Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has held initial talks with independent candidates to try to form a government after an inconclusive election

Australia PM Gillard begins task to build coalition

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il pays visit to China

Putin sacks Russian forestry chief over fires

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has sacked the head of the forestry agency for failing to deal adequately with the recent wildfires.

The fires have destroyed hundreds of thousands of hectares of countryside, and shrouded Moscow in dense smog.

Mr Putin replaced Alexei Savinov with his deputy, Viktor Maslyakov.

However, some Russian critics say Mr Putin should share the blame, having pushed through a law decentralising the protection of Russia's forests.

Russia's forests cover 809 million hectares (two billion acres) - twice the size of the European Union landmass.

Critics say the law rushed through the Russian parliament in 2006 on Mr Putin's orders deprived the forestry agency of important powers to oversee them.

More than 50 people died in the fires triggered by the most severe heat wave ever recorded in Russia.

During the recent crisis Mr Savinov had faced criticism that he kept a low profile and had failed to make efficient use of government funds allocated for fire prevention (20.08.10).

2.1.3. Elevating high status is represented by the correlation of toponymical-anthroponymical forms used in headlines with anthroponyms at the beginning of the introduction and in the paragraphs of the body of the texts as well as in the choice of the verbs denoting the approval of a politician’s activity.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is paying his second visit to China within a year, South Korean media report.

Yonhap news agency quoted a South Korean official saying that Mr Kim's personal train departed on Wednesday. One report said he was accompanied by his son and possible heir Kim Jong-un.

He visited a school in China's Jilin province, teachers and students said.

North Korean and Chinese officials traditionally do not confirm Mr Kim's visits until his return to Pyongyang.

The reclusive leader, who rarely travels abroad, last visited China in May.

The visit comes amid renewed speculation about a successor to Kim Jong-il, who is believed to have suffered a stroke two years ago.

"Chairman Kim's special train has been confirmed to have left Manpo for China's Jilin around midnight Wednesday," an unnamed South Korean official told Yonhap news agency.

Teachers and students at Yuwen Middle School separately told the media Mr Kim paid a 20-minute visit to their school on Thursday morning (26.08.10).

Ms Gillard said she would continue to provide "stable" government as final votes are counted.

Дата добавления: 2014-12-24