Diplomats: Myanmar to open delta to foreign reps

Diplomats say Myanmar has invited representatives of several countries to visit the cyclone-hit area.

They say the invitation is apparently aimed at deflecting criticism that the government is not managing the relief operations properly.

An Asian diplomat said Monday that Myanmar's embassies in various countries sent invitations to governments. The diplomat said the invitations seek at least three representatives from each country to visit the Irrawaddy delta.

The diplomat said the representatives should arrive in Yangon on Wednesday and tour the delta on Friday.

Another diplomat said Myanmar seems to be opening the door wider.Both spoke on condition of anonymity because the news has not been made public. They did not say which countries received invitations.

Source : Herald Tribute

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Earthquake Hits China Kill 8,500 people

Chinese authorities say a 7.8 magnitude earthquake has killed more than 8,500 people in the southwestern province of Sichuan. The official Xinhua news agency says 3,000 to 5,000 people have died in Sichuan's Beichuan county alone. Local officials say at least 80 percent of the buildings there have collapsed, and 10,000 more people are feared injured VOA's Stephanie Ho reports from Beijing.

In one example, the official Xinhua News Agency says more than 900 students were buried when their high school collapsed in Dujiangyan, about 100 kilometers from the quake's epicenter.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao immediately flew to the affected areas, to oversee disaster relief efforts. He said Chinese government leaders will stand at the front lines of disaster relief work and unite with the people to overcome what he called a "very large disaster."

He says Chinese leaders are not afraid of sacrificing their lives or of making mistakes.

Chinese troops have been dispatched to help with disaster relief work.

The powerful quake was felt as far away as Beijing, 1500 kilometers to the north, as well as in Bangkok, Thailand 3300 kilometers to the south.

Tremors were also felt in the east coast metropolis, Shanghai, where authorities temporarily evacuated China's tallest building, the Jinmao Tower. In other parts of China, buildings swayed and some even collapsed.

Chinese authorities say the quake did not affect the Three Gorges Dam, which is several hundred kilometers away from Chengdu.

The hardest hit county, Wenchuan, has more than 110,000 people and a large ethnic-Tibetan population. Wenchuan County is also home to the Wolong Nature Reserve, China's leading research and breeding base for endangered giant pandas.

In 1976, more than 270,000 people died when an earthquake struck the northern city of Tangshan. That temblor also measured 7.8 on the Richter scale.

Source : VOA News

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Amy Winehouse arrested - again

Amy Winehouse has been arrested in connection with a video that allegedly shows the “Rehab” singer taking drugs, theBBC reports.

Police obtained the video in January after Britain'ss The Sun newspaper published photos of the Grammy Award winner allegedly smoking crack. The paper also released footage of Winehouse, 24, in which she appeared to inhale fumes from a pipe.

"Amy Winehouse voluntarily attended a London police station today by appointment,” the singer’s publicist told People magazine. “She was arrested in order to be interviewed and is cooperating fully with inquiries.”

Winehouse has had a history of run-ins with the law due to alleged drug-related offenses. Late last month, she spent a night in a London jail after being accused of committing assault.

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