News EnglishAugust 26, 2008 3:32 pm

China’s “most lovable” writer Wei Wei dies at age of 88

    BEIJING, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) — Famed Chinese writer Wei Wei died of illness on Sunday. He was 88.

    The largely self-taught writer was best known for reporting from the front lines of the Korean War in the 1950s.

Famed Chinese writer Wei Wei seen in this undate file photo. Wei Wei died of illness on Sunday. He was 88.

    His masterpiece, "Who Is the Most Lovable", an eulogy of the heroism and revolutionary spirit of the Chinese People’s Volunteers serving in the Korean War, has been read by and influenced generations of Chinese people.

    "The most lovable" has become a title to address Chinese soldiers.

    Born in 1920 in a poor family in Zhengzhou, capital of central Henan Province, Wei joined the Eighth Route Army at the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan in 1937 and became a member of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 1938.

    He was called a "noble-minded writer", a "dogged solider" and also a "most lovable person" at online forums after people got the news of his death.

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News English 3:27 pm

NATO rejects Russian recognition of Georgian breakaway regions

    BRUSSELS, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) — NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has rejected Russia’s recognition of the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the breakaway regions of Georgia.

    "I reject the decision of the Russian government to extend recognition to the South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions of Georgia," de Hoop Scheffer said in a statement Tuesday.

    "This is in direct violation of numerous UN Security Council resolutions regarding Georgia’s territorial integrity, resolutions that Russia itself has endorsed," he said.

    He reiterated NATO’s support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and asked Russia to respect these principles as well.

    "Russia’s actions in recent weeks call into question Russia’s commitment to peace and security in the Caucasus," he commented.

    Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed decrees on Tuesday recognizing the independence of the two breakaway regions of Georgia.

    Abkhazia and South Ossetia broke from central Georgian rule during wars in the early 1990s following the collapse of the former Soviet Union, but their self-proclaimed independence is not recognized internationally.

    On Aug. 7, Georgia sent in troops to reclaim South Ossetia, to which Russia responded with a military offensive, driving Georgian forces out of the region and taking over parts of Georgian territory.

    Russia finally declared a halt to its military offensive on Aug. 12. Later, Moscow said it had fulfilled the promise made in a French-brokered peace plan to withdraw its troops from Georgia as of last Friday.

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News English 3:25 pm

UN confirms killing of 90 civilians by Coalition air raid in W. Afghanistan

    KABUL, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) — The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on Tuesday confirmed the killing of90 civilians including women and children in Shindand district of western Herat province during air strike by U.S.-led Coalition forces against Taliban militants, a statement released here said.

    "Investigations by UNAMA found convincing evidence, based on the testimony of eyewitnesses that some 90 civilians were killed, including 60 children, 15 women and 15 men," the statement said, "15 other villagers were wounded."

    "This is matter of grave concern to the United Nations, I have repeatedly made clear that the safety and welfare of civilians must be considered above all else during the planning and conduct of all military operations," the statement quoting Kai Eide, the special envoy of UN secretary general to Afghanistan, as saying.

    According to the statement, UNAMA sent its human rights team to affected area for investigation and the team after interviewing people found that the troops with the support of air power at around midnight 21st August destroyed some eight houses and the locals were able to confirm the number of casualties including their names, ages and gender of the victims.

    "All parties engaged in the conflict must respect their duties under international humanitarian and human rights law to protect the people we are here to serve," UN envoy to Afghanistan stressed.

    Meantime, in a statement issued Tuesday the U.S. military stressed only five militants were killed in the operation.

    "Among the 30 bodies, five of them we believe now were not combatants, two women and three children," it said.

    The U.S.-led Coalition forces Friday in conjunction with Afghan army carried out ground and air attacks against the suspected hideout of militants in Azizabad village of Shindand district but left scores of locals dead.

    Afghan cabinet on Monday also called for regulating the authority and responsibilities of international troops in the war-torn country after the huge civilian casualties in western Herat province.

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