Drunk driving to be made a crime

China's Criminal Law is likely to include a new charge of 'driving a motor vehicle in a dangerous manner', the Legal Evening News reported. It is rumored that drunk driving is included in the draft 8th amendment to China's criminal law to be discussed by the National People's Congress Standing Committee in late August. The new offence targets drunk driving, illegal car racing and vehicle overloading - all seen as major threats to road safety. On August 15, 2009, the Ministry of Public Security launched a 2-month campaign to curb drunk driving.

Synutra hit by scandal

The Ministry of Health announced Sunday that an investigation showed the amount of sex hormones in Synutra milk powder did not exceed the permitted amount, the Jinan Times reported. Earlier reports claimed Synutra milk powder had caused baby girls to show signs of premature sexual development. Sources said that, during the past week, the company suffered losses of around 2 billion yuan due to the scandal. More seriously, customer confidence in domestic milk brands like Synutra has been badly dented. Analysts estimate the negative influence of this incident will at least last a year.

China 7 make Global Cities Index

Seven Chinese cities have been included in the 2010 Global Cities Index compiled by the American journal Foreign Policy. To create this year's rankings, the magazine analyzed 65 major cities using several criteria, including influence, culture, innovation and overall strength. In the 2010 Global Cities Index, New York ranked 1st; Hong Kong 5th; Beijing 15th and Taipei 39th. Shanghai ranked 20th; Guangzhou 57th; Shenzhen 62nd and Chongqing 65th.

China volleyed by Brazil

The Chinese women's volleyball team was whitewashed 3-0 by Brazil on Monday in the Macao Grand Prix FIVA World League 2010. The scores in the three sets were 12-25, 19-25 and 19-25. Brazil became champions for the third time in a row with an unbeaten record. China came second with four points after winning one game and losing two, Xinhua reported.

T-Mac in one-year deal with Pistons

Tracy McGrady signed a one-year free agent deal worth 1.3 million dollars with the Detroit Pistons on Monday, AP reported. The 31-year-old guard struggled with knee injuries in 24 games for the New York Knicks last season, averaging only 9.4 points. McGrady's former teams have included Toronto, Orlando and Houston. He has never played for a team that has advanced past the first round of the NBA playoffs.

All but one survive jet crash

A Boeing 737 passenger jet crashed and broke into three pieces after landing during a storm on San Andres island in Colombia yesterday, but the only fatality was a passenger who died from a heart attack.

A Boeing 737 passenger jet crashed and broke into three pieces after landing during a storm on San Andres island in Colombia yesterday, but the only fatality was a passenger who died from a heart attack, the Guardian reported. The plane, carrying 121 passengers and six crew members, was 80 meters from the San Andres island runway when a suspected lightning strike caused it to land short and slide onto the runway. The island's governor, Pedro Gallardo, said it was extraordinary that almost everyone survived, and joined a chorus calling it a miracle. The sole fatality, Amar Fernandez de Barreto, 68, died of a suspected heart attack on the way to hospital. Dozens of passengers were taken to hospital - five in a serious condition.

Pop star confesses in HIV trial

Nadja Benaissa, 28, former singer in the girl band No Angels made a tearful courtroom apology Monday in Darmstadt, Germany, for keeping her HIV status a secret from sexual partners, AFP reported. But she denied intending to infect anyone, as she stood trial for grievous bodily harm. According to the charge sheet, she had unprotected sex on five occasions between 2000 and 2004 with three men and did not tell them she was infected. One of them subsequently found out that he also had the virus, but it remains to be established whether having sex with Benaissa infected him. If convicted, Benaissa faces between six months and 10 years in prison.

James Cameron marks birthday in sub

Avatar director James Cameron celebrated his 56th birthday on Monday by diving beneath the surface of the world's deepest lake, Lake Baikal, in the Mir-1 submersible he used to film the wreck of the Titanic, Reuters reports. He spent several hours underwater in the lake.

Breast cream leads to marriage bust

A young woman filed for divorce after her husband gave her a present of breast enhancement cream, the Chongqing Evening News reports. Liu Jin and Yang Mei had been happily married for 3 years until, one month ago, Liu Jin posted pictures of busty, scantily-clad women on his blog. This upset Yang Mei and an argument led to a "cold war." To break the ice, Liu decided to give his wife what he thought would be an appropriate present. Yang is beautiful, but has small breasts, and was mocked by classmates in college as the "Flat Princess." She, tried many times to enlarge her bust, but without success. After asking advice from a friend Liu bought her some overseas-made "nano-technology" bust-enhancement cream that cost over 2000 yuan. But his wife took it as a sign he was unhappy with her body, they fought again, separated, and Yang finally asked for a divorce. (Names have been changed to protect privacy)

One-man weather forecasts beat TV

Simon Cansick was so fed up with inaccurate television weather forecasts that he decided to set up his own weather station, the Daily Mail reports. The 47-year-old accountant, who lives in the North Yorkshire village of Duggleby, spent ￡1,000 on meteorological equipment, fixed it on his roof and began issuing local weather forecasts on the Internet. His website, www.dugglenet.org, offers predictions for the next 24 hours and is automatically updated every three seconds. It is so accurate that everyone in the village gets the latest forecast from dugglenet.org rather than the UK's national weather service.

(China.org.cn August 18, 2010)