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China coal mine blast kills at least 90, more missing

TOKYO: Trade Minister Ryosei Akazawa said yesterday there were no formal talks with China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, although the two had a brief conversation before a dinner on Friday, without disclosing details. Akazawa was speaking to reporters after attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) ministerial meetings in the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou. Akazawa is the most senior Japanese official to visit China since a diplomatic dispute between the two countries erupted in November. “Before the dinner began on Friday, I approached Minister Wang and had a brief conversation,” Akazawa said, adding he could not disclose details because it was a diplomatic exchange. He said on Friday he hoped to discuss various issues with Wang if the opportunity arose. A Japanese Trade Ministry official declined to comment on whether Tokyo had formally requested bilateral talks. A meeting between Akazawa and a senior Chinese official would have marked the highest-level engagement since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi triggered the row by saying a hypothetical attack on Taiwan could trigger a response from Tokyo. Since then, Beijing has adopted a raft of retaliatory measures, urging its citizens not to travel to Japan and choking off shipments of some rare earths, which are vital in making electric cars, weapons and other products. During the Apec ministerial meeting, Akazawa called on exporting nations to rectify arbitrary rare earth export controls, although he did not name any country. – Reuters Japan, China meet amid diplomatic row Japan’s

KOLKATA: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday opened a visit to India that will include talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Rubio began his four-day, four-city tour by visiting the headquarters of Mother Teresa’s charity in Kolkata. “Rubio spoke about aiding the homeless, terminally ill and those afflicted by leprosy,” Sister Marie Juan of Missionaries of Charity told BEIJING: The death toll from a gas explosion at a coal mine in northern Shanxi province has jumped to 90, CCTV reported yesterday. The gas explosion occurred on Friday at the Liushenyu coal mine in Qinyuan ߑ county, with 247 workers on duty underground, Xinhua news agency reported. Most of them were brought to the surface by yesterday morning. President Xi Jinping called for authorities to “spare no effort” in treating the injured and conducting search and rescue operations, while ordering ߑ a thorough investigation into the cause of the accident and strict accountability. He “emphasised that all regions and departments must draw lessons from this accident, remain constantly vigilant regarding workplace safety ... and resolutely prevent and curb the occurrence of major and catastrophic accidents”. Premier Li Qiang echoed the instructions, calling for timely and accurate release of information and rigorous accountability. Xi orders thorough investigation

Rescuers arriving at the Liushenyu coal mine after a gas explosion yesterday. – CNS/AFPPIC

In 2023, a collapse at an open-pit coal mine in Inner Mongolia killed 53 people. China is the world’s top consumer of coal and the largest greenhouse gas emitter, despite installing renewable energy infrastructure at record speed. – Reuters/AFP

Shanxi, one of China’s poorer provinces, is the centre of the country’s coal-mining activities. Mine safety in China has improved in recent decades but accidents still occur in an industry where safety protocols are often lax and regulations vague.

Rescue operations were ongoing and the cause of ߑ the accident was under investigation, according to the local emergency management authority in Qinyuan. Executives of the company responsible for the mine have been detained, Xinhua reported.

Rubio in India to renew ties reporters after his hour-and-a half-long visit. “He was happy to pray and we were also happy to have him.”

seeing the world’s largest democracy as a natural partner in a global order. President Donald Trump has turned away from long-held assumptions and warmed to Pakistan, which has lavished him with praise over his diplomacy in its short war with India last year, and has welcomed a cryptocurrency firm owned by the US president’s family. – AFP

democracies a counterweight to China’s presence in the Indian Ocean. Ahead of the trip, Rubio called India a “great ally, great partner” and said the United States would be looking to find ways to sell it more oil. The United States was a Cold War partner of Pakistan but increasingly took a distance as it prioritised relations with India, seen as team in successfully completing the flight mission with zero mistakes and zero errors.” The mission’s objectives are to “continue carrying out space science and application work, conduct extravehicular activities and cargo transfer in and out of the cabin”, Zhang said. He added that one astronaut will remain on the station for a year. The one-year residency, Zhang said, will provide data on astronauts taking part in long flights and test health support capabilities. Beijing aims to send a crewed mission to the Moon by 2030. – AFP

Rubio then flew to New Delhi, where he was scheduled to meet Modi. Before leaving on Tuesday, Rubio will also take part in a meeting of foreign ministers of the so-called Quad – Australia, India, Japan and the United States – four

Hong Kong astronaut joins space mission BEIJING: A Hong Kong astronaut yesterday joined a Chinese space mission for the first time as part of a three-person crew. spokesman Zhang Jingbo. The team comprises Lai Ka

ying, hailed by state media as Hong Kong’s first astronaut, Zhu Yangzhu and Zhang Zhiyuan, the spokesman said. Flight engineer Zhu, who participated in the Shenzhou-16 mission in 2023, will be the commander. “This is a test of our physical and psychological endurance, emergency response abilities, coordination and teamwork, as well as our ability to work and live in orbit,” Zhu said. “As mission commander, what I have thought about most is how to make thorough preparations in every aspect and how to lead the

The Tiangong space station, crewed by teams of three astronauts that are rotated every six months, is the crown jewel of China’s space programme, boosted by billions in state investment in a bid to catch up with the United States and Russia. The Shenzhou-23 mission is scheduled to blast off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwestern China, carrying three astronauts to the space station, said China Manned Space Agency (CMSA)

(From left) Zhu, Zhang and Lai at a press conference yesterday. – REUTERSPIC