Parched

A farmer pulls an ox to drink in a dried pool in Qianguang Village， Yuping County in southwest China’s Guizhou Province， on July 29.

Due to little rainfall and high temperature， lingering droughts have affected more than 12 million people in 38 counties in Guizhou. More than 2 million people lack adequate supplies of drinking water， and a total of 847，300 hectares of farmland are damaged.

Poisoner on Trial

A court in north China’s Hebei Province on July 30 opened a trial for a man who allegedly added poison to frozen dumplings that sickened 10 people in Japan in 2008.

In January 2008， Japanese media reported that 10 people fell ill after consuming frozen meat dumplings produced by the Tianyang Food Plant based in Shijiazhuang， capital of Hebei.

The plant was investigated by both Chinese and Japanese authorities shortly after the incident， but no problems were found.

In March 2010， suspect Lyu Yueting was detained by Chinese police. Lyu worked in the factory between April 1993 and October 2009.

Lyu confessed to injecting pesticide into frozen dumplings between October and December 2007 because he was dissatisfied with his salary and did not get along with some of his co-workers， the procuratorate said.

After a three-hour trial， the court said a verdict will be announced on a later date.

According to Chinese law， the death penalty can be handed down to those found guilty of deploying dangerous substances if their actions cause serious injury， death or the loss of property.

No Take-off Limit

The Civil Aviation Administration of China （CAAC） has proposed a new measure to deal with serious flight delay problems at eight Chinese airports， The Beijing News reported on July 31.

The measure indicates that， except in the instance of bad weather and military events， these airports should not postpone their flights from taking off due to air control situations at destination airports.

The affected international airports include Beijing Capital， Shanghai Hongqiao， Shanghai Pudong， Guangzhou Baiyun， Shenzhen Bao’an， Chengdu Shuangliu， Xi’an Xianyang and Kunming Changshui.

It is estimated that the number of flights at the eight major airports represent about half of the total flights in China.

Officials Investigated

More than 700 officials have been investigated for breach of duty related to workplace accidents in the first half of the year， the Supreme People’s Procuratorate （SPP） said on July 29.

In the first half， prosecutors started investigating 467 graft cases related to workplace accidents， according to an SPP statement.

Prosecutors have finished investigating 457 officials implicated in the cases and filed charges against 443 of them， it said.

The SPP itself led investigations into three significant cases and supervised another 17 cases.

The top procuratorate asked local prosecuting agencies to step up efforts against cases of graft that could be related to workplace accidents.

Greenways in Beijing

China’s capital city will build over 1，000 km of greenways in the coming five years to ease air pollution， the Beijing Municipal Government announced on July 30.

Costing 3 billion yuan （$486 million）， the project will create a network of pathways connecting over 200 parks， scenic spots and historical sites in the city.

The park-like paths will offer more space for pedestrians and cyclists， who often complain about their lanes being occupied by motor vehicles during rush hours or traffic jams， thus encouraging more citizens to travel in a greener way， said Xiao Huili， an official with the Beijing Municipal Development and Reform Commission.

The greenways will also serve to improve the environment and help alleviate the choking smog that has plagued the megacity that is home to over 20 million people.

Construction is expected to start this year in the city proper and will later expand to the suburbs， Xiao said.

Healthcare Survey

The National Health and Family Planning Commission said on July 29 it will survey medical service facilities in September.

The survey， the fifth of its kind to be conducted since 1993， is intended to help the government learn about local medical service conditions， demand in the medical sector and the distribution of medical service resources.

The survey will be conducted from September 1 to 25， covering 300，000 people nationwide， according to the commission.

As part of the survey， medical workers will fill out questionnaires in order to collect information on their working conditions and their feelings toward their jobs.

Teeth From Stem Cells

Chinese scientists have successfully grown tooth-like structures from induced pluripotent stem cells （IPSC）， the Chinese Academy of Sciences（CAS） said.

The structures were found to possess physical properties， such as elasticity and hardness， that are similar to those found in regular human teeth， according to a statement issued by CAS on July 30.

Scientists differentiated stem cells derived from human urine and then recombined them with dental connective tissues isolated from mouse embryos， according to the statement.

The recombinant was later transplanted to mouse bodies and tooth-like structures were recovered within three weeks， it said.

The tooth-like structures have the same features as human teeth， including dental enamel， dentin， dental pulp and cementum， the statement said.

The research results demonstrate that the urine IPSC technique can be used to regenerate patientspecific dental tissues or even teeth and may be further developed for drug screening or clinical regenerative therapies， said Pei Duanqing， a researcher at the CAS’s Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health.

Like embryonic stem cells， IPSC can develop into any cell in the human body.

Panda Channel

From August 1， Internet users around the world will be able to watch live round-the-clock broadcasts of giant pandas living in southwest China’s Sichuan Province， the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding announced on July 28.

Twenty-eight high definition video cameras have been installed in the base to record the daily activities of more than 80 giant pandas living there， said sources with the base.

Visitors to the Giant Panda Channel， or Ipanda.com， can choose from six feeds， including “garden for adult pandas，” “kindergarten，”“nursery for twins，” “mother and child playground，” “No.1 Villa” and“Featured，” according to their own preference， 24 hours every day.

The website started posting video clips on June 24 as a test and has since attracted nearly 15，000 Internet users to visit and leave comments.

Highest County

A new county established on July 26 in southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region has become the world’s highest county-level administrative unit.

With an average elevation of 5，000 meters， Shuanghu County is located in Nagqu Prefecture and was previously administered by Nyima County. Shuanghu， meaning “two lakes，” is named for lakes Kamru and Racho in its jurisdiction.