Nod for two rail projects

SHANGHAI - China's top economic planner has approved two subway system projects worth 129.8 billion yuan (S$27.8 billion), according to documents published yesterday, continuing a run of infrastructure approvals as the government looks to support its slowing economy.

The National Development and Reform Commission approved the third construction phase of a subway system in Wuhan, capital of central Hubei province, which it estimated to cost 114.9 billion yuan. It also gave the go-ahead to a revised 14.86 billion yuan plan for an urban rail system in Changchun, capital of north-eastern Jilin province.

REUTERS

Missionary dies in India

KOLKATA - Sister Nirmala Joshi, who succeeded Nobel laureate Mother Teresa as the head of her Missionaries of Charity and expanded the movement overseas, died yesterday at age 80. After taking over the charity following Mother Teresa's death in 1997, Sister Nirmala expanded the organisation's reach to 134 countries. She stepped down in 2009 due to poor health.

REUTERS

Hard labour for 'spies'

PYONGYANG - North Korea has sentenced two South Koreans accused of spying for Seoul to hard labour for life, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said yesterday, citing a North Korean state radio broadcast.

The South's Unification Ministry expressed "strong" regret and said it cannot accept the North's unilateral ruling.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

China targets govt firms

BEIJING - Twenty-six government bodies and state-owned companies, including the official People's Daily newspaper, will be targeted in the next round of corruption inspections, the graft watchdog of China's ruling Communist Party said yesterday.

China Eastern Airlines and the Ministry of Transport and National Railway Administration are also on the list.

As part of President Xi Jinping's crackdown on corruption, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection has pledged to inspect "all important backbone state-owned firms and financial institutions" this year.

REUTERS