Beichuan survivors remarry

Special Report:One Year after 5.12 Quake

The Wenchuan earthquake has left many people losing their other half. Finding a new companion is a way to help these people move on.

Yang Changbin and Zhou Xiaohong are tying the knot. And there's something even more symbolic. Tree planting is a local wedding custom meaning life and growth. The idea is particularly appealing to these twenty couples.

Treeplantingisalocalweddingcustommeaninglife
andgrowth.Theideaisparticularlyappealingto
thesetwentycouples. (CCTV.com)

Few weddings could attract so much media attention. A year ago, the earthquake brought devastation and heartbreak to these people. Today, that has been replaced with joy.

Yang and Zhou lost their spouses and children in the earthquake. They were introduced by relatives and decided to start over again.

Yang Changbin and Zhou Xiaohong, Beichuan Newlyweds, said, After all, we've survived the disaster. We want a complete family. You probably have a stronger wish for a complete family than others. What's your hope? We hope to build a happy family together. Both of us had happy families before the earthquake, so we want to have that again. Are you planning to have a child? Absolutely. Children make it a complete family.

Many couples say the marriage restores their confidence in life. And because they endured the same pain, they understand each other very well.

Zhu Yuncui, Beichuan Newlyweds, said, "So many people care about us and helped us start a new life. How could we not move on? Our children are happy about the marriage, so we don't have other concerns."

Venus upset, Peng out of Family Circle

WASHINGTON, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Second seed Venus Williams was upset by big-serving German Sabine Lisicki, losing 6-4, 7-6 in the third round of the Family Circle Cup in California on Thursday.

VenusWilliamsoftheU.S.reactsaftermissingavolley
duringherwomen'stennismatchagainstSabineLisickiof
GermanyattheFamilyCupCircleTennisTournamentin
Charleston,SouthCarolina,April16,2009.
(Xinhua/ReutersPhoto)

Chinese 10th seed Peng Shuai was stopped by fifth seed Caroline Wozniacki, losing 6-3, 6-4. But Peng still equaled her best result in this clay-court event.

Peng produced poor first serves in the first set. She was down at 2-5 in the second set before rallying to close the gap at 4-5 but Wozniacki proved her the more experienced one as the Danish world number 12 served for the match.

2004 Champion Venus, who had to battle the previous day before beating Indian Sania Mirza in three sets, lost the match in 87 minutes after the 16th-seeded German took the tiebreak 7-5.

In another upset on the stadium court, Hungarian left-hander Melinda Czink eliminated fourth-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 in more than two hours.

Top-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva swept aside American Varvara Lepchenko 6-1, 6-1.

Sixth-seeded Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli booked her place in the last eight with a 6-4, 6-1 demolition of American Melanie Oudin while seventh-seeded Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia recovered to beat Russian Anastasia Rodionova 6-7, 6-2, 6-3.

Click for more news in Sports Scene

Brazilian star Adriano at home with family

RIO JANEIRO, April 6 (Xinhua) -- The Brazilian Football Federation have moved to deny various reports about Adriano by insisting the troubled striker is at home with his family as he attempts to overcome a "delicate" personal situation.

Adriano was due to report back to Inter Milan on Friday following international duty, but was not on his scheduled flight from South America.

The 27-year-old's whereabouts were a mystery for much of the weekend and various reports suggested the forward could have been arrested after a party or might even be dead, Sportinglife.com said.

Adriano's agent spoke out on Sunday night to dismiss the rumors and the Brazilian Federation have now done the same.

"The striker Adriano, of the Brazil national team, is at home in the company of relatives in Rio de Janeiro," read a statement on their website.

Adriano is in frequent contact with the coach Dunga and with Inter officials, keeping them informed of the delicate personal period he is going through.

"Contrary to the whispers and the rumors that are circulating - and which are not true - we repeat that Adriano is in Rio de Janeiro with his family."

Reports suggest Adriano could be seriously considering his future in football after falling out with Inter officials several times this season and being left on the bench for both of Brazil's World Cup qualifiers last week.

AC Milan playmaker Kaka admits he is puzzled by the situation and has urged his compatriot not to hang up his boots.

"He had problems with his ankle and we did physiotherapy together for a few days, in those days I saw him as being calm and serene, without any problems," he said. "I understood that he had permission for an extra day's stay, but then Inter said it was not like that.

"Let's hope for the best for him and above all that he doesn't stop playing because he's a very good lad."

Click for more news in Sports Scene