Death toll stands at 652 from the tropical storm in southern Philippines

菲熱帶風暴死亡人數升至652人

The death toll from Tropical Storm in the Philippines has risen to 652.
Many in the southern Philippines have been trapped in their homes as flash floods poured in with high tides.
People on the island of Mindanao were caught unprepared when water rose one meter in less than an hour late on Friday.
In some places entire villages are reported to have been swept away by floods and landslides.
Meanwhile, a major rescue operation is now under way to search for the hundreds of people still missing.
Rescue efforts are being hampered by power outages as well as by destroyed roads and bridges.

10 Killed in Fresh Clashes in Cairo

埃及沖突10人死亡

Egyptian protesters have been facing off with security troops for a third day in central Cairo over the military ruling.
Protesters have been clashing with soldiers both inside Tahrir Square and in streets leading to the nearby parliament buildings.
10 people are now reported to have been killed in the latest clashes with hundreds of others injured.
The latest violence began on Friday when a sit-in outside the parliament building was broken up by troops.
The violence followed a second round of voting in Egypt's first parliamentary elections since the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak in February.

Final stage of Hamas-Israel prisoner swap

哈以戰俘交換到達最后階段

550 Palestinian prisoners have now been released by Israel at the crossing points into Palestinian territory and Jordan.
The latest release is the second and final stage of a prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas.
The deal saw a total of 1-thousand Palestinian prisoners being freed in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was captured by Gaza fighters in 2006.
Shalit returned home in October when Israel freed the first batch of 5-hundred prisoners.

4 Dead with over 50 others Still Missing in Russian Oil Rig Disaster

俄石油鉆機災難4人死亡50多人失蹤

At least 4 people have died, with at least 50 others still missing after an oil drilling rig sank in freezing seas in the Russian far east.
The Kolskaya rig was being towed some 200km off Russia's east Sakhalin island when it capsized in a fierce storm.
14 people have been rescued alive but it is feared the rig overturned before the rest of the 67 people on board could escape to life rafts.
Rescue efforts have been hampered by poor weather conditions.

Former Czech president Havel dies

捷克前總統哈維爾死亡

Former president of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel, has died at the age of 75.
The former playwright, who had been suffering from prolonged ill-health, died on Sunday morning.
As president, he presided over Czechoslovakia's peaceful 1993 split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, remaining in power until 2003.
A black flag has been flying over Prague Castle, the presidential seat.

More Chinese cities see housing price decline in November

11月更多的城市房價下跌

More Chinese cities have posted monthly home price declines last month, in yet another sign of the effectiveness of the government's efforts to cool the country's ever accelerating property prices.
The National Bureau of Statistics says that in November, 49 major cities out of 70 saw drops in new home prices from October, compared with 34 cities in October.
Among them, Beijing's new home prices declined 0.4 percent from October figures.
New homes are defined as new commercial residential apartments, excluding affordable housing.
Analysts indicate that price drops next year could be as high as 15 to 20 percent.

China's GDP growth to slow to 8.6 pct in Q4: UBS Securities

GDP增長有望達到8.6

Insiders are now projecting that China's GDP growth may continue to slow down in the early months of next year.
UBS Securities predict that China's GDP growth may slow to 8.6 percent in the last quarter of this year and further decelerate to 7.7 percent in the first quarter of next year.
UBS Securities say the forecasts are based on China's export growth slides, weak fixed asset investment and contraction in industrial production.
UBS Securities also project that growth of the consumer price index, or CPI, a main gauge of China's inflation, will continue to ease in the coming months to fall below 3 percent by nex summer.

Ex-top Chinese soccer officials to go on trial this week

前足球高層官員本周出庭受審

Former Chinese soccer officials and referees who were arrested on bribe-taking and match-fixing charges will go on trial this week in Northeast China's Liaoning province.
Zhang Jianqiang, ex-director of the Chinese Football Association referee committee, will be the first suspect to appear in court today.
Also facing trials are several top referees including Lu Jun, the country's "golden whistle" who officiated at the 2002 World Cup.
The date for the trial of former CFA vice-president Nan Yong and his predecessor Xie Yalong, has yet to be announced.

Wenzhou-Kean University gets approval

肯恩大學獲得批準

The Chinese Ministry of Education has approved the establishment of Wenzhou-Kean University - making it the second university to be jointly operated by China and the US.
The city government of Wenzhou in Zhejiang province will earmark 1.5 billion yuan, or some 240 million U.S. dollars, for the project.
The university is expected to have an initial enrollment of 5,000 full-time students.
New York University Shanghai, the first university jointly operated by China and the US, began construction earlier this year.

捷克前總統哈維爾死亡

捷克共和國前總統哈維爾逝世,享年75歲Sr,dHJdF#9WKXzdD2A。

這位前劇作家受長期疾病影響,在19日早上逝世8h=%RK@.)-J-O。

作為總統,在1993年捷克斯洛伐克分裂成捷克和斯洛伐克后他擔任總統,一直掌權直到2003年y;#3eX4=2=T。

一面黑色的旗幟在布拉格城堡上空升起1bE0)y-G4s3|Rp=u。