Gansu accident kills 23 A vehicle carrying railway construction workers in Lintao county, northwest China's Gansu province, overturned in a mountain tunnel on Saturday morning. The accident killed 23 people and injured 5 others. The tunnel was under construction as part of a railway line. Photo by Nie Jianjiang / for China Daily

Beijing

Better placement of demobilized soldiers

China's top legislature on Saturday adopted an amendment to the Military Service Law, promising better placement for demobilized soldiers.

The amendment will allow preferential treatment for demobilized soldiers who register for a civil servant examination or apply for a position in government institutions.

Military service will be regarded as community-level work experience, which is a requirement for civil service hopefuls eyeing central and provincial level posts, the amendment states.

Plan to control groundwater pollution

China has introduced the country's first national plan on groundwater pollution control, using a combination of legal, economic, technological and administrative measures for groundwater protection, according to relevant ministries.

The ministries of environmental protection, land and resources, and water resources announced on Friday at a news conference that the State Council, or China's Cabinet, has already approved the national plan on groundwater pollution control for 2011-2020.

China will invest a total of 34.66 billion yuan ($5.48 billion) in the prevention and treatment of pollution of groundwater, according to the plan.

Shenzhen

Extension of compulsory education

Shenzhen is considering extending its nine years of compulsory education to 15 to cover free preschool and senior high school.

The extension would encompass three more years of both preschool and senior high school.

The draft proposal was submitted to the Shenzhen People's Congress Standing Committee for discussion on Wednesday.

Hu Xintian, director of the policy and regulation department of the Shenzhen education bureau, said extended compulsory education would require more government investment, but it was difficult to provide an exact figure currently.

Thailand

Bangkok suburbs under threat from tides

The central business district of Bangkok dodged severe flooding on Saturday afternoon, but surrounding areas of the bustling capital faced further inundation at the next high tide. Thailand has been suffering its worst floods since 1942.

Serbia

Gunman attacks US embassy

Serbian police arrested 15 people, suspected radical Islamists, in raids on Saturday after a lone gunman opened fire with an assault rifle at the US embassy in neighboring Bosnia, Serbia's Interior Ministry said.

Friday's attack in broad daylight in the Bosnian capital paralyzed central Sarajevo and had shopkeepers scrambling for cover as the gunman paced up and down firing at the embassy before a police sharpshooter wounded him and he was arrested.

Afghanistan

Soldier kills 3 NATO troops, interpreter

An Afghan soldier opened fire and killed four people including three NATO soldiers and their local interpreter in Uruzgan province, 370 kilometers south of Kabul on Saturday,.

Five more people including an Afghan soldier were injured in the firing, the Afghan military said. In a separate attack, a suicide bombing targeted the intelligence department in Kunar's provincial capital Assadabad on Saturday, killing one person and injuring five others, an official said.

News Watch

Australia's Qantas Airways grounded its entire fleet on Saturday over a bitter labor dispute in an unprecedented move that the government said it would ask a labor tribunal to stop.

Meanwhile, Air France cancelled 10 long-haul flights and warned of wider disruption as a five-day strike by flight attendants over job terms and conditions began on Saturday.

China Daily - Reuters - Xinhua

(China Daily 10/30/2011 page2)