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ADDIS ABABA, April 24 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese embassy in Ethiopia on Tuesday confirmed that a group of unidentified gunmen attacked a Chinese oil company's premises early in the morning in Ethiopia's Somali state, causing heavy casualties. The embassy has formed an emergency team, maintaining close contact with the Ethiopian government and military, according to the Chinese Charge d' Affaires ad interim Zhang Yuebang. At least nine Chinese workers were killed during the attack, Xu Shuang, acting manager of the Chinese oil company, told Xinhua. Another seven Chinese workers were kidnapped by the gunmen, who also killed 65 Ethiopian employees...

Media darling stunned; public reaction mixed JIM MORRILL jmorrill@charlotteobserver.com Friday was not a normal day for Harry Taylor. He did two national TV interviews. His phone rang all day. E-mails flooded his inbox. People he never met called him a hero and a patriot. He became a darling of Internet blogs, including one called simply: thankyouharrytaylor.org. "It's like I've got 10,000 butterflies jumping up and down in my stomach," he said in an afternoon interview. "It's been that way for 27 hours now." A day before, President Bush called on Taylor during a question session after a speech at Central...

A case filed in Superior Court in Sacramento this week could reveal which state legislator or legislators are responsible for avoiding the competitive bidding process mandated by the California Public Contract Code. The purposes of the Contract Code are to “[protect] the public from misuse of public funds,” to “provide all qualified bidders with a fair opportunity to enter the bidding process, thereby stimulating competition in a manner conducive to sound fiscal practices” and to “eliminate favoritism, fraud, and corruption in the awarding of public contracts.” According to the case, the California legislature has been disregarding these principles and getting...