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‘Blade Runner’ wins Olympic appeal

(CNN) — A double amputee sprinter has won the right to be eligible to compete at this summer’s Olympic Games in Beijing after sport’s highest court backed his appeal against a ban imposed by athletics authorities.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that South African Oscar Pistorius, who runs on prosthetic blades, is eligible to compete against able-bodied athletes.

Pistorius, 21, who lost both legs below the knees when he was a baby, runs on shock-absorbing carbon-fiber prosthetics that resemble bent skis — earning him the nickname Blade Runner.

Pistorius, a Paralympic Games champion and world record holder, had lobbied the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to allow him to compete at the Olympics this August, but after extensive tests the IAAF ruled in January that his J-shaped prosthetics qualify as technical aids, which are banned in IAAF-governed sports.

The IAAF does allow athletes with prosthetics to compete in able-bodied sports, as long as the IAAF believes they do not give the athlete an unfair edge.

But Friday’s ruling by the CAS in Lausanne, Switzerland, overturned that verdict. In a statement, it said that its panel had not been persuaded that there was sufficient evidence of any metabolic advantage in favor of a double-amputee using Pistorius’ blades. Should Pistorius be allowed to run in Beijing? Have your say

Appeals of court decisions are allowed, but on very limited grounds. But the CAS said it did not exclude the possibility that future scientific tests could be developed which might enable the IAAF to prove that the blades provided Pistorius with an advantage over able-bodied athletes.

The South African won gold in the 200 meters, and bronze in the 100 meters at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens. He holds the Paralympic world records in the 100, 200, and 400 meters.

Since Athens, he has competed in two able-bodied races in which he finished second and last, respectively.

Pistorius will have emphasized to the court the disadvantages he feels he has by running with prosthetics, CNN World Sport’s Don Riddell said.

There are disadvantages when it’s windy, when its raining, (and) it takes him longer to get up to speed at the start, Riddell said. He will be hoping that they take everything into consideration and not just rule on how much spring his prosthetic limbs give him.

In November, the IAAF carried out tests on Pistorius over two days at the German Sport University in Cologne to determine if his prosthetics, known as Cheetah limbs, could be considered a technical aid.

A team of more than 10 scientists used high-speed cameras, special equipment to measure ground-reaction forces, and a three-dimensional scanner to record body mass.

The scientists concluded Pistorius was able to run with his prosthetic blades at the same speed as able-bodied sprinters with about 25 percent less energy expenditure. Pistorius’ blades gave him an energy return nearly three times higher than the human ankle joint offers in maximum sprinting, they said.

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North Korea welcomes U.S. food aid

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea has welcomed the U.S. decision to provide the impoverished nation with food aid.

The North’s Korean Central News Agency said Saturday that the 500,000 tons of food aid would be helpful in addressing in the country’s food shortages and would contribute to promoting the understanding and confidence between the peoples of the two countries.

KCNA also said the North is ready to provide all technical conditions necessary for the food delivery.

The United States said the aid is unrelated to its nuclear disarmament deal with Pyongyang, although both have involved an unusual intensity of U.S. diplomacy with a nation President George W. Bush once included as part of a rhetorical axis of evil.

We don’t see any connection, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. We’re doing this because America is a compassionate nation and the United States and the American people are people who reach out to those in need.

The United States last provided food aid to North Korea in 2005. Further deliveries fell apart in a dispute over a U.S. demand for close oversight of how the aid would be distributed. The United States wants assurances the food won’t be diverted or used improperly by the government of Kim Jong Il.

The new agreement followed weeks of talks over the aid would be monitored.

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Millions left homeless by China quake

BEIJING, China (CNN) — A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said Friday that a devastating earthquake in southwest China destroyed or heavily damaged 436,000 properties leading to 4.8 million homeless, according to official figures.

At a news conference in the U.S. capital, Wang Baodong said the disaster had led to 500 deaths outside Sichuan province, the hardest-hit area. The official death toll now stands at 22,000, with 14,000 still buried.

A German has been confirmed as among those killed by Monday’s quake, said Baodong. Another German provided good news on Saturday. A German tourist was rescued after being buried for 114 hours in Wenchuan, the quake epicenter, Xinhua reported.

The suffering of Sichuan’s inhabitants has been prolonged by repeated aftershocks, some 4,400 since the quake hit, according to Baodong.

The latest aftershock hit quake-damaged areas Friday, triggering landslides, blocking roads, knocking out phone lines and burying vehicles, state-run media reported.

The 5.5-magnitude earthquake rattled Sichuan shortly after President Hu Jintao arrived in the quake zone to get a first-hand look at the devastated region.

Baodong said that rescuers now have reached all 58 counties and towns in southwest China that were stricken by Monday’s earthquake.

Quoting from a statement by the president, he said, Saving lives is still the top priority, and the nation has to make more efforts to treat the injured.

Hu described the current situation as the most crucial phase of the rescue effort. We must race against time to overcome all difficulties.

The original magnitude 7.9 earthquake hit Sichuan Province the hardest, shattering communities, leveling dozens of schools and burying transportation routes with landslides.

As frantic search-and-rescue efforts entered a fifth day, the official death toll issued by authorities in Sichuan province now stood at 22,069, with 14,000 still buried, 159,000 injured and 4.8 million homeless, according to China’s Xinhua state news agency. China’s state council said Thursday that the number of dead could eventually top 50,000.

Yet hope still emerged from amid the horror of the nation’s worst disaster in recent years, with survivors pulled from the rubble four days after being buried in the rubble.

Rescuers pulled a student from the debris of Beichuan Middle School, 80 hours after the quake collapsed the building, Xinhua reported. Watch student being pulled from the rubble after 80 hours.

Two more people were saved after being buried for 95 hours, the agency added.

Rescuers said they could hear a weak yell for help from under the building’s rubble and are expecting more miracles, according to state-run media.

Hu flew to Mianyang in the hard-hit Sichuan province, which has become a massive refugee camp for survivors, China’s Xinhua news agency reported.

The challenge is still daunting, the task is still arduous and the time pressing, Hu said.

Thousands of people who were uprooted around the region have taken shelter at the city’s main sports gym and other facilities. Reports say 7,395 people have died and 18,645 are trapped in debris in the city.

Xinhua reported 135,000 Chinese troops and medics are involved in the rescue effort across 58 counties and cities.

The scope of the operation is such that Beijing has allocated until now nearly $5 billion for the rescue relief fund. Watch how Beijing’s response to earthquake disaster is unprecedented.

Search-and-rescue help is also coming from outside the country. A team from Japan entered Sichuan province early Friday, Xinhua reported. Rescuers from Russia, South Korea and Singapore were expected to arrive soon.

Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Vietnam and Poland were among the countries providing humanitarian assistance, according to Xinhua.

Meanwhile Louis Michel, Development Aid Commissioner to the EU, has said it will give initial emergency aid of $3.1 million to cover supplies including food and blankets, The Associated Press has reported, to demonstrate solidarity with China.

Attention is now also switching to preventing the possible spread of disease, with 60 funeral workers being sent to Sichuan province to cremate thousands of bodies, according to Xinhua.

Housing Minister Jiang Weixin has warned that water is not now flowing in at least 20 counties and cities in Sichaun, AP reported, making the supply situation extremely serious.

Leading the country’s disaster response, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao praised the country for its efficiency and order in the midst of the disaster.

Saving lives is still our top priority, as long as hope of survival still exists, Wen said, according to Xinhua. Watch how rescuers search devastated town for earthquake survivors.

He added that it was more powerful than Tangshan earthquake in northern Hebei Province, which killed an estimated 240,000 people, the agency reported.

Hope is now running out for many trapped under tons of debris. The scene was especially painful in Beichuan, where parents of middle-school students waited Thursday, hoping recovery teams would pull their children alive from the rubble of a middle school.

They found little hope as search teams pulled out one lifeless body after another.

There are teenagers wearing jeans and gym shoes and their bodies are twisted, CNN’s John Vause said, reporting from just outside the school. The expression on one girl’s face was just pain — she was dead.

A few roads to Wenchuan county — the epicenter of the quake — started to open Thursday, allowing military trucks to begin their haul to affected sites, while rescuers continued attempts to save those trapped beneath the rubble at schools, businesses and homes.

Late in the day, a quake-damaged road from Lixian county into Wenchuan opened after around-the-clock repairs were completed, according to Xinhua.

found here.

Millions left homeless by China quake

BEIJING, China (CNN) — A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said Friday that a devastating earthquake in southwest China destroyed or heavily damaged 436,000 properties leading to 4.8 million homeless, according to official figures.

At a news conference in the U.S. capital, Wang Baodong said the disaster had led to 500 deaths outside Sichuan province, the hardest-hit area. The official death toll now stands at 22,000, with 14,000 still buried.

A German has been confirmed as among those killed by Monday’s quake, said Baodong. Another German provided good news on Saturday. A German tourist was rescued after being buried for 114 hours in Wenchuan, the quake epicenter, Xinhua reported.

The suffering of Sichuan’s inhabitants has been prolonged by repeated aftershocks, some 4,400 since the quake hit, according to Baodong.

The latest aftershock hit quake-damaged areas Friday, triggering landslides, blocking roads, knocking out phone lines and burying vehicles, state-run media reported.

The 5.5-magnitude earthquake rattled Sichuan shortly after President Hu Jintao arrived in the quake zone to get a first-hand look at the devastated region.

Baodong said that rescuers now have reached all 58 counties and towns in southwest China that were stricken by Monday’s earthquake.

Quoting from a statement by the president, he said, Saving lives is still the top priority, and the nation has to make more efforts to treat the injured.

Hu described the current situation as the most crucial phase of the rescue effort. We must race against time to overcome all difficulties.

The original magnitude 7.9 earthquake hit Sichuan Province the hardest, shattering communities, leveling dozens of schools and burying transportation routes with landslides.

As frantic search-and-rescue efforts entered a fifth day, the official death toll issued by authorities in Sichuan province now stood at 22,069, with 14,000 still buried, 159,000 injured and 4.8 million homeless, according to China’s Xinhua state news agency. China’s state council said Thursday that the number of dead could eventually top 50,000.

Yet hope still emerged from amid the horror of the nation’s worst disaster in recent years, with survivors pulled from the rubble four days after being buried in the rubble.

Rescuers pulled a student from the debris of Beichuan Middle School, 80 hours after the quake collapsed the building, Xinhua reported. Watch student being pulled from the rubble after 80 hours.

Two more people were saved after being buried for 95 hours, the agency added.

Rescuers said they could hear a weak yell for help from under the building’s rubble and are expecting more miracles, according to state-run media.

Hu flew to Mianyang in the hard-hit Sichuan province, which has become a massive refugee camp for survivors, China’s Xinhua news agency reported.

The challenge is still daunting, the task is still arduous and the time pressing, Hu said.

Thousands of people who were uprooted around the region have taken shelter at the city’s main sports gym and other facilities. Reports say 7,395 people have died and 18,645 are trapped in debris in the city.

Xinhua reported 135,000 Chinese troops and medics are involved in the rescue effort across 58 counties and cities.

The scope of the operation is such that Beijing has allocated until now nearly $5 billion for the rescue relief fund. Watch how Beijing’s response to earthquake disaster is unprecedented.

Search-and-rescue help is also coming from outside the country. A team from Japan entered Sichuan province early Friday, Xinhua reported. Rescuers from Russia, South Korea and Singapore were expected to arrive soon.

Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Vietnam and Poland were among the countries providing humanitarian assistance, according to Xinhua.

Meanwhile Louis Michel, Development Aid Commissioner to the EU, has said it will give initial emergency aid of $3.1 million to cover supplies including food and blankets, The Associated Press has reported, to demonstrate solidarity with China.

Attention is now also switching to preventing the possible spread of disease, with 60 funeral workers being sent to Sichuan province to cremate thousands of bodies, according to Xinhua.

Housing Minister Jiang Weixin has warned that water is not now flowing in at least 20 counties and cities in Sichaun, AP reported, making the supply situation extremely serious.

Leading the country’s disaster response, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao praised the country for its efficiency and order in the midst of the disaster.

Saving lives is still our top priority, as long as hope of survival still exists, Wen said, according to Xinhua. Watch how rescuers search devastated town for earthquake survivors.

He added that it was more powerful than Tangshan earthquake in northern Hebei Province, which killed an estimated 240,000 people, the agency reported.

Hope is now running out for many trapped under tons of debris. The scene was especially painful in Beichuan, where parents of middle-school students waited Thursday, hoping recovery teams would pull their children alive from the rubble of a middle school.

They found little hope as search teams pulled out one lifeless body after another.

There are teenagers wearing jeans and gym shoes and their bodies are twisted, CNN’s John Vause said, reporting from just outside the school. The expression on one girl’s face was just pain — she was dead.

A few roads to Wenchuan county — the epicenter of the quake — started to open Thursday, allowing military trucks to begin their haul to affected sites, while rescuers continued attempts to save those trapped beneath the rubble at schools, businesses and homes.

Late in the day, a quake-damaged road from Lixian county into Wenchuan opened after around-the-clock repairs were completed, according to Xinhua.

found here.