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POPSThe most read news articles in 2008 (UK) And I nearly forgot - Scientists discover way to reverse loss of memory. 1. USA 2008: The Great Depression 2. 'I fell in love with a female assassin' 3. Fury at $2.5bn bonus for Lehman's New York staff 4. Scientists discover way to reverse loss of memory 5. Down and out in Las Vegas 6. Pervez death sentence quashed by Afghan court 7. Beichuan: a vision of hell 8. Mandela's 80th birthday party 9. Saudi King: 'We will pump more oil' 10. Revealed: Secret plan to keep Iraq under US control
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POPSEarthquake Creates New Tourist Spot in China Yesterday I clipped about visiting man-made disasters and today I came across this story about Chinese officials considering how to convert one of 34 'quake lakes' into a tourist destination. There are no specific details yet, but the idea is to draw visitors to a lake in Beichuan country, which was newly formed by earthquake-related flooding.
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POPSNatural Disaster In Beichuan: A Vision Of Hell Anger, too, is growing about the poor quality of buildings. In Mianzhu, an apartment block collapsed on itself. The flats had been built using contributions from a local work unit, a group of workers organised by the Communist Party at a factory or office. Residents searching for survivors said it was because corrupt officials had demanded so much in kickbacks that the building fell. The neighbouring buildings had not collapsed, including one which housed cadres from the Communist Party. "Show me the structural steel in that building," said one woman, whose mother is missing in the rubble. "It all went into some official's pocket," she spat. The foreign media have a poor image in China This makes reporting the disaster difficult; before the anti-Chinese riots in Tibet, and the sympathetic view of Tibetans in the Western media, foreign journalists were popular. Now we are seen as a threat.