Coal mine explosion in China kills 90 people

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A gas explosion at a coal mine in China’s northern Shanxi province killed at least 90 people, state media said on Saturday, in the country’s deadliest mining accident in recent years. Official news agency Xinhua said the accident at Changzhi city’s Liushenyu coal mine happened on Friday evening. Around 247 workers were on duty at the time. Nine miners were still unaccounted for as of Saturday afternoon, Xinhua said, and more than 120 people were hospitalized. The cause of the explosion was under investigation, Xinhua reported, and rescue work is pressing on with hundreds of rescuers and medical personnel sent to the site. Among the injured, many were hurt by toxic gas, according to state media CCTV. Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for an all-out effort to rescue the missing, reported Xinhua. Xi also called for the “proper handling of the aftermath of the accident and urged a thorough investigation into its cause, with accountability pursued in accordance wi...
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Greek farmers clash with police in protests over delayed EU farm subsidies

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Greek farmers clashed with police on Sunday during protests in central and northern regions over the delayed payment of European Union subsidies prompted by an investigation into a corruption scandal that has rocked the country.

Hundreds of farmers took to the streets, blocking roads with their tractors in several areas to protest against the conservative government over an estimated 600-million-euro ($696 million) shortfall in EU aid and other payments.

Near the central city of Nikaia, police fired teargas at the protesters who tried to break barricades, a Reuters witness said.

The delay in payments comes amid investigations into a scandal in which some farmers allegedly faked land and livestock ownership to receive EU agricultural subsidies.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), which is investigating crimes against the financial interests of the EU, said this year it had found evidence that Greek farmers, helped by state officials, misappropriated the EU funds.

Greek authorities have launched separate investigations and parliament is probing the government agency OPEKEPE, which distributes roughly 2.5 billion euros in EU aid annually to hundreds of thousands of farmers.

The government, which has promised transparency, has acknowledged that the first instalment of EU subsidies is lower than last year and that over 40,000 of farmers’ applications were under inspection.

SOURCE: REUTERS AND AGENCIES



from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/1hjAcC0

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