Chinese Premier Spurs on Quake Rescue

Tibetan monks help digging to search students believe to be
trapped at a school collapsed after an earthquake in
Yushu County, northwest China's Qinghai Province, 16 Apr 2010

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has visited the earthquake disaster zone in remote western China and promised to rebuild the devastated region. The death toll has risen to nearly 800 and the fight is now on to provide food, shelter and medical aid to the survivors.

On his trip to the quake area, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told survivors and rescuers the central government would make an all-out effort to rebuild devastated communities.

After he was helped over the rubble of collapsed buildings in Yushu County, Mr. Wen addressed scores of survivors and rescuers, with aides translating his words into Tibetan. Mr. Wen says the survivors' pain and crisis is also the country's. He says the country is grieving with the people, most of whom are Tibetan.

Wen says the rescue effort will be expanded and that the government will not give up hope of finding more people alive. Nearly 300 are missing and more than 11,000 were injured in Wednesday's earthquake.

Two days after the 6.9 quake struck the Tibetan mountain area in Qingahi Province, rescuers and area residents continued to scour wrecked buildings, listening for those trapped. Monks can be seen working along side soldiers. Rescue workers fear freezing nighttime temperatures may add to the final death count.

Kyrgyzstan Confirms President's Resignation

The deposed president of Kyrgyzstan, Kurmanbek Bakiev, has resigned and left the country. But the interim government says it wants to see him put on trial either inside the Central Asian nation or by an international court. Kyrgzstan's self-appointed provisional government says Mr. Bakiev is no longer "acting head of state" and the week-long standoff between him and the interim leadership has been resolved. The appointed head of the provisional government, Rosa Otunbayeva, early Friday read out the text of what she says is Bakiev's resignation, sent by fax to her from Kazakhstan. In his resignation, Ms. Otunbayeva says, President Bakiev writes that during these tragic days for the country, realizing all the responsibility for the future of the people, for the preservation of the country's unity, in accordance with article 50 of the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic, he resigns. The interim government says Mr. Bakiev, accused of leading a nepotistic and corrupt government, must be held accountable for any crimes he might be charged with. Ms. Otunbayeva's chief of staff, Edil Baisalov, told reporters that in view of the president's rule, the opposition had a "patriotic duty" during last week's turmoil to "seize power." "We were voicing our protests against political killings and murders and beatings and closing down newspapers and media channels. The legitimate government of Kyrgyzstan is now the interim government," he said. The provisional leadership is promising to rewrite the constitution and hold national elections within six months. Neighbor Kazakhstan, which currently chairs the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, played a major role in persuading the deposed president to leave Kyrgyzstan. And that was where Mr. Bakiev headed late Thursday on a military aircraft. The president had fled the capital and headed south last week after his security forces fired on demonstrators outside government buildings in Bishkek. Hundreds of protesters were shot. At least 84 have died. Russian and American diplomats also helped the struggling Central Asian former Soviet republic defuse its political crisis. Russia and the United States are the top aid givers to Kyrgyzstan. Both countries, which have military facilities in Kyrgyzstan, are pledging further financial help.

Volcanic Ash Cloud Continues to Halt Flights Across Europe

A huge cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland has disrupted air travel across Europe for a second day, as stranded passengers face the most extensive shutdown of airspace since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The European air traffic conrol agency, Eurocontrol, said about 17,000 flights are likely to be canceled Friday and authorities say the disruptions will continue into Saturday. Officials say about half of the daily flights between Europe and North America would be cancelled Friday. Many flights between Asia and Europe were also affected. It is not clear how the ash cloud will affect the arrival of world leaders planning to attend the state funeral Sunday of Polish President Lech Kaczynski. The funeral is to be held in Krakow, in southeastern Poland. Polish officials have closed the airspace in the northern part of the country. Major European airports were shut down Thursday, leaving tens of thousands of passengers from the United States, Europe, and Asia stranded. Several northern European countries - including Britain, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark - had completely closed their airspace. Wednesday's eruption in southeastern Iceland melted part of a huge glacier, causing floods that forced hundreds of residents to flee their homes. The volcano sent ash and debris about eight kilometers into the sky. In addition to reducing visibility, aviation authorities say volcanic ash contains small particles of glass that can cause jet engines to shut down in midflight. They say airplanes struck by volcanic debris have in some cases plummeted thousands of meters before pilots were able to restart the engines. The Icelandic volcano has erupted twice since March 20. It had been dormant for nearly 200 years. Geologists say volcanoes are notoriously unpredictable.

Thai Anti-Government Leaders Escape Capture

In a new setback to the Thai government's efforts to ease mounting political tensions, protest leaders escaped from their hotel Friday after security forces arrived to arrest them. One, Arisman Pongruangrong, climbed down three floors using a rope, and was rushed away by supporters thronging the building. The police say Arisman led recent rallies at the national parliament, the election commission and satellite transmission bases. Officials earlier Friday said the government is preparing to arrest people linked to violent clashes with security forces last Saturday. A spokesman for the governing Democrat Party, Baranuj Smuthararaks, says arrest warrants have been issued for those suspected of being involved in the violence. Some of the suspects have been identified from photos taking during the clashes. "Right now the government's focusing on issuing warrants for acts of terrorism by the people who fortunately have been captured in action [in photos] by both the local and international media," he said. The government says armed men infiltrated protester ranks Saturday and fired on troops trying to disperse a rally. Five soldiers and 19 protesters died during the clashes. Thailand is facing its most severe political crisis in almost 20 years. The anti-government movement, led by the United Democratic Front against Dictatorship or UDD, demands that the government step down and call fresh elections. UDD supporters, known as red shirts, have held protests in Bangkok for more than a month. The UDD largely supports former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a coup in 2006 and remains overseas to avoid a jail sentence for corruption. Mr. Thaksin has strong support among the rural and urban poor, as well among some sections of the army and police. Some parties in the governing coalition want to set a clear time frame for elections to ease tensions. But the government says it will only call elections once the political situation has cooled.