Mother wins lawsuit

The mother of a female Chinese student killed in Japan in 2016 was awarded more than 696,000 yuan (US$109,144) in a lawsuit against her daughter’s former roommate on Monday after a court ruled the defendant played a role in the girl’s death.

The compensation mainly consists of 496,000 yuan for Jiang Qiulian’s financial losses and 200,000 yuan for her mental anguish over the death of her daughter, Jiang Ge. It also covers some lawsuit-related expenses, according to the ruling made by the Chengyang District People’s Court in Qingdao, Shandong Province. Liu Nuanxi, the roommate, has been ordered to pay Jiang Qiulian within 10 days if neither party appeals to higher court, the ruling said. The case dates back to November 3, 2016, when Jiang Ge, 24, was stabbed to death in the hallway outside her apartment in Tokyo by Chen Shifeng, Liu’s ex-boyfriend.

Lunar probe

Scientists published results of in-situ detection of water signals on the moon by the Chang’e-5 lunar lander, lending new evidence to the dryness of the satellite.

The study published on Saturday in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances revealed that the lunar soil at the landing site contains less than 120 ppm water or 120g water per ton, and a light, vesicular rock carries 180 ppm, which are much drier than that on Earth. A device onboard the lunar lander measured the spectral reflectance of the regolith and the rock and detected water on the spot for the first time.

Safety standards

Authorities in Southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality said a building collapse that killed 16 people has prompted a thorough review of the city’s safety standards.

The city said it is launching an overhaul of safety protocols to eliminate potential safety hazards and prevent similar tragedies from happening again. On Friday, a lunchtime explosion inside a canteen in Chongqing’s Wulong District caused the two-story building to collapse, trapping 26 people under the rubble. “When the explosion occurred, it was extremely loud, and the air was filled with dust,” said Lei Ping, a local resident.

Quake hits Qinghai

No casualties have been reported so far after a 6.9-magnitude earthquake jolted Menyuan Hui Autonomous County in Northwest China’s Qinghai Province on early Saturday morning, according to a press conference held by the information office of the provincial government.

The earthquake took place at 1:45 a.m. The epicenter was monitored at 37.77 degrees north latitude and 101.26 degrees east longitude. The quake struck at a depth of 10 km, the China Earthquake Networks Center said. Soon after the quake occurred, the Ministry of Emergency Management initiated an emergency disaster relief response. (SD-Agencies)