BEIJING, China (CNN) — Chinese officials announced an emergency plan to deal with Beijing’s persistent pollution problem, as thousands of world-class athletes head toward the country for the start of the Olympic Games.

A sign pointing to special Olympic vehicle lanes stands out in the smog on Sunday in Beijing.

var CNN_ArticleChanger = new CNN_imageChanger(‘cnnImgChngr’,'/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/07/30/oly.beijing.pollution/imgChng/p1-0.init.exclude.html’,1,1);
//CNN.imageChanger.load(‘cnnImgChngr’,'imgChng/p1-0.exclude.html’);

The plan, [...]

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s opposition figurehead Anwar Ibrahim may be arrested in the next 48 hours, a senior party official said Thursday, saying it is to stop him contesting a by-election.
Anwar has been accused of sodomy, which he denies, saying it is a politically motivated move to stop him challenging the government.
“We will not rule [...]

SAN FRANCISCO: A group of former Google engineers on Monday launched a rival Internet search engine, Cuil, saying it is an improved version of the world’s most popular Web-scouring tool.
Cuil’s founders are taking unabashed aim at their one-time workplace, claiming they out search Google when it comes to depth and breadth on the rapidly expanding [...]

BANGKOK: Thailand’s Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to hear new corruption charges against deposed premier Thaksin Shinawatra, involving a controversial loan to military-ruled Myanmar.
The case is the second against Thaksin accepted by the court this week, after judges on Monday agreed to consider charges against the billionaire and his aides stemming from a lottery scandal.
In the [...]

BAGHDAD: Three women bombers blew themselves up on Monday in a crowd of Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad, one of a string of attacks in Iraq that killed at least 56 people, undermining hopes of a drop in violence.
Scores of people were also wounded in the attacks, which came after a relative lull in the sectarian [...]

SINGAPORE: There was a time when my brother would look over my shoulder at my terminal and exclaim: �You�re still playing this game?�
The year was 1998. The game was Diablo. Now, role-playing game (RPG) aficionados the world over can celebrate, as Diablo III has finally been announced.
Diablo, released in 1996 by Blizzard, is the definitive [...]

SINGAPORE: Singapore investment firm Temasek Holdings has pumped in an additional US$900 million (S$1.2 billion) in Merrill Lynch as part of the United States broker’s latest capital-raising effort.
Temasek Holdings said it has committed US$3.4 billion in the public offering by Merrill Lynch in a statement on Tuesday.
Said Myrna Thomas, Managing Director, Corporate Affairs, Temasek Holdings: [...]

SINGAPORE : Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong has said Singapore’s political system should facilitate the emergence of a strong, effective government after every election and a responsible, constructive opposition.
Mr Goh was speaking at the National Day Dinner of the opposition-held ward of Hougang on Saturday.
His key message at the dinner was that the ruling People’s [...]

Overview
Microsoft� Popfly� is the fun, easy way to build and share mashups, gadgets, games, Web pages, and applications.

Create Games. Popfly is a simple way to create and share games with your friends. Choose from a variety of built-in [...]

Overview

Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 (Developer Preview)
Welcome to the website for Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1. Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 is a developer preview for web designers and developers to help prepare their websites for the launch of Internet Explorer 8. Some of the new features designed for developers include a developer toolbar and [...]

A STOMPer is greatly upset at the service he encountered at a Japanese restaurant recently when he went there for his hotpot dinner.
According to the STOMPer, his dining experience was marred by several incidents, starting with the waitress having taken the wrong orders and ‘begging’ him to take the wrongly-ordered items, to his finding [...]

Barring some unlikely bolt of inspiration at Microsoft, Google should continue to pad its already formidable lead in search advertising. And now that Google CEO Eric Schmidt says the company intends to turn its attention to display ads, who of sane mind would bet against its chances?
We’re still quite a way from the point where [...]

Another Saturday, hopefully gonna be a peace and relaxing one. Sitting down in front of the lappy with a cup of black coffee, if you categorized it as “Relaxing Life”, then I’m really relaxing now. While having the soft music playing, right from my Divine Diary (Thanks to IMEEM.COM)!
Yesterday night, out of sudden i went [...]

Now, 0935pm Singapore Time.
TV Broadcasting the “Beach.Ball.Babes” now, while outside the window is having a big heavy rain.
Nice weather to sleep now, but I NOT GONNA SLEEP! Gonna enjoy such a nice weather and slag on my bed while typing out this blog entry. Today, time pass very fast, unknowingly now already at night.
I just [...]

The Duke of Picardy had dreamt of a woman so radiant that her beauty would not fade with the sun.
Late one evening, while out riding his steed, the Duke spotted Claire de Lune, a nymph, dancing in a meadow under the silver light of the moon. Enchanted, the Duke charged after her, but the wily [...]

When Cleopatra heard that the strapping red-haired general was waiting for her in her foray, she greeted the news with a smile. She had first met Mark Antony many years before in Egypt, when she was only a child. She had liked him from the start. Now he was one of her only friends in [...]

In 780 A.D., in Ireland, a warrior prince by the name of Drust was born. His mother died during the ordeal, and so he became known as Tristan, from tristesse, meaning sorrow. How much of the rest of this story is true and how much belongs to the skill of the great Welsh troubadours no [...]

I have never felt so alone in my entire life.
After the whole texting fiasco, I couldn’t stop thinking about him. I felt so stupid. I was also upset though. I wanted to see him, and I also wanted to get just my stuff and be done with it. It was like a task looming over [...]

Words can�t express how much I feel right now. One night, we celebrated our nearly graduation time. My friends and I went to one of our friend�s house and there we drank, smoked, chatted and everything that college friends will do. I�ll never forget the deal I had with one of my girl [...]

“See if I care,” I told him, feeling an emptiness inside which I told myself was missing dinner. I turned toward the kitchen.
“But I care,” a voice said from behind me. Before I could move a hand was clamped over my mouth. Another grabbed my arm and twisted it behind me.
“So you figured it [...]

“See if I care,” I told him, feeling an emptiness inside which I told myself was missing dinner. I turned toward the kitchen.
“But I care,” a voice said from behind me. Before I could move a hand was clamped over my mouth. Another grabbed my arm and twisted it behind me.
“So you figured it [...]

The doorbell rang. Oh, no. Jerry was here before I’d decided what to do. How could I go out with him with these suspicions crowding into my mind? And if he suspected I knew, what then? I’d been thinking I’d just call the whole thing off, but here he was.
I opened the door. “Donna, you [...]

Next morning they came to change the locks. It was Valentine’s Day. Shop windows were full of cupids and chocolates. Love was in the air but the man I had chosen had a cat that came first in his heart. We would never make it together. Dinner tonight would be our last date, I promised [...]

“You’re home early.” Mac was just getting into the elevator when I stepped out.
“Not soon enough.” I started to brush past him.
“I was thinking, well, maybe this isn’t a good time,” Mac hesitated. “I was just going down to the diner on the corner for a burger. But I suppose you’ve eaten?”
“I’d love [...]

“Don’t look so worried. He’ll love you,” Jerry said as he opened the door to his late model Caddy.
‘He’? Guess it wouldn’t be his mother I’d be meeting tonight. My heart sank. Jerry was going to tell me he was gay and he’d tried one last time to see if he could be straight and [...]

Valentine’s Day. Why doesn’t it live up to our expectations?

Remember when we were kids with a bagful of those awful- tasting little hearts? The ones with the words on them like ‘True Love,’ or ‘You’re Cute,’ stuff like that? And your girlfriends would all dare you to give one to Danny or Johnny or whoever [...]

I didn’t believe in finding love online. I thought it was full of perverts, rapists, etc. One day, I was in a chat room, just bored out of my mind, because I was visiting my brother in Seattle and he was currently at work. So, I just basically put “Anyone wanna chat?” Little did I [...]

To Reader: Sorry that this story a bit long, hope you all can bear with me for a short while, total “36 Parts”, I’ll publish them slowly, hope you all like it.
********** PART 1 **********
June 17, 1999
My name is Mina Nam. I�m 19, still very yout I am dying. Not right now but my l [...]

It was autumn. Although still afternoon the journey had been spent peering at slowly moving red lights through clouds of condensing exhaust and the intermittent slip-slip of wipers. Now as she turned off the ignition darkness gathered silently around her. She walked head down, hood up, feeling plastic handles moulding themselves around her fingers, the [...]

It was first day of the mid-year exams, therefore i finished school a little earlier, i called him,
Me : Hey, i finished school earlier today, would you come by and pick me up?
XOXO : Alright, give me 5 minutes.
Me : 5 minutes? But my school is just beside your house.
XOXO : I need to get [...]