Art of stretching and bending One hundred chefs show their noodle-making skills at the opening ceremony of a hand-made noodle festival in Lanzhou, Northwest China's Gansu province, on Monday. The festival will last for 21 days. Photo by Zhang Meng / Xinhua

Beijing

Ex-minister accused of discipline breach

Former railway minister Liu Zhijun has been accused of violating six Party disciplines, sources with the Ministry of Railways said on Sunday, indicating the investigation into Liu's case has finished, information portal caixin.com reported on Sunday.

Internal investigation found Liu was involved in economic crimes as well as "political and moral problems", according to the report.

Liu had taken advantage of his position to help Ding Shumiao, board chairwoman of Beijing Boyou Investment Management Corp, win the bidding for a 3 billion-yuan ($470 million) project, and he made huge illegal profits from several railway projects, the report said.

Addicts need to quit drugs to drive

Drivers who don't give up their addiction to narcotics should have their driving licenses revoked within 30 days, the Ministry of Public Security said in a statement on Monday.

The ministry has asked public security departments to check information on Chinese drivers, and any driver addicted to drugs should voluntarily give up his or her driving license, the statement said.

Ministry launches health TV channel

China's top health authority has launched a TV channel, China Health Television, to promote health education and disease prevention.

The new channel is expected to reach more than 200 million people in 70 cities on the mainland by the end of this year, Health Minister Chen Zhu said at CHTV's launch on Monday.

"The channel will promote a healthy lifestyle and behavior among the Chinese public, who have a growing demand for keeping healthy and fit today. The knowledge has to be impartial and scientifically correct," Chen said.

Rainstorm death toll climbs to 79

The death toll from Beijing's devastating downpours on July 21 has risen to 79 as another body was found, the city's flood control and drought relief office said on Sunday.

The body of Zhang Yuxiang, 33, was retrieved in Sanfu village in the Fangshan district, according to a statement by the office on Sunday. The statement did not mention when the body was found.

Beijing city government raised the death toll to 77 from 37 on July 26, and the number was not updated until Thursday, when another body was found in a pond near Dongguan village in Fangshan.

Guangxi

Three buried in lime-pit collapse

Three workers were buried when a lime pit collapsed in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Monday afternoon, rescuers said.

The incident happened at 4 pm in a lime factory in Yufeng district in Liuzhou, local firefighters said.

The buried workers have a slim chance of survival, and another collapse could occur, threatening the lives of rescuers, according to the firefighters who were trying to figure out a way to rescue the buried workers.

Tourist bus plunge kills 1, injures 37

A tourist bus fell into a ravine in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Sunday, killing one and injuring 37 others on board, local police said on Monday.

The bus, carrying 38 people, broke through the road barrier and plunged into the ravine near the entrance of a tunnel in Yangshuo county in Guilin about 3:50 pm, police said. One of the critically injured died in hospital early on Monday, they said.

The bus was heading for Shenzhen from the popular tourist destination Guilin, police said. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

Gansu

Mudslide victims get apartments

The 2,700 families who lost their homes in a devastating mudslide that claimed more than 1,500 lives in 2010 in Northwest China's Gansu province will move into new apartments by the end of the year, local authorities said.

A total of 3,580 apartments have been distributed to the families, said Yi Jianglin, deputy director of the Zhugqu county reconstruction management office.

Zhugqu's reconstruction is projected to cost 5.02 billion yuan ($787 million), with funds for reconstruction earmarked by central, provincial and county governments.

Taiwan

Cross-Straits negotiators to meet

Chief negotiators from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan will hold a new round of talks on Aug 9 in Taipei, where two agreements on investment protection and customs cooperation are expected to be signed, according to a schedule released by the chief negotiator from Taiwan.

Chiang Pin-kung, chairman of the Taipei-based Straits Exchange Foundation, said his upcoming talk with Chen Yunlin, president of the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, their eighth talk since 2008, will fall on Thursday morning, adding that the two agreements are scheduled to be signed later in the day.

Chiang said his talk with Chen will cover the prospective benefits of the two agreements, a review of the implementation of past agreements and a discussion of future topics for their talks.

Yunnan

Countries start fifth river patrol

Chinese police and their counterparts from Laos, Myanmar and Thailand kicked off the fifth joint patrol on the Mekong River on Monday, according to public security authorities in Yunnan province.

The patrol fleet set sail at 6:30 am from Guanlei Port, which is located in Xishuangbanna prefecture in Yunnan.

Joint patrols and reinforced cooperation have effectively safeguarded stability and shipping safety in the Mekong River area, said a statement released after a Sunday meeting of the four nations' joint commanders.

Result of bomb inquiry issued

An investigation has found that a man identified as a bomber in an explosion that killed four people on May 10 had been hired by two villagers.

The Yunnan provincial public security department said on Monday that the man, Zhao Dengyong, had been paid 100 yuan ($16) by Deng Deyong and Song Chaoyu.

When Zhao arrived at a housing demolition office in Baihetan township of Qiaojia, Deng and Song detonated the bomb using a cell phone, the investigation found.

The blast killed four people and injured 16 others.

It is believed that officials at the site were signing compensation agreements with local villagers over the demolition of their homes when the incident occurred.

Liaoning

Drivers shamed for refusing customers

Transport authorities in Shenyang, Liaoning province, on Sunday named and shamed 10 taxi drivers who refused to pick up passengers during the rain brought by typhoon Damrey.

The Shenyang transport bureau said it investigated 329 cases, looking at unlicensed taxis and instances of overcharging and refusals to pick up passengers. Most of those incidents were said to occur near railway stations, the airport and business streets.

The 10 Shenyang drivers accused of failing to pick up passengers were each fined 3,000 yuan ($471). Meanwhile, the bureau impounded their drivers' licenses and sent them to undergo training.

China Daily-Xinhua

(China Daily 08/07/2012 page2)