8 bodies found after barge capsizes in China

CHONGQING • Rescuers have found the bodies of eight out of nine people who went missing after a barge sank in the Yangtze River in south-west China's Chongqing City last Friday.

Six rescue boats are still combing the river to search for the missing.

The local maritime authority found that the ship had sunk in dock waters, and the wreck is being salvaged.

The cause of sinking is being investigated.

XINHUA

Death toll from two Philippine storms rises

CALUMPUT (Philippines) • The death toll from two storms which battered the Philippines rose to 45 yesterday as several towns remained under water and rain kept falling in northern regions, disaster monitoring officials said.

The rain was caused by a cold front dragged into the country by Typhoon Melor and Tropical Depression Onyok, which hit the Philippines in succession last week.

Floodwater almost 3m deep covered some riverside areas north of the capital Manila as heavy rain kept falling, civil defence officers said.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

One killed in clash over Nepal Constitution

KATHMANDU • Police fired at ethnic Madhesi protesters who tried to storm a police station in southern Nepal yesterday, killing one, officials said, as violent protests against the new Constitution entered a fourth month.

More than 40 people have been killed in clashes with police since Nepal adopted its first post-monarchy Constitution in September, hoping the document would usher in peace and stability after years of conflict.

The Madhesi protesters do not want the southern plain region, Nepal's bread basket and business hub, to be split into more than two federal provinces, saying they will be dominated by other ethnic groups.

REUTERS