China

Customs officers examine python skins seized in Haikou, Hainan province. In the biggest case of its kind in the country, officials in the city recently found 24,697 pieces of smuggled python skins worth of 310 million yuan (HK$370 million) and arrested 16 suspects. Photo: Xinhua

A picture taken from a drone shows a huge ‘emperor’s robe’ in canola fields in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. Canola is also known as rapeseed and processed to make vegetable oil. China is one of the world’s leading producers. Photo:CNS

A woman looks apprehensive as she stands next to part of a pavement that collapsed in Tuen Mun yesterday afternoon. The section of Kai Fat Path outside Man Shing Building was cordoned off by police. Two shops were closed as workers carried out repairs to the pavement, which was near a construction site. The Water Supplies department said there was no report of a burst main in the area and water supplies were not affected. Government staff were sent to the scene to investigate the cause of the incident. Photo: Sam Tsang

The largest oval-shaped, fancy vivid blue diamond ever to appear at auction worldwide will debut at Sotheby’s spring sale in Hong Kong on April 5. The De Beers Millennium Jewel 4, a 10.10-carat diamond, is “internally flawless” and expected to fetch between HK$235 million and HK $280 million. The jewel is the only oval-shaped diamond among 12 rare diamonds from the De Beers Millennium Jewels collection, originally mined from the Cullinan mine in South Africa. “Highly saturated blue diamonds over 10 carats combined with an ‘internally flawless’ clarity grade are extremely rare,” said Tom Moses, executive vice-president and chief research and laboratory officer at the Gemological Institute of America. Photo: Dickson Lee

Apple has unveiled a robotic system called Liam to take apart junked iPhones and recover valuable materials that can be recycled, such as silver and tungsten. The move is an attempt to address criticism that Apple’s products, while sleek and seamless in design, are so tightly constructed that their components can be difficult to disassemble, refurbish and reuse. Photo: Reuters

A sand dredger is washed onto a bridge after heavy rain in Ganzhou, Jiangsu province, yesterday. Authorities sent out rescue and aid teams and closed the expressway and bridge temporarily. Photo: Xinhua