U.S. shuttle Endeavour lands safely at Kennedy Space Center

The U.S. space shuttle Endeavour landed safely at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, ending its 16-day mission of constructing the International Space Station (ISS).

The space shuttle Endeavour touches down with its drag parachute deployed at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida July 31, 2009.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

According to NASA TV, the shuttle touched down at 10:48 a.m. EDT (1448 GMT).

"Welcome home, congratulations on a superb mission from beginning to end," said NASA's Mission Control, as the shuttle rolled to a stop on the Florida runway.

"That's what it's all about," said shuttle commander Mark Polansky, who shared the controls with pilot Doug Hurley for the landing. "We are happy to be home."

Endeavour lifted off on July 15 from Kennedy after five delays, on a track to the ISS. Its 16-day mission featured five spacewalks and completed construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory.

The astronauts replaced six batteries for the ISS and performed a number of "get ahead" tasks, including tying down some cables and installing handrails and a portable foot restraint to aid future spacewalkers.

They also celebrated the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing with their own spacewalk and coped with a flooded toilet and an overheated air-purifier.

One of the Endeavour astronauts, rookie Timothy Kopra, remained behind on the space station, taking over the flight engineer's post previously held by Japan's Koichi Wakata, who returned home aboard the shuttle after four and a half months in orbit.

Seven more shuttle flights are planned over the coming year to complete the construction of the 100-billion-dollar ISS, a project of 16 nations, in preparation for the U.S. shuttle fleet's retirement next year after seven more missions.

The launch of the next shuttle, Discovery, to the ISS is scheduled for the end of next month.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet

U.S. signs UN convention on disability rights

The United States signed the United Nations convention on the rights of people with disabilities here on Thursday, marking the first international human rights treaty the U.S. has signed in nearly a decade.

Permanent representative of the United States to the United Nations Susan Rice (1st R) hugs President of the U.S. International Council on Disabilities Marca Bristo at the UN headquarters in New York July 30, 2009. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)

Susan Rice, permanent representative of the United Sates, accompanied by Senior White House Adviser Valerie Jarrett, signed the international treaty on behalf of the Obama Administration at the UN Headquarters in New York.

A handful of representatives from the disabled advocacy community sitting in wheelchairs witnessed Rice sign the treaty in a small room on the 38th floor of the UN Secretariat building.

In signing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the U.S. joined 141 countries in supporting international efforts to prohibit discrimination against the estimated 650 million people around the world with disabilities.

After inking the treaty, Rice said: "Our work is not completed until we have an enduring guarantee of inherent dignity, growth and independence of all persons with disabilities worldwide."

"So let the signing treaty today be an ongoing source of inspiration for us all in our shared struggle to bring all barriers down," she said.

"As (U.S.) President (Barack) Obama has noted, people with disabilities, far too often, lack the choice to live in communities of their own choosing," Rice said.

"Their unemployment rate is much higher than those without disabilities," she said. "They are much more likely to live in poverty."

"Health care is out of reach for far too many," she said. "And too many children with disabilities are denied a world class education around the world."

"Discrimination against people with disabilities is not just unjust, it hinders economic development, limits democracy and ruins society," she said. "These challenges will not disappear with a stroke of a pen."

For her part, Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor and assistant to the U.S. president for intergovernmental affairs and public liaison, said at the signing ceremony that "the United States of America proudly joins the 141 other nations in signing this extraordinary convention -- the first new human rights convention of the 21st century."

She called the signing an "historic step" for advancing a global commitment to the fundamental human rights for all persons with disabilities.

"Last week, the president took a bold step forward for our country and announced that the U.S. would sign the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities," she said. "Now, we've fulfilled this commitment."

Today, 650 million people -- 10 percent of the world's population -- live with a disability, she said. "In developing countries, 90 percent of the children with disabilities do not attend school and women and girls with disabilities are too often the subject of deep discrimination.

" The signing fulfilled a promise made by then Senator Barack Obama during his presidential campaign. The Bush Administration had chosen not to sign it, although it did participate in the negotiating process.

The convention was adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2006 along with its Optional Protocol with an aim to protect the rights of at least 650 million persons with disabilities worldwide, of whom approximately 80 percent live in less-developed countries.

By ratifying the convention, states commit themselves to enacting laws and other measures to improve disability rights and also abolish legislation, customs and practices that discriminate against persons with disabilities.

The U.S. Senate must now review and vote on the treaty, which needs two-thirds majority to be ratified -- a lengthy legal process.

David Morrissey is the executive director of the United States International Council on Disabilities (USICD), a U.S. advocacy group whose board members helped draft the treaty.

He said he is pleased with the Obama administration's policy change, adding that the Convention provides a new language for the international community to understand the experience of people with disabilities through a prism of human rights.

"We must now begin to study the treaty and look at all of the existing policies ... to make the treaty real in our lives," he told Xinhua in a telephone interview on Wednesday.

Countries that sign the treaty must set up independent monitoring mechanisms to ensure the Convention is implemented. They must also collect data and research on people with disabilities in an effort to prohibit discrimination based on disability in employment, education, housing, and medical care.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet

Heaviest rainstorm of the year hits Beijing, no accident

The heaviest rainstorm of the year hit Beijing from Thursday night through early Friday early, with downtown areas having the most rainfall, said the municipal weather service Friday.

A taxi runs on a flooded street in Beijing, capital of China, July 31, 2009. A heavy rain hit Beijing on Thursday evening and caused traffic jam. (Xinhua/Luo Xiaoguang)

Zhang Mingying, chief engineer with Beijing Municipal Weather Service, said it rained hard at 11 p.m. Thursday and 3 a.m. Friday, with areas around Chang'an Avenue, a west-east landmark thoroughfare in the national capital, having a rainfall between 80 mm to 100 mm. In the suburbs of Yanqing, Mentougou and Changping, however, it rained slightly. Rainfall statistics given by Beijing Municipal Weather Service showed from 2 p.m. Thursday to 6 a.m. Friday, the national capital had an average rainfall of 20 mm, but 33 mm in downtown areas. Tian'anmen Square, the heart of Beijing, was believed to have the biggest rainfall of 116 mm, while Nanchangjie, another south to north street across the Chang'an Avenue, had a precipitation of 140.6 mm. Rainstorms with a rainfall of 100 mm are normalto Beijing, which is now at a prime flood season,said Zhang. The previous heaviest rainstorm that hit Beijing was on July 14, with an average rainfall of 15 mm in the urban areas. The rains flooded some roads and affected traffic. But no accident was reported thus far.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet

Mosquito bites carry key vaccine for malaria

In a daring experiment in Europe, scientists used mosquitoes as flying needles to deliver a "vaccine" of live malaria parasites via their bites.

This 2006 photograph depicts a female Aedes aegypti mosquito while she was in the process of acquiring a blood meal from her human host. (Xinhua/Reuters File Photo)

The results were astounding: Everyone in the vaccine group acquired immunity to malaria; everyone in a non-vaccinated group did not, and developed malaria when exposed to the parasites later.The study was only a small proof-of-principle test, and its approach is not practical on a large scale. However, it shows that scientists may finally be on the right track to developing an effective vaccine against one of mankind's top killers. A vaccine that uses modified live parasites just entered human testing."Malaria vaccines are moving from the laboratory into the real world," Dr Carlos Campbell wrote in an editorial accompanying the study in yesterday's New England Journal of Medicine. He works for PATH, the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health, a Seattle-based global health foundation.Malaria kills nearly a million people each year, mostly children under five and especially in Africa. Infected mosquitoes inject immature malaria parasites into the skin when they bite; these travel to the liver where they mature and multiply. They then enter the bloodstream and attack red blood cells - the phase that makes people sick.People can develop immunity to malaria if exposed to it many times. The drug chloroquine can kill parasites in the final bloodstream phase, when they are most dangerous.Scientists tried to take advantage of these two factors, by using chloroquine to protect people while gradually exposing them to malaria parasites and letting immunity develop.They assigned 10 volunteers to a "vaccine" group and five others to a comparison group. All were given chloroquine for three months, and exposed once a month to about a dozen mosquitoes - malaria-infected ones in the vaccine group and non-infected mosquitoes in the comparison group.That was to allow the "vaccine" effect to develop. Next came a test to see if it works.All 15 stopped taking chloroquine. Two months later, all were bitten by malaria-infected mosquitoes. None of the 10 in the vaccine group developed parasites in their bloodstreams; all five in the comparison group did.The study was done in a lab at Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
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Obama says U.S. economy likely to contract in second quarter

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday that he expects U.S. economy will continue to shrink during the second quarter.
U.S. President Barack Obama walks across the South Lawn after stepping off Marine One at the White House in Washington, July 29, 2009.(Xinhua/Reuters File Photo)

"I suspect that GDP numbers will still show that the economy contracted in the second quarter, that job loss is still a huge problem," Obama told reporters after meeting with Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The Commerce Department will report the GDP data of the second quarter on Friday. According to the department, the U.S. economy fell at an annual rate of 5.5 percent in the first quarter, the third straight quarterly decline, followed decreases of 6.3 percent in the final quarter of 2008 and 0.5 percent in the third quarter of last year. "We have seen a significant slowing down of the contraction over the last several months," Obama said, noting that there are no longer fears of another Great Depression. "All of that is a sign that we have stepped away from the precipice," he said. "We were in a position where we could have gone into a great depression. I think those fears have abated."

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet

Michael Jackson’s mother, ex-wife reach agreement on children custody

Lawyers for Michael Jackson's mother and ex-wife on Thursday officially announced an agreement that would make Katherine Jackson the guardian of all three of the late pop star's children.
File photo taken on November 14, 1996 shows Michael Jackson and Deborah Rowe in California, U.S.(Xinhua/Reuters file Photo)

Under the deal, which is expected to be ratified by a Los Angeles judge at a hearing Monday, Jackson's ex-wife Debbie Rowe will have visitation rights with the two older children she bore for Jackson -- 12-year-old Prince Michael and 11-year-old Paris. "There is no situation better for these children than for them to be raised and reared in the loving care of Mrs. Katherine Jackson," Londell McMillan, Katherine Jackson's lawyer, earlier told CBS in an interview. The lawyer said the agreement with Jackson's ex-wife was not about money. Rowe, 50, had been contemplating challenging the ruling of the judge who granted Katharine Jackson custody of Jackson's three minor children, including 7-year-old Prince Michael II, who was from an unidentified surrogate mother. Jackson said in a 2002 will that he wanted his mother to raise his children after his death, and that they should go to music legend Diana Ross, 65, if his mother became unable to carry out his wishes. Jackson's children has been staying with Katharine Jackson at her Los Angeles home since his death on June 25. The results of toxicology tests from the official autopsy had been expected to be released this week, but the Los Angeles Countycoroner's office now says they will not be made public before next week at the earliest. The autopsy report is widely expected to show that Jackson had been given propofol, a strong sedative known by the brand name Diprivan, which is usually used in a hospital setting for general an aesthesia.
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Microsoft’s long Yahoo courtship ends well

Microsoft Corp has finally roped Yahoo Inc. into an Internet search partnership, capping a convoluted pursuit that dragged on for years and finally setting the stage for them to make a joint assault against the dominance of Google Inc.
A Yahoo! sign is seen in New York’s Times Square November 18, 2008.(Xinhua/Reuters File Photo)

The 10-year deal announced yesterday gives Microsoft access to the Internet’s second-largest search engine audience, adding a potentially potent weapon to the software maker’s Internet arsenal as it tries to better confront Google, the leader in online search and advertising.

Microsoft, Yahoo to enter web search deal to face Google Microsoft didn’t have to give Yahoo an upfront payment to make it happen, as many Yahoo investors had hoped. Google tried to stop Yahoo from falling into Microsoft’s camp.

Last year, it formed its own proposed search advertising deal with Yahoo, only to be forced to retreat from that alliance after US antitrust officials threatened to sue.

The extended reach will allow Microsoft to introduce its recently upgraded search engine, called Bing, to more people. The Redmond, Washington-based software maker believes Bing is just as good, if not better, than Google’s search engine.
A sign hangs at the Microsoft booth at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada in this file image from January 9, 2009. Microsoft and Yahoo inked a 10-year web search deal, announced July 29, 2009, to challenge market leader Google, but stopped short of combining their display advertising businesses.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Liu Ning, an analyst with the research firm BDA China, said the partnership between Microsoft and Yahoo will have little impact on China’s search engine market. "Because neither company has significant business in China, the impact of the deal is near zero," Liu said. He said Yahoo has almost given up the Chinese market through its deal with domestic e-commerce giant Alibaba and Microsoft’s online business in "China is even smaller than that of Yahoo." Taking over the search responsibilities on Yahoo’s highly trafficked site gives Microsoft a better chance to convert Web surfers who had been using Google by force of habit. "Microsoft and Yahoo know there’s so much more that search could be," said Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer. "This agreement gives us the scale and resources to create the future of search." In return for turning over the keys for its search engine to Bing and promoting it, Yahoo will get to keep 88 percent of the revenue from all search ad sales on its site for the first five years of the deal and will have the right to sell ads on some Microsoft sites. Yahoo estimated that the deal will boost its annual operating profit by $500 million and save the Sunnyvale, California-based company about $275 million on capital expenditures a year because it won’t have to invest in its own search technology. An unspecified number of Yahoo engineers will lose their jobs as the company scales back, Yahoo Chief Executive Carol Bartz told analysts yesterday. "But the deal isn’t expected to close until early next year, and then it could take another two years before all the users, and the industry, and I believe it establishes the foundation for a new era of Internet innovation and development," Bartz said Wednesday. Under the agreement, Yahoo will have limited access to the data on users’ searches, which yield insights that can be used to pick out ads more likely to pique a person’s interest. The value of that information is why Microsoft wants to process more search requests.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet

French president says his health "fine"

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Wednesday that his health was good as he has returned to work after his collapse while jogging at the weekend, but acknowledged that he needed a rest.

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy waves after speaking to the media in the courtyard at the Elysee Palace in Paris July 29, 2009 after the last weekly cabinet meeting for the summer break. President Sarkozy prepared on Wednesday to leave for a summer holiday at his wife's luxurious Riviera villa, saying he had recovered from a dizzy turn while out jogging at the weekend but needed to rest.

"I wanted to say to the French people that my health is good," Sarkozy told reporters."I want to say to the French people that my health is fine," Sarkozy told reporters in the Elysee Palace after a cabinet meeting. "I have to get some rest," he said, adding that he would inform the public if he was hospitalized. The 54 year-old president collapsed Sunday while jogging in the Chateau de Versailles outside Paris, and then was rushed to a Paris military hospital by helicopter. According to the Elysee Palace, the results of tests were all normal. Sarkozy will start a three-week summer holiday this weekend, flying south to a family villa of his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, on the Mediterranean.
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U.S. may OK hi-tech exports to China

The U.S. has agreed to loosen restrictions on the export of hi-tech goods to China and speed up its recognition of the nation's market economy, Vice-Premier Wang Qishan said on Tuesday after the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue (SAED).
Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan (R) meets with U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke in Washington D.C., capital of the United States, July 29, 2009. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) "The U.S. pledged to facilitate exports of high-technology products from the U.S. to China," he said, while calling the SAED a "full success". Sino-U.S. trade has grown massively since China "opened up" 30 years ago. Last year - in spite of a seven-year low in China's rate of growth because of the global financial crisis - the volume of trade between the countries amounted to 333.7 billion U.S. dollars. The number was 2.5 billion U.S. dollars 30 years ago. However, despite the massive volume of trade, the U.S. suffers from a significant trade deficit with China and has blamed China's "undervalued" yuan for the fact that more goods flow from China into the U.S. than in the other direction. Analysts have said the reluctance of the U.S. to export hi-tech products is partly to blame and noted that unrestricted sales of hi-tech goods would help balance bilateral trade. Wang said China and the U.S. agreed to "accelerate" the implementation of the Guidelines for China-U.S. High Technology and Strategic Trade Development and formulate the Action Plan on Expansion of China-U.S. High Technology and Strategic Trade Cooperation in Priority Sectors, which analysts say will encourage the export to China of hi-tech goods. The U.S. also recognized the "continued progress" China has made in its pursuit of market reforms and will "earnestly" consider its concerns, and work toward its market economy status being acknowledged in an "expeditious" way, U.S. officials said. Deputy Minister of Commerce Ma Xiuhong said both sides were conscious of the solid progress China had made in transitioning from a planned economy to a market-oriented one in the past 30 years. "We still have some hurdles (to clear) we need (more) in-depth discussions," she said. Calling the U.S. position "positive", Ma said she hoped the issue would be resolved "within a short time". Wang, who co-chaired the Economic Track of the talks with U.S. Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner, said the nations agreed to oppose protectionism and increase the representation of developing countries in the decision-making of major international financial institutions. China and the U.S. will also hold regular exchanges, to talk about how they are dealing with financial issues and working for a global recovery. At the SAED talks, China and the U.S. reached consensus, or minimized the differences between them, on issues including economic rebalancing, climate change and regional security, laying the foundation for future cooperation. The nations signed a Memorandum of Understanding on climate change and energy cooperation and issued a joint statement, mapping out their achievements. The dialogue has "lent fresh impetus to the development of a positive, cooperative and comprehensive China-U.S. relationship", Wang said. Analysts praised the talks. "The relationship with China is one of the most important global relationships for the U.S. now and in the years ahead," said U.S.-China Business Council President John Frisbie. "It is hard to imagine either country succeeding economically or on key issues, such as climate change, without constructive and cooperative ties." Steve Orlins, president of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, said,"I applaud President Obama and President Hu's decision to continue and expand dialogues into the Strategic and Economic Dialogue."
VietNamNet/Xinhuanet

Oil plunges 6% on unexpected inventory surge

Oil prices plunged nearly 6 percent on Wednesday after data showed crude inventories surged the most since April, reminding the fundamentals were still quite weak at the moment.

Light, sweet crude for September delivery plummeted 3.88 U.S. dollars, or 5.8 percent, to settle at 63.35 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. According to the U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration (EIA), crude stockpiles rose by 5.1 million barrels for the week ended July 24, the biggest surge since April, driving the total stockpiles to 347.8 million barrels, 9.5 percent higher than the five-year average for the period. Oil prices headed even lower after the Commerce Department reported that new durable goods orders fell 2.5 percent in June, the largest percentage drop since January, after rising 1.3 percent in May. Meanwhile, U.S. stocks were heading for the biggest one-day loss in three weeks on Wednesday and the dollar advanced the most against a basket of major currencies in almost four weeks, further encouraging selling in the commodities markets. London Brent for September delivery dropped 3.60 dollars to 66.28 dollars a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
VietNamNet/Xinhuanet

Car bomb injures 46 people in N Spain

Forty-six people were slightly injured Wednesday when a car bomb, planted by suspected members of the Basque separatist group ETA, exploded outside a police compound in northern Spain, officials said.
Investigators view damage to a Civil Guard barracks after a car bomb exploded in the northern Spanish city of Burgos, early July 29, 2009.At least 46 people were slightly injured, according to emergency services. Part of the barracks facade collapsed into the street when the bomb went off around 4.30 a.m. (0230 GMT). A spokeswoman for the Civil Guard, Spain's paramilitary police force, said the attack was probably carried out by Basque separatist rebels ETA.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

The blast, which occurred at around 4:00 a.m. (0200 GMT) in the city of Burgos, ripped away most of the outer wall of the 14-storey barracks, and gouged a crater that had been filled with water from broken underground pipes, an emergency services spokesman said. He said 46 people, including women and children living in the barracks, were slightly injured, most suffering cuts and bruises. The barracks had been evacuated and fire fighters were going through the building, the spokesman added. Miguel Alejo, a regional ministry representative, told reporter at the scene that the explosion appeared to be an attack "like those that the ETA killers carry out." The group usually gives advance warning of its attacks, but no warning was received this time, he said. The ETA, listed as a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States, is blamed for the deaths of more than 800 people in its 40-year campaign to carve a Basque homeland out of northern Spain and southwestern France

Deng Xiaoping’s widow dies

Zhuo Lin, widow of China's late leader Deng Xiaoping, died in Beijing Wednesday. She was 93.
She died of illness at 12:30 p.m. after medical treatment failed, said a statement issued by the General Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee. Zhuo, a former consultant of the Central Military Commission General Office, was "an excellent CPC member and time-honored loyal communist fighter," the statement said. Born in Xuanwei county of southwestern Yunnan Province in April, 1916, she joined the CPC in 1938. During the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976, her husband, Deng, was wrongly criticized and she was implicated as well. She accompanied Deng to work in the Xinjian county tractor repair workshop in eastern Jiangxi Province in October 1969. In January 1978, she was appointed a consultant of the Central Military Commission General Office. She served as a deputy to the fourth and fifth National People's Congress and was awarded the Independence Merit Medal from the People's Liberation Army in 1988.

UN chief concerned over DPRK decision on six-party talks

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said here on Wednesday that he is concerned over the recent decision of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to walk away from the six-party talks.
At his monthly press briefing, Ban said that the international community will not accept nuclear weapons on the Korean peninsula and expressed his dismay that the DPRK was shutting down channels of communication. However, the secretary-general voiced his support for a possible direct engagement between DPRK and the United States. Earlier this month, the DPRK said it was walking away from the six-party talks for good but signaled it was willing to speak with the United States one-on-one. Ban said he "supported and welcomed" bilateral discussion between the DPRK and the U.S. administration. "While I believe that six-party talks provide a good way for a solution, if necessary, there should be some other forms of dialogue," he said, "and I am encouraged by the willingness of DPRK authorities to engage in direct dialogue with the United States." U.S. President Barack Obama has said his administration is trying to "keep a door open" for the DPRK to return to the six-party dialogues, which also involves China, South Korea, Japan and Russia. The disarmament talks suspended since December 2008 due to sharp differences between the United States and the DPRK over, among others, the verification of the disable nuclear facilities. In another development, Ban told Xinhua at the press briefing that he is "deeply concerned" about a UN staff member working in Sudan who faces 40 lashes for wearing "indecent" trousers in public. Lubna Ahmed al-Hussein, who works for the UN Mission in Sudan, has reportedly said she has not violated Sharia law but has disobeyed a paragraph in Sudanese criminal law which forbids indecent clothing. Hussein's trial has been adjourned for Aug. 4 but if she is found guilty, she will immediately be flogged, as were other women who were arrested with her. "The flogging is against international human rights standards," said Ban. "I call on parties to live up to their obligations under all relevant international instruments." "The United Nations will take every effort to ensure that the rights of its staff members are protected," he added. However, on Wednesday Hussein reportedly said she will give up immunity afforded UN staff workers and take the lashes to try to get the Sudanese law changed.

Biden: U.S. supports Georgia in multiple ways

The United States regards Georgia as an important strategic partner, and will continue to safeguard its security and support its economic development and diplomatic reform, said visiting U.S. Vice President Joe Biden here on Thursday.The United States will continue to cooperate with Georgia within the framework of the Charter on Strategic Partnership signed between the two countries in January, said Biden while delivering a speech at the Georgian parliament. He also stressed that the United States remains supportive for Georgia to join NATO. Earlier on Thursday, Biden held closed-door talks with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili and Parliament Speaker David Bakradze respectively. They discussed a range of specific issues such as enhancement of security, cooperation on economy and diplomatic reform. When meeting with Georgian opposition leaders, the U.S. vice president promised that his country will not interfere with Georgia's internal affairs. Biden, who arrived here on late Wednesday

S. tài chính có thẩm quyền khác nhau về kế hoạch bảo vệ người tiêu dùng

Của chính phủ Hoa Kỳ đề nghị thành lập một cơ quan bảo vệ người tiêu dùng tài chính đã trở thành một đối tượng controversial giữa Hoa Kỳ tài chính authorities.Treasury Bí thư Timothy Geithner Thứ sáu nói rằng một cơ quan mới tập trung vào việc bảo vệ người tiêu dùng là cần thiết vì nhiệm vụ hiện nay là quá rải rác trong nhiều regulators.This kết quả trong "-ngón tay trỏ ở nơi hành động," ông nói với nhà Dịch vụ tài chính Committee.But kế hoạch đã bumped lên chống lại phe đối lập từ regulators.Federal lại là Chủ tịch Hội đồng liên bang Ben Bernanke lập luận rằng Fed là thích hợp nhất cho các role.Monitoring rủi ro và bảo vệ người tiêu dùng là "liên quan chặt chẽ, và như vậy, entail cả thông tin thuận lợi và tiết kiệm nguồn lực," ông Bernanke nói rằng trong Đại hội để khai trên Friday.However, nhiều legislators hoặc không tin những khả năng của Fed để phòng ngừa rủi ro, lo lắng hoặc các cơ quan mới sẽ chỉ được quan liêu khác mà người nộp thuế chất thải 'money.A số lawmakers đòi rằng Fed không thể ngăn chặn khủng hoảng kinh tế và không nên giao trách nhiệm với các chi tiết nhưng nên ở lại tập trung vào các nhiệm vụ chính của thiết lập tiền tệ policy.Senator Richard Shelby của Alabama Fed cho biết mở rộng quyền hạn của "có thể là rất nguy hiểm." Congressman Ron Paul, R-Texas, nói rằng nó là ngu si để cho "unelected Bureaucrats" thẩm quyền để xác định xem những gì đang có sản phẩm tài chính fair.The đề xuất để tạo ra một cơ quan bảo vệ người tiêu dùng là một phần của một rộng hơn overhaul của các quốc gia tài chính của quy định. Các cơ quan sẽ giám sát việc sử dụng tốt in trên các sản phẩm như thẻ tín dụng và Mortgages. Phân tích xem như kế hoạch là một phần quan trọng để cải cách các quy định cơ cấu tài chính Mỹ.

17 killed in plane crash in northeast Iran

At least 17 people were killed when a passenger plane caught fire during its landing in northeastern Iran on Friday, the state IRNA news agency reported.The plane from Iran's Aria Air airline with 153 passengers on board caught fire and skidded into walls near the runway during its landing in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad, said the report.The accident, which happened at 18:10 local time (1340 GMT), also injured another 19 people, IRNA said.Deputy Governor of Khorasan Razavi Province Qahreman Rashid was quoted as saying that Aria Air's managing director Mehdi Dadpay was among the victims of the plane incident.All survivors in the plane had been evacuated from the crash scene and the fire had been completely under control, Rashid said.The cause of the incident was under investigation, he added.Video aired by Iran's English-language satellite channel Press TV showed that the cockpit of the Russian-made Ilyushin Il-62 plane, which was travelling from Tehran to Mashhad, was totally damaged.State television reported that the plane was apparently flying too fast when it tried to land on the airport and the accident might be due to a malfunction of the front wheels.The plane was leased by Aria Air from Kazakhstan, state television said, adding that 13 of the victims were crew members, nine of whom were from Kazakhstan.It was the second deadly air accident involving an Iranian airliner within 10 days. On July 15, a Caspian Airlines plane crashed near the northwestern city of Qazvin, killing all 168 people on board.The Russia-made Tupolev passenger plane had been traveling from Tehran to the Armenian capital of Yerevan.The cause of the disaster was not clear so far, but the officials have attributed the incident to the technical problems of the Caspian Airlines plane.In the past, Iran's airlines have suffered a number of flight disasters, both civil and military use.Experts believe that the U.S.-imposed sanctions against Iran, which prevented its allies from selling aircraft or aircraft parts to the country, have undermined safety standards within Iran's civil and military aviation fleet and is increasing the likelihood of more major air disasters.

Toyota’s domestic sales down 26.6% in 1st half of 2009

Toyota said Tuesday that its domestic sales plunged 26.6 percent year-on-year to 593,173 units in the first half of 2009 due to sluggish auto demand amid the global economic recession.
In June, the world's largest automaker suffered a smaller decline in sales, down by 11.4 percent to 112,591 units following an over 20 percent fall in the previous month. In the January-June period, Toyota's domestic market share, excluding minicars, stood at 45.5 percent, down by 0.1 percentage point from a year earlier. Meanwhile, the automaker's domestic production plummeted 49.0 percent to 1,101,021 units, compared with a 43.1 percent drop to 2,539,673 units in its worldwide output.

U.S. vice president voices support for Ukraine’s NATO bid, will to choose allies

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday voiced support for Ukraine's NATO bid and its own will to choose allies."I come here with one straight forward message: the U.S. is committed to a strong, democratic and prosperous Ukraine," Biden told a joint news conference after talks with Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko. "If you choose to be part of the Euro-Atlantic integration, which I believe you have, then we strongly support that," Biden said. The vice president said the United States doesn't recognize "any spheres of influence." "We do not recognize anyone else's right to dictate to any other country what alliance it should seek to belong to, or what relationships, bilateral relationships, you have," Biden said. Biden pointed out that resetting relations with Russia will not come at Ukraine's expense. "To the contrary, I believe it can actually benefit Ukraine," he said. Yushchenko reiterated his aspiration to move Ukraine closer to NATO. "We believe that the best way to respond to the politics of security, as we have outlined in our law, is to develop European-Atlantic dialogue," Yushchenko said. However, polls have shown a majority of Ukrainians to be against NATO membership.
VietNamNet/Xinhuanet

U.S. to extend relaxed monetary policy for economic recovery, says Bernanke
The U.S. relaxed monetary policy will extend longer to foster the economic recovery, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Tuesday."In light of the substantial economic slack and limited inflation pressures, monetary policy remains focused on fostering economic recovery," Bernanke said in his semiannual monetary policy report to the Congress, "a highly accommodative stance of monetary policy will be appropriate for an extended period." According to the report, positive signs have shown during the first half of 2009. "Better conditions in financial markets have been accompanied by some improvement in economic prospects ... Although the recession in the rest of the world led to a steep drop in the demand for U.S. exports, this drag on our economy also appears to be waning, as many of our trading partners are also seeing signs of stabilization," he said. As the economy is turning better, more and more people are considering when the Fed should exit its nearly zero interest rate policy in order not to cause high inflation pressure to the economy. Bernanke said that despite the positive signs, the rate of job loss remains high and the unemployment rate has continued its steep rise. Job insecurity, together with declines in home values and tight credit, is likely to limit gains in consumer spending. The possibility that the recent stabilization in household spending will prove transient is an important downside risk to the outlook. "It is important to assure the public and the markets that the extraordinary policy measures we have taken in response to the financial crisis and the recession can be withdrawn in a smooth and timely manner as needed, thereby avoiding the risk that policy stimulus could lead to a future rise in inflation," he said. To promote economic recovery and foster price stability, the Federal Open Market Committee, last year brought its target for the federal funds rate to a historically low range of 0 to 1/4 percent, where it remains today

Yahoo reports sales drop, revamps homepageYahoo Inc. on Tuesday unveiled a new homepage and posted a decrease of quarterly sales which met expectations.In the quarter ended on June 30, the Internet company's revenues were 1.57 billion U.S. dollars, down 13 percent from the same period last year. Excluding fees passed on to partner sites, revenues were 1.14 billion dollars, in line with analysts' estimates though lower than 1.35 billion dollars in the year-ago quarter. Yahoo's net income in the second three months this year was 141million dollars, an increase of about eight percent from 131 million dollars a year earlier. Excluding some expenses, earnings per share was 16 cents, the same as last year. "I'm pleased with our results this past quarter. We established a clear, simple vision to be the center of people's lives online, and we're backing that vision with important initiatives to create 'wow' experiences for our users," Carol Bartz, Yahoo's chief executive officer (CEO), said in a statement. "We're confident that this vision will put us on the right path to growth and profitability long term," she added. Yahoo also announced that its redesigned homepage is available to users in the United States starting from Tuesday and will be rolled out in France, India and Britain over the coming week. The new homepage "brings together the best of the Web with the best of Yahoo in a single destination across both PC and mobile screens," Yahoo said in a press release. The company noted that the revamp represents the most significant change to the Yahoo homepage since its inception. "Our new homepage is a perfect example of our efforts to create innovative products aimed at increasing user engagement while offering the most compelling advertising proposition in the industry," Yahoo CEO Bartz said.

Global A/H1N1 flu death toll exceeds 700, says WHO
The A/H1N1 flu death toll has exceeded 700 worldwide since the outbreak of the disease in April, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday.The WHO, which declared the flu as a pandemic on June 11, said it was up to national health authorities to decide what kind of measures they should take to mitigate the effect of the pandemic. "Different countries would be facing the pandemic at different levels at different times. So it is really up to countries to consider what mitigation measures suit them in regard to the situation in individual countries," WHO spokeswoman Alphaluck Bhatiasevi told a news briefing. The WHO said last week that the A/H1N1 flu has been spreading at unprecedented speed, and further spread within countries being affected and to new countries is considered inevitable. So far, more than 130 countries and regions have been affected by the pandemic, with many of them experiencing sustainable community transmission. The WHO has recommend countries with large-scale outbreaks to stop confirming all cases through laboratory tests, as "this strategy is absorbing most national laboratory and response capacity, leaving little capacity for the monitoring and investigation of severe cases and other exceptional events." The UN agency stressed the need to closely monitor unusual events, such as clusters of cases of severe or fatal virus infection, clusters of respiratory illness requiring hospitalization, or unexplained or unusual clinical patterns associated with serious or fatal cases. The A/H1N1 pandemic has been characterized, to date, by the mildness of symptoms in the overwhelming majority of patients, who usually recover, even without medical treatment, within a week of the onset of symptoms.

Dollar rises on Bernanke’s comments
The dollar rose against most major currencies on Tuesday after comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke eased worries over inflation outlook.In a semiannual monetary policy testimony to the Congress, Bernanke said outlook for the U.S. economy was improving, while the economy is still fragile and supportive policies would be needed for some time to prevent rising unemployment from undercutting recovery. All officials of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) expect that inflation will be somewhat lower this year than in recent years, and most expect it to remain subdued over the next two years, Bernanke said. The FOMC anticipates that economic conditions are likely to warrant maintaining the federal funds rate at exceptionally low levels for an extended period. The present focus of monetary policy remains on stimulating economic activity. Although an exit strategy from the present highly accommodative monetary stance won't be adopted in some time, Bernanke assured investors that the Fed has prepared such a strategy which it is ready to activate "in a smooth and timely manner" when needed. Strong quarterly results from Caterpillar, Coca Cola and Dupont boosted market sentiment, lifting Wall Street. While a profit warning from CIT Group, the largest lender to small and midsized business in U.S., refreshed worries over its bankruptcy. The euro bought 1.4195 dollars in late New York trading compared with 1.4221 dollars it bought late Monday. The pound fell to 1.6432 dollars from 1.6533 dollars. The dollar rose slightly to 1.1073 Canadian dollars from 1.1070 Canadian dollars, and fell to 1.0682 Swiss francs from 1.0693 Swiss francs. It fell to 93.63 Japanese yen from 94.23 Japanese yen.

Amazon to buy online shoe retailer Zappos for over $800 mln
Amazon.com Inc., the world's largest online retailer, on Wednesday announced that it has agreed to buy online shoe store Zappos.com Inc. in a deal worth nearly 850 million U.S. dollars.Seattle-based Amazon said it will acquire all of the outstanding shares and assume all outstanding options and warrants of Zappos in exchange for approximately 10 million shares of Amazon common stock, a transaction worth about 807 million dollars. In addition, Amazon intends to provide Zappos employees with 40million dollars in cash and restricted stock units. The deal is expected to close this fall. Amazon said Zappos management team will remain intact after the acquisition and the company will operate its brand independently with headquarters in Las Vegas. "We see great opportunities for both companies to learn from each other and create even better experiences for our customers," Amazon's chief executive officer (CEO) Jeff Bezos said in a statement. Since its founding in 1999, Zappos has quickly become a leader in online apparel and footwear sale, currently stocking millions of products from over 1,000 clothing and shoe brands. "We are joining forces with Amazon because there is a huge opportunity to utilize each other's strengths and move even faster towards our vision of delivering happiness to customers, employees and vendors," said Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.

Obama reiterates to withdraw all troops from Iraq as scheduled
President Barack Obama on Wednesday reiterated that the U.S. troops will completely withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2011 as scheduled, and that the United States supports Iraq's political reconciliation process."We'll move forward with our strategy to responsibly remove all American combat brigades from Iraq by the end of next August and to fulfill our commitment to remove all American troops from Iraq by the end of 2011," said the president, after his meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in the White House. It is the first meeting between Obama and Maliki since U.S. troops withdrew from Iraqi cities at the end of June. Though the United States currently has stationed about 130,000 troops in Iraq, its strategic focus in the country has been shifting from combating against insurgents to training Iraqi security forces, as well as supporting political reconciliation process. "American troops have the capability, the support, and flexibility they need to stand with our Iraqi partners on behalf of a sovereign, secure, and self-reliant Iraq," said Obama, adding that he believes that Iraq's future "belongs to those who would build." "America strongly supports efforts by the Iraqi government to promote national unity, which will help ensure that people in all parts of Iraq can live in peace and prosperity," said the president. Obama said the administration will continue helping the Iraqi government to build capacity to provide basic services and to promote the rule of law, adding that the two governments will deepen cooperation on security, trade, commerce, culture, science and education. Maliki described his first meeting with Obama in the White House is "positive and constructive," saying that the two sides share commitment to a peaceful, stable, prosperous and sovereign Iraq. Echoing Obama's pledge to withdraw all troops from Iraq as scheduled, Maliki said the Iraqi security forces has "high capability" to impose peace and security after the complete withdrawal of the U.S. troops. "Our forces became now highly capable. And they will continue to do their role and their part to provide the opportunity needed for reconstruction, rebuilding and developing Iraq," said the prime minister. As to the political reconciliation process, Maliki said his government will work on "a national plan where all sons of Iraq and all daughters of Iraq are equal in their contribution and in their services." "They will be unified by Iraq, they will not be divided by other elements. We will strengthening the relationship between the people of Iraq," he said. "This is the direction of the Iraqi national unity government, and that made us work very closely in meeting all the challenges that we are facing," said the prime minister, adding "we will benefit from the strategic relationship with the United States."

U.S. police search Jackson’s doctor’s office in manslaughter probe
U.S. federal agents and police on Wednesday raided the Houston office of pop star Michael Jackson's doctor Conrad Murray, and the doctor's lawyer said the research was related to a manslaughter investigation."Law enforcement concluded their search around 12:30 p.m., and left with a forensic image of a business computer hard drive and 21 documents. None of the documents taken had previously been requested by law enforcement or the L.A. Coroner's office," the statement said. A team of several dozen U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents, Los Angeles police detectives and Houston uniformed police officers arrived around 10:20 a.m. local time at Murray's Armstrong Medical Clinic in Houston, and swarmed inside the clinic. The search was based on preliminary results of an autopsy which indicate Jackson's death was tied to the drug Propofol, a powerful anesthetic normally used only in hospital operating rooms, according to ABC news. Murray, a cardiologist with offices both in Houston and Las Vegas, was with Jackson when the 50-year-old King of Pop died on June 25. Murray had left Houston to be with Jackson as the singer prepared for his comeback tour. Los Angeles police have denied reports by a celebrity website that they are investigating Jackson's death as a homicide, but Jackson's families have hinted that they think foul play was involved. Investigators from the Los Angeles Police Department and agents from the DEA also conducted an investigation Tuesday on Murray's office in Las Vegas, according to a FOXNews.com report.

GM to pay closing dealers about $600 mlnGeneral Motors Co. said Wednesday it will make cash payments of nearly 600 million U.S. dollars to the more than 1,300 dealers it plans to close by the end of next year.According to a Detroit News report, Mike Robinson, GM's general counsel for North American operations, told the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on commercial and administrative law that GM had begun making the payments on Monday and had already paid out 150 million U.S. dollars. GM had confirmed previously that it was offering wind-down payments of up to 1 million U.S. dollars per dealer. By the end of next year, GM plans to have between 3,500 and 3,800 dealers, down from about 6,100 this year. U.S. Congress is considering several bills trying to stop the closing of GM dealers and force the reopening of the Chrysler dealers. The House last week approved a spending bill that includes a provision seeking to reverse the dealer closings.

Mayors, legislators, clergy nabbed in New Jersey corruption probe
More than 40 people, including three mayors, other elected and appointed officials and Jewish clergy were arrested in the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York on Thursday in an investigation into public corruption, international money laundering and human organ marketing, authorities said.There were so many arrests that handcuffed suspects were brought to court for processing in a bus. Variously dressed, several wore traditional orthodox clothes. "Corruption was a way of life," Ralph J. Marra Jr., the acting United States attorney in Newark, New Jersey, across the Hudson River and a few miles west of New York City, told reporters. "They existed in an ethics-free zone." The investigation was continuing and evidence gathered would be followed "to wherever the crime and corruption is occurring," Marra said. New Jersey mayors Peter Cammarano of Hoboken, Dennis Elwell of Secaucus, Mayor Anthony Suarez of Ridgefield and Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini of Jersey City and assemblymen L. Harvey Smith and Daniel Van Pelt were among the officials named in the 10-year probe. Rabbis in Brooklyn, New York, in Deal and Elberon, and other communities along the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County, New Jersey, were identified as from the enclaves of Syrian Jews and from the Hassidic sect. Levy-Izhak Rosenbaum of Brooklyn, New York, was named in a plot where a kidney from a donor paid 10,000 U.S. dollars was sold for 160,000 dollars, Mara said. "Usually donors are vulnerable people who need the money," said Weysan Dun, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) special agent in charge of the Newark office. "This scheme preys on donors." The grand rabbi of the Syrian Jewish community in the United States, Saul Kassin, was arrested for his part in a money-laundering scheme, said Dun, adding the plot stretched to Switzerland and Israel. Edward Kahrer, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's white collar crime team in the Newark division, who supervised the case "for just about 10 years," said "New Jersey's corruption problem is one of the worst if not the worst in the nation. Corruption is not only pervasive but has become ingrained in New Jersey's political culture. The impact that corruption has had on New Jersey has been profound." He said the arrests highlight three separate criminal schemes which share themes of "deceit, abuse of power and betrayal of trust" and it "touches all levels of state government." The investigation was started under U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie who preceded Marra and who now is running against Governor Jon Corzine, a Democrat, in the New Jersey gubernatorial race. Most of the officials arrested were Democrats, but Marra said there were some Republicans. "This case is not about politics. It is certainly not about religion. It is about crime, corruption, it is about arrogance. Itis about a shocking betrayal of public confidence," Dun said. "It is about criminals who used politics and religion to cloak their criminal activities and to enrich themselves while betraying those who trusted them." He said the case uncovered "a web of corruption that spanned the state similar to the way a spider's web might cover your face if you accidentally walk into it." He said all of the defendants may not have known other defendants, but "they were connected through their illicit activities with the cooperating witness." Mara said the case evolved with the help of a witness, identified as a real estate developer, who was introduced to the defendants. "Basically he was marketing himself as interested in developing," Dun said, explaining the witness would need permits and loans for his project. "He was a middleman hooking up, so to speak, with people willing to help him." Mara said the cooperating witness met targets of the investigation "in parking lots, at restaurants, luncheonettes, diners, offices basement boiler rooms and bathrooms and the politicians willingly put themselves up for sale." Dun explained evidence was gathered with the use of both video and audio recordings. "We are very confident with the evidence developed," he said. "If you commit a crime long enough and persist in committing crimes you will be caught," he warned. "Sooner or later if you consistently engage in criminal activity the crosshairs of justice will be upon you." Dun told New Jersey citizens that ending corruption was their responsibility. "Corruption in this state will not end due to law enforcement's efforts," Dun said. "It will only end when the citizens of the state and the many honest public officials demand that it end and stop tolerating it. It's time for the citizens of New jersey to ask 'What do we need to do wipe this spider web of corruption off of the face of our state?'"

Wall Street rallies on positive earnings, home sales
Wall Street rallied on Thursday on better-than-expected earnings and data on home sales with all major indexes jumping more than 2 percent.The Dow Jones Industrial Average topped the 9,000 mark for the first time since January. The blue-chip index rose 188.03 points, or 2.12 percent, to close at 9,069.29. The S&P 500 was up 22.22 points, or 2.33 percent to settle at 976.29. While the Nasdaq logged its 12th straight gain, its longest run since 1992, rising 47.22 points, or 2.45 percent to 1973.60. Investors were encouraged by a batch of better-than-expected corporate earnings. EBay, owner of the most visited U.S. E-commerce website, rallied over 10 percent as its earnings signaled consumers' appetite for online commerce is starting to recover. Ford Motors rose 9.4 percent to 6.98 U.S. dollars per share after it posted a much smaller loss than expected and beat analyst estimates. Dow component 3M jumped 7.36 percent to 69.43 dollars as it reported a 17 percent drop in quarterly profit but reduced its loss forecast for the year. Beside corporate reports, investors also digested data on the labor market for more clues on the health of the economy. The U.S. Labor Department said on Thursday that its tally of initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 30,000 to a seasonally adjusted 554,000. That was above analysts' estimates of 550,000. But the total jobless benefit rolls fell by a more-than-expected 88,000 to 6.2 million, the lowest level since mid-April. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that existing home sales rose 3.6 percent last month, providing further evidence that the housing market may be recovering.

Microsoft sees plunge in quarterly sales, profitMicrosoft Corp. on Thursday posted drops of quarterly sales and profit that both missed expectations. In the quarter ended on June 30, Microsoft's revenue fell to 13.1 billion U.S. dollars, a decline of 17 percent over the same period a year earlier.The software giant said it earned 3.05 billion dollars or 34 cents per share, down 29 percent and 26 percent respectively when compared with the year-ago quarter. "Our business continued to be negatively impacted by weakness in the global PC and server markets," Chris Liddell, chief financial officer of Microsoft, said in a statement. The results disappointed investors and Microsoft's shares, which closed at 25.5 dollars, fell nearly 8 percent in after-hours trading. According to a consensus from Thomson Reuters, analysts have expected Microsoft to earn 36 cents per share on sales of 14.37 billion dollars.

Whitney Houston previews her new CD
Whitney Houston says her daughter's support helped fuel her as she geared up for her comeback record."She was with me every step of the way: 'Mom, you can do this.'When I get discouraged and I get like,'This is tiring, this is wearing me out, I’m just not at that point,'she'd just go, 'No, mom, you can do this, get up, get up,'" Houston said of 15-year-old Bobbi Kristina in an interview Tuesday. “She encourages me and inspires me, when I look at her and I look at her eyes and I see myself, I go,'OK, I can do this. I can do this.'" The 44-year-old superstar is releasing"I Look to You"on Sept. 1. It's her first album in years on Arista Records. On Tuesday evening, she premiered several tracks before an industry audience that included her only child, mother Cissy Houston, cousin Dionne Warwick, Alicia Keys and Diane Sawyer. Houston is one of the world's best-selling artists of all time, but her career stalled for years and her pop princess image imploded as she battled drugs and endured a troubled (and now defunct) marriage to Bobby Brown. "I kind of got comfortable with being left alone, just being a mom who would take her daughter off to school and who would pick her up from school. I liked that vibe, I liked that feeling, because I never really had the opportunity,"said Houston. "I was always traveling with her all the time." She credits her mentor, music mogul Clive Davis, who worked with her on the album, with pushing her to come back to the recording studio. "He called me one day and he said,'It's time.'And I said,'Time for what?' And he says,'Time for you to come back and sing for us again,'" she said."It's very special and I feel humbled to be asked to do it again and want to be heard." Davis previewed nine tracks at the event, including one song co-written by Alicia Keys and two by R. Kelly. David Foster, Diane Warren.

China outlines plans on health care reform in 2009
China's State Council Thursday issued a medical reform plan of 2009, as its first year's move of the three-year health care reform.The plan called for acceleration in building basic medical insurance system and essential drug system, and promotion on primary health care facilities and pilot reform of state-run hospitals. According to the plan, about one hundred state-run hospitals chosen from 12 cities will be designated as the pilot hospitals for the reform. It also includes the access of nearly six million retirees from bankrupt stated-owned enterprises to the basic health insurance. Moreover, the number of employees and citizens in urban areas joining basic health insurance is to reach 390 million by the end of this year, an increase of 72 million from a year earlier. The standard of building primary health care facilities will be released this year, with 986 county hospitals, 3,549 town hospitals and 1,154 community medical service center to be established. The nation unveiled a three-year plan on health care reform on April 7 this year. With 850 billion yuan (124 billion U.S. dollars) investment, the plan is considered to lay a solid foundation for equitable and universal access to essential health care for all in China by 2020.

Brazil confirms 4 more A/H1N1 flu deathsBrazil's health authorities on Friday confirmed four new deaths of the A/H1N1 flu, bringing the death toll to 33, twice more than in the past five days.The newly confirmed victims, all from Sao Paulo state in southeastern Brazil, included a four-year-old girl and a 58-year-old man from the state's capital city Sao Paulo. The child had been suffering from asthma and bronchiolitis while the man had serious liver problems, which helped worsen their disease.The other two victims were both women from the city of Campinas. One of them had been seven months pregnant and the baby was saved.Sao Paulo state has the highest death toll in the country with 16 victims, followed by Rio Grande do Sul state with 11, Rio de Janeiro state with five, and Parana state with one.Altogether seven children and four pregnant women were among the A/H1N1 flu deaths in Brazil.Municipal and state governments in Brazil adopted a series of measures to contain the quick spread of the disease.State of emergency was declared in several towns in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Six health centers exclusive for the A/H1N1 flu were established in the state of Rio de Janeiro, and another three will be available next week. In Sao Paulo state, students showing any flu symptoms were recommended not to go to school. Schools in several towns in the country have either suspended classes or extended the winter vacations.According to the health ministry's latest data released on Thursday, 1,566 cases of the A/H1N1 flu were confirmed in Brazil, with another 8,328 suspected cases.

Beckham fined by MLS for fan incidentLos Angeles Galaxy midfielder David Beckham has been fined 1,000 U.S. dollars by Major League Soccer (MLS) Commissioner Don Garber for his interaction with a fan at halftime of last Sunday's exhibition game against AC Milan.Los Angeles Galaxy's David Beckham of England shoots on a free kick against the New York Red Bulls' during the first half of their Major League Soccer game in East Rutherford, New Jersey, July 16, 2009."We support our players interacting with fans, whether it is at clinics, charity events or by high-fiving their supporters in the stands while celebrating a goal," Garber said. "However, our players should never engage in conduct that can be interpreted as encouraging fans to come out of the stands and onto the field, regardless of the reason."Following the end of the first half, Beckham approached the portion of the stands where members of the L.A. Riot Squad, the team's most hardcore fans, sit, and gestured to a fan to come to him.The fan, identified by Dominguez Hills officials as Joshua Paige of California State University, came out of the stands toward Beckham and was cited for trespassing, according to an officer from the university's police department, which provided security for the game."The fans were absolutely saying certain things that shouldn't be said to anybody," Beckham said after playing in Southern California for the first time in 2009."I walked over after the whistle and said, 'You need to calm down and try to support the team.' One of them jumped over and I thought it was to shake my hand, but maybe not."Several fans told The San Diego Union-Tribune that Beckham gestured toward the fan and said "Come down here," followed by an expletive.Coach-general manager Bruce Arena said later the team regretted the incident and that the L.A. Riot Squad has issued a lifetime ban to Paige.Some Galaxy fans were upset that Beckham orchestrated an extension of his loan agreement to AC Milan from March through the May 31 end of the Series A season, causing him to miss the Galaxy's first 17 games of the 30- game Major League Soccer season.Boos clearly outnumbered cheers when Beckham was introduced before the game. Such signs as "Go home fraud" with a red slash through his No. 23 and "Hey Becks, Here Before You, Here After You, Here Despite You" were sprinkled among the capacity crowd of 27,000, the Galaxy's first sellout of the season.Beckham drew cheers for assisting on both Galaxy goals in the 2-2 tie.Beckham's next game in Southern California will be an Aug. 1 exhibition against Spanish champion FC Barcelona at the Rose Bowl.

Britain’s last WWI veteran dies at 111
The last surviving British soldier to fight in the WWI Harry Patch died at the age of 111, British Ministry of Defense announced on Saturday.It was reported that Patch had been unwell for some time and passed away peacefully at a care home.His passing comes one week after another survivors of the conflict and the world's oldest man, Henry Allingham died aged 113.Britain's Queen Elizabeth II paid her tribute to Patch, saying that "We will never forget the bravery and enormous sacrifice of his generation."Prince Charles said "The Great War is a chapter in our history we must never forget, so many sacrifices were made, so many young lives lost.""So today nothing could give me greater pride than paying tribute to Harry Patch," he added.British Prime Minister Gordon Brown also said that "I know that the whole nation will unite today to honor the memory, and to take pride in the generation that fought the Great War."The Ministry of Defense said Patch's funeral would be held in Wells Cathedral in the town where he lived.

Wife of Indian PM launches home-made nuclear attack submarine
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's wife Gursharan Kaur launched on Sunday the country's first indigenously designed and built nuclear-powered attack submarine, INS Arihant, in Visakhapatnam, southern India, said a senior Indian navy official."It marks a quantum leap in India's ship building capabilities and let the country join the elite club which can build nuclear powered attack submarines -- the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain," said the official on condition of anonymity. The submarine was housed in a dry dock, which was flooded with sea water to mark the launching ceremony, said the official.The submarine will be commissioned in the Indian Navy as INS Arihant, which translates as "destroyer of enemies", after extensive outfitting and sea trial, he added.It is the first of three such vessels to be built in the country.Hitherto, submarines have been built here under license from their foreign designers, said the report.

Sarkozy ill, hospitalised: French presidency
French President Nicolas Sarkozy was sent to hospital on Sunday after he fell ill while doing physical exercise, his office said in a statement."He is currently undergoing extra examinations," the statement said, adding "other information will be released later." French officials said Sarkozy, 54, fell ill while doing sports at La Lanterne near the Versailles Palace outside Paris. French health minister Roselyne Bachelot said Sarkozy suffered a vasovagular episode while jogging. A military helicopter flew over the Versailles forest and was supposed to carry Sarkozy to a military hospital for treatment, local media said. Sarkozy is "doing well" and can normally talk with medical staff at a Paris military hospital, his chief of staff Claude Gueant said. Sarkozy, who was elected as president in 2007, is a jogging and cycling enthusiast.

Chui Sai On wins Macao Chief Executive election
Chui Sai On won the third-term chief executive (CE) election of Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) on Sunday, of which he was the only candidate.A total of 296 votes were cast by the 297 present members of the CE Election Committee, and Chui won 282 valid votes, the CE Electoral Affairs Committee, which oversees the election, announced after the voting procedure. The election was held at the Macao East Asian Games Dome this morning. By the SAR Law, Macao's new CE is elected within the 300- member CE Election Committee. Chui said at a press conference after the election that he is pleased to see that he was elected with majority votes, and he respects the choice of the committee members. Some 14 members cast abstention votes. Jos Pereira Coutinho, a local lawmaker, was the only committee member who did not cast his ballot. He said this was "a way" to express his opinion about the election. The number of votes won by Chui was lower than the incumbent CE Ho Hau Wah as he gained 296 votes in the second-term CE election held in 2004. Under the SAR's CE Election Law, anyone who intends to run for the CE office must be nominated by 50 of the 300 members of the CE Election Committee. Chui acquired 286 endorsements from the members. Chui also said that he will soon start preparing his new administration and he will devote himself to serving the people of Macao. However, he did not answer questions from the press concerning any new change he may bring to the SAR government. Born in Macao in 1957, Chui has been twice appointed as the SAR 's Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture ever since the establishment of the Macao SAR in 1999. He was also the best educated among Macao's top-ranking officials, as he holds a bachelor degree in Community Health from California State University, and a master's degree and PhD of Public Health from the University of Oklahoma. Despite winning the election, Chui still needs the appointment of China's central government to officially become the SAR's next chief executive, according to the SAR's Basic Law. The term of the incumbent CE Ho Hau Wah will end in Dec. 19 this year, after which the new CE will begin his five-year term in office. Macao's current CE Ho Hau Wah extended his congratulations to Chui after the election results were released, saying that he will assist Chui and his team to organize a new administration and ensure the SAR's smooth transition to new leadership. Meanwhile, the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Macao SAR also said in a statement that the CE election was completed with success and it was a living epitome of the principles of "one country, two systems" and "Macao people administering Macao", and the fact that Macao SAR enjoys a high degree of autonomy. With the support from China's central government and the concerted efforts made by local people, Macao will have a better future under the new leadership, it said

Six killed in suicide blast in Russia’s Chechnya
Four police officers and one civilian were killed in a suicide blast in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Chechnya Sunday evening, news agencies reported.A suicide bomber set off an explosive device when approaching senior police officers working outside a theater and concert hall in Leninsky district of Grozny, the regional capital, at around 5:00 p.m. Moscow time (1300 GMT). "The senior police officers who died today are the chief of public security in Grozny's Leninsky district, the chief of the same district's detention center, a deputy chief of public security forces in Chechnya, who had the colonel's rank, and a lieutenant-colonel from the Interior Ministry's department for coordination," the Itar-Tass reported citing local investigative sources. There were a crowd of people at a square some 40 meters from the concert hall, said the RIA Novosti, and a local police source said nine other people were wounded in the blast. One of the wounded civilians later died in the hospital, while two others remained in critical conditions, said the Itar-Tass. The body of the suicide bomber has been destroyed beyond recognition. The scene has been cordoned off where investigators were working. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov condemned the attack, pledging to root out terrorists in the region. "These are the death throes of bandits...I declare that the operation will continue until all of these bandits are completely annihilated," he said. The Kremlin in April formally ended an anti-terrorist operation in Chechnya, which has experienced two bloody separatist wars in the past 15 years. The North Caucasus republics of Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan have seen a rise in daily violence in recent months. The Russian government has strengthened its strikes against insurgents recently. Six militants were killed in a police special operation Saturday in Chechnya after hours-long shootout

Honduran interim gov’t extends curfew in borders
The Honduran interim government on Sunday announced the extension of the curfew at the bordering areas with Nicaragua.Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya speaks to his supporters in the border town of Las Manos, between Nicaragua and Honduras, July 26, 2009. Zelaya asked his supporters to "stand firm" as they set camps on the frontier, hoping for more followers to join. (Xinhua/Oscar Navarrete)The besiege set since Friday midday will be extended 12 hours more on Sunday, to be valid from 6:00 am. to 6:00 p.m. local time (1200 to 0000 GMT). This measure will be also valid for the municipalities of San Marcos de Colon, Duyure and Concepcion de Maria from Choluteca department in the south of the country. Thousands of supporters from ousted President Manuel Zelaya were in El Paraiso, 12km to Las Manos town, waiting for the curfew to finish so they can continue their way to meet him in the Nicaraguan border. Zelaya's family is among that group of people waiting for the curfew to finish and continue their way. Zelaya's family rejected on Saturday the offer from the interim government of giving it a plane to fly to Nicaragua. Zelaya went to Las Manos on Saturday to set a camp and to wait for the military forces to allow him to retake his charge. Zelaya said on Sunday that he will give a press conference in Nicaraguan side to announce his future plans to return to his country, from where he was ousted on June 28 and taken to Costa Rica.

Co-op is key word for first China-U.S. S&ED: U.S. Congressman
Cooperation is the key word for the first round of the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED), said a U.S. congressman on Sunday."I think members of Congress want to see the United States and China are cooperating in a number of issues," Rick Larsen, who serves as co-chair of the bipartisan U.S.-China Working group at Congress, said in an interview with Xinhua after a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan. The congressman from Washington State noted that cooperation on global economic recovery is particularly important, in which China has played a key role as the largest developing country in the world. When asked if Congress has any particular expectation on the dialogue from July 27 to 28 in Washington, D.C., he said that his fellows want to see two countries taking some steps moving forward on the climate change, even though there is no agreement signed asa result. "Most importantly, Congress wants to see this dialogue result in long-term agenda on economic and strategic issues," he said. "Over time, China and the U.S. can work together." Different from the previous strategic economic dialogue between China and Bush's administration, the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue, which was established earlier this year by U.S. President Barack Obama's government and the Chinese government, includes two tracks. The "Strategic Track" of the dialogue will be co-chaired by Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, while Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan and U.S. Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner will co-chair the "Economic Track." Comparing ways of Bush and Obama administrations' in engaging China in the dialogue, Larsen said that the latter has done "slightly better by bringing all of these issues under one umbrella so they can be talked about all at once." From addressing economic and strategic issues separately to doing it together, "it is the natural progression of development of relations between the U.S. and China," he added. He also expressed his confidence in Chinese leaders that they would "accurately and directly communicate" with American counterparts about any concern they have and develop the long-term agenda on cooperation. "I have full confidence in our administration as well to be clear and direct so we can get cooperation between China and the U.S. on the challenges that are facing us together." The mechanism of the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue was jointly launched by Chinese President Hu Jintao and President Obama during their meeting in April in London, as a way to show elevation of the importance of China-U.S. cooperation under the new historical circumstances

Mitchell: U.S. wants to achieve comprehensive peace in the region
U.S. Mideast peace envoy George Mitchell asserted on Monday that the U.S. administration is looking forward to achieving a comprehensive peace between Israel and the Arabs in the region.Mitchell told reporters in a joint news conference with Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat following a two-hour meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that he had finished "a constructive and wide-ranged meeting with President Abbas." "I reiterated that it's American policy to do whatever we can to achieve a comprehensive peace in the Middle East, between Israel and the Palestinians, between Syrians and Israel, and between Israel and Lebanon," said Mitchell. He added that President Barack Obama's administration "is looking for normalization of relations between Israel and all of the countries in the region, in order to achieve that objective." Mitchell held talks with Erekat, Premier Salam Fayyad in Ramallah, where he will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday. He had also met with Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his Mideast trip. "The president (Obama) has asked all parties involved to take steps to make possible an early return of meaningful negotiation and a prompt resolution of those negotiations to achieve the comprehensive peace which we all desire," he said. Abbas has insisted that peace negotiations with Israel and even normalization with Arabs can only begin when Israel recognizes the U.S.-backed two-state solution vision and freezes settlement, including the natural growth. "That means everyone must take steps, some of them difficult, some of them controversial, to create the context, within which such discussions can occur," Mitchell said. He added that his message to all leaders whom he met and will meet "is the same: we want to help you to bring peace to this region, so the people of all the countries in the region can enjoy the benefits of peace, security, opportunity and prosperity." Mitchell revealed that he looked forward to returning again.

China-U.S. Economic and Strategic Dialogue opens in Washington

The China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED), the first of its kind between the world's biggest developing country and biggest developed country, opened here on Monday.On behalf of Chinese President Hu Jintao and invited by U.S. President Barack Obama, Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan and State Councilor Dai Bingguo participated in the opening ceremony in Ronald Reagan Building in downtown Washington, D.C.. In a congratulatory message to the opening ceremony of the dialogue read by Wang, Chinese President Hu Jintao said that both China and the United States shoulder important responsibilities on a host of major issues concerning peace and development of mankind. As two countries with significant influence in the world, China and the United States also enjoy extensive common interests and broad space for cooperation, Hu said. China and the United States, in the face of the complex and changing international economic and political situation, should endeavor to expand common ground, reduce differences, enhance mutual trust and strengthen cooperation through the Strategic and Economic Dialogue, he said. "This serves the common interests of the two sides and will help advance the positive, cooperative and comprehensive relationship between our two countries," said the Chinese leader in the message. "It is also of great importance for peace, stability, development and prosperity of the whole world," he added. Hu expressed his confidence that "with the concerted efforts of both teams, the S&ED mechanism will keep improving and growing and inject new dynamism and make new contribution to our mutually beneficial cooperation in various areas and to the growth of our positive, cooperative and comprehensive relationship." Addressing the opening session of the dialogue, President Obama stressed the importance of cooperation between the United States and China,saying that the U.S.-China relationship "will shape the 21st century." He hailed the dialogue as an "essential step forward "in advancing a positive and comprehensive relationship between the two countries. "Our countries have now shared relations for longer than we were estranged. Our people interact in so many ways. And I believe that we are poised to make steady progress on some of the most important issues of our times," he said. Obama will meet with the Chinese delegation after the session. In her opening remarks, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton extended her warm welcome to the Chinese delegation, noting that the two nations were "laying brick by brick the foundation for a stronger relationship." The top U.S. diplomat said that economic recovery is "critical" to the world, adding that many global issues are "within reach" if the two countries work together. To give prominence to the dialogue and the importance of U.S.-China relations, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said at the opening ceremony in Mandarin Chinese that "when you are in a common boat, you need to cross the river peacefully together." State Councilor Dai also gave a short speech, saying that he is optimistic with the future of bilateral relations although the two countries have differences in some areas. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the U.S State Department, Dai will co-chair the "Strategic Track" of the dialogue with Clinton, while Vice Premier Wang will co-chair the "Economic Track" with Geithner, each as a special representative of their respective presidents. Chinese and U.S. officials will give closing statements to reporters after the dialogue and respective briefings to announce results of the dialogue. During their stay, Chinese officials will also meet with U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, World Bank Chief Economist Justin Yifu Lin, congressmen and other officials. Wang will deliver a speech at a banquet to be hosted on Tuesday evening by the National Council for U.S.-China Trade and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. The dialogue mechanism was upgraded from former Strategic Dialogue and biennial Strategic Economic Dialogue, which were initiated by the two heads of state in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Following the opening ceremony of the dialogue, officials of China and the United States will have a face-to-face plenary session before the strategic track of the S&ED to be held at the State Department Building while the economic track will first be held in Ronald Reagan Building before moving to the Treasury Department Building. The two-day dialogue will focus on addressing the challenges and opportunities that both countries face on a wide range of bilateral, regional and global areas of immediate and long-term strategic and economic interests.

China lowers gasoline, diesel pricesChina will cut gasoline and diesel prices from Wednesday by 220 yuan (32.4 U.S. dollars) per ton, or by about 3 percent each, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced Tuesday.The retail price of gasoline will drop by about 0.16 yuan per liter, and that of diesel by about 0.19 yuan per liter, the commission said in a statement issued after a news briefing. The benchmark prices of gasoline would be reduced to 6,910 yuan per tonne, and that of diesel to 6,170 yuan per ton. The price cut was in response to recent falls in global crude prices, which had dropped to 63.97 U.S. dollars per barrel from 67.8 U.S. dollars on June 30, according to the statement. Global crude prices, despite recent rebounds, experienced consecutive falls in the first half of this month, said the statement. The NDRC is basing its adjustment of domestic fuel prices on three kinds of global crude prices, but the commission did not reveal the structure of the three prices. On Monday, light, sweet crude for September delivery rose 33 cents to settle at 68.38 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. London Brent for September delivery rose 50 cents to 70.82 dollars a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. It is the sixth fuel price adjustment since the country adopted a new fuel pricing mechanism, which took effect on Jan. 1. The Chinese government has lowered retail fuel prices in December, before the new mechanism became effective, and again in January. It also raised prices once in March and twice last month. Under the pricing mechanism, the NDRC would consider changing benchmark retail prices of oil products when the international crude price rises or falls by a daily average of 4 percent over 20 days. The two price rises last month were slight, said the statement, in an effort to quell doubts over frequent price hikes. The country's latest fuel price hike on Jan. 30 sparked widespread debate as consumers grumbled that the record domestic prices were even higher than in the United States. However, according to the NDRC statement, post-rise prices on June 30 translated into about 60 U.S. dollars per barrel, which was 7.8 U.S. dollars lower than the international price that day. On June 1, post-rise prices were equal to about 50 U.S. dollars a barrel, 7.6 U.S. dollars lower than the global crude price. The NDRC raised pump prices of gasoline and diesel by 400 yuan per ton, or 7 percent and 8 percent, respectively, from June 1, and again by 600 yuan per tonne, or 9 and 10 percent, respectively, from June 30. Such controlled rises were meant to ease the burden of downstream industries so as to help fuel a recovery in the economy, and also to cushion the negative effect of irrational rises in global crude prices, such as raises in investment of speculative capital, according to the statement. The commission would continue to adjust domestic fuel prices "at an appropriate time", and take into account of changes in global crude prices, domestic economic situation, and demand and supply on the domestic market, said the statement.

EU ready to offer assistance to Belarus
The European Union (EU) is considering macroeconomic and financial support for Belarus if the latter meets certain conditions, said an EU official on Tuesday."We stand ready to support and re-engage with Belarus if indeed Belarus shows to be very serious in pursuing the moves toward democracy and fundamental freedoms," said Benita Ferrero-Waldner, EU commissioner for external relations and European neighborhood policy. "We are currently therefore considering macrofinancial assistance and the possibility for Belarus to receive EIB (European Investment Bank) and EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) loans in the future," she told reporters after a meeting between EU officials and Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergei Martynov. However, she said it is too early to say how much money Belarus might receive as Minsk has to meet certain conditions. "The conditionality is, so to say, the IMF (International Monetary Fund)conditions." The IMF approved a 2.5 billion U.S. dollar emergency loan package for Belarus in December 2008 to help Minsk tide over the economic crisis. The IMF agreed to increase financing support by 1billion dollars last month. Ferrero-Waldner said the EU is ready to double its aid to Belarus in 2010, particularly in order to support Belarus' food safety and quality regimes so that the country could export to the EU. Brussels has already doubled its aid for 2009 to Belarus from 5to 10 million euros (about 7.1 to 14.2 million U.S. dollars), she said. The EU and Belarus could also work on energy cooperation in the future, she said. Belarus is a transit country for EU's energy imports from Russia. The EU had imposed sanctions on Belarus to protest human rights abuses. Its travel ban on Belarusian leaders, including on President Alexander Lukashenko, has been suspended to allow rapprochement.

India-controlled Kashmir chief minister resigns over alleged sex scandal
India-controlled Kashmir's highest administrative official, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Tuesday submitted his resignation to the Governor, his political advisor Davinder Sigh Rana said."Omar Abdulla has submitted his resignation to the Governor. He is a tall leader and for him his credibility is more important than remaining in power," Rana told Media in Srinagar. Abdullah's decision to quit came following the allegations of his involvement in 2006 Kashmir sex scandal were made by an opposition member and former Deputy Chief Minister, Muzaffar Hussain Beigh on the floor of the local assembly house. Though Abdullah termed the charges false and frivolous, he informed the assembly that he is going to quit. "I know allegations are baseless and false. But I want to resign until I am cleared of this allegation. It is a blot on my character," Abdullah said. Abdullah announcement created a ruckus in assembly, and he left the house soon after despite persuasions by the fellow lawmakers to reconsider his decision. A meeting was held at Abdullah residence to discuss the issue, after which he was accompanied by his father Farooq Abdullah to Governor's office to submit the resignation. Beigh, the opposition leader from People's Democratic Party, told a press conference after making the allegation in the House that Farooq Abdulla too is in the list. "We are saying names of Omar Abdulla and Farooq Abdulla figurein the list named by the victims of sex scandal and CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) has not done thorough inquiry. May be Central Bureau of Investigation exonerates both," Beigh said. Kashmir sex scandal broke out in March 2006 after residents in Srinagar went to police station with a pornographic CD containing some nude pictures and video grabs of a neighborhood girl. Police investigations in the matter opened a lid of a sex ring involving bureaucrats, politicians, police and para-military officers. The revelations infuriated people and brought Kashmir on boil. Public backlash forced the government to transfer the case to Central Bureau of Investigations for thorough probe. The case is still sub-judice in the courts of law. In India, a chief minister is elected while the governor is appointed by the president.

Divorce impairs health even after remarriage: study
Even after remarriage divorce can cause great damage to one's health, according to a new study released by agencies.The study shows that divorce or death of a spouse can bring about an immediate and long-lasting hurt on one's mental and physical health. During the period when divorce is taking place, people are extremely stressful and could ignore their health; once the health has deteriorated, it's hard to snap back, according to study researcher Linda Waite, sociologist and director of the Center on Aging at the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. "Remarriage helps. It puts you back on a healthy trajectory, but it puts you back on a healthy trajectory from a lower point, because you didn't take care of yourself for a year," Waite says. The study analyzed data collected from nearly 9,000 adults ages 51 to 61, among which about 20 percent were remarried and nearly 22 percent had previously been married but hadn't remarried. Less than 4 percent were never married. Results showed that those who had been divorced or widowed suffered from 20 percent more chronic health conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes or cancer, compared with individuals who were currently married. Health situations like depression often respond quickly and strongly to changes. But conditions such as diabetes and heart disease develop slowly over a long period. That is why health is undermined by divorce or widowhood, even when a person remarries, according to the study.

Report: Jackson doctor administered deadly drug

Michael Jackson's personal physician administered the powerful anesthetic propofol that authorities believe killed the singer, U.S. media reported Tuesday, quoting an unnamed law-enforcement source.The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, said Dr. Conrad Murray gave propofol to Jackson the night before his death. The singer had reportedly been receiving the powerful drug to help him sleep. Murray, 51, has been identified in court papers as the subject of a manslaughter investigation and authorities last week raided his office and a storage unit in Houston. Police say Murray is cooperating and have not labeled him a suspect. Murray's lawyer, Edward Chernoff, has insisted that the doctor didn't prescribe or administer anything that killed Jackson. Murray became Jackson's personal physician in May and was to accompany him to London for a series of concerts starting in July. He was called to Jackson's house on June 24 and was the person who found him unconscious, not breathing in bed the next day. Police searching Jackson's home after his death found propofol and other drugs, an IV line and three tanks of oxygen in Jackson's bedroom, and 15 more oxygen tanks in a security guard's shack, media reports said. Propofol is a short-acting, intravenous, nonbarbiturate sedative typically used for the induction of anesthesia and sedation in medical contexts. Typically used in a hospital or clinic, it is rarely allowed outside such medical locations. Although approved for use in all 50 states, the potency of propofol is considered dangerous if not used correctly.VietNamNet/Xinhuanet