China Begins Official Mourning

Citizens observed three minutes of silence across the country to mark the moment, exactly a week ago, when the quake struck south-western Sichuan province. All cultural and entertainment activities have been ordered to cease during the three days. The official figures say more than 34,000 people have been killed by the earth quake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale. Several thousands are missing. An estimated 5 million people lost their homes and more than 220,000 were injured. Earlier, President Hu Jintao also expressed his gratitude to countries that have donated aid. The government has estimated that direct economic losses from last week's devastating earthquake will amount to about 67 billion yuan or about $ US 9.6 billion in Sichuan province alone.