International News for July 23 - August 5

This is not original reporting. All information has been compiled from the New York Times International News. Silver Chips Online posts this news summary to provide readers with a forum for discussion.

China

July 31 - Sixty-nine miners were trapped in a flooded coal mine in central China. The miners were trapped for more then 24 hours, but they were sent supplies through ventilation pipes and survived.
August 6 - With a year remaining before the 2008 Olympics which will be held in China, Beijing officials gave an upbeat progress report about their preparations. The main structural work has been completed for the major venues including the National Stadium and the National Aquatics Center.

India

August 4 - Monsoon rains in India killed 186 in India and Bangladesh, washing away homes, crops and cows. Despite causing damages, the annual rains are vital to farmers.

Iraq

August 3 - Iraq's soccer heroes returned home after winning the Asian Cup. Welcomed by bagpipe fanfare, the team returned after their 1 - 0 victory over Saudi Arabia in Indonesia.
August 6 - The U.S. Defense Department cannot account for 190,000 weapons issued to Iraqi security forces. The study also said that because of missing and incomplete records the U.S. Military cannot confirm that Iraqi forces received body armor and helmets.

Japan

July 30 - Prime Minister Min Shinzo Abe of Japan vowed not to step down after his governing Liberal Democratic Party suffered a crushing defeat in the election for the upper house of parliament. The loss will allow the opposition party to check his legislative agenda.
August 1 - Abe expressed irritation at the resolution approved by the U.S. House of Representatives calling on Japan to acknowledge its wartime sex slavery. Abe denied the Japanese military had directly coerced women into sex slavery during World War II.

Turkey

July 23 - Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamic-inspired governing party won a larger-than-anticipated victory in nationwide parliamentary elections. Erdogan's party took close to half of the total vote.