London Olympics tickets to go on sale this March

2011-01-16 07:41:35 GMT2011-01-16 15:41:35(Beijing Time) Xinhua English

LONDON - Tickets for the London 2012 Olympic Games will go on sale on March 15, 2011 and Paralympic Games tickets will go on sale on September 9, 2011, confirmed The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) on Saturday.

The process for Olympic Games tickets will open for six weeks. Applications will close on April 26 and all oversubscribed sessions will be allocated via a ballot process.

Applications can be made at any point during the six week application period - it is not a first come, first served process.

LOCOG will announce full details of the purchasing process and the finalised schedule for all 650 sport sessions in February. The two million people who have already signed up to the London 2012 ticketing database - www.tickets.london2012.com will receive all the information about how to apply and those who have registered will be able to use their existing log-in details to access the application process.

Further details of the application process for Paralympic tickets will be announced later this year, with prices announced in May.

Tunisian acting president asks PM to form new gov't

2011-01-16 00:28:00 GMT2011-01-16 08:28:00(Beijing Time) Xinhua English

TUNIS, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Tunisia's acting president Foued Mebazaa, the former speaker of the parliament, said he has asked Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi to form a coalition government, Dubai-based al-Arabiya TV reported.

In a televised speech, Mebazaa said the ultimate national interest requires the formation of a national unity government.

The move is seen as an attempt to save the government from a political mishap, as president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted Saturday and fled to Saudi Arabia after riots hit the country.

Mebazaa's call for a national unity government won support from Tunisian opposition leaders who said there is an imminence need for setting up a unity salvation government to end unrest that gripped the country.

The Tunisian government has declared a state of emergency, banning any gathering involving more than three people.

"We appeal to all political factions to work on forming an all- out, urgent and national government," a senior member of the Unionist Democratic Union (UDU) told the TV.

Premier Ghannouchi has told Al-Jazerra TV that exited opposition figures are welcome to return to Tunisia.

"All political opposition figures, who live in exile, can return to homeland without any fears of harassment or legal charges," he said.

This came as Saudi Arabia said deposed president Ben Ali is now in the kingdom, saying he and his family are welcome in the country and this move was taken due to "exceptional circumstances hit Tunisia".

But a leading Saudi journalist said Ben Ali will not be allowed to do any political role in Saudi Arabia, adding the kingdom stands behind the Tunisians.

Ben Ali will be in Saudi Arabia as "a political refugee" not "a head of state", Jamal Khashoggi told the Dubai-based TV.

"Saudi Arabia will not sanction the ousted president to give political statements, do any political activities nor make contacts to arrange his situation back home," he said.

Indian authorities to initiate investigation in stampede

2011-01-16 07:50:25 GMT2011-01-16 15:50:25(Beijing Time) Xinhua English

VANDIPERIYAR, India, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The southern Indian state of Kerala's government has announced a "thorough investigation" into the Sabarimala stampede case that saw 110 persons killed and at least 50 injured.

State Finance Minister Thomas Isaac told Xinhua in an interview that "a thorough investigation will be done and the state government will meet all the expenses for transporting the bodies to their homes."

"As the first step, a sum of 5,000 rupees (100 U.S. dollars) to the injured has been sanctioned," Isaac said.

Isaac reached the hospital at noon and said the state government will meet the expenses for treating the injured even if they have been admitted to private hospitals in Idukki and Kottayam districts.

"We are told the gruesome accident took place around 20:00 p.m. at Pulumedu. The entire place was full of vehicles and more than a lakh of pilgrims were returning from a hillock after seeing the celestial light that appeared on the horizon soon after 19:00 p.m., " Issac said.

"Suddenly a jeep that broke down lost control and rammed into the waiting pilgrims. This created panic, leading to the stampede, " he explained.

The Sabarimala Temple is in Kerala's Pathanamthitta district, situated on the Western Ghat ranges at an altitude of 914 meters above the sea level, four kilometers uphill from the river Pampa.

Pamba, the base camp to the Sabarimala Temple, has been overflowing with pilgrims since the past few days.

Meanwhile, Union Defense Minister A.K. Antony called it a national tragedy and said that he had directed the defense forces to see into this and get ready to provide support.

Iran unveils nuclear achievement ahead of Istanbul talks

2011-01-16 00:28:00 GMT2011-01-16 08:28:00(Beijing Time) Xinhua English

TEHRAN, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Iran unveiled on Saturday domestically-produced deuterated compounds at Arak heavy water plant and called on the five permanent members of UN Security Council plus Germany (G5+1) to seize the time in the forthcoming nuclear talks in Istanbul.

Acting Iranian Foreign Minister and Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akabar Salehi on Saturday hailed the domestically-produced deuterated compounds at Arak heavy water plant and the achievement for its use in medical research.

Iran has become self-sufficient in deuterated compounds at Arak heavy water facility, the local satellite Press TV quoted an Iranian scientist as saying.

In a meeting with the delegates from Algeria, Cuba, Syria, Oman, Egypt, Venezuela, and the Arab League who arrived in Iran on Saturday for a tour to Iran's nuclear sites, Salehi described Iran 's move as a gesture of "goodwill and transparency," Press TV said.

Iran's invitation to its nuclear sites is its last trust- building step, Salehi told local ISNA news agency.

"No country in the world will choose to show its nuclear facilities to others and Iran's invitation reiterates peaceful nature of its nuclear work, Salehi was quoted as saying by ISNA.

The Iranian official called on G5+1 to seize the opportunity in the next round of talks in Istanbul.

Meanwhile, Salehi said Saturday that 40-megawatt Arak heavy water research reactor in central Iran will be commissioned within the next two to three years, according to the official IRNA news agency.

China will never seek hegemony: offical

2011-01-16 07:33:18 GMT2011-01-16 15:33:18(Beijing Time) Xinhua English

BEIJING - China will never seek hegemony, regardless of its growing power, Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai reiterated the official stance Friday.

Cui made the remarks at the second Lanting (Blue Hall) Forum in response to a question on whether China will gradually ignore its former leader Deng Xiaoping' teaching of "maintaining a low profile".

Cui said that although China's state power had greatly strengthened over the past 30 years after the reform and opening up, China would not change its foreign policy or its development goals, "as it's not in accordance with China's long term interests."

Cui also said it was true that China has made notable progress over the past few years, but it was also true that China still lagged far behind the United States.

The Lanting Forum, initiated by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is a platform for communication and exchanges between officials, the business community, academia, media and the public.

The forum aims to create a channel to facilitate discussions on foreign policies and issues of common interests.

The theme of the second Lanting Forum is "China-US Relations in the New Era".

230 million expected to go home by train

2011-01-16 07:21:09 GMT2011-01-16 15:21:09(Beijing Time) China Daily

Passengers queue to buy tickets at a temporary ticket agency in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province, Jan 15, 2011. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - The volume of China's railway passengers during the coming Spring Festival peak period is expected to hit a new high of 230 million, an increase of 12.5 percent over last year's figures, officials said on Saturday morning.

Wang Zhiguo, vice-minister of railways, said at a press conference that 293 more trains will be added on the country's rail tracks every day to help take 25.54 million more travelers back home during the period, making the number of trains in service at the average of 2,265.5 per day.

This year, the Lunar New Year's Day will come 11 days earlier than last year, causing an overlap of passenger flow made up of students, migrant workers and travelers going home that may create congestion for the country's rail routes.

"The biggest change for this year's Spring Festival holiday transportation is that the transport capability has been obviously enhanced," Wang observed, saying that in the last five years, China has laid down 15,000 kilometers of new rail lines with an increasing number of carriages.

According to Wang, due to China's rapidly expanding railway network, 480 high-speed trains have been put into use, along with 8,540 regular counterparts.

And some 290 railway stations have been erected within the country's borders.

"However, there is still a great demand for passenger transportation during the holiday travel peak period," Wang said, adding that the ministry has taken several measures to "send passengers back home safe and sound".

On the railway's main arteries, such as Beijing-Harbin, Beijing-Guangzhou and Shanghai-Kunming, freight trains will be reduced to leave the tracks open for more passenger trains.

Because of the extreme weather, the minister also arranged 500 internal combustion locomotives that will be available to move trapped passengers.

This year, the ministry also made ticket sales more convenient for passengers.

And two more railway bureaus, Shenyang and Wuhan, have opened ticket-booking service by phone to the public, as six other pilot bureaus did last year.

The service could allow 55,000 people to make a reservation via phone at the same time, saving time and effort waiting in line at ticket windows.

Wang pledged that the shortage of Spring Festival transport tickets will be completely solved within five years, as more trains will be put on the country's fast expanding railway network.

Sell-out crowd for flood relief tennis show

Roger Federer (right) and Rafael Nadal congratulate each other during a charity exhibition match in aid of Queensland flood victims, a day before the start of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, on January 16. Top seeds delighted a sell-out crowd with former Grand Slam champion Jim Courier of the US in the umpires's chair during the flood-aid exhibition match.

AFP - Tennis's biggest names thrilled a sell-out crowd of 15,000 in an entertaining "Rally for Relief" to raise money for Australia's devastating floods.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal led a parade of leading men's and women's players for the comedy hit-out, in which they mocked other's grunts and played shots between their legs.

Lleyton Hewitt's two-year-old son, Cruz, made a brief and tearful appearance and Novak Djokovic played volleys while sitting down during the crowd-pleasing performance, which precedes the Australian Open here.

Federer was moved to organise the event after learning that Rockhampton, home of his idol Rod Laver, was under water in a disaster which has claimed 17 lives in the past week alone and left vast tracts of Australia under water.

"When I saw it hit the city of Rockhampton, I right away thought of Rod Laver," he said. "I tried to reach out to him and see if he wanted to do anything, if he needed my help.

"I didn't really know then how big the devastation was going to be."

As the disaster shifted to Victoria state, where the Open will start in Melbourne on Monday, Australia's fifth seed Sam Stosur said it was important for professional players to keep a sense of perspective.

"We're lucky to do what we do. We love what we do. But there's far greater things going on in the world," she said. "So if we can all come together and support something like these floods, I think it's great.

"For all of us, for a couple of hours the day before a Grand Slam to go out there and have some fun, try and raise as much money as we can, I think it shows the spirit of the tennis world."

The sports world has rallied round victims of the floods disaster with Australian cricket great Shane Warne trying to organise a charity Twenty20 game.

England's visiting cricketers have also donated a slice of their match fees and star batsman Kevin Pietersen is auctioning bats and shirts he used in the recent Ashes series.

Meanwhile, seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, in Australia for next week's Tour Down Under, has pledged US$50,000 to the relief efforts.