Hourly News updated 17:00 2011/10/02

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China's railways carried record number passengers on National Day

China's railways carried a record nine million passengers throughout the country on Saturday. 

The Ministry¹ of Railways says the figure soared 7.7 percent from the previous National Day . 

A total of 310 temporary trains were put into service on the first day of the week-long holiday . 

Train stations in major cities such as Taiyuan, Wuhan, Jinan, Guangzhou and Urumqi handled 20 percent more passengers than the same time last year.

 

Investigators³ say bus crash victims were families on picnic trip

Investigators said that the 16 people killed and 19 others injured in a bus crash in central China's Hubei Province Saturday afternoon were mostly families on a picnic trip.

Correcting what previous reports of 34 passengers, the local government says a total of 35 passengers were on board the sleeper⁴ coach that plunged⁵ into the river dozens of meters below a highway in the city of Yichang.

The injured passengers, including eight in serious condition, are being treated in the local hospital. 

An investigation⁶ into the cause of the accident is underway.

 

Authorities Urge Holiday Travelers to Respect Quarantine Regulations

Quarantine authorities are warning millions of holiday revelers not to bring hazardous⁷ plants and animals into the country when they return from trips abroad during the National Day holiday.

More than 530 million people are expected to travel during the week. That's an increase of nearly 10 percent from the same period last year.

Experts warn that recent disease outbreaks, including Dengue Fever in southeast Asian countries, West Nile fever in parts of Europe and cholera⁸ in African countries, are making travelers more and more likely to pose a hazard to public health when they return. 

Quarantine authorities in many places including Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous⁹ Region say that they will conduct stricter inspections¹⁰ in order to prevent diseases from spreading to China.

 

Minister of Commerce official urges the government to attach importance to imports

China's Vice² Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan says that the time has come for the government to attach equal importance to imports and exports. 

Addressing a forum¹¹ on imports held in Shanghai, he says China should boost imports to balance trade as the country has emerged as a major global importer,

The second largest importer in the world, China witnessed its imports expand 3.7 times from 2002 to 2010.

 

Rainstorms to pelt¹² south China as Nalgae approaches

Rainstorms are expected to pelt south China during the next three days as Typhoon Nalgae approaches.

According to the National Meteorological Center, Nalgae was centered about 940 km southeast of Sanya City, Hainan Province on Sunday morning. 

Rainfalls spawn¹³ by the typhoon are expected to sweep the eastern areas of south of the Yangtze River, Taiwan and south China over the next three days.

Meanwhile, a cold wave was forecast to grip parts of the Yangtze-Huaihe region, regions south of the Yangtze River, and south China over the coming three days

 

Roadside bomb kills 9 Afghan soldiers

Nine Afghan soldiers lost their lives as a roadside bomb struck their vehicle in Paktia province, 100 km south of Kabul on Saturday. 

Spokesman for the provincial¹⁴ administration Ruhullah Samoon told Xinhua that all the victims are Afghans. 

He blamed the enemies of peace, a term used by Afghan officials against Taliban militants¹⁵ for organizing the attack.

 

More than 500 anti-Wall Street protesters arrested

More than 500 anti-Wall Street protesters were arrested Saturday as they tried to block traffic lanes on the Brooklyn Bridge, forcing the authorities to shut it down for several hours.

The march was part of the "Occupy Wall Street" protest that railed against corporate¹⁶ greed, global warming and social inequality.

The group has been camping in the park for two weeks and clashed with police on earlier occasions. Members of the group have vowed¹⁷ to stay at the park through the winter.

 

U.S. warns citizens against retaliatory¹⁸ attacks

The United States has warned its citizens in a worldwide travel alert of potential retaliatory attacks worldwide following the killings¹⁹ of two senior al-Qaida members in a U.S. air raid in Yemen a day earlier. 

U.S. and Yemeni government officials have confirmed that dual²⁰ U.S.-Yemeni citizen Anwar al-Awlaki, the external operations leader of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and Samir Khan, a U.S. citizen of Pakistani descent who was co-editor of al-Qaida' s English-language magazine "Inspire," were both killed in U.S. drone attacks in northeastern Yemen on Friday.

 

Arrest of Gaddafi's spokesman untrue: source

A source close to Libya's ruling National Transitional Council denied on Saturday reports saying that Moussa Ibrahim, spokesman of the fallen Muammar Gaddafi administration, had been arrested. 

The source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity²¹ that the reports are completely untrue, and the spokesman is still at large.

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