Charity regulations tightened

The Ministry of Civil Affairs has published a new set of regulations governing charity foundations, which require regular financial reports and tighter internal management structures.

Under the regulations, foundations must provide detailed reports on donations and expenditures.

If a charity project goes on for more than three months, quarterly financial reports are required, and a comprehensive report must be released for public scrutiny at the end of a project.

The new regulations also state that donors may request information on how their money is spent.

Administrative expenses, including the salaries of charity employees, may not be more than 10 percent of the annual spending, according to the regulations, and charitable foundations are prohibited from carrying out or sponsoring any profitable activities, the regulations stipulate.

Hainan

Relic sites found off Xisha Islands

Archeologists have uncovered 12 new underwater cultural relic sites near the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea, an official from Hainan provincial government said on Sunday.

The new sites were discovered during routine patrols in the area, involving 260 dives lasting 220 hours.

The archeologists had been examining 12 known cultural relic sites when the 12 new sites were found. A large quantity of specimens have been collected, including ancient pottery and porcelain, copper coins and boat parts, said Li Jilong, an expert with the provincial cultural heritage bureau.

The Xisha Islands consist of a cluster of about 40 islets, sandbanks and reefs.

Shaanxi

Four die in two separate blasts

One person died and four sustained minor injuries after an explosion rocked a residential building on Sunday morning in Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, local authorities said.

The accident happened around 5:10 am in an apartment on the 13th floor of a 24-story building in the Chunxiaoxinyuan residential compound.

Witnesses said a man fell to his death from the building during the explosion, and several neighboring apartments on the same floor were severely damaged.

The building has been evacuated, and the four people who were injured are being treated in hospital.

Police said a preliminary investigation shows that the accident was triggered by improper use of natural gas.

The incident happened a day after three people died and six were injured in an explosion in a musical instrument factory in South China's Guangdong province.

That accident occurred around 9 am on Saturday in the factory in an industrial park in the Lishui township of Foshan city, according to a statement released by the local government. Two people were killed during the blast and one died later in hospital. Among the six injured, four are still receiving treatment in a hospital, the statement said.

The cause of the accident is under investigation.

Wild mushrooms poison five

Five people have been killed and a dozen more hospitalized after mistakenly eating poisonous mushrooms in Shaanxi province. The victims are from mountainous areas in Zhenba, Yangxian, Mianxian and Ningqiang counties in Hanzhong city.

The city government has urged officials to inform every household not to pick or eat mushrooms in the wild, while the city health bureau and food safety committee have also released notices to tell residents not to buy or eat wild mushrooms.

The local commerce administration has now banned sales of wild mushrooms and conducted inspections at rural markets, grocery stores and supermarkets.

Guizhou

Crash leaves five dead, two injured

Five people died, two were injured and one is still missing after a van fell off a cliff in Southwest China's Guizhou province, rescuers said on Sunday.

The van, with seven people on board, lost control and plunged off a 50-meter-high cliff into a lake in a village in Sanhe township, Zunyi county, around 9:30 am on Saturday, after being struck by a truck traveling in the opposite direction.

Rescuers recovered the van from the water on Saturday afternoon.

One passer-by had also been struck by the vehicle and fell off the cliff.

Two people remain in hospital and the rescuers are still searching for a missing person. The cause of the accident is being investigated.

Yunnan

Six missing in Xiyang River

Six villagers are reported missing after a boat carrying 19 people capsized on a river in Southwest China's Yunnan province on Saturday, local authorities said.

The accident happened around 3:30 pm, when the boat struck an obstacle and capsized on the Xiyang River in the Guangnan county, according to a county government statement.

The river had been swollen from torrential rains, it added.

Rescuers are searching for the missing people.

Sichuan

First Chengdu panda birth of 2012

The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, in Southwest China's Sichuan province, is celebrating its first panda cub birth this year.

Li Li, born in September 1992, gave birth to the male cub at 11:20 pm on Saturday. He is the sixth panda cub born worldwide this year, according to base chief Zhang Zhihe, and Li Li's sixth, four of which have survived.

The new arrival weighed 162 grams, and officials report both mother and baby are in a stable condition.

Heilongjiang

17 proposals for cross-Straits ties

The 8th Cross-Straits Economic, Trade and Culture Forum closed on Sunday in Harbin, capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, with the adoption of 17 proposals for promoting cross-Straits ties.

"The most prominent feature of this forum is that the two sides, for the first time, held comprehensive and inclusive discussions on the development of cross-Straits relations," said Wang Yi, the Chinese mainland's Taiwan affairs chief, at the closing ceremony.

In the proposals, participants urged the two sides to speed up follow-up discussions on the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, which took effect in 2010, and to strive to conclude negotiations on the service trade agreement by the end of this year.

Xinhua China Daily