WTO rules China must open markets

(CNN) — The United States hailed a World Trade Organization ruling to open Chinese markets and ease controls on the import of U.S. films, DVDs, music downloads and books.

“Today, a WTO panel handed a significant victory to America’s creative industries,” U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said Wednesday. “These findings are an important step toward ensuring market access for legitimate U.S. products in the Chinese market, as well as ensuring market access for U.S. exporters and distributors of those products.”

In its ruling, the WTO said China violates free-trade rules by requiring importers to channel media products such as movies, books and music through state-owned companies, rather than giving them direct access to Chinese markets.

China denied the charges in the ruling.
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Brazilian TV host ordered killings, police say

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN) — A Brazilian TV host denies authorities’ charges that he orchestrated the murders of drug dealers and other criminals to generate sensational footage for his show.

Wallace Souza, a state legislator and former host of a police TV show called “Canal Livre,” also was a drug trafficker, officials say. And to get rid of the competition — and drive up ratings — he would order that criminal rivals be killed and then would have his camera crews arrive first on the scene, authorities say.

“In truth, they went as far as creating acts,” said Thomas Augusto Vasconcelos, intelligence secretary for Amazonas state. “It’s been determined that the crimes were committed in order to generate news for the program.”

Souza has denied the accusations, and his lawyer has criticized key testimony and questioned the investigation.
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France and Germany return to growth

FRANKFURT, Germany — Germany and France on Thursday delivered a boost to hopes that the eurozone is clawing its way back from recession as the region’s largest members said their economies grew in the second quarter after shrinking for a year.

Robust consumer and public spending – buoyed by large government stimulus programmes – helped both economies grow 0.3 percent in April, May and June, according to data released by both countries’ statistical offices.

The trends surprised economists, who had been expecting both economies to contract again — by 0.3 percent – after German gross domestic product plummeted 3.5 percent and French GDP shrank by 1.3 percent in the first quarter.
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Mystery ends in Australia WWII disaster

(CNN) — The Australian cruiser met the disguised German vessel in the waters off western Australia two years after the two became enemies in World War II.

The Australian ship approached, trying to determine whether the vessel was friendly. It wasn’t.

What resulted was Australia’s worst naval disaster: the sinking of the Australian ship and the loss of its entire crew of 645. The wreckage wasn’t found until last year, leading to decades of conspiracy theories about what actually happened.

On Wednesday a long-awaited report on the sinking of the Sydney II ended the mystery that began when it met its fate, November 19, 1941.
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Best Buy will not honor $9.99 big-screen TV deal

(CNN) — The price of big screen televisions has been coming down, but this was ridiculous.

Early Wednesday morning, BestBuy.com listed a 52-inch Samsung HDTV for $9.99 — a savings of more than $1600.

As customers jumped on the Web site trying to take advantage of the offer, Best Buy announced it was a “pricing error” and was no longer available.

A recorded message on Best Buy’s customer service line told customers “we will not be placing any more orders for this unit,” and messages were sent on Twitter apologizing “for any disappointment.”
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Taiwan rescuers battle raging rivers, downpours

(CNN) — Torrential downpours, dense fog, rugged terrain and raging rivers have made rescue efforts in Taiwan increasingly difficult and dangerous in the wake of Typhoon Morakot.

Washed out roads and bridges rendered ground rescue operations virtually impossible as workers searched Thursday for stranded villagers in the central and southern regions of the island. Rescuers were forced to search by helicopter, inflatable boats and zip-line mechanisms that suspended them over the muddy waters coursing below.

In some cases, food drops have been conducted over isolated villages tucked amid the rugged terrain as villagers sought higher grounds to stay dry.

Economic losses were estimated at $274 million.

The storm dumped up to 83 inches of rain on some parts of the island, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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