 15, 2006

Spanish bullfighter Anibal Ruiz is tackled by a bull during a bullfight at the Maestranza bullring in Seville August 15, 2006

Spanish bullfighter Anibal Ruiz performs a pass to a bull during a bullfight at the Maestranza bullring in Seville August 15, 2006

Yohan Blake (L) of Jamaica crosses the finish line ahead of Justyn Warner (R) of Canada and Wade Bennett-Jackson (C) of Britain during the semi-final of the Men's 100 m event of the 11th IAAF World Junior Championships in Beijing August 15, 2006. The three runners qualified for the final.

The first gold went to Dutch shotput star Melissa Boekelman after the 11th IAAF World Junior Championships kicked off in Beijing August 15,2006

Xue Fei (136) leads the pack during the finals of the Women's 5000 metres event of the 11th IAAF World Junior Championships in Beijing August 15, 2006

Xue Fei of China crosses the finish line in the final of the Women's 5000 m event of the 11th IAAF World Junior Championships in Beijing August 15, 2006. Xue won the gold with a time of 15.31.61

raham Chepkirwok of Uganda crosses the finish line ahead of Lachlan Renshaw of Australia during the men's 800m heat of the 11th IAAF World Junior Championships in Beijing August 15, 2006. Chepkirwok and Renshaw advanced to the semifinals.

The 11th IAAF World Junior Championships have now officially opened, with a lavish ceremony at Chaoyang Sports Park in Beijing

China's star Li Na suffered an early exit from the Montreal Cup WTA tournament after losing 6-4, 6-2 to local favorite Marie-Eve Pelletier Tuesday in the first round.

The 24-year-old from Quebec, ranked 337th in the world, dumped 16th seed Li, who is hoping to improve upon her first-round elimination from Flushing Meadows last year when the US Open starts in two weeks.

"I have to say that my best performance so far was actually qualifying for the Australian Open, but I do think that this is the best win of my career," said Pelletier.

"With all of the foot and ankle injuries I've had, this win is really good for me."

China's Peng Shaui also lost, falling to German 10th seed Anna-Lena Groenefeld 6-3, 6-3.

Top seed and defending champion Kim Clijsters, the reigning US Open champion from Belgium will face Stephanie Dubois in the second round after the Canadian wild card defeated Italian lucky loser Tathiana Garbin, 6-4, 6-4.

Dubois had dropped the first game of the second set when play was suspended by rain on Monday night, then was behind 4-3 when the match was halted due to rain Tuesday afternoon.

When play resumed, Dubois won the final three games to advance into Clijsters' path. Enditem

Complete solar halo appears in the sky of Guangzhou Tuesday afternoon, capital city of South China's Guangdong Province. Two layers of halo respectively in red and purple circle the sun and amaze many locals

A sailor jumps into the water for escape from a sinking cargo ship which was loaded with coal in the Chaotianmen section of the Yangtze River in Chongqing Municipality Wednesday, August 16, 2006. Water began to leak into the ship after it ran into a reef. Rescue work has been launched by local marine authorities. No casualty was reported

Israeli soldiers leave Lebanese territory during the second day of ceasefire, near the town of Avivim August 15, 2006. As a truce between Israel and Lebanon's Hizbollah entered its second day on Tuesday, planning got underway for a beefed up UN peacekeeping force to back the Lebanese army when it deploys to the south

An Israeli soldier kisses his wife during the first day of ceasefire, near the town of Manara August 14, 2006. A fragile UN-ordered truce took hold in Lebanon on Monday after a month-long war between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas

Israeli soldiers walk together after leaving Lebanon near the Israeli-Lebanon border August 15, 2006 in this picture released by the Israeli Defense Forces.

An elderly man talks to the media in Bint-Jbeil town in south Lebanon August 15, 2006. Israeli forces began leaving parts of south Lebanon on Tuesday as a UN truce largely held for a second day and the Lebanese army prepared to move south

A Lebanese man surveys his house after he returns in Ghandouriyeh August 15, 2006. Thousands of displaced Lebanese headed home on Tuesday as a UN truce between Israel and Hizbollah held on into a second day and planning got under way for a beefed up U.N. force to deploy in the area.

Brides and grooms take part in a mass wedding for 32 couples from areas of northern Israel skirting the Lebanese frontier, in Tel Aviv August 14, 2006.

A pair of golden monkeys enjoy iced fruits to prevent sunstroke at the Wuhan Zoo, C. China's Hubei Province on August 14, 2006.

Venezuela plans to increase oil its sales to China by 50,000 barrels a day by the end of the year, the country's oil minister said.

Venezuela's state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA, will increase sales to China to 200,000 barrels a day from the current 150,000 barrels per day, Rafael Ramirez said Tuesday. He said the shipments include crude and other products, such as fuel oil.

President Hugo Chavez and other officials had previously said they hoped Venezuela would be exporting 300,000 barrels a day to China by the end of the year.

Though the United States remains the No. 1 buyer of Venezuelan crude, Chavez's government has sought to sell increasing amounts to a variety of other countries in recent years.

As recently as 2004, the South American country exported only 12,300 barrels a day to China.

Chavez also plans to seal an agreement during a visit to Beijing this month to buy 12 Chinese-made oil drills and to have an additional 12 drills assembled in Venezuela at a new joint factory, Ramirez said.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on its Web site that Chavez will make a state visit to China from Aug. 22-27. It said Chavez was formally invited by Chinese President Hu Jintao but did not give details of his itinerary.

Venezuela's congress on Tuesday, however, said Chavez's China visit will include a tour of the facilities where initial work is being done on a communications satellite for Venezuela.

The South American country last year signed a deal with China for the satellite that it hopes will bring it full autonomy in telecommunications. The satellite, which is expected to be in orbit by 2008, will bear the name of Venezuelan independence hero Simon Bolivar, Chavez said.

Chavez will sign a series of energy, financial, technological and cultural accords during his trip, which will also take him to Malaysia and Angola, the congress said in a statement.

Since taking office in 1999, Chavez has forged strong ties with China. During his last visit in December 2004, Chavez signed a series of accords in oil, technology and other areas.

Ramirez said Tuesday that Venezuela also will work on developing the aging oil fields in the Zumano area of eastern Anzoategui state with China National Petroleum Corporation, or CNPC.

CNPC is also involved in certifying heavy oil reserves in the Orinoco river basin, where Venezuela's state oil company hopes to sharply increase production of heavy crude in the coming years.

Several squirrel monkeys cool themselves off with ice-lolly as record high temperatures hit Hefei Safari Park, E. China's Anhui Province on August 15, 200

China's legislature, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) will read the drafts of a new anti-drug law and a new property law during a six-day legislative session which will begin on August 22.

The anti-drug law is aimed at curbing drug-related crimes and reducing the growing number of drug users.

China has toughened its anti-drug stance in recent years and statistics from the Supreme People's Court show that Chinese courts handled 47,232 drug crime cases from January 2005 to May 2006.

Altogether, 53,205 defendants were given prison sentences in that period, with 22,371 convicts handed tough penalties including life imprisonment or even the death penalty, the statistics showed.

In June police officials said armed drug smuggling gangs had emerged in China and were trying to create a sophisticated network to sell drugs such as heroine and "ice".

Experts and police have repeatedly called for more anti-drug legislation to bring drug activities under control. The Ministry of Public Security has played an active role in drawing up the bill.

The draft property law will be submitted to the upcoming legislation for the fifth read, after China's legislature solicited public opinions on the draft by releasing it in full to the general public.

Chinese citizens provided 11,543 suggestions on the revision of the draft property law through the Internet, newspapers and letters to the top legislature in 40 days, since the draft was released to the public on July 10, 2005.

The draft has drawn nationwide attention as it relates to important issues, such as how to prevent farmland from forced acquisition by the local government, how to protect private assets and how to avoid state assets being embezzled.

The draft of the property law was submitted to the NPC Standing Committee for the first read in December 2002.

Normally, China's law is adopted by the legislature after three reads. However, because the property law relates to every aspect of people's lives and attaches great importance to the protection of state assets and private assets, as well as social stability, the draft of property law will be submitted for the fifth read and it will be finally adopted in a plenary session of the NPC, said an official with the NPC Standing Committee.

Next week, along with the anti-drug bill and the draft property law, a draft law on the protection of minors will be submitted to the legislature for the first read. Lawmakers will also continue to deliberate drafts of a anti-money laundering law and a bankruptcy law.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated, provocative visits to the Yasukuni Shrine a symbol of militarism means he has failed to fully atone for his country's war past, Chinese historians said yesterday.

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HONG KONG - Chinese pop diva Faye Wong's husband, mainland Chinese actor Li Yapeng, said in his blog Sunday the couple's newborn daughter has received surgery for a cleft lip in the U.S.

"Now our daughter (Li Yan) has received treatment and is resting at home. Everything went well," Li Yapeng wrote.

Li said he and his friends plan to set up a charity for children with cleft lips.

"The corrective surgery Yan received in the U.S. doesn't exist in China. We have contacted hospitals in the U.S. and medical groups. We plan to set up a charity with some friends," he said.

Li also wrote that babies with cleft lips are "gods" according to South American mythology, and there are hundreds of thousands like Yan born to parents in China every year.

Li Yan was reportedly born in Beijing on May 27.

Wong, a Beijing native who made her name in Hong Kong, started out in mainstream Chinese pop but branched out into more alternative fare.

She was hugely popular in China and Hong Kong in the mid-1990s but has unofficially retired from the entertainment scene in recent years.

Wong also has another daughter from her previous marriage to Chinese rocker Dou Wei.

FUZHOU -- The death toll from typhoon Saomai had risen to 255 in China by 2 p.m. Monday, with another 41 bodies discovered in Fuding city in east China's Fujian Province.

Over 160 others are still missing after Saomai wrought havoc in the eastern provinces of Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangxi.

Chinese businesses will have to cope with continuously rising resources costs as pricing liberalization is sped up.

Despite concerns, the nation's top policy-making body, the National Development and Reform Commission, has vowed to push ahead with its liberalization campaign.

"We will allow the scarcity of resources to determine their price," said Bi Jingquan, the commission's vice-minister in charge of price reform, at a national forum last week. "That's the basic principle of the price reforms."

His words were echoed by a think-tank report released over the weekend, which called for price reforms to encourage more efficient economic growth.

Bi said liberalizing the pricing of raw materials and energy will definitely increase costs in the long run, but the government is determined to make prices more dependent on market forces.

Industry insiders said his speech was the first time the government has formally expressed its determination for pricing reform.

The major concern over the liberalization was possible consumer price hikes, which may cause financial difficulty for farmers and other disadvantaged people.

Bi said the government is considering further measures to liberalize the price of coal, electricity, oil, natural gas and water. "And related social policies, such as offering subsidies, are being considered to lessen the impact on disadvantaged groups."

Over the weekend, the government's top think-tank, the Development Research Centre (DRC) under the State Council, also called for reforms on resource prices to promote more efficient economic growth.

"The price reforms should increase the costs of resource products for businesses with low efficiency," said the DRC report, cited by Xinhua News Agency yesterday.

The DRC attributed China's current high energy-consuming growth mode to a price system that fails to reflect the scarcity of resources.

Statistics from the centre show that water is China's most precious resource, yet the water price is only one third the international average.

The low price has led to over consumption and water being wasted, said the report. The same problems have affected rural land and other resources.

Government statistics show that China's energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) rose slightly by 0.8 per cent in the first half of this year.

The rise represents a major challenge for economic planners, who envisaged a 4-per-cent cut in the country's energy consumption per unit of GDP in 2006.

Possible measures to deregulate prices include levying a resource tax, a windfall-profit tax or higher land-utilization fees to encourage companies to reduce their projects' environmental impact and solve the difficulties posed for people with low incomes.

The government should also increase resource utilization fees, said Huang Shengchu, president of the China Coal Information Institute.

For example, mine owners are charged only 1,000 yuan (US$125) annually per square kilometre of coalmine. "The government should raise that by a big margin," said Huang. "Low fees have caused a lot of waste."

The reckless exploitation of resources has led to shocking waste. As an example the DRC report cited northwestern Shaanxi Province, where mines on average extract only 30 per cent of the coal in a seam, leaving the other 70 per cent underground forever.

Amid recent requests from cabinet departments to speed up the liberation of the pricing regime, the Ministry of Commerce ruled out the possibility of rapid price hikes for major resources and energy during the second half this year.

But the commerce ministry forecasted further price increases for oil-related products because of a shortage in supply. For other production materials, the prices may remain "stable" or "lowering" due to the balance of supply and demand.

The ministry released the survey results after questioning companies in China and abroad on the price trends of nearly 300 production materials.

Chinese businesses will have to cope with continuously rising resources costs as pricing liberalization is sped up.

Despite concerns, the nation's top policy-making body, the National Development and Reform Commission, has vowed to push ahead with its liberalization campaign.

"We will allow the scarcity of resources to determine their price," said Bi Jingquan, the commission's vice-minister in charge of price reform, at a national forum last week. "That's the basic principle of the price reforms."

His words were echoed by a think-tank report released over the weekend, which called for price reforms to encourage more efficient economic growth.

Bi said liberalizing the pricing of raw materials and energy will definitely increase costs in the long run, but the government is determined to make prices more dependent on market forces.

Industry insiders said his speech was the first time the government has formally expressed its determination for pricing reform.

The major concern over the liberalization was possible consumer price hikes, which may cause financial difficulty for farmers and other disadvantaged people.

Bi said the government is considering further measures to liberalize the price of coal, electricity, oil, natural gas and water. "And related social policies, such as offering subsidies, are being considered to lessen the impact on disadvantaged groups."

Over the weekend, the government's top think-tank, the Development Research Centre (DRC) under the State Council, also called for reforms on resource prices to promote more efficient economic growth.

"The price reforms should increase the costs of resource products for businesses with low efficiency," said the DRC report, cited by Xinhua News Agency yesterday.

The DRC attributed China's current high energy-consuming growth mode to a price system that fails to reflect the scarcity of resources.

Statistics from the centre show that water is China's most precious resource, yet the water price is only one third the international average.

The low price has led to over consumption and water being wasted, said the report. The same problems have affected rural land and other resources.

Government statistics show that China's energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) rose slightly by 0.8 per cent in the first half of this year.

The rise represents a major challenge for economic planners, who envisaged a 4-per-cent cut in the country's energy consumption per unit of GDP in 2006.

Possible measures to deregulate prices include levying a resource tax, a windfall-profit tax or higher land-utilization fees to encourage companies to reduce their projects' environmental impact and solve the difficulties posed for people with low incomes.

The government should also increase resource utilization fees, said Huang Shengchu, president of the China Coal Information Institute.

For example, mine owners are charged only 1,000 yuan (US$125) annually per square kilometre of coalmine. "The government should raise that by a big margin," said Huang. "Low fees have caused a lot of waste."

The reckless exploitation of resources has led to shocking waste. As an example the DRC report cited northwestern Shaanxi Province, where mines on average extract only 30 per cent of the coal in a seam, leaving the other 70 per cent underground forever.

Amid recent requests from cabinet departments to speed up the liberation of the pricing regime, the Ministry of Commerce ruled out the possibility of rapid price hikes for major resources and energy during the second half this year.

But the commerce ministry forecasted further price increases for oil-related products because of a shortage in supply. For other production materials, the prices may remain "stable" or "lowering" due to the balance of supply and demand.

The ministry released the survey results after questioning companies in China and abroad on the price trends of nearly 300 production materials.

Beijing organisers will provide students with some low-fare tickets in order to better promote the Olympic Movement among the youngsters, local report said on Saturday.

Wang Hui, vice executive director of media and communication department of the Beijing organising committee, said that they are considering putting names on the low-price tickets which students need to get by producing identifications.

She added that the low price of tickets do not mean the seats are unfavorable for watching competition.

"All the seats of Olympic venues have been designed scientifically, and the view of any ticket holder will not be ¡¡hindered,"she was quoted as saying by Beijing Youth Daily.

There are a total of 7 million tickets for the competition of the 2008 Olympics, whose sales are expected to start from early next year, Wang added.

Beckham's England career appeared to have reached its journey's end after the Real Madrid midfielder was left out of McClaren's squad to face Greece in a friendly on Wednesday.

But McClaren, who took over the England helm from Sven-Goran Eriksson, told the BBC: "It's not the England manager's decision to end anyone's international career.

"While David says he has the passion to play for England, I have to respect that and I will monitor the situation in Madrid. I will never say never."

McClaren denied that dropping the 31-year-old had been the hardest decision he would ever have to make.

"It would have been hard if I didn't have the relationship I've got with him and if I didn't have the respect I have for him," he said.

"It was a big decision but one I felt I had to make for the future."

McClaren had encouraging words for Theo Walcott, the 17-year-old untried Arsenal striker who was surprisingly selected by Eriksson as part of his England World Cup squad.

"Theo Walcott is a very good player, he has a bright future and a future playing for England," McClaren said.

"But what he needs now is that experience he needs to play regularly at this level.

"We will give him that opportunity at under-21 level and, hopefully, he will break through and we will see him at senior level again."

McClaren appointed Cheslea's John Terry to replace Beckham as captain but he suggested that role one day could be handed to Wayne Rooney.

"He is a fantastic character. He is still very young but he wants to be the best player in the world and, ultimately, I know he will want to be captain of England," he said.

"That is a possibility."

SEOUL, South Korea -- Good news for the United States as the world championships approach: Carmelo Anthony is at full strength and the team is playing tough defense.

Both elements were evident Sunday in a 111-88 victory over Lithuania in a tuneup for the worlds, which begin Saturday in Sapporo, Japan. The Americans are 4-0 in exhibitions leading to the tournament.

Anthony hyperextended his knee during a win over Brazil last week. The Denver Nuggets forward scored 19 points against Lithuania, setting the tone with a slam in the opening minutes that drew a huge ovation.

Kristov Lavrinovic led Lithuania with 26 points. But Lithuania, ranked fourth in the world, hardly looked like the medal contender many expect it to be in Japan.

"Our game plan was to just keep the ball moving," said Anthony, who leads his team in scoring in the four games. "We know we can score from just about anywhere, so we don't have to wait for a fantastic shot."

Dwyane Wade added 14 points for the U.S., which placed seven players in double figures. LeBron James and Antawn Jamison added 13, Joe Johnson 12, and Kirk Hinrich and Chris Paul 10 each.

"I thought we played very good defense," U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "Lithuania is a strong team and we were able to take them out defensively. I think we got better today by playing an outstanding team."

After an exhibition Tuesday against South Korea, the U.S. will head to Sapporo, Japan, for its tournament opener against Puerto Rico.

Anthony, Wade, Hinrich, Shane Battier and Elton Brand started for the U.S. The Americans brought 14 players to Asia and must cut the roster to 12 before the worlds.

This latest performance was an impressive one for a team quickly adjusting to the wider lanes of international play. The United States finished sixth at the worlds in 2002 and third in 1998. The last time the Americans won the tournament was 1994.

Wade had 10 points in the first quarter. The Miami Heat guard hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the U.S. a 25-9 lead midway through the opening period. James closed the first half with a 3-pointer before the buzzer to make it 56-32, and the Americans led by 28 after three quarters.

Early in the fourth, James brought the crowd to its feet with a one-handed dunk that made it 87-55. The Cleveland Cavaliers star put the U.S. ahead 108-78 with another jam with two minutes left.

In another game at the World Basketball Challenge, Stefano Mancinelli's 16 points carried Italy past South Korea 96-61. Lee Kyu-sup led South Korea (0-3) with 16 points.

SEOUL, South Korea -- Good news for the United States as the world championships approach: Carmelo Anthony is at full strength and the team is playing tough defense.

Both elements were evident Sunday in a 111-88 victory over Lithuania in a tuneup for the worlds, which begin Saturday in Sapporo, Japan. The Americans are 4-0 in exhibitions leading to the tournament.

Anthony hyperextended his knee during a win over Brazil last week. The Denver Nuggets forward scored 19 points against Lithuania, setting the tone with a slam in the opening minutes that drew a huge ovation.

Kristov Lavrinovic led Lithuania with 26 points. But Lithuania, ranked fourth in the world, hardly looked like the medal contender many expect it to be in Japan.

"Our game plan was to just keep the ball moving," said Anthony, who leads his team in scoring in the four games. "We know we can score from just about anywhere, so we don't have to wait for a fantastic shot."

Dwyane Wade added 14 points for the U.S., which placed seven players in double figures. LeBron James and Antawn Jamison added 13, Joe Johnson 12, and Kirk Hinrich and Chris Paul 10 each.

"I thought we played very good defense," U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "Lithuania is a strong team and we were able to take them out defensively. I think we got better today by playing an outstanding team."

After an exhibition Tuesday against South Korea, the U.S. will head to Sapporo, Japan, for its tournament opener against Puerto Rico.

Anthony, Wade, Hinrich, Shane Battier and Elton Brand started for the U.S. The Americans brought 14 players to Asia and must cut the roster to 12 before the worlds.

This latest performance was an impressive one for a team quickly adjusting to the wider lanes of international play. The United States finished sixth at the worlds in 2002 and third in 1998. The last time the Americans won the tournament was 1994.

Wade had 10 points in the first quarter. The Miami Heat guard hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the U.S. a 25-9 lead midway through the opening period. James closed the first half with a 3-pointer before the buzzer to make it 56-32, and the Americans led by 28 after three quarters.

Early in the fourth, James brought the crowd to its feet with a one-handed dunk that made it 87-55. The Cleveland Cavaliers star put the U.S. ahead 108-78 with another jam with two minutes left.

In another game at the World Basketball Challenge, Stefano Mancinelli's 16 points carried Italy past South Korea 96-61. Lee Kyu-sup led South Korea (0-3) with 16 points.

PARIS - No buts about it, Zinedine Zidane is France's favorite personality.

Despite the head butt on an Italian defender that arguably cost France the World Cup, the former captain of the national soccer side is by far the most popular personality in the country, a new poll showed on Sunday.

Zidane was shown a red card 10 minutes before the end of extra time in the July 9 final after felling Italy's Marco Materazzi. That ensured he missed the penalty shoot-out that decided the match in Italy's favor.

But a survey by pollster Ifop for the Journal du Dimanche showed Zidane -- hailed as a footballing genius and one of the finest players of his generation -- is now the country's most popular figure for 48 percent of French people.

"The day after July 9, for many, his reputation seemed to have sunk. His head butt had ruined everything. And yet...," the newspaper said of Zidane in an article accompanying the survey.

"We have to believe that the French have forgiven him, have even knighted him," it said.

Zidane's 48 percent was way ahead of the country's former favorite Yannick Noah, the ex-tennis champion who has launched a successful new career as a pop star. He came second with 30 percent.

Third place, with an unspecified figure, went to ecologist Nicolas Hulot followed by aging French rocker Johnny Hallyday and film star Jean Reno.

The head butt ruined Zidane's swan-song, as the final was the last competitive match in an illustrious career that had taken him from his native Marseille to footballing giants Juventus and Real Madrid.

Zidane later said he had struck Materazzi after the Italian insulted his sister and mother, and offered only a partial apology for his actions. The pair were fined and given three- and two-match bans respectively by FIFA last month.

French President Jacques Chirac captured the mood of national forgiveness in the wake of the narrow defeat, hailing Zidane as a "virtuoso, a genius of world football" admired and loved by the country.

With the chart-topping success of the cheeky summer hit "Coup de Boule" (Head Butt), which immortalized Zidane's strike in song, it was clear France had forgiven its favorite son.

LONDON - There'll be no David Beckham, no Zinedine Zidane and no Fabio Cannavaro when international soccer resumes barely five weeks after the end of the World Cup.

Zheng Jie of China has ousted Anastasia Myskina of Russia in the women's Final of Nordea Nordic Light Open, 6-4, 6-1.

Two Chinese tennis players, Li Na and Zheng Jie, have reached the Top 30 in the WTA's World Rankings.  ²é¿´È«ÎÄ

An injury crisis has left China vulnerable ahead of its Group E Asian Cup qualifiers at home to Singapore with defenders Sun Jihai, Du Wei and Ji Mingyi all ruled out.

But on the positive side, several overseas-based players will be back, giving a lineup headache to coach Zhu Guanghu.

Shao Jiayi, who plays for Bundesliga side Energie Cottbus, arrived in Tianjin yesterday after the game against Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday. The midfielder is expected to lead the national team's attack tomorrow.

Shandong Luneng striker Li Jinyu is likely to start while club teammate Han Peng and Manchester United prospect Dong Fangzhuo will compete for the other striking options. That depends however if Zhu chooses to go with Shao as an attacking midfielder or as a striker.

If Shao plays in the midfield, Li Tie, who moved to Sheffield United from Everton this season, will jostle for starting position with national team regular Zhao Junzhe.

Meanwhile, crisis-hit Lebanon's enforced withdrawal from the qualifying competition has cast a dark cloud over across the region, Reuters reported.

Lebanon pulled out earlier this month because of the heavy damage inflicted on the country by Israeli air strikes. Asian officials approved Lebanon's decision with several players missing amid the devastation.

Lebanon was scheduled to play Bahrain away tomorrow in one of 12 qualifying matches.

Australia faces Kuwait in the other Group D game in Sydney with a young Socceroos side slight favorites to become the first team to qualify for next year's finals.

Kuwait will take heart from the fact Australia go into its first competitive game of the post-Guus Hiddink era with just two members of the squad that reached the last 16 of the World Cup.

Holder Japan will also be expected to take three points at home to Yemen in Group A.

New coach Ivica Osim has named an inexperienced squad unrecognizable from the one that flopped badly at the World Cup under previous coach Zico.

Saudi Arabia will look to keep pace with Japan when it travels to India in the other Group A game.

Iran suffered a blow when playmaker Ali Karimi pulled out of its Group B game with Syria through injury but will still start as a firm favorite to win in front of a partisan crowd in Tehran's Azadi Stadium.

NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal of the Miami Heat has joined China's leading sportswear company LiNing to tap the huge basketball market in China.

NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal of the Miami Heat has joined China's leading sportswear company LiNing to tap the huge basketball market in China.

NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal of the Miami Heat has joined China's leading sportswear company LiNing to tap the huge basketball market in China.

NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal of the Miami Heat has joined China's leading sportswear company LiNing to tap the huge basketball market in China.

BEIJING, Aug 14 - There is no way Olympic and world 100 metres champion Justin Gatlin can avoid a lifetime ban if his positive test for testosterone is confirmed, a senior IAAF official said on Monday.

IAAF general secretary Pierre Weiss, speaking on the sidelines of a news conference to open the world junior championships, said any work American Gatlin's lawyers did to prove there were special circumstances would be in vain.

"There is no question," Weiss said. "The rules are very clear, two years for a first offence then a lifetime ban.

"If it is confirmed that he has tested positive for testosterone, I don't see any way not to impose a lifetime ban."

The IAAF are still waiting to receive official confirmation of the charges against Gatlin from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

Gatlin appealed against his first positive test, for amphetamine at the U.S. junior championships in 2001, saying the drug was contained in a prescription medicine he had taken for 10 years to counter a form of attention deficit disorder.

As a result, The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) reinstated him early from his two-year ban, although he was told that another positive test would result in a lifetime ban.

BITTERLY DISAPPOINTED

IAAF president Lamine Diack said on Monday that the rules under which Gatlin's first ban was appealed no longer stood and reiterated his disappointment that such a high profile athlete had tested positive.

"We were all bitterly disappointed to hear ... Gatlin failed a dope test," Diack told the news conference.

"Although his case has not yet been concluded, we must use this opportunity to underline the IAAF's total commitment to the fight against doping.

"In order to defend the credibility of our sport we will engage all our efforts ... to defend the majority of clean athletes against the small minority who persist in ignoring our anti-doping rules."

Late last month, Gatlin announced he had tested positive for male sex hormone testosterone or its precursors but said he did not know how the substance had got into his sample.

A card game called "Mafia" that requires competitors to "kill" their fellow players is sweeping China.

Pubs, clubs and restaurants are full of people playing the game, and it has even jumped to the Internet, where games can last a whole day.

The game has, however, caused controversy, with some professors complaining the game is too violent.

Searching the Internet, surfers can find out everything about the game, including information about game rules, online game services, "Mafia" clubs and debates on the advantages and disadvantages of the game.

There are various forms of the game, although the type using cards usually has 10 to 20 players who take on a number of different roles, including a judge, cops, killers, an angel and ordinary people.

The aim of the game differs depending on which character you play, but killers do just that, while ordinary people have to find who the killers are.

Xclub, in the Haidian District of Beijing, was one of the first "Mafia" clubs in China.

"The game can improve people's personalities, making them smarter and quicker," according to Yuan Yi, the club's vice-manager. "Introvert people become more active."

The Beijing-based club has registered more than 50,000 members all over the country since opening for business in March.

Yuan said members are from a wide range of circles, including public relations workers, media people, IT engineers and students.

"The name sounds scary but actually it builds up your brain without any actual violence. It demands high concentration, which is a great challenge," said player Liu Mei, a 28-year old Beijing architect.

"I think this game is much more meaningful than surfing online, doing karaoke, or playing poker or mahjong."

But not everyone agrees.

A player will try hard to lie, deny he is a killer and by fair means or foul "kill" others," said Gao Feng, a professor from Beijing People's Police College.

"People will imitate these ways of thinking when they commit a crime in real life and try to escape legal punishment."

"Players are easily addicted to the game and become numb when it comes to 'killing,'" added another professor, Zhang Zhensheng, from China Public Security University.

"These cheating minds formed through the game will have a negative effects on lives and careers in the long run," he said.

Zhang even predicts that lie detectors could fail when faced with experienced "Mafia" game players as they will be used to cheating.

GUANGZHOU: China's first clinical gene vaccine that fights SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, is expected to be launched after clinical testing.

The news came after the opening of a genetic vaccine research centre last week in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong Province.

The centre, a co-operative project between Guangzhou-based Sun Yat-sen University and the US-based University of Pennsylvania, is the first of its kind in Guangdong Province.

"We will conduct research into vaccines against tropical epidemic diseases that greatly threaten human health," said Li Gang, vice-president of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University.

According to Li, the centre is currently working on research into vaccines against AIDS, SARS, dengue fever, Avian flu and other epidemic disease.

In terms of a genetic vaccine against SARS, Li said the research has already been conducted at the University of Pennsylvania.

Further clinical trials on the vaccine will be conducted after its approval by the State Food and Drug Administration, according to Li.

"After clinical testing, China will see its first genetic vaccine against SARS," Li said in an interview with China Daily yesterday.

The SARS vaccine has been tested on animals and proved a success, according to Gao Guangping, vice- director of the research centre.

"The genetic vaccine is totally different from other vaccines; it has been developed from the gene of a disease source, such as animals," Gao said.

He said civet cats had not developed SARS after being vaccinated by the genetic vaccine.

"The genetic vaccine is able to deal with any variation of the SARS virus," Gao said.

He also revealed that China would soon begin testing a genetic vaccine against AIDS on humans.

According to Gao, co-operation on vaccine research at the centre has been approved by the US Department of Defence, the State Department and the Department of Commerce, and China's Ministry of Education.

Sun Yat-sen University signed an agreement with the University of Pennsylvania on the vaccine research last September.

According to the agreement, both sides will share the intellectual property rights of genetic vaccines.

He said investment in the co-operation projects totalled 20 million yuan (US$2.5 million), which has come from the Guangzhou municipal government, Sun Yat-sen University and the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University.

Five-year-old Rebecca Jin had to leave her favourite doll at Beijing Capital International Airport yesterday, after airport security officials found that it contained liquid.

Rebecca's mother Jin Zhaohui, 35, finally persuaded her daughter to give up the doll by promising to buy her a new one in the United States.

"We knew that liquids and gels were forbidden on airplanes before we got here," said Jin, who was travelling with her three children on a United Airlines flight yesterday afternoon.

However, she did not expect that the doll, a "Fairy Barbie," contained liquid in its wings.

As Rebecca liked the doll very much and did not want to leave it at first, airport staff and her mother tried to cut the wings open to let the liquid flow out. But as they lacked suitable tools, they had to give up.

"There are many similar cases happening at the moment. People read the news about liquids and gels banned on flights to the United States, but they just do not reckon their face cream, lip balm or medicine is in the forbidden category," said Yang Yan, a United Airlines employee working at the airport.

Despite feeling exhausted after working non-stop for the past few days, she said she was pleased that most passengers were showing understanding and following her advice.

Due to tighter security checks, check-in time has increased.

"Security departments used to check an average 240 passengers per hour, now they can only check about 130 passengers," said Li Wei, who is in charge of security checks for flights to the US.

"Our staff are working over time. They do not even have time to go to the washroom or drink some water," said Li.

In order to ease pressure on the 21 staff at channels 15 to 18 where passengers for the United States pass through, Li has added 10 more personnel.

There are also three guides handing out leaflets in the international departure hall and suggesting passengers, especially women, put their cosmetics into checked luggage before it is too late.

At present, no flights leaving Beijing for the United States have been cancelled since British police last Thursday foiled a terrorist plot to blow up aircraft between the United States and Britain.

In Shanghai, tightened security measures seemed to have little impact on operations at Shanghai's two airports, authorities said yesterday.

"Everything is going smoothly in both Hongqiao and Pudong airports. There have been no cancellations or delays. Passengers are very co-operative when we carry out our security checks," said a spokesman surnamed Huang from Shanghai Airport Group, which manages the two airports.

"Our security measures have been very strict, even without warnings of terrorist attacks. Compared with London, we have a much easier task," he added.

Special measures were mainly taken for flights to destinations in the United States, including forbidding passengers from bringing liquids onto the planes.

Such measures will remain until the General Administration of Civial Aviation of China gives instructions to cancel them, he said.

Technology will be harnessed to curb illegal acquisition of farmland for property development, the government announced yesterday.

By 2010, the new land regulation system equipped with satellite-based remote sensing and Internet communications among other things will cover all cities and 95 per cent of land in rural regions, the Ministry of Land and Resources said.

Data collected by the system will include physical dimensions, soil quality rating, and ownership of every piece of land, said Fan Zhiquan, a department director at the ministry.

He said the central government would depute specially-trained staff to monitor changes to land use contracts and prevent illegal transactions.

"The supervision system is especially important now as the central government tries to control land supply to cool overheated investment in fixed assets," said Fan.

The rampant acquisition of land from farmers by local and grass-root governments and loose credit supply have heated China's economy since mid-2003. Despite stricter land-control measures and tighter credit, the nation's economy still grew at 10.9 per cent during the first half of this year.

In the long run, Fan said, the new system and closer monitoring of land use can help ensure that the country has enough arable land.

China had 122 million hectares of arable land last year, down from 130 million hectares in 1996. According to the ministry, it needs at least 106.7 million hectares of cultivated land to feed its projected population peak of 1.6 billion in 2030.

Experts said the monitoring system can help prevent infringement of farmers' rights.

"The system, which is widely used in developed countries, can stop local governments from grabbing land from farmers," said Jiang Zhongyi, a senior researcher at the Agricultural Economic Research Centre affiliated to the Ministry of Agriculture.

Currently, some local governments acquire farmland for commercial purposes but fail to report the change of ownership to provincial or central governments, so as to evade tight restrictions the central government has placed on the reclamation of arable land for business use.

Premier Wen Jiabao last month expressed concern over provincial and local governments using too much land for real-estate development; the low transfer cost of land for industrial purposes; and rampant illegal occupation of farmland.

The ministry responded by releasing regulations stipulating that all land for business, tourism, recreation, commercial property and other profitable purposes be transferred through public bidding and auctions.

BEIRUT: Heavy fighting in southern Lebanon stopped abruptly yesterday after a UN-brokered truce came into effect, but reports that Israeli troops killed two Hezbollah guerrillas underlined the fragility of the calm.

As East China picks up the pieces from the devastation left in the wake of Saomai's trail, the southwestern part of the country reels under drought and high temperatures.

The death toll from the typhoon rose to 255 yesterday, with 41 more bodies discovered in Fuding of Fujian Province.

More than 160 are still missing after Saomai, the strongest typhoon to hit the country in five decades, wrought havoc in the eastern provinces of Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangxi.

In Fuding, the worst-hit city in the province, 138 people were killed, 1,350 injured and 86 missing.

Officials at the Fujian Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said most of the victims were killed when the "super typhoon" broke the moorings on their ships which sought shelter in the harbour.

Others died in typhoon-triggered incidents such as floods, landslides and mudflows.

The Fuding death-toll update brings the total fatalities in Fujian to 166. Previous reports listed 87 dead and 52 missing in Zhejiang Province where Saomai barreled in, and two dead and one missing in nearby Jiangxi.

In Zhejiang, at least 2.1 million people have been affected, 18,000 houses destroyed and 56 provincial roads and national highways swamped, causing losses of 4.89 billion yuan (US$611 million).

Meanwhile, heat waves in Southwest China have caused blackouts, water shortages and an increasing number of people suffering sunstrokes, local media reported.

The highest temperatures there ranged between 35C and 40C; and water levels in many sections of the Yangtze River are historically low.

The Yangtze River Hydrological Bureau said that this month, the volume of water entering the Three Gorges Reservoir in the middle reaches of the river was only 8,400 cubic metres per second, about the same as the February dry season.

Weather forecasts offer little hope of rainfall in the next few days in the upper and middle reaches of the river, including Sichua Province and Chongqing Municipality, where farmers are facing blistering drought.

Chongqing is suffering the worst drought in the past 50 years and water supplies for nearly 7.5 million people have been threatened, local authorities said yesterday.

More than 1.3 million hectares of cropland have been affected, according to a spokesman for the Chongqing Municipal Disaster Relief Office.

"Two thirds of the communities and townships in the municipality have reported water supply shortages," he said.

The drought has caused direct losses of about 2.5 billion yuan (US$312.5 million), he said.

The dry spell has lasted for more than 50 days in most areas of Chongqing, the spokesman said.

In neighbouring Sichuan, the drought has made it difficult for more than 3 million people and 4 million livestock to access drinking water. Meanwhile, nearly 1.4 million hectares of cropland have been affected, or 39 per cent of the total in the drought-hit areas.

"Sichuan is suffering its worst drought since 1972," said Zhang Shilin, director of the office responsible for artificial rainfall.

Yuncheng City of north China's Shanxi Province reported 65 cases of encephalitis B as of Monday, up from Sunday's figure of 60.

Of the 65 people, 19 have died, 38 are being treated in hospital, four are being treated at home and four have fully recovered and have been discharged from hospital, according to the daily update from the Yuncheng City Health Bureau.

Effective measures have been taken to curb the spread of the disease since the first case of encephalitis B was reported in the city on July 13, said bureau head Zhou Ying.

Local people were told how to protect themselves from contracting the disease, the environment was cleaned up and vaccination was enhanced in the affected and nearby areas, Zhou added.

All these efforts have paid off and the epidemic situation is under control, the official said.

Nine out of the 13 counties of the city, which has a population of 5 million, have reported cases of encephalitis B, said the local disease control center.

Encephalitis B causes an inflammation of the brain and can be contracted by people of all ages. It is usually the result of a viral infection passed to humans by mosquitoes. The illness begins with flu-like symptoms and severe headaches.

Many people who have fallen ill come from the rural areas of Yuncheng and live on flood plains of the Yellow River, where there is poor sanitation and good breeding conditions for mosquitoes, Zhou said.

Yuncheng reported about 30 cases of encephalitis B patients in 2005. The number of encephalitis B patients in Yuncheng accounts for over 50 percent of the total in Shanxi Province every year.

Investment in China's factories, real estate and other fixed assets likely grew at a slower pace in July as the government moved to curb expansion.

Fixed-asset investment in towns and cities climbed 30.7 percent in the first seven months from a year earlier, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 20 economists. The gain follows a 31.3 percent increase in the first half. The figures are due at 10 a.m. local time tomorrow.

Premier Wen Jiabao is stepping up efforts to curb spending on factories and real estate to prevent the world's fastest-growing major economy from overheating. Money supply expansion has cooled since May and new lending dropped last month after banks were forced to set aside more money as reserves.

"Investment growth likely eased marginally in July in line with the moderation of money supply and bank loan growth as well as policies such as those targeted at the property market," said Qian Wang, an economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Hong Kong.

Money supply grew 18.4 percent in the year to July after accelerating to 19.1 percent in May, the fastest pace since December 2003. New yuan lending in July totaled 171.8 billion yuan, half the monthly average in the first six months of the year.

In its second-quarter policy report last week, the People's Bank of China said it would use a mix of monetary tools to reduce the amount of cash in the financial system available for investment funding. The central bank raised lending rates in April and has since twice increased the reserve requirement ratio for commercial banks.

Inflation Concerns

China's economy grew 11.3 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, the fastest expansion in a decade, raising concerns that booming investment may stoke inflation. The last time China expanded that fast, in 1994, inflation was running at more than 20 percent.

The central bank last week said economic growth will slow "slightly" in the second half and warned that inflationary pressure is rising as surging investment boosts prices of raw materials and energy.

Inflation as measured by the consumer price index unexpectedly fell to 1 percent in July as vegetable prices dropped. Excluding food, inflation was 1.2 percent, matching June's pace which was the fastest since November.

"The government is worried about the impact of investment on inflation," said Hong Liang, an economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in Hong Kong. "It will be inflationary, and when you have inflation you have to tighten."

Government Commands

The National Development and Reform Commission, the nation's top economic planning body, on Aug. 1 said it ordered provincial authorities to review new investment projects and cancel those that don't meet the government's industrial, land, credit and environmental regulations.

The crackdown is aimed at reining in an expansion Wen has said could ultimately lead to overcapacity, falling prices and rising bad loans in the nation's banks. The World Bank says failure to slow investment may lead to a sharp slowdown in China's economy.

Administrative measures may not be as effective as monetary tightening because local authorities may find ways to skirt central government commands, some economists said.

"We wouldn't look for a sharp downturn in spending because of these new policy announcements," said Jonathan Anderson, chief Asia economist at UBS AG in Hong Kong. ``Beijing never has much success with this kind of industrial policy management.''

Industrial output probably rose 18.9 percent in July, slowing from June's 19.5 percent expansion, the Bloomberg Survey showed. Production figures are due at 10 a.m. local time today.

Semiconductor Plants

Growth in overall fixed-asset investment, which includes spending in rural areas, will slow to as little as 20 percent in the second half from 30 percent in the first half, the National Development and Reform Commission said in a report published in the China Securities Journal on Aug. 3. The economic planning agency targets 18 percent expansion for the full year.

Investment is still rising at almost triple the pace of the overall economy as companies including Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. build factories in the nation to meet surging domestic demand. Semiconductor Manufacturing is spending $1.1 billion this year to expand capacity at its plants on the mainland.

"Our China business is growing rapidly and steadily so we have to position ourselves to have enough capacity to service our customers in China and worldwide," Chief Executive Richard Chang said in a July 31 interview.

Investment in China's factories, real estate and other fixed assets likely grew at a slower pace in July as the government moved to curb expansion.

Fixed-asset investment in towns and cities climbed 30.7 percent in the first seven months from a year earlier, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 20 economists. The gain follows a 31.3 percent increase in the first half. The figures are due at 10 a.m. local time tomorrow.

Premier Wen Jiabao is stepping up efforts to curb spending on factories and real estate to prevent the world's fastest-growing major economy from overheating. Money supply expansion has cooled since May and new lending dropped last month after banks were forced to set aside more money as reserves.

"Investment growth likely eased marginally in July in line with the moderation of money supply and bank loan growth as well as policies such as those targeted at the property market," said Qian Wang, an economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Hong Kong.

Money supply grew 18.4 percent in the year to July after accelerating to 19.1 percent in May, the fastest pace since December 2003. New yuan lending in July totaled 171.8 billion yuan, half the monthly average in the first six months of the year.

In its second-quarter policy report last week, the People's Bank of China said it would use a mix of monetary tools to reduce the amount of cash in the financial system available for investment funding. The central bank raised lending rates in April and has since twice increased the reserve requirement ratio for commercial banks.

Inflation Concerns

China's economy grew 11.3 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, the fastest expansion in a decade, raising concerns that booming investment may stoke inflation. The last time China expanded that fast, in 1994, inflation was running at more than 20 percent.

The central bank last week said economic growth will slow "slightly" in the second half and warned that inflationary pressure is rising as surging investment boosts prices of raw materials and energy.

Inflation as measured by the consumer price index unexpectedly fell to 1 percent in July as vegetable prices dropped. Excluding food, inflation was 1.2 percent, matching June's pace which was the fastest since November.

"The government is worried about the impact of investment on inflation," said Hong Liang, an economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in Hong Kong. "It will be inflationary, and when you have inflation you have to tighten."

Government Commands

The National Development and Reform Commission, the nation's top economic planning body, on Aug. 1 said it ordered provincial authorities to review new investment projects and cancel those that don't meet the government's industrial, land, credit and environmental regulations.

The crackdown is aimed at reining in an expansion Wen has said could ultimately lead to overcapacity, falling prices and rising bad loans in the nation's banks. The World Bank says failure to slow investment may lead to a sharp slowdown in China's economy.

Administrative measures may not be as effective as monetary tightening because local authorities may find ways to skirt central government commands, some economists said.

"We wouldn't look for a sharp downturn in spending because of these new policy announcements," said Jonathan Anderson, chief Asia economist at UBS AG in Hong Kong. ``Beijing never has much success with this kind of industrial policy management.''

Industrial output probably rose 18.9 percent in July, slowing from June's 19.5 percent expansion, the Bloomberg Survey showed. Production figures are due at 10 a.m. local time today.

Semiconductor Plants

Growth in overall fixed-asset investment, which includes spending in rural areas, will slow to as little as 20 percent in the second half from 30 percent in the first half, the National Development and Reform Commission said in a report published in the China Securities Journal on Aug. 3. The economic planning agency targets 18 percent expansion for the full year.

Investment is still rising at almost triple the pace of the overall economy as companies including Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. build factories in the nation to meet surging domestic demand. Semiconductor Manufacturing is spending $1.1 billion this year to expand capacity at its plants on the mainland.

"Our China business is growing rapidly and steadily so we have to position ourselves to have enough capacity to service our customers in China and worldwide," Chief Executive Richard Chang said in a July 31 interview.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will make a pilgrimage later on Tuesday to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine for war dead, considered to be a symbol of Japan's past militarism, an aide said.

Pollutant emissions have increased in the first half of the year, the country's top environmental watchdog warned yesterday.

Pollutant emissions have increased in the first half of the year, the country's top environmental watchdog warned yesterday.

LONDON, Aug 7 - Renault say a damaged wheel nut caused Fernando Alonso's retirement while he was leading Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Formula One champion's failure to finish, his first in more than a year, left the title battle finely balanced with Ferrari's Michael Schumacher 10 points adrift with five races remaining.

Engineering head Pat Symonds said in a team review of the weekend's action that a safety mechanism holding the wheel nut on had failed to disengage at Alonso's second pitstop.

"That meant the wheel nut was damaged as it was removed, and did not re-attach correctly as the new wheel went on.

"The reassuring fact is that this is a simple problem to fix, and doesn't put the exceptional reliability of the R26 in any doubt. We will have a modified solution in place for Turkey," he said.

LONDON, Aug 7 - Fernando Alonso says the Formula One championship has been transformed into a winner-takes-all battle that is going his way despite the best efforts of Ferrari's Michael Schumacher.

The Spaniard told reporters after the most action-packed and exciting grand prix of the season in Hungary on Sunday: "I am confident that I am going to win more races with Renault so everything's okay."

The 25-year-old world champion saw his advantage over Schumacher trimmed by just one point to 10, with five races remaining, after he crashed out while leading.

It was the first time since Canada in June 2005 that the Renault driver had failed to score in a race.

Seven times champion Schumacher could have bitten a hefty chunk out of that lead in the first wet race in years but the German failed to finish, inheriting eighth place only after BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica was disqualified.

Instead Briton Jenson Button took a thrilling first victory -- and the current Honda team's first -- on an afternoon without a Renault or a Ferrari on the podium.

"It doesn't change anything at all for us," said Renault's chief strategist Pat Symonds, after the team's first complete blank of the season left Renault seven points ahead of Ferrari in the constructors' standings.

MINIMAL DIFFERENCE

"The end result in terms of the points difference is minimal.

"The pleasure of yesterday's race for the team was that we were able to dominate in all conditions, and that the Renault was the best car out there," he added in a team review of the weekend.

"Equally, we feel very, very confident that in a dry race, the car would have been extremely competitive, and I am convinced we would have beaten Ferrari.

"In spite of scoring zero points, that's a very encouraging situation for the next races."

Alonso, winner six times so far this season to Schumacher's five, said before Sunday's race he expected Hungary and the next two races in Turkey and Italy round to be difficult for Renault.

He had seen the team coming back strongly in China, Japan and the season-ender in Brazil but he sounded more confident on Sunday's evidence.

BUDAPEST, Aug 7 - BMW Sauber parted company with Jacques Villeneuve on Monday after replacing the 1997 Formula One world champion with Poland's Robert Kubica in Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix.

The team said that the Canadian would not drive for them again this season, a decision that looks sure to end the 35-year-old's grand prix career after 163 races and 11 victories.

"Following discussions last week, Jacques Villeneuve and the BMW Sauber F1 team agreed to terminate their current contract with immediate effect five races ahead of schedule," the statement said.

Villeneuve said the team had told him last week that they wanted to try out Kubica and could offer him no assurances of a drive after Hungary.

"This is really disappointing as I was looking forward to working with BMW on longer terms -- going into next season capitalising on our common experiences," he said on his personal Web site.

"I will now have more time to concentrate on future projects.

BMW team boss Mario Theissen thanked Villeneuve for his contribution in the German carmaker's first season since they bought Sauber.

"Jacques has performed well for us this year, scoring the team's first grand prix points in Malaysia," he said.

"However after Jacques's accident in the Hockenheim race, the team decided to review its options for next year, including assessing Robert Kubica in a race environment," added Theissen.

He said this "naturally impacted Jacques' position for the remainder of this season" and BMW fully understood that "it is difficult for Jacques to maintain his natural level of commitment in circumstances of uncertainty."

HEAVY CRASH

Villeneuve crashed heavily in his last race, the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim eight days ago. The team said last week that he had told them he had a headache and could not race in Hungary.

Few in Formula One, a sport awash with rumour and speculation, believed that the driver was really unwell and suspected that he would not be seen in a grand prix car again.

The Canadian has not won a race since his championship season with Williams and his last podium finish was third place with BAR, a team he joined from the outset in 1999, at Hockenheim in 2001.

MELBOURNE, Aug 8 - Williams driver Mark Webber expects Red Bull to emerge from the pack and challenge the likes of McLaren, Ferrari and Renault when he joins them in 2007.

"I'm very confident Red Bull will be the most improved team next season," the Australian told reporters in a conference call on Tuesday.

Red Bull Racing, which took over the Jaguar team Webber left for Williams at the end of 2004, announced on Monday that the 29-year-old would be driving alongside David Coulthard in 2007.

After Williams announced last month that Austrian test driver Alexander Wurz would be partnering Nico Rosberg in 2007, Webber's Formula One career lay elsewhere and he said he was delighted to take up the challenge with Red Bull.

"We are not going to win the world championship, I'm realistic but I am confident we can have a strong season, one which I am really looking forward to," he said.

"Red Bull wants to win and whether that will happen next year could be a tall order, to be consistent points scorers is what we want. We could be in the top five next year, which would still be quite a hard challenge."

Webber revealed he knew before the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim he would be leaving Williams and be joining the team owned by Austrian energy drink billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz.

Flavio Briatore, Webber's manager and Renault team boss, orchestrated the move and the former Jaguar pilot was inevitably linked with the vacancy at the French team vacated when world champion Fernando Alonso heads for McLaren in 2007.

"It was before Hockenheim I knew I would be going to Red Bull. Flavio gave me the minimum I could expect and I knew he would look after me and he's a man of his word.

"When Red Bull came for me they came pretty hard to the finish line and to tell you the truth I'm delighted to be with them."

RELIABILITY PROBLEMS

He stressed he was disappointed to be leaving the Williams team but after a season dogged by reliability problems he thought his best chances lay elsewhere.

"Formula One careers are short and it's important to make the most of every year. It's disappointing it didn't work out at Grove but that can happen and we all suffered there together and still are.

"I'm not one for jumping ships, I'd have finished my career at Williams but in the end you've got to look for something better for the future."

LONDON, Aug 8 - Briton Jenson Button can go on to become a multiple race winner and world champion after taking his first Formula One victory in Hungary at the weekend, according to Jackie Stewart.

"Jenson has got the keys to the door now," the Scot, three times a world champion, told the Daily Mail newspaper on Tuesday.

"Even though he may not win the next race, people cannot say that Jenson flopped again...I believe he can go and win many more times if he has got the car.

"Jenson can go on to be world champion. He has the talent to do that."

Button was the first Briton to win a grand prix since David Coulthard in 2003 and the first Englishman since Johnny Herbert in 1999.

Neither Coulthard nor Herbert went on to win the championship. Damon Hill, who took his first victory in Hungary in 1993, remains the last British world champion in 1996.

Hill warned Button that he might face a long wait for another success.

"I believe that Honda still has some more work to do before we can regard the team as having consistently winning equipment," he told the Guardian newspaper.

"Jenson's win was very much a wild-card success in unusual circumstances and it's my feeling that when it comes to the next race in Istanbul it will be back to situation normal, with the team reverting to its role as a championship pretender rather than an established front runner."

CARSON, Calif. - Throwing out her pride along with 10 double-faults, Lindsay Davenport's comeback ended with a 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-3 loss to Australian Samantha Stosur in the JPMorgan Chase Open on Wednesday

DENVER - The Denver Nuggets traded guard-forward Ruben Patterson to the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday for forward Joe Smith. Smith has averaged 12.4 points and 7.1 rebounds in 751 career games with Golden State, Philadelphia, Minnesota, Detroit and Milwaukee. He averaged 8.6 points and 5.2 rebounds in 44 games for the Bucks last season.

Smith was the top overall pick by the Warriors in the 1995 NBA draft and his best season was 1996-97, when he averaged 18.7 points and 8.5 rebounds for Golden State.

Patterson was acquired in a deadline deal with Portland on Feb. 23. He averaged 13.2 points and 3.5 rebounds in 26 games with Denver. For the year, his averages were 12.1 points and 3.4 rebounds.

NEW YORK - Knicks coach Isiah Thomas has filed court papers denying he sexually harassed a former team executive, the New York Daily News reported Thursday.

In the 12-page court document filed Wednesday, Thomas acknowledged he once touched Anucha Browne Sanders' shoulder, and may have even tried to kiss her on the cheek. But he insisted he did nothing wrong, reiterating his stance since the allegations were made public in January.

Sanders, the Knicks' former senior vice president of marketing and business operations, contends she was fired in January "for telling the truth" while going through internal channels to stop the harassment. She has accused Thomas of telling her he was "very attracted" to her and "in love" with her and tried to kiss her.

Her "inability to accept the changes that occurred under Thomas' leadership fueled her antipathy toward Thomas and are reflected by this meritless lawsuit," Thomas' lawyers said in papers filed in Manhattan Federal Court, the Daily News reported.

According to the papers, Thomas admits he "greeted plaintiff by placing his hand on her shoulder and attempting to kiss her on the cheek."

But he categorically denied all of Browne Sanders' accusations.

"Many of the allegations are without any factual support and those that have some semblance of accuracy have been distorted," Thomas' defense attorney, Peter Parcher, wrote.

Thomas previously asked a judge to toss out the lawsuit and have Browne Sanders pick up the tab for his legal fees. Browne Sanders' attorney, Kevin Mintzer, declined comment to the newspaper on Thomas' papers, which were filed a week after she amended her lawsuit, adding James Dolan, the chairman of Madison Square Garden's parent company Cablevision, as a defendant.

In court documents, Browne Sanders said Thomas often berated her and made crude comments about her to Knicks officials, telling them not to listen to any of her directions.

In its own court papers, the Garden said Browne Sanders' firing was for legitimate business reasons.

NEW YORK - Michael Curry, who played only two of his 11 pro seasons in the National Basketball Association, was named the league's vice president of basketball operations, NBA commissioner David Stern said.

Michael Curry(L) and NBA Commissioner David Stern pose for a photo in June 2005. Curry, who played only two of his 11 pro seasons in the National Basketball Association, was named the league's vice president of basketball operations, Stern said.

No one would accuse Wang Zhizhi, China's former and first NBA star of having things too easy since his return to China's national team this April from the U.S. after a five-year estrangement from the team - the seven foot-one-inch center has spent most of his time on the bench after being injured five times in just over three months of training and games

CARSON, Calif. - Throwing out her pride along with 10 double-faults, Lindsay Davenport's comeback ended with a 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-3 loss to Australian Samantha Stosur in the JPMorgan Chase Open on Wednesday.

NEW YORK - Michael Curry, who played only two of his 11 pro seasons in the National Basketball Association, was named the league's vice president of basketball operations, NBA commissioner David Stern said.

BEIJING - Guinea international Ousmane Bangoura, who lost the sight in one eye after an incident in a Chinese Super League match last month, will receive 1.3 million yuan ($163,200) in compensation from his club, local newspapers reported on Thursday

MILAN, Italy _ Sweden forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic joined Inter Milan for euro24.8 million (US$31.9 million) on Thursday, becoming the latest player to leave demoted Juventus.

The 2006 edition of the yearly charity race, Beijing Terry Fox Run, will take place on September 23rd to raise money for the cancer research.

This year's Terry Fox Run in Beijing will start from the Worker's Stadium at ten o'clock in the morning and will finish at the Cancer Hospital with a distance of approximately eight kilometers.

Participants can run, walk, ride their bikes, use their wheel chairs or their roller blades.

The Runs will also be held in Shanghai and GuangZhou later this fall.

Canadian Terry Fox initiated the race in 1977 when the 18-year-old at that time, still a college student, was diagnosed with bone cancer and forced to have his right leg amputated.

In 1980, Terry started his charity race, also named Marathon of Hope, across Canada on an artificial leg to raise money for cancer research.

After Terry died in 1981, people held the race to commemorate Terry's feat and raise money for cancer research.

In 1998, the first time of Marathon of Hope in China was held in Shanghai. Beijing began to hold the yearly run next year with tens of thousands of participants joined this activity in Beijing.

Last year, funds raised amounted to over 1.2 million RMB (about 150.000 US dollars).

STOCKHOLM, Sweden _ Third-seeded Jie Zheng beat Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 6-4, 6-4 Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Nordic Light Open.

LONDON (AP) _ John Terry's development into one of England's most dependable players was completed Thursday when he was named captain of the national team.

QINHUANGDAO, North China, August 10 -- The Chinese national soccer squad crushed Thai under-23 national team 4-0 here on Thursday night in a soccer friendly.

A report released by the State Development and Reform Commission shows that the Gini coefficient, an index for measuring the income disparity, has now reached 0.4, or the maximum point within the appropriate range in China's urban areas.

China's first-ever auction of licenses for hunting wild animals, scheduled for Sunday, has triggered controversies after a Beijing newspaper released the news Wednesday.

The Beijing Youth Daily said in its Wednesday edition that foreigners would be allowed to hunt wild animals like yak when they become successful bidders at the auction to take place in Chengdu, capital of southwestern Sichuan Province.

The planned auction, however, was criticized by some angry Chinese netizens as a profit-driven move that would have a fatal impact on wild life conservation in China, where the situation is not encouraging.

An official with the State Forestry Administration (SFA), organizer of the auction and China's watchdog for wild life, defended the move on Thursday, saying that wild animals such as wolf, red deer and yak among the auction hunts are not endangered species and appropriately-managed hunting is helpful for their protection.

Chinese government has strengthened wild life conservation over the past decades and the population of some wild animals has been increasing so quickly that they have become a burden on the local ecological system, Wang Weisheng, an official with SFA's wildlife and plants protection department, told Xinhua.

Wang also confirmed that foreigners will be allowed to hunt in eight western areas including Sichuan, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Gansu and Xinjiang , but the exact species and quotes are not decided yet.

Once a foreigner wins a hunting license, the hunter will pay 200 U.S. dollars for a wolf, 6,000 dollars for a red deer, and 10,000 U.S. dollars for an argali, or wild Asiatic sheep with big horns

"The hunting quotas we set for each species this time are quite limited and only the old ones are allowed to be killed, so as to ensure the trophy hunting would not have a negative impact on the wild life population," said Wang.

"What's more, the money from the auction will be used for protection of endangered species," he said.

Wang's comments won support from the forestry authorities in Sichuan, which have received a rising number of reports on wild animals, especially vegetarian ones, intruding local villages and destroying crops.

Take takins for instance. The rising population of the ruminant mammal with backward-pointing horns and a shaggy coat, which was put under national protection in the 1960s and has been listed in the auction hunts, have even threatened the living of wild giant pandas, said Wang Hongjia, head of the Sichuan provincial station for wildlife resources survey and administration.

"The two species live in the same mountainous area and we've found takins are obviously in a stronger position in habitat and food competition," said Wang.

"Even though, hunting for takins would be allowed only in designated areas and when the animals are not in their oestrum or breeding period," said Wang.

Though a novelty in China, sales of licenses for hunting wild animals , or trophy hunting, takes place in some African countries.

It has also aroused wide objection from animal lovers and wildlife protection organizations as rare animals, like elephant and rhinoceros which were prohibited for trade by international pact, were also on the target list due to an excessive population in a certain country.

"We are against Sunday's auction hunts. The point is well-meaning polices do not always result in an ideal way. Some people may have the wrong idea that the government is loosening protection for wild animals and those who have money can do what they want," Yang Xin, head of Green River, a Chengdu-based non-governmental organization for environment protection, told Xinhua.

Yang's organizations have successfully carried out times of wildlife researches in the Hoh Xil, a major habitat of the endangered Tibetan antelope in southwestern China, and around the source of the Yangtze River in Qinghai Province.

"We've found the wildlife population did begin to recover in these areas after the local government confiscated guns from local residents, but we are not very sure if their wild population are stable enough for hunting," said Yang.

"Even if the number of some wild animal was so much as to cause troubles, trophy hunting is not the best solution now," he said.

Yang suggested that a compensation mechanism should be established as soon as possible to ensure both the living rights of wild animals and economic benefits of local residents can be properly guaranteed.

"The government can set up a special fund for those who suffered from wild animal intrusion, which is helpful for local residents to maintain their just-formed habit to protect wildlife, " said Yang.

O'gorman Dermot, chief representative of World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF) China branch, also urged the Chinese government to pay special attention to the species selection and quota setting when carrying out trophy hunting.

"Trophy hunting to some species does occur in some countries and it can help with conservation for some species in some countries and also improve livelihoods of local communities when it was scientifically based and properly managed, but of course, we don't support trophy hunting to some endangered or threatened species," the WWF China chief told Xinhua.

"There must be clear laws and guidelines on the quotas (for trophy hunting) that allocated and professional hunting standards for what type of animals can be targeted," said Dermot, adding special attention should be given on monitoring the hunting process.

According to Wang Hongjia, the forestry authorities concerned have been required to assign special workers to accompany foreign hunters during the whole hunting process to make sure trophy hunting is properly conducted.

It's hard to get excited about China's efforts to slow its white-hot economy.

Sure, the world is watching -- it has to. An overheated China that spirals into crisis could make the region's 1997 meltdown look negligible. China, after all, is the world's No. 4 economy and one that even Japan -- the second-biggest -- is relying on for growth.

The U.S. also has a big stake in a Chinese soft landing. Corporate America has found China's cheap labor and land ideal for boosting profits in a competitive world. And then there is the $326 billion of Treasuries held by China's central bank. That keeps U.S. interest rates low and consumers in the stores.

Even so, it's difficult to buy into the view that China really wants to slow its economy, at least not significantly. To date, its efforts smack more of public relations than genuine steps to reduce growth. Then again, how does China do it?

It's often pointed out that China is a command economy controlled by officials in Beijing. Yet they have far less sway over their $2.2 trillion economy than many analysts assume, and China's model is to blame. Increasingly, local governments are dominating development. Since they benefit from all the investment rushing to China -- and creating overheating risks -- they're loath to tap on the brakes.

Not only does China lack the kind of vibrant debt markets that could make its monetary policies more potent, it also has little power over some of the forces driving the economy, which grew 11.3 percent in the second quarter.

Where can China look for direction? Asia's 1997 crisis may offer some clues about what China is experiencing at the moment, and where it's headed.

A 1997 Quality

On the face of it, the events that slammed Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea before denting markets around the globe seem of little relevance to China. A major trigger for the crisis was Thailand's devaluation on July 2, 1997. China is almost universally thought to have an undervalued currency. It also avoided the crisis, keeping the yuan pegged in 1997 rather than devaluing it.

Yet there are some intriguing similarities between the challenges facing China today and the ones Asia confronted nine years ago. Just as with many economies in the region in 1997, investors are concerned about the quality of Chinese growth.

Lost in the hype about China's rise is the reality that much of the economic expansion is powered by public spending and by investment from abroad. In other words, there's little about China's boom that's self-sustaining. Asia was in that situation in 1997.

Overcapacity

Together with exports, investment has catapulted China's economy past the U.K. in the 28 years since Deng Xiaoping's free- market changes. In the most recent quarter, gross domestic product grew at the fastest pace since 1994, when the economy was a quarter of its current size. And yet, China has one of the world's lowest ratios of household spending to GDP.

The kinds of overcapacity in industries and unproductive investments that were at the root of the Asian crisis abound in China. What's fascinating about China's rise is how it's all good. It's the place to be, it's thought to be run by geniuses and anyone who isn't rushing there is a fool. Yet China must create millions of jobs each year to maintain stability, while also slowing growth. That's quite a challenge.

Just as in Asia before 1997, investors and corporate executives are so dazzled by China's growth that they're willing to overlook the risks of it all coming to an end. To them, it's China's vast potential and its 1.3 billion people that matter, not a rickety financial system, rampant pollution or the risk of social instability.

Dazzled by GDP

Unfolding around China today is one of the greatest building booms in history. A dozen cities vying to be the next Shanghai are constructing five-star hotels, shopping centers, six-lane highways, universities, airports, you name it. It's all being financed with debt that could go bad if the economy slows.

China also is producing too much cement, aluminum, clothing and other goods. In that way, the country has its fair share of deflationary pressures to offset concern it may overheat.

In the years since 1997, Asian economies have tried to move away from so-called fixed-asset investments such as schools, roads, factories, dams and bridges, in favor of stimulating consumer spending. At the moment, spending on such projects only adds to China's overcapacity. Over time, that may crimp corporate profits and exacerbate the bad-debt threat for banks.

Lessons for China?

China's currency is also the target of more and more speculators. No foreign-exchange trader would test China's resolve to keep the yuan from strengthening. It's intriguing, though, that just as in Asia's case in 1997, China's economic pressures are showing up in its exchange rate.

None of this means a Chinese crisis is imminent. Officials in Beijing have proven remarkably astute at keeping things from running out of control. Yet if China is searching for a glimpse of what lies ahead, Asia's experience may provide some insight.

Production faults were cited by health authorities yesterday as a major reason for an antibiotic killing at least seven people nationwide.

China's trade surplus hit a record in July for the third month in a row, which may raise outside pressure for a stronger yuan.

The surplus rose to US$14.6 billion from US$10.4 billion in July 2005, the customs administration said. Economists polled by Reuters had expected no change from June's US$14.5 billion.

The figures came a day after the central bank highlighted the risks posed by the large surplus and said the yuan's exchange rate should be part of a package of measures to rebalance the world's fourth-largest economy.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi dropped new hints Thursday that he may visit a shrine critics say glorifies militarism on the anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender.

Speculation is building that Koizumi, despite sharp international criticism, will make a pilgrimage to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 15, a sensitive date marking the end of World War II in Asia.

China and India last month reopened crossborder trade through the Himalayan Nathu La Pass, but trade is running at a "low level" and was "not ideal," a Chinese official said Thursday.

The most powerful typhoon to hit China in five decades raged across the southeastern coast Thursday, claiming at least 111 lives as it capsized ships, destroyed buildings and forced 1.5 million people from their homes.

After two local governments ordered mass killings of dogs following a rabies outbreak, a heated debate has emerged about that method of rabies control.

The local government of Mouding County, in southwest China's Yunnan Province, killed 54,429 dogs from July 25 to 30 after discovering 357 locals had been bitten by dogs so far this year and that three people had died of rabies.

The local government of Jining City, in east China's Shandong Province, did the same, after the city's 9 counties and districts and 14 townships reported several outbreaks of rabies that have claimed several lives.

Dog lovers consider the local governments' actions horrific.

"If these dogs weren't vaccinated, that's people's fault and dogs should not be made to pay for human negligence," said Tang Bing, a tourism official.

"The mass slaughter of dogs is cold-blooded. Governments should detect dogs with rabies and put them down in a humane manner," said Stone Chen, a 22-year-old journalist and dog owner.

Protest letter

Fourteen animal protection associations from all over the country wrote a letter to protest the two governments' mass slaughter policy.

They said rabies had broken out in other parts of the country in the past, but local governments had curbed the spread of the contagious disease by strengthening vaccination work and killing vagrant dogs.

Other citizens believe the mass slaughter of dogs in the event of a rabies outbreak is necessary.

An Internet user left a message on Xinhuanet.com saying that thousands of unvaccinated dogs in a county would pose a huge threat to the public.

Ding Zhengrong, a local epidemic prevention official in Yunnan Province, said if advance measures could be taken to prevent an outbreak of rabies, there would be no mass killing of dogs.

"Compulsory vaccination of all dogs is a solution," Ding said. He added some urban families failed to register and vaccinate their dogs because of the expensive fees.

In Jining City, in Shandong Province, it costs a family 4,500 yuan (US$565) to register and vaccinate a dog. The high cost reduces registrations and increases the risk of rabies outbreaks, Ding said. In vast rural areas, there is no clear-cut dog registration and vaccination system.

The Bush administration posted an unprecedented code-red alert for passenger flights from Britain to the United States and banned liquids from all carry-on bags Thursday, clamping down quickly after British authorities disrupted a frightening terror plot.

Murder, rape, arson and bombing cases in China dropped sharply in the first half of this year, while economic crimes rose quickly, said Wu Heping, a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Security, yesterday.

Wu said the reduction of violent crimes came after public security authorities strengthened their efforts to crack down on crimes.

Murder cases dropped 14.9 percent in the period from a year ago and rape crimes declined by 6.3 percent, with arsons falling 17.5 percent and bombings down 18.3 percent.

Police cracked 33,000 economic crimes in the period, an increase of 6.8 percent from a year earlier.

The economic crimes involved 58.14 billion yuan (US$7.27 billion).

Among the economic crimes, 14,000 cases disturbed market order, growing 22.3 percent from a year earlier, the spokesman said.

"The government pays more attention to the acts that disturb market order, such as fake advertisements, illegal businesses, damaging a company's reputation and contract fraud," Wu said.

Offenses that disturbed the public order also dropped, Wu said. Prostitution cases were down 6.2 percent. The number of gambling cases fell 51.9 percent and narcotic crimes were down 20 percent.

Wu said China had witnessed a significant decrease in juvenile delinquency in the first six months of 2006, the first time in recent years.

The percentage of people under 25 among arrested criminal suspects dropped by 6.5 percent year-on-year.

Crimes committed by youths under 18 dropped 11.4 percent in the period, Wu said.

"Parents should be responsible for educating their children, together with schools and society. We should all do our part and help the young criminals begin a new life," Wu said.

In recent years, China has witnessed an upsurge in juvenile delinquency. In 2005, more than 70 percent of the country's robbery cases were committed by juveniles.

Also, in the first six months of the year, the country recorded 129,000 fire incidents, which killed 871 people and injured 991, and causing 394 million yuan of economic losses.

All these figures were down over the previous period.

Police investigated a total of 1.811 million property infringement cases - mainly burglary and robbery cases - down 1.5 percent.

Overall, police filed 2.115 million criminal cases, down 1 percent, and cracked 1.185 million criminal cases, up 3.7 percent, Wu said.

A German scientist has been testing an "anti-stupidity" pill with encouraging results on mice and fruit flies, Bild newspaper reported Saturday. ²é¿´È«ÎÄ

With their wallets bulging, more and more wealthy Shanghai families are hiring Philippine maids to speak English with the kids, despite an official ban on hiring foreign workers.

Some rich Shanghaiese are willing to pay 6,000 yuan (750 U.S. dollars) a month to hire a Philippine servant with a college education background, much higher than the average salary of 3,000 to 4,000 yuan (375 to 500 dollars) that most Philippine servants can get.

In comparison, a Chinese servant generally gets no more than 1,500 yuan (187.5 dollars) a month.

A major reason for the burgeoning demand for the Filipinos is that they can speak English with the children at home.

But the market is still outlawed by government regulations. According to the Shanghai labor and social security bureau, individuals and families are not allowed to hire foreign laborers.

The bureau has launched a month-long inspection campaign into the employment of foreigners and people from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan to stamp out irregularities.

But with more and more foreigners, corporate management personnel and professionals coming in, the market is too lucrative to be overlooked by homemaking companies.

Official statistics show that over 50,000 foreigners and nearly 20,000 people from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan are currently working in Shanghai.

Insiders estimate that there is a demand for around 4,000 to 5,000 Philippine maids in Shanghai and at least 2,000 such servants are already working.

60 percent of them were brought to the mainland by their employers, while the other 40 percent have been introduced by Shanghai's homemaking companies, which import Filipinos ostensibly as foreign teachers for private schools and kindergartens.

Xia Jun, head of the Shanghai Jialilai Homemaking Co., hoped the government would relax its market controls which forced his company to abort a plan to introduce Filipinos three years ago.

"We cannot employ Filipinos, so we can only train Chinese to have the same qualifications as a Filipino servant, including their ability to speak English and provide housemaking services."

To meet market demand, the company now hires English teachers from less developed central and western regions, but Xia hoped the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and 2010 Shanghai World Expo would prompt the authorities to loosen policy controls.

A German scientist has been testing an "anti-stupidity" pill with encouraging results on mice and fruit flies, Bild newspaper reported Saturday. ²é¿´È«ÎÄ

Officials in Jinshan District are rounding up unlicensed dogs and slaying them after a 59-year-old man died of rabies on Saturday morning.

The Shanghai Public Health Center yesterday confirmed Jin Weiren contacted rabies after his two dogs bit him earlier this year.

The Jinshan District Disease Prevention Center has sterilized the man's residence in Luxiang Town and vaccinated anyone who had close contact with the victim.

District police have also launched a blanket search of the area for unlicensed dogs. They wouldn't say how many unlicensed canines have been seized and killed so far.

According to police, Jin was rushed to the town's medical clinic on August 1, then transferred to a district hospital. He finally died at the Shanghai Public Health Center at 12:20am on Saturday.

Jin was bitten twice on the left hand by a female dog he kept and one of its puppy in January and July of this year.

The man did not receive medical treatment for the wounds until August 1 when he came down with the illness, police said.

Zhou Yaowei, an official from the Shanghai Public Health Center, said Jin was very ill by the time he arrived at hospital.

"If a person really develops the disease, there is a slim chance of saving the patient under present medical capabilities," he said.

Zhou said it is important for anyone who has been bitten by a dog to immediately go to hospital for treatment. He noted, however, that rabies is not common in the city, although the disease is prevalent in other parts of the country.

According to the Shanghai Health Bureau, one migrant person died of rabies in the first half of this year.

NANJING: A hospital in the capital of East China's Jiangsu Province has sparked controversy by offering pregnant women the opportunity to buy photographs and videos of their unborn babies.

Nanjing Master Spirit International Hospital (NMSI), a foreign-funded hospital, provides a service called "live action four-dimensional ultrasound scanning" on unborn babies aged 24 to 28 weeks, for the dual purpose of deformity-detection and photo taking.

The hospital charges 500 yuan (US$62.5) to provide six pictures and a one-minute-long VCD of the facial expression of the foetus, and so far more than 100 customers have used the service since it started three months ago, Shanghai-based Eastern Morning Post reported.

No other hospitals in Nanjing have been reported to use the deformity-detecting scanning service for non-medical uses, but it has been offered in other major cities, including Changchun and Shanghai.

According to 27-year-old Li Hongxia, who had the picture of her unborn baby taken in May, she chose the NMSI because she wanted to have the baby's facial expression recorded in addition to deformity detection.

"It was unforgettable. I was almost moved to tears when I saw my baby sucking its thumb and sticking its tongue out. My husband and I just kept watching the VCD over and over again," said Li.

Some medical professionals advise against ultrasound for non-medical purposes.

According to Wang Ying, a doctor with the Ultrasound Scanning Department of the Nanjing Maternity and Children Care Hospital, although there are no proven harmful effects, exposing a foetus to such energy is unnecessary.

The sound beat caused by ultrasound machines might reach six times the normal level suitable for human beings. Wang said.

Jia Jisheng, head of NMSI's clinics department, was quoted by Eastern Morning Post as saying that although the doctors in the hospital are only allowed to take pictures of the facial expressions of the baby, many people still believe that with a slight shake of the camera, the doctors will be able to show the gender of the child.

Gender-related abortions are strictly banned under China's revised penal law. Health workers who assist in revealing the gender of unborn babies will also be jailed, according to the revised law.

But the law does not ban gender selection for medical purposes.

Employees with the city's Health Bureau told China Daily that if NMSI adheres to the law, they have no right to ask the hospital to stop the service.

And also, even if the hospital breaks the law, it will be difficult for health supervisors to prove as it is easy to delete digital images, staff with the bureau added.

Local governments report higher GDP growth than central government

China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 10.9 percent in the first half of this year, according to recent statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

But a report from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC)suggested that GDP growth in mainland provincial areas had been even higher, the Shanghai Securities News reported Tuesday.

The NDRC report claimed that the GDP of 31 provincial areas on the Chinese mainland had grown at an average rate of 12 percent during the first six months.

All the provincial regions reported two-digit GDP growth rate in the first half, with 23 of them above 12 percent.

If the provincial GDP figures for the first half are totaled, the resulting figure is 804.8 billion yuan (100.6 billion U.S. dollars) higher than the country's official GDP, according to the NBS.

Which is the correct figure? 10.9 percent or 12 percent?

"10.9 percent is pretty accurate", said Gao Huiqing, an expert with the State Information Center.

"Average GDP growth figures provided by the provinces have long been higher than the national figure," said Gao.

"For some years, the provinces report a growth rate 3 or 4 percentage points higher than the national growth rate provided by national statisticians."

Figures provided by local statisticians in the 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions (excluding Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions and Taiwan Province) add up to a total GDP of 19.602 trillion yuan, 7.5 percent higher than the NBS statistics.

An NBS report affirms that China's GDP grew 9.9 percent in 2005. If local government statistics are to be believed, then GDP growth averaged 12.39 percent in 2005.

The gap between the average GDP growth reported by local governments and the figure published by NBS has widened since 2000. This gap was 1.7, 2.0, 2.6 and 2.8 percentage points respectively in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003.

As the most important index reflecting regional economic growth, GDP growth is still the goal pursued by local governments and officials.

Since many corporations have branches in different provinces, their output and investment may be counted several times by different regions, leading to an exaggerated GDP figure, the newspaper said.

To avoid overblown figures, the central government is trying to restructure the official achievement evaluation system by introducing the new concept of green GDP, which would calculate environmental and ecological costs along with economic growth.

The Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR) yesterday publicized eight illegal mining cases amid a two-and-a-half-year national campaign to stop the unauthorized exploitation of mineral deposits.

It is the first time that the MLR, the nation's top land and resources watchdog, disclosed the progress of the campaign since a new policy on reining in illegal mining was adopted in early 2005.

From 2005 to June 2006, land and resources departments at all levels have cracked down on 70,360 cases of unauthorized mining and illegal tapping, the ministry said.

The ministry also confiscated 82.14 million tons of illegal ore, punished 2,660 public servants involved in illegal mining and transferred 1,438 suspects to judicial departments for criminal investigations.

Stimulated by rocketing mineral prices, illegal mining activities such as exploitation without certificates and overexploitation are rampant in some places, a ministry official said.

Such activities have triggered severe pollution problems, destroyed arable land and affected the daily lives of local farmers, officials said.

The ministry deliberately selected eight illegal mining cases from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, Henan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan and Gansu provinces, where land and resources departments have done a good job, officials said.

In one case, Jiang Shunyi, a resident of Taizhou in Jiangsu Province, was sentenced to two years in prison and fined 200,000 yuan (US$24,660) for tapping and selling clay without a certificate, according to a MLR press release.

From June 2003 to February 2004, Jiang was accused of illicitly exploiting 147,300 cubic metres of clay, a material widely used in making bricks, tiles and pottery, said the land and resources bureau in Taizhou.

Jiang gave a deaf ear when the bureau issued him a notice to stop his illegal exploitation of resources, officials said.

In another case, the city government of Hezuo in Gansu Province was accused of illegally approving exploitation rights for nine companies from July 2004 to October 2005, according to the news release.

China's top health authorities yesterday verified that the first laboratory-confirmed death from bird flu on the Chinese mainland occurred in late 2003 rather than 2005, which was the original starting point of China's H5N1 fatality timeline.

This November 2003 case is two full years before the October 2005 case in Hunan Province, in which a 9-year-old boy had incorrectly been identified as the Chinese mainland's first confirmed case.

The 24-year-old Beijing man who contracted bird flu three years ago died during the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). At that time, the man was diagnosed with serious pneumonia without clear a cause. Because testing at that time showed he had not died of SARS, experts kept his sample for further research.

In 2004, when a human case of bird flu was reported in Viet Nam, Chinese scientists began to suspect that the young man who had served in the army had died of bird flu in 2003, according to source from Ministry of Health (MOH).

H5N1 was isolated from the sample.

"So far, the source of infection still remains unknown," said Mao Qun'an, spokesman of MOH. "But this confirmation offers important clues for studying the bird flu outbreak."

There has been no cause of infection determined for the November 2003 case.

The man was a soldier in the PLA, based in Beijing. He did not travel for at least two weeks prior to his illness. It is unknown whether or not he was exposed to any sick poultry or other animals prior to his infection.

There were no outbreaks of H5N1 reported in the Beijing area at the time, according to MOH report submitted to World Health Organization.

Many thought that "many other countries had human cases beginning in late 2003 and early 2004, but not China," said Roy Wadia, spokesman for the Beijing Office of WHO.

"This case now means that China has the first human case in the current H5N1 cycle, which began in late 2003."

"The case in November 2003 shows us once again that whenever H5N1 virus is in the environment, it is possible for humans to get infected and humans do get infected," Wadia said. "It shows us that H5N1 has been in the environment on the Chinese mainland for quite some time now."

China first reported a H5N1 outbreak in poultry in late January 2004. By now, the country has reported 20 human infections and 13 fatalities, including the November 2003 case.

"This latest scientific findings reminds China to improve its disease reporting mechanisms by including the scientific and research institutions in the system," Mao Qun'an said.

The problem is that most of China's human cases have not had a conclusive source of infection, according to Wadia. This is because human cases are found first, without any warning of animal outbreaks in the area.

Agriculture and animal health authorities have had difficulty finding animal H5N1 cases in China, especially if the animals die sporadically in small groups, Wadia said.

The surveillance and reporting systems for both animal and human health need to be strengthened, he added.

The party chief of China's Tibet Autonomous Region on Tuesday accused the Dalai Lama of engaging in activities unrelated to religion, saying he is an unworthy religious leader.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro on Tuesday fuelled speculation he would visit the Yasukuni Shrine next week on the anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II, saying a pledge to do so was still valid.

With the Beijing Olympics exactly two years away, organizers yesterday promised the opening ceremony will not be mired by the heavy rains which have repeatedly hit the capital this summer.

Olympic champion Liu Xiang said on Monday that his men's 110 meters hurdles world record of 12.88 seconds might stand until he becomes a grandfather.  ²é¿´È«ÎÄ

The heaviest panda cub in the history of China's artificial reproduction program was born in southwest China Monday morning after its mother was in labor for some 34 hours, an official with the China Wolong Giant Panda Protection and Research Center confirmed.

The male cub was born at 10:39 a.m. at the center and weighed 218 grams, said the center's head Zhang Hemin. "It is also the second cub born this year at the center," he said.

It was the first birth for the cub's mother, Zhang Ka, who was born in the wild six years ago. The delivery also set a record for being the longest, said Zhang.

According to the center, Zhang Ka went in heat in early March and she mated. Experts also performed artificial insemination to make sure she conceived.

At 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Zhang Ka appeared to go into labour. Experts at Wolong began a 24-hour watch. Just before 1 a.m. Sunday, the panda mom's water broke, but exhausted Zhang Ka failed to deliver her cub.

By early Monday morning experts decided to prepare to perform a Caesarean section, but just a minute before the anesthetic was to be administered a tiny voice was heard and the little pink creature was born.

The delivery room was filled with the cheers and applause of staff.

According to statistics from the China Giant Panda Breeding Technology Committee, since the first panda cub was born in Beijing Zoo in 1963, most of the panda cubs born in captivity weighed between 83 and 190 grams, a 200-gram cub was very rare.

China began to artificially inseminate giant pandas in the 1960's but very few successful cases were reported.

Major breakthroughs began in the 1990s. Artificial insemination produced nine baby pandas in 2000, 12 in 2001, 10 in 2002 and 15 in 2003.

Giant pandas show little instinctive behavior in captivity, especially sexual desire.

Forestry authority statistics show fewer than 10 percent of male giant pandas mate naturally and fewer than 30 percent of females conceive naturally.

Female pandas normally become sexually mature at age four or five and have only one chance at a pregnancy a year. After a gestation period of 160 days they deliver one or two cubs.

Studies from the State Forestry Administration show there are over 180 giant pandas living in captivity on the Chinese mainland.

Experts had previously estimated there were 1,590 giant pandas living in the wild in China, but Chinese and British scientists announced in June that there could be as many as 3,000 after a survey using a new method to profile DNA from giant panda feces.

China's new policy on overseas investment in the property sector aims to curb hot speculative money from overseas, according to a spokesman for the Ministry of Construction quoted yesterday by Xinhua.

"Compared to its huge population, China's land resources are scarce and the nation faces land constraints," the spokesman said. "We must step up supervision and management of property investment by overseas institutions and individuals from a long-term view."

This is the first time Chinese officials have spoken out on the new policy six ministerial departments promulgated in mid-July.

The current chaos in the property market has obliged the government to intervene, the spokesman said.

Overseas institutions and individuals are currently highly active in the real estate market, he said, but China has no clear rules and standards to regulate their presence.

Under the new policy, overseas institutions must produce documents approving their presence in China when purchasing properties for their own use. These documents will be obligatory when institutions bring in foreign currency or register their properties.

The spokesman said this would also improve the quality of market information available to authorities. Officials currently only have a partial picture of the kind and volume of transactions that are being carried out.

The new policy allows overseas residents who have worked or studied in China for more than one year to buy one housing unit for their own use. The spokesman said these people are considered residents, making their economic activities part of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP).

For those who worked or studied in China for less than one year, their housing demand could be resolved through rental, according to the policy. Residents from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao, as well as overseas Chinese, are allowed to buy one housing unit, not exceeding a certain size, for selfuse.

A genuine name is also required for qualified overseas institutions or individuals purchasing houses for personal use, the spokesman said.

"Such a measure is to deter some institutions or individuals from taking advantage of speculation as well as to stabilize and supervise the domestic real estate market."

The new policy also tightened controls on overseas investment in the property development sector.

To engage in the property development business, overseas investors will have to register a new company in China and apply for property development licences, according to Chinese law.

Besides, overseas investors who want to take over or acquire stakes in Chinese property companies will have to pay the full price from their capital reserves in one go. They will also have to deal satisfactorily with employees and debts.

"If they want to qualify for loans from Chinese or foreign banks, overseas-financed property companies will first have to find 35 per cent of the funds needed for a project from their own resources," said the spokesman. "The policy does not discriminate against foreign businesses as it applies to Chinese firms as well."

NANJING: The world's leading retailer Wal-Mart saw its third trade union in China set up over the weekend in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu Province, just a week after its first trade union was formed in a store in East China's Fujian Province.

Thirty-one employees of Wal-Mart's Xinjiekou store in Nanjing elected their first trade union committee, and a 22-year-old mid-level management employee named Wu Yinzheng, who has a university education background, was elected chairman.

Wu vowed in the election that the committee would safeguard the legal rights and interests of employees according to the laws of the country, and try to maintain a smooth relationship between employees and employers.

Within the committee, a financial department and women's federation were also formed during the Saturday election.

According to Chen Siming, chairman of the Nanjing Federation of Trade Unions, he and fellow workers had tried to talk operators of Wal-Mart Nanjing branch into setting up a trade union ever since its establishment in 2004, but got no reply from management.

So Chen tried direct contact with Wal-Mart employees, which finally led to the formation of the new trade union.

"Some foreign enterprises seem to think that trade unions will go against employers' profits. It is absolutely wrong. A trade union is only an organization to protect the rights of the employees and update their skills. It will only benefit the enterprises, not harm them," Chen told China Daily.

But employees who signed their names for the trade union were reported to have suffered pressure from Wal-Mart operators.

A worker who declined to reveal his name was quoted by local newspaper Yangtze Evening Post saying that the Wal-Mart management in Nanjing even threatened not to renew contracts if workers joined the union.

But Chen Siming said that the municipal union would back the legal rights of its union members and fight against job discrimination.

Zhao Dachun, head of the Publicity Department under the Nanjing Federation of Trade Unions revealed that about four other Wal-Mart branches in Jiangsu would also set up trade unions within the year.

A trade union was formed at Wal-Mart's Jinjiang outlet in Fujian Province on July 29 after 30 employees appealed to the local federation of trade unions, marking the giant retailer's first trade union in the country.

And 42 members in a Shenzhen store, Guangdong Province, founded a second trade union on August 4 , just a day before the Nanjing committee.

Wal-Mart China has so far not given any response to the formation of three trade unions within its enterprise.

And a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart China said she did not know anything about the unions or similar moves at other Wal-Mart branches when she was interviewed by China Daily last Friday.

However, the move was reported by Xinhua News Agency as being a result of more than two years' efforts by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) to push the retail giant to set up labour unions in its 59 outlets around the country.

According to China's trade union law, enterprises or institutions with 25 employees and above should establish trade unions, all employees have the right to join the ACFTU, and anyone who applies to set up a union should be allowed to do so by the company.

Xu Deming, vice-president of the ACFTU, said that trade unions, organized on employees' own volition, can safeguard the economic, political and cultural rights of workers and also help "lubricate" the relationship between employees and employers.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc, which set up shop in China in 1996 and employs more than 30,000 people at stores across the country, has long resisted pressure in many countries to unionize its workers, an action frequently criticized by local trade unions and governments.

But Wal-Mart China released a statement last November, saying "should associates request the formation of a union, Wal-Mart China would respect their wishes and honour its obligation under China's trade union law."

ACFTU statistics show that by last September, only about 26 per cent of the more than 150,000 foreign-funded enterprises in China had set up trade unions.

China welcomes qualified foreign companies willing to legally invest in the country's internet services, said an official with the Ministry of Information Industry (MII) here Monday.

The government will offer consultations on concerned policies, said the official who asked to remain anonymous.

According to its commitment to the World Trade Organization, China's value added telecom market has been opened to foreign capitals. Qualified foreign companies can apply for internet operation license following China's regulations.

Five foreign invested companies have so far been granted licenses, the official said.

The ministry tightened regulations for foreign investors operating internet services in China in a circular issued last week which may affect most of the big foreign invested websites in China. Websites they run using rented licenses will be closed.

Domestic telecom companies will not be allowed to lease or sell licenses to foreign investors, the official said.

Five years ago, China issued regulations concerning foreign investors' telecom business operations and most foreign investors followed the procedure, according to the official.

However, some foreign investors continue to improperly offer services using shared or borrowed licenses, or Chinese partners' domain names and trademarks, the official said.

China has 123 million netizens, the world's second biggest internet user population after the United States.

The ministry asked departments concerned to launch checks on websites before November1. Websites which operate with borrowed or rented licenses will have to apply directly for a license of their own.

In February, Google was reported to not have obtained the Internet Content Provider (ICP) licence needed to operate its new China searching engine -- Google.cn in China.

Chinese regulators investigated the case but have not released their findings.

As millions of people in South China still struggle with the aftermath of typhoon Prapiroon, a new tropical storm is approaching and expected to affect coastal areas in southeastern China.

Zhejiang Provincial Observatory Station yesterday issued an emergency gale alert, saying that Bopha, one of three tropical storms forming in the western Pacific, is gaining strength.

Relevant departments in this region should pay close attention to the future route of the storm, the station warned.

Bopha, the ninth tropical storm this year, is expected to make landfall in northern Taiwan tonight or tomorrow morning as a relatively weak category one typhoon, reports said.

Tropical storm Saomai was also moving towards Taiwan from the southeast, with a maximum sustained wind speed of 119 kilometres per hour and gusts up to 155 kilometres per hour, Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau said yesterday on its website.

In the wake of Prapiroon, residents of typhoon-ravaged Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan in South China continued trying to rebuild their homes as the Ministry of Civil Affairs reported yesterday that the death toll from the storm has climbed to 80 with nine still missing.

As the sixth typhoon of the year, Prapiroon, which means "God of Rain" in Thai, has affected 10.3 million people, razed 29,000 rooms and caused direct economic losses of 7.23 billion yuan (US$900 million), said the ministry.

Moreover, the ministry has dispatched a work panel to Panjin in Northeast China's Liaoning Province, where heavy rain has led to severe flooding, according to a news release yesterday.

From July 29 to August 6, heavy flooding has affected 1.26 million people, forced the relocation of 115,000 and razed 110,000 rooms in eight cities, such as Shenyang, Dalian, Panjin and Dandong, it added.

The ministry also allocated 1,500 tents to the disaster-hit region. A total of 15 million yuan (US$1.9 million) of disaster relief funds have also been arranged by local governments to relocate and help the victims.

Medium to heavy torrential rains are forecast in southern Yunnan Province after Prapiroon has been downgraded from tropical storm to low-pressure cell, the Central Meteorological Office said yesterday.

Thunderstorms, hailstones and gales are forecast in a large area ranging from Northeast and North China to regions between the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers over the next two days, the office said.

The yuan yesterday advanced to less than 7.97 against the US dollar, showing signs of quickening appreciation.

The daily benchmark, or the central parity rate for the US dollar, was set at 7.9699 yesterday, the strongest reference rate for daily trading since the revaluation in July last year, according to the Shanghai-based China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

The yuan could move 0.3 per cent per day either way of the reference rate.

The currency slipped to a low of 7.9671 per US dollar but closed at 7.9689 at 5:30 pm yesterday.

The yuan has so far gained an accumulated 3.7 per cent against the greenback since revaluation.

"Clearly, the yuan's appreciation pace is accelerating, which is in line with the market situation as pressure from both the foreign exchange reserves and trade surplus is mounting," said Yi Xianrong, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).

The currency appreciated to 7.9982 against the US dollar on May 15, the first time it had fallen below 8 yuan in 12 years.

And since then, the appreciation has quickened.

It took 49 trading days for the yuan to strengthen below 7.99 against the US dollar, while it only took five trading days to see it below 7.98. It took six days before the yuan advanced to 7.97.

The central bank said last week that "it will take a basket of comprehensive measures, which include spurring consumption and imports, and expanding the foreign exchange rate flexibility, to improve the international balance of payments," an announcement interpreted by some as implying the bank is seriously considering expanding the exchange rate band.

But some experts say the currency appreciation is not a fundamental way to resolve the trade imbalance.

"Only by changing the current export-led economic growth model into one that is driven by domestic consumption can the current excessive trade surplus growth and trade imbalance be resolved," Cao Honghui, an economist at CASS, said.

Fuelled by the swelling trade surplus and foreign investment inflow, China's foreign exchange reserve surged to US$941.1 billion by the end of June.

The mounting foreign exchange reserves, which are already the world's largest, are also driving a growth in money supply and credit.

BEIRUT, Lebanon - The Lebanese prime minister rejected a U.N. cease-fire plan backed by US President Bush, demanding on Monday that Israel immediately pull out from southern Lebanon even before a peacekeeping force arrives to act as a buffer between Hezbollah and the Jewish state.

Lebron James landed 23 points as the United States crushed China 119-73 in a world championship warm-up match in Guangzhou on Monday night.

China has been increasingly attractive to other countries in recent years and the idea of China's peaceful rise is impressive, a famous U.S. scholar told Xinhua in an interview.

SHANGHAI: Rising costs have not scared off foreign companies who still rank Shanghai as the best place to invest in China, according to local authorities.

The municipal government's first "White Paper on the Environment for Foreign Investment in Shanghai," released yesterday, claims despite the increasing costs the city is still China's number one destination for foreign investment.

"It's true that Shanghai's raw materials and labour costs are higher than elsewhere, but they are offset by better profits," said Liu Jinping, vice-chairman of the Shanghai Foreign Investment Commission, which produced the report.

Nearly 90 per cent of the 213 foreign companies polled for the paper said Shanghai was their favourite investment destination on the Chinese mainland.

Speaking at a press conference to launch the report, Liu said Shanghai attracted a record 4.72 billion yuan (US$590 million) in actual foreign investment during the first seven months of the year.

"Foreign companies are seeing double-digit sales growth in Shanghai and profits are growing at more than 20 per cent," said Liu.

According to the White Paper, in 2004, the most recent year for which figures have been produced, the 422 Fortune 500 companies with bases in the Pudong New Area each paid an average of 42.5 million yuan (US$5.3 million) in taxes, while average net profits stood at 39 million yuan (US$4.87 million).

In the same year, average net profits for foreign companies in Pudong's Jinqiao Export Processing Zone stood at 203 million yuan (US$25.37 million).

Between 1999 and 2005, foreign companies invested US$27.18 billion in Shanghai, with an average annual increase of US$3.88 billion.

Foreign banks realized pre-tax profits of US$260 million in 2005, up 56.4 per cent over the year before and accounting for 58.3 per cent of all profits by foreign banks in China.

But at the same time as generating rising profits, foreign companies have also been forced to contend with mounting costs.

According to the White Paper, the monthly salary for Shanghai employees rose to 2,235 yuan (US$279.37) in 2005, around 26,800 yuan (US$3,350) per year, 9.9 per cent more than the year before.

The average annual income for human resources staff at a foreign company was 141,293 yuan (US$17,662) in 2005.

As staffing costs have risen so have rental prices, with leasing costs for top-class offices growing 15 per cent year-on-year, the White Paper reported.

Last year, the city's average rental price was US$0.84 per square metre per day, while in the Lujiazui business district in Pudong prices were more than US$1 per square metre per day.

On Nanjing West Road, the city's main shopping and commercial street on the western side of the Huangpu River, rents were US$1.04 per square metre per day.

"The growth of labour costs and rentals is a good thing because it means the city is growing very quickly," Liu added. "What we can do now is improve government services and improve the efficiency of land use."

Last year 1,020 energy-intensive and heavily-polluting plants were removed from Shanghai's 11 districts, freeing up nearly 670 hectares of land.

The "Bird's nest" and the "Water Cube" are taking shape in the northern part of Beijing, the mascots and the theme slogan have been unveiled to the world, the teams for the opening and closing ceremonies have been appointed.

China's top female football player Sun Wen failed to report to the national team on Sunday.
The no-show fueled speculation the former world player of the year is thinking of leaving professional football.

Sun returned to the Chinese squad last year at the urging of new head coach Ma Liangxing after a three-year retirement.

The 33-year-old player had voiced her intention to retire after China won the AFC Women's Asian Cup earlier this month in Australia.

According to Chinese media, the veteran player had ruled out a farewell match to celebrate her brilliant career, including a silver medal at the Atlanta Olympiad.

She also ruled out the possibility of becoming a football coach.

Olympic champion Liu Xiang and his coach were caught between dilemma as whether to train at home or abroad amid an unprecedented "Xiang Fever" in China ever since Liu set a new mark in the 110m hurdles in July.

"Liu has been disturbed not only by some crazy fans but also people who were supposed to keep him from those disturbance, such as security staff or even referees at competitions," the Liberation Daily quoted Yu Weili, assistant coach of the Chinese national athletics team.

"So we once considered that it may be better for Liu to train abroad, in a quieter environment, and then come back for competition," he said.

But Liu's coach Sun Haiping also had concerns about training abroad.

"It is a good idea but the problem is that Liu has to overcome jet lag twice as he returns for competition and goes back," Sun said. He and Liu are preparing for the on-going national athletics championships in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province.

"In addition, he will compete like a foreign athlete without knowing much about the venue," he added.

"So the best way is to offer him a quiet training site in China," Sun said.

The 23-year-old Shanghai native set a new world record of 12.88 seconds in a race in Lausanne, beating Colin Jackson's 13-year-old record of 12.91 after tying with the mark in Athens.

Superstar Yao Ming will miss the China-US match scheduled for Monday night in Guangzhou, capital of southern Guangdong province, neighboring Hong Kong.

The Chinese Basketball Association made the announcement Monday morning. A CBA official said the decision was made after careful examinations on the player's injured foot.

Team China's doctors have concluded Yao's injured foot, though fully recovered, cannot withstand the highly intense competition against the US team. For the sake of Yao's career prospects, they have decided not to field China's top basketball star.

However, the CBA official has confirmed Yao's participation at the upcoming continental championship tournament to prepare for the world championships in Japan next month.

China will play in the same group as the US, Italy, Puerto Rico, Slovenia and Senegal.

Fellow star center Wang Zhizhi will also be sidelined tonight when China challenges the US. His chances of playing at the continental champions tournament are also very vague due to his latest injury.

Almost 3,000 staff and students have been quarantined in a northeast China senior high school after 29 people contracted tuberculosis, a local health official said on Sunday.

The first student fell ill at the No. 1 Senior High School in June in Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province, city health bureau head Li Ziming said.

More students and some teachers caught the disease at the end of July, prompting the local government to deploy a medical team to prevent the spread of the disease. To date, 2,670 of the 2,859 students, teachers and staff members have received TB bacteria tests, which are being examined.

Fourteen of the 29 patients are receiving free treatment at isolation wards in the city's TB prevention and treatment hospital and 15 others are confined to the school or at home in a stable condition.

All other students, teachers and staff of the school have been confined to the campus while health tests and treatment are carried out.

The school, established in 1904, is predominantly a boarding school catering to students from rural areas. As it is a key experimental school in Liaoning, the school usually started summer vacation in early August, said an official.

However, the school postponed the summer vacation, which was scheduled to start on Saturday, due to the TB outbreak.

A report from the Ministry of Health showed that in the second quarter, TB, hepatitis B, bacillary and amoebic dysentery, measles and syphilis were the five most commonly reported epidemic diseases, accounting for 86.11 percent of total epidemic disease reports.

In east China's Jiangsu Province alone, 15,657 cases of TB were reported in the second quarter of this year, far exceeding incidences of other diseases in the province.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi may visit the Yasukuni Shrine for war dead between August 13 and 16, including the emotive August 15 anniversary of the end of World War Two, Kyodo News reported on Sunday, citing government sources.

NANJING: A new bar in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu Province, is offering an outlet for the stresses and strains of modern life.

Customers will be able to pay money to beat up staff, smash glasses, shout and scream, and, if these anger management techniques don't work, receive psychological counselling.

Rising Sun Anger Release Bar was set up in April by Wu Gong, a 29-year-old man from neighbouring Anhui Province.

Wu said he got his inspiration from similar bars in Japan, but felt a personal need for the type of service after his experiences as a migrant worker in Guangdong Province.

The bar employs 20 "models," well-built men in their 20s and 30s, who are available to be hit. Customers can specify how they want the models to appear they can even dress as women and then they are free to give them a sound beating.

Wu assured China Daily that models are fully equipped with protective gear, and the bar gives them regular physical training so they are prepared for attack.

The bar has four psychological counsellors, who are in fact psychology students from local universities.

The bar charges 50 to 300 yuan (US$6.25-37.5) for every customer in accordance with their demands.

"With rent of 6,000 yuan (US$760) per month, we can just about make ends meet," Wu said, but he added that he was confident about success as his customer list was growing.

Wu said that at the moment most of his customers were women, especially those working in service and entertainment companies such as KTV or massage parlours.

Public opinion was divided over the bar.

"Violence will not solve your problems. If people really feel angry, they should adjust their lifestyles or seek psychological treatment," said Liu Yuanyuan, who works for Siemens.

"Pressure in today's society comes from just about anywhere, from family or from work, from your boss or from your girlfriend. We get no place to vent anger. The idea of beating someone decorated as your boss seems attractive," said Chen Liang, a salesman.

Zhang Yong, an employee of Xiaoran Psychological Consultation Centre in Nanjing, admitted that "no matter how civilized people have evolved to be, some still find that violence is the best way to get rid of their burning rage. The existence of the bar, despite its controversial business scope, reflects the demands of a large proportion of people."

Zhang warned that as the business the bar is engaged in is not subject to any regulations, customers should be careful about overcharging or hurting the models.

The city's industrial and commercial administration bureau told China Daily that Wu's bar has been registered as a dancing venue, and there is no mention in the licence about anger release.

"He applied for the business of anger release but we would not give permission. It has never been listed as a proper business in this country," said an employee surnamed Wang

Wang said the bureau would discuss Wu's case and check on the bar in the following few days if necessary.

The United States made their first ever appearance in basketball-mad China in preparation for the World Championships in Japan, as they work towards regaining global superiority.

HAVANA - Cuba's vice president said Sunday Fidel Castro would return to work in a few weeks after intestinal surgery that forced him to hand over power temporarily to his younger brother.

Beijing's Olympics will not be shrouded in smog or choked by traffic jams, the city's top Games official promised yesterday.

With the two-year countdown to the 2008 Games beginning tomorrow, Liu Qi, president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), said he was confident air pollution and traffic jams would be tackled in time for the opening ceremony.

"The problems that exist in Beijing, such as traffic jams and environmental pollution, are things we have to solve, whether we are hosting the Olympics or not," said Liu, who is also secretary of the Party's Beijing municipal committee.

"Preparing for the Games should allow us to bring solutions to these problems ahead of schedule."

Beijing has made great steps in improving the air quality in recent years and the situation is getting better and better, said Liu.

Beijing's Olympics will not be shrouded in smog or choked by traffic jams, the city's top Games official promised yesterday.

With the two-year countdown to the 2008 Games beginning tomorrow, Liu Qi, president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), said he was confident air pollution and traffic jams would be tackled in time for the opening ceremony.

"The problems that exist in Beijing, such as traffic jams and environmental pollution, are things we have to solve, whether we are hosting the Olympics or not," said Liu, who is also secretary of the Party's Beijing municipal committee.

"Preparing for the Games should allow us to bring solutions to these problems ahead of schedule."

Beijing has made great steps in improving the air quality in recent years and the situation is getting better and better, said Liu.

Gas production has begun at Chunxiao gasfield in the East China Sea, according to an online announcement by one of the nation's three largest State-owned oil companies, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).

"The first phase of Chunxiao oil and gasfield has already entered the full-fledged production and development stage," said Zhang Guobao, vice-minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, on an inspection tour on July 23, according to CNOOC's website.

Tropical storm Prapiroon has killed at least 77 people as of yesterday in South China's Guangdong Province and the neighbouring Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, despite the relocation of more than 660,000 people from threatened areas, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The latest casualties were from Guangxi, where Prapiroon has continued to cause damage despite weakening from typhoon to a tropical storm.

Prapiroon has set off flash floods and landslides and razed houses to kill 26 in Guangxi, Xinhua said.

The Guangxi civil affairs department said Prapiroon affected 5.1 million people in the region, toppling 9,300 houses and ruining crops on 195,900 hectares of farmland.

Prapiroon made landfall at the South China coastal area in western Guangdong on Thursday, leaving at least 51 dead in that province alone.

As the sixth typhoon of the year, Prapiroon packed strong winds and dumped torrential rains in Guangdong, with Taishan, Enping, and Yangchun being worst hit, affecting 3.72 million people and razing 7,000 houses. Direct economic losses are forecast at 2.4 billion yuan (US$300 million).

Last month, China witnessed the most and strongest natural calamities this year, which left 918 dead, 310 missing and a direct economic loss of about 68.8 billion yuan (US$8.6 billion), figures from a Thursday conference of multiple ministries reporting and summarizing natural disasters in July showed.

Bilis, the fourth typhoon in this storm season, brought the country the most fatalities, with 637 deaths and 210 missing. Typhoon-induced flash floods, landslides and mud-rock flows in 20 provinces and autonomous regions were primarily blamed for a large number of the casualties, said Chen Hongling from the Ministry of Civil Affairs at the conference.

A 370-year-old castle in East China's Fujian Province has collapsed after being hit by typhoons that repeatedly swept the area over the past three months.

Nine houses in the Caipu Castle, in Fujian's Yunxiao County, fell down after being soaked in floodwaters for weeks while more than 200 square metres of the outer wall collapsed, a county cultural official said yesterday.

"Fortunately nobody was injured or killed," said Tang Yuxian, curator of the county museum.

The moat has often flooded the castle since mid-May, when typhoon Chanchu slashed southern and eastern China. Bilis and Kaemi followed, setting off floods and landslides to kill hundreds of people.

More than 200 families live in the castle, which is 500 metres in circumference.

The castle was built in 1636 and was the only round castle made of a mixture of lime, clay and sand that still exists in Fujian, said Tang.

In contrast to the threatening rising water level, Sichuan, Hubei and Guizhou provinces were suffering from serious and lasting drought.

This month will likely see another two or three tropical storms striking China, said Chen Yu, senior engineer from China Meteorological Administration.

China also experienced its worst and most geological calamities of this year in July, according to Tang Can, senior engineer from the Ministry of Land and Resources.

Statistics showed that more than 80,000 earthquakes occurred last month, causing 259 deaths with 75 missing.

The most serious tremor, measuring 5.1 on the Richer scale, led to 22 deaths in Yunnan Province.

Three people have now died, while 78 more are struggling with symptoms ranging from chest pain to anaphylactic shock, after receiving a hazardous antibiotic injection.

The central Afraican country of Chad has severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and switch its recognition and open official ties with Beijing.

And Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and his Chadian counterpart Ahmad Allam-mi signed a joint communique Sunday night to resume diplomatic ties between the two countries.

In a bid to curb overheated investment, the State Council has given local governments one month to report new industrial projects that have been approved against national rules.

The ultimatum aims to halt some projects that fail to meet industry policies, land and credit approval procedures and environmental regulations, said Zhang Zhiqiang, a senior official in charge of fixed-assets investment with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the top economic planner.

The commission on Friday unveiled the central government circular, which ordered local authorities to self-examine projects launched between January and June. Local authorities should report their final results by the end of August.

"We are going to punish those involved in malpractices," said Zhang, deputy director of the commission's Department of Fixed Assets Investment.

Zhang said that projects with overseas investment should also be examined as domestic ones.

According to the circular, the review covers every project with an investment of more than 100 million yuan (US$12.5 million). For steel mills, cement factories, vehicle assembly plants, power stations and aluminum smelters, the benchmark is 30 million yuan (US$3.7 million).

NDRC spokesman Han Yongwen said excessive investment in fixed assets remains a large problem for the economy.

Nearly 100,000 new projects began in the first six months of this year, 20,000 more than during the same period last year. The investment spree pushed China's economy to grow by 10.9 per cent during the period, the highest rate since 1995.

The sizzling investment rise has resulted in excessive use of land and credit loans. Government figures showed that loans reached 2.14 trillion yuan (US$268 billion) in the first half, accounting for 85.7 per cent of the government's whole-year budget.

A sample survey by the commission also found 40 per cent of the new projects have violated regulations on land use, environmental impact assessment or approval procedures.

In the meantime, although the government planned to cut energy consumption per unit of GDP by 4 per cent from that of 2005, the actual figure rose by 0.8 per cent in the first half of the year.

The central government is worried about the fast growth and rising energy use, with Premier Wen Jiabao recently urging all local governments and officials to "unify thinking and action" in curbing the trend.

What is a seemingly impossible scene today may be the norm in China's near future: A subway passenger scanning an electronic newspaper in the form of a plastic video screen thin, foldable and wireless with constantly changing text.

In the guideline to the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10) for China's Press Industry, unveiled on Friday, "digital printing" is seen as the future of print media.

The country's traditional print media are encouraged to develop digital products such as e-newspapers and provide value-added information services according to the guideline set out by the General Administration of Press and Publications.

The administration also plans to start an experimental programme for e-newspapers to test the technology and platforms for digital publishing with the participation of print media, IT companies and mobile service providers.

Lin Jiang, deputy director of the administration's newspaper and periodical management department, said the change would be "revolutionary" when he attended the 3rd Annual Conference on the Competitive Edge of China's Press Industry on Friday in Beijing.

"Newspapers won't be confined to paper," he said. "With the development of transmission and electronic display technologies, newspapers will reach more readers in multiple formats."

Lin said e-newspapers may take different forms. For example, an e-newspaper could take on the literal properties of a standard broadsheet newspaper page, presented on a display panel just as it would appear on paper with no difference to the printed edition in size, layout or typography.

The simulated electronic paper display, which consists of thin laminated sheets of flexible plastic, could be folded and rolled up for easy carrying. Through wire or wireless website connections, readers would be able to constantly update newspaper content.

E-newspapers could also be magazine-sized in a multimedia digital format that combines many qualities of print with the interactive features of the Web to add significant value for readers and advertisers.

Lin admitted digital publishing still faces technical problems, but he was confident all could be solved in five years. With the development of technology, the cost of an e-newspaper display panel would be reduced so that digital publications could reach more readers, he said.

Yu Guoming, associate dean of the School of Journalism and Communication at Renmin University, said developing e-newspapers is an effective way for the print media to withstand the impact of new media.

He said new media such as websites, blogs and vlogs (video-blogs) are enjoying increasing popularity, especially in the under-30 age bracket, and the traditional print media should try to revamp their products irrespective of content or format.

"Print media that enjoy a good reputation should make use of their 'brands'," he said. "Credibility is their advantage, especially when the Web contains a large amount of false information."

WASHINGTON -- The United States and China face similar energy challenges and their cooperation will serve interests of both countries, a senior US official said Friday.

The US has a long and fruitful history of engagement with China on energy related cooperation since January, 1979, and under the current administration, the U.S. has a robust engagement with China through bilateral and multilateral mechanisms, Katharine A. Fredriksen, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy Department said in a testimony before the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

"While there are notable difference in our approaches, cooperation between our two countries will promote greater energy security in our respective countries, as well as in the world," she said at the two-day hearing which started on Thursday.

The U.S. engagement with China takes place in many bilateral mechanisms, including the U.S.-China Energy Policy Dialogue, the US-China Oil and Gas Industry Forum, the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Technologies Agreement, and the Joint Coordinating Committee on Science and Technology, said the official.

"The Dialogue emphasizes that the US and China share many common challenges and opportunities as the two largest energy consumers in the world and aims to promote greater cooperation to address concerns," she said.

The U.S. actively engages with Chinas through multilateral fora and China is an active member economy in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation's Energy Working Group, said Katharine, adding the two countries also have been working together though international science and technology initiatives.

"We plan to continue our engagement with China and work with Beijing in a collaborative fashion to advance our mutual interests, " she added.

The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission was created in October 2000, to monitor, investigate, and submit to the Congress an annual report on the national security implications of the bilateral trade and economic relationship between the United States and China, and to provide recommendations to the Congress for legislative and administrative action.

BEIJING -- China on Friday expressed concern over reports that Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe visited the Yasukuni Shrine in April, Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

"We hope that the Japanese side will make similar efforts along with the Chinese side to push Sino-Japanese ties back to the track of normal development at an early date," spokesman Qing Gang said while asked for comments.

"It is a common aspiration of the two peoples and conforms with the fundamental interest of the two countries for Japanese leaders to stop visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, where World War II crimes were worshiped, and take tangible action to eliminate political obstacles hindering the normal development of Sino-Japanese relations," Qin said.

There are reports on Friday that Abe visited the Yasukuni Shrine in April 15 this year, where World War II crimes were worshiped.

The central Afraican country of Chad is reported to have severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and switch its recognition and open official ties with China, the news.com.au reported.

"Under Beijing's influence, Chad has decided to restore diplomatic ties with China," Taiwan¡¯s 'foreign ministry' spokesman Michel Lu told a press conference Saturday night

"To safeguard our dignity, Taiwan government has decided to cut off diplomatic ties with Chad and immediately suspended all of the aid projects to the country," Lu said.

Taiwan's ambassador to Chad was called into the foreign ministry in N'Djamena Saturday and informed that the government had decided to switch recognition "in the interest of the state," a Chadian foreign ministry official said.

Official announcements of the move should be made simultaneously Sunday in N'Djamena and Beijing, where Chadian Foreign Minister Ahmat Allami is currently visiting.

Following Taiwan's 1971 expulsion from the United Nations, successive Taiwanese regimes have spent millions of dollars in economic aid to persuade countries, mostly in Africa and Latin America, to support its battle against Beijing for international recognition.

As Beijing's global political and economic clout has grown, Taiwan has found it increasingly on the losing side of the diplomatic battle.

Chad is the seventh country to switch recognition to Beijing since Taiwanese leader Chen Shui-bian took office in 2000, following Senegal, Liberia, Macedonia, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Vanuatu and Grenada.

This latest setback for Taiwan means the island is now recognized by just 24 countries, mostly small states in Africa, Latin America and the Pacific.

Chad's move came only days before Taiwan 'Premier' Su Tseng-chang was due to attend the inauguration of Idriss Deby for a third term as president. The trip has now been cancelled.

The US basketball team, commonly known as the Dream Team Seven, has touched down in Guangzhou, capital of China's southern Guangdong province.

A police motorcade escorted the slam-dunking stars to their hotel after the team arrived in the city via Hong Kong on Friday night.

Hundreds of fans had gathered to greet their favorite stars in front of the hotel but the scheduled welcoming ceremony was called off because the players were too tired from their travels.

The US team will play against China and Brazil on Monday and Tuesday to warm-up for the World Championships coming up in Japan later this month.

Chelsea's John Terry (R) challenges MLS All-Stars' Chris Albright during their friendly match in Bridgeview, Illinois, August 5, 2006

China's Wang Jie (L) and Tian Jia (R) celebrate after winning the final match at the FIVB beach volleyball grand slam in Klagenfurt,August 5, 2006. China won against Brazils's Juliana Felisberta and Larrissa Franca 2-1

Tourists wade on the seaside as scenic spots in China's south Hainan Province reopened after the attack of the Typhoon Prapiroon. Photo is taken on August 5, 2006

CAIRO, Egypt - Al-Qaida's No. 2 leader said in a new videotape aired Saturday that an Egyptian militant group has joined the terror network.

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VIENNA, August 5 -- China's Tian Jia and Wang Jie captured their first international beach volleyball gold medal in the World Beach Volleyball Tour in Austrian south city Klagenfurt on Saturday, local TV ORF said.

HAVANA, Aug. 5 -- Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage said on Saturday that Cuban leader Fidel Castro is recovering satisfactorily from surgery for gastrointestinal bleeding, according to Cuban news agency Prensa Latina.

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Israel and Hezbollah sharply intensified fighting Saturday with airstrikes, rocket attacks and brutal ground fighting - an apparent bid to inflict maximum mutual damage even as the United States and France agreed on a draft U.N. resolution calling for a halt to the violence.

NANNING, August 5 -- Typhoon Prapiroon has so far killed at least 55 people and left 17 others missing in South China's Guangdong Province and neighboring Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Israeli forces arrested the speaker of the Palestinian parliament at his house in the West Bank early Sunday, and pressed their month long offensive in Gaza.

David Stern, the commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA), said Sunday that he is planning to restore the NBA China Game next year, which could feature some regular-season games for the first time in China.

The NBA bring two pre-season games between the Houston Rockets and the Sacramento Kings to China in 2004, the first time the NBA matches being played in China.

"We didn't have the China Game in the following year in 2005 because we were having a collective bargain then. We don't have it this year because of the preparation of the World Championships," Stern said.

"But we are planning to play some games next year here. It could be pre-season (games), or even regular season (games)," said Stern, who is here for the U.S. team's warm-up against China and Brazil for the world championships.

The tickets for the China-U.S. game, which will be played on Monday, are sold up to 3,800 yuan (about 475 U.S. dollars), and are much higher in the black market.

The price here is almost the same as those of the 2004 China Game in Beijing and Shanghai.

"China is the second biggest market to the NBA, and sometimes even bigger than the United States," Stern added.

The NBA Asia, the Asian bureau of the league, moved its headquarter from Hong Kong of China to Beijing last year, and set up a Shanghai branch to explore the Chinese market.

It expanded from 20 people to 50 in two years and has signed global partner contracts with several Chinese companies.

"We want to make the China Game a continuous competition. We'll have pre-season games, regular-season games, national competitions and coaching clinics here. China is such an exciting market," Stern said.

BEIJING - China has banned a domestically produced antibiotic after a child died from being treated with it and other patients suffered effects ranging from diarrhea to anaphylactic shock, the government said Friday.

BEIJING - China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) said gas production has started from an oil and gas field in the East China Sea.

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The central Afraican country of Chad is reported to have severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and switch its recognition and open official ties with China, the news.com.au reported.

"Under Beijing's influence, Chad has decided to restore diplomatic ties with China," Taiwan¡¯s 'foreign ministry' spokesman Michel Lu told a press conference Saturday night

"To safeguard our dignity, Taiwan government has decided to cut off diplomatic ties with Chad and immediately suspended all of the aid projects to the country," Lu said.

Taiwan's ambassador to Chad was called into the foreign ministry in N'Djamena Saturday and informed that the government had decided to switch recognition "in the interest of the state," a Chadian foreign ministry official said.

Official announcements of the move should be made simultaneously Sunday in N'Djamena and Beijing, where Chadian Foreign Minister Ahmat Allami is currently visiting.

Following Taiwan's 1971 expulsion from the United Nations, successive Taiwanese regimes have spent millions of dollars in economic aid to persuade countries, mostly in Africa and Latin America, to support its battle against Beijing for international recognition.

As Beijing's global political and economic clout has grown, Taiwan has found it increasingly on the losing side of the diplomatic battle.

Chad is the seventh country to switch recognition to Beijing since Taiwanese leader Chen Shui-bian took office in 2000, following Senegal, Liberia, Macedonia, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Vanuatu and Grenada.

This latest setback for Taiwan means the island is now recognized by just 24 countries, mostly small states in Africa, Latin America and the Pacific.

Chad's move came only days before Taiwan 'Premier' Su Tseng-chang was due to attend the inauguration of Idriss Deby for a third term as president. The trip has now been cancelled.

Rescuers search for victims at the scene of a landslide at a police station in Sihui, in China's southern Guangdong province Friday Aug. 4, 2006. One policeman was killed in the landslide. China's death toll from Tropical Storm Prapiroon jumped Saturday to at least 38, with 14 more people missing, after the storm knocked down houses and set off landslides.

Zhang Jian, China's top endurance swimmer, will attempt to swim across the Yellow River in his latest challenge in open water.

The 41-year-old Zhang is one of the 300 amateur swimmers who have entered the 2nd Qinghai International Crossing Race, which is slated for Saturday in Xunhua County in west China's Qinghai Province.

The route was around 800 meters, according to the event organizers.

"High altitude, low temperature and high waves are the major threats to the swimmer," said an official of the organizing committee.

Zhang, a teacher at Beijing's Sports University, made history in July 2001 as the first Chinese swimmer to cross the English Channel.

In 2000, he set a distance swimming record for China when he crossed the 123-kilometer-wide (76-mile-wide) Bohai Strait off the country's northeastern coast.

Wookey Hole Caves, a popular holiday destination in Somerset, southern England, was drawing children with its display of 1,000 precious teddy bears, including Mabel, beloved bear of the King of Rock and Roll.

Pigeons flying over. Denmark's train network was thrown into chaos by a pigeon that alighted on a high-tension electricity wire, causing a short-circuit that brought services to a standstill throughout the country

A young man and woman, dressed as "Niu Lang" and "Zhi Nv" - a couple in the folklore related to the Chinese Valentine's Day, perform the folklore in front of the Hailong Building in Beijing's Zhongguancun Monday, July 31, 2006. The man, carrying a pair of kids on his shoulder, and the woman, holding a condom with both hands, say their performance is intended as a reminder for the lovers to remember the family planning policy while enjoying the Chinese Valentine's Day, which falls on the seventh day of the seventh month in Chinese calendar.

A patient's jaw is marked before a facial reconstruction operation in Beijing July 27, 2006. Rising incomes and perceptions that better looks secure better jobs and husbands have fuelled a boom for breast enlargement and other cosmetic remedies in recent years. State media have reported that Chinese people spend over US$20 billion a year on altering their looks

A surgeon shows an x-ray of a patient before a facial reconstruction operation in Beijing July 27, 2006. Rising incomes and perceptions that better looks secure better jobs and husbands have fuelled a boom for breast enlargement and other cosmetic remedies in recent years. State media have reported that Chinese people spend over US$20 billion a year on altering their looks.

Ashley, a seven-year-old white tiger, carries one of her new born cubs at the Olemse zoo in Balen, Belgium July 27, 2006. Ashley gave birth to four tiger cubs on July 17, 2006

A city zoo employee cuddles a six-month old baby bear named Tony in Sofia, July 26, 2006.

Australian artist Nike Savvas makes final adjustments to her art piece consisting of over 50,000 polystyrene balls at the New South Wales Art Gallery in Sydney August 3, 2006. The sculpture titled "Atomix - Full of Love, Full of Wonder" , vibrates with wind from 10 fans and represents the different "shimmering" colours in a hot, outback landscape. It is part of a sculpture exhibition "Adventures with Form in Space" that will open to the public next week

A resident walks along the West Shore in Haikou, southern China's Hainan province, August 3, 2006. Typhoon Prapiroon killed five people after making landfall Friday and pounded southern China with torrential rains and gale force winds. The storm forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people across south China, uprooting trees and overturning vehicles.

A man walks in the rain along a street in Hong Kong Aug 3, 2006. Typhoon Prapiroon killed five people after making landfall Friday and pounded southern China with torrential rains and gale force winds. The storm forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people across south China, uprooting trees and overturning vehicles.

The parents of Liu Sichen, a six-year-old girl who died after receiving an antibiotic injection for a common cold, grieve in the face of Liu's death certificate in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, on Aug. 4, 2006. Another 47 others across the country suffered adverse reactions after using the same drug

The father of a patient holds a bottle of clindamycin phosphate glucose at the No 2 Hospital Affiliated to Harbin Medical University on Thursday night. A six-year-old girl in Harbin, capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province has died after receiving an antibiotic injection for a common cold, while 47 others across the country suffered adverse reactions after using the same drug.[

A doctor checks a patient suffering an adverse response to an injection of Xin Fu at the Harbin Medical University's Second Affiliated Hostipal August 3, 2006. A six-year-old girl in Harbin, capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province has died after receiving an antibiotic injection for a common cold, while 47 others across the country suffered adverse reactions after using the same drug.[Xinhua]

WASHINGTON - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday called on Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to resign, hours after excoriating him at a public hearing over what she called "failed policy" in Iraq.

What if China heeded U.S. advice and jacked up the yuan but its trade surplus failed to shrink?

Some economists are coming around to the view -- increasingly expressed in Beijing -- that the structure of China's trade makes the surplus largely immune to the classical prescription of a stronger exchange rate.

So while a rise in the yuan, or renminbi, would help China to rebalance its economy and soak up excess liquidity, it might make scant difference in the short run to a surplus that tripled in 2005 to $102 billion and has risen another 55 percent so far this year.

"The impact of the yuan on trade is overstated," said Glenn Maguire, Asia economist for French bank Societe Generale.

"There's a growing recognition by central banks across Asia that foreign trade isn't as sensitive to movements in foreign exchange rates as it was just 3 or 4 years ago," Maguire said.

The explanation for the shift: globalisation.

So much manufacturing capacity has moved to China that foreign-owned firms now account for 51 percent of China's trade surplus, up from 3 percent in 2000, according to Lehman Brothers.

A typical multinational company exporting consumer electronics from China assembles its products from chips, components and casings imported from across Asia that would all become cheaper if the yuan were revalued.

Relatively little value is added in China, so a leap in the yuan would lead to just a small rise in the dollar price of labour and other fixed local costs.

"Thus, a large renminbi revaluation might not dent its trade surplus much: any loss of export competitiveness could be partly overcome by passing on the cheaper cost of imported inputs," Lehman economists Rob Subbaraman and Mingchun Sun said in a note.

NOT WHAT THE TEXTBOOKS SAY

Stephen Green, senior economist with Standard Chartered Bank in Shanghai, goes further, illustrating in a hypothetical example of trade in laptops that a 20 percent yuan revaluation would actually increase China's processed trade surplus by 11.6 percent.

"In other words, in the processed sector, yuan appreciation has exactly the opposite reaction to what the theory predicts," he said in a research note.

Green makes a number of assumptions, including that a 1 percent yuan rise reduces the volume of Chinese goods sold in rich-country markets by 1 percent; that processing firms can defend their dollar margins; and that other Asian currencies do not appreciate in tandem with the yuan against the dollar.

This last assumption, he admits, is unreasonable. But even a simultaneous 35 percent jump in the yuan and other Asian currencies would cut China's processing trade surplus -- in Green's laptop example -- by just 5.3 percent.

That would be far too small to be meaningful as processing trade had a surplus last year of $143 billion, Green said.

By contrast, China's "real" trade sector ran a deficit -- as would be expected of a developing country -- of $40.4 billion, reducing the overall surplus to a bit more than $102 billion.

"Real" trade refers to conventional importing and exporting by domestic firms.

"We think there is a good case for believing that yuan appreciation could exacerbate the surplus in the short term and maybe that short term could last 1-2 years," Green said.

"Appreciation will only have a significant impact upon China's trade surplus if it induces manufacturing, both processing and 'real', to move offshore -- and this relies upon alternative locations becoming competitive. China's imbalances are going to get worse before they get better," he said.

Subbaraman and Sun at Lehman said appreciation of the yuan might not have much impact, but it was still desirable.

"It would lessen the chances of protectionism against China, which would hurt China's exports (and imports), and the overall economy. It would also help to equilibrate capital flows, giving the central bank more room to raise interest rates without attracting 'hot money' inflows," they wrote.

A renowned symbol of American architecture and jazz in Beijing faces demolition on Sunday, adding to concern that too much of the city's past culture and diversity is being erased in the quest for modernity.

American Douglas Monitto spent the last years of his life importing the materials to build a replica of a 19th-century Louisiana mansion on the outskirts of Chaoyang Park in eastern Beijing. Monitto's widow, Mary, said they spent more than US$1 million to fly everything from a New Orleans jazz club, The Big Easy, into China, after being encouraged to open the music outpost by local authorities and signing a 13-year contract in 1998.

Mary Monitto said she received a notice from Chaoyang Park in January ordering her to vacate the mansion within two weeks, even though the contract runs until 2011.

After fruitless efforts to meet with Chaoyang Park officials, Monitto received a new order on Tuesday stating the building would be demolished this weekend. Water and electricity were cut off on Wednesday as workers erected a four-metre-high wall around the club, bulldozers at the ready nearby.

The elegant, verandah-rimmed architecture, along with its jazz frescoes that were painted by US artists and its once-freewheeling stage for improvised music, is now surrounded by demolition squads.

"In Europe, city planners use a very broad palette of cultural and architectural considerations when they decide what to build and what to destroy in any development project," said Anu Leinonen, an architect and expert on urban planning.

The Big Easy is not only a unique example of antebellum American architecture, but also a symbol of Beijing's globalized jazz scene.

"In Europe, planners would consider how to preserve and incorporate it (existing architecture) into a new project," she said.

If the government has other priorities, "people at the park can talk to us at least," said Mary Monitto.

For months park officials avoided a face-to-face meeting, but they organized a 10-minute consultation on Friday, she added.

Tian Jixian, general manager of Chaoyang Park, told China Daily the authorities had followed the contract, under which the lease rights can be voided for an important government need. In this situation, the authorities were required to notify the club three months in advance. "We told them more than half a year ago," he said, referring to the January notice.

He added that a "Peace Plaza" would be built on the site of the club, but declined to identify the investor or whether the new project would be a commercial or government venture.

He said the park would follow governmental regulations on compensation.

Monitto said the park proposed compensation of 1.4 million yuan (US$175,000) on Friday, but the Monittos' investment far exceeds that figure.

At a swan-song party this week, jazz singer Yao Yixin said: "The Big Easy was the earliest American jazz and blues venue in Beijing. Its destruction will change the city's cultural map."

"The Big Easy has been an icon of American jazz music and culture in the city. It is terrible that they are tearing it down," said Eugene Marlow, a professor at the Baruch College of the City University of New York, who is writing a book on jazz in China.

BEIJING -- China on Friday expressed concern over reports that Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe visited the Yasukuni Shrine in April, Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

"We hope that the Japanese side will make similar efforts along with the Chinese side to push Sino-Japanese ties back to the track of normal development at an early date," spokesman Qing Gang said while asked for comments.

"It is a common aspiration of the two peoples and conforms with the fundamental interest of the two countries for Japanese leaders to stop visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, where World War II crimes were worshiped, and take tangible action to eliminate political obstacles hindering the normal development of Sino-Japanese relations," Qin said.

There are reports on Friday that Abe visited the Yasukuni Shrine in April 15 this year, where World War II crimes were worshiped.

BEIJING -- China on Friday expressed concern over reports that Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe visited the Yasukuni Shrine in April, Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

"We hope that the Japanese side will make similar efforts along with the Chinese side to push Sino-Japanese ties back to the track of normal development at an early date," spokesman Qing Gang said while asked for comments.

"It is a common aspiration of the two peoples and conforms with the fundamental interest of the two countries for Japanese leaders to stop visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, where World War II crimes were worshiped, and take tangible action to eliminate political obstacles hindering the normal development of Sino-Japanese relations," Qin said.

There are reports on Friday that Abe visited the Yasukuni Shrine in April 15 this year, where World War II crimes were worshiped.

BRUSSELS - There are no guarantees that European Union (EU) Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson could produce by early October an anti-dumping plan on Chinese and Vietnamese shoes which is acceptable to most EU member states, his spokesman Peter Power admitted Friday.

Fourteen of the bloc's 25 member states on Thursday voted against the second proposal put forward by Mandelson which if adopted will come into effect on October 7 as the definitive anti-dumping measures on leather shoes from the two Asian countries.

The proposal foresees a blanket duty of 16.5 percent on Chinese leather shoe imports and 10 percent on Vietnamese imports.

It would also affect children's shoes -- defined as sizes below 38 ¡§Cwhich are not included in provisional anti-dumping measures enforced as of April 7.

Definitive measures are expected to remain in place for five years.

"Anti-dumping measures are extremely sensitive and member states have different views on the subject," Power said at a daily press briefing on Friday.

A number of EU states including Nordic countries, Britain and the Netherlands, which mainly import shoes from overseas, have spoken out against anti-dumping duties on shoes from China and Vietnam, calling them "protectionist".

However, time is short as the current provisional duties run out on October 7. Power said new measures would "clearly need to be in place before that date" but noted that the European Commission would not rush into a final deal on the issue.

The commission, the EU's executive body, said in March that its investigation found widespread violation of international trade rules in China and Vietnam, which results in shoes being exportedat below-cost prices.

It then agreed to levy provisional anti-dumping duties on the two Asian countries for six months starting from April, which are to be followed by definitive ones in the next five years.

The move drew criticism from both within and out of the EU.

European importers and retailers said the measures would hurt consumers and eventually harmful to EU's economy.

What is a seemingly impossible scene today may be the norm in China's near future: A subway passenger scanning an electronic newspaper in the form of a plastic video screen thin, foldable and wireless with constantly changing text.

In the guideline to the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10) for China's Press Industry, unveiled on Friday, "digital printing" is seen as the future of print media.

The country's traditional print media are encouraged to develop digital products such as e-newspapers and provide value-added information services according to the guideline set out by the General Administration of Press and Publications.

The administration also plans to start an experimental programme for e-newspapers to test the technology and platforms for digital publishing with the participation of print media, IT companies and mobile service providers.

Lin Jiang, deputy director of the administration's newspaper and periodical management department, said the change would be "revolutionary" when he attended the 3rd Annual Conference on the Competitive Edge of China's Press Industry on Friday in Beijing.

"Newspapers won't be confined to paper," he said. "With the development of transmission and electronic display technologies, newspapers will reach more readers in multiple formats."

Lin said e-newspapers may take different forms. For example, an e-newspaper could take on the literal properties of a standard broadsheet newspaper page, presented on a display panel just as it would appear on paper with no difference to the printed edition in size, layout or typography.

The simulated electronic paper display, which consists of thin laminated sheets of flexible plastic, could be folded and rolled up for easy carrying. Through wire or wireless website connections, readers would be able to constantly update newspaper content.

E-newspapers could also be magazine-sized in a multimedia digital format that combines many qualities of print with the interactive features of the Web to add significant value for readers and advertisers.

Lin admitted digital publishing still faces technical problems, but he was confident all could be solved in five years. With the development of technology, the cost of an e-newspaper display panel would be reduced so that digital publications could reach more readers, he said.

Yu Guoming, associate dean of the School of Journalism and Communication at Renmin University, said developing e-newspapers is an effective way for the print media to withstand the impact of new media.

He said new media such as websites, blogs and vlogs (video-blogs) are enjoying increasing popularity, especially in the under-30 age bracket, and the traditional print media should try to revamp their products irrespective of content or format.

"Print media that enjoy a good reputation should make use of their 'brands'," he said. "Credibility is their advantage, especially when the Web contains a large amount of false information."

HARBIN: A six-year-old girl in the capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province has died after receiving an antibiotic injection for a common cold, while 47 others across the country suffered adverse reactions after using the same drug.

Health authorities have recalled and banned the use of clindamycin phosphate glucose, which is mainly used to treat bacterial infections in the respiratory system.

Cuba's government said on Friday that Raul Castro was firmly in charge of the country but uncertainty over its political future grew as the new acting president still did not appear in public.

The ruling Communist Party newspaper Granma provided no new details on the condition of ailing leader Fidel Castro four days after he handed over power temporarily to his brother after surgery for gastrointestinal bleeding.

"Raul is firmly at the helm of the nation and the armed forces," Granma said.

Rejecting calls by US President George W. Bush for a transition to multi-party democracy after 47 years under Fidel Castro, the newspaper said the situation in Cuba was totally calm.

"The word transition does not exist in the vocabulary of Cubans here," Granma said, dismissing Bush's statement on Thursday as "unacceptable."

Many Cubans wondered when Raul, 75, would speak to the nation after Fidel ceded power to him.

"Raul will have to appear at some point. That is what we are all waiting for," said Antonio Cabana, a worker in Central Havana.

The only sign of the younger Castro was a photo on Granma's front page of his arrest at age 22 following the near-suicidal assault led by his brother on the Moncada garrison in Santiago in 1953 with a story recounting his heroism.

The Granma statement was issued one day after Bush made his first public statement on Cuba since Fidel gave power to his brother.

"I urge the Cuban people to work for democratic change on the island. We will support you in your effort to build a transitional government in Cuba committed to democracy," Bush said on Thursday.

Communist Youth newspaper editor Rogelio Polanco said on Cuban television on Thursday night that Bush's urgings were futile.

"The only way to apply the Bush plan for regime change in Cuba is by force, and force will not work," he said.

"Raul is firmly at the helm of the nation and leading the armed forces that have a proven combat record and international experience. Make no mistake," Polanco warned.

Bush, whose administration has tightened the long-standing US embargo against Cuba, said, "It has long been the hope of the United States to have a free, independent and democratic Cuba as a close friend and neighbour."

"We will take note of those in the current Cuban regime who obstruct your desire for a free Cuba," Bush said.

Cuban commentators accused Bush of playing up to anti-Castro groups in Miami, whom they called a "bloodthirsty mafia" for encouraging an uprising against the Cuban government.

Cuban exiles danced in Miami streets after Castro's announcement on Monday. On Wednesday a leading exile group, the Cuban American National Foundation, called for the creation of a new government, saying Castro's era was over.

Analysts said Cuba's leaders may feel that if Raul appeared too early it might touch off panic among Cubans after so many years under Fidel.

Also still unanswered was whether Fidel Castro, the 79-year-old one-time guerrilla fighter, would ever return to power. Apart from an earlier statement that he was in a stable condition, he too has remained out of sight.

GUANGZHOU -- At least 31 people were confirmed dead and 14 more missing in South China's Guangdong Province after Typhoon Prapiroon made landfall in the coastal region on Thursday.

In a bid to curb overheated investment, the State Council has given local governments one month to report new industrial projects that have been approved against national rules.

The ultimatum aims to halt some projects that fail to meet industry policies, land and credit approval procedures and environmental regulations, said Zhang Zhiqiang, a senior official in charge of fixed-assets investment with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the top economic planner.

The commission on Friday unveiled the central government circular, which ordered local authorities to self-examine projects launched between January and June. Local authorities should report their final results by the end of August.

"We are going to punish those involved in malpractices," said Zhang, deputy director of the commission's Department of Fixed Assets Investment.

Zhang said that projects with overseas investment should also be examined as domestic ones.

According to the circular, the review covers every project with an investment of more than 100 million yuan (US$12.5 million). For steel mills, cement factories, vehicle assembly plants, power stations and aluminum smelters, the benchmark is 30 million yuan (US$3.7 million).

NDRC spokesman Han Yongwen said excessive investment in fixed assets remains a large problem for the economy.

Nearly 100,000 new projects began in the first six months of this year, 20,000 more than during the same period last year. The investment spree pushed China's economy to grow by 10.9 per cent during the period, the highest rate since 1995.

The sizzling investment rise has resulted in excessive use of land and credit loans. Government figures showed that loans reached 2.14 trillion yuan (US$268 billion) in the first half, accounting for 85.7 per cent of the government's whole-year budget.

A sample survey by the commission also found 40 per cent of the new projects have violated regulations on land use, environmental impact assessment or approval procedures.

In the meantime, although the government planned to cut energy consumption per unit of GDP by 4 per cent from that of 2005, the actual figure rose by 0.8 per cent in the first half of the year.

The central government is worried about the fast growth and rising energy use, with Premier Wen Jiabao recently urging all local governments and officials to "unify thinking and action" in curbing the trend.

In a bid to curb overheated investment, the State Council has given local governments one month to report new industrial projects that have been approved against national rules.

The ultimatum aims to halt some projects that fail to meet industry policies, land and credit approval procedures and environmental regulations, said Zhang Zhiqiang, a senior official in charge of fixed-assets investment with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the top economic planner.

The commission on Friday unveiled the central government circular, which ordered local authorities to self-examine projects launched between January and June. Local authorities should report their final results by the end of August.

"We are going to punish those involved in malpractices," said Zhang, deputy director of the commission's Department of Fixed Assets Investment.

Zhang said that projects with overseas investment should also be examined as domestic ones.

According to the circular, the review covers every project with an investment of more than 100 million yuan (US$12.5 million). For steel mills, cement factories, vehicle assembly plants, power stations and aluminum smelters, the benchmark is 30 million yuan (US$3.7 million).

NDRC spokesman Han Yongwen said excessive investment in fixed assets remains a large problem for the economy.

Nearly 100,000 new projects began in the first six months of this year, 20,000 more than during the same period last year. The investment spree pushed China's economy to grow by 10.9 per cent during the period, the highest rate since 1995.

The sizzling investment rise has resulted in excessive use of land and credit loans. Government figures showed that loans reached 2.14 trillion yuan (US$268 billion) in the first half, accounting for 85.7 per cent of the government's whole-year budget.

A sample survey by the commission also found 40 per cent of the new projects have violated regulations on land use, environmental impact assessment or approval procedures.

In the meantime, although the government planned to cut energy consumption per unit of GDP by 4 per cent from that of 2005, the actual figure rose by 0.8 per cent in the first half of the year.

The central government is worried about the fast growth and rising energy use, with Premier Wen Jiabao recently urging all local governments and officials to "unify thinking and action" in curbing the trend.

TOKYO: They came with clear views about the problems hampering diplomatic relations between their two countries.

But while Chinese and Japanese officials and intellectuals acknowledged the big differences between the two countries, they were committed to keeping divergence at bay and continuing discussions on how to move bilateral relations forward.

Many economists and financial market players wrongly blame the relatively fixed RMB exchange rate for China's "runaway" economic growth and for attracting "hot money" in anticipation of what they think is inevitable RMB appreciation. That's because they think the only way for China to control economic growth is by tightening credit, reflected in higher interest rates. They assume higher interest rates mean greater foreign-exchange demand for RMB for investment and thus the impossibility of a fixed RMB. This view was expressed recently by Nicholas Lardy, senior fellow at Washington's Institute for International Economics and a leading US expert on China's economy, in an appearance on CCTV9's Dialogue programme just over a month ago. This thinking may stem from three misconceptions.

The first may be the danger of identifying the real economy with the financial or monetary economy, or of looking at monetary policy as the be-all and end-all anchor of all economic policy. Money and credit are a commodity like others, not a proxy for the entire economy which uses money as a medium for valuation and exchange. Interest rates are the price for credit but it's the level of all prices (reflecting their rate of change), not just of credit, that drives the economy.

Rising price levels in China reduce foreign-exchange demand for RMB for investment because they lower the "purchasing power" of the RMB in terms of the amount of goods one unit of the currency can buy. Higher interest rates are the exception but higher goods prices neutralize the ability of interest rates to cause appreciation of the RMB. Think of the negative effect of higher prices on the ability to export, resulting in less foreign demand for RMB.

A second reason for the erroneous thinking relates to China's economic rise's still being in its early stages. In this period, the contribution to economic growth by construction of infrastructure and buildings is disproportionately high compared to the contribution made by the use of those facilities. This attracts real-estate investment fed by credit availability, and that is investment which seeks to profit from price appreciation, not from income from use. So, higher real-estate prices, like high interest rates and the price of other investments, wind up serving to appreciate the RMB rather than acting as goods prices.

But there are a lot of other prices driving China's economy, and their rise has the effect of depreciating the RMB. Furthermore a price rise by a company makes it more profitable and this serves to attract market investment away from real estate into other sectors of the economy where it is not financed by the mortgage credit that would otherwise be made more available by ever higher real-estate prices, or away from other "fixed-asset" over-investment that has been driven by artificially-low input prices.

Foremost among those prices are the prices of energy, the economy's most important single input. If any industrial policy needs to be consistent with the rest of economic policy, it's energy policy. But few economists understand energy because of its nature as a bulk-market commodity and many get distracted by its nature as an essential commodity. Economists typically understand best the retail markets they deal with in their everyday lives.

China has recognized the need to bring energy into the competitive market economy by being the only Asian country besides Japan and the Philippines not to cancel the marketization of at least the supply side of the electricity sector after the US's abysmally-designed California electricity market collapsed in 2001. China broke State-owned oil, gas and petrochemical exploration, production and marketing into four competing companies. Just over a month ago the National Development and Reform Commission continued its policy of letting energy prices rise to a level more consistent with energy markets, as I have supported in previous China Daily articles.

In particular, NDRC allowed an approximate 7 per cent rise in the still-regulated electricity price to consumers to cover 70 per cent of the cost increase experienced by the electricity suppliers. This came a month after the 7th in a recent series of refined oil-product price increases.

Higher prices alone automatically solve much of the energy conservation and energy efficiency issues China faces. Just this week NDRC's latest 1st-half-year statistics show that low administratively-set prices have caused the nation's energy efficiency to continue declining, especially in energy-intensive industries (except for construction and steel where higher world steel prices have reduced demand growth).

Hopefully the NDRC will next move toward "demand-side management" or market-price-driven reduction in electricity, gasoline and natural gas demand growth that enables producers to recover 100 per cent of their costs. NDRC can do this by marketizing retail gasoline pricing and the demand side of electricity, and by marketizing natural gas distribution and encouraging the building and opening of an intercity natural gas pipeline grid that is operated independently of production just like the electricity grid. An intercity gas grid is needed to support a market for natural gas trading. It would also deliver clean energy to all China's cities, including the gas from coastal Liquified Natural Gas terminals, and the gas from coal mines, whose extraction makes the mines safer and more profitable.

The third reason for ignoring prices and blaming the fixed RMB for contradicting tighter monetary policy is the common misidentification of inflation with price increases and ignoring that price increases are in fact non-inflationary, especially when they prompt productivity or efficiency improvements which raise both incomes and the supply of goods. Price increases are actually counter-inflationary: they increase the demand for money, not the money supply whose increase is defined as inflation.

It is what the People's Bank does or does not do in response to increased money demand that is inflationary or not: It can expand credit or let interest rates rise. And that is a very complicated judgment, informed by the fact that any upward-biased effect on the RMB is neutralized by the higher goods prices. If prices ever began increasing in anticipation of an inflationary monetary policy, we would enter the bottomless pit of hyperinflation, which China's sound monetary policy is nowhere near.

Accordingly, higher prices, not just of credit, can have the effect of controlling economic growth. Allowing prices to adjust, ideally through market mechanisms, precisely makes the policy of a fixed RMB exchange rate consistent with any credit-tightening. The temptation, in a system of regulated prices, may be to attempt to use a single blunt instrument, like credit-policy through the People's Bank, to achieve an objective that is very complicated to co-ordinate. Moreover, compared to markets, government regulation of prices or supply carries the added burden of secrecy and a temptation of corruption, suggested by the modest gas-pump queues seen on the eve of a gas price increase, or by the rise in the stock-market price of energy producers when a price-increase is announced.

The author is a Canadian and American investment banker, economist and energy expert currently in Beijing.

Chinese UN observer Du Zhaoyu's father Du Zhan (2nd R) and his widow Li Lingling (2nd L) cry during a farewell ceremony before Du's cremation in Beijing August 4, 2006. Du was killed during an Israeli air raid on Lebanon

Firefithers battle a fire at a forest in Luzhou, Southwest China's Sichuan Province early Thursday, August 3 2006. Some 200 soldiers,firemen and policemen were mobilized to control the fire with the help of hundreds of local residents. The fire was nearly extingquished by Thursday night

A man walks in the rain along a street in Hong Kong Aug 3, 2006. Typhoon Prapiroon killed five people after making landfall Friday and pounded southern China with torrential rains and gale force winds. The storm forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people across south China, uprooting trees and overturning vehicles

Real Madrid's David Beckham takes off his shirt after a pre-season friendly soccer match against Reggina Calcio in Graz, Austria August 3, 2006

Tropical Storm Prapiroon strengthened into a full-blown typhoon on Wednesday, with forecasters warning of possible severe destruction to parts of southern China.

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A report from the People's Bank of China has warned that unrestrained lending growth will continue to fuel economic overheating unless it is controlled.

China's military looks to outer space

Outer space is presumably emerging as a possible theater of operations for China's armed forces, researchers said.

The analysis, published in the mass-circulation People's Daily, from a group of unidentified researchers at the National Defense University, listed space as an area where the People's Liberation Army must be equipped and prepared to defend the nation's interests.

"Our military should not only protect China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity, but should also protect the oceans and transport routes and other economic interests as well as ... the security of space," it said.

Similar suggestions were put forward last month in the Study Times, a newspaper published by the Central Party School.

"We should strive to develop coordinated land, sea, air and space systems," the paper said.

This seemed to mark a departure from previous strategic literature in China, which has tended to give space a less prominent place in defense planning.

The most recent government white paper on defense published in late 2004 only made scattered references to space and did not characterize it as a possible theatre of operations for its armed forces.

China instead used the white paper to urge efforts to prevent an expensive arms race in space. "Outer space is the common property of mankind," it stated.

"China hopes that the international community would take action as soon as possible to conclude an international legal instrument on preventing the weaponization of, and arms race in, outer space through negotiations."

In a white paper on its space program published in August 2004, the government also acknowledged that national defense purposes were among the main objectives for the development of satellites.

And just like the first American and Soviet astronauts, all China's men in space so far have been former fighter pilots.

Reports suggest that governments across the globe do pay attention to the defense implications of space flight, to the extent that fiscal and technical constrains make that possible.

Earlier this year The New York Times reported the US government was conducting research into building a ground-based laser weapon that could destroy enemy satellites in orbit.

The secret project would use beams of concentrated light to destroy such satellites to disrupt enemy communications.

The weapon is part of a wide-ranging effort to develop defensive and offensive space weapons, the Times said, citing federal officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The weapon would use sensors, computers and flexible mirrors to counteract atmospheric turbulence.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, the favorite candidate for Japan's next prime minister, said he personally wants a strong Sino-Japanese relationship that would serve the common interests of both countries at a high-profile forum sponsored by the China Daily, Peking University and Japanese think-tank Genron NPO in Tokyo on Thursday.

Two Chinese cyclists, Wu Kin San and Xu Gang, have joined the Italian team Lampre-Fondital to step onto the professional road race world scene ²é¿´È«ÎÄ

NEW YORK - National Basketball Association officials announced the 30-team league's most ambitious global set of pre-season exhibition matches with games in seven non-NBA nations.

The 122 training games to prepare for the October 31 start of the season will begin October 5 when the Philadelphia 76ers play at FC Barcelona and the San Antonio Spurs visit Lyon, France, to meet Lyon-Villeurbanne.

The following night, the Los Angeles Clippers will play BC Khimki at Moscow and the Phoenix Suns will play Roma in Rome.

Euroleague champion CSKA Moscow will play the Clippers in Moscow on October 7 and Euroleague runner-up Maccabi Tel Aviv tips off against the Spurs at Bercy Arena in Paris on October 8.

Maccabi Tel Aviv, CSKA Moscow, the 76ers and Suns will play a tournament in Cologne, Germany on October 10-11 with the NBA clubs and Euroleague finals rematch set the first night and winners and losing playing the next.

The Israeli champions will also join Turkish power Efes Pilsen for a North American pre-season tour.

Pilsen plays at Denver on October 10 and at Golden State two nights later. Maccabi plays at Cleveland on October 17 and at Toronto two nights later.

A rematch of the Eastern Conference finals is set October 10 at San Juan, Puerto Rico, when the Detroit Pistons face NBA champion Miami.

Mexico's Eduardo Najera returns to his homeland October 14 when his Denver Nuggets face Golden State at Monterrey.

Top NBA Draft pick Andrea Bargnani and the Toronto Raptors will play at Washington on October 9 in the first US exhibition game.

CARLSBAD, Calif. - Top-seeded Kim Clijsters struggled to advance to the quarterfinals of the Acura Classic on Thursday, beating Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Germany's women set another world record in the European swimming Championships in Budapest on Thursday.

PARIS - Dehydration is the latest possible reason offered for Tour de France winner Floyd Landis' elevated testosterone levels.

ROME - Inter Milan central defender Marco Materazzi has agreed a one-year extension to his original contract which will keep him at the club until June 2010.

A key figure in Italy's World Cup triumph, the 32-year-old's original deal was due to expire in the summer of 2009.

"Inter wanted to reward Materazzi, not only for his World Cup form but because of the way he has always performed for us," said Inter director Marco Branca.

Materazzi was headbutted in the chest by Zinedine Zidane in last month's World Cup final after insulting the France playmaker.

Zidane was sent off, but Materazzi stayed on the pitch and scored one of Italy's penalties in the shoot-out which secured victory.

Materazzi also scored Italy's equaliser in normal time after Zidane's penalty had given France the lead.

Inter were awarded last season's Serie A title after Juventus and AC Milan, the two clubs that finished above them in the table, were found guilty of match-fixing.

GRAND BLANC, Michigan, Aug 3 - Former U.S. Masters champion Mike Weir birdied five of his final six holes to card a nine-under-par 63 and take the early first round lead at the Buick Open on Thursday.

Defending champion Vijay Singh and Tiger Woods, fresh off his emotional victory at the British Open, were also among the early starters taking advantage of the ideal scoring conditions to settle in near the top the leaderboard.

Singh, who is trying for an unprecedented Buick treble, mixed nine birdies with a single bogey for an eight-under 64 to sit one back of Weir and a shot clear of a trio of Americans, Joe Durant, Brett Quigley and 1995 champion Woody Austin.

Woods had gone low at the Warwick Hills Country Club before, firing a course record equalling 61 in 2005 and early in his round looked poised to rewrite the record books before signing for a six-under 66.

Playing the back nine first, the world number one got an overcast day off to the brightest possible start by reeling off five straight birdies to reach the turn in five-under before torrential rains swept across northern Michigan.

When play resumed following a two-hour delay Woods immediately birdied the par-five first but the world number one's charge suddenly stalled and he strung together five consecutive pars before a birdie, bogey, par close to his round.

Weir's 63 matched his lowest round of the year set in the opening round at Pebble Beach.

The Canadian, who grew up just 90 minutes from Grand Blanc across the border in Brights Grove, Ontario, had a bogey free round, his most difficult shot of the day a 30-foot putt at the third for his first birdie.

Chasing his first title in two years, Weir surged top the leaderboard with five straight birdies from the 13th before closing out his round with a routine par.

"You know going into this tournament that you're going to have to be close to 20-under -- or more now that the course is very soft like it is," Weir told reporters.

"That's always in the back of you're mind even before you start. You have to look at the board and know that. I knew I felt good so I wanted to stay aggressive.

"I think the key on this golf course is to drive it in the fairway and I did that well today.

"I hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of close irons. My first birdie putt was the longest putt I had to make all day."

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The U.S. Olympic Committee banned Justin Gatlin's track coach from its training facilities Thursday, making him the first target in a newly amplified effort to quash doping in sports.

A man has been found innocent of a 1990 rape case that landed him in jail in Quzhou County, northern China's Hebei Province.

The real suspect is still at large.

Authorities convicted Xu Jibin of rape based only his misidentified blood type and testimony of a neighbor woman who claimed Xu raped her.

Early this year, Xu found his blood type was O, rather than B that local authorities claimed as matching the sperm on the victim's quilt when putting him in jail in 1991, - though the type match was far from sufficient for concluding the case.

Xu says he plans to seek state compensation from local police, prosecutors office and court, the local Yanzhao Evening News reported yesterday.

In December 1990, Xu's neighbor identified as Shang told police Xu raped her at her home.

Police focused on Xu, then 26 years old, a married, primary school teacher.

Officers took Xu's blood sample on December 27, 1990. He was arrested four months later.

Xu said he asked prosecutors to recheck his blood type but they said there was no need to do so, according to the report. His request to see the result of his blood test conducted by police was also rejected.

During the court hearing, Xu asked judges to check if he had bite wound on his hand as Shang claimed, the judges didn't listen.

In May 1991, the county court sentenced him to eight years in jail for raping Shang.

Feeling wronged, Xu said, he fell seriously ill with hepatitis and gallbladder disorders in the prison. After nearly one year, he was released on bail to treat his illnesses.

He has since remained out of jail for health reasons, the report said.

Early this he checked his blood type at many hospitals, all showing type O. Then he appealed to the provincial Higher People's Court.

Authorities ruled last Friday Xu was innocent.

Chinese city-dwellers are ignorant about their risk of contracting AIDS and may be primed to spread the fatal and incurable virus, according to an Internet poll scheduled for release on Friday.

The Zogby poll shows more than a third of Chinese men who answered admitted they go to prostitutes and found that men and women alike rarely discussed AIDS with their sex partners.

"The survey reveals some cause for concern, as respondents present a dangerous mixture of complacency and ignorance about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including HIV/AIDS," Zogby International said in a statement.

"Too many Chinese lack the information and life skills that they need to protect themselves against sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS."

The Zogby International/MFC Insight pollsters surveyed 3,753 adults aged 18 to 54 in March. About two-thirds were male and 45 percent were married.

Zogby is a U.S.-based polling company while MFC Insight is a Chinese company specializing in Internet surveys.

The survey "found a widespread lack of knowledge about behaviors that can lead to sexually transmitted disease transmission while 37 percent of men surveyed say that they patronize commercial sex workers," Zogby said in a statement.

"Only one-third of those surveyed 'always' discuss HIV/AIDS and other STDs with potential sexual partners."

More than 40 million people are infected with the incurable and fatal human immunodeficiency virus. HIV killed more than 3 million people in 2005, according to the United Nations.

Populous China reports only 650,000 cases, half of them among intravenous drug users, but in other places the epidemic has moved from drug users into the general population through sex.

"Observers point to a dangerous intersection of intravenous drug use and paid sex in China that increases the risk of a more generalized epidemic," Zogby said.

"Overall, survey respondents are more urban, wealthy, educated, and male than China's total population, but their responses provide some interesting insights into sexual behavior in the world's most populous nation."

The researchers said their findings show an urgent need for better sex education in China.

Sixteen people have died of rabies over the past eight months after a rash of dog attacks in Jining City, east China's Shandong Province, the local government said Thursday.

The disease was reported at 16 villages across the municipality, where more than 500,000 dogs live as pets or guard dogs.

The local epidemic prevention authority has announced it will kill dogs within five kilometers of each affected village.

Dogs in other parts will receive vaccinations against the disease.

Epidemic prevention officials said the local government had received constant reports this year of attacks by "mad dogs", and the number of rabies-infected patients had increased sharply.

They warned rabid dogs could infect people by biting and scratching.

The latent period of the disease ranges from a few days to 20 years, and there was no effective treatment, they said.

Patients rarely survived once the disease developed, but if they received the anti-rabies bacterin in time, the likelihood of developing the disease would drop to 10 percent, the official added.

On Sunday, Mouding County in southwest China's Yunnan Province reported the deaths of three people from rabies. They died within ten days though they were received treatment immediately after they were bitten.

Many dogs in the county have been killed to prevent the disease spreading.

IAAF, the world athletics governing body, has ratified the men's 110m hurdles world record of 12.88 seconds set by China's Liu Xiang.

A US report that claims Chinese pollution is crossing the Pacific Ocean to contaminate American air and soil has been slammed as unfair and unreliable.

According to a report from the Associated Press, the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) estimates that on certain days nearly 25 per cent of particulate matter in the skies above Los Angeles comes from China.

And some US experts even claim China could produce a third of all California's airborne pollution on some days.

But a senior Chinese environmental official poured cold water on the US EPA's claims at a press briefing in Beijing yesterday.

"Pollutant movement is a very complicated process, especially when the route is across oceans and continents," said Li Xinmin, deputy director of the Pollution Control Department of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA).

"And how the 25 per cent was figured out is a question which needs more scientific scrutiny," said Li, whose speciality is air pollution control.

The "irresponsible" report is not the first to blame China for pollution in the US, said Li.

When EPA administrator Stephen L. Johnson visited Beijing in April, he agreed that US reports blaming China's large-scale mercury emissions for damage to air quality in the US were not fair, according to Li.

But China's air pollution is still a serious problem, especially the nation's high sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions, said Li.

The country discharged a total of 25.49 million tons of SO2 in 2005, the largest amount in the world. Of the total, 21.6 million tons were produced by industry while 3.89 million tons came from domestic sources. SO2 emissions have risen 27 per cent since 2000, according to SEPA figures.

Each ton of the SO2 discharged may cause up to 20,000 yuan (US$2,500) of economic losses. On that basis, China may have suffered a total loss of 509 billion yuan (US$63 billion) in 2005, just under 3 per cent of the year's 18 trillion yuan (US$2,250 billion) Gross Domestic Product.

In the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10), China has promised a 10 per cent cut in the country's total SO2 emissions by 2010, compared with the end of 2005. To achieve its goal, the country's annual SO2 discharge must be brought down to a maximum of 22.95 million tons.

The SEPA has signed a set of commitments with the six largest electric power companies and the seven highest SO2 emitting provinces, which are responsible for more than 75 per cent of the country's total SO2 emissions.

"Reducing emissions is a compulsory task for them," said Li. "SEPA expects the public and media to supervise them and make a joint effort to alleviate the threat from acid rain."

Most of China's SO2 emissions come from coal burning.

Li said China's coal consumption increased by more than 800 million tons during the 10th Five-Year Plan (2001-05), among which 500 million tons were wolfed down by the power industry.

Coal accounts for 70 per cent of China's energy consumption a figure that will be hard to change in the short term, said Li.

TOKYO: China and Japan must strengthen understanding and rebuild mutual trust to overcome the current difficulties plaguing their relations, said the Chinese ambassador to Japan yesterday.

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WASHINGTON - U.S. says China is playing a more positive international role and its efforts for China's cooperation is having some success, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday.

The United States last year urged China to become a responsible stakeholder in the international system. On Thursday, Thomas Christensen, the new deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, described himself as cautiously optimistic about the effect.

"The results of these processes are mixed but the trend lines are good," he told the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, mandated by the U.S. Congress to keep a close eye on China.

"In engaging China and expanding our cooperation on areas of mutual interest, we are in effect encouraging China to act as a responsible shareholder," he said.

The concept of China as a responsible global shareholder "is not only our objective, but a framework for a process that involves building an important and mutually beneficial relationship" between the countries, he said.

Christensen cited China's cooperation on Iran, North Korea, Afghanistan, Iraq and global health, although other U.S. officials have frequently said Beijing could do more, especially on North Korea and Iran.

However, he said, there were serious differences over weapons proliferation, trade and economic imbalances.

The United States remains concerned about China's military buildup but is "realistic" about China's need to modernize its military as its economy and influence expand, the official said.

Asked about possible military conflict across the Taiwan Straits, Christensen said Chinese officials "are a bit more confident that stability can be maintained in the near term than perhaps they were" a few years earlier.

He described the U.S. approach as "hedging" the outcome of China's rise rather than trying to contain a rival power, as Washington did with the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

That means the United States is trying to "help channel China's growing influence in a positive direction" while maintaining "strong U.S. regional capabilities in case China does not eventually move down a path consistent with our interests," he said.

He said China's global emergence is a natural consequence of its economic growth and development and need not be seen as a threat to the United States.

The United States welcomes the emergence of a China that is peaceful and prosperous and that actively participates in and contributes to international institutions, Christensen said.

The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission was created in October 2000, to monitor, investigate, and submit to the Congress an annual report on the national security implications of the bilateral trade and economic relationship between the United States and China, and to provide recommendations to the Congress for legislative and administrative action.

What if China heeded U.S. advice and jacked up the yuan but its trade surplus failed to shrink?

Some economists are coming around to the view -- increasingly expressed in Beijing -- that the structure of China's trade makes the surplus largely immune to the classical prescription of a stronger exchange rate.

So while a rise in the yuan, or renminbi, would help China to rebalance its economy and soak up excess liquidity, it might make scant difference in the short run to a surplus that tripled in 2005 to $102 billion and has risen another 55 percent so far this year.

"The impact of the yuan on trade is overstated," said Glenn Maguire, Asia economist for French bank Societe Generale.

"There's a growing recognition by central banks across Asia that foreign trade isn't as sensitive to movements in foreign exchange rates as it was just 3 or 4 years ago," Maguire said.

The explanation for the shift: globalisation.

So much manufacturing capacity has moved to China that foreign-owned firms now account for 51 percent of China's trade surplus, up from 3 percent in 2000, according to Lehman Brothers.

A typical multinational company exporting consumer electronics from China assembles its products from chips, components and casings imported from across Asia that would all become cheaper if the yuan were revalued.

Relatively little value is added in China, so a leap in the yuan would lead to just a small rise in the dollar price of labour and other fixed local costs.

"Thus, a large renminbi revaluation might not dent its trade surplus much: any loss of export competitiveness could be partly overcome by passing on the cheaper cost of imported inputs," Lehman economists Rob Subbaraman and Mingchun Sun said in a note.

NOT WHAT THE TEXTBOOKS SAY

Stephen Green, senior economist with Standard Chartered Bank in Shanghai, goes further, illustrating in a hypothetical example of trade in laptops that a 20 percent yuan revaluation would actually increase China's processed trade surplus by 11.6 percent.

"In other words, in the processed sector, yuan appreciation has exactly the opposite reaction to what the theory predicts," he said in a research note.

Green makes a number of assumptions, including that a 1 percent yuan rise reduces the volume of Chinese goods sold in rich-country markets by 1 percent; that processing firms can defend their dollar margins; and that other Asian currencies do not appreciate in tandem with the yuan against the dollar.

This last assumption, he admits, is unreasonable. But even a simultaneous 35 percent jump in the yuan and other Asian currencies would cut China's processing trade surplus -- in Green's laptop example -- by just 5.3 percent.

That would be far too small to be meaningful as processing trade had a surplus last year of $143 billion, Green said.

By contrast, China's "real" trade sector ran a deficit -- as would be expected of a developing country -- of $40.4 billion, reducing the overall surplus to a bit more than $102 billion.

"Real" trade refers to conventional importing and exporting by domestic firms.

"We think there is a good case for believing that yuan appreciation could exacerbate the surplus in the short term and maybe that short term could last 1-2 years," Green said.

"Appreciation will only have a significant impact upon China's trade surplus if it induces manufacturing, both processing and 'real', to move offshore -- and this relies upon alternative locations becoming competitive. China's imbalances are going to get worse before they get better," he said.

Subbaraman and Sun at Lehman said appreciation of the yuan might not have much impact, but it was still desirable.

"It would lessen the chances of protectionism against China, which would hurt China's exports (and imports), and the overall economy. It would also help to equilibrate capital flows, giving the central bank more room to raise interest rates without attracting 'hot money' inflows," they wrote.

BEIJING - A Chinese man has registered an image of French captain Zinedine Zidane's infamous head-butt in last month's World Cup final as his trademark, a local newspaper reported Thursday.