Guangxi

Man kills 2 in government office

A man stabbed two people to death and injured four others at a family planning office in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Tuesday. The attacker broke into the Dongxing family planning bureau at about 8:30 am and killed a man and a woman. A 33-year-old man, surnamed He, has been arrested and charged after more than 100 policemen, security guards and soldiers were sent to the scene. Police said he used a 50-centimeter-long knife in the attack.

Shaanxi

Heavy rain, landslides claim 9

A downpour in Yan'an, Shaanxi province, killed nine people and caused landslides from Sunday until Tuesday morning. The Shaanxi Provincial Meteorological Observatory issued an emergency yellow alert on Monday and announced that up to 150 millimeters of rain was expected to hit the province through Tuesday. Yang Xiao, deputy mayor of Yan'an, said the city experienced nonstop rain from July 3 to 18 and that 166,000 people have been evacuated from areas affected by the heavy rain.

Two drivers in Xi'an sentenced

Two people in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, have been sentenced in connection with a fatal traffic accident. A woman surnamed Zhao was driving without a license on Oct 21 when she struck and killed a 10-year-old boy. Zhao's friend, surnamed Zhang, told police he was the driver, but police determined that Zhao was the driver. Zhao was sentenced to 18 months in prison and Zhang received 12 months in prison.

Beijing

Poultry sample tested safe

Beijing's agricultural authorities tested 480 poultry samples for the H7N9 virus in two townships in neighboring Hebei province's Langfang city on Tuesday, and all results were negative. The action was taken after a woman from Langfang became the latest confirmed case of the H7N9 strain of bird flu in Beijing on Saturday. The authorities have taken emergency prevention and control measures. Beijing has tested 30,585 poultry samples for the avian flu virus since April and all were negative.

China to survey territorial islands

China will carry out a survey of its territorial islands, the State Oceanic Administration announced on Tuesday. It will be the country's second island resources integrated survey. A logo was released by the administration to mark the survey, featuring an island, waves, sea birds and fish. The survey aims to cover China's territorial islands, which number around 10,000, in five years, according to the administration.

Campaign targets ice in soft drinks

The Beijing health authority launched a campaign on Monday to inspect soft-drink sellers after reports that ice served in a KFC store contained excessive bacteria levels. The campaign focuses on restaurants with ice-making machines, according to the Beijing Health Inspection Station. It follows a report by China Central Television, which said that ice at a KFC store in Beijing contained 19 times more bacterial colonies than allowed.

Hong Kong

'Professor' jailed for stealing in HK

A man claiming to be a professor from the Chinese mainland received an eight-month prison sentence at a court in Hong Kong on Monday after being found guilty of theft. Li Chunjiang, 49, who said he was a politics professor from the Chinese mainland, was originally caught stealing 46 books worth HK$5,770 ($744) from two bookstores at Hong Kong International Airport.

Hebei

Official suspended for shouting

An environmental protection official who shouted at residents to get out of his office was suspended from his post, authorities said. Residents in Xizhongyi, Hebei province, went to the local bureau on Monday to report that a mill was discharging untreated sewage, but Liang Qingchen, a deputy director of the bureau, denied it, and scolded residents and reporters. Liang's actions were recorded on video and put online, where they were widely criticized by the public.

Shanghai

'UFO' in Shanghai delivering cakes

A small "unidentified flying object" that has been seen over Shanghai's Huangpu River recently has been revealed to be a remote controlled plane used to deliver cakes, Shanghai-based news website eastday.com reported on Tuesday. The "UFO", which is 1.1 meters long and weighs 10 kg, crossed the Huangpu River during a 45-minute flight to deliver a cake to a customer, according to the bakery that was testing the device, which flies up to 100 meters high.

China Daily-Xinhua

(China Daily USA 07/24/2013 page3)