Jiangsu

Man electrocuted while climbing tower

A man who climbed a 40-meter 110 kV tower to show his love for his dream girl was electrocuted on Friday in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, news portal people.com.cn reported on Wednesday. The 30-year-old man, surnamed Liu, was electrocuted while descending from the tower.

Guizhou

Nearly 3 millionhit by drought

The drought that began in July has left more than 2.98 million people short of drinking water in Guizhou province, authorities said on Wednesday. More than 16 million people in 83 of Guizhou's 88 counties have been affected by the drought, according to the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters. Some 1.26 million hectares of farmland have been affected.

Beijing

Suspect in baby death transferred

A man who police say killed a young girl in Beijing was transferred on Wednesday to a local procuratorate for examination and prosecution, news portal people.com.cn reported. Police say the man, identified only as Han, picked up the girl, 2, and threw her on the ground after an argument with her mother. Han and another man accused the woman, who was pushing the girl in a stroller, of getting in their way while they were trying to park their car.

Govt to pay for homes insurance

Beijing is planning to use government funds to buy homeowner insurance for residents, in an effort to compensate victims of natural disasters, the Mirror reported on Wednesday. Authorities from the Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau said that the government's financial support for commercial insurance will enrich the city's measures to reduce the risks of disaster. Earlier this year, the government in Beijing's Changping district bought homeowner insurance from the Beijing unit of Peoples Insurance Company of China for more than 80,000 households.

Guangdong

Street fight kills 1, leaves 4 injured

A fight on a street in Dongguan, Guangdong province, resulted in the death of one person and injuries to four others on Sunday, news portal people.com.cn reported on Wednesday. Two groups of young men were playing at a roadside billiards stand when one accidentally knocked another from the other group, leading to a fight. The youths called some 200 of their friends and relatives to join the fight and attacked policemen who tried to stop the brawl.

Five killed in Guangzhou crash

Five people were killed and one critically injured in a car accident in Guangzhou on Tuesday, Yangcheng Evening News reported. Witnesses said a car knocked down a pole beside the road before crashing into a bus at about 2 am in Huadu district. Five of the six in the Toyota Camry, all in their 20s, including the driver and two women, died at the scene. The driver smelled of alcohol when pulled out of the car, according to the report.

Shandong

Former Red Guard issues public apology

A former Red Guard has published a magazine advertisement apologizing for his wrongdoings during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), sparking similar confessions and apologies around the country, China Youth Daily reported. Liu Boqin, a former Red Guard from Shandong province, placed an advertisement in a monthly political magazine in early June, apologizing to those he hurt during the "cultural revolution". "Though affected and coerced by the special social environment then, I shouldn't be immune from being responsible for the evil I did," Liu said.

Zhejiang

Woman divorces husband for snoring

A woman has divorced her husband of only six months because of his loud snoring, the Zhejiang province-based news portal jinbaonet.com reported on Wednesday. To get the divorce, the 30-year-old woman, surnamed Wang, even offered to pay her husband, named Gong, 5,000 yuan ($817). Wang had often been wakened by her husband's snoring since marrying Gong in October, a year after they were introduced. Wang filed for divorce in July and the couple settled their divorce agreement in court.

Shanghai

Four arrested for phone scam

Four suspects have been arrested in Shanghai for fraud in a phone scam that used illegally obtained personal information from 160,000 students and parents throughout the city, Shanghai Morning Post reported on Wednesday. In March and April, police received more than 40 reports from parents who had received calls from people claiming to be doctors and teachers and asking the parents to transfer money as payment for treating their sick children. More than 600,000 yuan ($98,000) was transferred to the suspects.

Guangxi

Girl dies after being run over by mother

A 5-year-old girl was killed when her mother ran over her while driving a car in an underground parking lot on Monday in Qinzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. The mother was attempting to back into a narrow parking space.

Official dismissed for holding lavish dinner

An official in Longsheng county, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, was dismissed for using public funds for a lavish dinner, news portal people.com.cn reported on Wednesday. Tang Tiansheng, Party chief of the county, had dinner with 36 county officials in a luxury hotel on July 29, paying for it with 3,626 yuan ($593) of public funds. Wang Shaorong, head of the county, and Pan Dehui, office director of the county government, who also attended the dinner, received warnings.

Hubei

Luxury cemetery built on farmland

A luxury cemetery built on farmland has been exposed in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province. A regulation on funerals issued by the State Council states cemeteries cannot be built on farmland, woodland, reservoirs, rivers, dams or in water conservation districts. The owner said the cemetery was built for 803 million yuan ($131 million) and comprised 13 hectares of farmland for the first construction phase and another 13 hectares for the second phase.

China daily - Xinhua

(China Daily USA 08/15/2013 page3)