'House sister' inquiry opened

An investigation into allegations that a woman known as "house sister" owned multiple properties with forged identities is under way, Governor of Shaanxi province Lou Qinjian said on Thursday. The investigation focuses on whether Gong Aiai acquired her money through proper channels and whether she illegally registered the fake hukou, household registrations, Lou said at a news conference in Beijing. Gong, the former vice-president of Shenmu Rural Commercial Bank, was detained this month on suspicion of forging official documents and seals.

Zhejiang

9 on trial over kidney trafficking

Nine people stood trial on Thursday at a court in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, charged with trafficking kidneys on the black market. The nine defendants, all younger than 30, were accused of recruiting people willing to sell their kidneys, and housing them in rented buildings in the city's Jianggan district. The sales took place from November 2011, according to the district's procuratorate.

Environmental ad draws flak

The environmental protection bureau of Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, was criticized by netizens on Thursday for buying a full-page advertisement promoting its environmental achievements, which was seen as a defiant gesture in the face of recent criticism. The advertisement was published after two directors of its branches were offered large sums of money by local netizens to swim in polluted rivers.

Yunnan

56 houses damaged during conflict

Fifty-six houses were damaged during a conflict between railway workers and villagers in Yunnan province, authorities said on Thursday. On Feb 12, two employees of China Railway Tunnel Group rode a motorcycle along a road in the village, splashing mud on several residents. The residents asked for 600 yuan ($96) in compensation and beat the workers, said Chen Yujiang, deputy head of the county's publicity department. The next day, more than 100 workers from the group, who are building a rail line in the county, retaliated, damaging 56 houses in the village, he said.

Anhui

Man detained for phony bomb threat

A man was detained in Anhui province after his fake bomb threat forced a domestic flight carrying 160 passengers to make an emergency landing early on Thursday morning. Hefei Luogang International Airport police arrested the 31-year-old man surnamed Chen, a native of Bengbu in the province, for fabricating and spreading false terrorist information. He called the airport and claimed there were explosives on the flight bound for Shenzhen shortly after it took off on Wednesday.

Landslide kills 7-year-old child

A 7-year-old boy died in hospital after rescuers dug him out from rocks and mud following a landslide in Xuancheng, Anhui province, firefighters said on Thursday. The landslide occurred at 1:47 pm on Wednesday in Xiwu village, Guangde county.

Shanxi

Police probe blast that killed woman

An explosion that killed the daughter of a law enforcement official is being investigated by police in Shanxi province, local authorities said on Thursday. The explosion, at 3:30 pm on Monday, rocked a building in a residential compound in Xiangfen county that mainly houses taxation officials, killing a 20-year-old woman, the county government said in a statement on its website. The woman was the daughter of a deputy head of the county's law enforcement body, the statement added.

Beijing

Satellites exceed expected lifespan

More than 20 percent of China's operating satellites are working beyond their expected lifespan. Yang Baohua, head of China Academy of Space Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, told Science and Technology Daily that at the end of 2012, 17 out of about 80 Chinese satellites in orbit were operating longer than their designed service periods.

Drought affects 660,000 people

More than 660,000 people, mainly in Yunnan, Gansu and Hebei provinces, don't have adequate drinking water due to a drought, the People's Daily reported on Thursday. The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said on Monday that the precipitation in Southwest China and in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River was smaller than in the northern areas this winter. The drought has affected more than 1.23 million hectares of farmland, it said.

Inner Mongolia

Gold ore deposit discovered

A super-large gold ore deposit with a reserve volume of 148.5 metric tons was discovered at the Bayannur League's Urad Middle Banner in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Xinhua.net reported on Thursday. The recoverable volume of the gold ore is 130.4 tons, which is the largest in the autonomous region.

China Daily-Xinhua