1. 33 miners freed

    The longest underground nightmare in history ended safely — and faster than anyone expected.

    In a successful operation that unfolded* before a hopeful world, 33 miners who were trapped for more than two months deep beneath the Chilean earth were raised one by one on Wednesday through a smooth-walled shaft* of rock.

    2. French strikes

    Several cars were torched* and hundreds of young people were arrested in the French capital Paris and Lyon in the south, after chaos* emerged during demonstrations by secondary school students, who joined the unions’ strike against pension reforms.

    In Paris, thousands of students quit schools and took to streets to express their refusal of the pension* reform, which they said was likely to hamper* further job opportunities and increase unemployment among young people.

    3. Tourists missing

    South Korean police said on Monday they were searching for more than 30 Chinese cruise* passengers who had apparently jumped ship in an attempt to remain in the country illegally.

    Immigration officials on the southern resort* island of Jeju said 30 male and 14 female passengers disappeared after their ship docked* early Sunday. Eleven people have so far been found in local hotels.

    Some 1,311 Chinese tourists visited Jeju island on Sunday aboard a ferry for a trip of several hours. But 44 failed to return to the ship after touring the island.

    4. Pirates abduct 43 sailors

    Somali pirates have hijacked* a South Korean fishing boat with 43 sailors, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

    Two Chinese, two South Koreans and 39 Kenyans were aboard the 241-ton Kenya-registered trawler* when it was attacked on October 9 in the waters off Kenya’s Lamu Island, the ministry said in a statement.

    5. Indian temple stampede

    At least 10 people died in a stampede* at a temple in the eastern Indian state of Bihar where tens of thousands of devotees had gathered for an annual Hindu festival, police said on Sunday.

    Another 15 people were injured in the stampede, which occurred late Saturday outside a temple in Banka district.

    6. New nose for teen

    A young Afghan woman whose mutilated* face was shown on the cover of Time magazine has appeared in public for the first time with a prosthetic* nose.

    Bibi Ayesha’s nose and ears were cut off by her Taliban husband and she went to California a few months ago to undergo reconstructive* surgery*. Last week she appeared in public for the first time at a gala event in Los Angeles.

    7. Shortest man

    A Nepalese fruit seller’s son who has the body of a toddler* turned 18 on Thursday and was officially declared the world’s shortest man by Guinness record officials.

    Khagendra Thapa Magar measures 67 centimeters, displacing the former record holder, Edward Nino Hernandez of Colombia, who measures 70 centimeters.

    (SD-Agencies)