Navy starts exercise

    The Chinese navy announced 10 days of military training in the waters near eastern Hainan Island in the South China Sea starting on July 22.

    During the training, “no vessel is allowed to enter the designated* maritime* areas,” according to China’s Maritime Safety Administration, which released the drill* plan on July 20.

    210 suspects detained

    Guangdong police have detained 210 suspects after busting* an illegal fundraising company in a special operation, a senior police officer said on July 21.

    Officers raided three secret dens* at a cooking oil company that was investigated for raising funds illegally by promising high interest rates.

    The company’s victims, who number more than 2,000, reportedly come from five provinces and municipalities. The case involves more than 300 million yuan (US$48.39 million).

    2 satellites launched

    China successfully launched two satellites for its indigenous* global navigation* and positioning network at 8:29 p.m. on Saturday.

    Launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern China’s Sichuan Province, the two satellites were the 18th and 19th for the Beidou Navigation Satellite system.

    They were sent into their preset* orbits by a Long March-3B/Expedition-1 carrier rocket 3.5 hours after the launch.

    9 cult members imprisoned

    Nine members of the “Almighty God” cult have been jailed for between 18 months and three years in Central China’s Hubei Province as China cracks down on the banned organization, local authorities said on Sunday.

    The nine cult members were convicted of “undermining the implementation of laws by making use of cult organizations.”

    Police found 422 books, 1,047 leaflets, 283 video discs and 12 memory cards with more than 101,000 files in video, photo and text promoting the cult.(SD-Agencies)