Around the nation: 18-tonne gem goes on display in Guangxi
Also: Boy chops off hand to overcome internet addiction; Property developer covers concreted site with potted trees to pass environmental inspection
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 05 February, 2015, 10:00pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 05 February, 2015, 10:00pm
The owner spent years cutting and polishing a 53-tonne bloodstone boulder to its present size. Photo: SCMP Pictures
GUANGXI
Massive gem on show
An 18-tonne piece of highly coloured bloodstone estimated to be worth more than 300 million yuan has gone on show in Guilin , China News Service reports. The owner, who is the deputy head of the Guilin Bloodstone Association, bought the stone as a rough, 53-tonne boulder six years ago. He spent the intervening years polishing it down into the present gem.
Fifty shades of green
A property developer in Nanning grew trees on concreted ground to pass a project assessment by city authorities, the China News Service reports. Dozens of brick boxes were built in front of the 32-storey building, filled with earth and planted with trees. Workers said the trees would be removed when the inspections were over.
BEIJING
Schools to get physical
Primary and middle schools in Beijing will add physical education classes and introduce winter sports as part of its drive to apply to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, the Beijing Times reports. Education officials did not give further details, but the capital's schools at present are required to have two PE classes for grades 10 to 12, three for grades 3 to 9 and four for grades 1 and 2.
Lung cancer rates soar
Reported cases of lung cancer grew by more than 40 per cent in the past, the Beijing Morning Post reports. Lung cancer is now the most common cancer among Beijing residents, followed by colorectal cancer and gastric cancer, the municipal health commission says. More than 8,200 lung cancer cases were recorded in Beijing in 2012, accounting for 20 per cent of all cancers that year.
FUJIAN
Gas spill leaves 5 dead
Five workers died after a toxic gas leak at a thermal energy plant in Yongan , the Strait City Daily reports. One worker was fixing a valve of a wastewater pool at the plant on Wednesday and was poisoned by hydrogen sulphide leaking from the bottom of the pool. Four colleagues who were sent to rescue him were also overcome by the fumes. The five workers were taken to hospital but did not survive.
Official 'raped girl, 13'
An official in Zhenghe county, Nanping , has been accused of raping a teenage girl, who got pregnant and gave birth recently, Fj.people.cn reports. Local police confirmed that the official had been detained and that the girl, who attends a local middle school, was under 14 when she became pregnant. A staff member said the official was a department head at the county's finance bureau, and been absent from work since the middle of last month.
GANSU
Taxi restrictions dropped
The Lanzhou city government cancelled a 20-year-old driving restriction on cabs from yesterday, as the city's demand for taxis grows, the China News Service reports. The restriction, first introduced in 1984 to battle traffic congestion and air pollution, required taxis to operate every other day. But as demand for taxis rose, the rule was changed in 2012 to allow taxis to operated six days a week. Yesterday it was dropped altogether, allowing drivers to operate on any day of the week.
Migrants receive back-pay
Thousands of migrant workers in Tianshui will receive delayed wages totalling almost 70 million yuan in time for the Lunar New Year, Tsrb.com.cn reports. More than 3,700 employees of 300 companies and organisations were finally paid following the joint intervention of various departments in a crackdown of wage abuse launched late last year. The crackdown "helped maintain social stability" before the holidays, officials said.
JIANGSU
Handed a second chance
A teenager cut off his hand to break his internet addiction had it reattached over the weekend by surgeons in Nantong , the Yangtse Evening Post reports. The boy, who frequently skipped school to visit internet cafes, got anxious about his studies and took the drastic step of cutting off his own hand last week. He then took a taxi to hospital and underwent a 10-hour operation.
Court disqualifies parents
A court in Xuzhou has withdrawn the guardianship of parents of a 10-year-old girl who was raped by her father and abandoned by her mother, China National Radio reports. However, the court did not reach a decision on an application by local Civil Affairs Bureau officials to be interim guardians until an adoption agreement could be signed with another woman. The girl said she wouldn't live with her parents or any of their relatives. In the meantime, she is staying at the home of the woman who is applying to adopt her.
SHAANXI
Zhou tomb complex found
Archaeologists have found 376 ancient tombs from the Western Zhou dynasty (1046-771BC) in Jingyang county, north of Xian , the Huashang Daily reports. The tombs are scattered along a 2km line and vary from 50 to 80 metres in width. Six pits with chariots and horses were found nearby. Experts believe the site was an army garrison.
Licence to con
A man in Baishui county has been jailed for seven years and fined 50,000 yuan for defrauding dozens of victims of a total of 230,000 yuan, the Huashang Daily reports. Claiming he had connections in the local vehicle administration, the man received "study fees" from 61 people, including his girlfriend's relatives. He promised that he could get them a driver's licence - without sitting for a test or having a health check-up - a couple of months after receiving their payment. He turned himself in May after spending all the money.
SHANGHAI
Problematic potions
The Pudong New Area People's Court has heard 32 cases of drugs illegally purchased from overseas since 2013, including 23 cases of drugs containing excessive levels of hormones, Thepaper.cn reports. The court said that since most of the cases involved "adult products", people were reluctant to report problems. Foreign medicines not approved by the State Food and Drug Administration are deemed "fake drugs".
Anti-pollution projects
The city government has earmarked 100 billion yuan over the next three years for more than 200 pollution-reduction projects, the China Business News reports. Authorities said the projects would cover eight areas of concern: water, air, soil, waste, industry, agriculture, ecology and recycling.
SICHUAN
Surgical bungle corrected
Surgeons in Chengdu have removed a rubber strip from the vagina of a woman who suffered an abscess and severe abdominal pain, the West China City News reports. The 20-year- old woman had three operations at another hospital in the city late last year to treat an abscess but her condition didn't improve. She visited another hospital and doctors removed the 3cm by 2cm strip last month, which they believe was left inside her during one of the earlier operations.
Phone scams on the rise
Police in Sichuan dealt with 12,000 telecommunications scams last year, which involved more than 300 million yuan, the West China City News reports. Telecom scams have grown by 20 per cent a year since 2010. Telecom providers in the province block about 23 million spam text messages each month, most related to scams.
