Acting governor appointed in northwestern province

Wang Jianjun, a senior official in Northwest China's Qinghai province, has been appointed acting governor of the province, replacing Hao Peng who became the top official at the nation's top regulatory body for State-owned enterprises this month.

Ex-senior official given life sentence

Du Shanxue, 60, former deputy governor of Shanxi province, was sentenced on Tuesday to life in prison for offering and taking bribes.

IN BRIEF (Page 4)

Investment helps 10 million people rise from poverty

China has lifted more than 10 million rural residents out of poverty this year with a record-breaking investment of 100 billion yuan ($14.4 billion) in government funds, and it plans to pull another 10 million people out of poverty next year.

Crimes to be punished severely

Telecom and online fraudsters will face heavier punishments if their behavior causes death or long-term mental distress, according to a new judicial guideline.

Medical waste turned into tableware, toys

Police in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, arrested three suspects who allegedly traded thousands of tons of medical waste that was later processed into disposable tableware and fake brand-name toys.

The silk road in the sky

The unbroken thread of every silkworm stretches more than 1.5 kilometers.

Water quality to be prioritized

A draft amendment to the Water Pollution Prevention Law, submitted to the country's top legislative body for first reading on Monday, calls for more restrictions on major sources of underground water pollution, such as chemical plants, industrial zones, mining regions and waste burial sites.

Highlights of other drafts

Piloting of supervisory system to be launched

10 probed over fatal collapse

Ten suspects are under investigation for their liability in a deadly construction site accident in Fengcheng, Jiangxi province, the Supreme People's Procuratorate said on Monday.

Good Samaritans to be protected by law

Good Samaritans shall not be liable for damages caused to those being helped during emergency rescue efforts, the top legislature said.

Backlog in drug approvals reduced

The backlog of drug registration cases in China has been substantially reduced, with 9,000 applications awaiting approval, compared with a peak of 22,000 last year, a senior official said.