HUBEI

4.9-magnitude quake strikes Xiaogan city

A 4.9-magnitude earthquake hit Yingcheng of Xiaogan city, Hubei province, at 6:36 pm on Thursday, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center. The epicenter was monitored at 30.87 degrees north latitude and 113.4 degrees east longitude. The quake struck at a depth of 10 kilometers. No casualties were reported.

GUANGDONG

7 killed, 2 injured in accident in Lianzhou

Seven people were killed and two injured in a deadly car crash on Thursday morning that involved a minibus and a motor tricycle traveling on a road in Lianzhou, Guangdong province, according to local police. In a statement posted on Sina Weibo late Thursday, the city's public security bureau said that after the collision, the minibus ran into a tree on the roadside and started burning. The driver was only identified by his surname Shi, 50. The motor tricycle was driven by a man surnamed Hu, 53, the statement said. Seven people died at the scene, it said, without specifying if Shi and Hu were among those killed.

GANSU

Police capture 27 for drug trafficking by air

Airport police in Gansu province have captured 27 suspects in eight provinces in a major operation targeting drug trafficking via air routes. The airport police said their operation has effectively severed cross-border drug trafficking air routes to five provinces.

JIANGSU

Chinese customs seizes tree pests

Customs authorities in Jiangsu province said on Thursday customs officers had intercepted several kinds of pests from a Panamanian vessel. One of the pests is the beetle Platypus cavicepts, a nonnative species intercepted by Chinese customs for the first time, according to sample tests sent by Nantong Customs to the Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine.