Expert: New H1N1 Outbreak May Happen January or February
A leading Chinese expert on respiratory diseases has called on people to be vigilant against a new wave of A/H1N1 that could appear early next year. Zhong Nanshan, an academician respected for his work in China's fight against the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003, made the remarks after quite a few provinces have reported clusters of outbreaks. Zhong does not recommend people rush to get vaccinated but wait until its effectiveness and safety is fully confirmed after further in-depth tests are carried out.

Travel to Vietnam and Korea Eaiser
It's becoming easier and easier for mainlanders to travel overseas. Tourists heading to Vietnam can now join tour groups leaving from the boarder city of Pingxiang in Guangxi with only their Chinese ID card. Pingxiang became one of the 4 test cities in the country to operate such cross-border excursions. What's more, for Korea, visa application procedures have also been simplified, for instance, gold or platinum bank card holders no longer need to provide fiscal certificates when applying for an individual travel visa.

5 killed, 931 rescued as Philippine ferry sinks
A huge passenger ferry carrying nearly 1000 people capsized in the southern Philippines on Sunday (September 6), leaving at least 5 people dead and 28 others missing. The disaster relief authorities said the Superferry 9, with 847 passengers and 112 crew members on board, sunk Sunday morning, hours after the captain ordered everyone to abandon ship and requested an emergency rescue. The authorities said the incident was "allegedly caused by a hole in the hull" but the investigation is underway.