Video

The Chinese government deploys some 250,000 troops to help with disaster relief as millions gear up for a cold, dark Chinese New Year in extreme weather conditions. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visits badly affected Hunan province for the second time in days, while chaos continues as hundreds of thousands of passengers remain stranded in a southern railway station in Guangzhou and passengers arrive at Beijing train station hoping to reach their New Year destinations. Millions of Chinese faced a humanitarian crisis on Friday (February 01), as petrol and food reserves dwindled and yet more bad weather was forecast for a country paralysed by record-breaking cold and snow. More than 160 counties and cities in central China were suffering blackouts and water shortages, Xinhua news agency said, including Chenzhou, in Hunan province, a city of four million that has been without power and water for more than a week. Some 250,000 troops had been mobilised as of Friday to help with disaster relief and the army sent an armoured personnel carrier to clear one ice-covered highway, Xinhua said, as millions geared up for a cold, dark Chinese New Year next week. Stricken areas of south and central China are suffering the worst winter weather in half a century, with at least 60 people dying in weather-related accidents. Premier Wen Jiabao again visited Hunan, telling provincial officials to do all they could to restore power and other services. "We must protect motorways, railways, main...