Briefly world

At least 123 trapped in China coal mine

BEIJING: At least 123 people were trapped when a coal mine in Chinas Shanxi Province flooded on Sunday. A total of 261 miners were working in the pit in at 2.30 pm when it was flooded,and while 123 were trapped,the rest escaped,Xinhua news agency said. The mine in Xiangning county belongs to Huajin Coking Coal,and is 180 sq km big,the report said.

Rs 1 mn for info on Fonseka son-in-law

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan police has announced a Rs one million reward for information on Danuna Tillekaratne,the son-in-law of detained ex-Army chief Sarath Fonseka,over alleged profits made by his firm from illegal defence deals. The reward was announced weeks after Sri Lankan authorities asked Interpol to help them unearth details of Tillekaratnes foreign bank accounts.

Barbara Bush hospitalised

HOUSTON: Former American First Lady Barbara Bush,who had been unwell for a week,was hospitalised here and would undergo a battery of tests,according to a family spokeswoman. The 84-year-old matriarch of the Bush dynasty was driven to hospital by her husband former President George H W Bush on Saturday.