1
At least 19 killed in prison riot in Mexico
At least 19 people were killed in a prison riot in Mexico's northern Durango state, a security official said on Friday.
The violence sparked by rivalries among inmates also left 26 others injured, said Jorge Torres, the public security secretary in the state.
Police have controlled the situation in the prison located in the city of Gomez Palacio, he said.
2
Newspaper vehicle set on fire by suspected followers of Honduran ousted president
A delivery vehicle from the Honduran daily La Tribuna was set on fire Friday morning by alleged followers of ousted President Manuel Zelaya, police reported.
The vehicle was set on fire in Zelaya's home state of Olancho while delivering newspapers from Juticalpa to Catacamas, police spokesman Orlin Cerrato said.
Cerrato added that unidentified men stopped the vehicle and dragged the driver out before setting it on fire.
La Tribuna was formerly owned by Carlos Flores, who served as Honduran president from 1998 to 2002.
"The incident has political tints because they did not rob the driver but only punched him," Cerrato said, alluding to the current political crisis since the coup ousted Zelaya on June 28.
Zelaya is currently touring Latin America to solicit international support and to put pressure on the interim government led by former parliament speaker Robert Micheletti.
3
Human remains of Chinese man found in Australian bushland
Human remains of a Chinese man were found in bushland near Wollongong, 128 km south of Sydney, Australian Associated Press reported Saturday.
Police said a colliery worker found the body about midday on Friday.
The person is believed to be a 27-year-old Chinese national and was in Australia on a visa and had been living in inner Sydney.
He was reported missing five months ago.
"It is an ongoing investigation that stems from a report of a person going missing on March 4 this year," Detective Superintendent Jon Alt said on Saturday.
Alt said he was reported missing by two friends.
Efforts had been made to conceal the body, he said.
Police are treating the man's death as a homicide and are appealing for public information, but have not yet released the deceased's identity.
Investigators have ruled out any link between Friday's discovery and that last Sunday of the dismembered body of Sydney woman Ling Mao, 33, found dumped about half an hour away.
"We can strongly say that there is no link to any recent homicide or any other homicide for that matter," Alt said, "We are investigating this as a single isolated incident."
4
Safina knocks Clijsters out of Cincinnati Open
World No. 1 Dinara Safina of Russia beat Kim Clijsters of Belgium 6-2, 7-5 on Friday to snap the former top-ranked player's comeback run at the Cincinnati Open tennis tournament at the quarterfinals.
Clijsters, back on the tour after a two-year break, led 2-0 in the first set and 4-1 in the second but could not press home her advantage.
"I really felt Dinara played some of the best tennis I've seen of her," the Belgian told reporters. "She doesn't give you the opportunity to step in and put the pressure on her.
Clijsters, who had her first child in February 2008, beat French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the previous round.
Safina next will meet 14th seed Flavia Pennetta of Italy who beat unseeded Slovak Daniela Hantuchova 6-3, 6-3.
Earlier, fourth seed Elena Dementieva scored a 6-2, 6-1 win over Dane Caroline Wozniacki, the eighth seed.
5
PLA tests battle effectiveness in modern warfare environment
The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) started its largest-ever military exercise on Tuesday.
Experts said the exercise has already revealed new trends in the country's military development.
It is the first time the PLA has mobilized four full divisions amounting to about 50,000 troops and deployed 60,000 pieces of heavy equipment up to a maximum of 2,400 kilometers from their bases, accompanied by army aviation units.
To test the mobility of the world's biggest army, numbering nearly 2.3 million - which has not been engaged in a major military conflict for nearly 30 years - PLA headquarters selected four elite divisions from its Lanzhou, Shenyang, Jinan and Guangzhou Military Commands to carry out the two-month long exercise.
Motorized troops from the military commands of Lanzhou passes a bridge on Tuesday. The exercise "Stride-2009" participated by one army division from each of the military commands of Shenyang, Lanzhou, Jinan and Guangzhou begins. (Xinhua Photo)
The PLA's General Staff Headquarters said three of the divisions had glorious battle histories stemming from victories in the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) and victories against U.S. troops during the Korean War (1950-1953).
"They are required to improve PLA battle effectiveness in a modern warfare environment for the present and in the future," Gong Fangbin, a professor at the PLA's National Defense University, said Wednesday.
"Long-distance mobility is a key requirement for the armed forces to carry out anti-terror missions and operations to protect China's overseas interests," Gong said.
The professor said the exercise also revealed a transformation of the country's defense construction concept.
"China is less likely to face a large scale inland attack since no other countries -- including the United States -- want to take the chance of adopting military force in dealing with Chinese affairs.
"Instead, China is now in growing demand of smaller, agile task forces able to conduct precise joint operations," he said.
A foot soldier takes part in a joint training exercise on Tuesday. The exercise "Stride-2009" participated by one army division from each of the military commands of Shenyang, Lanzhou, Jinan and Guangzhou begins.(Xinhua Photo)
According to PLA Headquarters the exercise, code named Stride-2009, includes coordination between army ground troops and aviation units.
"There are comparative weaknesses the PLA should overcome before it has real ability to conduct joint operations," Gong said.
According to a report by the PLA Daily on Wednesday, the army's Jinan Military Command held joint training in July which involved the army, navy and air force as well as the second artillery force and militia in the east Shandong peninsula and central Henan Province.
It was the first PLA theater-level joint training in which all of the army's services within one of its major military regions participated.
Missile artillery soldiers from the military commands of Jinan are filling up a missile. The exercise "Stride-2009" participated by one army division from each of the military commands of Shenyang, Lanzhou, Jinan and Guangzhou begins. (Xinhua Photo)
Although there is still dispute on why and how the PLA should conduct such joint training, it was essential for the troops' development to hold more exercises, said Senior Colonel Li Yadong, chief of the operations department of Jinan Military Command.
The joint training also simulated a maritime crisis in which PLA naval troops enrolled 38 local military reserves to complement their divers' unit and radar operators.
"Those efforts concentrated on regional conflicts and overseas deployment the PLA may possibly encounter in the future," Gong said. "That accords with the exercise's code name, to stride."
The professor was surprised PLA headquarters announced "Stride-2009" three months before its commencement and revealed details.
Previously, PLA headquarters usually released short reports at the conclusion of annual tactical exercises and would seldom unveil maneuvers to outside media even though they were just drill exercises.
The increased information provided about the exercise by the headquarters and moves to greater transparency, such as a media tour to a military base ahead of the anniversary of the PLA's founding, are viewed by Gong as showing the army's mounting confidence based on its increasing capability.
"The PLA is showing more and more what it is and what it does to the outside world. This is understandable as a reflection by the military of the Communist Party doctrine to increase the country's openness," he said.
Gong said that people would witness more PLA activities than they usually did. Previously these had been regarded as taboo because of concerns over leaks of military secrets.
"The exercise itself has nothing to hide," he said. "The stronger military power is, the less it wants to conceal."