介绍:
1.Top S China provincial political advisor under investigation
A top political advisor in south China's Guangdong Province is under investigation for suspected "serious discipline and law violations."
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China made the announcement today.
Zhu Mingguo is chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
2.Death sentence for cult members in E. China upheld
The Shandong Higher People's Court has upheld the death sentences handed to two members of the Church of the Almighty God cult, who beat a woman to death in a McDonalds in May.
The local higher court heard the appeal of five cult members last Friday. It rejected each appeal, and upheld the original sentences.
In October, Zhang Fan and Zhang Lidong were sentenced to death by the Yantai Intermediate People's Court in Shandong Province, with another accomplice, Lyu Yingchun, given a life sentence. The final two cult members, Zhang Hang and Zhang Qiaolian, were sentenced to prison terms of ten and seven years, respectively.
All four Zhangs are related.
3.British citizen involved with ivory smuggling into China
A British citizen is suspected of smuggling ivory, rhino and tiger products to China.
Customs in the eastern city of Fuzhou valued the smuggled products, which included more than 100 ivory items, a rhino horn cane and the whole skin of a tiger, at more than 1.2 million yuan or 200,000 U.S. dollars.
The British citizen, surnamed Hu, was born in China.
Fuzhou Customs says the British woman and her husband, a Chinese citizen living in Britain, bought the ivory products in Britain and then had the items mailed or transported in person to a relative living in China.
The relative, surnamed Zhang, would then sell the items to Chinese buyers.
4.China vows to further deepen cooperation with SAARC
China says it is willing to work with the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation to further enhance ties.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying made the comments in response to a question on the 18th SAARC summit, which just concluded in Kathmandu, Nepal on Thursday.
She said China attaches great importance to relations with SAARC and cooperation with countries in the South Asian region.
Hua added that China was named an envoy to SAARC recently.
Established in 1985 in Bangladesh, SAARC groups Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
5.Beijing passes bill to ban smoking in all indoor public places
Beijing has adopted new anti-smoking legislation to ban smoking in all indoor public places, workplaces and on transit.
The regulation is scheduled to become effective on June 1 next year.
According to the bill, smoking is also prohibited in open-air spaces like those around kindergartens, schools, child welfare institutions, women and children's hospitals, fitness and sports venues, and cultural relic protection sites that are open to the public.
Tobacco advertisements are not allowed to appear outdoors or in any public places, including on transit. Media ads have been banned as well, affecting radio, TV, films, newspapers, books, and the internet. All forms of tobacco promotions and title sponsorship are also prohibited.
Teachers are forbidden from smoking in front of students in primary and secondary schools.
The regulation also prohibits selling cigarettes to minors through vending machines and the internet.
6.Begging, busking banned in Beijing subway
A regulation passed by Beijing municipal legislators has imposed fines for begging, busking and flyer distribution in the crowded Beijing subway.
The rule, which will take effect in May, stipulates that people who beg or busk in subway stations or carriages will be fined up to 1,000 yuan or about 163 U.S. dollars, and those who distribute leaflets up to 10,000 yuan.
The behaviors have long been criticized by the public and are blamed for bringing safety hazards to subway operations.
A controversial ban on eating in the subway, proposed in the draft of regulation, was excluded from the final version.
7.Yingluck impeachment case to kick off in early 2015
The impeachment case against former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shiniwatra is to begin early next year.
The country's Natinoal Legislative Assembly set the hearing date today, deciding on January 9th.
The former leader is accused of dereliction of duty for failing to stop corruption and losses related to a controversial financial scheme for Thailand's rice industry.
Yingluck Shiniwatra's request to add 72 items of evidence to her case has been denied.
If impeached, she faces a ban of up to five years from Thai politics.
Impeachment cases against the former Senate speaker and the former House speaker will begin on January 8th.
8.Polling starts for Namibian presidential, parliamentary elections
Polling is underway for Namibia's fifth post-independence presidential and national assembly elections.
Over 1.2 million registered voters are expected to cast their ballots at nearly 4,000 polling stations across the country, which are open from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. local time.
Namibia has become the first African country to use Electronic Voting Machines in elections, which helps shorten the voting process to one day.
However, some polling stations experienced delays due to technical glitch.
The EVMs also sparked controversy from some opposition parties, who complained that the new method would leave no paper trail and that the ruling Swapo party was trying to "rig" the elections.
