At rare talks between Iran, the U.S. and other world powers, Iran agrees to allow weapons inspectors into its newly disclosed nuclear plant, and both sides agree to continued negotiations.

The People’s Republic of China celebrates its 60th anniversary by parading military personnel and equipment through downtown Beijing and hosting an evening gala complete with fireworks in Tienanmen Square.

Iraq’s Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, forms a new coalition which brings together Sunni and Shia parties to represent “all Iraqis.”

Amid new bomb blasts in Pakistan, the U.S. says it may expand its embassy in Islamabad to include about 400 apartments in a project similar to its massive embassy in Baghdad. UNICEF says it has almost run out of funds to provide relief to people fleeing fighting in the Northwest Frontier Province.

A 7.1 magnitude earthquake strikes off the coast of Honduras, causing one confirmed death when a house collapsed, disrupting electricity and phone services, and shaking nearby Guatemala and Belize.

Two more Conservative MPs in Britain say they will step down following outrage over their use of taxpayer money, including one who spent £22,500 to treat dry rot at her home. Eleven other lawmakers have quit since a scandal over expenses erupted, including the House of Commons Speaker.

Nigerian police arrest, then kill militant leader, Ken Niweigha. Supporters accuse police of “summarily executing” him, while police say he was killed during a gun battle.

Before heading to Iraq, Obama spent two days in Turkey, where he addressed the Turkish Parliament and met with Turkish university students.

The toll climbs to 207 dead, 15 missing, and 17,000 left homeless after yesterday’s earthquake in L’Aquila, Italy, 60 miles outside of Rome.

Rwandans mark the 15th anniversary of the genocide in which nearly one million died, mostly minority Tutsis killed by majority Hutus.

Ishan Khan was just a regular guy, an immigrant working as a taxi driver in Washington, D.C. Then he hit the jackpot, winning more than $30 million in a lottery. Most people daydream about what they’d do if they won the lottery. For Khan, this decision would have real consequences. Khan decided to return to his hometown of Batagram, Pakistan, and run for mayor. Days later, an earthquake struck, killing 70,000 people, 4,500 of them in Batagram. Now, as mayor of this economically devastated town, Khan has to govern a constituency that seems to believe that his money can solve all of their problems.

The exchange is symbolic of improving relations between the two rival Asian powers and former WWII enemies.

The Sazanami carried food, blankets and emergency supplies for victims of China’s recent earthquake. Crew members are scheduled to participate in carefully choreographed “friendship” events, including a concert and reception.

But the visit is not without controversy, as many Chinese are still bitter over Japan’s invasion and occupation of their country during the 1930s and 1940s.

Last month, Japan decided against delivering aid to earthquake victims by means of military aircraft because of Chinese concerns about the presence of the Japanese military on their soil. A Japanese newspaper reported that a concert scheduled for today was canceled because “part of public opinion in China is against the Japanese destroyer’s visit.”

Still, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said that the visit would “help enhance the friendship and mutual trust between the two counties.

For more on the expanding role of the Japanese military, watch Japan’s About-Face, premiering on WIDE ANGLE on July 8th.

The Countdown – June 5, 2008

It is steamy hot weather. We arrive at the Bashu Middle School #2 at the outskirts of Chongqing, a city with 30 million inhabitants beautifully positioned in a lush hilly landscape where the Yangtze and Jialing rivers meet each other in Central China.

The school year is coming to an end. We have been filming the Senior 3 class, the last grade, since the beginning of the school year. Now there are only two days left before the start of the National College Entrance Exam. 10 million Chinese kids will be doing their utmost to get the highest score possible. A score that will determine not only which university they will attend, but also if they will be able to attend an university at all. There is only space for the best 40% of them.

We are afraid to disturb our main characters, Zhang Lie, Chen Zibo, Gao Mengjia and Peng Kun. Our presence could have a negative influence on their results, and after 12 years of hardship and the financial burden that their education was to their parents, we try to move as unnoticeably as possible through the corridors of the school. With our Caucasian features that is of course impossible, but after so many visits most kids seem to have grown accustomed to our presence and even the teachers have a smile after the worried looks we got last April.

The disturbances with the Olympic flame in Paris and London had great impact. The students wanted to know exactly what our position was in the debate. The teachers, especially the older ones that had experienced the Cultural Revolution, looked angrily at us and sometimes even fearful. Nobody spoke to us in the teachers’ room. It seemed that nothing good could come from being close to us. Waiting parents pushed newspapers with Olympic flame images in front of the camera lens, ruining our shots.

No anger this time, just nervously giggling students that were happy for some distraction. There were boards with photos of the earthquake area with lists of the money collected by each class and teacher to support the victims. The quake only happened 180 miles from Chongqing. Although nobody was hurt, the quake was felt and everybody had to evacuate the school and stay outside for the rest of the day. With all the aftershocks going on, even two weeks later over 1000 kids that live in the dormitories had to take their pillows and blankets and sleep on the athletics court all night. ~ Marije Meerman

Marije Meerman is the director of China Prep.

The film premieres on WIDE ANGLE on August 12th. Check your local listings for airtimes, and check here for more of Marije’s story and updates about the film.

Many of the dead were schoolchildren who were crushed when poorly constructed school buildings collapsed in the quake. In Wenchuan alone, 347 students and 28 teachers were killed.

The 500 students and teachers from Weizhou Middle School moved into a mobile school on Monday. In China, middle school is the last stage before college or university, so the 300 of those students who are around the age of 18 will be preparing for the national college entrance exam scheduled to take place this weekend.

Known as the gaokao, or “tall test,” the exam is an intensely stressful milestone for any Chinese teenager, and this year, students will have to study with the trauma of last month’s earthquake still fresh in their minds.

The stakes are high — college admission in China is based solely on one’s test score, and last year, nearly 10 million students competed for only 5.7 million university placements. For students from impoverished rural areas like Wenchuan, success at the gaokao is often seen as the only path out of poverty.

This summer, WIDE ANGLE takes us to China, to see how students cope with the pressure of the one exam that determines their fate — and makes the American SAT look like child’s play.

China Prep premieres on August 12. Check your local listings for airtimes, and check back here for updates.