Thursday July 24, 2008
Where children take a back seat to dogged pursuits
Chisai Yasuda and his wife arrange play dates for their four-year-old. They buy her pretty clothes, take her with them to cafes, give her baths and every night she shares their bed. From Print Edition, 24/07/08
China sets up 'protest pens' for Games
China says it will allow protests during the Beijing Olympics, but the demonstrators will be confined to special zones in three suburban parks and must apply for official permission.The announcement yesterday is the first sign that China will slightly relax its normal ban on public protests, but the designated ''protest pens'' will be kept under strict control and permitted only during the Olympic period. From Print Edition, 24/07/08
Al-Qaeda fighters choose Afghanistan over Iraq
Al-Qaeda's foreign fighters who have for years bedevilled Iraq are increasingly going to Afghanistan to fight instead, the Iraqi ambassador to the United States, Samir Sumaida'ie, said yesterday. From Print Edition, 24/07/08
Additional U.S. troops headed to Afghanistan
Top Pentagon leaders are expected to recommend soon that Defence Secretary Robert Gates order hundreds of additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan over the next month or so, according to a senior military official. From Print Edition, 24/07/08
Earthquake measuring 6.8 hits Japan, injures 100
A powerful earthquake rattled parts of northern Japanese early today, injuring nearly 100 people, triggering landslides and cutting power to thousands of people, officials said.Japan's Meteorological Agency said the temblor, which had a preliminary magnitude of 6.8, struck shortly after midnight at a depth of about 65 miles. From Print Edition, 24/07/08
Chavez denies inviting Russia to establish base
Venezuela's government denied yesterday that President Hugo Chavez invited Russia to open a military base in his country, disputing a report by Russia's Interfax saying that Russian troops were welcome in the South American nation. From Print Edition, 24/07/08
Speak2Me on Chinese TV
A Canadian company hopes that an American Idol-style English proficiency contest in China will give a boost to its interactive language teaching website.Toronto-based Lingo Media Corp. says that its subsidiary Speak2Me Inc. will sponsor the 2008 Jiangsu English Star Television Contest. From Print Edition, 24/07/08
