Winter sports spur holiday spending

More than 2.6 billion yuan ($400 million) was spent on dining, entertainment and shopping in Beijing during the New Year holiday, with the "white economy" becoming a new growth point.

Inspectors punish polluters in Tibet

The central environmental inspection team exposed 1,022 cases of pollution in the Tibet autonomous region during a month of random checks, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said on Wednesday.

Snow Town hotel is found fleecing guests

A guesthouse in Snow Town on the outskirts of Hailin, Heilongjiang province, has been punished by the local tourist authorities for overcharging customers.

Gang is caught in ID card scheme

Shanghai police have detained 15 people suspected of buying lost identity cards to open "black" bank accounts and then selling the documents, mostly to gangs involved in telecom fraud.

Courts told to fix mistakes on entrepreneurs

Courts nationwide were ordered on Tuesday to correct their mistakes in handling cases involving entrepreneurs and start retrials as soon as possible, to provide a better economic environment for companies.

Reform of prosecution system to ensure justice

The Supreme People's Procuratorate issued a notice on Tuesday calling for deep reform of the prosecution system to prevent miscarriages of justice.

Legislators approve regional appointments

Zhang Guoqing, the former mayor of Chongqing, was appointed acting mayor of Tianjin on Tuesday, two days after transferring to the city to become its deputy Party chief.

Mountaineers scale snowy peak to see in New Year

XINING - "My friends, I've scaled the Gangshika snowy peak. It's meaningful to complete such a feat on the first day of the new year. I wish you all the best," Geng Ru, an outdoor sports fan, wrote on WeChat on Monday.

IN BRIEF (Page 4)

Blizzards to sweep half the country

This winter's heaviest bout of snow and rainfall began sweeping 23 provincial-level regions - half of the country's territory - on Tuesday and will continue until Thursday, according to official forecasts.

Voice recordings back up sex claims

An alleged victim of sexual harassment posted new evidence on social media on Tuesday - including sound recordings - to prove the accusations against a Beijing professor.

Database to help boost insurance

China aims to build a database that includes all the eligible people for social insurance to implement targeted beneficiary measures, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.