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/ 3 June 2008

Chinese premier hailed as Facebook star

China’s state media on Tuesday hailed Premier Wen Jiabao as the world’s sixth-most-popular politician on the social networking site Facebook — well ahead of United States President George Bush. Wen Jiabao’s profile was set up two days after he rushed to the scene of the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan province to oversee rescue efforts.

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/ 3 June 2008

China quake parents hold vigil beside school ruins

Parents, grieving and angry at the deaths of their children under a collapsed school, kept a poignant vigil at the ruins of the building on Tuesday, demanding that those responsible be brought to justice. In the tiny farming town of Wufu, nearly every building withstood the May 12 earthquake — except the three-storey Fuxin Number Two Primary School.

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/ 26 May 2008

Swelling China lakes a danger after quake

China was preparing to dynamite rock, mud and rubble forming a dangerously large ”quake lake” on Monday, hoping to avert a new disaster two weeks after a catastrophic tremor struck Sichuan province. The official estimate of dead from the May 12 earthquake is now more than 60 000, but that number is certain to grow.

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/ 25 May 2008

Big aftershock causes more misery in China

A big aftershock rattled south-west China on Sunday killing at least one person and injuring 400 others, state media reported, nearly a fortnight after a big quake killed tens of thousands in the same area. More than 70 000 houses toppled during Sunday’s tremor in Sichuan province, state television reported. The 5,8 magnitude aftershock was epicentred 40km west-northwest of Guangyuan.

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/ 21 May 2008

China to probe builders after collapses in quake

China vowed on Wednesday to deal severely with anyone found responsible for shoddy state building work, as parents demanded to know why last week’s quake destroyed so many schools, killing thousands of children. Nine days after the massive tremor hit the mountainous Sichuan province in south-western China, rescuers were still finding survivors.

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/ 18 May 2008

Strong aftershock causes more concern in China

Police tried to stop anguished relatives from streaming into one of the worst-affected areas of China’s massive earthquake on Sunday, as another strong aftershock hit the area and the death toll rose to nearly 32 500. Hundreds of aftershocks have rattled Sichuan province following last week’s devastating 7,9-magnitude quake.

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/ 17 May 2008

Quake-hit China braces for possible lake bursts

A Chinese lake damaged by an earthquake may be about to burst its banks, state media said on Saturday, as President Hu Jintao headed for the epicentre with the death toll expected to rise to 50 000. Meanwhile, survivors were found on Saturday, five days after the disaster, including a German tourist who was pulled from the rubble.

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/ 16 May 2008

China buries quake dead as new aftershock hits

China struggled to bury its dead and help tens of thousands of injured and homeless on Friday when a powerful aftershock brought new havoc four days after an earthquake thought to have killed more than 50 000 people. Anger has focused on the state of school buildings, many of which crumpled in Monday’s 7,9-magnitude quake.

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/ 15 May 2008

China ramps up rescue efforts

China ramped up its massive military rescue effort in the quake-hit south-west on Thursday, where more than 40 000 people lay dead or buried under rubble and rescue teams fought to save the living. Premier Wen Jiabao ordered another 30 000 troops and 90 helicopters to the disaster zone to reinforce the rescue operation.

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/ 14 May 2008

Nearly 15 000 dead in China quake

The toll from China’s deadliest earthquake in decades climbed to nearly 15 000 on Wednesday as thousands of troops, firefighters and common civilians battled to save thousands of people buried under rubble and mud. The government sent 50 000 troops to south-western Sichuan province to dig for victims.

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/ 14 May 2008

Troops rush in to help China quake rescue

China poured more troops into the earthquake-ravaged province of Sichuan on Wednesday to quicken a search for survivors as time ran out for thousands of people buried under rubble and mud. Across the region, weary rescuers pulled at tangled chunks of buildings and peered into crevices for survivors after Monday’s 7,9 magnitude quake crumpled homes, schools and hospitals.

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/ 13 May 2008

Tens of thousands dead, missing in China

China’s biggest earthquake for a generation left tens of thousands dead, missing or buried under the rubble of crushed communities on Tuesday, plunging the nation into an all-out aid effort. Rescue teams struggled by air, land and water to reach the areas of south-western China stricken by the huge quake that demolished schools, homes and factories.