Zhejiang

Two arrested as bridge recovered

Police in Hangzhou helped villagers recover a century-old bridge that was stolen by two people, local media reported on Tuesday. The stone bridge, about 20 meters long and 2 meters wide, was stolen on July 11. One of the suspects, surnamed Chen, contacted a stone dealer and agreed to sell the bridge for 40,000 yuan ($6,531). Chen rented a 70-ton crane from the other suspect, surnamed Wang, to remove the bridge and arranged for two trucks to carry the stones.

Sichuan

Boys bound to column perish

Two boys, aged 4 and 6, in Quxian county, Sichuan province, suffocated after their grandmother tied them tightly to the top of a column under the eaves of their house. But their father has forgiven her for their deaths. Before she picked vegetables in fields early one morning last week, Li Fang, 48, a farmer in the village of Qiyan, tied up the two boys fearing they would cause trouble. When she returned, they were unconscious and had died when a village doctor arrived several minutes later.

Bullets ruled outin holed window

Sichuan police on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of bullets being fired to cause seven holes in a window at the Yibin Daily newspaper office. No cartridges or bullets were found and the window is believed to have been broken at night, when nobody was in the office.

Beijing

Rules tightened on maternity care

The nation's top health authority on Tuesday vowed to further strengthen the regulation of health institutions to prevent infant abductions by medical workers. Medical institutions, especially maternity hospitals, should strictly abide by existing rules on how to record the births and deaths of children, the National Health and Family Planning Commission said on Tuesday. The original records of relevant offices must be kept in a proper manner, it said.

Telecom-fraud gangs busted

Police have busted 72 gangs involved in a new type of telecom fraud facilitated by illicit base stations, the Ministry of Public Security said on Monday. During the raid, police captured 217 suspects, destroyed four dens in which illicit base stations were produced and confiscated 96 sets of equipment. The raid took place in provinces and cities including Liaoning, Hunan, Guangdong and Beijing.

Confucianism textbook published

The Confucius Research Institute of China, one of the leading research organizations on Confucianism, published a Chinese version of a textbook on Confucius' works on Tuesday. The German version of Confucius Says So was published for the Confucius Institute of the University of Vienna in April. The content draws material not only from the Analects of Confucius, which is a record of the dialogues between Confucius and his disciples, but also other Confucian classics.

Eateries warned over wasted food

Restaurants in Beijing's Xicheng district will be punished if they fail to warn customers against ordering too much food, Beijing Evening News reported. Under a regulation issued by the district authorities, restaurants must place a card on each table warning customers against ordering excessive amounts of food. The restaurants have been asked to come up with incentives such as discounts.

Guangdong

Police seize 59 illegal immigrants

Fifty-nine illegal immigrants from Vietnam have been caught by border police in Guangdong province, local authorities said on Tuesday. The 45 men and 14 women were caught at about 9 pm on July 29 on a bus bound for Shantou in Guangdong and Putian in Fujian province. They are thought by police to have scaled mountains to reach the Chinese border. Seventy-five people were aboard the bus, which is designed to carry 52.

Shaanxi

Aircraft crash leaves 1 dead

One person was killed and another is missing after a transport aircraft crashed during a seeding mission in Danfeng county, Shaanxi province, on Tuesday, China Central Television reported, citing the local publicity bureau. The aircraft was seeding a forest when it crashed. Another person on the plane was critically injured, according to rescuers who arrived at the scene two hours later.

Measures taken to control stray dogs

Police in Xi'an have taken measures to control stray dogs to prevent injuries. According to a police officer surnamed He with the city's dog management office, police began searching for stray dogs within the city's Third Ring Road on Monday. The number of stray dogs in the city has increased as people abandon them after they move into high-rise buildings, the officer said.

Yunnan

2 die, 6 missing in coal mine blast

Two miners were confirmed dead and six others remained trapped on Tuesday after a gas explosion at an illegal coal mine in Yunnan province on Monday, rescuers said. Two bodies were recovered on Monday afternoon, but the rescue effort was progressing slowly due to difficulties in clearing a cave-in. Eight workers were thought to be trapped after the accident at the mine in Qingmen, Zhaotong, according to the district government. Police said they had detained the mine's owner.

China Daily - Xinhua

(China Daily USA 08/07/2013 page3)