Society

A woman receives treatment in a hospital in Beijing. The woman in Beijing narrowly escaped death when she accidentally fell from her 18th floor balcony

A woman in Beijing narrowly escaped death when she accidentally fell from her 18th floor balcony on January 5, cri.cn reported today.

She was airing out a quilt when she fell from her balcony, which is more than 60 meters from the ground, the report said.

She was immediately rushed to the hospital and suffered multiple fractures in her spinal cord.

Buddhist monk Shi Daoxin's daily routine is not about chanting scriptures, meditating or temple ceremonies - rather, he spends his time listening to different categories of music, updating his blog, exchanging messages and emails with fans, and granting interviews in addition to working on his music.

A self-claimed "art monk", 28-year-old Shi shot to fame in 2008 for his strong resemblance to Hong Kong actor and singer Nicholas Tse. Then controversy followed for his unconventional way of "disseminating Buddhist wisdom and culture through artistic forms".

On the one hand, he has a huge crowd of growing fans, praising and downloading his songs; and on the other, a substantial number of people who question the true motivation of a monk active in the secular entertainment world.

A monk since 14, Shi said he has always been thinking about how Buddhism could keep up with the times.

The total death toll in the gas pipeline leak in north China's Hebei Province had risen to 21 as company executives confessed to 14 more deaths, said local authorities Friday.

Senior executives of the Hebei Puyang Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. confessed late Thursday night that they had covered up the death toll, according to a statement of Wu'an Municipal Government.

Workers were poisoned while assembling a furnace at 11:45 am Monday in Hebei Puyang Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. when the accident happened.

A statement from the court said 34 alleged gang members headed by Gong Gangmo were charged in Chongqing with organized crime offences on November 20, 2009. On November 22 and 25, Gong's wife and cousin signed contracts with Beijing Kang Da Law Firm in Beijing. Then the law firm assigned Li Zhuang, together with Ma Xiaojun, to defend Gong.

On November 24 and 26 and December 4 when Li visited Gong in Jiangbei district detention house, Li urged Gong to reverse his former confession and to fabricate an accusation of torture by the police during interrogation.