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2008-12-04 Life
    2008-12-04 14:00:26     CRIENGLISH.com

Eleven people were killed and 10 others were injured in a fire that broke out Thursday morning in a food company in the coastal city of Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province.
 
The injured were hospitalized and they were in a stable condition, according to the city's fire control department.
 
Investigation into the cause the fire is underway.
 
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The retirement age for women officials at county level and above is set to be raised from 55 to 60 next year, as part of a series of legal revisions to ensure sexual equality at work.


According to the Beijing municipal government, the city's legislation office has set about collecting public opinion on the planned revisions to Beijing's implementation of the Law on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women.

Under current regulations, women officials at the municipal level and under have to retire at 55, five years before their male counterparts.

If the revisions are approved, Beijing will become the first city to raise the retirement age for women. The revisions are expected to come into force sometime next year.

Members of the public are invited to submit their thoughts on the proposed revisions via the government's website until Dec 22.

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People traveling by road between Shanghai and four eastern provinces will soon be able to pay toll fees electronically.

According to officials from the Shanghai urban and rural construction and transportation committee, by the end of this month, a standard electronic toll collection (ETC) system will be installed at all toll gates in Shanghai and Jiangsu province. The system will identify a registered vehicle and debit the fee to its owner.

The system will soon be extended to Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Anhui provinces.

The move is expected to ease the flow of traffic that at present builds up at manual toll gates.
It now takes about 20 seconds to check a car through a toll gate. The new system will reduce it to three seconds.

There are more than 2.6 million vehicles in Shanghai and the growth rate is 10 percent a year.

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If you are short of gift ideas for that person who really does have everything? Then how about an underwear repair kit or maybe a Barack Obama "Yes, We Can" can opener?

Web site Stupid.com, which claims finding a truly stupid gift is an art form, has recently unveiled its second annual list of the top 10 "stupidest" holiday gifts for 2008.

Topping the list is Screaming Chicken, which is the World's Most Annoying Toy. This rubber chicken doesn't squeak or squawk. It screams.

And then comes the Wealth Redistribution 2008 Holiday Ornament. This tree ornament announces that the ornament that used to be there has been removed and given to someone who needs it more. The Redistribution Holiday Ornament will let everyone know you're spreading the wealth whether you want to or not.

Also on the list, are Mini Guitar Hero, Potty Putter, Wasabi Flavored Gumballs, Men's Underwear Repair Kit and Obama "Yes We Can" Opener.

Last year the list featured a Hillary Clinton nutcracker, a Mother Teresa breath spary, and portable mistletoe with a suction cup to attach to your forehead.

 
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