Miss NY Chinese Beauty Pageant 2006

The first three winners of Miss NY Chinese Beauty Pageant 2006 pose for a photo.The finals of Miss Now York Chinese Beauty Pageant 2006 was held on Aug. 13, 2006, with 14 beauties participating. Sirena Wang, 20, born in northeast China's Jilin Province won the title.

Farewell ceremony for Hua Yiwei

Medical staff pay their respects to Hua Yiwei, a renowned doctor who passed away at the age of 73 during a memorial ceremony in Beijing.

Castro gets bedside visit from Chavez

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (C) poses with his Cuban counterpart Fidel Castro and acting President of Cuba Raul Castro (R) in Havana in this photograph, which was taken on August 13, 2006 and posted on the website of state newspaper Granma August 14, 2006.

Bustling beach in Dalian causes traffic jam

The Fujiazhuang Beach in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province, is flooded with an array of colorful tents and beach umbrellas Saturday, August 12, 2006, as local residents and tourists flocked to the beach to enjoy a relaxing time, which resulted in a heavy traffic jam when they rushed home in the evening.

Israel displays weapons captured from Hizbollah

Weapons captured from Hizbollah during the one-month Israel-Lebanon conflict are displayed at the Ministry of Defense of Israel in Tel Aviv August 14, 2006.

Israeli soldiers enjoy leisure after ceasefire

An Israeli soldier sits on the cannon of his tank after having a shower near the Lebanese border August 14, 2006 at Metula in Israel. The UN-brokered ceasefire went into effect at 0500 GMT on Monday.

Shaolin Abbot awarded RMB 1mln off-road car

The Abbot of Shaolin Temple Shiyongxin was awarded a Volkswagen off-road car worth more than one million yuan by the local government for his outstanding contributions to the development of tourism industry in Dengfeng, a city in central China's Henan Province, Aug, 14, 2006.

There is a rainbow after the storm

After the storm : A rainbow is seen at the end of a rainstorm over the southeastern Beijing as night falls on the capital August 14, 2006. While over the sky of western Beijing appears the burning cloud.

Japanese PM visits Yasukuni Shrine

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (C) gets in a car after he visited the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, capital of Japan, Aug.15, 2006. Koizumi, ignoring criticism from both home and abroad, visited the Yasukuni Shrine which honors Japan's 14 notorious class-A war criminals of World War II on Tuesday morning.(Xinhua Photo)

MagLev train repair in Shanghai

Scaffold is set up close to a magnetic levitation (MagLev) station for MagLev train repair in Shanghai of east China, Aug. 14, 2006. The train was damaged during a fire on the afternoon of Aug. 11.

An anti-US rally in Seoul

Protestors with veil take part in an anti-US rally in Seoul, capital of South Korea, Aug. 14, 2006. Thousands of South Koreans gathered here to call for withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country.

Encephalitis B vaccine injection in Yuncheng

A medical worker of local disease control and prevention center injects vaccine of epidemic encephalitis B for a child in Yuncheng, north China's Shanxi Province, Aug. 14, 2006. The epidemic situation was under control since the first case of epidemic encephalitis B reported here on July 13. The local epidemic prevention departments were busy with vaccine injection for citizens.

Tickets for Potala Palace difficult to be get

Tourists queue for tickets at the Potala Palace in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Aug. 14, 2006. Still under protective reparation, the Potala Palace, a 1300-year-old world cultural heritage, is facing a tension between its limited capacity and the increasing amount of tourists.

China to further all-round co-op with Laos: top officials

Jia Qinglin (R), chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), shakes hands with Sisavath Keobounphanh, chairman of Lao Front for National Reconstruction, during their meeting in Beijing, Aug. 14, 2006.China's top political advisor Jia Qinglin said Monday that China will expand all-round cooperation with Laos and push forward bilateral ties to new heights.

Home return after cease-fire

Israeli soldiers react after leaving Lebanon following a ceasefire August 14, 2006.Guns fell silent across southern Lebanon on Monday after a U.N.-brokered truce went into effect to end five weeks of fighting between Israel and Hizbollah that killed more than 1,250 people and wounded thousands.