Hello and welcome to this edition of "CRI Roundup". I'm Zheng Chenguang in Beijing.
Chinese President Hu Jintao sent a message to Spanish King Juan Carlos on Thursday to mourn those killed in Wednesday's deadly plane crash in Madrid, the country's capital.
In the message, Hu Jintao expressed his condolences to the victims and their families on behalf of the Chinese government and people.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao also sent a message of condolence to his Spanish counterpart, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.
At least 153 people died Wednesday after a Spanair MD-82 crashed on takeoff and burst into flames at Madrid's Barajas airport at 2:45 p.m. local time.
Spanair spokesman Sergio Allard says the company's priority at this stage is to give support to grieving relatives.
"A group of Spanair colleagues who are highly qualified support counselors are coming to Madrid now to give the families all the help they need. I want to make it very clear that our main objective at this time is to give as much support as possible to the relatives."
Investigators are still looking into the cause of the crash, but they have ruled out the possibility of foul play and consider the crash an accident.
The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games has set the record as the most viewed in Olympic history. Officials from the International Olympic Committee say it is due in part to broadcasters from around 200 countries and regions giving unprecedented coverage of the event.
Timo Lumme, director of the IOC television and marketing services, says the combined coverage of the Beijing Games worldwide will be around 3 times that of the Athens Games and 4 times that of Sydney.
"The amount of hours the broadcasters globally are broadcasting in their home territory is vastly superior to past Games. It is partially because there are more media platforms available, and also reflects the huge interest that the public around the world have the Olympic Games."
Giselle Davies, IOC Director of communications, says the IOC has carried out marketing research and surveys among global viewers and is happy with the result.
"The figures are very positive in terms of confirming that this Beijing Olympics are a huge success. There are a number of appraisals we can appoint you to. The AP confirms that the vast majority of the general public says that coming to China was the right choice to host the Games here."
The London mayor said he was "dazzled" but "not intimidated" by Beijing's Olympic success as his city prepares to welcome the next Olympics.
During a press conference in Beijing's London House on Thursday, London Mayor Boris Johnson said the success of the Beijing Games has helped get British people excited about the 2012 Games in London.
"Above all congratulations to the Beijing authorities on the way they've been organizing these. But I do think the success of the Games are actually forcing large parts of us in the British public to reconsider our view of the sporting achievement of the British youth. And these Games are changing public perception of the Olympics."
Boris Johnson arrived in Beijing on Thursday, ahead of the closing ceremony and handover of the games on Sunday.
The handover from Beijing to London will officially take place during Sunday's closing ceremony. The Olympic flag will be turned over to Johnson followed by an eight-minute performance from British artistic groups, including the Royal Ballet. Football icon David Beckham is also expected to arrive in a red double-decker bus.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski have signed a deal that will establish an American missile defense base in Poland.
Speaking at a joint news conference with Kaczynski ahead of the signing, Rice told reporters that Poland is one of America's greatest friends and allies.
"This is a system that is defensive, and is not aimed at anyone. It is nonetheless a system that establishes firmly again and reaffirms, the strategic cooperation relationship and friendship, between Poland and the United States. "
The deal to site 10 US interceptor missiles at a base just 180 kilometers from Russia's westernmost frontier has further strained Moscow's ties with the West.
Rejecting Moscow's insistence that it is a threat to Russia, the US says the missile defense system is aimed at protecting the US and Europe from possible future attacks from states like Iran.
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf announced his resignation on Monday in a televised speech to the nation.
"For the sake of the nation, today I have decided to resign from my post. My resignation will reach the speaker of parliament house. I don't want anything from anybody. I leave my future in the hands of the nation and the people. Let them be the judge, and let them do justice."
In his address, Musharraf rejected allegations against him by the ruling coalition, saying the coalition is misleading the nation.
He stressed that the politics of confrontation must come to an end, in favor of a policy of reconciliation.
Earlier reports state that joint talks between Musharraf and the ruling coalition have been held to decide whether he will stay in Pakistan or go into exile abroad after leaving office.
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 Zheng Chenguang in Beijing. Thank you for listening, and stay tuned for more on China Radio International.
