Senior Chinese officials probed for corruption

BEIJING • The deputy Communist Party boss in China's south-western city of Chengdu Li Kunxue is being investigated for "serious violations of discipline", a euphemism for corruption, the Chinese anti-corruption watchdog said yesterday.

Separately, the deputy head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China Zhou Laizhen is being investigated on similar charges, the watchdog added.

They were the latest senior officials to run afoul of a sweeping anti-graft campaign championed by President Xi Jinping to root out deeply ingrained corruption since he assumed office three years ago.

REUTERS

Fears raised over China animal cloning factory

BEIJING • Social media users have expressed scepticism over the world's largest

animal cloning factory under construction in China, with plans to churn out dogs, horses and up to a million cattle a year.

The 200 million yuan (S$44.4 million) facility, will start production next year, with an initial capacity of 100,000 cattle embryos a year.

But social media users have already expressed doubts over consumer appetite for cloned meat, highlighting the country's food safety scandals.

"Is this meat going to be sold in South Korea or China? If in China, please make our leaders eat it first," quipped one user.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE