Hello, and welcome to this edition of "CRI Roundup". I'm Qizhi in Beijing.
The Beijing Paralympics Games concluded here on Wednesday with a spectacular closing ceremony.
Addressing the ceremony, Liu Qi, the President of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games, said all Paralympians have shared in the joy of success and the pleasure of participation through their hard work.
"Inspired by the Paralympic Games, more than 300,000 people with disabilities in Beijing felt further integrated into society, experiencing not only the splendor of the Games but also the enthusiasm of the general public."
The president of the International Paralympic Committee Philip Craven said the Beijing Games are the greatest in the history of the Paralympic movement.
"There are the greatest Paralympic Games ever. It is all about spirit. The Paralympic spirit that is ever bright in our movement, found here in China, a kindred spirit. It reached out to you, you embraced it and it is now cherished in your hearts. Now these spirits are united, "One World" "One Dream" and "One People" has become a reality."
Due to the contaminated milk scandal, hospitals around China have deployed increased resources and staff to screen and treat infants with medical problems caused by the formula.
Shen Ying is the vice director of the "Beijing Children's Hospital".
"Infants should be brought to the nearest hospital for screening and treatment. This is crucial in reducing the possibility of cross infection."
As of Thursday evening, there had been around 6,000 babies made ill as a result of the contaminated milk powder with four confirmed deaths.
Both the two major indices on the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index and the Shenzhen Component Index, soared some 9 percent on Friday after the government announced to cancel the 0.1 percent stamp tax on purchasing shares while that on share selling remained unchanged at 0.1 percent a day earlier.
Zhao Xijun, a professor with Beijing-based Renmin University, says the decision by the government transmitted a signal to boost the country's sluggish stock market.
"I think the move is aimed to stabilize the stock market; more importantly to help investors obtain their confidence over the market."
Also on Thursday, the country's 200-billion-dollar sovereign wealth fund, Central Huijin Investment, said it would buy shares of three major Chinese lenders on the secondary market to fortify their share prices.
And China's top state assets regulator said the county is to back up its 147 centrally-administered state-owned enterprises in buying back shares of their listed subsidiaries.
Elsewhere around the world, the fourth largest U.S. investment bank, Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy on Monday after Barclays PLC and Bank of America pulled out of talks to buy the firm.
New York-based Lehman, the biggest U.S. underwriter of mortgage securities, has lost 94 percent of its market value this year after record losses from investments tied to mortgages.
Hugh Johnson is the Chief Market Analyst at Johnson Illington Advisors.
"Lehman like so many other investment banks and banks really got, quite frankly, caught up in the housing bubble, but like every bubble, the bubble ended and now we're seeing the downside of that bubble."
Meanwhile, the world's largest insurance company, "American International Group", has been forced into restructuring.
The insurer has acquired an 85 billion U.S. dollar loan from the U.S. government.
Sixty-one-year-old Somchai Wongsawat was elected as the new premier of Thailand on Wednesday.
Upon his appointment, he said his immediate priorities would be tackling the floods affecting the nation and Thailand's economy following the financial crisis in the US.
"It's now time for Thailand to unite, to reconcile and to resolve the conflict. Conflict is normal. What we have to do now is to work together to make Thailand a peaceful place again."
Somchai was the education minister and became acting prime minister after Samak Sundaravej was forced from office last week.
Israel's foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, has won victory in the ruling Kadima Party's primary election, beating her main rival, Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, by a narrow margin of 431 votes, or one percentage point.
Upon hearing the result, supporters of Livni hugged each other and wiped away tears of joy. Issac Ben-Israel is one of them.
"The next step will be to form a new coalition, and a new government which will be more or less the same as the current coalition government, with the same partners."
Results of the polls placed Tzipi Livni in a good position to become Israel's first female leader in 34 years and replace Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as head of Kadima.
And that concludes this edition of CRI Roundup. If you have any comments or suggestions, or would like to listen to any of our other programs, you can visit our website at crienglish.com. I'm Qi Zhi in Beijing. Thank you for listening, and stay tuned for more on China Radio International.
