South Korea honors sailors killed in ship sinking-South Korea's Lee talks security risks with Chinese leader

Choi Won-il, 2nd left, captain of the sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan, and the survivors holding portraits of the victims pass by family members during a funeral ceremony at a navy base at Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul Thursday, April 29, 2010. South Korea honored 46 sailors Thursday with a tearful military funeral a month after a blast sank their warship, and officials vowed retaliation for those responsible as speculation mounted that North Korea may have torpedoed the vessel.


South Korean President Lee Myung-bak salutes in front of portraits of the deceased sailors from the sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan during a funeral ceremony at a navy base at Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul Thursday, April 29, 2010. South Korea honored 46 sailors Thursday with a tearful military funeral a month after a blast sank their warship, and officials vowed retaliation for those responsible as speculation mounted that North Korea may have torpedoed the vessel.


South Korean mourners leave after the memorial ceremony for the deceased sailors from the sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan during a memorial service at Seoul City Hall Plaza in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 29, 2010. South Korea honored 46 sailors Thursday with a solemn military funeral a month after their warship sank near waters disputed with rival North Korea.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak held talks with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao in Shanghai on Friday that touched on security risks caused by the North's suspected attack on a warship from the South.

China, the reclusive and impoverished North's biggest benefactor with the most influence in Pyongyang, wants to prevent further tensions that increase the chances of war but is not about to punish its neighbor, analysts said.

"The bottom line is that Pyongyang knows that Beijing will not forsake them even if they behave in this provocative manner," said Peter Beck, a specialist in Korean affairs at Stanford University.

Lee, who met Hu on the sidelines of the World Expo in Shanghai, has signaled Seoul will not retaliate with force, calming investor concerns in Asia's fourth largest economy.

"I want to address the tragic loss of your country's warship," Hu told Lee. "To those who died and to their families, please let them know we grieve with them."

South Korea lost 46 sailors when their ship was struck last month by what is believed to be a North Korean torpedo. If confirmed, it would be one of the deadliest strikes by Pyongyang since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.


A huge South Korean national flag leads portraits of the victims of the sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan during a funeral ceremony at a navy base at Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul Thursday, April 29, 2010. South Korea honored 46 sailors Thursday with a tearful military funeral a month after a blast sank their warship, and officials vowed retaliation for those responsible as speculation mounted that North Korea may have torpedoed the vessel.


South Korean mourners pay a silent tribute for the deceased sailors from the sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan during a memorial service held at Seoul City Hall Plaza in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 29, 2010. South Korea honored 46 sailors Thursday with a tearful military funeral a month after a blast sank their warship, and officials vowed retaliation for those responsible as speculation mounted that North Korea may have torpedoed the vessel.


South Korean mourners pay a tribute in front of portraits of the deceased sailors from the sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan during a memorial service held at Seoul City Hall Plaza in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 29, 2010. South Korea honored 46 sailors Thursday with a tearful military funeral a month after a blast sank their warship, and officials vowed retaliation for those responsible as speculation mounted that North Korea may have torpedoed the vessel.


Choi Won-il, captain of the sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan, holds a portrait of a victim during a funeral ceremony at a navy base at Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul Thursday, April 29, 2010. South Korea honored 46 sailors Thursday with a tearful military funeral a month after a blast sank their warship, and officials vowed retaliation for those responsible as speculation mounted that North Korea may have torpedoed the vessel.


South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and First Lady Kim Yoon-ok express their condolence in front of portraits of the deceased sailors from the sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan during a funeral ceremony at a navy base at Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul Thursday, April 29, 2010. South Korea honored 46 sailors Thursday with a tearful military funeral a month after a blast sank their warship, and officials vowed retaliation for those responsible as speculation mounted that North Korea may have torpedoed the vessel.


South Koreans weep at the memorial ceremony for the deceased sailors from the sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan during a memorial service held at Seoul City Hall Plaza in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 29, 2010. South Korea honored 46 sailors Thursday with a solemn military funeral a month after their warship sank near waters disputed with rival North Korea.



A South Korean honor guard soldier stands in front of portraits of the deceased sailors from the sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan during a memorial service held at Seoul City Hall Plaza in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 29, 2010. South Korea honored 46 sailors Thursday with a tearful military funeral a month after a blast sank their warship, and officials vowed retaliation for those responsible as speculation mounted that North Korea may have torpedoed the vessel

South Korea's defense minister told parliament that investigators have found a piece of aluminum that appears to be not part of the sunken corvette. Military experts say aluminum debris is consistent with a torpedo attack.

Lee has been looking for regional support in the wake of the crisis, which experts say could result in economic and political moves to punish Pyongyang if Seoul formally names it as the culprit.

Lee may also have his first face-to-face meeting with a top member of the North's ruling class in Shanghai. The North's nominal number 2 leader Kim Yong-nam, who serves as the face of the government, is also attending the Expo.

GOOD NEIGHBOURLY RELATIONS

Both Lee and Kim attended the same welcome dinner hosted by Hu in Shanghai, but were seated far apart and did not appear to speak to each other.

China's official Xinhua news agency quoted Hu as telling Kim earlier in the day that China was willing "to promote good neighborly relations to new heights."

Neither Xinhua, nor a similar report by North Korea's KCNA news agency, made mention of the South Korean ship sinking.

Analysts say Lee's government, which has cut off once lucrative aid to the North and has few economic means left to hurt Pyongyang, risks pushing the North even closer to China if it decides to act tough.

"If the drive to cooperate with China starts producing results, North Korea's policy of ignoring the South will become more blatant, as will its hardline position against the South," said Cho Myung-chul of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, who was formerly an academic in the North.

North Korea may also try to raise tensions by resorting to saber rattling, experts have said.

Japan's Asahi newspaper quoted unnamed military sources as saying the North could test fire its mid-range Rodong ballistic missile from its east coast toward Japan some time next month.

The Rodong, with an estimated range of up to 1,400 km (870 miles), can hit all of South Korea and most of Japan. The North is barred from test-firing its missiles by U.N. resolutions.



Sirens blared across South Korea on Thursday as a solemn military funeral honored 46 seamen killed after a blast sank their warship last month. Officials vowed retaliation against those responsible for an attack many believe North Korea launched.

Warships anchored at the base south of Seoul where the funeral was held sounded whistles, and seamen aboard saluted when the vehicles carrying the ashes left for the cemetery.

A somber President Lee Myung-bak and his wife — who joined 2,800 mourners at the ceremony — offered white chrysanthemums, burned incense and bowed before the framed photos of the soldiers, while buglers played taps. Lee, the commander in chief of South Korea's armed forces, then saluted.

Former President Chun Doo-hwan, lawmakers and military leaders also paid respects to those who died in one of South Korea's worst naval disasters.

South Korea has not directly blamed its Cold War-era rival North Korea, but suspicion has focused on Pyongyang given its history of provocations and attacks on the South. South Korea's defense minister said this week the blast was most likely caused by a torpedo attack. North Korea has denied any role.

The name of each sailor was read out while Lee, clad in a black suit and tie, placed military decorations on a giant alter below photos of each man. They had all been posthumously promoted by one rank in recent days.

Buddhist monks clad in orange and white robes chanted prayers at the interfaith funeral. A Roman Catholic priest and a Protestant minister also participated.

"The Cheonan is engraved as history into the people's hearts and your honorable sacrifice is being reborn as patriotism," Chief Petty Officer Kim Hyun-rae, one of the 58 survivors of the disaster, said in an address to the funeral.

Tears welled up in the eyes of President Lee as he listened to Kim's speech.

The sailors went down with the 1,200-ton Cheonan near the tense western sea border with North Korea on March 26 shortly after it was torn apart by what investigators believe was an underwater blast from outside the ship.

The bodies of 40 of the sailors were recovered, while six others remained unaccounted for and are presumed dead.

The Cheonan was on a routine patrol before it split in two and sank near the disputed western sea border, a scene of three bloody sea battles between the rival Koreas that remain locked in a state of war since their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce instead of a peace treaty.

"We cannot forgive this and must not forgive it and must not forget it," Navy Chief of Staff Kim Sung-chan said in a speech at the funeral. "We will never sit idly against whoever inflicted huge pain to our people. "

Military retaliation against Pyongyang, however, is considered unlikely as it could lead to major conflict and frighten away investors at a time when South Korea is recovering fast from the global financial meltdown and prepares to hold a summit of leaders from the Group of 20 in November.

North Korea has waged a slew of attacks against South Korea, including a 1987 downing of a South Korean passenger plane that killed all 115 people on board, one of the reasons the country is suspected of involvement.

The funeral took place at the 2nd Fleet headquarters in Pyeongtaek, about 45 miles (70 kilometers) south of Seoul, the Cheonan's home base. After the ceremony, the remains were transported by hearse to the national cemetery in the central city of Daejon for burial later Thursday.

About 3,000 white and black balloons were released into the air. Cheonan survivors carried photos of the dead sailors.

Uniformed soldiers lined the streets outside the navy base and saluted when the funeral procession went by.

People at Seoul's main railway station, including uniformed soldiers on leave and traveling home, gathered around television screens to pause in remembrance.

Kim Yong-mi wiped away tears with a handkerchief, her eyes red and watery.

"So many died too young," said Kim, 68. "As someone who's lived all these years more than they ever will, I'm ashamed to be standing here, alive."

Flags in South Korea are flying at half-staff and many government buildings in Seoul have hung large black-and-white placards reading, "We will not forget your honorable sacrifice." An estimated 400,000 people have reportedly visited mourning locations set up across the country to pay respects.

Thai PM vows not to allow protesters to intimidate public again-Thai hospital near protest evacuates some patients

Political unrest: Bangkok police officers assemble outside Chulalongkorn Hospital which was stormed by anti-government protesters

Anxious: A mother waits with her child at Chulalongkorn Hospital before being evacuated to a different facility

A hospital in Bangkok next to an anti-government protest camp evacuated some of its patients on Friday after protesters forced their way into the grounds to look for soldiers they thought were there preparing an attack.

More than 200 "red shirt" protesters had barged into the grounds of Chulalongkorn University Hospital late on Thursday to look for troops.

They found none and left after roaming through the grounds, the lobby and car parks, some carrying wooden staves, for an hour. Some said they wanted to return on Friday to make sure there were no troops there but "red shirt" leaders ruled it out.

"We have told them it was an inappropriate move. We truly apologise for any inconvenience caused. Some were very concerned the hospital was harbouring troops," Weng Tojirakarn told Reuters.




The hospital is near the Silom business district, scene of deadly clashes on April 22. It evacuated some patients from late Thursday but hospital director Adisorn Patradul said it would remain open and many in-patients who cannot be moved would stay.

Hospital management denies there are any troops on its site but thousands of soldiers and riot police are in the area to contain a weeks-long protest movement aimed at forcing Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve parliament and hold early elections.

Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva announced Friday the government will not allow the anti-government protesters to intimidate the public again.

Abhisit addressed the nation on a live television at about 12: 00 p.m. saying the Thai government is sorry that the anti-government protesters stormed into the Chulalongkorn Hospital on Thursday night.

He said the anti-government protesters had caused hardship by intimidating the people around their rally sites.

The Center for Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES) and involved authorities are discussing necessary actions to prevent the protesters from intimidating the people again, he said.

At the same time, the government's checkpoints set up around the rally site to block people from joining the protests have been proved more effective, the prime minister said.

The Chulalongkorn Hospital, which is not far from the main anti-government rally site, is located in the center of capital Bangkok.

The anti-government "red-shirt" rally has been held from March 12 and they are now gathering at the Rathchaprasong Intersection -- their main rally site.

They have demanded Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to " immediately" dissolve the lower House of parliament and hold a new general election.

They are viewing that, apart from the House dissolution, there is no other solution to the country's ongoing political conflict.

But, at the same time the rise of Thais in "various-color shirts", who have opposed the early House dissolution, is increasingly growing.

Lawsuits target AZ law amid calls for boycotts

While the new Arizona immigration law drew protests, news conferences and court lawsuits, a drop house was raided by the Arizona Department of Public Safety along with other law enforcement jurisdictions including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, yielding nine suspected illegal immigrants, shown here, and three suspected human smugglers Thursday, April 29, 2010, in Phoenix


Suspected illegal immigrants are detained by law enforcement officials in Phoenix after a drop house was raided Thursday, April 29, 2010. Police said there were nine illegal immigrants and three suspected human smugglers in this raid.


Suspected human smugglers are detained by law enforcement officials in Phoenix after a drop house was raided Thursday, April 29, 2010. Police said there were nine illegal immigrants and three suspected human smugglers in this raid.

Backlash against a new Arizona law cracking down on illegal immigration is broadening from the political arena as opponents file lawsuits, entertainers and other countries denounce the measure and protesters chant for a boycott of the state at an Arizona Diamondbacks baseball game in Chicago.

A lawsuit from 15-year Tucson police veteran Martin Escobar was one of three filed Thursday, less than a week after Republican Gov. Jan Brewer signed the bill that critics claim is unconstitutional and fear will lead to racial profiling.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has said the federal government may challenge the law, which requires local and state law enforcement to question people about their immigration status if there's reason to suspect they're in the country illegally, and makes it a state crime to be in the United States illegally.

Brewer and other backers say the state law is necessary because of the federal government's failure to secure the border and growing anxiety over crime related to illegal immigration.


Day laborers, faith, immigrant and civil rights advocates gather to make posters, T-shirts and banners for use in Saturday's planned immigration rally at the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) headquarters on Thursday, April 29, 2010, in Los Angeles. Banner reads in Spanish: "We're All Arizona."


Shakira fans snap photos of the Colombian singer during her visit to Phoenix on Thursday, April 29, 2010. Shakira was in Phoenix to meet with city officials over concerns that a new state law cracking down on illegal immigration will lead to racial profiling.


Supporters of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio hold signs out in front of the Sheriff's building complex after a news conference to announce his latest crime suppression enforcement patrols Thursday, April 29, 2010, in Phoenix. The sheriff has come under fire due to his aggressive immigration enforcement, and Arizona has made headlines in recent days due the passage of a new immigration law.

But chances the federal government will step in this year seemed slim. President Barack Obama, who has called the Arizona law misguided, said lawmakers may lack the "appetite" to take on immigration while many of them are up for re-election and while another big legislative issue — climate change — is already on their plate.

"I don't want us to do something just for the sake of politics that doesn't solve the problem," Obama told reporters Wednesday night aboard Air Force One.

Entertainers entered the fray Thursday, with Colombian singer Shakira visiting Phoenix to meet the city's police chief and mayor amid her concerns the measure would violate human and civil rights.

"It goes against all human dignity." she said of the law.

"Mexican-Americans are not going to take this lying down," singer Linda Ronstadt, a Tucson native, said at a news conference on a lawsuit planned by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the National Immigration Law Center.

And at the Billboard Latin Music Awards ceremony in Puerto Rico, singer Ricky Martin denounced the law, saying it "makes no sense."

About 40 immigrant rights activists gathered outside Wrigley Field in Chicago Thursday, chanting "Boycott Arizona" as the Cubs open a four-game series against the Diamondbacks. A small plane toting a banner criticizing the law circled the stadium. A Cubs spokesman declined to comment, while Arizona manager A.J. Hinch said the team was there to play baseball.

While debate over the law swirled nationwide, Arizona lawmakers Thursday approved modifications to the law. The changes include strengthening restrictions against using race or ethnicity as the basis for questioning by police and specifying that possible violations of local civil ordinances can trigger questioning on immigration status.

The law's sponsor, Republican Sen. Russell Pearce, characterized those changes as clarifications "just to take away the silly arguments and the games, the dishonesty that's been played."

In Phoenix, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio launched his latest crime and immigration sweep Thursday, arresting 60 people, with 39 suspected of being illegal immigrants.

Arpaio, whose tough crackdowns have made him a hero in the anti-illegal immigration community, has conducted 14 of the sweeps since 2008. Critics allege Arpaio's deputies racially profiled Hispanics during the sweeps, but Arpaio says people were approached because deputies had probable cause to believe they had committed crimes. Arpaio has lauded the new law, saying it gives him new authority to detain undocumented migrants who aren't accused of committing any other crimes.

Some Latin nations also entered the debate.

In Mexico City, Mayor Marcelo Ebrard announced he would try to join lawsuits seeking to overturn the law, with a statement from his office calling the measure "a planned Apartheid against Mexicans."

Officials in El Salvador urged people to avoid traveling to Arizona, according to the Foreign Ministry. In Nicaragua, officials called on the Organization of American States and the United Nations "to take the necessary measures to safeguard the rights of the Hispanic population."

The National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders also sued Thursday, and sought an injunction preventing authorities from enforcing the law. The group argued that federal law pre-empts state regulation of national borders, and that Arizona's law violates due process rights by letting police detain suspected illegal immigrants before they're convicted.

In his lawsuit, Escobar, the Tucson police officer, argued he'll be sued whether he enforces the law or not, either for violating civil rights or for refusing to enforce it.Tucson police said Escobar acted on his own.

At least three Arizona cities — Phoenix, Flagstaff and Tucson — are considering legal action to block the law.

Politicians from around the country also weighed in. Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter said he would veto a new law like the one in Arizona, while Texas Republican Gov. Rick Perry said such a law would be wrong for his state because it has a tradition of rejecting harsh anti-immigrant policies.

Supporters of the new law also were vocal outside Arizona.

A group of conservative state lawmakers in Oklahoma said they plan to introduce a bill similar to Arizona's. In Texas, Rep. Debbie Riddle, a Republican, said she will introduce a measure similar to the Arizona law in the January legislative session. And Republicans running for governor in Colorado and Minnesota expressed support for the crackdown.

Belgium bans burkas: Women who refuse to show faces to be jailed for a week under draft law

Banned: A woman wears a burka in Brussels, but she could be jailed if a new law is brought in later this year

Belgium became the first European country to impose a full ban on wearing a burka last night.

Its parliament approved a draft law which states women can be jailed for hiding their faces in public.

The bill - which must be rubber-stamped by the Belgian senate - is set to become law by July.

Centre-Right MP Daniel Bacquelaine said last night: 'The notion of recognising people in the street is essential to maintain public order.

'It's also a question of human dignity. The full face veil turns a woman into a walking prison.'



The ground-breaking legislation comes just ten days after an earlier vote on banning the burka was scuppered by the collapse of the country's parliament and resignation of its prime minister, Yves Leterme.

Despite the political turmoil, MPs in the fragile five-party coalition managed to push through the controversial law yesterday evening.

It means anyone will be banned from covering their face in a public place, including the street, shops, offices, schools and hospitals.

Women will be fined £110 for the first offence.

If they refuse to pay or are caught a second time, they can be jailed for a week. It is estimated up to 400 of the country's 280,000 Muslims wear the burka in public.

The move comes as other countries consider bringing in similar legislation. There is widespread support for a ban on burkas, or full face veils, and niqabs, which cover the head and face but leave the eyes visible, in the Netherlands.

In Switzerland, voters recently supported a ban on the construction of new minarets, while France is preparing to vote in July on its own law banning Islamic headwear.

Under French proposals, women would be fined up to £600 for hiding their faces, and be 'unveiled' at a police station so they could be identified.

Husband who forced their wives to wear burkas would be sent to prison.

Jean-Francois Cope, president of France's ruling UMP party, said this week: 'The prime minister has told us the new law on wearing burkas would be adopted by mid-September.

'A recent survey found 70 per cent of French people are opposed to the wearing of full face veils in public.'

Despite widespread support for a ban, France's highest legal body, the Council of State, has warned any law could be overturned by EU human rights laws.

Belgium's law could also be challenged by the same legislation.

East meets west as World Expo lands in Shanghai

Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) and International Exhibitions Bureau (BIE) President Jean-Pierre Lafon attend the opening ceremony of the Shanghai World Expo in Shanghai, east China, on April 30, 2010.

Fireworks forming smiling faces explode over the World Expo Park during the opening ceremony for the 2010 World Expo held in Shanghai, east China, April 30, 2010

Spectacular fireworks explode over China Pavilion at the World Expo Park during the opening ceremony for the 2010 World Expo held in Shanghai, east China, April 30, 2010. 

Flags-bearers enter the venue carrying the flags of participants during the opening ceremony of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo at the Expo Cultural Center in Shanghai, east China, April 30, 2010

The Yangtze joins the Blue Danube. Traditional Chinese-style Tang blouses are refitted into ballet dresses. Artists of different colors sing and dance on the same stage.

The Shanghai World Expo opened Friday night with artistic performances, fireworks and high technologies that epitomized 159 years of Expo history.

Thousands of people watched the gala live at the futuristic, UFO-shaped Shanghai Expo Cultural Center, a centerpiece facility at the Expo Park, while thousands more enjoyed fireworks, lights and fountains on the waterfront promenade, the Bund.

Across China, millions shared Shanghai's celebration in front of their TVs.

The indoor performances starred China's piano prodigy Lang Lang, famous for his dramatic countenance and gestures, who played the New Shanghai Concerto, the event's theme music.

The presence of international stars, including Andrea Bocelli, Shinji Tanimura and Maori dancers, turned the stage truly international.


Photo taken on April 30, 2010 shows a scene during the performance of opening ceremony for the 2010 Shanghai World Expo at the Expo Cultural Center in Shanghai, east China


Actors put on Act I "Meeting in Shanghai" during the performance of opening ceremony of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo at the Expo Cultural Center in Shanghai, east China, April 30, 2010

More than 100 ballet dancers danced to the "Song of the Yangtze," a classic ode to China's "mother river". Johann Strauss's "Blue Danube" joined the Yangtze and east met west.

The virtual tides of the "Blue Danube" projected on the center stage then turned into a time tunnel, where images of earlier World Expos flew by, represented by landmark inventions, including electric lamps, silk, a motorcar, a steamer, a maglev train and a satellite.

The first World Expo ever in a developing country, the Shanghai event would lead new lifestyles, promote harmony between people and nature as well as the overall development of humanity, Vice Premier Wang Qishan said in his address at the opening ceremony.

The 184-day event, running until Oct. 31, has drawn participation by an unprecedented 189 countries and 57 international organizations and is expected to host an estimated 70 million visitors.

SHANGHAI GREETS WORLD

China's largest city, at the mouth of the Yangtze, began to evolve into the metropolis it is today in the 19th Century, when the British established a concession there after the first Opium War in 1842.

The city was known as the "Paris of the East" in the 1920s and 1930s for its beautiful buildings and prevalence of Western vogue and lifestyles.

After New China was founded in 1949, Shanghai was for decades the country's top manufacturing base, with "made in Shanghai" snacks, clothing and light industrial products coveted by most Chinese people.

It was also among the first to benefit from China's economic reforms that began in the late 1970s. The country's first stock exchange opened there in 1990.

Today, the city of 18 million people is China's financial hub with towering skyscrapers, a meeting point of migrant laborers, bankers, artists and businesspeople from around the globe, with more transnational marriages than elsewhere in China.

The Shanghai organizers, proud of their native culture yet eager to reach out to the world, adorned the international gathering with local elements. "We're gonna see the world together ala nong," sang Siedah Garrett and Jonathan Buck, two American singers of the theme song "Better city, better life".

In Shanghai dialect, incomprehensible to most other Chinese, "ala" stands for "we" and "nong" means "you".

Messages of welcome were conveyed in the songs, dances, the dazzling light and fireworks display on the Huangpu River that showed smiling faces, rainbows, as well as text messages of "EXPO" and "harmony", and the friendly smiles of the Shanghainese.

"We've been looking forward to this," said Zhang Wei, a volunteer at the Expo's media center. He is among 72,000 volunteers at the Expo Park, a 5.28-square-km area straddling the Huangpu River.

About 2 million others are offering voluntary services across the city.

A HARMONIOUS GATHERING

The opening ceremony, produced by a team of Chinese and foreign directors, was designed to be simple, but with highlights, and warm, but not extravagant.

"China is taking the World Expo stage in a concise and modest manner," said Teng Junjie, chief director for the production of indoor performances.

While earlier expos showcased great inventions, recent events are also tackling the challenges brought by progress, including pollution, traffic congestion and energy deficiency.

As president of the International Exhibitions Bureau Jean-Pierre Lafon put it, the Shanghai event is expected to "contribute to a social awakening so that our cities may become more sustainable, fairer, safer and harmonious."

Amid global concerns over pollution and climate change, and in an effort to live up to its theme of "Better city, Better life", Shanghai organizers have made 2,000 VIP seats in the Expo Cultural Center out of deserted milk packages.

Handbags and tissues were made of recycled paper, while low-energy consuming LED screens and acoustic devices were used at the opening ceremony.

"Chinese elements are found throughout the ceremony," said Liu Wenguo, an official with the Bureau of the Shanghai World Expo Coordination, citing fireworks, drums and the Butterfly Lovers, a Romeo and Juliet-style romance.

"These have brought the essence of Chinese culture to the global audience, and achieved the combination of Chinese and Western value systems."

David Atkins, who headed the production team for the outdoor ceremony, said the opening was a "harmonious gathering" and celebration of the city, its future and history.

 

Goldman set to settle SEC fraud case soon: report

Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs, delivers testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Investigations Subcommittee hearing on ''Wall Street and the Financial Crisis: The Role of Investment Banks'' on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 27, 2010.

Goldman Sachs may soon settle its fraud case with the U.S. regulator, the New York Post reported on Thursday, opting to end a legal fight rather than endure a repeat of the public flogging it received this week.

The Post report, citing sources familiar with the matter, said Wall Street's top investment bank was mulling closing the fraud case with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to limit damage to its reputation.

"It's almost a certainty that there will be a settlement," the paper quoted a source as saying.



Goldman could not immediately be reached for comment in London.

Goldman Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein and other executives faced a blistering cross-examination from U.S. lawmakers about the company's ethics and behavior toward its clients on Tuesday.

The SEC has filed a civil fraud suit against Goldman, charging that it hid vital information from investors about a mortgage-related security. Goldman has denied the charges.

Obama breaks down in tears at funeral of 'Godmother' of American civil rights movement Dorothy Height

Overcome: U.S. President Barack Obama wipes away tears during the funeral for the 'Godmother' of the civil rights movement Dorothy Height in Washington today

Respect: Mr Obama watches as Dr Height's coffin is carried into the cathedral

Changing the course of history: Dr Dorothy Height, left, in one of her characteristically colourful outfits, with her comrade-at-arms Rosa Parks

Tears streaming down his cheeks, grief overcame Barack Obama today as he attended the funeral of the woman he called the 'Godmother' of the American civil rights movement.

The U.S. president was weeping openly as he watched the service for Dorothy Height in Washington today.

He delivered the eulogy for Dr Height, whose activisim stretched from the New Deal right up until Mr Obama's election as the first African American president of the United States.
Dr Height died last week at 98 after a long illness. She was a pioneering voice of the civil rights movement who remained active and outspoken well into her 90s.

She often received rousing ovations at events around Washington, where she was easily recognisable in the bright, colourful hats she almost always wore.

Dr Height led the National Council of Negro Women for decades and marched with the Rev Martin Luther King Jr.


Here because of her: Mr Obama takes the podium to deliver the eulogy for Dr Height today

Regal lady: Dr Height shares a joke with George W Bush before he presented her with the Congressional Gold Medal in Washington DC in 2004

Dr Height in 1974, and with President Ronald Regan during a reception at the White House in 1983

Honoured: Then-President Bill Clinton applauds Dr Height after presenting her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994

Lasting impact: The view inside the cathedral today as Mr Obama took to the podium

She was honoured by Mr Obama during the service at Washington National Cathedral for her leadership on the front lines fighting for equality, education and to ease racial tension.
'She never cared about who got the credit,' the president said. 'What she cared about was the cause. The cause of justice, the cause of equality, the cause of opportunity, freedom's cause.'

His 13-minute tribute often drew gentle laughter as Obama remembered the doggedness and energy of Dr Height, who led the National Council of Negro Women for decades and marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the head of the civil rights movement.
Height visited the Obama White House 21 times, the president said. He noted that she was determined to attend a meeting of African American leaders on unemployment last winter despite an approaching blizzard and being confined to a wheelchair.

She would not allow 'just a bunch of men' to control the meeting, Obama said. Dr When Height's attendance became impossible because cars could not reach her snow-choked driveway, he said, she still sent a message with her ideas.

Noting Dr Height's trademark attire, Obama said, 'we loved those hats she wore like a crown. Regal.'
He cited her role in desegregating the Young Women's Christian Association and in leading the National Council of Negro Women with 'vision and energy, vision and class'. He said her name should be associated with great leaders such as King and W.E.B. DuBois, an early 20th century black nationalist.
'She too deserves a place in our history books,' Obama said. 'She too deserves a place of honor in America's memory.'

He urged Americans to honor Dr Height's memory by serving their country and making it better.

She was a voice for women in the civil rights movement and beyond. Leading women are expected to celebrate her life in return, including poet Maya Angelou, educator Camille Cosby, singers BeBe Winans and Denyce Graves, among others.

Dr Height was a quietly powerful figure in Washington, meeting with every president since Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Gulf spill spells uncertainty for new drilling-Obama says oil drilling must be done responsibly

In the conservative Florida Pandhandle, where Sarah Palin's battle cry "Drill, Baby, Drill" is still visible on car bumpers, some are reconsidering their support of offshore drilling as a growing spill in the Gulf of Mexico drifts closer to shore.

Charter captain Jim McMahon, who spent Thursday catching cobia and King Mackerel, said the spill changed his mind.

"I am pessimistic about this," he said. "It could be devastating to the fishing and tourism industry. People aren't going to come to a beach if they have to step through tar balls."

McMahon isn't alone. A top adviser to President Barack Obama says no new oil drilling will be authorized until authorities learn what caused the explosion of the rig Deepwater Horizon. And Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, who surveyed the massive oil slick this week and called it "frightening," backed off his support for offshore oil extraction.



"It's the last thing in the world I would want to see happen in our beautiful state," said Crist, adding that there is no question now that lawmakers should give up on the idea this year and in coming years. "Until you actually see it, I don't know how you can comprehend and appreciate the shear magnitude of that thing."

Obama recently lifted a drilling moratorium for many offshore areas, including the Atlantic and Gulf areas. But David Axelrod told ABC's "Good Morning America" that "no additional drilling has been authorized and none will until we find out what has happened here."

Environmentalists were already mobilizing around the issue.

"This event is a game changer, and the consequences, I believe, will be long-lasting ecologically and politically — and will be irreversible," said Richard Charter, energy consultant to Defenders of Wildlife.

The full fallout of the spill, however, remains to be seen.

Gibbs and other officials said Obama still remains committed to plans to expand offshore drilling to areas that now are off limits, including the Atlantic Ocean from Delaware to central Florida; the northern waters of Alaska; and the oil-rich eastern Gulf of Mexico, 125 miles from Florida beaches.

On the still pristine coast of Pensacola Beach, bikini-clad Kiley Boster looked out at orange buoys and a boom designed to collect oil that approached an oyster bed and bird sanctuary near the shore.

"I would rather we drill here than spend another 10 years fighting at war and being dependent on oil from other places," she said.

Michael Suarez, a fluids engineer who worked 30 years on offshore rigs, including the Deepwater Horizon, spends much of his free time enjoying the coast but said realistically the country needs to keep running.

"It would be very sad if oil came up here, and I do see the possibility of that, but we still have to drill because we have to have oil and gas," Suarez said, as he watched his grandchildren playing on the sand.

In California, where a spill four decades ago gave birth to the modern environmental movement, conservationists say fragile plans to expand drilling off the coast of Santa Barbara may have just suffered a fatal blow.

State officials are expected this year to consider a project that calls for new drilling along a stretch of coastline nicknamed the American Riviera. Plains Exploration & Production, also known as PXP, wants to slant drill up to 30 new shafts from an existing platform, passing from federal waters into state waters.

Currently, 27 platforms operate off the Central and Southern California coasts. They produce an estimated 13.3 million barrels of oil in 2009, a fraction of the overall national production.

Opposition to the proposal has been growing. If approved, critics say, the project could open up the entire coastline to drilling. Supporters argue the proposal won't violate California's moratorium on offshore drilling since it's on an existing platform.

Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, organized a hearing Friday in response to the Gulf spill.

"I think this is a horribly graphic reminder of why California should never embrace offshore oil drilling, especially a proposal that is three miles from the coast compared from the 40 miles where the Louisiana platform was located," he said.

Congressman John Garamendi, a Democrat from Walnut Creek who as lieutenant governor helped defeat the proposal last year, said the Gulf spill "marks a turning point in our national discussion on new offshore oil drilling. Those calling for Drill, Baby, Drill, need to start including the corollary, Spill, Baby, Spill."

Fresh horror as Chinese farmer attacks schoolchildren with hammer in THIRD copycat rampage in three days

The latest attack comes after a knife-wielding man attacked chiildren in Leizhou No.1 Primary School on Wednesday in Leizhou, Guangdong province of China. Here, an injured student is taken to hospital after the attack

Experts say Wednesday's attack was a copycat rampage of two other episodes at Chinese schools in the past month

The latest attack comes after a knife-wielding man attacked chiildren in Leizhou No.1 Primary School on Wednesday in Leizhou, Guangdong province of China. Here, an injured student is taken to hospital after the attack

After the spate of copycat rampages, many schools are said to be concerned they will be targeted next

Following the attack yesterday, Chinese policemen have travelled to schools to show teachers and school workers how to defend themselves if they are targeted

Concern: Worried parents gather outside the gate of the kindergarten where a class of 4-year-olds were attacked

A farmer attacked and injured five primary school children with a hammer in eastern China today before burning himself to death.

The sickening attack is the latest in a string of horrific assaults on young students over the last month, state media reported.

The attacker used a motorcycle to break down a gate of the school in Shandong province's Weifang city, struck a teacher who tried to block him and then used the hammer to attack the children, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

The assailant then grabbed two children before pouring petrol over his body and setting himself on fire.
Xinhua said teachers at the Shangzhuang primary school were able to pull the children away to safety, and none of the injured children had life-threatening injuries.

Xinhua identified the attacker as Wang Yonglai, a local farmer, but had no further details.



China has been reeling from a series of attacks on schoolchildren, with the latest incident coming just a day after a 47-year-old unemployed man rampaged through a kindergarten in Taixing city in Jiangsu province, wounding 29 students aged four or five years old, five of them seriously.


Horror: Drops of blood are seen on the steps of the kindergarten in Taixing, where a knifeman injured 28 children, two teachers and a security guard  on Wednesday

Scene: A policeman enters the Zhongxin Kindergarten, where 31 people were injured by a knife-wielding man

Scene: A policeman enters the Zhongxin Kindergarten, where 31 people were injured by a knife-wielding man

Former community doctor Zheng Minsheng, 41, was held by police in a courtroom before he was executed on Thursday for murdering eight schoolchildren

Experts said that a possible copycat rampage had been triggered by similar incidents on Wednesday and last month.
They said the wave of school attacks falls amid poor care for the mentally unstable and growing feelings of social injustice in the fast-changing country.

The attacker in Taixing, identified as Xu Yuyuan, pushed his way into a classroom with an eight-inch knife after two teachers and a security guard failed to stop him.

Xu had been a salesman in a local insurance company until he was fired in 2001, but since then has remained jobless, Xinhua said.

On Wednesday, a man in the southern city of Leizhou broke into a primary school and wounded 15 students and a teacher in a knife attack.

The suspect, 33-year-old Chen Kangbing, was a former teacher who had been on sick leave since 2006 for mental health problems.

The assault left fourth and fifth graders with stab wounds on their heads, backs and arms, but none was in life-threatening condition.

That attack came on the same day a man was executed for killing eight children outside an elementary school last month in the south-eastern city of Nanping.
It was not known if Xu knew about the previous day's attack in Guangdong, but Zhou Xiaozheng, a sociology professor at Renmin University in Beijing, said these sorts of violent attacks often happen in clusters because one may trigger copycat attacks.

'It's like suicide, which is another type of mental health problem that can spread in a community,' said Zhou.

'Normally, with these kind of violent events we hope the media won't blow them up too much. Because that tends to make it spread.'

The attack in March shocked China because eight children died and the assailant had no known history of mental illness.

At his trial, Zheng Minsheng, 42, said he killed because he had been upset after being jilted by a woman and treated badly by her wealthy family.

Another attack earlier this month occurred when a mentally ill man hacked to death a child and an elderly woman with a meat cleaver near a school in southern Guangxi, and wounded five other people, including students.

The series of school attacks in China in recent years have mostly been blamed on people with personal grudges or suffering from mental illness, leading to calls for improved security.China's inadequate mental health network has left millions of unstable people without the help they need.

Many otherwise healthy Chinese also feel frustrated and powerless because they aren't able to adapt to the constant social upheaval and because they believe the changes favour the corrupt.

That kind of anger has occasionally erupted in mass violence and in isolated attacks.

It is not known why schools are targeted.

A survey of mental health in four Chinese provinces published in the Lancet in June concluded that China likely had about 173 million adults nationwide with mental health disorders.
The report claimed that most, 158 million, had never gotten any professional help for their problems.

Yu Jianrong of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has said China's sweeping social changes might be partially to blame for Zheng Minsheng's anti-social rage.

'A social environment lacking fairness and justice, in which those who abide by the rules gain nothing, while those who do not can profit, could bring about resistance by the weak against the entire society,' Yu was quoted as saying by the Southern Weekly newspaper a few weeks after the attack.

Zheng was executed on Thursday, just weeks after his crime. Zhou, the Renmin University professor, said China's use of capital punishment helps fuel the cycle of violence by enforcing a belief in 'blood for blood'.

He said China should abolish the death penalty, improve human rights and make its justice system more fair and transparent.


After a 2004 attack at a school in Beijing that left nine students dead, the central government mandated tighter school security nationwide.

The Ministry of Education did not immediately respond to a fax today asking whether the attacks would result in orders to step up school security.

In Thursday's attack, in which a teacher stabbed fourth and fifth graders in their heads, backs and arms, Xinhua said the suspect suffered from mental illness and had been on sick leave from another school since February 2006.

He is now in police custody.

Labour fights on after debate blow

David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Gordon Brown shake hands after the TV debate

Labour has vowed to carry on fighting to polling day after Gordon Brown failed to make the party's hoped-for breakthrough in the final leaders' debate.

A clutch of instant polls following the last of three televised head-to-heads made David Cameron clear winner, with the Prime Minister again trailing in third place.

With just a week to go and Labour still behind in the overall opinion polls, the party had been hoping desperately that Mr Brown would put in a performance that would change the dynamics of the campaign.

Mr Cameron cautioned that the election was "far from won" for the Conservatives and said that he would spend the next six days concentrating on winning every vote.

Labour election co-ordinator Douglas Alexander also insisted that the result of the election remained "wide open", and said that Mr Brown would carry on fighting until the end.



"He is going to be campaigning the length and breadth of the country in the days ahead," he told Sky News. "We are going to be fighting from now until the election for every single vote. This election is wide open. Nobody has any certainty how this election will play itself out."

But Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Ed Davey said Labour was out of it and the contest now was between his party and the Conservatives. "This is turning into a two-horse race. Unexpectedly, it is between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives," he said

Mr Cameron said it was essential that the Tories did not let up in the final run-in to polling day. "I am just very focused on the next week because this is still an election where we have to fight for every vote and every seat," he told BBC Radio WM.

"I am going to be doing everything I can in these next six days to say to people if you want real change, if you want to wake up on Friday May 7 with a different government, with a new prime minister, taking the country in a new direction, then please vote Conservative because this election is still far from won."

The debate drew a peak audience of eight million viewers, according to overnight viewing figures.

Man burns himself in latest China school attack-Deadly school attacks in China

A student is seen recovering at a hospital following an attack the day before by a knifeman at his primary school


The primary school in Leizhou, Guangdong province, where a man stabbed several young students


A security guard stands at the entrance to a Beijing school

A farmer attacked children with a hammer at a primary school in eastern China on Friday before setting himself on fire in the latest in a series of apparently copy-cat attacks, state media said.

The rampage in Shandong province left five children and a teacher hurt but in stable condition, Xinhua news agency said, and came as schools across China stepped up security over fears of further attacks.

Before the incident, China had seen three stabbing frenzies at schools in the past month, including two this week alone, by mentally disturbed adults that left eight children dead and nearly 50 injured.

The attacks underscore how China -- which has enjoyed lower violent crime rates than the West -- faces a growing public safety threat from disgruntled individuals amid rising mental illness rates and looser social controls.



In the Shandong attack, farmer Wang Yonglai broke through a gate at the Shangzhuang Primary School in Weifang city with his motorcycle in the morning and began hitting children with the hammer.

He also struck the foot of one teacher who tried to block him, Xinhua said.

Wang then poured petrol over himself and ignited it while holding two of the children in his arms. Teachers pulled the children to safety and the man died at the scene, the report said.

On Thursday, a jobless man injured 29 children and three adults with a knife used to slaughter pigs in an attack at a kindergarten in the eastern city of Taixing.

Police said the man carried out the attack out of anger over a "series of business and personal humiliations", according to Xinhua.

A day earlier, a 33-year-old teacher on sick leave due to mental problems injured 15 students and a teacher in a knife attack at a primary school in southern China's Guangdong province.

The assailants in both of those attacks were arrested and all victims were said to be out of life-threatening condition.

The Guangdong attack occurred just hours after authorities in Fujian province in the southeast executed a former doctor for stabbing to death eight children and injuring five others on March 23 in a fit of rage after he split with his girlfriend.

In response, authorities across China have ordered stepped-up security at schools, increased police patrols near school grounds, and tighter monitoring of people known to be mentally ill, reports from around the country said.

Schools in several provinces have been ordered to employ measures including full-time security staff, barring all unauthorised visitors, and devising emergency evacuation plans, the reports said.

Violent crime has increased in China as tight controls on society have been loosened in concert with the country's transition from a state-planned to a capitalist economy.

Studies also have cited a rise in mental disorders, some linked to stress as society becomes more fast-paced and old communist-era supports were scrapped.

A study last year estimated that 173 million adults in China have some type of mental disorder -- 91 percent of whom had never received professional help.

China has witnessed a series of recent assaults by attackers on schools. Many have been blamed on personal grudges or people with psychiatric problems:

_ April 30, 2010: A farmer attacked and injured five kindergarten students with a hammer in Shandong province's Weifang city before burning himself to death. The man struck a teacher who tried to block him and then used the hammer to attack the children. None of the children had life-threatening injuries.

_ April 29, 2010: A 47-year-old unemployed man attacked a classroom of 4-year-olds at a kindergarten in Jiangsu province, wounding 29 of them. Two teachers and a security guard were also hurt.

_ April 28, 2010: A man wielding a knife broke into a primary school in Leizhou city in Guangdong province in southern China and stabbed 18 students and a teacher.

_ April 12, 2010: Yang Jiaqin, 40, hacked to death a second grader and an elderly woman near an elementary school in Xizhen village of the southern Guangxi region. The attack came one day before Yang's family was scheduled to send him to a hospital for psychological treatment. He had been diagnosed with a mood disorder.

_ March 23, 2010: Zheng Minsheng, 42, killed eight children in a knife attack at the Nanping Experimental Elementary School in south China's Fujian province. Zheng was executed April 28.

_ March 2, 2009: Xu Ximei, 40, hacked two preschoolers, aged 4 and 6, to death with a kitchen knife and injured three other children and a grandmother at a primary school and in a yard in Mazhan, a village in Guangdong province. Xu was believed to be mentally disabled.

_ Feb. 24, 2008: Chen Wenzhen, a former student at the Leizhou No. 2 Middle School in Guangdong province, stabbed to death a boy and a girl, then killed himself. Chen had dropped out half a year earlier because he suffered from headaches and could not concentrate on his studies, state media said.

_ June 13, 2007: A man state media identified only by his surname, Su, broke into the Chiling Primary School in Longtang township in Guangdong and killed a 9-year-old boy with a kitchen knife. Three other students were seriously wounded. The attacker had been seen quarreling with the boy's parents in the past.

_ May 24, 2006: Yang Xinlong hacked a neighbor to death in the village of Luoying in central China's Henan province, then took 19 elementary school students hostage and killed one before police subdued him. Yang was hospitalized after police shot him when he refused to surrender.

_ Nov. 25, 2004: Yan Yiming, 21, broke into a Chinese high school dormitory and stabbed nine boys to death in Ruzhou, Henan province. Yan's mother turned him in to police after he attempted suicide on the day following the attack. He was executed two months later.

_ Aug. 4, 2004: Xu Heping, 51, a part-time gatekeeper at a Beijing kindergarten killed one student and slashed 14 others and three teachers. State media said at the time Xu had a history of schizophrenia. The attack, near the compound where President Hu Jintao and other Chinese leaders live and work, prompted the government to order stepped up security at schools nationwide.