66 Africans drowned on Sunday while trying to make the perilous journey from the Gulf of Aden to Yemen.
The refugees - mostly Somalis and Ethiopians - were forced overboard into deep water by smugglers after being taken to the coast of Yemen from Somalia in two boats.
According to the UN refugee agency, 28 bodies were buried on the beach, while 38 remain missing.
China: Politburo plenum
The Political Bureau of the 17th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held its first plenary session yesterday to discuss the implementation of the Party's policies set at its 17th national congress.
Presided over by general secretary Hu Jintao, the meeting called on all Party members to work on the Party's objectives.
It urged them to study Hu's opening address and the newly revised Party Constitution.
Party members should understand and promote the Scientific Outlook on Development on the basis of social harmony, environmental protection and energy conservation in addition to economic expansion.
India: Elephants with taste for beer electrocuted
Six Asiatic wild elephants were electrocuted as they went berserk after drinking rice beer in India's remote northeast.
Nearly 40 elephants came to a village on Friday looking for food.
Some of them found beer, which farmers ferment and keep in plastic and tin drums in their huts.
They got drunk, uprooted an electric pole and were electrocuted.
A local conservationist says there would have been more casualties had the villagers not chased the elephants away.
China: More emergency shelters
Beijing authorities have pledged to build emergency shelters near Olympic venues before the Games begin in August, due to of fears of natural or manmade disasters.
Most of the shelters will be built within the Second Ring Road, where land is most expensive.
According to a report on emergency and disaster shelters in Beijing, 20 to 30 emergency shelters, capable of holding 1 and a half million to 2 million people, should be built every year in the city.
China: Caves baffle tourists in Henan
Two mountains that are riddled with caves that are icy cold in the summer, but give off hot vapor in the winter have recently become tourist attractions in Linzhou, Henan Province.
No one has been able to determine what gives the caves their unique temperatures. Many experts believe an explanation could lie underground.
Local government is developing the area to make it easier for tourists to access what it hopes will become a famous destination for travelers.
(英语点津 Celene 编辑)
About the broadcaster:
Marc Checkley is a freelance journalist and media producer from Auckland, New Zealand. Marc has an eclectic career in the media/arts, most recently working as a radio journalist for NewstalkZB, New Zealand’s leading news radio network, as a feature writer for Travel Inc, New Nutrition Business (UK) and contributor for Mana Magazine and the Sunday Star Times. Marc is also a passionate arts educator and is involved in various media/theatre projects in his native New Zealand and Singapore where he is currently based. Marc joins the China Daily with support from the Asia New Zealand Foundation.
Bernice Chan is a foreign expert at China Daily Website. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Bernice has written for newspapers and magazines in Hong Kong and most recently worked as a broadcaster for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, producing current affairs shows and documentaries.