Microblog real-name registration

    Beijing authorities said the city’s users of microblog services who fail to register with their real names by March 16 will be banned from posting on the Web sites.

    The ultimatum* came nearly two months after the city introduced guidelines mandating* real-name registration for microbloggers, according to a meeting held February 7 by the Beijing Internet Information Office.

    Jan. inflation

    China’s inflation rebounded in January as food prices soared, renewing pressure on the Central Government to control living costs as it tries to boost slowing growth amid warnings of a looming* global downturn.

    Consumer prices in the world’s second-largest economy rose by an unexpectedly strong 4.5 percent over a year earlier, up from December’s 4.1 percent, data showed Thursday.

    HK entry for mainland cars

    A daily 50 mainland-registered vehicles will be allowed into Hong Kong for up to seven days when the next phase* of the cross-border driving scheme begins, said people familiar with plans being made by the Hong Kong and Guangdong governments.

    But mainland drivers applying for Hong Kong licences would need to meet strict requirements, such as having a good driving record and attending courses on the city’s traffic regulations, they said.

    Toxic spill on Yangtze

    A Chinese maritime court on Saturday ordered the detention of a South Korean cargo ship* after a chemical spill allegedly from the ship partially contaminated the drinking water source of a city downstream, along the Yangtze River in Jiangsu Province.

    The Wuhan Maritime Court, which has jurisdiction* over the region, ordered to detain the cargo ship Gloria at the Yangtze riverside city of Nantong and set a bail of 20.6 million yuan (US$3.3 million).

(SD-Agencies)