Blogger bailed

    A CHINESE-AMERICAN businessman and social media celebrity who had been detained in August on suspicion of soliciting prostitutes was Wednesday released on bail, his lawyer said. Charles Xue Biqun — known to his 11.5 million Weibo followers as Xue Manzi — confessed in September to making mistakes in his online postings and now supports regulation of the Internet. Xue’s lawyer, Qi Xiaohong, said Xue, 61, was released on bond Wednesday for health reasons and because he pleaded guilty and cooperated with investigators.

    Attacker shot

    A MAN who was shot by security officers after attacking them died April 13 in Aksu Prefecture of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, ts.cn reported Thursday, citing the prefecture’s Public Security Bureau.

    The man rushed a security point twice on a motorcycle April 12, according to the report. The officers fired warning shots into the air, but the man still attacked them, the website said.

    Nurse assaulted

    A MOTHER attacked a nurse with a broom after she failed to properly insert a needle into her baby’s arm in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, on Monday. The 35-year-old nurse surnamed Jiang sustained bruises on her arm, lower leg and back, a lump over her head and had a headache after the attack at Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital. The mother was taken to a police station.

    Google smartphone

    GOOGLE’S modular smartphone concept could be available in January 2015 for as little as US$50. Paul Eremenko, Google’s Project Ara head, said the modular device is scheduled to go on sale in January next year and will be essentially just a frame, screen, Wi-Fi connection and processor — ready for users to customize with different plug-in modules, colors and accessories.