WUFU, China — The rubble-strewn streets of Wufu are lined with wreaths. White flowers made of folded paper hang from bushes. And among the symbols of grief, roiling anger is openly directed at China's government.

Almost three weeks after an earthquake shattered central China, parents are seething over the shoddy construction of schools that collapsed in the disaster and resulted in the deaths of thousands of children.

Officials said more than 7,000 schoolrooms were destroyed in the disaster, which struck May 12 at 2:28 p.m. as classes were in session. Often, schoolhouses were the only buildings in the area to fully collapse, and experts say China's problem, similar to that in many other parts of the world, was a lack of commitment by governments to safe schools.

SEOUL, South Korea — The South Korean government said today it was delaying its planned resumption of U.S. beef imports after tens of thousands of people took to the streets in protest over the weekend.Agriculture Ministry spokesman Kim Hyun-soo said the ministry, after a request from the ruling party, decided to put off the final administrative step for imports to resume. He offered no further details, including how long the delay would last.U.S beef has been banned by South Korea for most of the past four and a half years because of fears of mad cow disease. In April, South Korea agreed to reopen what was the third-largest overseas market for American beef before the first case of the disease was found in Washington state in 2003.The ministry had earlier requested new quarantine rules, announced last week, be officially published Tuesday in a government journal, which would clear the way for inspections of U.S. beef shipments to commence.

JERUSALEM — The U.S. reinstated the Fulbright scholarships of seven Gaza Strip students blocked by Israel from leaving the Hamas-ruled territory, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press.The students were informed Thursday their scholarships for the upcoming academic year would be deferred because they couldn't get out of Gaza, which Israel blockaded after Islamic Hamas militants seized power a year ago.A letter dated Sunday from the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem said officials were working to secure exit permits so the students could continue the visa and university placement process.