THE MANTES POST

China’s Ambassador in London today went to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office after being summoned to explain her country’s execution of Akmal Shaikh, a British citizen.

Mr Shaikh, a convicted drug smuggler who is believed to have suffered from bipolar disorder, was killed by lethal injection early today, despite the personal intervention of Gordon Brown in a telephone call to Wen Jiabao, the Chinese Premier.

The execution was condemned by the Prime Minister and David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, with the Foreign Office minister Ivan Lewis declaring that it made him feel “sick to the stomach”.

Mr Shaikh’s family said that they were “deeply saddened, stunned and disappointed” by the execution.

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The 32 teams participating at next year’s FIFA World Cup™ finals discovered their fate this evening when the Final Draw for South Africa 2010 took place in Cape Town.

An estimated global television audience of 200 million joined the 2,000 invited guests in the Draw Hall in watching the colourful and entertaining ceremony unfold. With African sporting stars such as athlete Haile Gebreselassie, rugby player John Smit, cricketer Makhaya Ntini, and footballers Matthew Booth and Simphiwe Dludlu assisting with the draw, along with England icon David Beckham, it was always going to be an exhilarating evening, but the undoubted centrepiece came when the eight groups were revealed.

Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France
Group B: Argentina, South Korea, Nigeria, Greece,
Group C: England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia
Group D: Germany, Australia, Ghana, Serbia
Group E: Holland, Japan, Cameroon, Denmark,
Group F: Italy, New Zealand, Paraguay, Slovakia
Group G: Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal
Group H: Spain, Honduras, Chile, Switzerland.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_FIFA_World_Cup#Group_stage

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/livedraw?cc=3888&ver=global

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President Barack Obama absorbed history’s expanse Wednesday from atop the Great Wall of China, a manmade wonder of such

enormity that Obama found himself putting daily life in perspective.

“It’s magical,” Obama said, walking down a ramp alone, his hands in his pockets. “It reminds you of the sweep of history and our time here on earth is not that long. We better make the best of it.”

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Playing tourist on his first visit ever to China, President Barack Obama drew a chilly comparison between the Chinese capital and his Illinois hometown.

“I have to say I didn’t realize that Beijing gets as cold as my hometown of Chicago,” the president said Tuesday just before sitting down for a one-on-one meeting with Wu Bangguo, chairman of China’s Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.

Earlier in the day, Obama had spent nearly an hour touring the Forbidden City’s maze of red buildings and cobblestone courtyards. With snow dotting the roofs and patches of ice lining courtyards, Obama bundled up against the frigid weather in a sweater and brown shearling jacket. He kept his hands in his pockets to ward off the chill.

Built in the 1400s, the Forbidden City once was home to 24 Chinese emperors who ruled the country for nearly 500 years, between 1420 and 1911. The former imperial palace is now known as the Palace Museum, and is open to Beijing’s visitors.

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President Barack Obama on Monday arrived in Beijing from Shanghai, for the second leg of his maiden state visit to China.

Obama arrived in China on Sunday on a three-day mission aimed at convincing Beijing that Washington is its partner, not its rival.

In a town hall speech in Shanghai, the US leader pushed for an unshackled Internet and expanded political freedoms as he sought to get around China’s media curbs.

He also said the United States and China, two economically interlocked rivals, need not be adversaries, appealing to millions of Chinese web surfers on the first day of his first visit to what he termed “a majestic country”. Obama’s speech

“I have always been a strong supporter of open Internet use. I am a big supporter of non-censorship,” Obama said, before flying to Beijing for talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

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President Barack Obama said Friday that his decision about how many troops to send to Afghanistan will come soon and he is bent on “getting this right.”

In a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, Obama rejected claims that his administration is dithering. The policy must protect America from terrorist networks, Obama said, while also making clear there is no “open-ended commitment” to Afghanistan.

Obama and Hatoyama pledged to renew their nations’ alliance to keep pace with a fast-changing world.

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