Plight of the giant panda: Animals struggle after quake

As people across China’s Sichuan province continue to rebuild their lives one year after a 7.9-magnitude earthquake leveled some towns and cities, the region’s famed giant pandas are still struggling due to the devastation wreaked by the deadly temblor. The quake triggered mountain landslides and caused damage across large areas of the forests at the Wolong Giant Panda Protection Studies Center, also known as “the Home of Pandas.” A majority of the reserve’s panda living facilities and its studies facilities were damaged. “The pandas were traumatized by the quake.

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Bolt fit for Manchester street race

Usain Bolt, who was involved in a high speed car smash in his native Jamaica last month, will be fit to run in a special street race in Manchester this weekend. Bolt had surgery to remove thorns from his left foot after crashing his BMW sports car on April 29 and missed an international meeting in Kingston the following weekend. There had been doubt that the world’s fastest man would be able to take part in a special 150 meter race in the city center of the north-west of England city on Sunday

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Disgraced Chambers has Bolt in his sights

Controversial British sprinter Dwain Chambers has set his sights on a world championships showdown against Usain Bolt in Berlin later this summer. Chambers tested positive for the anabolic steroid Tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) in 2003 as part of the BALCO scandal in the United States, but has re-launched his track and field career after serving a two-year ban. By winning the European 60 meters indoor title earlier this year in the second fastest time in history, Chambers showed he is in prime form before heading for a warm weather training camp in California

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Bolt escapes in high speed car crash

The world’s fastest man Usain Bolt has escaped serious injury in a car crash in his native Jamaica which wrecked his high-speed sports car. The IAAF, the world governing body of athletics, gave graphic details of Bolt’s lucky escape on its official Web site www.iaaf.org

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Star cyclists failed Beijing doping tests

Leading cyclist Davide Rebellin tested positive for doping at the Beijing Games, the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) told CNN on Wednesday. Rebellin, who won silver in the road race in China, has been suspended from all competition, a spokesman said. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) revealed on Tuesday that six athletes had given positive results as samples taken at the Beijing Games were re-tested for a more advanced strain of the blood-boosting hormone CERA.

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China Says ‘Keep Out’ to Coca-Cola

China has picked a strange time to lay down a marker in defense of economic nationalism — and an even stranger industry in which to do it. Amid a global recession, with Beijing’s state-owned companies fanning out across the globe trying to invest in or buy foreign producers of minerals, precious metals, oil and gas, China’s Ministry of Commerce on March 18 formally blocked what would have been the largest acquisition by a foreign company in China, a $2.4 billion deal

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North Korean premier arrives in China

North Korea Premier Kim Yong-Il arrived in China on Tuesday for a five-day visit that coincides with the 60th anniversary celebration of diplomatic ties between the two countries, state media said. The visit is the first for Kim, who was elected in 2007. He is not related to North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, who controls the country’s military

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China Goes on a Smart Shopping Spree

The world might be sinking into its worst recession in generations, but China is on a wild shopping spree. Sitting some $2 trillion of cash reserves, Beijing is taking advantage of the woes of others to cement its grip on new sources of commodities ranging from olive oil to crude oil —often at fire-sale prices. China’s growth rate may be slowing in concert with the world economy, but even at that slower rate, its economy continues to expand, requiring a steady increase in supplies of oil, copper, aluminum and other minerals.

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