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The toll from a powerful earthquake that has struck southwest China has crossed the 9,000 mark in one province alone. Buildings collapsed and telephone links in several areas snapped after the magnitude 7.5 quake struck 92km northwest of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, at 2:48 local time (0628 GMT) on Monday. The quake was felt across a number of cities in Southeast Asia, including the Thai capital Bangkok, more than 1,800km from the epicentre in the county of Wenchuan. Wenchuan, a mountainous area, has a population of about 100,000 people. Sichuan shaken The death toll is expected to rise sharply as authorities and rescue teams make contact with the worst-hit areas of Sichuan. Nearly 900 students might have been buried under the rubble, Xinhua News Ag...