China quake kills 7

BEIJING: Landslides triggered by a small earthquake in southern China killed at least seven people and left one person missing over the weekend, local earthquake officials said on Monday. The 3.4-magnitude earthquake struck on Sunday afternoon. It was centered in Guizhou province, 100 km southwest of the capital Guiyang, according to a report from the Guizhou Earthquake Bureau. The earthquake triggered two landslides in separate locations, burying and killing at least seven people instantly with large boulders that tumbled down the mountain, said Tian Xiang, a bureau spokesman.

Buddha statue facelift

BEIJING: China’s oldest Buddhist statue, which is on the brink of collapse, is about to get a $10.8 million facelift, a state news agency reported on Monday. The 1,459-year-old Meng Mountain Buddha in northern Taiyuan city will be repaired and restored after seven coal mines operating nearby inflicted environmental damage, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. The mines were closed in 2007 to protect the stone statue. The report said local authorities hope to develop tourism in the area centered on the Buddha.