Hunan

3 officials jailedfor bugging

Three officials were each sentenced on Tuesday to 20 months in jail for illegally wiretapping a county Party chief. Li Yi, an official with the supervision office of the Mayang Miao autonomous county Party committee; Yang Fan, a county court officer; and Liu Yang, a police officer, were found guilty of illegally wiretapping and secretly filming Hu Jiawu, Party chief of Mayang, by the Hecheng District People's Court in Huaihua city, which administers Mayang. They used the footage to try to blackmail Hu for promotion, according to the ruling.

Woman kills sonsin domestic dispute

A woman killed her three sons after injuring her husband with a knife during a domestic dispute early on Tuesday, the local government said. The woman, in Jiahe county, argued with her 35-year-old husband and then slashed him with a knife. The husband went to a local hospital. Police arrived at the scene after receiving a report at 12:18 am. They broke into the locked house to find the sons, aged 9, 2 and 1, lying dead in the living room and a bedroom.

Jiangxi

Cheating student gets zero marks

A student in Jiangxi province cheated in a history exam by reflecting light from his watch onto a surveillance camera, putting the camera out of action, Jiangxi Daily reported. The senior middle school in Yichuan posted a notice of criticism on the student and said he had damaged public property and broken an examination rule. The student was given no marks because he cheated, the report stated.

Beijing

Event organizers say toilets 'enough'

The organizing committee of the Beijing International Marathon said public urination by some competitors was not because of a lack of toilets but uncivilized behavior, Beijing Youth Daily reported. The race on Sunday drew 30,000 competitors. Photos of competitors urinating at the roadside went viral on the Internet and many blamed a lack of toilets. "The toilets we set out this year should have been enough according to our experience in the past", a staff member of the committee said.

Heating may not switch on early

Beijing's heating may not be switched on ahead of schedule as recent temperatures are close to average, Beijing Times reported. According to meteorological data for Beijing, the temperature is unlikely to go below 5 C for five consecutive days from Nov 1 to 15. Meteorological experts said the temperature before the scheduled time doesn't meet the requirement for an earlier start to the heating but it still needs more analysis as the scheduled time is still one month away.

Leaves turningseasonal red

Ninety-five percent of the leaves on Red Leaf Mountain Ridge, in Beijing's Changping district, have turned the area into a blaze of red, according to Beijing Daily. It is estimated that all leaves will turn red this weekend. Part of Badaling National Forest Park, Red Leaf Mountain Ridge is one of the earliest spots to see red autumnal leaves each year. Coupled with the Badaling Great Wall, the park attracts thousands of tourists every day.

Pork bossesgive away pigs

Lu Buxuan and Chen Sheng, who were both famous for selling pork when they graduated from Peking University many years ago, gave 10 pigs to lucky consumers as presents by lottery in Beijing, Beijing Morning Post reported. A lucky female winner took photos with a living pig and will receive pork a few days later when the pig has been slaughtered.

Hebei

Pollution grants flexible work hours

Tangshan city made provisions recently for flexible working hours and for buses to offer free rides when the city is hit by heavy pollution, Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday. The city's government issued a document stipulating that when heavy pollution occurs, primary and middle schools and kindergartens will be closed and businesses will implement flexible working hours. Also, urban buses will not charge fares and those businesses that produce pollution, such as cement works and steel factories, will stop production.

Henan

Luxury government buildings erected

Several luxurious government department office buildings have been constructed in Taiqian county, a well-known national-level poverty-stricken county, chinanews.com reported. A striking contrast near the luxurious buildings is a substandard middle school with broken windows and narrow dormitories, which the report said resembled a refugee camp.

Xinhua-China Daily

(China Daily USA 10/23/2013 page3)