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Chinese and Olympic officials are set to mark a year-long countdown to the Beijing Olympic Games, which begins on 08/08/08. China wants to spotlight its international prominence, but concerns remain about its pollution, traffic, and food safety.

A Taliban spokesman is warning that 21 South Korean hostages will be killed if Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai does not release militant prisoners. Karzai refused to make a deal after a meeting with President Bush.

There are 21 South Korean hostages still in custody of the Taliban in Afghanistan. The group belongs to the same church near Seoul, and was taken hostage by the Taliban July 19. The incident highlights the hazards for the thousands of missionaries who head to danger zones every year.

A deadline imposed by Taliban kidnappers for the lives of 21 remaining South Koreans has come and gone with no word on their fate. The kidnappers have killed two captives after two previous deadlines passed.

In his first comments since the 23 South Koreans were abducted, Afghan President Hamid Karzai criticized the Taliban's kidnapping of "foreign guests," saying it violates the tenets of Islam. But a purported Taliban spokesman shrugged off the demands and instead set a new deadline for the hostages' lives.

Negotiators are struggling with conflicting demands made by the kidnappers, ranging from the release of Taliban prisoners to ransom money. A deadline of noon Friday — the latest of several ultimatums given by the captors — came and went without fresh word of the hostages' fate.

U.N. inspectors verify that North Korea shut down its only nuclear reactor. But Western governments want Pyongyang to give up nuclear weapons. Six-party talks are to resume this week. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Christopher Hill talks with Steve Inskeep.

North Korea is ready to start dismantling its nuclear programs following the shutdown of its sole operating reactor, a North Korean diplomat said Sunday, as long as the United States lifts all sanctions against the communist nation.

Details from financial disclosure forms filed Wednesday by selected members of California's congressional delegation include Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Sen. Barbara Boxer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep.

Seung-hui Cho, a South Korean who was a senior at Virginia Tech, has been identified as the shooter in Monday's killings. Cho took his own life after killing 32 other people at the school.