China furious as blast kills 9 workers in Pakistan ~

Beijing said nine Chinese workers were among 12 people killed yesterday morning by a bomb attack on a bus in northwestern Pakistan and called for severe punishment, but Islamabad blamed the explosion on a "gas leak". The bus was carrying around 40 Chinese engineers, surveyors and mechanical staff to a hydropower dam construction site in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. China's foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian urged Pakistan to "severely punish" those responsible and "earnestly protect" Chinese nationals and projects.  Around 28 people were also injured. Pakistan authorities said an investigation was under way.