Chongqing Love spat drowning A woman drowned in the Yangtze River after quarrelling with her boyfriend and his former girlfriend on Thursday afternoon, the Chongqing Business Daily reports. The three people, all in their 20s, were trying to sort out their differences when anger boiled over. The ex-girlfriend jumped into the river and when the man went to save her, the other woman became distraught and also jumped into the water. The girlfriend was later found dead, and police have launched an investigation. Hotpot academy opens The city has established a hotpot academy and will start recruiting students next spring, the Chongqing Morning Post reports. The academy will offer a three-month short course as well as a six-month programme. Tuition fees begin at 3,000 yuan (HK$3,790), and the courses include "hotpot theory". Chongqing is famed for the dish. A local restaurant association said the city needed more than 10,000 hotpot cooks. Fujian Ceramics factory blast Two people were killed and three others injured in a blast at a ceramics factory in Zhangzhou on Wednesday evening, the China News Service reports. Work safety authorities said the explosion was caused by a poorly maintained gas furnace. Workers said they were told to help with the upkeep of the furnace but did not have the expertise. The authorities are investigating. Deputy mayor apologises A deputy mayor of Fuding under Ningde has issued a public apology after media reports that his son scuffled with a flight attendant, Xinhua reports. Police arrested the 23-year-old son, after he refused to turn off his mobile phone on a flight from Chongqing to Wenzhou . He reportedly beat the flight attendant and threatened to exact revenge, claiming that his father was the Fuding mayor. Henan Student in coma A 20-year-old college student is in a coma after falling off a bunk bed in his dorm, the Modern Express reports. The bed was about 1.8 metres off the floor but its protective railing was only 10cm high, it said. The college has offered 30,000 yuan to cover his medical expenses. Poverty subsidy racket A former party secretary of the Hunan poverty alleviation office stood trial in Xuchuang for taking bribes, the 21st Century Business Herald reports. Hu Yucheng, 60, is accused of accepting more than 11 million yuan in bribes between 1992 and last year, the report said. The payments were allegedly accepted in exchange for poverty alleviation subsidies. The court has not yet announced a verdict. Hunan Gas tank explosion A fire broke out at a gas tank storage site in Changsha and triggered an explosion, but only one person was injured, the Xiaoxiang Morning Post reports. At least 29 gas tanks along with bits of scrap metal and bricks were being kept at the site, which is in a slum area. The local fire department said the slums were illegal and posed a public safety hazard. Mum stabbed with knife A man in Shaoyang killed his mother with a fruit knife after compulsively watching the Journey to the West television series, Rednet.cn reports. The man, believed to be schizophrenic, imagined himself as Xuanzang, the main character in the series, and hallucinated that his mother was a ghost out to get him. He asked her to sleep in his bed that night and later stabbed her. He was scheduled to go on trial but the court decided to drop the charges due to his mental state. He has been confined to a psychiatric ward. Shaanxi Japanese uniform outrage A middle school in Xianyang attracted attention after photographs of its pupils wearing Japanese imperial military uniforms circulated on social media, Cnwest.com reports. Internet users expressed anger over the photographs but the school said the students were staging a performance based on the Japanese invasion. The show was inspired by patriotism, it said. Man attacked by bear A man was attacked by a black bear while picking traditional medicinal herbs in the mountains near Yeping village, the China News Service reports. Wang Xian, 34, survived with only bite marks on his head after he rolled away down a slope. Local authorities said bears were not usually found so close to the village but illegal poachers had driven the animals out of their natural habitat. Shandong Fake drug sellers jailed Two people have been jailed for running a counterfeit drug scheme, Dzwww.com reports. The scheme started out as a tiny operation in Jue county and later evolved into a nationwide scam spanning nine provinces, including Henan , Anhui and Hebei . Sales reached seven million yuan. The two were arrested last year. One of the accused was sentenced to eight years in prison and the other to five years. Hotel guest poisoned A woman from Jining was treated in hospital for poison after drinking water at the hotel where she was staying, Iqilu.com reports. The woman said she developed a sore throat and felt pain throughout her body after drinking a cup of hot water provided by staff. The hospital said her symptoms were consistent with consumption of a disinfectant. She recovered after treatment. The hotel paid her medical bills but refused her demands for compensation, the report said. Shanghai 50 busted for mail fraud The authorities in Qingpu district have arrested more than 50 people who allegedly scammed thousands of people across the country out of 1.2 million yuan in total, the News Morning Post reports. The suspects sent mail to the victims, who had bought property or luxury items, thanking them for their purchases and offering a TV valued at 1,200 yuan for only 99 yuan. But the televisions were never sent. The 50 scammers are awaiting trial. All-natural produce Residents are flocking to a new supermarket that claims to offer natural produce from Heilongjiang , the Harbin Daily News reports. The store, set up by a local company, aims to cater to the demand for safe food. Another 140 stores are planned for the city over the next two years. Yunnan Rice noodles targeted The provincial food safety authorities have strengthened food safety standards for rice noodles, making them more stringent than nationwide ones, Yunnan.cn reports. Toxic ingredients including cadmium and sulphur dioxide were found in rice noodles sold in Kunming in April. So far, 66 rice noodle makers have been shut down and 15 tonnes of rice noodles destroyed. Pregnant woman poisoned A 37-year-old doctor at a Kunming hospital has sued a colleague for 100,000 yuan in compensation for poisoning her while she was pregnant, Kunming.cn reports. The doctor became suspicious after finding a white powder in her cup and alerted police. After her actions were caught on surveillance video, the colleague admitted she gave the doctor a substance that could slow fetal development. The doctor said tests showed the baby suffered from a hearing impairment.