Bubble-blowing students expelled

A senior middle school in Luliang county, Yunnan province, was criticized for severely punishing two students for blowing bubbles and throwing paper planes, Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday. The students were playing at about 6:15 pm on Saturday after class, and refused to obey teachers asking them to stop. As a result, they were expelled. The county education bureau ordered the school to repeal the punishment on Monday after conducting an investigation.

Man held for plane bomb hoax

The prime suspect in a plane bomb hoax has been arrested, the Yunnan provincial public security department said on Tuesday. The man, 26, allegedly called police to report a bomb on a flight from Kunming, Yunnan province, to Beijing on May 28. The suspect, surnamed Huang, was caught within six hours.

Shaanxi

Company chairman in graft probe

The chairman of a large State-owned enterprise in Yulin, Shaanxi province, was put under investigation for corruption, local media reported on Tuesday. Wang Rongze, chairman of Yulin Energy Group Co and Yushen Coal Co, was removed from his post on April 24 by the provincial Party discipline watchdog.

Killer suspect held after 11 years

A man suspected of killing a soldier 11 years ago to steal his gun has been caught, police said on Tuesday. Liang Kaiwu, a farmer in Sichuan province, has been charged with killing two people. In the early hours of Dec 1, 2002, a teller for a company in Ziyang city was shot dead by two men, who fled after taking 410,000 yuan ($65,000) in cash. On May 14 this year, the Ministry of Public Security identified Liang as a suspect. He had been wanted for burglary. Authorities say he confessed to killing the teller with his cousin, Shi Shengqiang, who was detained two days later. Liang also confessed to killing an on-duty soldier in Shaanxi's Fengxian county on Aug 30, 2002, and stealing his automatic rifle.

Shanghai

Credit platform starts trial run

Company credit records and subway passengers who use the service without paying will be among those tracked on the Shanghai public credit information service platform, which started a trial run in government departments on Monday, the Oriental Morning Post reported. Fifty government departments have promised to provide information to the platform. The platform will be open for inquiries by the end of this year but will officially start operations in April next year.

Tibet

More assets on preservation list

Authorities in the Tibet autonomous region have added 10 more intangible assets in Lhasa to their preservation list, the Lhasa city cultural bureau said on Tuesday. Among the new entries are traditional music, including ashi, which are songs that Tibetans sing while working, and art works such as block-print thangka, religious art pieces in which artists use paper or cloth as outlined renderings. Also on the list are handmade Tibetan boots and local masks made of cloth.

Fujian

Measures unveiled to curb cheating

To combat cheating ahead of the national college entrance exam, which starts on Friday, the education authorities in Xiamen, Fujian province, will implement a security check to ban any goods containing metal, leading teachers to call for female students to wear bras that have no metal clasps. Under the measures, which will include the use of a metal detector, any student who makes the detector beep will be rechecked until they are given the all-clear. Teachers suggest female students should wear sports bras without a metal clasp and trousers with elastic waistbands instead of zippers in order to pass the security check smoothly.

Beijing

Magazine receives bomb in mail

The editorial office of Life Week, a Beijing magazine, received a bomb in the mail on Tuesday, Sina Media reported. An employee quoted by Sina Media said a colleague received a parcel containing a bomb. The company immediately called the police and evacuated the building. More than 30 police officers arrived at the scene and, after an examination, it was discovered that the device had no explosive charges.

Xinhua - China Daily