International Headlines

K2 claims more

Three survivors of a disastrous mountaineering expedition are recovering in a Pakistan hospital.

Eleven climbers perished after an ice-fall during the party’s descent of K2, the second highest peak in the world.

Aerial rescue attempts were hindered earlier this week due to poor visibility and high altitude, leaving one survivor to hobble his way to base camp on frostbitten legs. 

Bell tolls for Hiroshima

Thousands bowed their heads in the city of Hiroshima on Wednesday to commemorate the 63^rd anniversary of the world’s first atomic attack.

A bell tolled at 8:15 a.m. to mark the exact moment the bomb was dropped on the Japanese city in 1945, killing tens of thousands instantly.

During the ceremony Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda called for world nuclear powers to abolish all weapons of mass destruction.

 

“Drive me Obama”

American women want Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama in their driving seat.

A new poll shows women in the US would rather carpool or go on vacation with Obama than with Republican rival John McCain.

The poll also showed Obama holds a strong lead among all women voters but McCain ranks better with white women, seniors and stay-at-home mums.

 

Olympic News…

Torch comes home

The Olympic Torch marched through Tian’anmen Square this week as it began its final leg in Beijing.

The flame’s three-day tour in the Olympic host city is passing to 841 torchbearers, including basketball star Yao Ming and the country’s first astronaut Yang Liwei.

The relay has lasted 129 days and travelled 137,000 km through six continents, the longest distance of any Olympic torch relay since the tradition began at the 1936 Berlin Games. 

Premier player

China’s Premier dribbled and dunked with the best of them on Monday at the Olympic Basketball Gymnasium.

Wen Jiabao visited a number of training venues this week to show his support for China’s Olympic team.

About the broadcaster:

Meghan Peters is a foreign language expert at China Daily's Web site. A recent graduate from the University of Washington in Seattle, Meghan has written for The Seattle Times, the Seattle Post Intelligencer and the Seattle Weekly, where she also worked on various multimedia projects.

 

 

Marc Checkley is a freelance journalist and media producer from New Zealand. Marc has had an eclectic career in the media/arts working on various projects in theatre, television, radio, print, film and online. Marc spent three months with the China Daily last year leading the online video news initiative.Marc returns to chinadaily.com.cn as Senior Editor and Producer for the website's Olympic media news coverage.