Briefs | 23 Chinese detained in smuggling tunnel found in California
Photo released by US Customs shows a tunnel exit with ladder inside in San Diego
Authorities in California say they have found a smuggling tunnel that carried dozens of people across the border from Mexico into the United States. Agents detained 23 Chinese nationals and seven Mexican citizens they believe crossed into the U.S. illegally through the tunnel. Border Patrol agents discovered the crude tunnel described as a hole in the ground with a ladder inside it over the weekend near San Diego’s Otay Mesa border crossing. The San Diego Union-Tribune says agents saw a group of men and women in the street who ran when the agents approached. Some people tried to get back into the tunnel. Authorities say the tunnel may be an extension of an incomplete tunnel previously discovered by Mexican authorities.
Family of abducted Chinese scholar speak of helplessness
Lifeng Ye (seated-center) is comforted by her son Xinyang Zhang (left)
The suspect in the abduction of a University of Illinois scholar from China is scheduled to appear in court for a pretrial status hearing. Lawyers for Brendt Christensen indicated before today’s hearing that they’ll ask the federal judge overseeing the case in Urbana to delay the trial date. It’s currently scheduled to start Sept. 12. Requests by defense attorneys for more time to go through evidence are common.Yingying Zhang disappeared June 9, weeks after arriving at the central Illinois campus. The 26-year-old was doing research in agricultural sciences and expected to begin work on her doctorate in the fall. Investigators say they believe she’s dead. Her body’s hasn’t been found. Christensen is suspected of abducting her in Urbana while she was going to sign an apartment lease.
One dead, 37 missing in Guizhou landslide
A landslide buried dozens of homes in southern China, killing one person and leaving 37 missing, the local government said. The side of a mountain crashed down on the homes of 34 families on the outskirts of the city of Bijie around midday, the Guizhou provincial government said on its microblog. It said rescue teams had been dispatched along with tents, blankets and other emergency supplies. Mountainous Guizhou is one of China’s poorest provinces and the provincial government estimated losses at more than 5.1 million yuan. There was no immediate word on the cause, although southern China has been battered in recent days by a pair of typhoons bringing heavy rain that can saturate soil and destabilize steep land.
