After weeks of fury, N. Korean holiday calm
PYONGYANG, North Korea North Koreans celebrated the birthday of their first leader Monday by dancing in plazas and snacking on peanuts, with little hint of the fiery language that has kept the international community fearful that a missile launch may be imminent.
Pyongyang fired off a rocket ahead of the last anniversary of Kim Il Sungs birth the centennial but this time the day was simply the start of a two-day holiday for Pyongyang residents who spilled into the streets.
Girls in red and pink jackets skipped along streets festooned with celebratory banners and flags and boys on inline skates took a break to slurp up bowls of shaved ice.
There was no sense of panic in the North Korean capital, where very few locals have access to international broadcasts and foreign newspapers speculating about an imminent missile launch and detailing the international diplomacy underway to try to rein Pyongyang in.
Venezuela election certified amid protests
CARACAS, Venezuela Venezuelas government-friendly electoral council quickly certified the razor-thin presidential victory of Hugo Chavez hand-picked successor Monday, apparently ignoring opposition demands for a recount as anti-government protests broke out in the bitterly polarized nation.
People stood on their balconies in Caracas apartment buildings banging pots and pans in protest as the electoral councils president proclaimed Nicolas Maduro president for the next six years.
Maduro was elected Sunday by a margin of 50.8 percent to 49 percent over challenger Henrique Capriles a difference of just 262,000 votes out of 14.9 million cast, according to an updated official count released Monday.
New case in China adds unknowns to bird flu
BEIJING A new case of bird flu in Chinas capital, a 4-year-old boy who displayed no symptoms, is adding to the unknowns about the latest outbreak that has caused 63 confirmed cases and 14 deaths, health officials said Monday.
The boy, who tested positive for the H7N9 virus, is considered a carrier of the strain and has been placed under observation to see if he develops symptoms, health authorities said. Medical teams found the boy in a check of people who had contact with a 7-year-old girl, who was confirmed as Beijings first case of H7N9 during the weekend: a neighbor of the boy bought chicken from the girls family.
Beijing Health Bureau deputy director Zhong Dongpo said that, as puzzling as the case is, the boy adds another data point to medical experts limited understanding of H7N9.
The H7N9 strain was not previously known to infect humans before cases turned up in China this winter, and Zhong and other medical experts said no evidence exists that the virus can be passed from one person to another.
Associated Press
