Low-altitude airspace to open

China will relax the ban on the use of low-altitude airspace across the country starting in 2013, the country's air traffic authorities said on Thursday.

A series of reforms will be implemented in five to 10 years, creating an independent airspace market under government guidance, said Zhu Shicai, an official with the State Air Traffic Control Commission.

China has launched pilot projects in its northeastern, southern and central regions, as well as seven pilot cities, to open airspace below 1,000 meters to general aviation flights.

Police crack counterfeit cases

Police have resolved 185,000 criminal cases during a one-year sweep of counterfeit and substandard food and drugs, the Ministry of Public Security said on Thursday.

A total of 147,000 underground facilities, which manufacture and trade inferior food and drugs, have been discovered since August 2011.

Police also investigated cases centering on "gutter oil" or reprocessed cooking oil. Police shut down manufacturers of this illegal oil, cutting out channels for the cooking liquid to enter the market.

Chongqing

Robbery survivor dies in hospital

A man who was injured by serial killer Zhou Kehua during an armed robbery of a bank in Chongqing has died in hospital, a local hospital confirmed on Thursday.

Doctors with the Chongqing Xinqiao Hospital said the victim, whose surname is Liao, died of multiple organ failure on Wednesday noon. He had been one of two survivors of the Aug 10 shooting.

During the robbery, Zhou shot three people - killing one on the spot - while customers were withdrawing money at a Bank of China branch. The serial killer, who was shot dead by police in Chongqing on Aug 14, killed 11 people in several armed robberies since 2004.

Gansu

7 dead after vehicle plunges into ditch

Seven people have died and another one remained missing after a farm vehicle carrying nine people fell into a roadside ditch in Northwest China's Gansu province, local authorities said on Thursday.

The accident happened at 8:30 pm on Wednesday in the rural township of Shawo in Jingtai county, the Gansu Provincial Work Safety Bureau said in a statement.

Rescuers are still searching for the missing person, it said.

Hunan

23 injured in truck-bus collision

Twenty-three people were injured when a truck collided with a bus on Thursday morning in Central China's Hunan province, local authorities said.

The accident occurred at around 7:40 am in the city of Hengyang, leaving the drivers of both vehicles seriously injured, said the municipal rescuers. The road was slippery from rain and both vehicles were traveling at high speeds - two factors contributing to the accident, rescuers said.

All the injured were being treated at hospital. Most of the bus passengers were senior citizens and children.

Hubei

Wuhan to enforce traffic regulations

People who violate traffic regulations when driving or crossing roads will be reported to their employers or the communities in which they live in Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei province.

Other measures for enforcing traffic management issued by the city's chengguan, or urban management bureau, on Wednesday include adding 2,000 video cameras across the city, upgrading the monitoring system and speeding up construction of more taxi stands, Chutian Metropolis Daily reported.

"Although the rule could make people more cautious about traffic violations, I doubt whether it will be carried out effectively. Enforcement takes much time and manpower," said Tian Jingwen, a student in Wuhan.

Jiangxi

Organ trade suspects arrested

Police in Poyang county, Jiangxi province, arrested a gang of six people suspected of involvement in human organ trading, Legal Daily reported on Thursday.

One of suspects, whose surname is Li, a 25-year-old resident in Poyang, allegedly sold a kidney for more than 20,000 yuan ($3,150) to buy drugs in 2009 and met another suspect Deng, who also sold a kidney at that time, the report said.

The two confessed to the police that they later set up a "black agency" to earn money by supplying kidneys with the other four people.

Fujian

Xiamen to host cultural fair

The fifth Cross-Straits Cultural Industries Fair will be held from Oct 26 to 29 in Xiamen city, Fujian province, officials said on Thursday.

The fair has so far attracted more than 500 entertainment, TV and movie companies from Taiwan to look for business opportunities with their mainland counterparts, Li Qiang, deputy secretary-general of the Fujian government, said at a news conference in Beijing.

Li said that the four-day event will consist of exhibitions, forums to discuss cross-Straits cultural exchanges and folk art performances.

Shanghai

Ticket discounts to continue

Railway authorities have again extended the discount season for high-speed trains traveling between Shanghai and Nanjing as well as Shanghai and Hangzhou.

Passengers who buy business-class and top-class tickets will continue to receive a discount of up to 30 percent after this month, said the Shanghai Railway Bureau.

The price of business-class tickets was first reduced by 30 percent from May 18 to June 20, and top-class tickets were cut by 10 percent. The discount policy was later extended until the end of August.

China Daily - Xinhua