Death Toll in Qinghai Earthquake Rises to 617
The death toll from a 7.1-magnitude earthquake in northwest China's Qinghai Province has risen to 617. The latest statistics show that 313 people were missing, and 9,110 injured, 970 of them severely. The first group of 308 Special Forces from Guangdong has arrived in Qinghai to help with the rescue mission. An aid team consisting of 26 doctors and medical workers has also been dispatched to participate in the rescue work. The Guangdong government is donating 10 million yuan to the quake-hit region while Guangdong Red Cross is calling for donations from the public.
China's GDP Grows 11.9 per cent in First Quarter, CPI up 2.2 per cent
China's economy expanded 11.9 per cent year on year in the first quarter of this year to 8.06 trillion yuan ($1.19 trillion). The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced today (April 15) that China's consumer price index (CPI), a key gauge of inflation, rose 2.4 percent year on year in March. For the first quarter, it was up 2.2 percent. The producer price index (PPI), a major measure of inflation at the wholesale level, rose 5.9 percent in March, compared with a year earlier. China's PPI went up 5.2 percent year on year in the first quarter
GD Building a New Earthquake Early Warning System
The recent strong earthquakes that have shaken Sichuan and Qinghai in China and other parts of the world have made people worry whether the doomsday described in hit movie 2012 could really happen. Vice secretary-general of the Seismological Society of Guangdong Chen Yutao told our journalist that, over the past 2 years, 36 strong earthquakes measuring over seven in magnitude have taken place across the world. But the phenomenon is due to the normal movement of the earth's crust and does not necessarily indicate an imminent doomsday. She added that there is no evidence to suggest an earthquake will hit Guangdong in the near future. Guangdong is currently building an early warning system for earthquakes.
"The current early warning time is only dozens of seconds, not a few days in advance. We are building a new system because earthquakes in eastern Guangdong are quite frequent."
Over 133,000 Guangzhou Employees Declare Earnings Over 120,000 yuan
By the end of March, over 133,000 Guangzhou employees had declared earnings of more than 120,000 yuan, for last year, to the local taxation bureau. The number is 10 per cent higher than in the previous year. The new Tianhe district has overtaken Yuexiu district, the traditional area with the strongest economy, to rank in first place in terms of the number of rich earners. Manufacturing and finance continue to be the top two sectors of high earners.
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