Briefs | Bus falls off cliff killing 35 people

A bus fell from a cliff in north-central China on Friday, killing 35 people on board, authorities said. Twenty-five people were killed instantly in Shaanxi province and 10 died in a hospital, the propaganda office of Chunhua county said in a statement. There was no word on the cause of the accident, and authorities said they were investigating. The official Xinhua News Agency reported that the bus was carrying 46 passengers and that it fell into a ravine more than 30 meters deep near a forest park on Friday afternoon. Another 11 passengers were being treated, with five in critical condition. Bus accidents are common on China’s windy mountain roads, where drivers often ignore safety rules by speeding or carrying too many passengers.

Chemical leak in Shanxi kills 8, injures 2

Authorities say a chemical leak in northern China has killed eight people and injured two others. A statement from Yangcheng County in Shanxi province said the carbon disulfide leak occurred Saturday morning at a plant belonging to the Ruixing chemical company. It says three rescue workers are also under health observation. The cause of the leak is still under investigation.

Myanmar says 24 rebels killed in clashes near border

Clashes between Myanmar forces and ethnic rebels in the northeast left at least 24 rebels killed, Myanmar officials said Friday, after Chinese officials said artillery shells injured five people on its side of the border. Myanmar government soldiers and ethnic Kokang rebels have been fighting for several months in the country’s northeast, and Chinese officials have complained of several instances in which shells and airstrikes hit across the border. The statement Myanmar’s Defense Ministry issued late Friday did not mention any shells falling into China. It said government troops occupied major rebel outposts Thursday and Friday, using artillery attacks and airstrikes, and that at least 24 rebels had been killed. Chinese officials said earlier that shelling fired from Myanmar on Thursday injured five people and damaged four houses near the Yunnan province city of Lincang.