Hello, and welcome to this edition of "CRI Roundup" on Saturday, May 3. I'm Qi Zhi in Beijing.

Let's take a look at some of the major events that have happened in China and around the world during the past week.

A train collision in eastern China caused heavy casualties.

China hopes the Dalai Lama and his followers "cherish" the opportunity for contact and consultation with the central government.
Beijing marked the 100-day countdown to the 2008 Olympics with a special marathon event.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai survived an assassination attempt.

The United Nations set up a task force to tackle the global food crisis.
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Chinese authorities say excessive speed caused the train collision in eastern China early this week that killed at least 71 people.

Ruling out terrorism, the official Xinhua news agency quoted Wang Jun, head of the National Safety Authority, as saying that preliminary investigations indicated one train was involved in "serious excessive speeding."

The train was reportedly traveling at a speed of over 130 kilometers per hour, much faster than the 80 kilometer limit.

The crash took place on Monday when a train on its way from Beijing to Qingdao derailed and crashed into another.

71 people died, and more than 400 passengers have been hospitalized. Four French nationals are among the injured passengers.

Nineteen hospitals have received the victims, and are sparing no efforts in treating them.
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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu on Tuesday expressed the hope that the Dalai Lama and his followers would "cherish" the opportunity for contact and consultation with the central government and stop disrupting the Beijing Olympics events.

Jiang Yu told reporters that the central government's policy toward the Dalai Lama has always been consistent, and the decision to make contact with the Dalai Lama shows the open-mindedness of the central government. She said the Dalai Lama and his followers should recognize the situation, change their position, and take concrete actions to create conditions for further consultation.

"Tibet is an inalienable part of China. The Tibet issue is 100 percent China's internal affair. The central government's decision to talk with the Dalai Lama is also China's internal affair. When it comes to safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity, the Chinese government and its people will never yield to any outside pressure."
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A special marathon was held in Beijing on Wednesday to mark the 100-day countdown to the 2008 Olympics. More than 10,000 participants gathered at the Olympic park, waving flags and cheering on the runners.

Huub Schrader is an athlete from the Netherlands.

"This is a chance for me to get close to the Olympic stadium and see how things look. To be honest, I believe they are gonna make something very good out of it. I am sure of that. I think everybody will be shouting 'Jiayou, Jiayou.' And the most important thing is not always winning, but taking part."

Australian runner Robert Spilling extended his best wishes for the upcoming Olympics.

"I hope everything goes very well. All the preparations look very good. There is lots of construction still going on, but when it's finished, it looks very good, very impressive. I wish Beijing all the best."

While taking part in the run, many also took the chance to admire the National Stadium and the National Aquatics Center, nicknamed the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube, respectively.

And in other parts of the world,
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Afghan President Hamid Karzai survived an assassination attempt by Taliban fighters in Kabul early this week.

The attack, which involved guns and rockets, took place during an official celebration to mark the 16th anniversary of the fall of the Afghan government to the Mujahidin.

The president appeared on television within an hour of the attack and told Afghans that everything was fine.

"Today, the enemies of Afghanistan, the enemies of Afghanistan's security and progress, tried to disrupt the ceremony and cause disorder and terror. Fortunately, Afghanistan's military forces surrounded them quickly and arrested some of the suspects. "

Karzai has survived three assassination attempts since he came to power in late 2001, but this was the first in the capital.
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With rice prices rising by more than 90 percent in the past year, the United Nations is setting up a task force to tackle the global food crisis.

The task force, chaired by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, will be composed of UN agency heads and the World Bank.

"We have agreed to establish a UN task force on the global food prices that I'll chair, and we bring together the heads of the specialized agencies and institutions into an effective and coordinated mechanism."

Ban Ki-moon also called upon the international community, especially developed countries, to make more money available now for relief efforts.