Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe arrived in Beijing yesterday afternoon, continuing his China visit. Wickremesinghe is visiting China at the invitation of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. The Sri Lankan leader will meet Chinese leaders and exchange views on bilateral relations and other issues.

CHONGQING

Hope for miners

Twelve miners who have been trapped underground in a flooded coal mine in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality may still be alive, a rescue official said yesterday.

A monitoring machine used in the rescue showed some movement under the mine, which meant that the trapped miners could still be alive, Liu Zuli said. He said rescuer work had been continuing at the Yanwan Coal Mine in Shapingba District since Thursday morning, when it flooded.

LHASA

Tibetan roads

Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region plans to invest 3.5 billion yuan (US$422 million) in improving its road network this year, according to the region's transport department. The projects include renovating the highway linking Lhasa, the regional capital, with Gonggar Airport, and the highway between Tibet and the Nepalese border.

(China Daily 08/11/2003 page3)