World briefly: China to fly pair of pandas to Spain
Published 10:54 pm Saturday, August 4, 2007
China will fly a pair of giant pandas to Spain next month, state media reported Saturday, following through on a goodwill gesture promised during a visit by Spanish King Juan Carlos to Beijing earlier this year. The pair, 7-year old “Bing Xing” and 4-year old “Hua Zui Ba” will be flown from their home in the southwestern city of Chengdu to Madrid on Sept. 8 by chartered plane for a 10-year stay, the Xinhua News Agency said. China regularly sends the animals abroad as a sign of warm diplomatic relations or to mark breakthroughs in ties.
Government cracks down on news
China is cracking down on cable television operators who offer unauthorized foreign satellite broadcasts – the communist government’s latest bid to maintain its monopoly on information, a newspaper reported Saturday. China’s TV regulator last month ordered local authorities to root out operators that provide Chinese homes with foreign channels, which are officially restricted to tourist hotels and compounds where foreigners work and live, Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post newspaper reported. Penalties were not stipulated.
Britain: Meat exports are banned
Britain raced to avert economic disaster Saturday by halting meat and dairy exports and the movement of livestock around the country after foot-and-mouth disease was found on a southern English farm. The strain of the highly infectious disease found was identical to one used at a nearby government-funded laboratory that is researching vaccines for the virus, Britain’s environment agency said Saturday. Officials are still investigating other possible sources, the country’s chief veterinarian said.
Denmark: Soccer players run away
Six Africans who came to Denmark to play in the Homeless World Cup soccer tournament deserted their national teams in Copenhagen and authorities said they would begin searching for them today. The Homeless World Cup, started in 2003 by editors of newspapers sold by homeless people, is a six-day street soccer tournament that drew 500 players from 48 countries. The tournament, which ended Saturday, aims to focus attention on the world’s estimated 1 billion homeless people and put players on a path to independence.
From Herald news services
