Premier Wen Jiabao yesterday called for stronger efforts to combat a lingering drought that has dried up lakes and withered crops in the country's central and eastern provinces.

Meanwhile, mudslides triggered by downpours that hit five other parts of Sichuan since Wednesday have also killed at least two people.

The flood peak in the upper stream of Lanjiang River was 12,500 cubic meters of water per second at 8am today. The river's water level reached 33.75 meters, the highest since 1966.

On Sunday, the same day that Ghatous disappeared, dozens of militiamen surrounded the Justice Ministry in a daylong siege and also called for minister Salah al-Marghani's resignation. Al-Marghani had said that some of the militias were illegitimate and were operating illegal prisons. He demanded they relinquish control over them to the Justice Ministry.

BRITAINS wealthiest people are richer than they have ever been, with a combined fortune of 518.9 billion pounds (US$874 billion) equivalent to a third of the nations gross domestic product, according to an annual study.