Dalai successor

THE Dalai Lama was in breach of Buddhist religious protocol when he suggested he might appoint a successor before his death instead of relying on reincarnation, China's Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

Liu made the remarks when asked to comment on the Dalai Lama's recent remarks which indicated that he might announce his successor.

He said the system of reincarnation of great lamas is unique to Tibetan Buddhism which has complete religious rituals and historical conventions.

Explosion injures 21

TWENTY-ONE workers were injured in an explosion at a sweet factory in Shantou, a coastal city in Guangdong Province, on Wednesday.

Most of the victims of the accident at Guangdong Fuwei Fruitsand Nuts Manufacturing Co. Ltd. suffered severe burns from being sprayed by boiling syrup, according to doctors. Others suffered respiratory tract infections after inhaling smoke from the ensuing fire. Preliminary investigations suggest the explosion was caused by excess dust inside the second floor workshop.

Army drill

CHINA and India will hold their first joint army exercise next month in 45 years, Premier Wen Jiabao announced Wednesday.

The drill will be held in Yunnan Province and involve 100 soldiers from each nation, Wen said after meeting Indian Prime Minisiter Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the ongoing 3rd East Asia Summit in Singapore.

Blast hits mall

A CRUDE bomb ripped through a packaging counter at a shopping mall in the southern Philippines killing one and wounding four Thursday, and a second device was deactivated before it went off, police officials said.

The police chief in Kidapawan City, 945 km south of Manila, said the improvised device was placed inside a black backpack left at the package counter at the entrance to KMCC shopping mall. The case is still under investigation.

Rail workers back

FRANCE began to move again Thursday with some of the country's railway drivers returning to work after nine days on the picket line.

Talks between rail unions and management were held Wednesday, and several groups of workers for the national rail authority and the Paris public transit authority resumed work Thursday morning.