Officials suspended

China Eastern Airlines (CEA) finally admitted on Monday that pilots on 21 flights deliberately turned their aircraft around in flight, affecting more than 1,000 passengers in Yunnan Province. CEA also said it had suspended two senior officials who were involved.

Bank collapse

THE collapse of part of the Yangtze River bank and a neighbouring road Saturday have been blamed on unstable geology and past road works, sources in central China's Hubei Province said yesterday.

Bird flu

CHINA'S Ministry of Agriculture yesterday confirmed an outbreak of bird flu at a fowl farm in a TibetAutonomous Region village.

New party chief

JI BINGXUAN was recently appointed secretary of the Heilongjiang Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), according to Xinhua news agency.