Rescuers Fear Worst for 11 Trapped Chinese Miners

YUZHOU, China -- Frantically working rescuers feared the 11 Chinese miners trapped by a deadly gas blast may have suffocated or been buried by coal dust, as loved ones kept a vigil Sunday and the death toll rose to 26 with five more bodies recovered.

The Chinese mine drama unfolded as the world still was celebrating Chile's successful rescue of 33 miners trapped for more than two months. Chinese media had detailed coverage as the Chilean men emerged to cheers.

Du Bo, deputy chief of the rescue headquarters, told the state-run Xinhua News Agency that hopes that the others were still alive after Saturday's early morning blast were slim.

 "Based on past experience, the remaining 11 miners could be buried in coal dust, so the survival chances are frail," Du said. Rescuers had to clear tons of coal dust from the mine shaft to reach the trapped workers, and they faced dangerous gas levels and the risk of falling rocks as they worked their way into the mine pit.

An initial investigation showed that 6 million cubic feet (173,500 cubic meters) of gas rushed out, Xinhua said, citing rescuers. The outburst generated enough force to throw 2,500 tons of coal dust into the mine pit, it said.

The gas wasn't specified, but methane is a common cause of mine blasts, and coal dust is explosive.

Saturday's blast at the Pingyu Coal & Electric Co. Ltd. mine occurred as workers were drilling a hole to release pressure from a gas buildup to decrease the risk of explosions, the state work safety administration said.

Efforts to lower the density of the gas in the pit by increasing ventilation have been hampered by coal that is blocking a 550-foot- (170-meter-) long shaft, which rescuers say will take them until Wednesday to clear, state media said.

Two dozen police officers were stationed outside the mine's main gate Sunday, preventing anyone from entering the site without authorization. About 50 of the trapped miners' friends and relatives quietly waited outside, some of them tearful. Murmured discussion of the mine's poor safety record could be heard.

Obamas on the stump...Ill. gubernatorial debate...Typhoon hits Philippines

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are stumping for Democratic candidates in the runup to the November elections. The Obamas spoke Sunday night at a rally at The Ohio State University. The president said Republicans only offer the philosophy that nearly destroyed the economy, and encouraged Ohio voters to tell the GOP they don't want to go back to those principles.

ELMHURST, Ill. (AP) — Bill Brady and Pat Quinn have been attacking each other's honesty and integrity in a debate over who would make a better Illinois governor. Quinn, the Democratic incumbent, called Brady a "walking conflict of interest" during a debate Sunday night. Brady shot back that Quinn loves to attack people because he has no plan to fix the problems of Illinois.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Typhoon Megi (meh-GEE') has slammed ashore along the Philippines' northeastern coast with ferocious winds of 140 miles an hour, becoming the strongest storm to hit the country in years. Thousands of people have sought shelter. Authorities are warning millions of residents and rice farmers along the typhoon's path to look out for damage to crops, homes and power lines.

TOKYO (AP) — Delegates from more than 190 nations have kicked off a U.N. conference in Tokyo. It's aimed at ensuring the survival of diverse species and ecosystems threatened by pollution, exploitation and habitat encroachment. But the two-week meeting of the U.N. Convention of Biological Diversity faces divisions between rich and poor nations over what actions to take.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Post reports the United States is asking Beijing to do more to stop Chinese companies from providing assistance and expertise to Iran's efforts to develop nuclear weapons and more powerful missiles. The Post reports the Obama administration believes several Chinese companies are violating U.N. sanctions against Iran.

Strongest typhoon in years lashes Philippines and kills at least 3

CAUAYAN, Philippines — The strongest cyclone in years to crash into the Philippines killed at least three people Monday, leaving a wasteland of fallen trees and power poles and sending thousands scampering to safety in near-zero visibility. A retired general said bracing for the onslaught was like preparing for war.

Super typhoon Megi, blowing across the northern Philippines, was forecast next to head toward China and Vietnam, where recent floods unrelated the storm have caused 30 deaths.

On Monday, strong currents on Vietnam's flooded main highway swept away a bus and 20 of its passengers, including a boy pulled from his mother's grasp. In China, authorities evacuated 140,000 people from a coastal province ahead of the typhoon.

Megi packed sustained winds of 225 kilometers per hour and gusts of 260 km/h as it made landfall midday Monday at Palanan Bay in Isabela province, felling trees and utility poles and cutting off power, phone and Internet services. Its ferocious wind slightly weakened while crossing the mountains of the Philippines' main northern island of Luzon.

After the Guetemala, Giant Emerges Again hole in China!

After the people of Guatemala to worry, the Chinese people are now worried the emergence of giant holes - As the citizens of Guatemala wants to know the emergence of a giant hole on 1 June in the capital city, in China there has been at least eight places 'sinkhole' (hole in the ground that appears suddenly arrive) that occurred during the two weeks, and many holes appeared during the last two months.

Land for the last hole occurred on June 4 at 12:25 am Beijing time, in the middle of the freeway in Zhejiang Province in eastern coastal areas of the country. The size of the hole 27 feet or 8 meters with a depth of 20 feet or 6.5 meters.

These holes occur when light trucks through this place. This truck rolled over when caught behind the wheel hole. The driver of a minor injury to climb out and stop traffic when he saw a large gaping hole. The police arrived ten minutes later and blocked the road.

A spokesman from the office manager of the freeway saying that experts estimate soil its broken-down abruptly because of the collapse of a limestone cave due to erosion, but investigations are underway.

Later on the same day about 300 miles or 500 km west of Nanchang City, capital of Jiangxi province, a car caught when a car-sized hole suddenly opens in the middle of main street.

On June 3, four big hole occurred in the province of Guangxi during a heavy rain storm. According to Chinese state media reports, more than 600 residents were evacuated because of the incident.

Three smaller hole was found between 27 May to 30 May in the southern province of Sichuan, less than 80 miles or 120 km from the center of the deadly earthquake that occurred in Sichuan in 2008, killing approximately 80,000 people.

In Yibin City, about 400 km from the epicenter, 26 holes have been formed since 27 April.


Early Disaster?

The emergence of 'sinkhole' has made Chinese people's fears. Although reports from the official media is always saying, according to 'experts' holes are not signs of a big earthquake, people have no trust anymore so will comment.

The bloggers on the Internet contains excerpts from the estimate of the 'experts' like a TV channel aired prior to the Sichuan earthquake. They criticized the opinion so that no more than a tactic the authorities to what is called maintaining social stability.

"What I liked most of the 'experts' on TV, who is confident promise everything will be fine," wrote one blogger. "They say so because the government told to say so."

Many bloggers joked when the media began to deny rumors about the earthquake, it is time to get ready for an earthquake was imminent.

Because not believe the official reports of government regime, the Chinese people are increasingly aware of the absurdities that arise, such as the emergence of a large flock of toads or snakes, or clouds with color and shapes that are not as usual, and give serious attention to any warnings about the disaster on the blog site .

Death of confidence in the government and many fresh memories of the many disasters that occurred, causing the Chinese people quickly incited. Sinking of the government's credibility and the strength of all the memories of a series of disasters recently, causing the Chinese people become easily agitated. In February, the issue will be an earthquake has made tens of thousands of terrified residents in the city of Taiyuan in Shanxi Province, causing them to exit the house and sleep overnight on the highway.

The case of Guatemala

Before this many people were surprised the emergence of a strange giant hole in City Guatemala City, Guatemala.

Giant hole formed following the heavy rain that fell continuously from Agatha tropical storm which hit Guatemala and surrounding countries on Saturday, May 29 last. Gaping hole in the middle of town with a diameter of 20 meters and a depth of nearly 30 meters.

A three-story building textile factory and a house ambles into the hole. According to locals, miraculously none of the factory workers who were killed. Because they had left the factory an hour before the giant hole formed.

Most of the residents who live around the hole has now been moved to another place. They worry that the hole will be widened and can swallow more homes. In the year 2007, a similar hole was formed in Guatemala City, killing three people. Some sinkhole home right away.

Is this really just ordinary natural phenomena, or there are other signs besides that?

Iran frees detained U.S. Entrepreneur

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iran has freed a U.S. businessman who has been detained for two and a half years on charges of giving money to anti-government groups, according to ABC News reported on Saturday.
"Sometimes I feel calm, sometimes I feel angry," said Reza Taghavi told ABC after his release.
Taghavi, 71, was accused in May 2008 provided money for 200 dollars the United States to a group called Tondar, or Lightning. The businessman says he did so without any intention nothing and Iranian authorities finally agreed.
He languished in a cell which has 16 beds along with the inmates in the same prison with the two climbers from the U.S. that is Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer.
On Monday, Fattal and Bauer will be in jail for 444 days, equal to the time the U.S. embassy hostages in Iran from 1979 to 1981.
Iran's intelligence minister said it had no plans to release the two climbers, state media said Friday.
Taghavi, a native of Los Angeles, will return to the U.S. next week.
"I will begin to forget what happened," he told ABC. "I do not want to remember it again."
A spokesman for the U.S. State Department has no details about exemption Taghavi

Clashed in Silwan, injures Israeli soldier Ikrimah Sheikh Sabri

Clashes between residents Silwan suburb in occupied Jerusalem and Israeli forces broke out on Friday afternoon yesterday (15/10) which resulted in 15 people are injured Palestinians and dozens of others suffered breathing difficulties from inhaling tear gas.
Local sources said that the occupation army and Israeli police stormed in large numbers, "tent fortitude" which the residents of Silwan take action sitting there, after prayers Friday. The soldiers fired tear gas at the pilgrims in the tent sparked clashes between the pilgrims and the occupation forces.
Fifteen people were injured including Ikrimah Sheikh Sabri, Chairman of the Supreme Council of Islam, Hatim Abdulqadir, a high-ranking Fatah, Fakhri Abu Diab, a member of Bustan neighborhood defense committees, and a 4-year-old girl.
Sheikh Sabri deliver Friday sermons which emphasized that the Palestinian people will never surrender their right to Jerusalem and they will continue to defend the holy city. He also asked the Palestinians to unite in facing the Zionist occupation.