The death toll from a coal mine gas blast in southwest China's Sichuan province has risen to 15 while 32 mine workers remain trapped underground.

A total of 152 miners were in the pit when the accident occurred Wednesday afternoon. 102 of them were subsequently lifted out the mine, but three of them died later in hospital.

Rescuers have pulled six miners alive from the mine in the coal-rich Panzhihua city and found the bodies of 12 others.

The miners may have died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

The search and rescue operation is being hampered by the complicated structure in the pit and the high concentration of carbon monoxide.

 

 

China approves new measures to narrow education gap

 

China has said it will strive to narrow the gap in fundamental educational levels between the nation's urban and rural areas.

The State Council, or the cabinet, says the government will improve educational facilities in rural schools and encourage excellent teachers to work there.

Children in China have 9 years of compulsory schooling, but the quality of education differs among regions and institutions.

The central government is calling on local authorities to guarantee the equal rights to children of migrant workers and orphans in education.

Measures unveiled at the meeting also call on schools to guide students to nurture their sense of social responsibility and creativity.

 

 

UN Security Council to meet on humanitarian situation in Syria

 

The UN Security Council is scheduled to discuss the humanitarian situation in Syria on Thursday.

This comes following reports that the number of Syrian refugees fleeing to neighboring countries has doubled over the past week.

Turkey, which has hosted some 40 percent of all Syrian refugees, announced yesterday that it would open 4 new camps to deal with the increasing influx.

 

 

UN voices deep concern over reported massacre in eastern DRC

 

The United Nations is raising the alarm over a reported massacre of civilians in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The UN high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, says that the killings in the Masisi territory are still being verified, but the preliminary findings suggest a significant number of people -- most of them women and children -- had been slaughtered.

The killings are believed to have been triggered by fighting between rival armed groups close to the Masisi territory, which lies near the Rwanda border.

 

 

Shafiq placed on airport watch list

 

Former Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq has reportedly been placed on an airport watch and travel ban list, as a corruption investigation against him continues.

It means that Shafiq could be arrested if he tries to return from the United Arab Emirates, where he has been since losing the presidential election to Mohammed Morsi in June.

Ahmed Shafiq was appointed Prime Minister by former leader Hosni Mubarak shortly before he was ousted last year.

 

 

Paralympics open with spectacular ceremony

 

The 2012 Paralympic Games have opened in London with a spectacular ceremony watched by some 80,000 spectators.

Centred on the theme of "Enlightenment", Professor Stephan Hawking delivered the opening address, speaking of the quest for understanding of the universe.

The Paralympics will run for 11 days and will feature more than 4,000 athletes from 165 countries.

China finished top of the medals table at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing four years ago, winning 89 gold medals.

 

 

Isaac downgraded but still pummels New Orleans

 

Hurricane Isaac has weakened to a tropical storm but continues to lash New Orleans with strong winds and drenching rains.

Isaac arrived on the US Gulf coast exactly 7 years after the much stronger Hurricane Katrina, which broke levee defences and devastated much of the city.

A sea wall to the south of the city centre has been breached, but the multi-million dollar sea defences upgraded in the wake of Katrina have so far held film.

The mayor of New Orleans has declared an overnight curfew in the city.

 

 

Refinancing Business Gets Green Light

 

The operation to re-lend borrowed money and securities to finance margin trading here in China has got underway.

Shanghai Securities News reports that the first batch of 11 securities dealers has got the OK to conduct re-lending business.

Securities houses can apply for as much as 500 million yuan of refinancing value.

Also, the establishment of China Securities Finance will help lend to brokerages.

The company has a registered capital of 12 billion yuan, or some 1.9 billion US dollars.

Under the scheme, securities firms are allowed to re-lend money and securities borrowed from lenders, insurance companies and mutual funds to their clients in margin trading.

 

 

Details set for VAT reform in Guangdong

 

Guangdong, the largest provincial economy in China is set to roll out a value-added tax trial this November.

The program is to replace business tax with VAT to lower the tax burden especially for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Similar to those in Shanghai, pilot schemes in Guangdong will cover transport and six modern service industries, such as Research and Development and IT services.

Companies of less than 5 million yuan annual sales will enjoy a 3 percent VAT rate.