Necklace blog,Necklace weblog,Necklace news

generation of young women swoon with his work on the soundtrack of Top Gun. Now he plans on taking everyone’s breath away at the Beijing Games.

Given his resume, which includes some of the top Hollywood titles, singers and bands of the last 30 years, and the drama inherent in the Olympics, this should be something of a no-brainer.

Moroder, 67, has spent the last two years working with Chinese pianist Kong Xiangdong on the song Forever Friends, which has now been shortlisted for the Beijing 2008 Olympic theme tune.

Moroder, who wrote and produced Take My Breath Away, the US Billboard chart-topper as sung by Berlin on Top Gun, said he was inspired this time around after listening to a range of Chinese musical styles some 15 years ago.

“When I first came to Beijing in 1991, the Olympic bidding committee asked me to write a song for their bid for the 2000 Olympics, so I started to listen to Chinese music,” he told China Daily in Beijing two weeks ago after shooting the music video for Forever Friends.

“When I came back to attend the 2008 Olympic Music Tribune last year, I saw that the students used typical Chinese instruments to play different songs from different provinces. I noticed that one song came from the hometown of Mao Zedong (who was born in Shaoshan, Hunan Province). Then I naturally got the basic melody.”

Moroder, who already has three Oscars for his work on Top Gun, Flashdance and Midnight Express, not to mention four Golden Globes and three Grammys, built his reputation as a musical pioneer by experimenting with digital synthesizers in the 1970s and creating the kind of sounds that later developed into electronic music.

For those wondering if he has lost his cool edge, top contemporary acts like DJ Shadow and hip hop duo Outkast have paid tribute to him in recent years by sampling his work.

Neither is he a newcomer to the world of sport, having already penned Reach Out, the official theme song for the 1984 Los Angeles Games, and Hand in Hand, the theme for the 1988 Seoul Games. Meanwhile, Un’estate Italiana (English title: To Be No 1), the theme song for the 1990 soccer World Cup in Italy, is another of his masterpieces.

In 1993, Beijing lost its Olympic bid to Sydney for the 2000 Olympic Games, thus relegating his aspiring theme tune, Good Luck Beijing, to the footnotes of history, despite its popularity on the mainland.

This time, however, it’s for real.

He borrowed ideas from Chinese history and culture for the Beijing Games and even used part of the melody from a traditional Chinese folk song called Liuyang River, a famous song in Hunan.

Forever Friends went through several rewrites before the final version was deemed good enough.

“The song was formed on a step-by-step basis and the most difficult problem for us to solve was how to combine the musical ideas from East and West,” he said. “Forever Friends should be a perfect answer to this question.”

The song, the product of an international collaboration, was featured in the fourth round of solicitation of Olympic songs by the Beijing Olympic organizing committee.

Germany’s Michael Kunze helped with the lyrics, which are sung by Coco Lee from Hong Kong and Sun Nan from the Chinese mainland.

The music video will be unveiled early next year.

Born in northern Italy, Moroder grew up skiing, playing soccer and watching Formula One. He even started a sports car company in the mid-1980s.

His interest in sport has helped inform his musical vision, he said, adding that the Olympics is much broader in compass.

“It brings together all nations and everybody is more like brothers,” he said. “The whole feeling is competitive, but it’s not brutal like soccer. It’s very harmonious.”

Hand in Hand, considered to be one of the most successful theme songs in the history of the Olympics, was originally written on a napkin while Moroder was waiting for his food to arrive.

“I was in the restaurant and I was thinking to write a song for the Seoul Olympics,” he laughed. “When I was eating, I got the melody suddenly, but I had no recorder, so I took the napkin and wrote it down. Then, I went to the studio immediately.”

At the opening ceremony for the Seoul Games, Moroder heard his music sung by a crowd of 80,000.

“I didn’t cry, but almost,” he said.

“It’s nice to say I’ve won three Oscars, but it is almost more difficult to be able to say I wrote for three major sports events, two Olympics and one World Cup. I don’t think anyone has done that yet.”

He hopes to hear his latest tune at the opening ceremony of the upcoming Games on August 8.

“I hope this will prove to be my best work,” he said.

Iran and Oman will hold a meeting next week to promote the two countries’ defense cooperation, the state-run IRNA news agency reported on Wednesday.

Iranian Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday that Tehran is to host the 8th Iran-Oman joint defense cooperation commission meeting next week, the report said.

The Omani officials are scheduled to meet with Iran’s high ranking defense officials on issues of mutual interests during their stay in Tehran. The two sides are to review expansion of defense cooperation in various fields.

According to IRNA, the annual meetings of Iran-Oman joint defense cooperation commission are held in Tehran or Muscat rotatively.

Iran and Oman have also developed the cooperation between the two states in the field of energy since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad assumed presidency in 2005.

On Tuesday, Ahmadinejad said Tehran and Muscat have common interests and enemies, calling for expansion of ties and cooperation between the two countries.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s conditions are more serious than expected, the doctor in charge of him said on Monday.

Berlusconi was attacked and injured in the face by a protester and hospitalized in Milan on Sunday evening. The prime minister broke his nose, two of his front teeth and injured his lower lip. He has had stitches and undergone several examinations, though according to the doctor he will not risk being operated.

However, to keep under control his state the prime minister will remain in hospital for at least another two days. He has difficulty eating, has lost a lot of blood and suffers constant headaches, the doctor added. To make a full recovery the prime minister will require three weeks.

Berlusconi on Monday kept on telling his staff and family members to be feeling well and expressed his wish to return soon to work. According to daily newspaper Corriere della Sera, the prime minister said he could have “lost an eye in the attack.”

On Sunday evening Berlusconi, at the end of a political rally, was signing autographs when a man from the crowd threw at him a statuette representing the Milan Dome, making his nose and mouth deeply bleed.

The assailant was a 42 year-old man called Massimo Tartaglia, allegedly suffering from serious mental problems. He was arrested immediately following the blow.

Under interrogation, Tartaglia confessed to have been influenced by the political tensions and hate campaign lately launched against the prime minister by the opposition and the judiciary.

On Monday, all institutional leaders and most political forces expressed the need to “tune down” and recover a peaceful dialogue.

According to several leading commentators, Italy is on the verge of re-living the same era of violence and terrorism experienced 30 years ago, when left and right wing militia bitterly contrasted each other.

Interior Minister Roberto Maroni on Monday said Berlusconi could have been killed and announced that protection arrangements will be “re-assessed” in light of Sunday’s attack. Something in fact went wrong in the traditional security shield around the prime minister, he said.

“The people tasked with Berlusconi’s safety are professionals and the prime minister is fully entitled to meet and greet supporters. But these events would be watched more carefully in the future and a range of actions to ensure greater safety at open-air rallies would be weighed.”

Maroni is evaluating as well initiatives to block internet forums that have appeared on Facebook and Indymedia praising Massimo Tartaglia. “At Thursday’s cabinet meeting I’ll propose measures that shall allow us to put an end to this foolishness,” he said.

Due to the attack, Berlusconi won’t be able to attend the closing days of the Copenhagen conference on climate change.

However, sources in his People of Freedom party (PdL) said the prime minister has confirmed he will give his end-of-year press conference on Dec. 23 and pay another visit to L’Aquila at Christmas to review the reconstruction process after April’s earthquake.

SHANGHAI’S key index tumbled this morning, dropping to a two-week low as most shares lost ground. Food-related shares sank after China imposed a price freeze on food.

The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks yuan-denominated A shares and hard-currency B shares, shed 2.70 percent, or 142.62 points, to 5,147.99 at 11:30am today.

Losers in the Shanghai market outnumbered winners 710 to 76 and 64 were unchanged.

The Shenzhen Composite Index, which covers the smaller mainland stock market, lost 2.82 percent, or 43.36 points, to 1,495.

Shanghai-based Bright Dairy & Food plunged 5.89 percent, or 0.81 yuan (11 US cents), to 12.95 yuan while Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co, a flagship enterprise in China’s dairy industry, sank 6.35 percent, or 2.04 yuan, to finish the session at 30.07 yuan.

Major producers and sellers of instant noodles, cooking oils and dairy produce must seek permission from the nation’s top planning agency directly to raise prices. Others providing staples such as grain, pork, beef, mutton and eggs, as well as liquefied petroleum gas, will have to seek approval from provincial governments to raise prices, the National Development and Reform Commission said yesterday.

Since May, China’s consumer prices, the main gauge of inflation, have been soaring, largely due to increasing food costs.

Food prices climbed 18.2 percent in November, pushing overall inflation to 6.9 percent, its highest monthly rate in 11 years, despite a string of fiscal and monetary policies introduced to slow the pace of inflation.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, Asia’s biggest oil refiner and a key heavyweight in the market, was among the falling industrial shares after minority shareholders of its two listed units rejected a plan to make its stock available for trade publicly.

China Petroleum, also known as Sinopec, slid 5.53 percent, or 1.27 yuan, to 21.71 yuan. Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co, China’s largest maker of ethylene, shed 4.97 percent, or 0.82 yuan, to 15.67 yuan. Sinopec Yizheng Chemical Fibre Co, China’s largest chemical fiber maker, lost 4.96 percent, or 0.56 yuan, to 10.72 yuan.

Shares of the two Sinopec’s units were suspended through yesterday after last trading on January 4.

It is the second time small investors of the two companies have rebuffed the proposal by Sinopec to convert its shares in the units into tradable stock that can be bought and sold on exchanges. The first veto was made in November 2006.

Sinopec offered holders of the units’ Shanghai-traded stock 3.2 shares for every 10 owned, the two companies said last month. Sinopec undertook not to sell the newly available shares for 72 months after the proposal is implemented.

The banking sector suffered a wide sell-off this morning after China ordered banks to increase their reserves for the 11th time in 13 months to curb inflation.

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd, the nation’s biggest listed lender, dropped 2.28 percent, or 0.28 yuan, to 7.73 yuan. China Construction Bank Corp, the second-largest, fell 2.39 percent, or 0.23 yuan, to 9.38 yuan.

Lenders must put 15 percent of their deposits into the central bank beginning January 25, the People’s Bank of China said late yesterday on its Website, up from 14.5 percent. The ratio is the highest in at least 20 years.

But consumer stocks including Gree Electric Appliances Inc gained on expectations they will weather the government’s plan to cool economic growth.

Gree Electric Appliances, China’s largest maker of home air-conditioners, advanced 1.95 percent, or 1.09 yuan, to 56.90 yuan. Suning Appliance Co, China’s second-biggest home appliance retailer, rose 0.88 percent, or 0.60 yuan, to 69 yuan.

Host China failed to defend the title at the third four-nation East Asian Football Championship despite rallying to beat DPR Korea 3-1 here on Saturday night.

South Korea was crowned with one win, two ties, scoring five times and conceding four goals. Japan finished second with also one win, two ties and the same goal difference with South Korea. But Japan scored only three goals in three matches.

South Korea’s Kim Nam II was named the most valuable player of the tournament and his teammate Park Chu Young shared the top scorer prize with three other players. The champion was also awarded the Fair Play prize.

DPR Korea’s Ri Myong Guk was honored the best goal keeper, and Yuji Nakazawa from Japan was named the best defender.

In the China-DPR Korea game, Zhu Ting’s dramatic equalizer, Wang Dong’s tricky shot and Hao Junmin’s free kick dragged the defending champion back from a possible humiliating three straight defeats.

The consolation win also helped the Serbia Dujkovic’s side regain some courage for the oncoming World Cup qualifier against Australia on March 26.

“In general, our players made progress in all the three games step by step and showed their courage and stamina. We are confident now as our players are physically well for the oncoming World Cup qualifier,” China head coach Vladimir Petrovic said.

“This tournament provides a good opportunity for us to warm up for the World Cup qualifier as the other three teams are all top-level in Asia. However, the result is not satisfying to our team and we will make a sum up,” said DPR Korea head coach Kim Myong Hun, who used to be a defender of national team.

With fighting spirit, DPR Korea created much trouble to the host team, who had suffered an embarrassing two straight losses with low morale and had to face opponent’s acute offence without their leading center back Li Weifeng. China’s captain was sidelined with two yellow cards in the previous two matches.

However, the home side seized an unexpected control in the early first half, posing great pressure to the rivals’ defence with sharp poke-in from two wings especially the energetic left midfielder Du Zhenyu.

The thundering cheers from fanatic 30,000 crowds came in the 12th minute when Liu Jian blasted a deflecting shot to the dead corner, but the Iranian referee whistled it off for offside.

The visitors, who focused on defense most of the time, took a surprising lead in the 34th minute when winger Ji Yun Nan beat China’s left back Sun Xiang in the area and delivered a powerful angled shot into the far corner. It was DPR Koreans’ first shot inthe match.

Zhu Ting’s cool equalizer one minute before the interval showedthe defending champion’s ambition to grasp the first victory of the tournament. His right wing partner Qu Bo set up the 23-year-old national promising forward with low cross to lob in the dead corner before deceiving the keeper Ri Myong Guk.

The home side took the lead in the 54th minute when midfielder Wang Dong made an follow-up in time and made an angled low shot onhis teammates’ hidden cross.

The defending champions made the last hit in injury time when right winger Hao Junmin’s fantastic curve free kick found the far corner of the net.

In an earlier match, South Korea was held 1-1 by Japan, leading the standings of the round-robin format tournament, and got the 500,000 U.S. dollars prize.

Japan finished as the runner-up for the third time. China stood third

The country’s “Go West” policy to develop the lagging western regions is gaining ground, a United Nations report has shown.

The heartening signs are largely from government efforts to improve trade and investment, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) said in its latest annual survey of the region.

The report highlighted trade, specifically exports, of the western regions showing a more rapid rise than those of the coastal regions, even though western regions started from lower levels.

“A particularly encouraging trend for China’s neighbors is the relatively rapid export growth seen in many western regions,” the survey said.

“The government is encouraging this trend through extensive projects to improve cross-border transportation.”

The country’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, which shares borders with Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, India, Pakistan, Russia and Tajikistan, is being seen as China’s gateway to Central Asia. The region’s trade with Central Asia has tripled since 2002, reaching a record $9 billion in 2006, the report said.

In the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, cross-border trade has also grown with neighboring Vietnam, rising by close to 50 percent in 2006 to $1.8 billion. Similarly, Yunnan province’s trade links have reportedly expanded with Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, while Mongolia and Russia have reported rapid increases in trade with the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

The “Go West” policy, started in 1999, is aimed at narrowing per capita gross domestic product (GDP) income disparities, currently considered among the highest in the world, the ESCAP reported.

Priorities of the western development strategy include infrastructure construction, environmental protection, industrial upgrading, human capital accumulation, and science and technology research.

The report added that growth in the western regions was also supported by greater foreign direct investment and backed by research and development.

“Foreign direct investment, a focus of the ‘Go West’ policy, increased substantially in a quarter of the western provinces,” the survey added.

The ESCAP said that growth was reported for Tibet, Qinghai, Gansu, Xinjiang, Ningxia, Guangxi, Chongqing and Yunnan, along with a recent rapid increase in foreign direct investment in Sichuan, Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi.

Research and development spending also reportedly grew more rapidly in four of the 12 western regions - Ningxia Hui, Tibet, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang Uygur - than most coastal provinces.

These, the ESCAP said, helped final consumption increase more “in a quarter of the western provinces than in the majority of coastal provinces”.

Slower, steady growth

The country will see a moderate slowdown in growth this year, but remained underpinned by strong domestic demand and government social spending despite a slowing United States economy, the ESCAP also reported.

The report expected an easing in growth to 10.7 percent from 11.4 percent in 2007 - the fastest for China in 13 years - as a result of a slowdown in exports and government measures to cool growth.

“Investment continues to be the main driver of growth, remaining resilient despite government cooling measures and with support from low real interest rates,” the ESCAP said.

“A slowdown in exports and the government’s measures to cool the economy are the main reasons for the moderation,” the survey said.

The ESCAP also downplayed any significant impact on China’s economy resulting from a downturn in the US economy due to the ongoing subprime credit crisis.

“In a worse-case scenario - where the United States economy goes into a recession - the impact on China will not be as great as on other Asia-Pacific countries,” it reported.

In terms of China’s overall trade, the country witnessed increasing exports to the European Union last year, a shift which compensated for a steady fall in exports to the US - China’s second-largest export market, the report said.

The country also witnessed a boom in trade with Africa.

Growth also came in service exports, which rose globally by an average of 16 percent over 1995-2006.

“China had the best performance in transport services exports of all Asia-Pacific countries, growing at 34 percent per year over 2000-2006,” the ESCAP reported.

However, the country is facing an increasing challenge from inflation.

Last year, inflation rose dramatically to 4.8 per cent - the highest in a decade, and three times the 1.5 percent reported in 2006.

Higher international oil and food prices were identified as chief inflationary concerns.

“Rising food prices are a bigger inflationary concern than oil prices because food accounts for a far higher proportion of consumer spending. Food price inflation particularly hits low-income households,” the ESCAP said in the survey.

The country’s fast-paced growth was coming at an increasing cost to the environment, while the loss of arable land to manufacturing also raises concerns, the ESCAP warned.

“The destabilizing effect of growth on the environment is becoming more apparent. Air pollution, especially in large cities, is increasing the incidence of lung disease,” it said.

Be popular, feel popular. For American teenagers, either works, a new study suggests.

“Teens’ perceptions of their own social success may be a crucial predictor of long-term social functioning,” said lead researcher Kathleen Boykin McElhaney, a psychologist at the University of Virginia, “such that even teens who are not broadly popular may demonstrate positive adjustment over time if they maintain a positive internal sense of their social acceptance.”

To arrive at this conclusion, McElhaney and her colleagues had more than 160 teenagers report on measures of their perceived popularity, including social acceptance and ability to make friends. Each teen’s popularity and other social factors were gleaned from interviews with friends (hand-picked by the participants). All teens completed the surveys at age 13 and again at 14.

Teens who reported fitting in, regardless of peer-rated popularity, were less hostile over time and more frequently sought out by their peers than other teens. The same was true for teens considered popular by peers, regardless of their own perceptions of popularity.

“When teens feel like they fit in, their closer friends are rating them increasingly as more fun to hang out with,” McElhaney said. “They do well over time with their close friends.”

The social misfits were the ones who ranked low on both scales — perceived popularity and peer-rated popularity.

“Kids who are not on the radar screen at all in terms of popularity at school, and who did not see themselves as fitting in, showed increases in how hostile and aggressive they were rated,” McElhaney said. “They were rated less desirably as companions over time.”

Popularity contests are generally external battles, as one doesn’t get to select him or herself as the cool kid. Research has reflected this idea, particularly in studies of young kids, relying on peer ratings of popularity as the gold standard.

The first strong rays of sunshine after the dark winter months lure many people outside, and as they sun themselves, the light prompts their bodies to produce feel-good hormones and vitamin D to stimulate their nervous system.

But the sun’s rays are also dangerous as is evidenced by sunburn. The UV rays destroy or alter cell nuclei. The skin can compensate only for part of the damage before it turns red, even when it has its own level of protection.

This level of protection varies depending on skin type and the intensity of the sunlight. It’s about 20 minutes for skin that has little or no natural brown. Therefore, the skin needs extra protection. A good way to protect the skin from the UV rays that can cause a burn is to avoid intense sunlight, says Swen Malte John, professor of dermatology at the Osnabrck university.

The most intense sunlight occurs at midday in the height of summer. But the sun can be strong enough at other times of day to seriously damage the skin.

It is nearly impossible to completely protect the body from sunlight, especially during a summer vacation.

“Clothing should cover as much skin as possible,” says Heidrun Holstein, a medical specialist at Germany’s consumer center in Karlsruhe. She recommends wide-brimmed hats and long-sleeved shirts made of light material and UV-proof material that lets in only a fraction of sunlight.

Those parts of the skin which are not covered by clothing, such as the face and hands, should be protected with sunblock. The most important criteria when selecting a sunblock is skin type. People with darker complexions have a higher level of protection in their skin and can thus select a lower protection factor, says Holstein.

Generally, the sun protection factor (SPF) should be 15 or higher. When going to the beach or into a snowy setting, where the sunlight is reflected, a higher SPF is recommended. It also helps to check the UV index, which places a numerical value on the expected peak sunburn-causing UV rays. In some countries it’s possible to find the forecast UV index on the Internet, and sometimes the index is given as part of the weather report.

A sunblock’s description should also contain a few key words and should indicate that the product protects not only against UV-B rays, but also UV-A. It also should provide some information about whether the product is water resistant.

There also are major differences in the ingredients of sunblocks. Dermatologists recommend so-called physical protection. Such products contain crystals made of micro-sized minerals that reflect UV rays, says John. The more chemical substances contained in the product, the greater the risk of an allergic reaction.

After exposure to sunlight the skin needs calm and care.

“A cool bath or a cold shower is especially good,” says Grohn. “Then use a moisturizing lotion or gel with a high amount of aloe vera.”

Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday paid a morale-boosting visit to domestic athletes busy training for the upcoming Olympic Games, saying he was looking forward to their good performances.

With 16 days to go until the Games opening ceremony, Hu, accompanied by Vice President Xi Jinping, went to the stadiums of the Training Bureau of the General Administration of Sport in southern Beijing in the morning. He watched training programs of athletes in gymnastics artistic, synchronized swimming, table tennis, weightlifting, basketball and volleyball.

“Your moves are clear-cut and very elegant. I wish you success at the Games,” he told 16-year-old He Kexin after she performed a set of routines with perfect technique on the uneven bars at the gymnastics stadium. The teenager won two World Cup titles earlier this year.

Hu expressed his hope that the gymnasts and coaches would train hard with high efficiency to improve their competition skills.

“Keep a cool state of mind and achieve outstanding results at the Games,” he told them.

The training bureau boasts 15 stadiums where athletic teams in 11 events from 14 countries were training for the Games.

At the basketball stadium, the president was attracted by the swift moves by the players of the men’s national basketball team. He voiced concerns for star player Yao Ming who suffered a foot injury in February.

“The whole nation is very concerned about your foot. How is it going now?” Hu asked the star center with the Houston Rockets.

“It’s okay,” Yao replied. The NBA star played his second match after coming back from injury on Saturday in the eastern city of Hangzhou, scoring 16 points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes against Angola.

Hu told Yao he needed to be more careful in future training and matches.

He expressed high hopes for the men’s national basketball team, which also includes NBA stars Wang Zhizhi and Yi Jianlian.

“We Chinese people pay lots of attention to basketball and expect your superb performance in matches. I hope you can show your best at the Games,” Hu told them.

At the swimming stadium, Hu watched the performance of synchronized swimmers and extended gratitude to head coach Masayo Imura from Japan.

“We are here today to give a boost to your spirits,” Hu told the swimmers. “We are happy to learn that you have improved rapidly under the guidance of head coach Masayo Imura. I propose that we give a big applause to her to express our sincere thanks.”

The 58-year-old coach, dubbed the “godmother” of Japanese synchronized swimming, started coaching her country’s synchronized swim team in 1978. She helped her swimmers to eight Olympic medals over the past 30 years.

Imura started coaching in China after the 2006 Doha Asian Games in which China dethroned long-time Asian champion Japan in both the duet and team competitions.

Last month, she reiterated her hopes for medals at the Beijing Olympics, saying Chinese swimmers would help present a modern and dynamic China with their performance.

Hu praised Imura for her coaching and role in promoting sports exchanges and friendship between China and Japan.

“I believe that China’s synchronized swimming team will give an outstanding performance at the Games under the guidance of Ms. Masayo Imura.”

Imura pledged she would do her utmost to lead China’s team to achieve good results.

At the table tennis stadium, Hu urged on the players from a sport that China has dominated, winning 16 Olympic gold medals over the years. On the team are such top players as Wang Nan and Zhang Yining.

“I hope you can have more exchanges with athletes from other countries and regions to work together for boosting the development of table tennis in the world,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to your good news.”

Hu also visited the weightlifting athletes and women’s volleyball players.

Athens Games weightlifting gold medal winner Chen Yanqing told the president “Just watch me at the Games!” While Feng Kun, captain of the national women’s volleyball team, told Hu: “We will repay the motherland and the people with the best results.”

Chinese athletes have qualified to compete in all 262 events within the 28 Olympic sports, marking the first time that the country’s athletes are represented across the board at an Olympics. The Chinese national delegation at the Beijing Games will also be the largest in the country’s Olympic history.

At the training venues on Wednesday, Hu also visited the athletes’ dining hall and rehabilitation center, urging the cooks to continue to prepare delicious meals and the doctors to provide thoughtful services.

He also voiced strong support for anti-doping.

“Anti-doping is a precondition for hosting a successful Games,” he said after signing his name on a scroll for anti-doping. “As the host nation, China is obliged to set a good example in this regard.”

“We must ensure the Chinese delegation attend the Games cleanly and make positive contributions to safeguard the purity of the Olympics.”

Apart from boosting morale of the country’s athletes, the president had shown concerns for the preparatory work at Olympic venues.

During a visit to the eastern city of Qingdao on Sunday, the venue of the Olympic sailing event, Hu highly praised the use of renewable energy and environment-friendly material in the buildings of the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center. He urged the center staff to make greater efforts for the preparations.

Starting in mid-June, the coast of Qingdao was coated with a vast algae coming from the Yellow Sea. A bright green covering of algae smothered beaches and extended out several hundred meters. It once covered 32 percent of the sailing venue at the peak of the outbreak.

Hu expressed satisfaction with the efforts Qingdao had made to clean the seawater and make it qualified for the sailing event, and urged local authorities to continue to keep alert.

He also encouraged Chinese athletes to achieve good results and voiced sincere welcome for foreign athletes.

“The Chinese people are showing their warm welcome to athletes from all over the world. We will do our best to provide good service for you,” he told some foreign athletes who were training at the center.

Typhoon Nuri was moving toward the northeast of the South China Sea and expected to land in the coastal areas of the southern Guangdong Province on Friday, according to the local meteorological station here on Wednesday.

The eye of Nuri, the 12th tropical storm this year, was 720 km southeast of Shenzhen City at 8 p.m., packing winds of up to force-13, or 144 km per hour, in the center, the station said.

Nuri was likely to move northwestward to Guangdong at a speed of 15 km per hour, and would enter the South China Sea on Thursday.

A force-7 wind was expected to blow above the sea near the Taiwan Strait, Shantou and Shanwei. Torrential rain was likely to lash the eastern part of Guangdong and the Pearl River Delta from Friday, with rainfall of 100 mm to 200 mm.

In neighboring Fujian Province, the coastal areas were hit by gusts of up to force 8 (51 km per hour) on Wednesday morning. The local observatory forecast heavy rain in most areas of the province over the next two days.

Both Fujian and Guangdong had been hit by lingering heat with temperatures rising to 37 degrees Celsius. The observatories expected the impending typhoon to cool the air.

The Ministry of Agriculture on Tuesday night issued an urgent notice requiring fishery and agricultural departments in Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Anhui, Jiangxi and Guangdong to keep the public informed and help fishing vessels avoid risk.