to serve China's poor majority.Beijing is rapidly expanding China's 56,000-mile rail
network, which is overloaded with passengers and cargo. But it has scaled
back plans amid concern about whether the railway ministry can repay its
mounting debts.On Friday, the current railways minister, Sheng Guangzu, announced railway construction
spending next year will be cut to about $65 billion, down from
this year's projected $75 billion.A failure to expand rail capacity could choke
economic growth because exporters away from China's coast rely on rail to
get goods to ports.The rail ministry's reported debt is $300 billion. Analysts
say its revenues are insufficient to repay that. That has prompted concern
the ministry might need to be bailed out by Chinese taxpayers.
ould spark violence overseas and were evaluating the risk.Navy Capt. John Kirby,
a Pentagon spokesman, said that he has not heard that issue raised
and that New York has yet to make a formal proposal. He
also said officials are grateful communities around the country are finding ways
to recognize the sacrifices of troops and their families.The last combat troops
in Iraq pulled out more than a week ago. About 91,000 U.S.
soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are in Afghanistan, battling a stubborn Taliban
insurgency and struggling to train Afghan forces so that they eventually can
take over security. Many U.S. troops who fought in the Iraq War
could end up being sent to Afghanistan.A parade might invite criticism from
those who believe the U.S. left Iraq too soon, as well as
from those who feel the war was unjustified. It could also trigger
questions about assertions of victory.Mrozek noted that President George W. Bush's administration
referred to military act
MOSCOW Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Wednesday rejected calls to hold
talks with opposition leaders who have drawn tens of thousands of Russians
to protest rallies to demand free elections and an end to his
12-year rule.The opposition leaders "do not have a common platform, so there
is nobody to talk to," Putin told journalists from state news agencies.Organizers
of the Moscow demonstrations include prominent public figures and representatives of various
opposition groups. But they have passed joint resolutions with a list of
concrete demands, including a rerun of the fraud-tainted Dec. 4 parliamentary election,
the resignation of the Central Election Commission chief and the removal of
barriers that have prevented opposition parties from taking part in elections.Putin on
Tuesday firmly rejected the demands for a rerun of the election. The
government has promised to ease rules for opposition candidates.Putin, who served as
president in 2000-2008, is now seek
ReutersDec. 26, 2011: Republican presidential candidate and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum
takes a break from pheasant hunting in Adel, Iowa.With 45 percent of
Iowa Republican voters undecided and a roller-coaster ride about to come to
a screeching stop next Tuesday with the GOP caucuses, it may be
Rick Santorum's turn to take the final ascent and surprise the political
class by ... doing better than expected?Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator, has
been touted as the sleeper candidate by none other than 2008 Iowa
caucuses winner Mike Huckabee. He has relentlessly campaigned in the state, hitting
all 99 counties and moving his family out there. He has held
350 campaign events in the past year.He has received key endorsements from
well-known social conservatives in the state, and has had solid performances at
each of the debates. And he's running an old-school style campaign that
Iowa voters expect in the retail-style politics of the Hawkeye State.T
APNovember 3, 2009: Sen. Ben. Nelson talks to reporters about health care
on Capitol Hill. WASHINGTON Democrats lamented U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson's decision
to retire rather than seek a third term in Nebraska, fearing the
move sets up Republicans for an easy and crucial victory in their
effort to reclaim control of the chamber next year.Nelson, the lone Democrat
in Nebraska's five-member congressional delegation, faced a tough re-election campaign against a
large group of Republican challengers who have spent the past several months
attacking his support for President Barack Obama's health care overhaul and federal
stimulus legislation.Republicans must net four seats to take back the Senate in
2012, and Nebraska now looks to be an easy pickup. There are
no Democrats in line to take Nelson's place in the increasingly conservative
state. He joins several other Democrats to retire from the Senate, including
Virginia's Jim Webb and North Dakota's Kent Conrad.After mont
nd the product used, to improve safety and follow-up care.
