■ China
Bank sues graduates
A Shanghai bank is suing 68 college graduates for not paying back their student loans, the China Daily reported yesterday, calling the case merely the tip of the iceberg. The Wujiaochang branch of the Agricultural Bank of China was seeking repayment of some 760,000 yuan (US$95,500) from the students, the newspaper said. Some 3,000 to 4,000 student loans issued by the branch had defaulted, the paper said. With nearly 4.13 million graduates entering the nation's workforce this year -- 750,000 more than the previous year -- job opportunities and incomes have plunged, leaving many unable to pay back their loans.
■ China
Tunnel workers rescued
All 25 road workers trapped after a tunnel collapsed in Yunnan Province were rescued yesterday, the official Xinhua news agency said. The workers were trapped for 26 hours after the collapse occurred early Monday on a highway linking Guangnan and Yanshan. Xinhua did not say if any of the workers were injured. "The rescuers managed to get into the tunnel and get the trapped people out," Xinhua said. Fresh air, food and drink were provided to the workers in the 50m-long tunnel during the rescue operation, an official said.
■ China
Joint naval exercises held
US and Chinese missile-equipped destroyers held five hours of communications and other drills near Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Sunday, Xinhua reported yesterday. Admiral William Fallon, commander of the US Pacific Command, has pushed to upgrade ties between the two countries and invited Chinese officers to observe US naval exercises in the Western Pacific.
■ China
Uncle Shrimp dies
Veteran Hong Kong actor and Cantonese opera performer Kwan Hoi-shan (關海山) died of natural causes on Monday. Kwan, who had joined a Cantonese opera troupe at age 11, later moved into acting, joining Hong Kong TV station TVB in 1976, the Apple Daily reported. Among his film credits are Jackie Chan's Project A, about a naval officer assigned to police duty after pirates destroy his fleet, and the sequel, Project A II. Kwan won best supporting actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 1992 for his role in Lee Rock, which also starred Andy Lau (劉德華). Nicknamed "Uncle Shrimp," Kwan suffered a stroke in 2001, which had left him partially paralyzed. He is survived by four daughters and two sons from four marriages.
■ China
Quake hits Xinjiang
A magnitude-5.4 earthquake shook Xinjiang early yesterday. The earthquake struck Hetian County at about 2am, said an official of the Xinjiang Seismological Bureau. No casualties or damage in the unpopulated area were reported. The region regularly suffers earthquakes, but injuries and damage are usually limited.
■ India
Weapons cache found
Soldiers shot dead two suspected Muslim rebels on Monday along the de facto border dividing Kashmir and recovered a large weapons cache, the army said yesterday. The arms cache was found in the Machil sector along the Line of Control. It included 429 detonators, two rifles, 10kg of explosives, three grenade launchers with 161 grenades, 22 anti-tank grenades, seven hand grenades, two bombs, six boxes of explosive devices and 1,300 rounds of ammunition. A statement by the authorities claimed that the weapons had been found in three forest hideouts to be used in the winter by the militants against security forces in northern Kashmir.
RSS