Mechanism aims to guard lawyers' rights

The All China Lawyers Association has pledged to strengthen information sharing and joint investigations with the judicial authorities to prevent infringements of lawyers' rights.

Deadly fire linked to unqualified workforce

People who died in a fire in the Beijing's Daxing district were poisoned by carbonic oxide from a newly installed underground refrigeration facility, authorities said.

Vice-governor of Liaoning probed

Liu Qiang, vice-governor of Liaoning province, is under investigation on suspicion of "seriously violating Party discipline", according to a statement from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

IN BRIEF (Page 4)

Illegal source of money for Macao gambling shut down

A major channel used to transfer money to the Macao Special Administrative Region for gambling activities has been cut off after police broke up two major underground banks in Shaoguan in northern Guangdong province earlier this month.

Ticket book opens doors to museums

Sightseers in Beijing are now able to buy a book of tickets covering 113 museums in the nation's capital.

Researcher is accused of stealing specimens from botanical garden

Nanjing's Sun Yat-Sen Botanical Garden is not a place you would expect to be the scene of theft. But according to a deputy curator of the specimen gallery, a researcher at the garden last week took parts of 12 precious plant specimens.

Court streamlines reduced sentences, paroles

China's information-sharing platform for handling parole applications and sentence commutations was launched on Thursday, with the aim of improving judicial transparency and reducing trivial matters in legal systems.

Plans in works for a 'naturally' beautiful Xiongan

The central government has set up a special fund of 500 million yuan ($76 million) for an ongoing "face lift" project aimed at making ecological improvements in the Xiongan New Area in Hebei province before construction begins.

Chengdu-Xi'an train link promotes travel, tourism

The trial run of a bullet train from Chengdu, Sichuan province, to Xi'an in neighboring Shaanxi province took about four hours on Wednesday morning, cutting travel time between the cities by about six hours.

Pyongyang flights suspended due to lack of demand

Air China, the nation's flagship carrier, has suspended flights between Beijing and Pyongyang due to a decline in market demand, a company spokesman said on Wednesday.

'Lake chiefs' to keep eye on environment

"Lake chiefs" will be appointed in China to keep an eye on water pollution, based on the successful introduction of "river chiefs" last year. The first meeting of the Leading Group for Deepening Overall Reform of the 19th CPC Central Committee, held on Monday, approved the measure, among others.