Thursday, February 23, 2023

More bodies found in China mine collapse, 48 remain missing

Story by By NG HAN GUAN, Associated Press • Yesterday 8:16 PM

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ALXA LEAGUE, China (AP) — Rescuers with backhoes and bulldozers dug through tons of earth and rubble Thursday for 48 people missing after a landslide buried an open-pit mine in northern China. State broadcaster CCTV reported that the confirmed death toll in the disaster rose to five.

In this image taken from official surveillance camera footage run by China's CCTV, dirt moves down the side of a hill at an open pit mine in Alxa League in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023. An open pit mine collapsed in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Wednesday, killing several people and leaving dozens missing, state media reported. (CCTV via AP)© Provided by The Associated Press

In this aerial photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, rescue vehicles are parked near the site of a collapsed open pit coal mine in Alxa League in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023. An open pit mine collapsed in China's northern Inner Mongolia region on Wednesday, killing multiple people and leaving dozens more missing, state media reported. (Lian Zhen/Xinhua via AP)© Provided by The Associated Press

Conditions in the area remain dangerous, and the search had to be suspended for several hours because of a second landslide at the gigantic facility in Inner Mongolia’s Alxa League.

On Thursday afternoon, more than a dozen bulldozers, trucks, SUVs and fire engines were seen passing through a remote police checkpoint about 25 kilometers (15 miles) southwest of the mine.

Nearly all personnel were stopped by police and checked for entry approvals before being allowed to proceed along the road leading to the mine.

A police officer said only those with government approval would be allowed access to the area. She said people living close to the mine had been sent to stay in a nearby town.

Security was also tight at another checkpoint in the neighboring region of Ningxia, 15 kilometers (9 miles) east of the mine, with dozens of officers inspecting every vehicle that sought to pass in either direction.

Cranes and other pieces of heavy equipment could be seen, along with covered trucks. It was unclear what the trucks were carrying.

Alli

The Associated Press

View Profilegator pulled from NYC lake had swallowed bathtub stopper

Story by By KAREN MATTHEWS, Associated Press • 46m ago

NEW YORK (AP) — The alligator that was rescued from a chilly lake in New York City over the weekend had swallowed a bathtub stopper, authorities said.

The nearly 5-foot-long (1.5-meter-long) female alligator was lethargic and suffering from exposure to the cold when it was found in Brooklyn's Prospect Park Lake on Sunday, according to a spokesperson for the Bronx Zoo, where the gator is recovering.

After being spotted by a park maintenance worker Sunday morning, the alligator was pulled from the lake and taken to Animal Care Centers of New York City before it was brought to the Bronx Zoo.

Zoo officials said in a news release that the rescued alligator is too weak to eat on its own and is being tube-fed. At 15 pounds (6.8 kilos), the alligator is extremely emaciated, as an alligator of its length should weigh 30 to 35 pounds (13.6 to 15.9 kilos), they said.

X-Rays show that the alligator, estimated to be 5 to 6 years old, had ingested a 4-inch (10-centimeter) bathtub stopper, zoo officials said, noting that the animal is too weak for veterinarians to try to remove it.

It is illegal to have an alligator in New York state, but it is not uncommon for people to buy young alligators and then abandon them. A baby alligator was found in a swimming pool in suburban Bayport in 2019.

Animal Care Centers spokesperson Katy Hansen said the organization has taken

Sunday, January 1, 2023

Goodbye 2022 and Welcome 2023

WRAPUP 4-Xi says COVID control is entering new phase as cases surge after reopening

Martin Quin Pollard and Eduardo Baptista

Fri, December 30, 2022 at 5:11 PM AKST

In this article:

(Recasts with President Xi Jinping's comment)

China overcame unprecedented difficulties in COVID battle: Xi

Still a time of struggle for controlling COVID: Xi

In Wuhan, surge in new cases shows signs of easing

Shanghai has 10 million infections, health official says

End of zero-COVID curbs prompts global concern

By Martin Quin Pollard and Eduardo Baptista

WUHAN/BEIJING, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping called on Saturday for more effort and unity as the country enters a "new phase" in its approach to combating the pandemic, in his first comments to the public on COVID-19 since his government changed course three weeks ago and relaxed its rigorous policy of lockdowns and mass testing.

China's abrupt switch earlier this month from the "zero-COVID" policy that it had maintained for nearly three years has led to infections sweeping across the country unchecked. It has also caused a further drop in economic activity and international concern, with Britain and France becoming the latest countries to impose curbs on travellers from China.

The switch by China followed unprecedented protests over the policy championed by Xi, marking the strongest show of public defiance in his decade-old presidency and coinciding with grim growth figures for the country's $17 trillion economy.

In a televised speech to mark the New Year, Xi said China had overcome unprecedented difficulties and challenges in the battle against COVID, and that its policies were "optimised" when the situation and time so required.

"Since the outbreak of the epidemic ... the majority of cadres and masses, especially medical personnel, grassroots workers braved hardships and courageously persevered," Xi said.

"At present, the epidemic prevention and control is entering a new phase, it is still a time of struggle, everyone is persevering and working hard, and the dawn is ahead. Let's work harder, persistence means victory, and unity means victory."

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