Jinan

Official gets reprieve on death sentence

Zhang Zezhong, a former deputy secretary general of the Shandong provincial government, was given a suspended death sentence on Friday for bribery. The Liaocheng Municipal Intermediate People's Court sentenced Zhang to death with a two-year reprieve after convicting him of accepting bribes totaling 17 million yuan ($2.8 million) between 2000 and 2012 either by himself or jointly with his sister Zhang Aixia. His personal property was confiscated. The court also sentenced Zhang Aixia to 12 years and fined her 500,000 yuan.

Beijing

Officials shamed for travel junkets

China's discipline watchdog has named and shamed officials who spent public money on overseas travel, warning others to "learn the lessons" of these misdeeds. In five separate cases, officials received punishments ranging from warnings to sackings. Their workplaces included a city education bureau, a college and an insurance company, according to the website of the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. In the most severe case, Zheng Cuiqiong, president of No 1 Vocational Technical School of Nanning in Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, and vice-president Tan Hanhuai were dismissed from both their Party and administrative posts.

Vaccine system meets WHO standards

China's national vaccine supervision system has met or passed all the standard requirements of the World Health Organization, the agency announced on Friday. The WHO stipulates only countries with an approved national vaccine regulatory system can receive WHO accreditation. Countries that make it through an initial assessment undergo a second inspection after three years. China passed the initial WHO evaluation in March 2011 and passed the second in October last year.

Shanghai

Icebreaker prepares for North Pole

China's icebreaker Xuelong (Snow Dragon) is all set to leave its Shanghai base next Friday to embark on a sixth expedition to the North Pole. A total of 128 scientists and crew members, including six foreign experts and one from Taiwan, will take part in the 76-day trip, which will mostly focus on environmental research in the polar region, officials from the Polar Research Institute of China said Friday. The team will set up eight short-term and one long-term observation stations on the sea ice of the Arctic Ocean. Team leader Qu Tanzhou said the mission aims to determine how El Nino and climate change might affect the polar region.

City's garden to bloom

The Shanghai Botanical Garden in Xuhui district will be expanded next year to provide a more interactive experience for visitors, its operators said. The northern area of the 30-hectare garden, which was formerly closed to the public and used for cultivating plants, will feature a horticultural museum, greenhouses and a floral-display pavilion. It will also be used as a teaching venue.

Kunming

Death toll rises in landslide

The death toll of a landslide in Southwest China's Yunnan province has climbed to seven, with eight still missing, local authorities said on Friday. Rescuers had retrieved two more bodies as of 5 pm on Friday, after the landslide on Monday in Latudi village, Shangpa town, Fugong county, the emergency response and rescue headquarters said. After the disaster, two people were initially confirmed dead, three others were injured and another 13 were missing. More than 1,100 rescuers have cleared nearly 100,000 tons of earth. Search efforts are still underway.

Xinhua

(China Daily 07/06/2014 page2)