Premios Juventud Latin Music awards
Recording artist Thalia of Mexico performs at the annual Premios Juventud Latin Music awards in Coral Gables, Florida July 17, 2008. Recording artist Gloria Trevi of Mexico performs at the annual Premios Juventud Latin Music awards in Coral Gables Florida July 17, 2008.
Maliki, Bush discuss troop withdrawal timetable over phone
BAGHDAD, July 18 (Xinhua) — Iraqi and U.S. leaders have talked about bilateral relations in a phone conversation, including working out a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops, the Iraqi government said Friday.
Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and U.S. President George W. Bush stressed the importance of achieving a timetable to hand over security control to the Iraqi security troops so as to lay the ground for the pullout of the U.S. force.
Bush has repeatedly said the withdrawal of the U.S. troops should be conducted based on the situation in Iraq.
In the phone conversation on Thursday, they also talked about establishing a new relationship on the basis of respecting Iraq’s sovereignty.
The leaders agreed that the U.S. troops would shift their role from combat mission to training and advising Iraqi forces.
Iraq and the United States have been engaged in negotiations about the future status of the U.S. troops in Iraq after the UN mandate ends at year’s end. They have expected to complete a deal by the end of July.
Yet, differences over a couple of issues have led to doubt about whether they could finish the talks as scheduled.
Maliki has said the talks were deadlocked and demanded a time frame for the pullout of the American force.
Iraqis also want to limit the freedom of the U.S. security operations and put their activities within the Iraqi jurisdiction.
U.S. media has reported that the two sides could sign a short-term pact before reaching a long-term deal.
Beijing 2008 Olympic Games posters available July 20
BEIJING, July 18 — On Friday afternoon, a press conference was held at the Main Press Center (MPC) in Beijing regarding the launch of official posters of the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Zhao Yanxia, deputy director of BOCOG Culture and Ceremonies Department, pointed out that Olympic and Paralympic posters are an important part of promoting the appeal of the Games, as well as highlighting Olympic host cities, acting as "a visual representation of commerce and culture."
Next, Zhao Meng, art director of the look and image of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, spoke about the design concept and creation procedure of the official posters. He indicated that designers kept the ideas of a "Green Olympics, High-tech Olympics and People’s Olympics" in mind when creating the images, while embodying the philosophy of "One World One Dream." He also emphasized that artists wanted to bring out elements of Chinese culture and the passion felt by the Chinese about having the honor of hosting the international event.
The several categories of posters were introduced to the media present at the press conference. They are: "Sophisticated Beijing for a harmonious Olympic Games," "Smiling Beijing and inclusive Olympic Games," and "Robust Beijing to exceed the Dreams."
Zhao also described the creative process of the Olympic posters, starting with the first stage, when on May 23, 2007, a special meeting involving 71 invited design institutes and studios was held for a brainstorming session. During the second stage, 930 designs were collected for evaluation; in stage three, a special committee organized in Tsinghua University reviewed the submissions. In the end, after serious scrutiny and refinement, the team lead by Professor He Jie, vice-dean of the Academy of Art and Design of Tsinghua University, was selected as the artist group with the best design. 16 poster designs each for the Olympic and Paralympic Games were chosen.
Beijing Morning Post under Beijing Daily Group has been designated as the official poster publisher. According to Zhao, about 100,000 posters will be printed and made available to the public on July 20 at 10 yuan each. They may be purchased at franchised kiosks.