【午间读报】Feb 12th

CHINA DAILY Headline Free artificial ear for boy suffering from villainous aunt Summary A 6-year-old boy in Hubei will have an artificial ear surgically attached for free. His ears were allegedly cut off by his uncle's wife late last month due to her harbored hatred stemming from disputes with the boy's parents. Local hospital says the boy's hearing has not been affected by the incident. GLOBAL TIMES Headline Average Internet speed climbs Summary China's average Internet speed reached 3.45 Megabytes per second in 2013, a 33-percent increase from the end of 2012. Shanghai ranked number one in the nation, with an average speed of 5.4 megabytes per second, followed by Beijing, with an average Internet speed at 4.17. BEIJING NEWS Headline Return of relics kept in Norway Summary Seven marble columns taken from Beijing's Old Summer Palace back in 1860 are to be given back to China this year. The relics have been kept in an art museum in Norway. The return deal was made after a Chinese entrepreneur, Huang Nubo, agreed to make a donation of over 1 and a half million US dollars to the museum. However, the vice president of Huang's company says the return is not directly connected to the donation. SOUTH CHINA METROPOLITAN DAILY Headline Ten law enforcement officer in disgrace Summary For the first time China's judiciary authority has publicized criminal cases involving law enforcement officers, claiming they are bad examples. Ten police officers or prosecutors across the country are involved in corrupt behavior, misconduct, or drunk driving in these cases. BEIJING MORNING POST Headline 60-thousand yuan of bribery in one year Summary A man who works in a state-run oil enterprise here in Beijing has taken a bribeof 60-thousand yuan, or around 10-thousand US dollars, within only one year after graduating from college. He has reportedly taken the money to cover the cost of having an extramarital affair with one of his colleagues. His wife still lives in his hometown. He is currently being prosecuted. SHANGHAI DAILY Headline Oil giants severely punished for pollution-cut target failures Summary China's environment authority says 46 major state-owned enterprises were 'severely punished' last year for failing to achieve pollution reduction targets. China's oil giants, Sinopec and PetroChina, were among the punished. Deadlines for improving the facilities in those enterprises are said to have been announced. BEIJING MORNING POST Headline Jewelry store in the Forbidden City sealed off Summary A jewelry and antique store inside the Forbidden City has been sealed off by the local court. The store is a subsidiary of a jewelry company here in Beijing, which is refusing to pay its employees' salaries. To add up the numbers on all the Price tags, the store is a worth almost 4 million yuan, or over 650-thousand US dollars.