Coal mine blast kills at least 35

       At least 35 people were killed and 44 others were trapped yesterday after a gas explosion at a coal mine in central China.
       A total of 93 people were working in the mine in Pingdingshan city in Henan province when the blast took place in the early morning, the State Administration of Work Safety said on its website.Fourteen were able to escape, it said.
       Production was suspended at all of the city's 157 mines pending a "safety overhaul", the official Xinhua news agency reported.
       The explosion came just a few days after Vice-Premier Zhang Dejiang called on authorities to improve safety in the country's coal mines, in particular to prevent gas blast accidents, according to remarks published by Xinhua.
       Mr Zhang and State Administration of Work Safety chief Luo Lin were dispatched to the scene to oversee the rescue operation and investigation, the agency said.
       The mine's owners have been placed under police surveillance and its bank account frozen, according to Xinhua.
       Xinhua reported that a preliminary investigation had shown illegal mining was to blame for the accident.
       Meanwhile, in the troubled city of Urumqi, three buildings owned by the family of exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer will be demolished, Xinhua news agency said, as the Chinese government attempts to reassert control over the ethnically-divided city.
       The government ordered shops and businesses in central Urumqi to close early on Monday, giving rise to a wave of rumours of new unrest among citizens panicked by mysterious needle attacks.
       Police received another 77 reports of needle attacks between Sunday evening and Monday evening. A Han Chinese crowd also assaulted an Uighur on Monday after another alleged needle attack.
       Thousands of Han Chinese demonstrated in Urumqi last week, calling for the ouster of regional party secretary Wang Lequan for failing to ensure their safety and for not moving fast enough on trials for Uighur rioters.