Police detain passengers for using phones during flight

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Using mobile phones during flight can lead to detention of up to five days and fines as high as 50,000 yuan (US$7,284.1). [file photo] 

Beijing police detained three passengers from Jan. 5 to Feb. 6 for allegedly using mobile phones during flights, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) News reported Wednesday.

The first passenger surnamed Zhang was held for five days after being arrested upon landing at Beijing Capital International Airport on a flight from Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, on the evening of Jan. 5.

A flight attendant said that Zhang refused to turn off her cell phone when the plane was taking off and insisted on making calls during flight. When she was arrested and taken to airport police station after landing, she refused to cooperate.

The second passenger, surnamed Niu, was detained for three days when her plane was landing at Beijing airport from Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, on the afternoon of Feb. 5.

The third passenger, surnamed Wang, was taken for five days after landing at Beijing from Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang Province, at noon on Feb. 6. Wang was punished for allegedly listening to music on cell phone during takeoff and landing.

According to China’s civil air safety regulations, using mobile phones and other communication tools during flight may threaten public security and can lead to detention for up to five days. For those cases of gross violation, passengers can be fined as much as 50,000 yuan (US$7,284.1) and be given criminal sanctions.

Beijing to stamp out toxic school racetracks

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Beijing will issue new standards on the quality of synthetic racetracks in primary and high schools in 2017 after children reportedly fell sick from exposure to toxic running tracks last year.

Construction of new synthetic running tracks will be suspended until the enforcement of the new standards, which have been given priority by the Beijing Municipal Education Commission this year.

Makeshift racetracks, such as water permeable brick or concrete ones, will be adopted with the new standards.

Zhang Yongkai from the commission said the new standards would require extensive tests on chemical substances, and that the entire construction process, including raw material purchase and processing, would be under strict inspection.

Last year, pupils in a primary school in downtown Beijing reported nosebleeds, dizzy spells and coughs after alleged exposure to the newly renovated tracks. Tests on the tracks in mid-June, nine months after they were put into use, showed excessive amounts of benzene substances and formaldehyde.

Similar cases were also reported in other provincial regions, such as Jiangsu and Guangdong.

Media reports said some of the racetracks were made of industrial waste, such as scrap tires and cables, and were built with substandard glue.

Foreigner’s fingerprints to be collected upon entry in China

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Foreign nationals’ fingerprints will be collected by China’s border authorities when entering China, according to a statement on the website of China’s Ministry of Public Security on Thursday.

The country’s border authority will gather the fingerprints of incoming foreigners aged 14 to 70. Foreign nationals holding diplomatic passports or enjoying mutual exemption of this kind will not have to, according to the statement. The regulation will begin trials in Shenzhen airport on Feb. 10 and will be expanded to other airports and ports this year.

The ministry said the practice, which is commonplace in many other countries, is to enhance exit/entry administration, and border authorities will take measures to make customs clearance more efficient.

Police arrest over 30 drug suspects in SW China

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Police in southwest China’s Guizhou Province have seized a large amount of equipment and 900 kilograms of raw materials for drug production and arrested more than 30 suspects, police said Thursday.

In July 2015, police in Guizhou’s provincial capital Guiyang began to investigate the activities of a drug gang headed by a suspect surnamed Li. The gang operated a drug lab in a remote village in north China’s Hebei Province.

In October 2016, police raided the lab and arrested Li and five other suspects. They also confiscated over 900 kilograms of raw materials and equipment. A major member of the gang, surnamed Zhang, however, evaded capture and fled the scene.

On Feb. 1 this year, the police were tipped off that Zhang had resurfaced in Guiyang and was in the process of setting up another lab. Zhang had also secured sales with drug dealers in Malaysia.

Zhang and 30 other suspects were arrested in Guiyang on Feb. 7.

Central African Republic: Senior UN official condemns armed, forceful entry into hospital

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9 February 2017 – Denouncing forceful entry by armed individuals into a hospital in the Central African Republic’s restive PK5 neighbourhood with the intention to kill some of the patients, a senior United Nations humanitarian official has emphasized that such incidents are in violation of the international humanitarian law.

This is the second such incident at the health facility, situated in the capital, Bangui, in the last five days.

&#8220It is unacceptable that armed elements come to a hospital, with arms to kill patients,&#8221 stressed Michel Yao, the Acting Humanitarian Coordinator and the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) office in the Central African Republic (CAR), in a news release.

The UN official also underlined that that respect for health facilities and their civilian character must be ensured, and that free and unhindered access to patients and medical staff must be safeguarded.

International humanitarian law expressly forbids attacks on or targeting of medical facilities and personnel.

&#8220I call on all parties including national authorities to enhance the protection of civilians and peaceful cohabitation of communities,&#8221 the Acting Humanitarian Coordinator added.

At least three killed in the restive neighbourhood

According to the news release, at least 26 individuals &#8211 both civilians and combatants &#8211 were injured and at least three killed in the violence in Bangui’s PK5 neighbourhood that has witnessed violent flare-ups in the past.

Several houses, a school and a church were also destroyed.

Protection of civilians continues to be a major concern in CAR where, according to estimates, 400,000 people remain displaced due to conflict and 2.2 million people are currently in need of humanitarian assistance.

In January, the UN together with the Government and relief organizations launched a $400 million appeal for humanitarian response until 2019. Funding, however, remains a major challenge.

Clashes between the mainly Muslim Séléka rebel coalition and anti-Balaka militia, which are mostly Christian, plunged the country of 4.5 million people into civil conflict in 2013. Despite significant progress and successful elections, CAR has remained in the grip of instability and sporadic unrest.