Briefly

Former legislator charged with graft

Liu Handong, a former senior legislator in East China's Jiangsu province, has been indicted on suspicion of accepting bribes, abuse of power and illegal trade in land-use rights, the Supreme People's Procuratorate said on Monday. Liu, former vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the Jiangsu Provincial People's Congress, allegedly took undue advantage of his various positions and abused his power to seek profits for others, illegally accepting a particularly large sum of money and valuables in exchange, according to prosecutors. He also allegedly abused his power in matters such as the transfer of land-use rights and the exemption of land value-added tax, resulting in significant losses for public assets and State interests.

Dike breaches sealed in rain-hit Central China

All three dike breaches on a river in Central China's Hunan province have been sealed after round-the-clock work to reduce the threat of flooding. The last two dike breaches on the Juanshui River in the city of Xiangtan were repaired on Sunday afternoon and Monday morning, according to the city's flood control and drought relief headquarters. The dike breaches occurred between July 28 and 29 after Typhoon Gaemi triggered record-breaking floods on the river. One was sealed on July 29. Rescue workers said that 80 units of heavy machinery, including excavators and bulldozers, had been sent to repair the dikes. Rainstorms have wreaked havoc since late last month, triggering flash floods and landslides.

C919 passenger plane soars on fifth route

China's homegrown large passenger aircraft, the C919, began operation on a new route linking Beijing with Xi'an, the capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, on Monday, its operator, China Eastern Airlines, said. Flight MU2113, carrying 139 passengers, took off from Xi'an Xianyang International Airport at 4 pm for Beijing, marking the launch of the C919's fifth regular commercial route. The service operates daily, with the return flight departing Beijing at 8 pm. The C919 completed its first commercial flight in May last year and has since maintained regular operations between Shanghai and Chengdu, the capital of Southwest China's Sichuan province. As of Saturday, the C919 had completed 3,133 flights, serving nearly 420,000 passengers.

Liaoning evacuates residents after rain

More than 28,000 residents of Northeast China's Liaoning province have been evacuated following a new round of torrential rains, with water levels of six rivers exceeding warning levels. Downpours battered many parts of the province from 7 am on Sunday to 7 am on Monday, with the heaviest hourly rainfall reaching 81.9 mm in the Xinglongtai district of the city of Panjin. The province's average precipitation reached 25.4 mm during the 24 hours. To cope with the latest round of rainstorms, eight of the province's 14 prefectural-level cities activated Level III or Level IV emergency responses for flood control.

Xinhua