The Beijing News
June 26, 2009

Most of China has been sweltering since June 22.

Chinese meteorologist uses 35℃ as a benchmark temperature for "hot". In Beijing, there have already been six such days his year, topping the city's average number of 5.7 "hot" days. Today's Beijing News reports that the heat wave is likely to end on June 28.

According to the Beijing Bureau of Labor and Social Security, all employees who work in a temperature higher than 33℃ are entitled to get a high temperature subsidy. The subsidy rate is 60 yuan per month for outdoor work and 45 yuan for indoor work.

Today is also the 22th International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. The Beijing News runs an wrap-up report which reviews the development of the drug issue in the past year.

According to the report, there were a total of 43,726 drug-related crimes successfully prosecuted, a 31.4% rise from the previous year. Among the 50,307 who were convicted, 16,053 received imprisonment of more than five years or death penalty.

Another item: China ranks fourth in terms of the number of high net worth individuals a country has. According to a new report by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini Consulting, the number of people with personal assets worth more than one million US$ in China by the end of last year is estimated to be 415,000 , an increase of 20 percent from 2006.

The big photo on the newspaper's front page shows fallen scaffolding in a construction site in Beijing's Shijingshan District. Three cyclists who were passing by were hit by the collapsed structure. One of them was confirmed dead.