Crowds gathered in the devastated city of Chengdu shouted "Farewell, friends!" and

"Rebuild!" as China began three days of national mourning Monday to honor the tens of

thousands killed by last week's massive earthquake.

　　The death toll in worst-hit Sichuan province,wow power leveling,
southwestern China, rose to at least 34,073 with another 245,109 people

hurt, Chinese government officials said Monday. Authorities have estimated that the final

death toll could reach 50,000, while millions more people have been left homeless by the

disaster.

　　Traffic halted, work stopped and people bowed their heads across the country to

observe three minutes of silence as air raid sirens, car, truck and train horns sounded a

"wail of grief" at 2:28 p.m. (0628 GMT), exactly one week since the earthquake struck.

Even rescue workers paused from the job of clearing debris and searching for survivors to

mark the moment.

　　In Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, the three minutes was followed by shouts of

support for the recovery effort, wow power leveling,CNN

correspondent Eunice Yoon said.

　　"During the moment of silence they were all holding hands, some of them were

weeping... They are in a state of utter disbelief and utter shock that so many people have

died," said Yoon.　 Meanwhile, at least 200 rescue workers have been buried by mud

slides during the past three days, a transport ministry official told the official Xinhua

state news agency.

　　Two construction machines and six vehicles were also buried in the mud flows during

efforts to repair quake-shattered roads in the region, Dai Dongchang told Xinhua.

　　Earlier, Xinhua reported that two women had been pulled alive from the rubble of a

collapsed residential building in the Sichuan county of Beichuan.

　　Wang Fazhen, 50, was rescued at about 10:30 a.m. local time Monday. The other woman,

who was not identified, was pulled from the same area about 40 minutes later, the agency

reported.

　　On Sunday a 53-year-old man, was pulled out of the rubble in Yingxiu town in Sichuan's

Wenchuan county -- near the epicenter -- 148 hours after the quake, Xinhua said. The

effort took eight hours, the news agency said.

　　In Beijing's Tiananmen Square around 2,600 people watched as the national flag was

ceremonially lowered to half-mast. Flags throughout the country were also lowered and

condolences books were opened in China's Foreign Ministry and Chinese embassies and

consulates around the world, Xinhua reported.

　　CNN's Beijing bureau chief Jaime Florcruz said it was the first time China had

formally commemorated the victims of a natural disaster with a period of national

mourning. iReport.com: Beijing residents pause to mourn
　　The Olympic torch relay was suspended during the mourning period,

world of warcraft power leveling,
China's state-run television announced. The torch was going to be in

the eastern cities of Ningbo and Jiaxing in Zhejiang Province on Monday, then in Shanghai

on Tuesday and Wednesday.

　　Resources continue to be pour into the nation's massive relief operations even as

hopes faded for those still missing more than seven days since the quake struck. Watch how

the rescue effort has softened the image of China's army ?
　　So far, almost 60 aid organizations from 13 countries have provided assistance to

China in the aftermath of the quake. Among the countries are India, France, Singapore, the

Philippines and the United States.

　　Chinese officials said Monday they had made major progress towards restoring power

supplies throughout the quake-damaged region.

　　Electricity production and distribution has been returned to a level about 80 percent

of what it was before the quake, although the four hardest hit counties closest to the

epicenter are still without power, an official said. Telecommunication services have been

restored to 76 of the 109 townships in the province, another official said.

　　The government said Monday that companies affected by the quake had sufffered $9.5

billion in damage, world of warcraft power leveling,The Associated Press reported. Independent estimates suggest the

final cost to the economy could reach $20 billion.

　　The quake was the worst tremor to strike China in three decades; a 1976 earthquake

killed more than 250,000 people.
Traffic halted

The Israeli Cabinet is meeting at this hour and it is expected to approve an UN Security Council resolution calling for an end to fighting in Lebanon. UN Secretary General Coffee Annan said the Israeli and Lebanese leaders are agreed. The ceasefire will go into effect tomorrow at 1 am Eastern time.

I am very happy to announce that the two leaders have agreed that the cessation facilitates and an end to the fight will enter into force on August 14 at 0300 hours Greenwich meantime.

The resolution calls for the UN to send as many as 15000 troops to Lebanon to help and force the troops. Fighting continued today. Israeli planes bombed the villages and towns across Lebanon while Hezbollah continued to launch rockets into Israel.

Thousands of people attended a rally outside the White House yesterday calling for an end to the fighting. There were also protests yesterday in California’s two largest cities. NPR’s Lova S has more from Los Angeles.
About 900 protestors march to City Hall in downtown Los Angeles calling for an end to the Israeli-Lebanon conflict. The protestors urged peace and voiced objections to the US policy in the Middle East. Some carried the large Palestinian flag, while others pounded on drums and chanted somehow up sight with slogans such as “occupation is a crime”. In San Francesco about 2000 people took to the street, some also waving Palestinian flags. Meanwhile a smaller contingent of counter-protestors carried the American and Israeli flags. Police from both cities have reported no arrests. Lova S, NPR News, Los Angeles.
In Britain the terrorist threat level is still at its highest level four days after police broke up alleged plot to cause explosions on US-bound passenger planes. Larry Miller reports from London.
It was a major major plot that our British Home Secretary John Rid described the alleged plot to blow up US-bound passenger planes. Interview on the BBC, Rid said he knew about the alleged plot for some time, but that an attack seem to be imminent, he warned again complicacy, confirming reports there are at least 2 dozen of terror conspiracies now are under investigation, Rid said at least four plots that would lead to a significant loss of lives have been foiled by the British security since the suicide bombings on the London transport system last year. Meanwhile there is still chaos at London’s Heathrow Airport. A third of today’s fights are canceled and passengers are warned to expect long delays. Restrictions including the banning in the hand luggage and liquid are still in effect. For NPR News, I am N M in London.

Authorities in Southeast China today have raised the death toll in Friiday’s typhoon to 114. Typhoon Saomai was the most powerful storm to hit China in more than 50 years.

This is NPR News from Washington.

Today is Fidel Castro’s 80th birthday. wow gold,The Communist Youth Newspaper quoted the Cuban leader as saying that his health has improved. But he faces a long recovery from stomach surgery. The paper publishes the first picture of Castro since he relinquished power to his brother two weeks ago.
The biannual international AIDS conference opens today in Toronto. It’s expected to draw a recorded number of aids policymakers, scientists, caregivers and activists. NPR’s Rich N reports.

24000 participants are expected in Toronto, 20 percent more than the last date’s conference in Bangkok. This year’s gathering marks 25 years since Aids was first recognized and its 10 years since researcher device drug regiments that bring the AIDS virus under control, at least to those have access to treatments. The meeting theme is “time to deliver”. That’s reference to the fact that as one conference organized put it the tour to prevent new HIV infections and treat people with the virus already exist. But there are no how is not being deliver to most of the world. Above one of five people who need treatment currently get it. And some think Aids prevention problems are actually sleeping. R N, NPR News.

Nearly 500 people are graduated from Z University in New Orleans yesterday. The school had been under 8 feet of water after Hurricane Katrina last year. wow gold,S was the commencement speaker. The Illinois democrat says normally such speakers * graduate is what to expect in the real world. Most of them have already experienced the real world. Z is a nation only historicly black and Roman Catholic College. I am N W, NPR News in Washington.
From NPR News in Washington I’m Lora Wong.