Briefly

BEIJING

Immigration organ launches helpline

The National Immigration Administration launched a bilingual helpline and an English version of its website on Thursday to make immigration information services more accessible. The 12367 helpline is a Chinese/English, 24/7 service that answers queries concerning immigration policies and accepts complaints and suggestions, it said. The administration's new English language website, en.nia.gov.cn, features sections including immigration information services and counseling and assistance.

China sets deep-sea core retrieval record

Chinese scientists have completed a deep-sea drilling project to obtain a sediment core with a length of 231 meters from a depth of over 2,000 meters in the South China Sea, setting a world record for deep-sea drilling. China's Sea Bull II drilling system took about 15 hours to drill the sediment on the seabed 2,060 meters under the sea on Wednesday. The system, weighing 12 metric tons, is China's heaviest piece of underwater geological exploration equipment. The system was developed by professor Wan Buyan and his team at the Hunan University of Science and Technology.

HEBEI

3 injured, 9 missing in explosives accident

Three people were injured and nine others are missing following an explosive disposal operation in Chicheng county, Hebei province, the county government said on Thursday. It said the accident happened at 5:15 pm on Wednesday while a security firm was disposing of expired explosives for a mining company. It said search and rescue work is ongoing.

Xinhua