Monday, September 07, 2009 TAIWAN: The 21st Summer Deaf Olympics officially kicked off in the Taiwanese capital, Taipei. The twelve-part opening ceremony included singing by Taiwanese pop star A-mei, an appearance by actor Jet-Li and choreographed artistic performances themed on Taiwan's landscape, ecology, and even its food.One of the acts, meant to highlight Taipei as a culinary capitol, had performers dressed up as noodles, vegetables and stewed eggs. They assembled into famous local dishes, such as minced pork and beef noodle soup.Many of the performers, who are deaf, responded to split-second visual cues.The Deaflympics features 20 sports, including soccer, swimming, wrestling, table tennis and orienteering. A record 4,000 athletes from 81 countries are registered to compete this year. Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou also attended the opening ceremony.The Deaf Olympics were first held in Paris, France in 1924. The competition, the first ever for athletes with disabilities, was then known as the Silent Games. This is the first time the Deaflympics have been held in Asia. The closing ceremony will be on September 15.
BEIRUT: Thousands of people converged Saturday on central Beirut to mark the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Lebanese former premier Rafiq Hariri.Waving Lebanese flags and carrying pictures of the slain leader, men, women and children gathered under sunny skies in Martyr's Square where members of the parliamentary majority were to address the crowd. The rally comes as final preparations are underway in The Hague for the launch of the international tribunal set up to bring Hariri's killers to justice. It also comes as the country prepares for legislative elections in June that will pit Western-backed political parties against a Hezbollah-led alliance backed by Syria and Iran.Hariri died in a massive car bombing on February 14, 2005 that also killed 22 others. The assassination was widely blamed on then Lebanese power-broker Syria, which has denied any involvement. The attack on the Beirut seafront was one of the worst acts of political violence to rock Lebanon since t...
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