Wikinews Shorts: August 5, 2010

Four dead in Chinese kindergarten school attack
A man armed with a 2-foot long knife killed three children and a teacher in a brutal attack in Zibo in eastern China. The Chinese government has been mostly silent on the incident.

The man who killed the people was identified as 26 year-old Fang Jiantang, and he later turned himself in to police. His motive for killing the children and the teacher is unknown.

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Cutting down of tree flares up Lebanese violence
After a rare clash between Israeli and Lebanese forces over the cutting down of a tree near the border of the two countries, it appears that all sides are attempting to restore peace.

The skirmish started after an Israeli soldier started cutting down a tree that has the capability to provide cover for Lebanese infiltrators. Israel has stated that they clear the border of underbrush weekly. After the tree was cut down, the Lebanese army started firing. The Lebanese were allegedly aiming at a base nearby, and the resulting skirmish killed a senior Israeli military officer, a Lebanese journalist, and two Lebanese army soldiers.

The United Nations peacekeeping force in south Lebanon has stated that Israel was operating in their own territory. However, Lebanese Information Minister Tarek Mitri said that the area of land which had the tree "[was] Lebanese territory," and also stated that though Lebanon respects the border, the country still contests part of it.

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Music star Wyclef Jean to seek Haitian presidency
According to TIME magazine, Haitian-American music star Wyclef Jean is to seek Haiti's presidency this Thursday. Last week Jean, who is a former member of the Fugees music group, took legal steps to run for the presidency, and Jean said in an interview that "if I can't take five years out to serve my country as President, then everything I've been singing about, like equal rights, doesn't mean anything." His younger brother also said that his candidacy was "very serious."

On January 12 of this year, Haiti was rocked by a devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake that killed 300,000 and displaced millions. Whoever wins the presidency will face the task of rebuilding the crippled country. The presidential elections are scheduled for November 28.

Related news

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Pakistani president criticized over European tour
The president of Pakistan, Asif Zardari, is facing criticism for continuing a tour of Europe while his homeland is facing the worst flooding in 80 years.

Opposition politician Imran Khan called for the president "to head home immediately." Khan citicized Zardari for "[going] on this lavish tour &mdash; this money could be used on the victims. Remember, Pakistan is bankrupt right now so the government doesn't have enough money, so he should be mobilizing people to help these victims of the floods." Zardari is scheduled to meet UK Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday.

The flooding has killed over 1,500 people and has left over three million others in need of assistance. According to Islamabad's National Weather Forecasting Center, rain has been falling at a rate of 25-30% higher than average.

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Boeing 787 orders go negative for 2010
Aircraft company Boeing lost orders for 26 jets over the past week, according to the company's website. Boeing lost 15 orders for their new and long-delayed 787 Dreamliner, 10 for their Boeing 777 and one for their smaller 737 jet. The company also gained two orders for the 737, which makes for a net loss of 25 orders. Boeing hasn't identified the customers that cancelled their orders.

With the 15 dropped 787 orders, Boeing has lost four more orders than it gained for the aircraft this year. Boeing has gained 28 orders for the 787 and lost 32 in 2010. Boeing has gained 255 orders for its lineup this year, which consists of the 737, 747, 767, 777 and 787. 229 of those orders are for the 737 jet.

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Alex Rodriguez hits 600th home run
Alex Rodriguez, baseball player for the New York Yankees, hit his 600th career home run on Wednesday. His 600th home run was hit in Yankee Stadium against the Blue Jays. The Yankees currently lead 5–1 against the Blue Jays in the game. Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that the homer was "an amazing feat &mdash; quite an accomplishment."

With the home run, Rodriguez, also known as A-Rod, became the seventh player in Major League Baseball history to reach the 600 milestone.

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