Beijing education officials deny a rumor that English will no longer be part of the gaokao, about 10,000 ducks die following an outbreak of E. coli, and singer Li Daimo is charged with drug-related offences.

Guangzhou faces bus driver shortage

The public transportation industry in Guangzhou is facing a shortage of 6,000 to 8,000 bus drivers, New Express reported on Sunday.

Zhang Baoying, an official with the city's human resources market service center, said that the actual shortage may be greater because the city is planning to open more bus routes.

The average wage of a bus driver was 5,500 yuan ($880) a month in a job fair of bus companies on Saturday.

Authorities deny English exam no longer part of gaokao

A post saying English will no longer be a required subject for the senior high school entrance examination and college entrance examination recently went viral, but the Beijing education authorities denied the rumor on May 9, saying that they had not yet completed their education reform plan, the Beijing Times reported.

E.coli outbreak in Beijing suburb leaves 10,000 ducks dead

About 10,000 ducks have died following an outbreak of E. coli at duck farms in Beijing's suburban Pinggu district, cnr.cn reported.

The municipal and district disease control departments confirmed the ducks were infected with secondary E. coli following infectious serositis.

 

Life sentence upheld for hospital attacker

A provincial court on Saturday said it had upheld the life sentence of a man found guilty in a fatal hospital attack. Cai Chunfeng, 43, stabbed a nurse to death and injured four other medical workers on Nov 13, 2012, at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, the Anhui Provincial Higher People's Court said in a statement.

The final verdict came less than five months after the Hefei Intermediate People's Court handed down the sentence. Cai should be severely punished for the attack but was shown leniency because he confessed to local police and due to his diminished criminal responsibility because of a mental disorder, the court said. Cai was also ordered to pay 70,000 yuan ($11,240) to the victims and their families.

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Hospital security boosted

More plastic scrap recycled

About 30 percent of China's plastic scrap was recycled last year, up from 20 percent in 2010, the China Scrap Plastics Association said.

The country recycled about 28 million metric tons of the plastic scrap it produced, People's Daily quoted the association as saying. From 2006 to 2010, only about 46 million tons of plastic scrap were recycled, the association said.

China is one of the world's biggest producers and consumers of plastics. It needs about 80 million tons of plastic annually, requiring 240 million tons of crude oil. Six tons of oil are saved for every ton of plastic scrap recycled, the report said.

New species of dinosaur discovered in Jiangxi

Scientists recently identified a new species of dinosaur related to the Tyrannosaurus rex which was discovered at a construction site in Jiangxi province in 2012, jxnews.com.cn reported.

The fossils were identified as belonging to a 30-foot-long Qianzhousaurus sinensis, described as “a remarkable new species of long-snouted tyrannosaurid" that lived nearly 70 million years ago.

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Dinosaur fossils unearthed in east China

Dairy producer denies using toxic gelatin

A major Chinese dairy producer has denied a media report alleging that it added a toxic industrial gelatin to its yogurt products.

Beijing Sanyuan Food Co said in a statement that its production materials were bought from the world's leading edible gelatin makers, which are either entirely foreign-funded or Sino-foreign joint ventures. Quality tests have shown that both the materials used in the production of the edible gelatin and the final gelatin products are up to standard, it said. The dairy products were sold after passing quality tests, Beijing Sanyuan said.

The newspaper 21st Century Business Herald alleged on Friday that Beijing Sanyuan Food Co once bought toxic industrial gelatin from Gelita Cangnan Gelatin Co in Zhejiang province.

Singer charged with drug-related offences

Chinese singer Li Daimo, also known by his English name Demon Li, was charged in Beijing on Saturday with allowing other people to use drugs at his home, Beijing Evening News reported.

The police arrested Li and five other people at his home on March 18 on suspicion of drug-related offences.

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Talent show singer arrested for drug use

Tough stance taken on online lotteries

China's Ministry of Finance has re-iterated tough regulations on Internet lottery sales, as explosive growth in recent years raises concerns about sellers' qualifications.

A ministry spokesman said all lottery sales should be strictly regulated to prevent addiction. The spokesman acknowledged it is more difficult to regulate online lottery sales. Welfare or sports lottery sales agencies should not sell lottery tickets online without the ministry's approval, the spokesman said, adding that only two firms are allowed to engage in sports lottery sales online.

But observers said a number of unlicensed companies, helped by easy access through smartphone apps, offer online lottery sales because of the low odds of buyers winning the jackpot. Last year, online sales rose 82.6 percent to 42 billion yuan compared with the year before, the lottery consulting website xueqiu.com said. Total lottery sales reached 309.33 billion yuan, it said.