A Chinese express delivery company apologized on Saturday after parcels tainted by toxic chemicals killed one recipient and sickened seven others.

In a case that exposed flawed management inside one of China's fastest-growing industries, a man in east China's Shandong Province died of methyl fluoroacetate poisoning after he accepted shoes delivered by the Shanghai YTO Express in late November, according to the Shandong post bureau. 

A YTO spokesman said the contamination happened after a package containing the chemical leaked during transport. The package was sent by a chemical plant in central China's Hubei Province, who claimed it was "innoxious." 

In a statement issued to media, the company said it would not shun its responsibilities and was cooperating with police in the investigation. 

Police are still probing the case.

 

China to tighten supervision on infant formula sales

China's food and drug watchdog has urged supervisory bodies at various levels to tighten supervision of the distribution and sales of infant formula milk powder.

Food safety regulators have been asked to carry out strict checks and approval measures and enhance supervision on the qualifications of milk powder operators, according to a statement released by the China Food and Drug Administration. 

The administrtion says random inspection and risk monitoring of dairy producers should also be strengthened.

 

China confirms H5N2 bird flu outbreak in Hebei

An outbreak of H5N2 bird flu in poultry has been reported in north China's Hebei Province.

The Ministry of Agriculture says the disease has killed 4,000 chickens raised by a farm in Baoding City after they showed symptoms of the suspected avian flu on Dec. 17. 

The National Avian Influenza Reference Laboratory on Saturday confirmed the epidemic was H5N2 bird flu after testing samples collected at the farm.

 

China's moon rover works stably

China's moon rover, Yutu (Jade Rabbit), worked in stable condition following its restart after a "nap" on Friday night, according to the Beijing Aerospace Control Center .

The six-wheeled rover started moving again after shutting down its subsystems on Dec. 16, and has traveled about 21 meters as of Saturday night.

Yutu will survey the moon's geological structure and surface substances and look for natural resources for three months, while the lander will conduct in-situ exploration at the landing site for one year.

 

Memorial services held for 25th anniversary of Lockerbie bombing

A Memorial service was held on Saturday evening in Lockerbie in southern Scotland to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the bombing tragedy which killed 270 people.

Simultaneous remembrance services were also held on Saturday evening at Westminster Abbey in London and Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, U.S. -- where most of the victims were from.

 

Japanese gov't, ruling camp agree on record high budget for FY 2014

The Japanese government and ruling camp have agreed on a record high 95.88-trillion-yen (over 921 billion U.S. dollars) initial general-account budget for fiscal 2014 which will start in April, according to local media. 

The budget comes after the country agreed to cut outlays designed to bolster regional economies by 40 percent from fiscal 2013 to 610 billion yen (over5.8 billion dollars) in the draft state budget for the upcoming fiscal year. 

The prime minister's cabinet is expected to approve the draft budget for fiscal 2014 on Tuesday.

Thai major opposition party to boycott general election

Thailand's major opposition Democrat Party on Saturday decided to boycott the upcoming general election slated for Feb.2, 2014. 

The party says it will not filed any candidates in the election and insists the election be postponed until a political reform is carried out.

The Election Commission has reaffirmed the election would not be delayed and candidate registration would start on Monday as planned.

 

Egypt's Morsi referred to criminal court over jailbreak charges

Egypt's ousted President Mohamed Morsi was referred Saturday to a criminal court over charges of 2011 prison break.

Morsi will stand trial along with more than 130 other Muslim Brotherhood members, and members of the Palestinian militant group Hamas for storming the Wady al-Natroun prison and kidnapping and killing police officers during the 2011 uprising that toppled his predecessor Honsi Mubarak. 

This is the third time for the Islamist leader to be referred to a criminal court, as he faces additional charges related to inciting violence and murdering against protesters outside the presidential palace in early December 2012.

 

Guangzhou suffer last-gasp defeat to fourth-place at Club World Cup

Guangzhou Evergrande finished fourth in Chinese club's debut at Club World Cup in Marrakech on Saturday after losing 3-2 to Copa Libertadores champions Atletico Mineiro from Brazil.

The substitute Luan scored the winner in the stoppage time for the South American champions, giving Cuca's side the third-place and only victory of the tournament after they were upset by the hosts Raja Casablanca in the semifinal.