Six In The Morning

Death toll rises to 80 after China earthquakes; hundreds injured

　

By the CNN Wire Staff September 8, 2012 -- Updated 0503 GMT (1303 HKT)
The death toll rose to 80 on Saturday after earthquakes rocked southwest China, destroying roads and communication lines, and forcing tens of thousands of evacuations, state media reported. More than 700 others were injured in the Friday quakes, according to Xinhua news agency. Officials fear the death toll may rise as they scramble to reach affected areas. Big rocks blocked roads, and communication lines and other infrastructure were downed, hampering rescue efforts. About 100,000 people have been evacuated and 100,000 others are in need of relocation, state media reported.

China's new leader signals prospect of reform
Observers say Xi Jinping is likely to favour faster economic and possibly political liberalisation

CLIFFORD COONAN BEIJING SATURDAY 08 SEPTEMBER 2012
With just weeks to go before the once-in-a-decade transition of power to a new leadership, China's president-in-waiting, Xi Jinping, has made pro-reform remarks that could signal a new direction for the world's most populous nation. There is much speculation about what political direction China will take after the 18th Party Congress next month, at which Mr Xi will start taking over as Communist Party boss, president and then head of the military. The whole process will take months.

Russia To Produce Electricity with Former Nukes
Russia is planning to destroy plutonium used in thousands of soon to be decommissioned nuclear warheads by using it as fuel in a special new atomic power plant. The reactor is set to begin operating in one year, but time pressures and a vulnerable cooling system make the project a risky one.

By Kerstin Brandt
A billboard with a picture of smiling children heralds the arrival of a new nuclear age. "Zarechny -- Our Nuclear City" is the sign that greets drivers entering this town 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of the Russian city of Yekaterinburg along a country road through a wooded landscape. Flowerbeds line the streets of Zarechny. There is a fresh wreath laid at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the town square draws children with its moon bounces and carousels. The only major street in this city of 30,000 forms a straight line leading to the premises of Beloyarsk, the nuclear power plant that has been providing crisis-proof jobs for local residents for over half a century.

Iraq struggles to contain domestic terrorism
Nine months after the withdrawal of US troops, Iraq is still unstable. Terrorism remains the country's biggest problem, but the catastrophic conflict in Syria - of all things - provides some hope.


In August, Iraq exported more than 2.5 million barrels of oil per day - breaking a 30-year-old record. It was welcome news for the war-torn country, where such reports of success are rare. But even these figures offered only limited respite. Though the oil industry accounts for over 90 percent of Iraq's income, it provides few opportunities for Iraqis themselves, since it employs barely one percent of the Iraqi workforce. Agriculture comprises a disproportionate sector of the Iraqi economy - supplying a fifth of all Iraqis with a living, but only four percent of the gross domestic product, leaving those who depend on it in relative poverty.

Madagascar journalists hide in SA embassy
South Africa's embassy in Madagascar has granted refuge to two journalists and a technician of a closed-down opposition radio station.


South Africa's embassy in Madagascar has granted refuge to two journalists and a technician of a closed-down opposition radio station following "prolonged harassment", it said on Friday. "The South African embassy confirms that it has decided to give refuge to the journalists in question ... because of prolonged and incessant harassment of these journalists and of others as well as the closing of Radio Free FM," the mission.

'Supersize it': seats widen to accommodate Brazil's growing obese population
Obesity is on the rise in Brazil, and regional governments are responding with legislation requiring larger seats and equipment for schools, public transportation, and hospitals.

By Rachel Glickhouse, Guest blogger
Obesity is on the rise in Brazil, with over half of the population now overweight and around 15 percent considered obese . With a growing public health crisis, what was the legislative response? Well, for one, to make bigger seats. [To see how other Latin American countries are dealing with obesity, check out The Christian Science Monitor's recent focus package with stories here, here, and here.] One of the places this trend began was in Rio Grande do Sul in 2005, when the state passed a law requiring adequate space on public transportation for the obese.