Hourly News updated 10:00 2011/11/07

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Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has now agreed to step aside.

He and his main opposition² rival have also reached an agreement on forming a new coalition government to see the country through until an early election.

The agreement comes following a meeting among Papandreou, the main opposition leader Antonis Samaras and President Karolos Papoulias.

More talks will take place later on this Monday to decide who will lead the coalition.

The announcement follows a week of political turmoil³ over Greece's debt crisis.

Papandreou has been trying to build a national unity⁴ government.

However, the opposition has been refusing to get behind the idea until Papandreou resigns.

A bailout deal agreed to by Eurozone leaders last month has to be be ratified⁵ by Greece before more funds will be released to safe Greece from going bankrupt.

 

 

Chinese premier⁶ arrives in S. Petersburg for SCO prime ministers' meeting

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has arrived in Saint Petersburg for the 10th Prime Ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

The prime ministers will hold a smaller group meeting before joining an expanded discussion.

The meeting is expected to lay out the mandate⁷ for the SCO over the next decade.

The bloc⁸ groups China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

 

 

Injured miners in China's rock burst accident remain stable

3 critically injured miners are said to be in stable conditions after being pulled from a mining accident in Henan.

The trio is set to undergo operations, and remain in intensive care.

They are among the 75 miners who were working in the coal mine in the city of Sanmenxia when a cave-in took place.

53 of them became trapped for days before eventually being rescued.

8 others were killed in the accident.

 

 

More than 100 die in violence in ne Nigeria

The government of Nigeria has been increasing its security, after warnings that an Islamist group is planning on more bombings in its capital, Abuja.

The US embassy is warning that the attack may come as Nigeria celebrates the Muslim festival of Eid.

The Hilton, Nicon Luxury and Sheraton hotels have all been named as possible targets of the terrorist organization Boko Haram.

More than 100 people have been killed in a series of bombings over the weekend in northern Nigeria.

Boko Haram, which means "Western education is forbidden", has launched frequent attacks on police and government officials in Nigeria.

The group is particularly active in the northern part of the country, which is divided between a majority Christian⁹ population in the south and a Muslim majority in the north.

 

 

Thailand death toll¹⁰ reaches 500

The death toll from the months of flooding in Thailand has now risen to more than 5-hundred.

Three months of heavy rain have innondated a third of Thailand's provinces, forcing tens of thousands from their homes.

As floodwaters continue to creep toward Bangkok's central business area, fears are now growing that the worst isn't over yet in the city.

Thai authorities have been trying to block the floodwaters from entering the inner part of the capital.

 

 

UN Security Council urges "maximum restraint" from Liberian statekeholders

The UN Security Council is calling on Liberia to exercise maximum restraint ahead of the presidential run-off election on Tuesday.

President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has called on her compatriots to turn out in large numbers and vote in the election.

The main opposition party CDC announced last week that it would not take part in the run-off.

CDC is demanding replacement¹¹ of members of the National Elections Commission and recount of the ballots¹² in the first round before they take part in any run-off.

 

 

FARC attack leaves 1 dead, 9 injured: Colombian police

At least one person has been killed in a bomb attack launched by FARC rebel group in south Colombia.

Nine others have been wounded.

A group FARC members threw four home-made gas cylinder¹³ bombs to a settlement in the southern province of Cauca.

The motive¹⁴ behind the attack is unknown.

The attack is the third of its kind nationwide since FARC's top leader Alfonso Cano was killed last week.

 

 

Pressure builds up for tighter air quality monitoring in Beijing

A growing group of prominent people are now calling for tighter air-quality standards here in Beijing.

Real estate tycoon¹⁵ Pan Shiyi is now among those advocating that the authorities here in Beijing adopt a standard of 2.5 micrometers to assess the air quality.

Right now, anything under 10 micrometers in size doesn't get included in the survey, which vastly changes the air quality assessments¹⁶.

More than 21-thousand people have voted on a survey that Pan Shiyi has set up on his microblog.

95 percent of those who have voted are in favor of Pan's call.

 

 

Tissot China confirmed fake watch sold by Gaopeng

Tissot China has now confirmed the Tissot watches sold by group-buying website Gaopeng are fake.

The revelation comes after consumers launched an online campaign against the site, after they discovered that the watches they bought from the site were counterfeit¹⁷.

The watches were retailing¹⁹ for 690-kuai on Groupon.

Tissot watches normally retail¹⁸ for around 35-hundred yuan.

Gaopeng.com is now accepting the unconditional²⁰ return of the watches it sold.

The company has also stopped selling the watches, and is said to be investigating how it began selling the fake pieces in the first place.

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