Rural poverty relief spending surges

The Ministry of Finance said on Friday that spending on poverty relief projects in rural areas in 2012 surged 31.9 percent year-on-year to 299.6 billion yuan ($47.79 billion). Funds were used to boost agricultural production, improve people's living standards and support education, healthcare and social security. The ministry will continue to increase spending to help people living in poverty this year, it added.

Satellite to be launched in April China will launch the first satellite for its high-resolution system for Earth observation in April. Tests of the satellite and its carrier rocket, the Long March 2D, have been completed, said the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense. The system is expected to help reduce disasters, protect resources, the environment and national security, as well as support geographic and oceanic surveys.

Xinjiang

Earthquake jolts Xinjiang cities

A 5.6-magnitude earthquake jolted the border between Changji city and Urumqi city in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region at 1:01 pm on Friday, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center. The epicenter, with a depth of 13 kilometers, was monitored at 43.4 degrees north latitude and 86.8 degrees west longitude, the center said.

Tibet

83 trapped by Lhasa landslide

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang on Friday ordered every effort to be made to rescue workers buried in a massive landslide in a mining area in the Tibet autonomous region. A total of 83 workers were buried in the landslide that occurred around 6 am on Friday in Maizhokunggar County of Lhasa, the regional capital. The buried, including two Tibetans, were workers from a subsidiary of the China National Gold Group Corporation.

Guangxi

Two students die after beating

Two children died after being severely beaten by a primary school employee in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Wednesday, local authorities said on Friday. The incident happened in the dormitory of a private school in Yulin at around 5 am on Wednesday, when a male employee allegedly hit and critically injured the two students, sources with the city government said.

Xinhua - China Daily