Community cleanup Residents clean trash on the beach in Hong Kong on Sunday. The recent typhoon blew 150 tons of trash from Hong Kong into the sea, which contaminated the beaches in the city. Photo Provided to China Daily

Beijing

Ministry vows to fight organ deals

The Health Ministry on Monday vowed to cooperate with police investigations into medical institutions and workers involved in illegal human organ transplants.

Police will announce the list of hospitals and doctors involved in recently uncovered human organ trafficking rings, Deng Haihua, the ministry's spokesman, said at a news conference.

The ministry will work with judicial departments to punish those who have violated professional codes, Deng said.

Police said early this month that 137 suspects had been arrested in the latest crackdown on human organ trafficking.

Food standards to be set up by 2015

China will accelerate its pace in setting up national standards of food safety in order to safeguard the public, a senior supervision official with the Ministry of Health said on Monday.

At a news conference, Su Zhi said that China had now formulated more than 2,000 national, 2,900 industrial and 1,200 local standards that are related to food and additives.

"However, problems still exist in the present standards of food safety due to the restricted development of the food industry and abilities in risk assessment," Su said.

The standards will be set up by the end of 2015.

Billions found to be wasted

Auditors in China found up to 492.1 billion yuan ($77.3 billion) in government money was misused in 2011.

About 28.9 billion yuan of the money was wasted, according to a report released by the National Audit Office on Monday.

Meanwhile, an audit on 39,600 government workers' economic responsibility found many of the officials were responsible for abusing 21.7 billion yuan, the report said.

Chongqing

Police continue to hunt serial killer

Police in Chongqing and the neighboring provinces of Sichuan and Guizhou have been ordered to suspend their vacations and remain on high alert for alleged serial killer Zhou Kehua, an officer with the Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau said on Monday.

Crews of criminal experts from Hunan and Jiangsu, two provinces where Zhou had reportedly been found in the past and later fled, have set off for Chongqing to assist in the ongoing hunt.

Zhou, 42, has become famous for robbing people withdrawing money from banks and repeatedly dodging police manhunts. Officials said the "Class A" suspect wanted by the Ministry of Public Security has shot nine people dead and injured five others over the past eight years.

Hunan

HFMD kills 8 in Central China

Hand, foot and mouth disease sickened more than 17,000 people and killed eight in July in Central China's Hunan province, the provincial health authorities said on Monday.

The province has witnessed an increase in the disease incidence rate since March this year, with the peak period running from April to June due to the high temperatures that hit the province this summer, the department said.

Jiangsu

1 died, 9 injured in gas blast

One person died and nine were injured, including four who suffered serious injuries, in a residential building blast in Jiangsu province on Monday, local authorities said.

The explosion, which was suspected of being triggered by a leak from a household liquefied natural gas bottle, happened at around 5:10 am in the village of Xi'nan in Wuxi, authorities said.

The blast destroyed a two-story building, burying 10 people. The injured have been sent to a nearby hospital, and one died after rescue efforts failed.

Shanghai

Health plans made for disabled kids

Shanghai will make comprehensive health assessments and rehabilitation plans for disabled children who have reached school age from this year.

According to the city's health and education departments, more than 200 children who have various types of disabilities will enter primary school this year.

So far, medical experts from the city's children's hospitals are working with special-education experts to make initial health assessments of children who will enter primary school this fall.

Under the plan, they will first make a health assessment and then a long-term rehabilitation training program for each child.

Blood supply too low to serve needs

Shanghai is encouraging eligible residents to give blood because the blood supply has fallen to insufficient levels.

The city currently has about 6,700 units of blood available per day, while the normal daily level is 9,000 units, the Shanghai Blood Administration Office said.

"The current blood supply is sufficient only for emergencies and first aid. Some hospital surgeries have had to be postponed because of the unavailability of blood," an official from the administration said.

China Daily - Xinhua

(China Daily 08/14/2012 page2)