spotlight
Edited by Kovis

Deputies to the Vietnamese National Assembly (NA) agreed to the resignations of the prime minister, president and the NA chairman last Saturday afternoon, Vietnam News Agency has reported.

The legislators voted on whether to accept the resignations of Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, State President Tran Duc Luong, and NA Chairman Nguyen Van An on the same day.

78.5% of the legislators voted to accept An's resignation, while the rates for Luong and Khai were 92.9% and 91.7%.

Last Saturday morning, Nong Duc Manh, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, pointed out the necessity of rearranging some high-ranking posts since Khai, Luong and An had submitted their resignations due to old age. The leaders were born in 1933, 1937 and 1937 respectively.

Manh highly praised the contributions of the three leaders, who have helped Vietnam to revolutionize its economy and raised the country's profile in the international arena.

The NA is to consider and decide on the posts of president, NA chairman, prime minister, two deputy prime ministers, six ministers and chief of the government inspectorate. The six ministerial posts are in charge of the ministries of defense; foreign affairs; finance; transport; culture and information; and education and training.

Khai has been prime minister since September 1997 after serving as deputy prime minister between July 1991 and August 1997. In informal talks with reporters on the sidelines of the NA's ninth session in mid May, he implied that he had nominated Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung as his successor.

The ninth session of the NA will last until June 29, and legislators are due to approve some 10 bills and consult on 13 more. They must also review local government reports on major socioeconomic issues.

world in pics

"Natural" fashion
阳光里展时装



A student from Esmod Paris Fashion School shows her own design in a park in Paris, June 24. The show had the theme of "nature", and all the creations were designed by students.

No haircut for 20 years
印度苦行僧20年未剪发



A sadhu displays hair that he has not cut for some 20 years at the Kamakhya Temple near Guwahati, June 19. The hair is a sign of religious devotion. One of the most venerated Shakti shrines in India, the Kamakhya Temple attracts worshipers to celebrate the period after a full moon (Amavasya Mela).

Transparent life
澳艺术家在沪过两周透明生活



Members of Australian performance art troupe "Urban Dream Capsule", seen from inside a glass cube where the troupe will live for two weeks in Shanghai. They will occupy the 65 glass box in a downtown mall from June 17 to July 1. The public will be able to watch them sleeping, eating and bathing. The group has drawn crowds with similar displays in London, Montreal, Hong Kong and other cities.

Square watermelons
方形西瓜畅销日本



Japanese Farmers begin shipment of square watermelons in Zentsuji, Kagawa Prefecture, on June 22. Square watermelons are quite popular in Japan.

From Paris to Xi'an
法国人双脚丈量丝绸路



The French ultrarunner Serge Girard poses for a photo in Xi'an, June 21. Serge's challenge is to run across the five continents, which is about 16,600 km. He set off from Paris on December 18, 2005, and arrived in China in late April this year via the Silk Road.

odds & ends 大千世界
Collected & translated by Jianjiang

Cinemas offer refuge to fans' wives
影院成足球寡妇"收容所"

Bosnian cinemas are offering refuge to the wives and children of the country's football-mad men during the World Cup with a series of "soft" films, so that husbands can watch football games without being interrupted.
世界杯期间, 波斯尼亚的电影院特意精选了一系列"温情"电影, 给球迷妻儿一片容身之地, 也让男人们得以安心看球.

Message in a bottle found - too late
多年瓶中信被发现

Eleven years after it was cast into a lake for a class project and just one year after his death, a man's childhood message -in-a-bottle has been found and returned to his mother.
加州一名男子去世一年后, 他孩提时代投下的漂流瓶浮出水面. 而此时距离他把瓶子放入湖中, 已有11年的时间.

Clerk jailed for soda urination
往饮料里撒尿被拘留

A former convenience store clerk who urinated in a bottle of soda that was later drunk by a customer was sentenced to six months in jail. The victim became suspicious of the drink after he chugged it and vomited several times.
俄亥俄州一个便利店的店员偷偷把尿撒在饮料里, 倒霉的顾客喝后又咳又吐, 他自己也为此付出监禁六个月的代价.

Mobile phone users warned of lightning strike risk
打手机须防雷电

People should not use mobile phones outdoors during thunderstorms because of the risk of being struck by lightning. Doctors reported the case of a 15-year-old girl who was using her phone in a park when she was hit during a storm.
一个15岁的女孩在暴雨中打手机被雷电击中, 英国专家由此发出警示: 雷雨天应避免在户外使用手机.


Vocabulary
resignation 辞职
successor 接任者
socioeconomic 社会经济学的
inspectorate 检查员