Briefs: HFMD cases almost 25,000
The number of cases of hand-foot-mouth disease has now reached almost 25,000 in China.
Thirty-two people have so far died from the enterovirus 71 or EV71 with the worst hit area in Fuyang, Anhui Province. Last chance for Olympics tickets
The last batch of Olympics tickets in Beijing was sold out in two days earlier this week.
However, tickets for events held in other cities like Shanghai, Tianjin, and Shenyang are still available. Security boosted at Tian’anmen
Security at Tiananmen Square was officially tightened this week to prevent people entering the area with potentially dangerous items.
An official from the municipal government says anyone entering the square could be stopped and checked. Israel celebrates 60 years
Israel celebrates the 60th anniversary of its founding as a state on Wednesday.
Jews marked the milestone with fireworks, concerts, and even a message from NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman, the first Jewish crew member of the international space station. Yahoo reconsiders selling
Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang is reconsidering selling the company after investors criticized him for not taking the $47.5 billion offer from Microsoft Corp.
Yahoo wanted $37 a share rebuffing Microsoft’s $33 offer. Full coverage: Torch on top of the world
The Olympic flame reached the top of the world Thursday morning Beijing time.
A team of 36 climbers reached the summit of Mount Qomolangma, or Mount Everest, with the torch.
The team included 24 ethnic Tibetans, 10 Han Chinese and one each from the Tu and Tujia ethnic groups.
While the torch made its ascent up the peak, Beijing Olympic organizers suspended the torch relay in Shenzhen.
The flames will rejoin at a later date during the relay. Hu visits Japan
President Hu Jintao and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda signed a statement calling for the promotion of a mutually beneficial strategic relationship.
This is the fourth landmark paper the two countries have signed on defining their ties since the normalization of diplomatic relations in 1972.
They also signed a document on cooperation on climate change, where China is interested in getting access to Japan’s cutting-edge environmental and energy saving technologies.
It was the first visit to Japan by a Chinese President in over 10 years with plans to make annual alternating visits between Beijing and Tokyo announced. Medvedev new Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev was sworn in as Russian President on Wednesday and former president Vladimir Putin became his prime minister.
The 42-year-old Medvedev has stressed freedom and rule of law in his first remarks after taking the oath of office in a ceremony in the Kremlin’s St. Andrew’s Hall.
He inherits a country with a booming economy fuelled by high oil prices, rising inflation, a declining population and increasingly tense relations with former Soviet neighbors and the West. Relief comes to Myanmar after Cyclone Nargis
Aid is trickling into Mynamar after Cyclone Nargis battered the western coast on the weekend.
So far almost 23,000 people are dead, over 42,000 missing, and 1 million left homeless in the Irrawaddy delta.
Aid workers have already distributed essential relief supplies such as water purification tablets, mosquito nets, plastic sheeting and basic medicines.
China shipped $500,000 worth of food, tents and blankets, and pledged another $500,000 in cash.
Relief agencies are waiting further approval from the Myanmar government to help assist disaster victims. Pictures: China Phil performs for Pope
Pope Benedict XVI listened to Mozart’s Requiem and Chinese folk song Jasmine, performed by the China Philharmonic Orchestra along with the Shanghai Opera House Chorus at the Paul VI Audience Hall in the Vatican. Stars shine at the Met
Actors, singers and artists gathered at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala in New York.
They included Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, Beyonce, David and Victoria Beckham, and Zhang Ziyi. Tibet’s past and present on show
The Cultural Palace of Nationalities in Beijing has a new exhibit called “Tibet of China: Past and Present”.
There are 146 exhibits and 182 pictures showing life in Tibet before and after its liberation in 1959.
