Beijing

Netizen accused of spreading rumors

A man charged with making up and posting rumors online will stand trial on Friday. Qin Zhihui, known online as Qin Huohuo, was arrested last year on suspicion of spreading rumors, Beijing Chaoyang District People's Court said in a statement on Tuesday. Prosecutors say Qin wrote on his micro blog that the government paid 200 million yuan ($32.3 million) in compensation to a foreign passenger after two trains collided in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, in July 2011.

Anti-graft body names 183 for malpractice

China's top anti-graft agency publicized on Tuesday the names of 183 officials who violated Party guidelines on improving workstyles. The officials were punished for malpractice, including using government vehicles for private purposes, accepting gifts or money at their children's weddings and paying for personal travel with public funds, the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said in a statement.

Shanxi

11 Japanese mortars found in Datong

Eleven mortar shells left by invading Japanese troops during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45) were found in a construction site in Datong on Saturday, Shanxi Evening News reported on Monday. Police said a preliminary analysis showed that the shells were from the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. The shells will be disposed of if further analysis shows they are not chemical weapons, the report said.

Shandong

Farm fire kills over 220 pigs in a farm

A fire at a pig farm in Yanta on Sunday killed more than 220 pigs, resulting in a loss of more than 300,000 yuan ($48,400), Qilu Evening News reported on Tuesday. The fire broke out at around 8 pm while farm owner Liu Jiaxiang was nursing her 5-month daughter. Liu said the fire was possibly caused by a spark from the stove used for heating the pigs' food.

Hubei

Couple break up after fight over doll

A man in Wuhan broke up with his girlfriend of four years after the couple had a fight over the Snoopy doll that the woman always brought with her on their dates, Wuhan Morning Post reported. The 22-year-old woman would order food for her doll - the dog from the Peanuts comic strip - and even buy movie tickets for it, the report said. On the couple's last date, the woman said Snoopy wanted to go to the bathroom and asked her boyfriend, 27, to take it there. The man threw the doll to the floor, after which the woman slapped the man.

Fujian

Official probed after teacher's death

Liu Zhenxing, head of Meilie district in Sanming, who is linked to the death of a female teacher, has been placed under investigation, the Fujian Provincial Party Commission for Discipline Inspection said on Monday. On Thursday, Jinsha High School teacher Wang Shaoyun was found dead after falling from Liu's office window on the 12th floor. Her husband told Xinhua News Agency that she had previously submitted whistleblowing material, telling anti-graft agencies that Liu had mistresses and had embezzled public funds.

Guangdong

Hopeful second-child mothers in 30s

Shenzhen women aged 30 to 39 have shown the most desire to have a second child, the city said after starting to accept applications from qualified families on March 28 . Up to April 3, 277 families applied to have a second child. Seventy-six percent of the hopeful mothers were aged 30 to 39, 1 percent was older than 40, and the remainder were 20 to 29, according to the city.

Chongqing

Couple convicted of embezzling public funds

Zhao Qin, former director of finance of Jiangjin district's transport commission, was sentenced to 16 years in jail for embezzling 2.82 million yuan ($455,000) from transportation funds from 2007 to 2012, Chongqing Evening News reported on Monday. Dai Ping, Zhao's husband, was sentenced to three years' in prison with three years probation for colluding with Zhao to embezzle 65,000 yuan.

Jilin

7 rescued workers released from hospital

Seven of 12 workers rescued after being trapped for more than 80 hours in a collapsed tunnel have been discharged from hospital care, local authorities said on Tuesday. The other five are still being treated but are in stable condition, according to a statement issued by the government information office in Hunchun.

Sichuan

Mom, son drown selves over online game fight

A mother drowned herself in a river in Guangyuan after a fight with her son, who is addicted to online games. The son jumped into the river soon afterward and also drowned, Chengdu Commercial Daily reported. On Friday afternoon, Zhu Qiulian was unable to find her 16-year-old son in after school. That evening, she looked for him in Internet bars. At about 10 pm, she found him in an Internet cafe and took him to the bank of the Jialing River.

Old man dies after guard refuses entry

A man, 83, died from coronary heart disease in Nanchong after a doorkeeper refused to unlock a gate, citing a regulation that it had to be locked after 9 pm. The man's son finally broke through the gate two hours later but his father died on the way to a hospital, West China Metropolis Daily reported.

Explosion at home kills two boys

Two boys, aged 8 and 12, died after an explosion reduced their two-story home to rubble at a village in Gongxian county, West China Metropolis Daily reported on Tuesday. After the explosion early on Friday, police searched the rubble and found several bags of firecrackers and lead used to make them.

Zhejiang

Baijiu habit leaves man's brain atrophied

A 55-year-old Ningbo man's excessive drinking of baijiu, a Chinese distilled spirit, since he was 25 years old has caused his brain to atrophy, Qianjiang Evening News reported on Tuesday. The man, surnamed Zou, said he drank about 1,000 milliliters every day before doctors diagnosed him with brain atrophy caused by the consistent and excessive use of alcohol.

'Truth or Dare' loser arrested for police call

Police in Wenzhou detained a man for making a false criminal report, Qianjiang Evening News reported on Tuesday. The man, surnamed Lin, was drinking with his friends on Sunday night when he lost in a game of "Truth or Dare". His penalty for losing was to call an important man to come over, so Lin decided to call the police. Lin reported that a fight was in progress, forcing police officers to show up.

Yunnan

Man subdued in knife drama

A man who allegedly attempted to kidnap a reporter by holding a knife to her neck was subdued by a SWAT team in Kunming on Tuesday. A report said the woman works for Kunming Television and was thought to be exposing the illegal operation of a store. She was taken to a hospital after fainting. The report said Yunnan Television had exposed alleged wrongdoings by the man running the store.

Two cobras crash farmers birthday party

Two cobras frightened a group of farmers at a birthday party in Menghai county, Yunnan Information Daily reported on Tuesday. The snakes had entered a yard where the farmers were celebrating the birthday on Sunday. The farmers called the police, who caught the snakes and released them into the wild. Each was 1.8 meters in length.

Quake-hit schools resume classes

All schools affected by an earthquake in the county of Yongshan resumed classes on Tuesday after the three-day tomb-sweeping holiday, local authorities said. Nine people injured have been discharged from hospital care, sources with the county publicity office said. The 5.3-magnitude quake, with an epicenter 13 km deep, hit the county at 6:40 am on Saturday, affecting 71,200 residents and injuring 32 people.

Xinhua - China Daily

Growth study A young visitor admires tulips at Nanjing Zhongshan Botanical Garden in Jiangsu province on Monday. The garden features about 200,000 pots of tulips, including more than 60 varieties, and was a popular destination during the three-day tomb-sweeping holiday over the weekend. Photo by Wang Xin / for China Daily

(China Daily 04/09/2014 page2)