Beijing

Islands' mineral to go on display

A mineral explored near the Diaoyu Islands decades ago by Chinese researchers will be exhibited for the first time in Beijing on World Earth Day, an official said on Tuesday. Jiang Jianjun, director of the technology and international cooperation department with the Ministry of Land and Resources, said the sample mineral will be on show at the exhibition on April 22 at the Geological Museum of China.

Military vehicle rules working

Tightened measures to curb misuse of military vehicles have reduced such violations, according to a senior People's Liberation Army officer on Tuesday. Since the measures were introduced in late 2012, reports of military vehicles violating traffic regulations in Beijing have dropped by 35 percent compared with the same period last year, Wu Xihua, deputy director of the emergency response office of the PLA General Staff Headquarters, told a news conference.

Guizhou

Morning landslide blocks highway

A provincial highway was blocked by a landslide early on Tuesday. Several thousand cubic meters of rock blocked more than 80 meters of the road, destroyed communication cables, a house and a sightseeing pavilion, in Longchang town, Kaili city. No casualties were reported. Local authorities are checking the damage.

Anhui

Copyright disputes to rise in nation

Pressure from domestic copyright disputes will surpass that from international disputes in coming years, according to Yan Xiaohong, deputy director of the National Copyright Administration of China, speaking at a national conference on copyright protection in Hefei, Anhui province, on Monday. The conference reiterated that copyright protection, an integral part of intellectual property rights protection, plays a crucial role in China's economic transition and innovation-driven development.

Shandong

Drug dealer gets life sentence

A court said on Tuesday it has sentenced a Nigerian man to life in prison for drug smuggling. Nkemdilim Nnabuchi was found guilty of selling heroin and cocaine, according to the intermediate people's court in Qingdao, Shandong province. The defendant came to China on a tourist visa but stayed past the expiration date. He assumed the role of a businessman and courted smuggling partners online.

Guangdong

Dove banquet puts flu fears to flight

Doves were on the menu to ease fears over bird flu at a banquet attended by officials in Guangdong province on Monday, New Express Daily reported. The event was organized at a hotel in Jiangmen city by Yang Weilin who owns a farm and breeds doves. Officials can take the lead and eat dove and similar birds to help ease fears caused by the H7N9 bird flu outbreak, said Yang, who slaughtered 40 birds for the banquet.

Henan

High school drops ban on romance

A high school in Henan province has scrapped measures to prevent romantic relationships between students. Zhao Yaotang, vice-principal of Luohe High School, said the controversial ban, introduced more than a month ago, has been dropped. He said some rules, such as one banning a boy and girl from having private conversations in school, were not worded well.

Yunnan

Seven sentenced over mine blast

Seven people in Yunnan province were sentenced to prison, from three to six years, over a fatal mine accident, Fuyuan County People's Court said on Tuesday. A gas blast at a coal mine in Shizong county on Nov 10, 2011, killed 43 people. The safety supervision bureau in 2008 expressed concern at the mine's safety procedures. This resulted in its safety permits being withheld, but the mine continued to operate.

China Daily-Xinhua

(China Daily 04/17/2013 page2)