Briefly

Ex-tobacco chief to face graft charges

Ling Chengxing, former head of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, has been arrested on suspicion of accepting bribes and abuse of power, the Supreme People's Procuratorate said on Tuesday. Ling's case was handed over to the prosecuting agency following the conclusion of a National Commission of Supervision investigation, it said. Ling previously also served as a member of the leading Party members group of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and secretary of the leading Party members group of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration.

2 killed, 21 injured in hospital attack

Two people were killed and 21 others injured in an attack at a hospital in Zhenxiong, Yunnan province, on Tuesday, local authorities said. The attack took place at around 11:37 am when a man assaulted people with a knife at a hospital in the county, the county's public security bureau said. The injured are being treated in hospital, and the case is under investigation.

Courts urged to consult case database

When hearing cases, Chinese courts have been urged to search for similar cases in a database and draw upon their judgments, according to a document released by the top court on Tuesday. The database, built under the oversight of the Supreme People's Court, comprises publicly available cases provided by the court as guidance, as well as cases reviewed and approved by it for reference. Its purpose is to aid courts at all levels and the public in searching for, utilizing, studying and researching cases. Courts should reference similar cases when deciding on a ruling, the top court said.

AG600 amphibious plane completes test

China's independently-developed AG600 large amphibious aircraft has completed the initial verification of its water rescue capabilities, according to Aviation Industry Corporation of China. An AG600 carried out the water rescue verification at a reservoir at Zhanghe Airport in Jingmen, Hubei province, in late April, AVIC, China's leading aircraft manufacturer, said. It said it was a key step in enabling the AG600 to effectively meet the demands of the country's emergency rescue system.

China to increase intensive care beds

China aims to increase the number of intensive care beds in hospitals to 15 per 100,000 people, as well as the number of hospital beds that can be quickly converted to provide such care to 10 per 100,000 by the end of next year, according to a guideline released by the National Health Commission and seven other government departments on Monday. It said that bolstering intensive care facilities and services represents an important step in improving the country's overall treatment capability when dealing with major and acute public health events.

China Daily - Xinhua