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China suspended military exchanges with the US and threatened sanctions against American defence companies on Saturday, just hours after Washington announced $6.4 billion in planned arms sales to Taiwan. The development has further strained the complex relations between the two powers, which are increasingly linked by security and economic issues. China’s Defence Ministry said the sales to self-governing Taiwan, which the mainland claims as its own, cause “severe harm” to overall US-China cooperation, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The Foreign Ministry threatened sanctions against US companies involved in the arms sales.

A spokeswoman for the US Embassy, Susan Stevenson, had no comment on China’s actions on Saturday. Taiwan is the most sensitive topic in US-China relations, and the sales announced on Friday could complicate cooperation between the two sides on issues ranging from Iran’s nuclear program to the loosening of internet controls, including a Google-China standoff over censorship. China’s Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei warned US Ambassador Jon Huntsman that the sales of Black Hawk helicopters, Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles and other weapons to Taiwan would “cause consequences that both sides are unwilling to see,” a ministry statement said.

The US is Taiwan’s most important ally and largest arms supplier, and it is bound by law to ensure the island is able to respond to Chinese threats. China responds angrily to any proposed arms sale, however, and it also cut off military ties with the US in 2008 after the former Bush administration announced a multi-billion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan. Washington has tried to use military visits to build trust with Beijing and learn more about the arms of its massive military buildup.

Overall ties have been tense as President Barack Obama plans to meet with the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, this year. It is not known whether the Taiwan arms sale will affect President Hu Jintao’s expected visit to the US this year. Experts on China warned Beijing could take further steps to punish the US to show its new found power and confidence in world affairs. The latest suspension of military ties should affect planned visits to China by US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates and Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. A visit to the US by the Chinese military’s chief of the general staff, Gen.Chen Bingde, could also be called off.

The US Congress has 30 days to comment on the newest arms sales before the plan goes forward. Lawmakers traditionally have supported such sales. Though Taiwan’s ties with China have warmed considerably since Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou took office 20 months ago, Beijing has threatened to invade if the island ever formalizes its de facto independence. China has more than 1,000 ballistic missiles aimed at Taiwan.

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Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, blamed the United States and developed countries for not halting climate change and said that the global economy should immediately abandon its reliance on the American dollar, according to an audio-tape released by the broadcaster Al Jazeera. “Talk about climate change is not an ideological luxury but a reality.” bin Laden was quoted as saying in a report on Al Jazeera’s English-language website. “All of the industrialized countries, especially the big ones, bear responsibility for the global warming crisis.”

The authenticity of the tape could not be immediately confirmed, and Al Jazeera, which is based in Qatar, did not say how it obtained the message. But if substantiated, it would be bin Laden’s second public message within a week. On Sunday, Al Jazeera broadcast a one-minute tape in which bin Laden hailed the December 25 attempt to bring down a plane bound for Detroit and warned of more attacks against the United States. Bin Laden, who is believed to be hiding in Pakistan near the Afghanistan border and has issued several other taped anti-West invectives, had not put one out in four months before the one about the attempted airline bombing.

In the message broadcast, bin Laden veered away from his traditional vows to inflict death and destruction on the US, and instead discussed climate change, globalization and monetary policy in a message that he said was directed to “the whole world.” He called for a worldwide boycott of American goods and the dollar. He faulted the United States for failing to sign the Kyoto Protocol, which sought to curb global warming by restricting greenhouse gas emissions. And he offered a word of praise for Noam Chomsky, the American linguist and liberal political activist.

“Noam Chomsky was correct when he compared the US policies to those of the Mafia,” Al Jazeera quoted bin Laden as saying. “They are the true terrorists, and therefore we should refrain from dealing in the US dollar and should try to get rid of this currency as early as possible.” Bank and government officials in China, Russia and elsewhere have previously floated the idea of abandoning the dollar as the world’s reserve currency, replacing it with a basket of other currencies and commodities like gold. But bin Laden’s aim in turning away from the dollar appears to be to inflict harm on the American economy. “I am certain such actions will grave repercussions and huge impact,” he was quoted as saying.

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Hello friends. How many of you love to play games online? Well obviously everybody loves to play games online, don’t they? Today, I am happy to discuss today with all my blog readers about online games, which have become extremely popular in today’s world. Let us also discuss about the latest online games, websites where you can play them, advantages of playing online games, disadvantages of downloading a game and much more. So are you ready to go deep in to the world of online games?

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Lewis Hamilton has countered suggestions he did not want Jenson Button as his McLaren team mate by saying he proposed the Formula One champion in the first place. “Something you will not know is that I actually called (McLaren team principal) Martin (Whitmarsh) and said “What about Jenson?”, which was before thay had negotiations,” the 2008 champion told reporters after the launch of the new MP4-25 car. “I was calling them and asking them, “What is going on? I keep reading all these different stories about different drivers. What is happening?”

Button won the title with Brawn GP, now Mercedes, at the Brazilian Grand Prix in October and will have the number one on his car for the first time in his motor racing career. He was announced as a McLaren driver on November 18, five days after visiting the team’s factory for the first time and a month after winning the title in Sao Paulo. Button said he started quizzing Hamilton about the team at the Brazilian Grand Prix. “We spoke a little bit in the Abu Dhabi (the November 1 seasonender) and Brazil but not about me coming here,” said Button when asked whether he had discussed a possible move with Hamilton.

“I asked questions about McLaren, he did not know why I was asking the questions. I was just interested, just being nosey really. You are always going to ask people what experiences are like in other teams. I did not think for one second before Brazil that I would be changing teams,” added Button. “I did not think the option was there, to start with, and just never thought about it. But obviously your mindset changes when you achieve something you have worked so hard for and you look for new challenges.”

Whitmarsh added: “As we evaluated the driver market, which we did over a number of weeks, Lewis was consistently positive about Jenson. “As I think was clear today, they have a high regard for each other and are already getting on well.” Hamilton has been backed by McLaren for more than a decade and some have queried the wisdom of Button stepping in to the “Lions’ Den” when he might have remained Top Dog at Mercedes. Others, such as ex-Ferrari driver Eddie Irvine, have suggested Button will be well beaten on the track by Hamilton, who has never been defeated by a team-mate over the season.

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Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher said on Wednesday he plans to race with Mercedes GP until past his three-year contract which expires in 2012. The 41-year old signed a contract to race for the German Formula One team last December, but with an eighth world title now in his sights, Schumacher says he has no intention of limiting his racing. “The great thing about Mercedes is that they have given me the possibility to attempt further success, but that does not have to be it after the three years,” Schumacher told Bild, the German daily newspaper.

“The current contract was not my idea, as it came from the team and I see it as a mark of confidence in me.” Schumacher admitted it was the influence of Mercedes Team Principal Ross Brawn which finally persuaded him to join the German team. “Ross called me and we were immediately united, I was not really interested in making money, but more about having fun again,” said Schumacher, who had Brawn in his pits for each of his seven world title victories. “I just wanted to sit in a Formula Once car again.

Schumacher said Brawn had tried to tempt him back several times since his retirement from racing in 2006 after the pair worked together at first Benetton and then later at Ferrari. “He (Brawn) asked me two years ago to get involved and again a year ago, but I was not ready to return,” said Schumacher. Alongside his Mercedes team-mate Nico Roseberg, Schumacher says he does not expect immediate success, but a eight title is in his sights. “I won’t just be driving behind him (Roseberg), that is for sure,” grinned Schumacher. Having won five of his world titles with Ferrari, Schumacher said he will have no divided loyalties to his old team when the Formula One season begins at Bahrain on March 14th this year. “A part of my heart will always remains red,” said Schumacher. “I cannot forget Ferrari overnight and I do not plan it to be like this.”

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Hello friends. How many of you love to get a job which pays a very high salary? How many of you love to get a job that gives a complete satisfaction at work? How many of you love to get a job where work is very easy? Well, we all have our own requirements before we get a job however, a job search and getting a job as per our needs is more difficult than said. In fact, when there are people who are struggling to get a job inspite of being master graduates, we cannot afford or even think for the best possible job. Today, I am happy to discuss with all my blog readers about jobs, employment and tips to get a better paying job. So let us take a look deep in to the world of jobs!

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The bloodshed in Cricket South Africa continues. Two day after the national coach Mickey Arthur resigned, the CSA sacked its entire national selection panel headed by Mike Procter. The move comes just days before South Africa undertakes a tour of India. Procter said in a meeting held last week with CSA bosses did not go well. “Whatever transpired at that meeting led them to get rid of Mickey and also the selectors,” Proctor said. “CSA chief executive Gerald Majola called me up and told me that the selection panel was dysfunctional. It was a huge shock to us all,” Procter said. Majola said the move was part of the national team set-up.

National high performance coach Corrie van Zyl has been appointed caretaker coach and will take the team to India on Saturday. Van Zyl has also been appointed to a three-man interim selection panel, along with former Test captain Kepler Wessels and Majola, who will be the convenor. Protector disputed earlier reports that Arthur’s departure was due to a clash with captain Graeme Smith. “As far as I know there was no problem between Graeme and Mickey. They got on well,” Procter said.

Reports on Wednesday suggested that the surprise resignation of Arthur, together with the dismissal of the selection panel, was linked to the contentious issue of quotas for more black players in the national team. Procter said only CSA could answer the question of whether quotas and racial transformation of the team was the reason the selectors were fired. Arthur, meanwhile, said he and the board disagreed on plans for the future. “I do not believe I can take the team forward under the present circumstances,” he said. Arthur and Graeme Smith, who sat next to each other at a press conference to announce the coach’s resignation, denied that a breakdown in their relationship was a factor.

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After an eight-year absence from acting and a period of personal turmoil which left many in Hollywood wondering if he would ever work again, Mel Gibson is finally back. The 54-year-old Oscar-winning actor-director - for years one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars - returns Friday in his first major role since 2002, headlining the action thriller Edge of Darkness movie. Gibson’s re-emergence is the latest step on the road to rehabilitation which has followed his 2006 bust for drunken-driving and subsequent revelations of anti-Semitic remarks made to police during his arrest. The low point of that spectacular public shaming was followed by tabloid speculation about the state of the actor’s marriage, culminating in confirmation last year that his wife of nearly 30 years had filed for divorce.

While Gibson continued to write during his defacto exile, the Lethal Weapon and Braveheart star admitted he had considered never returning to acting during his absence. “Probably further towards the beginning but then as time went on I was like, Eh, maybe I should I try that again,” he told journalists at a Los Angeles press event, just a day before the release of Edge of Darkness movie on January 29. “You just don’t know and that’s why I did not make some big pronouncement like, I am quitting. I am retiring. I did not want to do that. I just thought that I would back away for a while. I was just tired and bored with it. I have just walked away and spent a year not doing it and doing something else. I think it is a natural thing. As soon as something starts getting a little tedious and you want to spice it up again you kind of have to change it up.”

Gibson’s last major role was in 2002’s Signs, M Night Shyamalan’s supernatural thriller. Gibson said he had felt “stale” after completing the film and decided to focus instead of directing, writing and producing. He received critical plaudits and stellar box office results with The Passion of the Christ in 2004 but struggled to emulate the success with 2006’s Apocalypto, an action movie about the ancient Mayans which was released only a few months after his alcohol-fueled arrest. Yet Gibson says he was bitten by the “acting bug” around the same time that he received the screenplay for Edge of Darkness, which had been adapted from the 1985 British television series of the same name. The film stars Gibson as a detective investigating the murder of his daughter, unraveling conspiracies and political intrigue along the way.

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Hello friends. How many of you would love to have your own website? Well obviously everybody loves to have their own website, don’t they? In recent times, people are increasingly having their own free blogs or websites however, little do they know that the content hosted on a free host is never guaranteed and has several limitations. There are several people who have lost the entire content which was hosted on a free blog. Today, I am happy to discuss with all my blog readers about website hosting, the advantages of having a paid hosting, the disadvantages of having a free host and much more.

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