The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says she has great hope that an international meeting on Saturday on the conflict in Syria could prove to be a turning point. The meeting in Geneva is due to be attended by all five permanent members of the Security Council, including Russia and China. Mrs Clinton said the talks

convened

by the international envoy Kofi Annan could succeed if all parties backed Mr Annan's proposals.

"We are looking forward to hearing a report about his consultations with those whom he intends to invite. I'm keeping my calendar open for a meeting with a great hope that this perhaps can be a turning point in the very tragic circumstances affecting the Syrian people."

A month before the opening of the London Olympics, the Chinese state-run news agency yingyu.chazidian.com has predicted that China will top the medal table, once again beating the United States. The yingyu.chazidian.com

editorial

sets out

in precise terms where China can expect to win gold medals and predicts that it can win at least 37, nine of them in gymnastics alone. At the Beijing Olympics four years ago China won 51 gold medals.

Football, and Spain and Portugal are playing for a place in the final of the Euro 2012 football tournament. The match in the Ukrainian city of Donetsk has gone to extra time after no goals were scored in the regulation 90 minutes. The winners will face either Germany or Italy, who'll play the other semi-final in Warsaw on Thursday.