Beijing

1.39m divorce cases handled last year

About 1.39 million divorce cases were adjudicated by courts across China in 2016, Zhou Qiang, head of the Supreme People's Court, said at a meeting on trials involving domestic affairs on Wednesday. The divorces affected nearly 10 million people and represented the majority of the 1.75 million domestic affairs cases in the country last year, Zhou said. Also, a total of 1,284 protective orders have been issued to protect the rights of women, minors and the elderly since March 1, 2016, when the law against domestic violence took effect.

Daily seawater salt removal rises

The daily output of China's 131 seawater desalination projects reached more than 1.18 million metric tons at the end of last year, according to an official report released on Wednesday. The report on seawater utilization in 2016, issued by the State Oceanic Administration, said China's largest desalination project could produce 200,000 tons of fresh water per day.

Yunnan

In court, man admits killing 19

A man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to killing 19 people, including his parents. Yang Qingpei killed his parents in Yema village on Sept 28 after a request for money was rejected by his father, according to the Qujing Intermediate People's Court. Fearing his crime would be discovered, Yang killed 17 of his neighbors, including three children. He then fled to Kunming, according to an earlier statement issued by the Yunnan Public Security Department. Yang expressed remorse and apologized to the relatives of the deceased. He will be sentenced later.

Shandong

Huge cocaine bust made in Qingdao

Around 18 kilograms of cocaine was seized from a foreign container ship by Qingdao Customs, authorities said on Wednesday. It was the biggest case they had ever handled, they said. On May 6, more than 60 customs officers searched the ship based on information received earlier. In a crew member's closet, officers found 30 shoe soles with cocaine hidden inside. The crew member had connected with drug dealers when the ship was berthed overseas and brought the cocaine to China, the authorities said.

Xinjiang

Vocational schools reach out to region

Around 3,300 students from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region will attend vocational schools in inland cities as part of a program to increase the number of skilled workers in the region. Of the students, 88.5 percent are from rural areas of Xinjiang, according to the student enrollment office. This year, 15,658 students applied for the program, 1,085 more than last year. Beginning in 2011, students from Xinjiang have been able to apply for courses at 33 vocational schools in the central and eastern regions.