China declares nat'l day of mourning for quake victims

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XINING, China, Apr 20 (AFP): China declared a national day of mourning for victims of last week's earthquake as rescuers battled altitude sickness and bad weather conditions in the Tibetan disaster zone Tuesday.
The government said the nation would be in mourning on Wednesday with flags around the country and at embassies and consulates worldwide flown at half-mast a week after the 6.9-magnitude quake hit a remote corner of Qinghai province.
The death toll from the earthquake in northwestern China stands at 2,046 people, with 193 more missing, according to state media. Another 12,000 people have been injured and tens of thousands left homeless.
The government however refused to comment Tuesday on a request by the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, to be allowed to visit the quake zone in the province where he was born.
The Dalai Lama had appealed to Beijing on Saturday to allow him into China for the first time in 51 years to visit the quake-hit area to "fulfil the wishes of many of the people there."