Briefs, February 7, 2013

Central Military Commission chairman Xi Jinping called for "expanding and deepening" the military's combat readiness during his tour of the Lanzhou Military Command early this week, Xinhua says. Xi also told the military to bolster its information technology capabilities to ensure troops could be "instantly" deployed to win battles. Staff Reporter

Yunnan has suspended the use of the much-disputed laojiao re-education through labour system. The decision, revealed on Tuesday by Yunnan Politics and Law Committee chief Meng Sutie, is the latest step by local governments to phase out the system, which allows police to detain people for up to four years without an open trial. Meng said Yunnan would stop approving labour camp detentions with immediate effect. Xinhua