Three Chinese astronauts returned safely to earth

SHANGHAI — Three Chinese astronauts returned safely to earth in their space capsule late Sunday afternoon after spending nearly three days in low orbit and completing the nation’s first spacewalk, Chinese state television said.

stronaut Takes Nation’s First Spacewalk (September 28, 2008)

The re-entry capsule of the Shenzhou VII spacecraft floated down by parachute and landed on the grasslands of northern China at 5:37 p.m. Beijing time.

The capsule was located about 10 minutes later by a search-and-rescue team, which helped the three astronauts climb out.

The landing was shown on national television and the three astronauts appeared relatively well.

After emerging from a cramped, round capsule, they sat on what looked like lawn chairs, waved to the cameras and spoke briefly.

“It was a glorious mission, full of challenges, but the result is perfect,” one of the astronauts, Zhai Zhigang, said after the landing, according to the state-run news media.

On Saturday afternoon, Mr. Zhai completed the nation’s first spacewalk, floating above an orbital module and waving a small Chinese flag.

China called the mission, its third manned space launch, a complete success and a “major breakthrough” for the country’s space program.

The government has said it hopes to establish a space station and eventually make a moon landing.

Beijing sees the space program as a major yardstick of the country’s economic and technological development, and also a means to strengthening the country’s image at home and abroad.

China, which has spent billions of dollars building up its space program over the past decade, is only the third country, after Russia and the United States, to send humans into space with its own spaceship.

Milk that has sickened 53,000 children

Police in northern China have arrested 27 people in their probe into tainted milk that has sickened 53,000 children and soiled China's reputation abroad, state media reported Tuesday.
The 27 are among 36 detained since authorities in Hebei province began investigating Sanlu Group, the company at the centre of the scandal, earlier this month.

The investigation followed the discovery that the industrial chemical melamine, which is normally used to make plastics, had been added to Sanlu powdered milk.

The Xinhua news agency had reported 22 detentions by Monday, and said those arrested were involved in a network that made and sold melamine and added it to milk.

Four children so far have died after drinking milk tainted with melamine, which can make watered-down milk appear richer in protein.

According to police investigations in Hebei, where Sanlu is headquartered, melamine was produced at underground plants and sold to breeding farms and milk purchasing stations, the China Daily reported Tuesday.

The report said Chinese officials, learning that the purchasing stations were among the key links in how the contaminated milk spread, have begun a national campaign to overhaul the system.

A total of 31 provinces have set up special task forces to supervise the purchasing centres and implement more standardised practices, according to the newspaper.

Milk purchasing centres only began operating in recent years, and the government has not yet set up a specific department to supervise them, it said, explaining how the illegal practices could occur.

The newspaper cited the agriculture ministry as saying melamine was most probably mixed with milk at the stations.

"We will resolutely put an end to the practice of adding melamine to fresh milk," Agriculture Minister Sun Zhengcai said in an interview with the People's Daily, which was posted on the paper's website.

"We will carefully monitor the production, sale and processing of fresh milk," Sun was quoted as saying.

Chinese officials have struggled in recent days to contain the fallout from the scandal as a growing range of China-made products have been pulled off shelves across the world.

South Korea's food watchdog said Tuesday that two more snacks imported from China were contaminated with the toxic chemical melamine, bringing the number of tainted brands discovered locally to six.

The products are Ritz Cracker Sandwiches Cheese, produced by Nabisco Food Suzhou Co, and Savory Rice Crackers from Danyang Day Bright Foods Co, said the Korea Food and Drug Administration.

Traces of melamine were previously detected in "Misarang Custard" and "Misarang Coconut" cakes, which were manufactured in China and sold by South Korea's Haitai Confectionery and Food Co.

The two other brands are Milk Rusk biscuits and Vegetable Creamer.

The South Korean agency has been inspecting 428 brands of imported food. It has completed checks on 186 items and found six contaminated with the chemical.

All six brands have been recalled, it said.

British sweet maker Cadbury said Monday it had found traces of melamine in chocolates made at its Beijing factory, and ordered a recall of those products in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Australia.

The 11 brands recalled include Cadbury Eclairs and bulk packets of Dairy Milk chocolate, the company said earlier.

Indonesia's food supervisory agency said over the weekend that it discovered some 16 Chinese-made diary products contained melamine, adding that all those products -- including well-known brands such as Snickers and M&M's chocolates -- would be immediately destroyed.

Mars said it was "extremely surprised" by that decision, insisting other tests had cleared its products of contamination.

More than a dozen Asian and African countries, plus the 27-member European Union, have taken steps to ban or limit consumption of products containing Chinese dairy.

The crisis is among the most serious in a litany of product-safety scandals emerging from China's chaotic and corrupt manufacturing industries in recent years, emerging as the nation has grown into a global trading power.

Besides the toll in mainland China, five children in Hong Kong, one in Macau, and four people in Taiwan have reportedly developed kidney stones after consuming tainted Chinese products.

contain milk contaminated with melamine.

Snackers, beware: Your favorite chocolate or creamy treats might contain milk contaminated with melamine.
The list of companies facing potential recalls grew Friday as reports of foods tainted with the industrial chemical melamine, which has been blamed in the deaths of four Chinese infants, spread to a widening range of products.

Food companies around the globe are rushing to assess their products and in some cases setting new strategies to prevent problems.

"We have to think about any processed food with milk or protein in it," said James Rice, a food industry veteran who is now China country manager for Tyson Foods Inc., the world's largest meat processor.

While his company is not affected, for others "that includes biscuits, cake mix, energy bars, anything that should have protein in it," he said.

Many food companies already were taking special precautions before Chinese milk suppliers were found to be adding melamine to watered-down milk to boost its apparent protein content. The chemical, which is high in nitrogen, can fool tests aimed at verifying protein levels. The compromised dairy products are blamed for sickening 54,000 children.

Some companies learned the need for extra diligence in China the hard way, during a spate of scandals last year from unsafe foods and toothpaste to melamine-laced ingredients in pet food.

But many continued to disregard the risks, said Jeremy Haft, a businessman who runs factories in China in a variety of industries, including medical products, clothing and building supplies.

"I don't think much was learned from the recalls of a year ago," said Haft, who has written of his experiences in a book, "All the Tea in China."

Tokyo-headquartered Lotte Group, a major snack maker, got caught up in the storm Friday after its popular chocolate-filled Koala cookies were recalled in Hong Kong and Macau because of melamine contamination.

Packages of the cookies, still on sale in Shanghai, list whole milk powder as an ingredient.

"We will look deeply into all the details of the manufacturing process," said Kayh Kim, manager of Lotte China Food's planning department in Beijing. "We really don't want to lose our customers' confidence."

In Tokyo, a company spokeswoman said Lotte products sold in Japan are not made with Chinese dairy ingredients.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai-based maker of White Rabbit, a popular vanilla-flavored toffee, said it stopped domestic sales after the Hong Kong government's Center for Food Safety said the candy contained more than six times the legal limit of melamine.

That followed White Rabbit recalls in Britain, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia.

When rumors of melamine-related recalls of Oreos and other sweets spread by phone text messages and on the Internet earlier this week, Kraft Foods Inc. hastened to reassure customers that none of its Oreo-brand products contain milk powder from China.

Oreo fillings contain no milk, while Oreo cookies with icing on them use milk powder from Australia, it said. "Regardless of where they are produced, Kraft products are always held to the highest quality and safety standards," the company said.

As they expand operations in China, targeting its potential market of 1.3 billion people, many foreign-brand food companies still rely heavily on local partners for quality control, experts say.

New Zealand's dairy cooperative Fonterra discovered the implications when its local partner, Sanlu Group Co., failed to take quick action after Chinese doctors reported that babies drinking its infant formula were developing kidney stones.

"The problem was that Fonterra, right from the start, had no control over what was going on," said Bruce McLaughlin, CEO of Sinogie Consulting in Shanghai, which conducts market research and investigations.

"The most important thing is that if you're going to make an investment and have your name tied up with it, you have to have control over what's going on," McLaughlin said.

For some, that may mean going it alone.

Chocolate maker Barry Callebaut, the world's leading producer of cocoa, chocolate and confectionary products, set up its own factory west of Shanghai earlier this year. The quality control staff report directly to the Swiss company's CEO.

The factory is testing milk products from all local suppliers, setting aside any from domestic sources until it is confirmed safe, said Gaby Tschofen, the company's vice president for corporate communications.

A decision by Japanese beer maker Asahi Breweries Ltd. to set up its own dairy farm in China is proving fortuitous: the company's milk, which went on sale only this month, is selling fast amid the melamine scare.

Asahi Green Source Farm, a venture with fellow Japanese companies Itochu Corp. and Sumitomo Corp., is stocked with more than 1,000 dairy cows from Australia and New Zealand, said Chen Na, a marketing department staffer.

"We already realized the importance of the source of raw milk, since it's easy for trouble to crop up in a booming market, and we have made every effort to control the manufacturing process for liquid milk production," she said. "Better safe than sorry."

Obama-McCain Hadir together in Ground Zero

Obama-McCain Hadir together in Ground Zero
New York: Barack Obama and John McCain were present together in the agenda recalling the casualties was killed in the attack on September 11 2001 in Ground Zero, New York, the United States, on Thursday (11/9). The Obama competition and McCain did not appear during both of them to ride in a convoy towards the place where the twin towers building previously stood. In fact, the president's two US candidates from the Democratic Party and this Republic opposite each other and often attacked mutually related their respective policy. Both Obama and McCain agreed several weeks ago to be present simultaneously in Ground Zero. Further they were scheduled to appear in the evening in a forum for the volunteer and the service. The warning seven tragedy years were on September 11 spread out together in AS. Tercatat 2751 people became casualties was killed in the attack of two aircraft that destroyed two World Trade Center twin towers in this New York. (BOG)

parliament's Thai Voting to choose Thai Prime Minister

Bangkok: parliament's Thai Voting to choose Thai Prime Minister just, on Friday (12/9), failed to be carried out. That was caused by parliament's member who was present not filling the quorum. From parliament's 470 members, was recorded by only 161 people who were present. Most that were present being the Democratic Party member that beroposisi. Certainly the absence of the coalition fortification implied the existence of dissension that was triggered by the renomination of Sundaravej Tannin. In the meantime, Parlemen Thailand Chairman, Chai Chidchob, said will postpone PM's election till this coming Wednesday. Outside parliament's building, the security was tightened by the reason for the planned pro-government mass came to support Tannin. While the antigoverment group had not yet dispersed itself, since holding the sit-in in parliament two weeks set.

How Do Adrenal Hormones Affect My Health?

How Do Adrenal Hormones Affect My Health?

The adrenal glands have one of the highest blood flow rates of any tissue in the body--so the hormones they produce can trigger reactions in all parts of your body. One major adrenal hormone is cortisol--a powerful anti-inflammatory. Cortisol levels rise dramatically with stress, prolonging your body's "fight or flight" response. If your body is producing too much or too little cortisol, you may feel some of the following symptoms.

* Weakness and Fatigue - Cortisol imbalances can throw off the body's blood sugar metabolism, making you feel weak, tired, and run-down. Too much cortisol can also interfere with sleep patterns and produce a "wakeful," unrelaxing sleep state. So you may feel worn-out even after a full night's sleep.

* Muscle and Joint Pain Excess - cortisol in the bloodstream accelerates the breakdown of body tissue and prevents proper tissue repair, leading to muscle and joint injuries and chronic pain.

* Obesity - Cortisol imbalances can stimulate fat deposits in various parts of the body, resulting in weight gains in the trunk, chest, neck, and face.

* Poor Skin - High levels of cortisol can reduce the skin's ability to regenerate, resulting in an unhealthy skin appearance. Over time, cortisol imbalances can take a heavy toll on your health, wearing down your immune system, triggering premature aging, and setting the stage for chronic illness. Anxiety, depression, heart disease, AIDS and osteoporosis have all been linked with elevated cortisol lev

Thailand would the Degree of the Referendum

Bangkok: the strong Pressure against the Thai government made Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej decide to spread out the referendum next month. The option was agreed to in the cabinet meeting, on Thursday (4/9). The Thai people will be given by the choice to determine whether the government of Tannin continued to be maintained or not. Responded to this referendum plan, the Alliance of the People for Democracy that drove the demonstration in the Office PM Samak continued in his position to demand PM retreated. The demonstration that was spread out for two last weeks as well as stalled him the worker of the public's service made the government of Tannin was in the strong pressure and almost paralysed. (ADO)

Sarah Palin Praise McCain

Ohn McCain accepted his strengthening as the United States presidential candidate from the Party of the Republic, on Thursday (4/9)


in the Nasional Partai Convention of the Republic in St Paul, Minnesota. The strengthening McCain took place after Governor Negara Bagian Alaska, Sarah Palin, gave the speech on his acceptance as the candidate US Vice President from the Party of the Republic. In his speech on Palin said felt respected accompanied McCain as the prospective vice-president. Palin also mentioned McCain as the leader who was needed by the USA to overcome the foreign problem related the Iraqi war, the terrorism threat, and nuclear Iranian rumours. McCain that appeared afterwards was welcomed enthusiastic participants in the convention. He said chose the noose that was exact as the Vice President him. McCain was scheduled to end the convention that took place for four days by giving the official speech on his acceptance this Friday morning. (ADO)

McCain received the Nomination of the Party of the Republic

Minnesota: John McCain accepted his nomination as the candidate United States President from the Party of the Republic. In his speech, McCain offered the change and the hard work in order to return prosperity and peacefulness in AS. Untuk achieved the goal, McCain promised to bring about the supportive government and not obstructed his resident. The approach bipartisan then was chosen by him to facilitate the achievement of the solution. McCain also praised the Vice President his choice, Sarah Palin that was acknowledged as the reformer who was exact by him to accompany in the White House. He also warned the hoodlums, the big system of cost politics but without results that were valid in Washington DC will change under his leadership [read: the Colleague McCain Siap Tampil]. In the foreign policy field especially the matter of the increase in troops in Iraq, McCain only commented he more was ready to lose the general election than witnessed the USA losing the war. The peak of the agenda of this Republic of the Party's convention could tergangu was interrupted that was speeded up by several demonstrators. (YNI)

The husband Late Benazir Bhutto was chosen So President

Islamabad: Gegap loud solved the atmosphere in Rawalpindi and several places in Pakistan after Asif Ali Zardari was chosen to the president, on Saturday (6/9). The husband late former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto received the most voice in the voting in Pakistani Parliament. In the speech on his victory, Zardari quoted the statement his late wife that democracy was the best revenge. At that time the president was accompanied by his two daughters, namely Bakhtwar and Asifa. Zardari also congratulated the Pakistani nation as well as parliament that it was thought succeeded in overcoming the big barrier in the process towards democracy. Official results that were announced the local general election commission, Zardari superior with 481 voices be stuck to far with Muhammad Said Uz Zaman Sidiqi that only got 153 vote. Moreover had Mushahid Hussain with the receipt 44 voices. Several problems currently wait Zardari. Zardari leadership was it was estimated opposed by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that was the former ally in the coalition slaughtered Musharraf. His article of Sharif was disappointed with Zardari that it was considered did not keep the promise to lift