Brazilian swimmer Felipe Franca breaks world record in 50m breaststroke

RIO DE JANEIRO, May 8 (Xinhua) -- For the first time at the Maria Lenk Trophy swim meet, a Brazilian swimmer broke a world record.

Felipe Franca broke the record in his performance on Friday in the 50 meters breaststroke. Using a new swimsuit, the athlete set the new mark at 26.89 seconds.

Franca broke the record set by South African swimmer, Cameron Van Der Burgh, who clocked in at 27.06. Franca has had his eyes set on breaking the record since last year.

Since last year, I have been thinking about the world record. This may have led me to lose my focus. I think that was the reason behind my poor performance in the Olympics, declared Franca, who placed 22nd in the 100 meters breaststroke in Beijing last year. The 50 meters breaststroke is not disputed in the Olympics.

The Brazilian earned his spot in the World Championships in Rome later this year. With his record-breaking performance on Friday, he is listed among the favorites to win the event at the World Championships.

Despite his stellar performance, Franca admits that there is plenty of room to improve. He also claims that he no longer fears American swimmer Michael Phelps.

Cross-talk Veteran Li Wenhua Passed away

Chinese cross-talk veteran Li Wenhua died of a cancer-caused chronic pulmonary heart disease early Saturday morning at the age of 82.

FilephotoofLiWenhua[Photo:sina.com]

Li started his stage career in 1962 and become a household name in China in the early 1980s when he partnered with Jiang Kun.

However, he was diagnosed of laryngeal cancer in 1983 and underwent a throat surgery in 1985 which forced him out of performance.

He was awarded one of the top 10 comics in China in 1985.

Hollywood actors union to hold town hall meetings on new contract

LOS ANGELES, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Hollywood's largest actors union announced Friday it is holding two town hall meetings in coming weeks over its feature-primetime contract with major studios and television networks.

The 12,000-member Screen Actor Guild (SAG) reached a tentative agreement with a group of entertainment executives last month, nearly 11 months after its previous feature-primetime contract expired.

The union is planning to hold two members-only meetings, one in Hollywood on May 21 and another in New York on June 1, to allow its members to discuss the new agreement, which will be later ratified through a referendum-style vote.

SAG had originally planned to send out the ratification ballots last week, but the union needed more time to prepare the pro and con statements going out with the ballot to its 120,000 members, mostly in Los Angeles and New York.

Ballots will go out May 19 with a June 9 return date, union officials said.

Underground restaurants in Turkey

Cappadocia which in Persian means the land of beautiful
horses, is a region in inland Turkey , better known for
its underground cities which were used by the Christian
population to hide from the Roman persecutors. The
underground cities boast a number of restaurants of
different flavors. [Photo: sohu.com]

Click for more news in Culture Express

Drawing mothers pictures on Mothers Day

Kidsdrawpicturesoftheirmothers,atYixiukindergarten
inSuzhou,eastChina'sJiangsuProvince,May8,2009,
tocelebratetheMother'sDay,whichfallsonMay10this
year.(Xinhua/HangXingwei)

NASA set for Monday Hubble launch

Special Report:Tech Max

BEIJING, May 9 (Xinhuanet)-- NASA will set off on the final shuttle mission to the Hubble space telescope on May 11.

ThecrewofthespaceshuttleAtlantisSTS-125(LtoR)
missionspecialist'sMeganMcArthur,MichaelGood,pilot
GregoryJohnson,commanderScottAltman,mission
specialist'sJohnGrunsfeld,MichaelMassiminoandAndrew
Feustelstandforagroupphotoafterarrivingatthe
shuttlelandingfacilityatKennedySpaceCenterinCape
Canaveral,FloridaMay8,2009.(Xinhua/ReutersPhoto)

Space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to blast off at 2:01 p.m. EDT May 11 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Shuttle weather officer Kathy Winters told reporters there was an 80 percent chance of favorable meteorological conditions for the launch of space shuttle Atlantis.

The countdown for NASA's trip to the Hubble Space Telescope began Friday as the astronauts arrived at the launching site.

The 11-day mission will be lead by Commander Scott Altman and six crew mates. They will be tasked with refurbishing the Hubble with state-of-the-art instruments that are expected to expand the telescope's capabilities and extend its lifetime through at least 2014.

The Hubble Telescope has been in space for 19 years at this point which is already twice the length of time it was initially expected to work.

The misssion -- code named STS-125 -- is the fifth and last of its kind.

HK clears 1st round of flu control

Special Report:World tackles A/H1N1 flu

Health authorities in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region have lifted a quarantine on the Metropark Hotel.

This marks the end of quarantine arrangements following the first confirmed case of influenza A-H1N1 in the city.

HealthauthoritiesintheHongKongSpecialAdministrative
RegionhaveliftedaquarantineontheMetroparkHotel.
(APPhoto/KinCheung)

A total of 286 people, including tourists and hotel staff were put under quarantine, after a 25 year-old Mexican was confirmed to have A-H1N1 flu on May 1st.

Some guests had initially complained about being trapped, but with the door opened, some seemed upbeat.

60 of the people went directly to airport and ports. Those who chose to stay in Hong Kong will receive two free nights in another hotel, and tickets to Disneyland and Ocean Park.

Donald Tsang, HK SAR Chief Executive, said, "Most of the affected people have shown their understanding of what we've done. I saw they hung out "I love Hong Kong". I was deeply moved. I want to extend my greatest appreciation for them."

The Metropark Hotel will undergo a thorough disinfection after all the guests left. Hong Kong health authorities say although they've succeeded in preventing the spread of the disease, the city should remain vigilant.

The Mexican patient, the first confirmed case in Hong Kong, was discharged from hospital on Friday evening.

No one is in isolation in Hong Kong at the moment.

U.S. to reopen Statue of Liberty crown on July 4

NEW YORK, May 8 (Xinhua) -- The crown of the Statue of Liberty, which has remain closed to the public after the September 11 terror attacks, will reopen on July 4, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced here Friday.

FilephototakenonApril12,2009showstheStatueof
LibertyinNewYork.InteriorSecretaryKenSalazarsaid
onMay8thecrownoftheStatueofLibertywillreopen
July4.ThestatuewasclosedtothepublicaftertheSept.
11,2001,terrorattacksbecauseofsecurityconcerns.
(Xinhua/ShenHong)

"On July 4, we are giving America a special gift," Salazar told a news conference on nearby Ellis Island. July 4 is the Independence Day of the United States.

The decision to reopen the crown was based on an analysis of the structure by the National Park Service, Salazar said.

Only 30 visitors an hour, chosen by lottery, will be allowed to visit the crown. They will be brought to the crown in groups of 10and guided by a park ranger.

WHO: AH1N1 flu cases rise to 2500

Special Report:World tackles A/H1N1 flu

Now for more of the latest figures on confirmed human flu cases, from the World Health Organization.

As of 1600 GMT on Friday, 25 countries have officially reported 2,500 confirmed cases, including 46 deaths.

PassengersfromtheU.S.wearingfacemasksarriveat
NaritainternationalairportinNaritaMay9,2009.
REUTERS/IsseiKato

That's 116 more cases than the day before. The figure does not include the first death in Canada on Friday.

Meanwhile, three Japanese males have been confirmed as the country's first cases. They are a high school teacher and two students who had been on a school trip in Canada.

The three are in hospital and 49 others who arrived in Japan on the same flight have been kept apart in a facility near Tokyo's Narita airport.

Canadian A/H1N1 flu death confirmed

Special Report:World tackles A/H1N1 flu

A Canadian woman diagnosed with the A/H1N1 flu strain has died. But, the chief medical health officer for the province of Alberta says says the woman, who is in her 30's, had serious underlying medical problems.

Dr.AndreCorriveauconfirmedthewoman'sdeathon
Friday--thefirstassociatedwiththeA/H1-N1
virusinCanada. (CCTV.com)

Dr. Andre Corriveau confirmed the woman's death on Friday -- the first associated with the A/H1-N1 virus in Canada.

He says she went to hospital last month with a number of medical conditions and doctors did not diagnose the A/H1-N1 flu at the time. She died on April 28th.

Then a family member was found to have a mild form of A/H1-N1 on May 5th. Further tests revealed the A/H1-N1 virus, but the role it played in her death will not be known until more tests are done.

Three hundred people who attended the woman's wake are being monitored for signs of infection.

US A/H1N1 flu cases hit 1,639

Special Report:World tackles A/H1N1 flu

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the country has 1,639 cases of the A/H1N1 flu in 43 states. So far, there have been two deaths.

RichardBesser,actingdirectoroftheCentersforDisease
ControlandPrevention,speaksasNewYorkMayorMichael
Bloomberglooksonatleft,inAtlantaWednesday,May6,
2009.(APPhoto/JohnBazemore)

The number of confirmed cases now surpasses Mexico, which has reported 1,319 cases, including 45 deaths.

Acting CDC director Dr. Richard Besser says only about 10 percent of the people who caught the virus have been to Mexico.

This suggests the virus is still passing very easily from one person to another. US officials expect the virus to spread to all 50 states and to cause many infections, ranging from mild to severe.

US President Barack Obama told Hispanic community leaders the A/H1N1 flu virus apparently was not as virulent as feared, but they are not completely out of the woods yet and still need precautions.

Flu cases continue to grow worldwide, WHO keeps alert

Special Report:World tackles A/H1N1 flu

BEIJING, May 8 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed A/H1N1 flu cases continued to rise worldwide, especially in the United States, while the World Health Organization (WHO) has left its alert level unchanged.

According to the latest figures, over 3,000 cases have now been confirmed in 27 countries around the world.

The confirmed A/H1N1 flu cases in the United States rose sharply on Friday to 1,639 in 43 of its 50 states, including two deaths, overtaking Mexico as the country having the most confirmed cases in the world.

The update registered a sharp increase from the case count on Thursday when confirmed cases were 896, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

However, the jump "does not reflect a speed-up of the epidemic," said Dave Daigle, a spokesman for the CDC. The number of cases may jump quickly day to day as a backlog of likely cases need to be confirmed through extra testing, he said.

About 3.5 percent of the cases have been sick enough to be admitted to hospitals and health officials say the rate will continue to fall as more screening is done in the community.

U.S. President Barack Obama Friday urged Americans to take persistent precaution on the A/H1N1 flu, even though he said the virus was not as virulent as people first feared.

President: Situation in Brazil stays calm despite flu cases

Special Report:World tackles A/H1N1 flu

RIO DE JANEIRO, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's President said on Friday that the situation in the country is calm, despite the confirmation of A/H1N1 flu cases.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the government is taking all the necessary steps to prevent the A/H1N1 flu virus from spreading in the country.

Brazil's health authorities confirmed two more cases of A/H1N1 flu on Friday, including the first contagion in the country, bringing the total number of infection cases detected to six.

The president said Brazil will keep on fulfilling the determinations of the World Health Organization (WHO), and continue the watch on the international airports.

He stressed that Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao has assured him the virus is not circulating in Brazil, and that the confirmation of the flu cases will not have an impact on the Brazilian economy.

The WHO decided on Friday to keep its global pandemic alert at level 5, which indicates an imminent pandemic.

Confirmed cases of A/H1N1 flu surge to 23 in Florida

Special Report:World tackles A/H1N1 flu

HOUSTON, May 8 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed A/H1N1 flu cases in the southern U.S. state of Florida has surged from 2 to 23 in the past week as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) enabled states to test their own samples, clearing backlogs, a local health official said on Friday.

Last Friday, Governor Charlie Crist announced a 17-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy as the first two confirmed cases of A/H1N1 flu, commonly known as swine flu, in the state.

Nationwide, the number of sick nearly doubled from Thursday to Friday, reaching 1,639, in 43 states. The Florida Department of Health said new test kits from the CDC were being used at its four state labs, which are in Miami, Tampa, Jacksonville and Pensacola.

Tim O'Connor, health department spokesman, said that positive cases were confirmed in 11 counties, including Broward, Indian River and Okeechobee. While Palm Beach County wasn't among those with confirmed A/H1N1 influenza cases, it had one probable case, he said, adding that individual has been treated and has already recovered.

The A/H1N1 flu strain is different to seasonal flu in key ways, the CDC reported in Friday's edition of its scientific journal, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

It's hitting young people hardest, rather than the very old and very young who are typically cut down by seasonal flu, the report said, adding that it's rising during what's typically the off season for flu.

In Mexico and the United States, the percentage of patients requiring hospitalization has been particularly high among persons aged 30-44 years, the journal editors wrote.

Local health officials said that Florida's flu cases mirror the national data -- the young, especially teenagers, have been hardest hit.

Broward County's 5 confirmed positive cases were between the ages of 3 and 26, while Indian River's case was in a 15-year-old, and Okeechobee's was in a 27-year-old, they explained.

Passengers on AM098 released from quarantine

Special Report:World tackles A/H1N1 flu

The seven-day quarantine period for passengers on flight AM098 from Mexico City to Shanghai is over. They were put under medical observation after a 25 year old Mexican man on the flight was found to have the A/H1N1 flu.





Awomanwavesafterbeingreleasedfromquarantineata
holidaycampwheretheywereheldforaweekinHongKong
Thursday,May7,2009.Atleast28ofthe34passengerswho
flewfromShanghaitoHongKongwiththeMexicanmanconfirmed
astheterritory'sfirstandonlyswineflupatientwere
releasedThursdayafternoon.Another347guestsandstaff
quarantinedintheMetroparkHotelinWanchaiwillbe
releasedFridayevening.

About 110 people from the AeroMexico flight were put under quarantine.

They are scattered across 18 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

None are showing any flu-like symptoms.

A Mexican student, who volunteered to stay in Shanghai for the quarantine, expressed gratitude to the local health authorities.

A Mexican student said, "We appreciate you for helping us everyday, because I understand what the Chinese government is doing for us and also for Mexico."

China calls for joint efforts with EU against protectionism

Special Report:EU-China HED

BRUSSELS, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) and China should work together to ward off potential surge of protectionism amid the global economic slump, Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan said on Thursday.





ChineseVicePremierWangQishan(L)shakes
handswithEuropeanUnionCommissionerfor
TradeCatherineAshtonpriortotheSecond
China-EUHighLevelEconomicandTradeDialog
attheEUheadquartersinBrussels,capital
ofBelgium,May7,2009.(Xinhua/WuWei)

"China and the EU should stand firm against any form of protectionism for the sake of a global economic recovery," Wang said in an opening remark at a high-level economic and trade dialogue between the EU and China, two major trading powers in the world.

The EU is now China's largest trading partner, while China is the second largest of the EU. Trade volume between them grew to 425.58 billion U.S. dollars in 2008, an increase of 19.5 percent over the previous year despite the impact of the financial crisis, according to figures from China's customs authorities.

Wang said the two sides have every reason to avoid protectionism, either for the urgent need to work out of the current crisis or due to the irreversible trend of globalization.

Chinas Zhuhai speeds up transport plans

BEIJING, May 8 -- Zhuhai is speeding up its construction of highways in a bid to become a traffic center in the western Pearl River Delta (PRD) area, the local transportation authority said yesterday.

The city will invest more than 14 billion yuan ($2 billion) in 10 highway projects. The work will start this year and continue until 2012, said Zheng Chaolong, director of the Zhuhai transportation bureau.

The highways will link harbors, airports and checkpoints between Zhuhai and Macao, helping develop the city into an important transportation hub in the western PRD region, Zheng said.

This year alone, the city has earmarked 3.7 billion yuan for urban provincial highway projects, Zheng said.

The work is part of the provincial government's plan to accelerate domestic consumption by speeding up infrastructure development amid the global economic downturn, Zheng said.

By next year, about 152 km of new highways will be added to the city's current traffic network, Zheng said.

He highlighted the importance of the proposed Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, which will be started at the end of the year.

The 29.6-km bridge, which will be the world's longest sea link, will attract 37.4 billion yuan in government investment and more than 21 billion yuan in bank loans. The city will also push on with renovations of the Gongbei checkpoints linking Zhuhai and Macao.

The renovation is to meet increasing traffic demand after the bridge linking Hong Kong, Macao and Guangdong is completed, Zheng said.

Click for more news in Biz China>>

Chinas pork prices continue to fall in April

BEIJING, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Pork prices in China further dropped in April due to over market supply and falling demand, analysts said on Friday.

Statistics released by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on Thursday showed pork prices in major Chinese cities averaged 10.13 yuan per kg (1.5 U.S. dollars) at the end of April, down 10.4 percent from the same period last year.

The decline led the proportion between pork prices and grain prices to stand at 6.18 to 1, the lowest point since May 2007, gaining on the threshold for hog breeders to earn profit set by the NDRC, which is 6 to 1.

The government will enforce subsidies for the pork production industry if the figure falls below 5 to 1.

Farmers had been raising more hogs since the pork prices began to climb up in the first half of 2007. It may be the major reason for over market supply and price drop since this year, Wang Xiao'e, economic researcher with Beijing Economic Information Center told Xinhua.

Pork prices were also affected by the falling demand in summer, when people tend to eat fewer pork products, said NDRC in a statement posted online late Thursday.

The A/H1N1 flu was also a factor that made people more cautious when choosing meat for meal, according to Wang.

The continuous price fall has already aroused concerns for further drop in CPI (Consumer Price Index) later this year, as the prices of pork, a major meat on Chinese families' dinner table, isa main drive behind CPI changes.

It will impose large pressure on the country's CPI if the downward trend in pork prices continues, said Wang.

Food prices, a major component of China's CPI, fell 0.7 percent year on year in March, with pork prices down 23 percent.

March's CPI dropped 1.2 percent from a year earlier, falling for a second month this year. Figures for April is expected to come out next week.

Click for more news in Biz China>>

Chinese shares rise for seventh day, led by heavyweights

BEIJING, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese equities rose for a seventh consecutive trading day Friday, led by heavyweights.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.09 percent, or 28.2 points, to close at 2,625.65. The Shenzhen Component Index edged up 0.73 percent, or 74.12 points, to 10,183.06.

Gainers outnumbered Losers by 474 to 408 in Shanghai, and 401 to 346 in Shenzhen.

Combined turnover shrank to 244.3 billion yuan (35.77 billion U.S. dollars) from 269.3 billion yuan on the previous trading day.

Click for more news in Biz China>>

Fuji Heavy logs 70 bln yen net loss in FY 2008

TOKYO, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. on Friday reported a consolidated net loss of 69.93 billion yen (706.36 million U.S. dollars) in fiscal 2008 ending March 31.

As car sales are still on the decrease amid the global financial crisis, the company further projected a loss of 55 billion yen (555.56 million dollars) in fiscal 2009.

According to Fuji Heavy, the sharp appreciation of the Japanese yen as well as the costs of releasing new cars also contributed to the company's first yearly net loss in 15 years.

Meanwhile, Fuji Heavy also predicted a loss of 40 billion yen (404.04 million dollars) in pretax loss on sales of 1.32 trillion yen (13.33 billion dollars), down by 8.7 percent on the previous year.

Click for more news in Biz China>>

Lakers roll past rockets to take lead

In the NBA playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Houston Rockets in game 3 to take a 2-games-to-1 lead in their second round Western Conference series.

KobeBryant(right)andSashaVujacicoftheLos
AngelesLakerscelebrateathree-pointshotatthe
endofthe3rdquarteragainsttheHoustonRockets
inGameThreeoftheWesternConferenceSemifinals
duringthe2009NBAPlayoffsatToyotaCenter,in
Houston,Texas.TheLakerswon108-94totakea2-1
serieslead.(AFP/GettyImages/RonaldMartinez)

Early in the first quarter, Kobe Bryant knocked down this jumper, putting Lakers ahead by 7.Lakers 11-4. In the second quarter, less than two minutes to go off, Yao Ming drew a right hand hook to tie the game. Rockets 26-26 Lakers.

Seconds before halftime, Yao tipped in a missed three pointer by Aaron Brooks, keeping Rockets in contention, Lakers 50-48 Rockets at half time. 3 seconds to go, Bryant nailed a long-range three pointer at the buzzer, up by 12, Lakers 74-62.

With 1 minute 30 seconds before end, Bryant beautiful drive-in, his lay-up missed, Lamar Odom dunked the rebound decisive score in the fourth quarter. Final Score: 108-94

UEFA: Barcelona prepare to face Villarreal

In the UEFA Champions League final, Barcelona is determined to win the Spanish Primera Liga title. The Catalan side plays host to Villarreal on Sunday.

BarcelonasoccerplayerSamuelEto'ovisits
theCatalunyaracetrackinMontmelo,near
Barcelona,Spain,onFriday,May8,2009.
TheSpanishGrandPrixwilltakeplaceon
Sunday.(APPhoto/DavidRamos)

The past week has been almost perfect for Barcelona. They thrashed arch rivals Real Madrid 6-2 in La Liga last Saturday, and secured their place in the UEFA Champions League final on Wednesday, thanks to a hard-fought 1-1 draw at Chelsea. And more glory could be in store.

China bid to host FIBA 2014 World Championship

China aims to make a successful bid for the 2014 FIBA Men's World Championship. But international basketball's governing body is issuing a new challenge, by asking the bidding countries to help to find a sponsor for 2010 to 2014.

China is one of the three countries bidding for the tournament, together with Spain and Italy. Italy is one of the founding members of FIBA, and Spain won the 2006 world championship, so both countries are strong competitors for China.

The future sponsor will need to spend six-million Euros to support FIBA over five-years. That won't be an easy task during the current world economic downturn, and it is turning into one of the biggest issues ahead of the FIBA vote on May 23rd.

Sun Kanglin, director, Beijing municipal sports bureau, said, "Generally speaking, China should be able to walk out of the shadow of the economic downturn faster than other countries. But that doesn't mean no companies from our competitors' countries want to be the partner for FIBA. So the situation for us is not clear yet. We also face big difficulties on this issue."

Tennis: Davydenko to meet Blake in semifinal

Second-seeded Nikolay Davydenko of Russia beat Mardy Fish 6-4, 6-3 on Friday at the Estoril Open. The 2003 champion will now play fourth seed James Blake in the semi-finals, after Blake defeated Florent Serra of France.

NikolayDavydenkoofRussiaeyestheball
duringhisEstorilTennisOpenmatchagainst
MardyFishoftheU.S.,inLisbonMay8,
2009.REUTERS/HugoCorreia

Davydenko took the favorites' role against the sixth-seeded Fish, who was making his Estoril debut.

It was only Davydenko's fifth tournament of the year after a two-month lay-off due to a heel injury. But he started strongly, taking the opener 6-4. The Russian broke Fish's serve again in the second set. A sharp backhand winner down the line gave the Russian a 6-4, 6-3 victory.

James Blake looked to earn the right to face Davydenko in the semi-finals. The American fourth seed, playing against Florent Serra, was soon 3-1 down in the first set. But he quickly fought back, winning eight consecutive games to take the set 6-4.

Britney Spears smoking hotel demands

BEIJING, May 9 -- Britney Spears is demanding a hotel room which has never been smoked in for her UK visit.

The 'Womanizer' singer has reportedly made several requests to London's Dorchester hotel where she will stay in June when her tour comes to England, including humidifiers in every room, Marilyn Monroe DVDs and 100 watt light bulbs.

SingerBritneySpearswalksonstage
toperformwithMadonna(notpictured)
duringtheLosAngelesdateofher
"StickyandSweet"touratDodgers
stadiuminLosAngelesNovember6,
2008.(Xinhua/ReutersFilePhoto)

Britney has also asked for fresh flowers which she will arrange herself, celebrity magazines and women's novels.

A source told Britain's Daily Star newspaper: "Britney may only be staying in the city for two weeks but she knows exactly what she wants.

"She'll be bringing all her own pillows for ultra comfort and her security will sleep outside her suite every night."

Britney has requested tickets for West End theatre productions, as well as a place to horse ride and a map of running routes around the nearby Hyde Park.

Kazakhstan holds Chinese proficiency competition

ALMATY, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The final Kazakh round of the Eighth Chinese Bridge competition, a Chinese-language proficiency contest for foreign college students, concluded on Thursday in the capital city of Astana.

A senior student from the Kazakh Abai National Normal University won the first prize and got a chance to take part in the semi-final competition in China in the final with 10 contestants.

The contest was made up of three parts: a speech in Chinese, a question-and-answer quiz on Chinese culture and history, and a show of the competitors' artistic skills.

Cheng Guoping, Chinese ambassador to Kazakhstan, presented the awards to the winners and expressed the hope that more Kazakh students would know more about China by learning the Chinese language.

The Chinese language learning has become popular in the central Asian country in recent years. Currently, 10 Kazakh universities have offered Chinese courses.

The annual Chinese Bridge competition was initiated in 2002 with the aim of expanding exchanges and cooperation between China and the rest of the world.

The Chinese language proficiency competition has become an important platform for college students around the world to learn the Chinese language and know more about the Asian country.

Statistics show that more than 30 million people overseas are learning Chinese.

Lakers beat Rockets 111-98 in Game 2

HoustonRocketscenterYaoMingslamdunksduringthefirsthalf
ofGame2oftheNBAWestConferencesemi-finalbetweenthe
RocketsandtheLosAngelesLakersinLosAngelesonThursday,
May07,2009.[Photo:Osports.cn]

Click for more news in Sports Scene

MVP James scores 34, Cavaliers beat Hawks 99-72

Over in the Eastern Conference semifinal, the Cleveland Cavaliers took on the Atlanta Hawks in their playoff opener. Before the match, Lebron James accepted the Maurice Podoloff Trophy from David Stern as the NBA's newest MVP.

ClevelandCavaliersLeBronJames(C)drivestothebasketagainst
AtlantaHawksRonaldMurray(L)andAcieLawduringthesecond
halfofGame1oftheirNBAEasternConferencesemifinalplayoff
basketballseriesinCleveland,OhioMay5,2009.REUTERS/Aaron
Josefczyk

Despite not playing a game for nine days, James exploded at the start of the match, scoring 16 points in the first quarter to give the Cavs the lead for good.

In an exhibition of why he was voted the league's best player by a landslide, James added 10 rebounds, three assists and four steals.Mo Williams added 21 points, as the top-seeded Cavs finally won their fifth straight lopsided game 99-72.

Click for more news in Sports Scene

Nuggets defeat Mavericks 117-105

The Denver Nuggets have gone up 2-0 in their best-of-seven Western Conference semi-final series against the Dallas Mavericks with another win at the Pepsi Center in Denver on Tuesday.

ChrisAndersen(L)oftheDenverNuggets
knockstheballawayfromthecontrolof
DirkNowitzkioftheDallasMavericksin
GameTwooftheWesternConference
semi-finalsduringthe2009NBAPlayoffs
atPepsiCenterinDenver,Colorado.The
NuggetsdefeatedtheMavericks117-105.
(AFP/GettyImages/DougPensinger)

With J.R. Smith's dunking, Denver had a 6-0 run, equalling the score to 14-14. Then it was Denver who dominate the match, leading the first quarter 30:22.

Near the end of the second quarter, Kidd's 3-pointer, Dallas fall behind 55-58 at the first half.

With 3 minutes 32 seconds to the end of the fourth quarter, Anthony's 3 pointer, enlarging the lead to 18 points.

Finally Denver defeat Dallas 117-105.

Click for more news in Sports Scene

Cavaliers crush Hawks in playoff second round opener

WASHINGTON, May 5 (Xinhua) -- NBA's MVP winner LeBron James scored 34 points Tuesday to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a lop-sided 99-72 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in their Eastern Conference second round opener.

NationalBasketballAssociationcommissionerDavidStern(L)
presentsClevelandCavaliersLeBronJameswiththeleague'smost
valuableplayerawardpriortoGame1oftheNBAEastern
ConferencesemifinalplayoffbasketballgameagainsttheAtlanta
HawksinCleveland,OhioMay5,2009.(Xinhua/ReutersPhoto)

James, who beat the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat for the MVP honor on Monday, also had 10 rebounds, four steals and three assists.

All-Star forward had 16 of his points in the first quarter, which gave the NBA's top regular-season team a lead that was never threatened.

Leading 49-44 at halftime, Cleveland turned up the pressure, outscoring the Hawks 50-28. The visitors scored 11 points in the fourth quarter.

Mo Williams added 21 points and Delonte West had 13 for the Cavaliers, who host Game Two on Thursday.

Josh Smith had 22 points for Atlanta and Mike Bibby contributed19.

Cleveland had not played since April 26 after sweeping the Detroit Pistons 4-0 in the opening round of the playoffs. Atlanta was taken to a deciding Game Seven by the Miami Heat before winning the series 4-3 on Sunday.

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Safina comes from behind to beat Sanchez

World number one Dinara Safina took on the unseeded Spaniard Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, who created problems for Safina from the start, mixing her game up with drop-shots and crisp volleys.

Safina double-faulted seven times and after six deuces, Sanchez reached a likely Safina backhand net-cord winner at the net, and pulled off a great recovery with a forehand winner to reach break point before taking the opening set 6-4.

But the 23-year-old Russian then rallied to come from 3-1 down in the second set to level the match. In the third set, Safina saved three break points and reeled off 11 games in a row to close out the match, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.

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Davydenko reaches Estoril Open quarter-finals

LISBON, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Second seed Nikolay Davydenko beat former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain 7-5 6-2 to advance to the quarter-finals at the Estoril Open on Wednesday

Davydenko, the 2003 winner, set up a last eight meeting with American Mardy Fish in seeking his first tournament title of the season.

"I don't want to say I am now the favourite for this tournament. I am not Nadal, and I have not won any tournaments this year," the world number 11 told.

Third seed David Ferrer was beaten 6-2 6-4 by fellow Spaniard Oscar Hernandez.

Ferrer saved two match points against his serve at 5-3 but Hernandez capitalised on the third to secure a last eight meeting with Chilean Paul Capdeville.

Fourth seed James Blake battled past local favourite Frederico Gil 5-7 6-4 6-2 to advance to the second round.

It was the American's first win on clay this year.

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Ivanovic bows to Radwanska in Rome Masters

ROME, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Ana Ivanovic's suffered a setback on way to French Open on Wednesday when she was ruled out of the third round in Rome Masters with a 6-1 3-6 6-4 loss to Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska.

The Serbian fifth seed, yet to win a title this year, looked on the way to victory when 4-0 up in the final set, after having fought back from set down. But she shockly lost the following six games.

Ivanovic had tidied up her act in the second set of the match at the Rome tournament, which is played on clay like the French Open, after making an inept start and losing the first set in just23 minutes.

Radwanska, seeded 10th, will take on the winner of the match between American fourth seed Venus Williams and Russia's Anna Chakvetadze in the quarter-finals.

Seventh seed Svetlana Kuznetsova ended Italy's hopes of a localchampion when she battled to a 6-3 3-6 6-0 victory over Flavia Pennetta.

Kuznetsova set up a meeting with champion Jelena Jankovic who eased through when Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko retired ill from their third round match with the Serb leading 6-1 1-0.

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Davydenko to play Ferrero in Estoril Open

LISBON, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Nikolay Davydenko and Juan Carlos Ferrero set up a Wednesday battle of former champions at the Estoril Open.

Second seed Nikolay Davydenko, the 2003 champion who lost finals in 2006 to David Nalbandian and in 2007 to Roger Federer rallied back after trailing two breaks in the second set to emerge a 6-1, 7-6 (7-4) victory over Andrey Golubev in opening round.

Ferrero, the champion eight years ago on the clay of the Estadio Nacional, booked his spot by beating Mikhail Kukushkin 7-6 (7-4),6-3.

Ferrero, a former number one, last month claimed his first title since 2003 when he won Casablanca. The 29-year-old part-time hotelier has won two of his previous three matches against Davydenko, the last contested in 2005.

Spain's third seed David Ferrer ended a six-year dry spell at the event with his 6-4, 6-1 defeat of fellow Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver.

Ferrer, ranked 14th, broke five times against the number 79Gimeno-Traver after trailing early in the match on hot spring afternoon.

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IOC hails sports facilities of Madrid

MADRID, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The evaluation commission from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) hailed on Thursday the work done in the sports facilities of Madrid, when beginning on Thursday the fourth date of its work visit in Madrid.

Madrid's government said on Thursday that Madrid offers economic solvency, politic unit, fiscal advantage and support from the 86 percent of the inhabitants to host the Olympic Games of 2016.

President from the Autonomous government of Madrid, Esperanza Aguirre assured the financing of the Games with 1.117 billion euro(1.485 billion U.S. dollars) and she hailed the economic and population growth in the region.

IOC former president Juan Antonio Samaranch, current member of the sport organizations, said on Thursday that Madrid can host the Olympic Games 2016 "with and without crisis because most of the investments are already done".

On Thursday it was proposed that all the profits the IOC will get in Spain for hosting in Madrid the Games 2016 will be free of taxes for the Treasury Minister.

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Triple Olympic champion gymnast Yang retires

BEIJING, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Three-time Olympic champion of gymnastics Yang Wei, double Olympic gold medallist in the Beijing Games, confirmed his retirement on Thursday.

The 29-year-old spearheaded China to the men's team title and collected all-around individual to cap his prolific career. Yang was also a member in China's win of men's team in the Sydney Olympics. Before culminating in Beijing, Yang also won seven world titles and two Olympic silvers in an international career spanning13 years.

According to Yang, the injury forced him to retire and gave up hope of taking part in China's 11th National Games in October.

"I just can not handle it now although my mind is still there to compete on at least for the national games," said Yang, who pondered to quit at the aftermath of Athens Olympic debacle.

"I think it's the time to retire and it would have been more reasonable to retire at the peak of my career after the Olympics. I'm happy I can stick to my training until now and finished top on the Beijing Olympics podium.

"I just wanted to end my career following flop in Athens out of concern of injury and my form, but my coach Huang Yubin persuaded me to hang on. I'm so eager to be part of the Beijing Olympic squad, so I said no to the thought of leaving finally," said Yang.

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Cesar Cielo guarantees spot at World Championships of swimming

RIO DE JANEIRO, May 6 (Xinhua) -- In the 50 meters freestyle event at the Maria Lenk Trophy swim meet, Cesar Cielo won on Wednesday with a time of 21.33 seconds. The victory and time are good enough to guarantee his participation in this year's World Championships in Rome.

Wearing an old suit that had to be cut in the hamstring at the last minute in order to provide room for the athlete, Cielo came close to his gold medal winning performance in Beijing last year. He stated that the new world record of 20.94 seconds set by Frenchswimmer Fred Bousquet, is not as far away as he imagined.

"I was surprised with my time today. I now see that the world record is closer than I thought and not as scary as I had imagined. My race today had its flaws. I needed to take some extrabreaths that ended up slowing me down. There is definitely the possibility of bettering my time and chasing the world record," analyzed Cielo after Wednesday's competition.

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Phelps back from suspension, ready to compete

Michael Phelps' three-month suspension from competition is over and he marked the occasion like any other day: He woke up late and headed to the pool.

Phelps said he didn't even realize his suspension ended on Tuesday. Coach Bob Bowman couldn't resist making a joke, saying he planned to enter his star swimmer in a meet later that night.

"I had no idea," Phelps said of his ban, which was doled out by USA Swimming after a picture surfaced in a London tabloid showing him inhaling from a marijuana pipe.

He'll return to competition next week at Charlotte, North Carolina. It will be his first time swimming competitively since winning eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics.

"I'm happy to be back in the water and be back in semi-shape," said Phelps, who's lost almost 20 pounds (nine kilograms) in the last two months. "I'm sort of getting back into racing shape and getting ready to race my first race since Beijing. We'll see how it goes.

"I'm happy to have some structure back in my life," he added.

Phelps said he considered retiring after the picture surfaced. After all, he'd already broken Mark Spitz's 36-year-old record of seven gold medals in one Games and became the most successful Olympian ever with 14 golds.

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Ancient town sees revival

Dan Ger, an ancient town linking Qinghai and western regions like Xinjiang and Tibet, has reopened after a two-year-long restoration project. It boasted a major road, through which merchants transported tea from the inland towns of China to western countries. The revival of this ancient commercial town is expected to attract many tourists to the area.

After two years of restoration, the ancient town Dan Ger has taken on a look just like it had centuries ago. The town，situated in Huangyuan county of northwest China's Qinghai province, rose to its peak of prosperity during the Qing dynasty. The major Chinese export products, like silk and tea, were transported to the west through here.

DanGer,anancienttownlinkingQinghaiandwesternregionslike
XinjiangandTibet,hasreopenedafteratwo-year-longrestoration
project.

Temples, local political institutions, and hundreds of shops line the street, reminding visitors of the ancient town's glorious past.

Cai Chengyong, the director of Huangyuan County in Qinghai province said, “Along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, there is more natural scenery, with few historical spots. The ancient town of Dan Ger displays a mixture of Han culture and the Tibetan culture, which is a good supplement to our region's tourist image.”

As hoped, the ancient town of Dan Ger has enjoyed a tourist boom since it reopened on Tuesday.

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Winner of worldwide best job announced

A bungee-jumping, ostrich-riding British charity worker was named the winner of what's been dubbed the "Best Job in the World", a six-month contract to serve as caretaker of a tropical island in Australia.

Thirty-four-year-old Ben Southall, of Petersfield, beat out nearly 35-thousand applicants from around the world for the dream assignment. His job: to swim, explore, and relax on Hamilton Island in the Great Barrier Reef, while writing a blog to promote the area.

Abungee-jumping,ostrich-ridingBritishcharityworkerwasnamedthe
winnerofwhat'sbeendubbedthe"BestJobintheWorld".

He was selected for the 111-thousand US dollar gig by officials from the tourism department of Queensland state.

Southall and 15 other finalists spent the past four days on the island for an extended interview process, which required applicants to snorkel through

crystalline waters, gorge themselves at a beachside barbecue and relax at a spa.

The finalists also had to demonstrate their blogging abilities, take swimming tests, and participate in live interviews.

The job is part of a 1.2 million US dollar tourism campaign to publicize the charms of northeastern Queensland. Officials say it has already generated more than 110-million Australian dollars, or over 81-million US dollars worth of publicity.

Southall once worked as a tour guide in Africa, but most recently as a charity fundraiser.

He will live for free in an airy, three-bedroom oceanfront villa with a private pool and sweeping views of the surrounding islands.

The happy winner starts "work" on July the 1st.

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World expo promoted in Canada

Officials from the Shanghai municipal government are currently on a whirlwind tour of Canada promoting the 2010 World Expo.

OfficialsfromtheShanghaimunicipalgovernmentarecurrentlyona
whirlwindtourofCanadapromotingthe2010WorldExpo.

The group has visited major cities in Canada, including Vancouver, Toronto, and Calgary. They told local media how preparations are going and where to buy tickets for overseas visitors. The limited version of the 2010 Expo tickets are already on sale in Toronto.

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Tony Award nominations

"Billy Elliot, The Musical" leads the race for Broadway's top honors, receiving 15 Tony Award nominations on Tuesday. Popular stars up for an award include Geoffrey Rush, Angela Lansbury, James Gandolfini, and Jane Fonda.

"Billy Elliot" is based on Oscar-nominated director Stephen Daldry's 2000 film about a ballet dancing schoolboy in a northern England mining town. The musical has already won several Laurence Olivier Awards in London and played in Australia.

"BillyElliot,TheMusical"leadstheraceforBroadway'stophonors,
receiving15TonyAwardnominationsonTuesday.

The show is competing for best musical against "Shrek the Musical," "Next to Normal," and "Rock of Ages." Nominations for best play are "Dividing the Estate," "33 Variations," "God of Carnage," and "Reasons to be Pretty."

Stephen Daldry is up for best direction of a musical, while Sir Elton John, who wrote the music for "Billy Elliot," is up against Dolly Parton in the best original score category. She wrote the music and lyrics for "9 to 5: The Musical."

"Next to Normal," a musical about a suburban family coping with a crisis, has 11 nominations.

"Mary Stuart" and "The Norman Conquests" picked up the most nominations for a play, with seven each.

Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush is nominated for best performance by a leading actor in a play for his Broadway debut in "Exit the King."

Jane Fonda is nominated for best performance by a leading actress in a play for her role in "33 Variations," her first Broadway role in more than 40 years. She is up against "God of Carnage" co-stars Marcia Gay Harden and Hope Davis. Also nominated in that category are "Mary Stuart" co-stars Janet McTeer and Harriet Walter.

The Tony Awards are voted on by about 750 industry professionals. Winners will be announced on June 7th.

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A lovely shop in Shanghai

In our final story, we'll see that proper home decorations can create a relaxed and happy environment.

In today's "Style Watch", we'll take you to a lovely shop in Shanghai to appreciate some fascinating decorations and see how to give your room a fresh new look.

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Tenor Ding Yi

Many contend that authentic western opera can only be found in Europe. But tenor Ding Yi has broken the mold. He's made a place for himself on the world stage, while maintaining a strong foothold in his native China. On today's "The List", we trace the singer's career, and see what it means for opera.

April 20th, 2005 was an unusual night at Australia's Sydney Opera House when an Asian face appeared in the starring role of bel canto classic, "Norma". Playing the treacherous Roman Pro-Consul, Pollione, Ding Yi gave a thrilling interpretation of this Bellini masterpiece.

The night was a huge success and local media praised Ding for having what they called "one of the most extraordinary voices to be heard on the planet".

Ding Yi sealed his position as the first Asian to take a lead role at the prestigious Opera Australia. But behind this moment, was ten years of hard struggle.

Ding Yi said, "I don't want Westerners to think that this art can only be mastered by them. I believe that we Asians are also equally able. I think great composers have bequeathed their great works to all human beings, not exclusively to those in the West. I certainly want to keep going in this career."

Born to a musical family with a composer father and soprano mother in Northwest China's Gansu Province, Ding discovered an early interest in opera. But he was soon frustrated by doctors telling him he lacked the basic make-up of a born singer.

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Institutional investors become major stock market force

Institutional investors have overtaken individuals to become the major participants of China's stock markets, which is regarded as a sign of maturity for the domestic securities sector, Shanghai Securities News reported on Tuesday.

The paper quoted statistics from China Securities Depository and Clearing Corp as saying that as of the end of last year, institutional investors have held 54.62 percent of the market value of all tradable A shares, up 5.91 percentage points from a year earlier.

This is the first time the proportion has surpassed the landmark 50 percent level, as individual investors had long been the dominant force of stock markets in the past few years.

Stock values held by individual investors accounted for an overwhelming 69.87 percent at the end of 2005. But institutions' shares caught up in recent years, thanks to the rapid development of mutual funds and increasing social security investments.

Institutional investors in China's capital markets mainly include mutual funds, social security funds, qualified foreign institutional investors (QFII), corporate annuity funds, brokerage firms, companies and organizations. They are normally believed to be rational and professional market participants, and may serve as a market stabilizer in extreme conditions.

This flourish of institutional investors is a notable shift for domestic stock markets and suggests the securities sector is stepping toward maturity, the paper quoted market analysts as saying.

Recent increases in institutional proportion were also caused by unlocked shares previously held by institutions via share placement or split-share structure reform.

In 2005, China launched the widely-concerned split-share structure reform to transform the split equity ownership into a fully floated share structure. After certain lockup periods, a large part of stocks became tradable, and most of their shareholders joined new institutional forces in the markets.

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China pension fund posts net loss in 2008

China's national pension fund posted a net loss of more than 39 billion yuan last year, due to a sharp slump in the local stock market.

China'snationalpensionfundpostedanetlossofmorethan
39billionyuanlastyear,duetoasharpslumpinthelocal
stockmarket.

The National Council for Social Security Fund says the fund saw a negative profit ratio for the first time in eight years in 2008, while the average annual profit ratio was just under 9 percent.

The council reported that the loss was mainly due to the dramatic shrink in the A-share market last year. The council says it has insisted on the principles of long-term, valuable and responsible investments, and it will be more cautious when investing in the stock market.

The council is also pledging to adjust investment structures by gradually cutting spending on products with fixed-profit and expanding investment in equity funds.

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Yuan sets at 6.8232 against USD

China's central bank set the mid point of the yuan's exchange rate against the US dollar at 6.8232 on Wednesday. That's a rise from the rate of 6.8201 a day earlier.

It has appreciated 18.86 percent since it stopped its peg with the US dollar in July 2005.

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Xian has sky-high plans for sightseers

China's ancient capital Xi'an plans to offer visitors a bird's eye view of the city, officials said Wednesday.

For 50 million yuan ($7.15 million), China Aviation Industrial Base in Yanliang, an outlying district about 50 km from downtown Xi'an, plans to buy five to eight helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft that will fly tourists at altitudes of 200 meters to 3,000 m, said project manager Gao Liting.

A ride will last 30 minutes to two hours and will take sightseers over the sacred Daoist mountain Huashan, the mausoleum of the legendary Yellow Emperor and the Hukou Waterfalls in the Yellow River, he said. Tourists can also try parachute jumps, shoot videos and even do some flying.

Gao said the base was negotiating with potential investors, including foreign aircraft manufacturers, travel companies and domestic business owners who are interested in the project.

He said specific plans would be unveiled before the end of this year.

Part of the plan will include opening one of the country's leading aircraft makers, Xi'an Aircraft Industry Group, to tourists, said Jin Qiansheng, director of the Yanliang aviation base.

According to the developed countries' experience, more people choose to travel by air when per capita GDP exceeds $2,000; when the figure tops $4,000, there's a growing demand for private planes, said Jin.

He said China's aviation industry would therefore expect another boom when per capita GDP tops $4,000, presumably in 2012.

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Overseas residents prop up realty

Overseas residents in Beijing are once again showing keen interest in home buys, industry experts said.

Foreignvisitorslookataminiaturerealty
projectatarealestatetradefairinSuzhou,
Jiangsuprovince.[ZhuZihan]

Hu Hanxiang, manager, Star River, a high-end residential project in Chaoyang District, told China Daily that they have just sold an apartment valued at around 10 million yuan to a Taiwan resident.

"The enquiries for new homes from foreigners has increased along with the rebound in the property market," said Hu.

Hu Yuzhou, manager, Yuanyang Lavie, a project in Beijing's central villa district, said property sales to Hong Kong and Taiwan residents have gone up recently.

Isler, an Italian working with a joint-venture company, is one of the foreigners keen on buying a new residence this year.

Passengers face rush hour taxi fare hike

Taxi passengers in Shanghai could be forced to pay higher fares during rush hours, it emerged yesterday.

The municipal government announced it is to carry out a full study into the raising of tariffs.

The authority could also reinstate booking fees, cancel the late-night tariff and revise the fuel surcharge, said the transport and port bureau of Shanghai.

The move follows a proposal by Tu Haiming, a member of the Shanghai municipal standing committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), to raise taxi fares during the annual sessions this year.

But the authority assured no changes would be made before a full round of public hearings is completed.

The announcement has met an unsurprisingly mixed response among passengers and drivers.

Passengers already pay more during rush hours because of the bad traffic (taxis charge a reduced rate when stuck in road jams), raising the fares even higher is unreasonable, an office clerk surnamed Zhang said.

Driver Zhang Bo disagreed but admitted the government should carry out a study to divide days in to peak, low and flat hours before raising the tariff.

However, research highlighted by Tu in his proposal said 75 percent of passengers and 50 percent of taxi drivers felt the late-night tariff, which begins at 11pm when the standing charge rises from 11 yuan ($1.6) to 13 yuan, should be scrapped.

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Tolls on 2nd-tier roads in western provinces may continue

While 12 provinces in the country have eliminated tolls on second-tier roads, provinces in western China can make decisions based on their own specific conditions. The spokesman for the Ministry of Transportation explains the reasons.

While12provincesinthecountryhaveeliminatedtolls
onsecond-tierroads,provincesinwesternChinacanmake
decisionsbasedontheirownspecificconditions.

He Jianzhong, Spokesman of Ministry of Transportation said "With regard to technology, western regions still have a heavy task in road construction and development. Due to geographic and financial reasons, the western region is still not able to build highways on a large scale. Second-tier roads are still a major part of their road construction. If the toll charge for second-tier roads is eliminated, the region will have more financing difficulty."

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Microsoft enters second stage of large-scale layoffs

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

US-based Microsoft Corporation said on May 5 that the large-scale lay-off plan it had announced earlier this year has now entered its second stage.

Microsoft announced its intention to cut 5,000 jobs at the beginning of this year, accounting for over 5 percent of its entire workforce. It is the largest downsizing plan the company has adopted since it was established in 1975. Of the total layoffs, 1,400 jobs have been immediately axed, while the remaining posts will be gradually cut over the next 18 months.

Microsoft's Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer wrote in an e-mail sent to the employees on May 5 that Microsoft's 5,000-people downsizing plan will be essentially concluded following the completion of the second-stage. This means the number of people laid off in the second stage will be around 3,600.

Microsoft has stated that this round of layoff involves employees in the US and other countries, and all employees laid off will receive a severance package. Moreover, from now until the middle of 2010, Microsoft will create 2,000 to 3,000 new jobs, after which, some of those previously laid off may be re-employed.

Due to the drop in IT spending around the globe following the financial crisis, and sustained sluggishness in the PC business and server markets in particular, Microsoft's business revenue in the first three months of this year dropped year-on-year for the first time since it went public 23 years ago.

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S Korean court says Ssangyong Motors survival viable

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

SEOUL, May 6 (Xinhua) -- A South Korean court said Wednesday that Ssangyong Motor Co.'s survival is valuable, citing audit results by a local accounting firm.

The audit results by the accounting firm Samjong KPMG Inc. were favorable to the survival of Ssangyong Motor Co. over its liquidation, which raised hopes on the company's viability, according to the Seoul Central District Court.

The value of Ssangyong, which has been under bankruptcy protection since February, came in at 1.32 trillion won (1.03 billion U.S. dollars), larger than the 938.6 billion won (735 million U.S. dollars) to be gained if liquidated, according to the court.

Creditors of Ssangyong will hold a meeting later in the month to decide on whether to save or liquidate the automaker.

Ssangyong, as part of its turnaround bid, announced to cut 36 percent of its workforce, or 2,646 jobs.

Ssangyong, a former affiliate of Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC) was abandoned by its parent company in January as SAIC decided to stop making any major effort to save its affiliate.

SAIC, which still owns a 51-percent stake in Ssangyong, relinquished its control in the company as it went under the bankruptcy protection.

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Ministry to impose anti-dumping measures on BDO imports from Taiwan, Saudi Arabia

BEIJING, May 5 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland will start from Wednesday imposing temporary anti-dumping measures on 1,4-butanediol (BDO) imported from Taiwan and Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday.

In a statement on its website, the ministry said Taiwan and Saudi Arabia had dumped BDO products on the Chinese mainland.

The ministry said the temporary measures are a result of the initial ruling of an anti-dumping investigation that began in September last year.

The ministry said Taiwan and Saudi Abrabia's dumping had caused substantial damage to the mainland's BDO industry. Importers will have to pay a deposit when bringing the goods into the country.

The amount of deposit paid by importers at customs would be decided by the extent of the dumping action of different producers in the two regions, said the ministry.

The ministry did not say when, or under what circumstances, these measures would be ended.

BDO is industrially used as a solvent and an ingredient for manufacturing some types of plastics and elastic fibers. It's widely used in the production of pharmaceuticals, chemicals, textiles, autos, and paper-making.

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Sarkozy calls for European bank regulation committee

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

PARIS, May 5 (Xinhua) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday calls for establishing a committee of banking regulation in Europe.

He said that France hopes the committee has real powers of sanction.

Currently Europe exists no transnational body for banking regulation, with each country overseeing its financial sector by its own regulating system and institution.

The European central bank can make and implement currency policies but has no authority of banking regulation.

Sarkozy said that he wants Europe to set an example in banking regulation, which will also monitor hedge funds, tax havens and executives' pay.

He calls for the Europe to speak with one voice in international negotiations on the issue.

The French president has been stressing the urgency for tougher financial regulation and an overhaul of international financial institutions since the global financial crisis started.

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American entrepreneurs seek new opportunities amid recession

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

CHICAGO, May 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. entrepreneurs are adjusting to the current economic environment and are trying to seek new opportunities.

"By and large, no company is doing as well as it was, regardless of size," Lloyd Shefsky, a clinical professor of entrepreneurship at Kellogg School of Management, said.

Bob Billow, managing director of Billow Butler Company, L.L.C., a middle market investment bank, said: "All across the spectrum of industries, small and medium sized businesses have been especially impacted by this very negative environment in which they are operating presently. We can see the pervasive effects of this challenging credit environment impacting so many firms up and down their supply and distribution channels."

R. J. Seidel, owner of an Asian antique store in Chicago, said:"No question we've felt the slow down. I can't say the economic impact on small businesses is greater than that on larger businesses; but it's the small businesses in many local economies that are most affected and are most likely to feel the pain."

However, Shefsky said some smaller companies are prepared because they have not accumulated mass, and the result is they have staying power. "The small and medium companies may even benefit by picking up customers of competitors who are less prepared," he said.

Indeed, many believe that the economic downturn also presents them with unique opportunities. They feel that it is time for entrepreneurs to have a long-term vision and expand their possibilities. When the economy starts showing glimmers of light at the end of the tunnel, existing small and medium sized companies will be in a position to take advantage of the economy.

Bernanke rules out new round of massive financial bailouts in U.S.

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

WASHINGTON, May 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke Tuesday ruled out the possibility of a massive new round of bailouts to save the U.S. banking giants.

I've looked at many of the banks and I believe that many of them will be able to meet their capital needs without further government capital, Bernanke told the Congress' Joint Economic Committee.

Media reported that about half of the 19 largest U.S. banks will be told to raise more capital after being stress tested by the government.

Citigroup, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase are reported to be among those who will have to boost their reserves.

The U.S. government will release the details of the stress tests on Thursday.

Moreover, Bernanke told the Congress that the U.S. economy will begin to rebound later this year but the recovery will probably be slower than usual.

We continue to expect economic activity to bottom out, then to turn up later this year, said the U.S. central bank chief.

But he also warned that even after a recovery gets under way, the rate of growth of real economic activity is likely to remain below its longer-run potential for a while.

We expect that the recovery will only gradually gain momentum and that economic slack will diminish slowly, he said. In particular, businesses are likely to be cautious about hiring, implying that the unemployment rate could remain high for a time, even after economic growth resumes.

The U.S. economy shrank at an annual rate of 6.1 percent in the first quarter of 2009, slightly smaller than the 6.3 percent drop in the previous quarter.

The worse-than-expected decline marked the third straight quarter of contraction for the world's biggest economy and signaled little improvement in a deep recession.

Looking ahead, many analysts were predicting the U.S. economy would shrink less in the current April-June period as the government's stimulus begins to take hold.

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Interview: Building Asias own demand key to recovery

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

BALI, Indonesia, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Building up the demand of Asian countries, both domestic and intra-regional, is crucial to help Asia recover more quickly than the rest of the world, said Jong-Wha Lee, acting Chief Economist of the Asian Development Bank(ADB) in an interview with Xinhua.

"Asian countries should do at least two things. One is to strengthen domestic demand and the other is to make big the regional demand, because this is very difficult time to rely on external demand for their source of growth," said Jong-Wha Lee on the sidelines of ADB's annual meeting ended Tuesday in Bali, Indonesia.

Export-reliant Asian economies are being hit hard by collapsing demand in the United States and Europe, as recession-hit consumers and companies cut back on spending.

ADB estimates that the crisis will keep more than 60 million people in developing Asia trapped in absolute poverty this year, and nearly 100 million more in 2010.

"Fortunately, Asian countries have more room to cut the policy rate, if the situation becomes deteriorating. Asian countries mobilize fiscal stimulus packages very actively, aggressively and very responsibly. So fiscal stimulus packages, especially like those adopted by China, (South) Korea and Japan would help to strengthen domestic demand," he said.

"China has been doing very well. Credit growth still maintains double-digit and actually is increasing. Fiscal stimulus was coming in," said Lee. "This time, China responded very quickly, earlier than other Asian countries and that's why we see some positive signs coming earlier than other countries."

In terms of boosting intra-regional demand, the economist called for cooperative efforts to do it simultaneously, mobilizing resources to build the regional demand.

Reconstruction vital for religion

Special Report:One Year after 5.12 Quake


Special Report:Beyond Survival

Er'Wang Temple in Dujiangyan was badly damaged in the quake. CCTV reporter Zhang Lu visited the temple which is now under reconstruction. As she finds out, the rebuilding is not only about the protection of cultural heritage, but also religious practice.

Er'WangTempleinDujiangyanwasbadlydamaged
inthequake.

Master of the Daoist Er'Wang Temple, Zhou Lihui, practises her morning ritual in front of a simple temporary altar. For almost a year after the quake, this small house has been the only place where she can worship.

Zhou Lihui, master of Er'Wang Temple, Sichuan, said, "The quake destroyed almost the whole temple. It used to be so magnificent. We are religious, so we can't stop our ritual. We repaired this small shanty house to be a temporary altar. It looks very basic, we feel sad."

The damage to buildings is only one aspect of the disruption the quake caused. There has also been an invisible impact on religious activities.

Re-establishing cultural relics in Dujiangyan

Special Report:One Year after 5.12 Quake


Special Report:Beyond Survival

As a tourism city, Dujiangyan has many cultural relics, some are even on the world heritage list. However, many were severely damaged during last year's earthquake. Rebuilding work started in less than a month after the disaster.CCTV reporter Pan Deng finds out the latest progress as the one year anniversary of the earthquake approaches.

The300-yearoldPuzhaoTempleisdeepintheQingcheng
Mountain.ItisseenasanauspiciousplaceforBuddhists.

No matter how hard a disaster hits, belief goes on.

The 300-year old Puzhao Temple is deep in the Qingcheng Mountain. It is seen as an auspicious place for Buddhists. But the temple was heavily damaged by the massive earthquake last year. Five of its major buildings collapsed. Luckily, all the nuns were out to receive a statue of Buddha on May 12th and no one was hurt.

This is the symbol of the Puzhao Temple, the Light Tower to Heaven. We are looking at an exact replica of the original, which was smashed into pieces by the earthquake.

Reporter: Chinese nationals back home from Mexico soon

Special Report:World tackles A/H1N1 flu

The Chinese chartered flight that left for Mexico City on Monday evening is scheduled to arrive at Pudong International Airport in just a few hours. Reporter Zhou Jie from International Channel Shanghai now joins us on the phone.

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Q1: Hello, Zhou Jie. The chartered plane will arrive in Shanghai later this afternoon. Can you update on any latest information you have on the plane as well as how many Chinese citizens will be returning? And are they travellers or overseas Chinese?

Q2: Tell us about the various kinds of health check measures will they will go through after they arrive in Shanghai.

Interview with ICS correspondent on Mexican flight

Special Report:World tackles A/H1N1 flu

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To learn more about the Mexican flight, we cross over to Shanghai and Zhou Jie from ICS.

Watchvideo

Q1: We know that the Mexican plane touched down in Shanghai Tuesday noon. How many Mexican nationals did it pick up there? And how many of them are crew members and passengers on the AM098 flight?

Q2: What quarantine measures did the local health authorities take for transferring the quarantined Mexicans?

HK hopes understanding from quarantined guests

Special Report:World tackles A/H1N1 flu

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In Hong Kong, there are no signs that the A/H1N1 virus has spread. With government quarantine and precautionary measures in place, the lives of most residents are returning to normal. On Tuesday, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Donald Tsang, expressed his hope for understanding from the guests isolated inside the Metro Park hotel.

PolicewaitoutsidetheMetroparkHotelinHongKong.Hong
KongchiefexecutiveDonaldTsanghasconfirmedthatthe
Chineseterritoryhasrecordedthefirstconfirmedcaseof
swinefluinAsia.TsangsaidaMexicanwhoarrivedvia
Shanghaihastestedpositiveforthevirus.

Over three hundred guests and hotel staffs have been isolated for five days. A Mexican guest had tested positive for A/H1N1 on Friday.

The Hong Kong government asked for patience and promised to help the guests with whatever they need.

Chinese nationals on way back home from Mexico

Special Report:World tackles A/H1N1 flu

China has sent a chartered flight to Mexico to retrieve Chinese nationals. That's under an agreement where both sides will send chartered flights to pick up its citizens amid the A/H1N1 flu virus scare and return them home.

ChineseambassadortoMexicoYinHengmin(R)says
good-byetoChinesecitizenswaitingforboardingat
BenitoJuarezinternationalairportinMexicoCity,c
apitalofMexico,May5,2009.(Xinhua/DavidDelaPaz)

The Chinese chartered plane took off early on Wednesday morning from Mexico. It's expected to arrive at Pudong International Airport in Shanghai on Wednesday afternoon, local time.

Due to bad weather, the plane was delayed in Los Angeles along the way. Doctors are monitoring the health of the passengers. All passengers are described as being in normal condition.

Chinas temporary bans in line with WTO rules

Special Report:World tackles A/H1N1 flu

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China has started temporary bans on the imports of pigs and pork products from some regions hit by the A-strain influenza. The Foreign Ministry says these measures are in line with WTO rules.





Chinahasstartedtemporarybansontheimports
ofpigsandporkproductsfromsomeregionshit
bytheA-straininfluenza.TheForeignMinistry
saysthesemeasuresareinlinewithWTOrules.

WTO rules allow for strict quarantine measures in emergencies.

As more A/H1-N1 infections are reported around the world, China has decided to temporarily ban pig and pork imports from some affected regions.

World Cup 2010 enjoys ticket frenzy

JOHANNESBURG, May 6 (Xinhua) -- The second phase of 2010 World Cup ticket sales reached 185,000 in eight hours as fans vied for seats in South Africa 2010, FIFA said on Tuesday.

Some 100,000 tickets are available for the phase which ends in November, excluding the two semi-finals and the final, and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

More than 1.6 million requests for tickets were recorded in the first ticket sales phase between February 20 and March 31.

FIFA said some 24,000 Confederations Cup tickets had sold in South Africa within the first 24 hours of direct sales for the tournament which begins next month.

With 340,000 tickets sold, some 300,000 remain available for the World Cup curtain raiser.

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Maniche out of Atleticos contract

MADRID, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Atletico Madrid have released Maniche from the last two months of his contract for rules breaking, the Primera Liga club said on Tuesday.

The Portugal midfielder, who has had a number of run-ins with Atletico, was dropped from the side last week as a punishment for breaking club rules.

The 31-year-old won the UEFA Cup and Champions League with Porto before joining the Spanish team from Dynamo Moscow in 2006 on a three-year contract.

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Tianjin beat Kawasaki 3-1

Three goals give Tianjin Teda claim their first-ever AFC champions league win. But Kawasaki still lead at the top of Group H over Pohang Steelers, and were already guaranteed of a place in the quarter-finals.

ThreegoalsgiveTianjinTedaclaimtheirfirst-everAFC
championsleaguewin.

First half 12th minute, Zhang Shuo laid the ball back for midfielder Ma Lei who found space outside the box, sends the ball to the corner of the net.

First half, few minutes later, Ma Leilei scores for Tianjin. Han Yan-ming's deep free-kick from the left was headed up in the air by Tommasi and the midfielder's touch took him across the face of the box. Tianjin 2-0 Kawasaki.

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Mexican soccer continues close-door play

Special Report:World tackles A/H1N1 flu

MEXICO CITY, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Mexico's professional soccer games this weekend will continued to be played behind closed doors for the sake of containing Swine flu.

Mexico's 176 league games, from the first to third division, were shuttered last weekend, and three games around the capital were closed to fans the week before.

The Mexican Football Federation said on Tuesday the games would remain closed because government officials had not lifted all preventive measures to stop the spread of swine flu, even though other parts of the country are returning to normal following a shutdown.

Play in the regular season ends this weekend, and officials have not announced the arrangement for postseason matches.

President Felipe Calderon said high schools and universities will reopen on Thursday and younger children will return to school on May 11. Nightclubs and other events that draw large crowds will remain closed.

Two Mexican clubs playing in the final 16 of the Copa Libertadores, San Luis and Chivas, have had their home matches delayed by at least a week until venues outside Mexico can be found.

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Serena Williams out of Rome Masters

ROME, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Serena Williams lost to Patty Schnyder in her first match at the Rome Masters on Tuesday.

Williams, playing her first match in almost a month, appeared to be moving with difficulty at times during her 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 loss on clay at Foro Italico.

Dinara Safina, the player who overtook the top spot from Williams, bumped off Virginie Razzano of France 7-6 (1), 6-1.

Defending champion Jelena Jankovic and French Open champion AnaIvanovic all advanced to the third round, as play was disrupted by rain and went late into the night.

Williams was broken twice in the first set, came back in the second set but the 2002 champion went down 5-0 in the third, and fell for the first time before the quarterfinals in nine visits to Rome. Williams also lost three consecutive tour matches for the first time since the end of 2007.

Schnyder, ranked 20th, won for the fourth time in 12 matches with Williams, and second time in Rome.

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China Open seeks frames from Spain

BEIJING, May 6 -- Spanish tennis fans will have the chance to travel to China for the China Open in October thanks to an overseas promotion launched by tournament organizers last week.

A campaign - the Starry China Open, Charming Beijing picture exhibition - was launched last Monday inviting Spanish sports fans ahead of the Madrid Open to send their photographs from the Beijing Olympics or previous China Opens.

The two entrants with the best snaps will be invited to visit Beijing and watch the China Open.

An additional 10 people will receive a ticket to the Madrid Open and another 20 will each be sent a souvenir from the China Open. Winners will be announced at a promotion banquet on May 16 during the Madrid Open.

After five highly successful years, the China Open has grown to become a combination of a WTA Crown Pearl and ATP 500 tournament, making it Asia's premier competition and only second to the four grand slams, on the same level as the Madrid, Miami and Indian Wells ppens. The total prize money for the tournament has accordingly risen to 6,600,000 U.S. dollars from 1,100,000 U.S. dollars.

The event will be held at the Beijing Olympic National Tennis Center, the venue for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, from Oct 2-11.

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Nalbandian suffers exit in Estoril Open first round

LISBON, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Estoril Open twice champion David Nalbandian, fifth-seeded, suffered early brake after losing 6-2, 6-2 in the first round to Paul Capdeville of Chile in Estoril of Portugual on Monday.

Nalbandian, the 2002 and 2006 champion, was broken once in each set to lose in 52 minutes.

The Argentine, who won the Sydney International in January, had injured a hip at the Barcelona Open last month..

Top-seeded Gilles Simon beat American Robert Kendrick 6-3, 7-6 (7) Monday in the first round.

Simon was twice broken in the first set but recovered to break his opponent three times.

The Frenchman started strongly in the second set, breaking Kendrick's serve in the opening game, but the American broke back in the sixth before Simon took the tie-break 9-7.

Simon, a semifinalist at the Open 13 in Marseille and the Dubai Tennis Championships, fired four aces in the match while Kendrick had four double faults.

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Cuba announce team for volleyball World League

HAVANA, May 5 (Xinhua) -- The Cuban Federation of Volleyball announces on Tuesday that Cuban central and captain Roberlandy Simon leads the national team to represent Cuba at the 20th World League of Volleyball.

The list includes 19 players, among them are central Delvis Dominico, Osmany Camejo, Darien Ferrer and David de la Torre.

The auxiliars are Yoandry Leal, Miguel Dalmau, Henry Bell, Wilfredo Leon and Leonardo Leyva, while the opposes are Raydel Delgado, Rolando Cepeda, Michale Sanchez and Fernando Hernandez.

The throwers will be estn Raydel Hierrezuelo, Yoandri Diaz and Lian Sem Estrada, with the sweepers Gustavo Alvarez and Keibel Gutierrez.

Coach of the team Orlando Samuels announced that the team will travel to Argentina in the coming days to play against a local team between May 16 and 29.

Cuba will debut against Bulgaria on June 12 here, as part of the group "C" in the competition, which also is formed by Russia and Japan.

The Group "A" is formed by U.S., Italy, China and Holland, the "B" is formed by Serbia, France, South Korea and Argentina, while the "D" is formed by Brazil, Poland, Finland and Venezuela.

In the last edition U.S. won the Cup, followed by Serbia and Russia, while Cuba was not able to pass from the first round.

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Diving queen Guo Jingjing to spring into action

BEIJING, May 6 -- China's diving queen Guo Jingjing will return to the pool next week for the fifth stop of the 2009 Diving Grand Prix in Fort Lauderdale, the US.

China'sGuoJingjing(top)andWuMinxia
diveduringthewomen'sthree-metre
synchronisedspringboardfinalatthe
GoodLuckBeijingFINADivingWorldCup
beingheldattheNationalAquaticsCentre
inBeijingFebruary24,2008.
(Xinhua/ReutersPhoto)

After the Beijing Olympic Games last August, when Guo claimed her third and fourth Olympic gold medals, the diving super star enjoyed six months off, shooting advertisements and attending various social activities.

She only returned to training with the national team after the Spring Festival in February.

The US Grand Prix, from May 7-10, will be her first competition and only competition before the National Games qualifications from May 16-22.

The Chinese Swimming Administrative Center considered withdrawing from the US event, because of concerns over the spread of H1N1 flu, but allowed the team to leave Beijing for the US last Sunday.

Guo's teammates include her synchro partner Wu Minxia, Olympic women's 10m platform gold medalists Chen Ruolin and Olympic men's 10m platform silver medalist Zhou Luxin.

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