Jiangsu

Official arrestedon rape charges

A prosecuting authority in Siyang county approved the arrest of Li Xiaobin, a work safety administration official who is suspected of raping a high school student on Aug 14. According to an official report, Li confessed after he was detained by police. The report said Li was in contact with the girl online and had previously asked her for a meeting, but she refused. Their online chat records show he was able to discover her location by talking with her online again.

Shanghai

5 die after falling into pickling vat

At least five of nine workers who fell into a vat used to pickle vegetables at a factory died on Tuesday. The incident took place at the Shanghai Sanshang Food Co at around 2:30 pm when a worker fell into the vat trying to clean it. Another eight fell into the vat in an attempt to rescue the worker, according to the micro blog of Shanghai Administration of Work Safety.

Hubei

Man fakes death by drowning

A man jumped into a river in an apparent suicide attempt after a row with his girlfriend and then watched TV at home while rescuers searched for his body, Chutian Metropolis Daily reported on Monday. The couple argued at about 8 pm on Wednesday near a riverbank in Anlu and the man jumped into the river. After a two-hour search, a resident told police he had seen the "missing" man come out of the water. Police went to the man's home and found him watching TV.

Shandong

New rule to ensure safety for students

Students should not attend a school more than 2 km away, according to a rule recently introduced by the provincial education department. The authorities imposed the rule to ensure that students in the countryside are safe going to and from school.

City gets tough with taxi drivers

Taxi drivers in Qingdao who refuse to take passengers will be fired, according to a rule that took effect on Sunday. Introduced by the Qingdao Road Transport Bureau, the rule will be imposed until the 2014 Qingdao International Horticultural Exposition ends in October of that year.

Hubei

Men delay train by half an hour

Two men delayed a bullet train from leaving Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan by more than half an hour on Monday morning after they jammed the entrance to carriage, waiting for a companion who was late. The train was bound for Nanchang, Jiangxi province, from Yichang, Hubei province. Nearly 200 passengers who planned to transfer to a bullet train at Wuhan Railway Station had to change their tickets.

Inner Mongolia

Ex-SOE boss gets death sentence

The former leader of a State-owned enterprise was sentenced to death for corruption and embezzlement. Song Wendai, former chairman of the board and general manager of Inner Mongolia Qiankun Gold and Silver Refinery Co, was convicted on Sunday of embezzling more than 86 million yuan ($14 million) in public funds.

Beijing

Forecaster issues storm warning

A yellow warning was issued on Tuesday for Tropical Storm Trami, according to the National Meteorological Center. Trami, the 12th tropical storm to hit China this year, is expected to reach the northeast coast of Taiwan on Wednesday afternoon, then move toward the mainland's southeastern coast in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces.

China Daily - Xinhua

(China Daily USA 08/21/2013 page3)