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Clarke poised to end Tour title drought

SHANGHAI, China — Darren Clarke is in prime position for a first win on the European Tour in five years after an impressive five-under-par 67 in the third round of the BMW Asian Open put him one stroke clear at the top of the leaderboard.

The 2006 Ryder Cup star had started the day a shot off the pace after a three-under-par 69 on Friday and he continued his good form with some particularly impressive putting.

Clarke picked up his first birdie on the par-five second when he putted from 12 feet and after putting to save par on the next hole he then added another birdie on the sixth, hitting his approach shot to within seven feet of the pin before making the putt.

The Northern Irishman made par on the rest before adding a birdie on the 10th and finished strongly with birdie-putts on the par-five 15th and 18th to secure the clubhouse lead going into the final round.

I played really well, said Clarke. I am very pleased with the way I hit the ball and I think a 67 is very good. I am looking forward to tomorrow and I just hope I can keep doing what I am doing.

Clarke is one stroke ahead of joint second-round leader Robert-Jan Derksen after the Dutchman carded a three-under-par 69.

Derksen bogeyed the fifth before completing the front nine strongly with birdies on the sixth and par-four ninth. He then added three more birdies against one bogey coming home to ensure he remains in contention.

European Tour rookie Robert Dinwiddie had taken the clubhouse lead after a superb run on the back nine saw him return to the clubhouse with a six-under-par 66.

The 25-year-old made the ideal start with a birdie on the par-four first and then picked up another on the fourth before double bogeying the seventh.

That proved to be the only blot on his scorecard as Dinwiddie added another birdie on the ninth and then an impressive five birdies in his last seven holes ensured he finished seven-under-par overall and well-placed to challenge for a maiden title.

I am very happy, he said. I had a couple of steady rounds and then to go out and shoot a really good one today and put myself in contention for tomorrow it is great.

I putted very, very well for the last seven holes. All in all I played nice steady golf and took all the opportunities I had.

Lin Wen-tang of Chinese Taipei is three strokes off the lead on five under-par overall after carding a three-under-par 69.

World number 13 Henrik Stenson finished his round level par after carding four birdies and two double bogeys and is even par overall while defending champion Raphael Jacquelin was back in the clubhouse at five-over-par overall after carding a 74. E-mail to a friend

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China to meet Dalai Lama envoy

BEIJING, China (CNN) — Chinese officials will reportedly meet a representative of the Dalai Lama in coming days amid international pressure on Beijing to re-open dialogue with Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader after recent violence in the Himalayan region.

The state-run Xinhua news agency quoted a Chinese official saying that the meeting is hoped to bring an end to pro-Tibetan protests that have disrupted the Olympic torch relay and threaten to spill over into the 2008 Beijing Games.

The Dalai Lama welcomed the development. A statement issued by his secretary, Tenzin Takhla, said: His Holiness, since March 10th, has made every effort to reach out to the Chinese leadership.

He has long said: ‘The only way we can solve our differences is with face-to-face dialog.’

China — which has accused the Dalai Lama of agitating recent violence in Tibet, an autonomous region of China — has previously held meetings with the spiritual leader’s representatives, but none have taken place since July 2007.

In view of the requests repeatedly made by the Dalai side for resuming talks, the relevant department of the central government will have contact and consultation with Dalai’s private representative in the coming days, Xinhua quoted a Chinese official as saying.

The official said China hopes the meetings will lead the Dalai Lama to take credible moves to stop activities aimed at splitting China, stop plotting and inciting violence and stop disrupting and sabotaging the Beijing Olympic Games so as to create conditions for talks, Xinhua reported.

World leaders, including U.S. President George W. Bush and his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy, have recently urged China to resume discussions.

Sarkozy Friday says China’s offer is a major step and a reason for real hope, The Associated Press reported.

If they ever were to reach out to the Dalai Lama, they’d find him to be a really fine man, a peaceful man, a man who is anti-violence, a man who is not for independence but for the cultural identity of the Tibetans being maintained, President George W. Bush told reporters on April 9.

The Olympic torch relay has been targeted on its journeys by pro-Tibet demonstrators in London, England; Paris, France; and San Francisco, California. Stops in those cities attracted tens of thousands of demonstrators and prompted dozens of arrests.

CNN correspondent John Vause in Beijing described the latest comments from China as significant even though such meetings have been going on since the 1980s.

But there is still a long, long way to go before communist leaders sit down in the same room, at the same table as the Dalai Lama, he added.

Vause said a resumption of discussions now could, however, buy Chinese leaders some breathing space in the run-up to the Olympics as they seek to ease international pressure that could overshadow the event.

Chinese Internet bloggers, who have aggressively defended the country’s reputation in the face of global criticism — lashing out at international media coverage of Tibet-related protests — were quick to comment on the latest move.

Even though death would not be punishment enough for what the Dalai Lama has done … as a son who has done something wrong, the motherland is always the parent. If the son does not behave, the parent should strictly reprimand him, said one, quoted by Vause. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2008 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

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China to meet Dalai Lama envoy

BEIJING, China (CNN) — Chinese officials will reportedly meet a representative of the Dalai Lama in coming days amid international pressure on Beijing to re-open dialogue with Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader after recent violence in the Himalayan region.

The state-run Xinhua news agency quoted a Chinese official saying that the meeting is hoped to bring an end to pro-Tibetan protests that have disrupted the Olympic torch relay and threaten to spill over into the 2008 Beijing Games.

The Dalai Lama welcomed the development. A statement issued by his secretary, Tenzin Takhla, said: His Holiness, since March 10th, has made every effort to reach out to the Chinese leadership.

He has long said: ‘The only way we can solve our differences is with face-to-face dialog.’

China — which has accused the Dalai Lama of agitating recent violence in Tibet, an autonomous region of China — has previously held meetings with the spiritual leader’s representatives, but none have taken place since July 2007.

In view of the requests repeatedly made by the Dalai side for resuming talks, the relevant department of the central government will have contact and consultation with Dalai’s private representative in the coming days, Xinhua quoted a Chinese official as saying.

The official said China hopes the meetings will lead the Dalai Lama to take credible moves to stop activities aimed at splitting China, stop plotting and inciting violence and stop disrupting and sabotaging the Beijing Olympic Games so as to create conditions for talks, Xinhua reported.

World leaders, including U.S. President George W. Bush and his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy, have recently urged China to resume discussions.

Sarkozy Friday says China’s offer is a major step and a reason for real hope, The Associated Press reported.

If they ever were to reach out to the Dalai Lama, they’d find him to be a really fine man, a peaceful man, a man who is anti-violence, a man who is not for independence but for the cultural identity of the Tibetans being maintained, President George W. Bush told reporters on April 9.

The Olympic torch relay has been targeted on its journeys by pro-Tibet demonstrators in London, England; Paris, France; and San Francisco, California. Stops in those cities attracted tens of thousands of demonstrators and prompted dozens of arrests.

CNN correspondent John Vause in Beijing described the latest comments from China as significant even though such meetings have been going on since the 1980s.

But there is still a long, long way to go before communist leaders sit down in the same room, at the same table as the Dalai Lama, he added.

Vause said a resumption of discussions now could, however, buy Chinese leaders some breathing space in the run-up to the Olympics as they seek to ease international pressure that could overshadow the event.

Chinese Internet bloggers, who have aggressively defended the country’s reputation in the face of global criticism — lashing out at international media coverage of Tibet-related protests — were quick to comment on the latest move.

Even though death would not be punishment enough for what the Dalai Lama has done … as a son who has done something wrong, the motherland is always the parent. If the son does not behave, the parent should strictly reprimand him, said one, quoted by Vause. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2008 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

found here.

China to meet Dalai Lama envoy

BEIJING, China (CNN) — Chinese officials will reportedly meet a representative of the Dalai Lama in coming days amid international pressure on Beijing to re-open dialogue with Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader after recent violence in the Himalayan region.

The state-run Xinhua news agency quoted a Chinese official saying that the meeting is hoped to bring an end to pro-Tibetan protests that have disrupted the Olympic torch relay and threaten to spill over into the 2008 Beijing Games.

The Dalai Lama welcomed the development. A statement issued by his secretary, Tenzin Takhla, said: His Holiness, since March 10th, has made every effort to reach out to the Chinese leadership.

He has long said: ‘The only way we can solve our differences is with face-to-face dialog.’

China — which has accused the Dalai Lama of agitating recent violence in Tibet, an autonomous region of China — has previously held meetings with the spiritual leader’s representatives, but none have taken place since July 2007.

In view of the requests repeatedly made by the Dalai side for resuming talks, the relevant department of the central government will have contact and consultation with Dalai’s private representative in the coming days, Xinhua quoted a Chinese official as saying.

The official said China hopes the meetings will lead the Dalai Lama to take credible moves to stop activities aimed at splitting China, stop plotting and inciting violence and stop disrupting and sabotaging the Beijing Olympic Games so as to create conditions for talks, Xinhua reported.

World leaders, including U.S. President George W. Bush and his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy, have recently urged China to resume discussions.

Sarkozy Friday says China’s offer is a major step and a reason for real hope, The Associated Press reported.

If they ever were to reach out to the Dalai Lama, they’d find him to be a really fine man, a peaceful man, a man who is anti-violence, a man who is not for independence but for the cultural identity of the Tibetans being maintained, President George W. Bush told reporters on April 9.

The Olympic torch relay has been targeted on its journeys by pro-Tibet demonstrators in London, England; Paris, France; and San Francisco, California. Stops in those cities attracted tens of thousands of demonstrators and prompted dozens of arrests.

CNN correspondent John Vause in Beijing described the latest comments from China as significant even though such meetings have been going on since the 1980s.

But there is still a long, long way to go before communist leaders sit down in the same room, at the same table as the Dalai Lama, he added.

Vause said a resumption of discussions now could, however, buy Chinese leaders some breathing space in the run-up to the Olympics as they seek to ease international pressure that could overshadow the event.

Chinese Internet bloggers, who have aggressively defended the country’s reputation in the face of global criticism — lashing out at international media coverage of Tibet-related protests — were quick to comment on the latest move.

Even though death would not be punishment enough for what the Dalai Lama has done … as a son who has done something wrong, the motherland is always the parent. If the son does not behave, the parent should strictly reprimand him, said one, quoted by Vause. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2008 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

found here.

At least 2 dead after semi rams train station

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) — A tractor trailer that witnesses said didn’t seem to slow down rammed into a crowded bus shelter and a Chicago Transit Authority rail station Friday during the evening rush hour, killing two people and injuring more than a dozen others.

The truck smashed into the street-level bus shelter without warning, then climbed the stairs of the station’s north stairwell around 5:20 p.m., said fire department spokesman Larry Langford.

This is rush hour, so it’s bad, Langford said.

Those killed, both women, were apparently walking near the Cermak-Chinatown Red Line station on the city’s South Side, Fire Department spokeswoman Eve Rodriguez said. They were dead at the scene, she said.

Twenty-one people were transported to area hospitals, said fire department spokesman Larry Langford. Eleven were in critical condition, including four children, eight adults were in stable condition and two adults were in good condition.

Witnesses said the truck didn’t appear to slow down before ramming into the station’s stairwell. Watch a witness describe the wreck

Elliott Reed, 30, was walking on the street when he heard the big bang and saw the truck go right into the station.

Reed said the scene was surreal, with eyewitnesses asking each other, Did you see what just happened? Watch fire commissioner describe the scene

The intersection has a risky reputation because the traffic lights there change quickly, said Meekus Wong, who works at a restaurant directly in front of the train station.

That was always a very dangerous intersection because the traffic lights switch really fast, she said.

I was supposed to take the train. Thank God I took the bus, she said.

Right now this is just a tragic traffic accident, said Chicago Police Department Deputy Chief Joseph Patterson.

The truck’s driver was treated at an area hospital and released Friday night. Police led him from the hospital in handcuffs, but he was not under arrest and had not been charged with anything as of Friday evening, police spokesman John Mirabelli said.

We are talking to the driver, that is the extent of it to this time, Mirabelli said.

The logo on the side of the white truck read XTRA Lease in red letters. A phone message left after business hours with XTRA Lease of St. Louis, Missouri, was not immediately returned. The company’s Web site says it leases trucks to drivers on a short-term basis.

Hazardous materials crews were brought in because the semitrailer leaked fuel, Langford said.

Most of those injured were either in the bus shelter underneath the elevated train station or in the station’s stairwell, Rodriguez said.

Engineers determined there was no structural damage to the overhead station, but the stairs sustained very significant damage, said CTA President Ron Huberman. Trains on the Red Line, which runs to the city’s far South Side from downtown, will not stop at the station until further notice, he said.

The station is about two miles south of downtown, blocks from the city’s Chinatown neighborhood. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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