Mine accident claims 8 lives

Eight people died and three others were injured on Saturday in a coal mine accident in Liaoning province, local authorities said on Sunday. The accident occurred around 10:30 pm in the Wulong Coal Mine in the city of Fuxin. The mine is owned by the Fuxin Mining Group.

Guizhou

5 dead, 19 injured in bus rollover

Five people were killed and 19 injured when a bus rolled over on Sunday morning in Guizhou province, local rescuers said. The bus hit a guardrail and rolled over at about 5 am on Sunday on an expressway in Xifeng county, rescuers said. Five people died at the scene. The injured were taken to hospitals. Four of them are in critical condition. Sixty people were in the bus when the accident occurred.

Shanghai

Petrochemical leak pollutes port

Improper loading caused a petrochemical leak that has polluted a port in Shanghai, local authorities said on Sunday. Workers at Jueshi Port failed to fully close a valve while loading C9, a dangerous petrochemical, onto a cargo ship at about 10 am on Thursday, causing the chemical to spill into the water, the municipal work safety administration said. Residents reported a pungent odor near the port at about 6:30 pm, leading authorities to discover the leak. Police have taken four people into custody on suspicion of being involved in the incident.

Heilongjiang

Key suspect in explosion killed

The key suspect in a bus explosion that killed 11 people in Heilongjiang province was killed in the blast, the local government said on Sunday. Gao Wanfeng is suspected of placing explosives on a commuter bus that detonated at about 6:30 am on Friday in the Lingdong district of Shuangyashan, according to the city government. The blast also struck a bus traveling in the opposite lane. Seven people in the bus that exploded were killed, and four people were killed in the other bus. Police released an initial list of victims on Sunday, which was drafted after relatives identified the bodies.

Hunan

Official detained over bribery

A deputy head at Hunan's provincial transport department has been detained on bribery charges. Zou Heping has been accused of accepting huge sums of money in bribes, both individually and with members of his family, since 2004, the procuratorate in Changde city said on Sunday. The case is under investigation.

Zhejiang

Most shark fins at markets are 'fake'

Most shark fins sold at the markets in Zhejiang province are fake, according to test results released by the Zhejiang Administration for Industry and Commerce on Sunday. The administration confiscated 560 kilograms of fins on sale at the market in a special inspection drive in December and sent 82 samples to a certification center under the National Forestry Bureau. The test results showed that 79 of the fins were made of gelatin and contained no shark DNA.

Beijing

Unions to give more to needy workers

Chinese labor unions will likely give more than 4 billion yuan ($637.84 million) in aid during Chinese New Year visits paid to needy workers, the All China Federation of Trade Unions said on Sunday. Labor unions nationwide will deliver greetings and relief funds to migrant workers, temporary workers and workers who are poor because of illness before and during the upcoming Spring Festival holiday, the federation said.

Oil imports rise 6.8% in 2012

China, the world's second-largest oil consumer, imported 271 million metric tons of crude oil last year, a rise of 6.8 percent year-on-year, data from the General Administration of Customs showed. The value of the imports jumped 12.1 percent year-on-year to $220.67 billion last year due to surging prices, according to the data. Analysts have predicted a greatest reliance on imported oil in the years to come.

Lock-up shares set to become tradable

The stock market is set to see lock-up agreements on non-tradable shares worth 2.75 billion yuan ($438.51 million) expire. The figure decreased from the 42.4 billion yuan in shares that went tradable earlier this month, data from the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges showed. Non-tradable shares of 19 listed companies will be eligible to be sold, with shares from locked initial public offerings accounting for nearly 70 percent of the total value, the data showed.

Highways toll free during festival

Drivers rushing home for family reunions during the Spring Festival will find it a cheaper journey this year as the country's highways will operate toll-free during the holiday. The Ministry of Transport announced on Friday that the country's highways will be toll-free for passenger cars from midnight on Feb 9 to midnight on Feb 15. He Jianzhong, a spokesman for the ministry, said passenger cars with seven seats or less and motorcycles will get a free pass through toll roads, bridges and tunnels during the Spring Festival holiday.

Firms' financing demands addressed

The development of a national off-exchange or over-the-counter market to meet enterprises growing financing demands will be pushed forward, a senior securities official said on Saturday. Yao Gang, vice-chairman of China Securities Regulatory Commission, made the remarks at a seminar in Beijing on the country's capital market.

Shipbuilder expects profits to slump

China CSSC Holding Ltd, the listed arm of China's largest shipbuilder, said on Saturday that its profits will likely shrink by 95 to 100 percent year-on-year in 2012 due to the sluggish shipping industry. The Shanghai-based firm said in a statement filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange that the slump will largely be attributable to a substantial decline in new building prices amid a lingering shipping downturn. The company's net profits hit 2.52 billion yuan ($400 million) in 2011, while earnings per share stood at 2.12 yuan.

Family planning services to be lifted

County-level family planning services will be improved with more investment in infrastructure, the National Population and Family Planning Commission said. Most family planning services at county level are not properly equipped, said a statement from the commission. According to the commission, the number of key medical instruments for pre-pregnancy tests, such as biochemistry analyzers, should at least double in a bid to meet demand at family planning services.

China Daily-Xinhua