Ashmolean Museum opens to public

The UK's oldest public museum has reopened after a £61m redevelopment.

The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, in Oxford, which first opened in the 17th Century, was renovated to double the gallery space.

The new building, designed by architect Rick Mather, replaces all but the Grade I-listed Cockerell building.

About 3,000 people visited the museum in the first two hours of it reopening. It features the lamp carried by Guy Fawkes during the Gunpowder Plot,

The first official visitors to enter the new-look building were a couple from Montreal, Canada, who had heard about the reopening in the International Herald Tribune.

The museum has extended its opening hours for the day until 2200 GMT.

Aficionado of antiquities

The renovation features 39 new galleries, including four temporary exhibition galleries, a new education centre, conservation studios and a rooftop restaurant.

It has been funded with a £15m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Nicholas Barber, chairman of the Ashmolean, said: "Renowned for our collections, the Ashmolean has always held a strong position on the cultural map.

"But now, with a magnificent new building and inspiring displays, the museum has been transformed into one of the world's great cultural jewels."

The museum is named after Elias Ashmole, an aficionado of antiquities who studied at the University of Oxford while posted to the military.

Museum director Christopher Brown said: "From the outset, our ambition has been to create not just an improved and expanded version of Britain's oldest public museum, but something significantly different in kind: A new way of showcasing the Ashmolean's remarkable collections, for the benefit of the widest possible audience."

With victory in House, health care reform moves to Senate

Washington:  The House of Representatives passed a sweeping health care bill Saturday night with a tight vote of 220-215, making it the biggest expansion of health care coverage since Medicare was created more than 40 years ago.

The Affordable Health Care for America Act, or H.R. 3962, restricts insurance companies from denying coverage to anyone with a pre-existing condition or charging higher premiums based on gender or medical history. It also provides federal subsidies to those who cannot afford it and guarantees coverage for 96 percent of Americans, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

However, turning the bill into law remains uncertain.

The bill barely squeaked by in the Democrat-controlled House, with just one Republican voting for it -- first-time lawmaker Joseph Cao who holds a seat in predominantly Democratic New Orleans.

One hundred and seventy-six Republicans opposed it, as did 39 Democrats.

The Senate must now pass its own version of the health care legislation.

Senate lawmakers are also having a hard time winning over Republicans and conservative Democrats. It is unclear when the Senate will vote on its version.

Even if it passes, lawmakers in the House and Senate will have to reconcile their respective versions into one document and vote again.

President Obama said he was "absolutely confident" the Senate will follow suit in passing its version of the bill.

"I look forward to signing comprehensive health insurance reform into law by the end of the year," he said.

With eight seconds left in the voting period, Democrats began counting down, erupting in roars when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared, "The bill is passed."

Democrat Sheila Jackson-Lee from Texas waved a copy of the bill while her colleagues pumped their fists.

"Democrats voted for the bill and a Republican voted for the bill. That equals bipartisan," Pelosi said later.

Republican lawmakers stood silently across the floor, some with their arms folded across their chest.

"Well, it was about what I thought it would be," said House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio as he quickly exited.

Later, he issued a statement where he said the $1.2 trillion legislation would add to the country's "skyrocketing" debt. Democrats have said the bill will cut the deficit by $104 billion over 10 years.

"I came here to renew the American Dream, so my kids and their kids have the same opportunities I had," Boehner said. "I came here to fight big-government monstrosities like this bill that dim the light of freedom and diminish opportunity for future generations."

Michael Steele, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, released an equally tersely-worded statement.

"Nancy Pelosi and her liberal lieutenants made a lot of promises today to get the votes they desperately needed," he said. "Make no mistake -- the Democrat leadership's assurances were based on political expediency, not principle. Anyone receiving a promise from Pelosi is guaranteed to be disappointed in the end when their votes are no longer needed."

Earlier in the day, Obama met behind closed doors with Democrats to shore up support for the bill, calling it a chance of a generation.

In the run-up to the vote, Republicans and conservative Democrats joined forces to pass an amendment to the bill to prohibit federal funds for abortion services.

Its consideration was considered a big win for them and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which used its power, especially with conservative Democrats in swing congressional districts, to help force other Democratic leaders to permit a vote that most of them oppose.

The prohibition, introduced by Democratic members, including Rep. Brad Ellsworth of Indiana and Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan, would exclude cases of rape, incest or if the mother's life is in danger.

The GOP accounted for 174 of the votes in favor of the amendment, with one Republican voting "present."

On the Democrat's side, 64 voted for the measure, and 194 voted against.

A second amendment, introduced by Boehner, would have substituted several sections of the health care bill dealing with insurance. Legislators voted against the amendment 258-176.

Rep. John Dingell of Michigan, the longest-serving member of the House, presided over the debate. Since joining the House in 1955 to replace his father, Dingell, 83, has introduced his father's health insurance bill every year since.

"The nation will be grateful to us all," he said, urging the House to pass the bill.

It did, after a lengthy contentious session. Later, the Democrats made it clear they are braced for a fight if one awaits them in the Senate.

"Today, Congressional Democrats put opponents of reform on notice: the status quo is unsustainable and inaction is not an option," said Tim Kaine, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. "This vote doesn't mark the end of this process -- we still have a ways to go -- but it is a critical milestone on the road to passing health insurance reform.

"The American people want reform -- they need reform -- and Democrats will not rest until we pass comprehensive health reform legislation."

New Friction and Vast Agenda Await Obama on China Trip

BEIJING:  When President Barack Obama arrives in Shanghai for a four-day China visit, he will be accorded all the normal pomp and circumstance: He'll mingle with top leaders and ordinary people, local media will be filled with stories, and speeches will be rife with words like "vision" and "partnership."

But the greeting won't be as warm as those he has received in other parts of the world, where he frequently has been seen as a transformative figure.

That is because Mr. Obama -- who arrives Nov. 15 during an eight-day tour of the region -- will be largely continuing previous administrations' policies on China. He will also face new friction over long-term problems, and he and his hosts will have to contend with a range of global issues that have overtaken the summit agenda.

Mr. Obama follows an administration that is widely credited with success here. The Bush team -- building on progress made during the Clinton administration -- deepened trade, expanded exchanges and resolved conflicts peacefully. "Little Bush," as the Chinese call the 43rd U.S. president, was widely liked.

 "China was about the only thing [the Bush administration] did in international affairs that was a true success story," says David Shambaugh, a professor of international relations at George Washington University. "So Obama comes in and he inherits a very solid working relationship."

Since taking office, however, the Obama administration has limited some Chinese imports to the U.S., leading to what appears to be tit-for-tat responses from Beijing. China is especially sensitive to trade spats because it relies on exports for much of its economic growth.

That has dented Mr. Obama's popularity here, as has the view that Mr. Obama has failed to do enough to overhaul the U.S. financial system -- a concern for China because it is the largest holder of U.S. government debt.

A decade ago, most issues discussed at China-U.S. summits were limited to three issues: human rights, nuclear nonproliferation and trade. Now, the list of topics has grown to include almost every problem facing the world, from clean energy and the war in Afghanistan to African development and fixing the world economy -- all of which are expected to have a place in talks between Mr. Obama and his Chinese counterpart, President Hu Jintao.

"For the first time in the history of our relationship, global issues are at the top of the agenda," says Kenneth Lieberthal, a fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington who was a special assistant on Asian affairs to former President Bill Clinton. "This is new territory for us."

It is a change that analysts on both sides see as potentially problematic. Chinese officials and analysts note that the U.S. still has an arms and high-tech embargo on China -- hardly something one does with a true partner, they say. "Obama wants us to become strategic partners or friends but we aren't either of those," says Yan Xuetong, a professor of international relations at Tsinghua University. "We are business partners who share material interests rather than common values."

Mr. Shambaugh of George Washington University says the recent push to make China a global partner may be part of a 30-year pattern of unrealistic expectations followed by disappointment. "We are hoping for too much out of China," Mr. Shambaugh says. "We have very different political systems and value systems."

That is reflected in the fact that although relations are arguably better than ever, most of the issues on the table are also as intractable as ever.

The U.S., for example, is likely to at least hint that China should revalue upward its currency, the yuan. China is likely to politely decline. Both sides will agree that nuclear weapons shouldn't spread, but are unlikely to agree on concrete measures to deal with North Korea, Iran or Pakistan. And as for a climate deal, both will want to wait for next month's summit in Copenhagen before committing to anything.

All of this will make Mr. Obama's trip less than epochal. Shi Yinhong, a professor at People's University in Beijing and longtime observer of U.S.-China ties, adds another factor is at work too: size. China, like the U.S., is a continent-sized country that is relatively insular.

"China is different," Mr. Shi says. "Foreigners rarely make a big impact here."

7 Afghan security forces killed in NATO air strike

KABUL: Seven members of the Afghan security forces were killed in a NATO air strike that also injured international forces in remote western Afghanistan, the Afghan defence ministry said on Saturday.

The Afghan statement comes as NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said it was investigating an incident in Badghis province Friday in which more than 25 international and Afghan forces were wounded.

Five of the 25 wounded were US soldiers injured in what a Western military official, speaking anonymously, said was friendly fire.

However, ISAF spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Todd Vician, of the US Air Force, told a foreign news agency: "We have nothing to confirm friendly fire."

"No ISAF members were killed," he said, confirming only that five ISAF soldiers injured in the Badghis incident were Americans.

Investigations into the incident were ongoing and no further details were available, Vician said.

Afghan defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Zahir Azimi said that the seven Afghan soldiers were killed in the same incident, in Badghis's Bala Murghab district, in which the Americans were injured.

"It was erroneous air strike which caused casualties to friendly forces," he said.

"We can confirm that four Afghan army soldiers and three police were martyred," he said.

An earlier statement from the ministry said: "The commando brigade informs us that foreign forces also sustained some casualties."

The incident is believed to have taken place during a clash involving ISAF and Afghan soldiers searching for two paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division who went missing Wednesday during a routine supply mission.

Local police said a party looking for the two missing soldiers clashed with Taliban and that alliance aircraft were called in to provide support.

The defence ministry made no reference to a clash between the joint forces and Taliban militants.

Police said the casualties occurred when the air strike mistakenly targeted international troops.

Chinese PM reaches out to Muslims in Cairo

CAIRO:  Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao sought to reassure the world's Muslims about his country's goodwill towards them in Cairo on Saturday, at a time when Beijing is criticized for the treatment of its own Muslim minority.

"The relationship between Chinese civilization and Islamic civilization goes back years," Wen said in a speech delivered at the Cairo-based headquarters of the 22-member Arab League.

"China is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country. The basic policy of the Chinese government is to ensure equality among all ethnic groups and speed up the economic development of all regions," he said.

In July, violence erupted in China's Xinjiang region pitting mainly Muslim minority Uighurs against members of China's dominant Han group, leaving 197 dead and more than 1,600 injured, according to official figures.

Han vigilantes then went on a rampage against Uighurs two days later, but the exact number of casualties from that day has never been divulged.

Hundreds of people were detained as China vowed to come down hard on those found guilty, with President Hu Jintao and other top leaders saying those responsible must be "severely punished."