Hourly News updated 10:00 2011/10/17

 Stranded 1 Chinese sailors escorted home from Thailand after deadly attack

Some of the stranded Chinese shipping 2 crews have now returned home after being stranded in northern Thailand following the deadly attack on two Chinese merchant ships on the Mekong river earlier this month.
A total of 11 cargo 3 boats with 78 sailors have now returned to Yunnan.
Families, relatives, close friends and officials were at the port to welcome the crews back home.
164 sailors aboard 26 ships became stranded on the Mekong in Thailand after shipping was halted following the attacks on the two Chinese ships.
15 other ships stranded on the Mekong following the halt to shipping are expected to arrive back in Yunnan over the coming days.
Meantime, a working team from China is now in Chiang Rai County in Thailand to help with the investigation 4 into the deadly attack that killed 12 Chinese sailors.
 
 
No new leak point in seabed found at Bohai oil platforms: official
The State Oceanic Administration is now reporting that there don't appear to be any new leaks coming from ConocoPhillips China's oil platforms in Bohai Bay.
As part of a national off-shore oil field check which began this past weekend, the Administration says certain achievements have been made in sealing off the leaks in Bohai Bay.
A massive leak from one of ConocoPhillips China's platforms this summer polluted some 55-hundred square kilometers of the ocean in Bohai Bay.
The leak, the worst ever in China, caused significant environmental damage and severly affected 5 the local fishery industries in Liaoning and Hebei.
 
 
At least 20 killed by mudslide in El Salvador
At least 20 people have been killed in a major mudslide in El Salvador.
Heavy rains in the Central American country are being blamed for the disaster.
This brings the death toll 6 brought on by the heavy rains in El Salvador to 27.
Meanwhile, a number of new deaths are also being reported in neighboring Guatamala and Honduras, where around 40 people have been killed in rain-triggered flooding or slides.
 
 
Bulldozers raze 7 Gaddafi compound
Bulldozers have now begun demolishing 8 Muammar Gaddafi's main compound in Tripoli.
A senior army officer says the Bab al-Aziziya compound area will be turned into a public park.
Some residents in Tripoli have already turned one of the courtyards inside the compound into a weekly pet market.
The heavily fortified 9 compound was one of the major targets of NATO warplanes before Tripoli fell to the National Transitional Council in August.
Meantime, street fighting is still raging in the city centre of Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte.
Witnesses say the situation in Sirte is chaotic 10, with widespread looting being reported.
 
 
AL discusses Syria
Foreign ministers from Arab League countries are now calling for the Syrian government and the opposition 11 to hold talks within half a month.
Arab countries, as part of an emergency meeting, are also discussing whether to expel Syria from the Arab League.
Arab states have been demanding an end to the bloodshed and are calling for major political reforms in Syria.
Meantime in Yemen, fierce street battles have flared 12 up between government troops and the opposition army in the capital Sana'a.
This comes just hours after embattled Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh went on state television to blast the opposition for trying to orchestrate a coup 13.
Local doctors say at least six protesters have been killed.
 
 
Kenyan forces cross into Somalia to hunt for al Shabaab militia 14
Kenyan security forces have crossed the border into Somalia to pursue al-Shabaab militants 15.
A joint 16 operation has been launched in agreement with Somali government forces in the hunt for the Islamic groups who kidnapped two Spanish, French and one British women in the past few days.
Witnesses say military planes and helicopters are flying over the border with Somalia.
 
 
Liberia to hold second-round presidential election in November
Liberia is expected to hold a second-round presidential election on November 8th, as no candidate has taken an absolute majority in the first round of polling.
The country's National Election Commission has announced that newly-named Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is leading with 44 percent of the votes.
Her main competition, Winston Tubman, holds just over 32-percent support.
Meanwhile, Tubman has withdrawn 17 an earlier demand for a recount, saying he will take part in the runoff.
 
 
Saudi king hospitalized for back surgery
Saudi Arabia's aging King is now in hospital for surgery.
King Abdullah is undergoing back surgery to repair back trouble.
The 88-year old King underwent back surgery in the United States last year to deal with complications brought on by a slipped disc.
This time he's being treated in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
 
 
China's first A380 starts its virgin 18 flight this Monday
China's first A380 is set to take off this morning in its maiden 19 flight from Beijing to Guangzhou.
China Southern Airlines is the first airline operating the Airbus A380 in China, and the 7th in the world.
The double decker plane will fly between Beijing and Guangzhou until October 26th, and then between Shanghai and Beijing from October 27th to 29th.
Tickets are already sold out for the superjumbo's eight luxury suites 20, which cost around 35-hundred kuai on the Shanghai-Beijing route.
The jet's international routes have yet to be announced.