Southwest China’s Sichuan Province on Friday reported two human H7N9 avian flu cases.

It is the first time that such cases have been reported in the province.

The two patients are currently stable but still in critical condition.

Local authorities have taken disease control measures.

At least ten people have died from the virus since the start of the year, according to disease control centers in Henan, Guangdong and Hunan provinces.

H7N9 is a bird flu strain first reported to have infected humans in March 2013 in China. It is most likely to strike in winter and spring.

Two survivors were rescued and seven found dead after a residential building collapsed in Wenzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province, local authorities said Friday.

Part of a five-story residential building in Dahui village of Wencheng County collapsed at about 8 a.m. Thursday, burying nine people from two families.

A 63-year-old woman was pulled out from the debris at about 10:40 p.m. Thursday and another female survivor was rescued at about 7 a.m. Friday. Both have been rushed to hospital for medical treatment. The ninth victim buried was found dead at around 10:00 a.m. Friday.

With the help of eight cranes and excavators, more than 400 paramilitary officers, fire fighters, township officials and medical workers have carried out rescue operation.

“The scene is quite chaotic, as if the place was leveled by an earthquake,” a rescuer told Xinhua. “We have to work very carefully because the wreckage of the ruined building are joined to homes still standing.”

One of the adjacent homes, he said, was already damaged with a big hole in its outer wall.

A total of 58 people living nearby were evacuated to safe places.

Local authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the building collapse.

According to United Daily News in Taiwan, after three and a half years of operation in Taiwan, Uber received 11 penalties with fines totaling US$7.42 million and was required to close business by the transportation administration in Taiwan yesterday. Uber announced to close its business in Taiwan on Feb. 20. Meanwhile, the Uber TAXI service, which is scheduled to be online in February, was also closed. However, UberEATS service, which was online at the end of last year, will continue its service.

Uber said it will restart communication with Taiwan administration. The transportation administration of Taiwan asked Uber to operate its business legally. Hochen Tan, the head of the transportation administration, said that both sides should seize the opportunity to communicate and avoid a dead end.

In July 2013, by establishing a company named Taiwan Yu Bo Shu Wei service Co., Ltd, Uber entered Taiwan. The new company is registered as an information service business. Its service area includes Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Keelung, Taichung and Kaohsiung.

However, Uber’s business is related with motor transport service without business registration certification and professional driver licensing. Over the past three years, Taiwan administration issued 513 penalties with a total fine of US$3.11 million to Uber and its drivers. Uber paid US$2.2 million.

With the implementation of an updated law, the fine amount has been increased greatly by the Taiwan administration. Since the implementation of the new rule Jan. 6, any company who breaks the new rule will be fined US$32.3 thousand, and the fine amount will be raised to US$161.2 thousand for the second violation. Anyone who breaks the rule six times in total or three times in half a year will be fined with US$806 thousand and required to close its business.

By Jan. 20, 48 Uber cars had been banned and a total amount of US$35.47 million in fines had been issued by the transportation administration of Taiwan.

Two survivors were rescued and six found dead after a residential building collapsed in Wenzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province, local authorities said Friday.

Part of a five-storey residential building in Dahui village of Wencheng County collapsed at about 8 a.m. Thursday, burying nine people from two families.

A 63-year-old woman was pulled out from the debris at about 10:40 p.m. Thursday and another female survivor was rescued at about 7 a.m. Friday. Both have been rushed to hospital for medical treatment.

There was one still buried under the rubble.

With the help of eight cranes and excavators, more than 400 paramilitary officers, fire fighters, township officials and medical workers have been carrying out rescue operation.

“The scene is quite chaotic, as if the place was leveled by an earthquake,” a rescuer told Xinhua. “We have to work very carefully because the wreckages of the ruined building are joined to homes still standing.”

One of the adjacent homes, he said, was already damaged with a big hole in its outer wall.

A total of 58 people living nearby were evacuated to safe places.

Local authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the building collapse.

Traffic slows to a crawl on the Liuzhou-Nanning Expressway in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Thursday as the highway is overwhelmed with travelers returning home. [Photo/Xinhua]

Traffic slowed to a crawl on major highways on Thursday as tens of millions of people returned home after the Spring Festival holiday.

According to China Central Television, about 94.2 million people were expected to travel on Thursday.

Traffic was slow on several major highways, including Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao Expressway and Shanghai-Chongqing Expressway, according to the Ministry of Transport, with traffic jams in some sections extending for dozens of kilometers.

In Henan and Hunan provinces, some highways were partly closed due to snow or smog.

According to the ministry, the rush of traffic into major urban areas, including the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, was expected to last past 10 pm.

About 1.5 million vehicles were expected on highways in Central China’s Hubei province on Thursday as many parts of the province experienced light rain.

Chen Ying, who was heading to Hubei’s capital Wuhan from the province’s Enshi Tujia and Miao autonomous prefecture, encountered a traffic jam after passing Yichang city.

“I don’t know whether it was because of the weather or there was an accident ahead, but the traffic was terrible,” the 53-year-old said.

She said the traffic was so slow that some people even got out of their cars and did some exercise, and many service zones were so packed that it was hard to find somewhere to park.

The 340 kilometers from Yichang to Wuhan, which usually takes about four hours, took Chen nine hours. “At its worst, we moved only about 5 km in 80 minutes,” she said.

China Railway Corp was expected to log 11.5 million trips on Thursday, 11.3 percent more the last day of Spring Festival in 2016. The company had to add 819 temporary trains to meet the high demand.

About 8.48 million people left Beijing during Spring Festival – 39 percent of the city’s population – according to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport. Now, their return is putting stress on the capital’s transportation system.

Almost 1,700 flights were expected in Beijing on Thursday. According to the commission, 224 trains a day arrived at Beijing South Railway Station during the Spring Festival holiday.

The commission said it has taken various measures to help travelers get back home using the capital’s public transport system. From Feb 1 to 4, 1,000 taxis will be dispatched to Beijing South Railway Station and the operation of the subway’s Line 4 will also be extended.