News briefs

Italy

Protest calls for security

United by a common sense of grief and outrage, thousands of Chinese immigrants took to the streets of Rome on Jan 10 to protest at a lack of security in the Italian capital following the murder of a Chinese man and his daughter last week.

Zhou Zheng, 31, and his 9-month-old daughter were murdered during a robbery near their home on Jan 4 in the suburb of Torpignattara. The crime has shocked Italy and raised fears about the security of its growing Chinese community and other minority groups in the country. Rome alone is home to about 50,000 Chinese people. The scale of the demonstration, rare in Italy's Chinese community, indicated the community's increasing awareness of its rights.

Education

Scholarships up for grabs

Applications for the Chinese Government Scholarship Program for the 2012-13 academic year are now being accepted.

The program, sponsored by the Ministry of Education, provides scholarships to international students and scholars to study in China. Recipients will study or do research in universities or research institutes in subjects including medicine, agriculture, law, management, history and economics.

Details about applications, which need to be submitted by April 30, are at www.csc.edu.cn/laihua.

Property

Control measures will stay

Beijing municipal authorities say that real estate control measures will remain in force to bring housing prices to reasonable levels.

The municipal housing and urban-rural development committee was responding to local media reports that Beijing authorities would soon allow home purchases by non-Beijing registered families who have paid social security or income tax for three straight years. At present, five straight years of payments are required.

In February 2011 Beijing banned locally registered families from buying a third apartment and non-locally registered families with social security or income tax payments proof in the city for five straight years from buying a second apartment.

Copyright

Apple sued over alleged breach

Nine Chinese writers are suing Apple Inc for violating copyright and want compensation of 12 million yuan ($1.9 million; 1.5 million euros).

The move is another attempt by writers to protect their rights online as more readers turn to e-books, lawyers say.

Beijing No 2 Intermediate People's Court has accepted the lawsuit jointly filed by Chinese writers including Han Han and Li Chengpeng, a court official said. The first trial may open after the Spring Festival, which falls on Jan 23.

The writers say Apple allows its users to download pirated books through its App Store.

Safety

Bus makers split on draft

Opinion was divided among school bus manufacturers at a national conference over proposed standards for the buses, some complaining that a newly published draft of standards sets the bar too high.

The conference, organized by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, was aimed at seeking feedback from major bus producers on the proposed standards, including technical specifications and seat standards.

School bus safety has been a high priority for the central government following a string of fatal road accidents involving pupils and preschoolers in the last two months of 2011.

Medical

Stem cell treatment checkup

China's top health authority will strictly regulate cutting-edge stem cell treatment, which attracts thousands of patients from abroad each year, to ensure safety and the orderly development of the technology.

A one-year overhaul highlighting self-examination among practitioners will be launched to detect and eliminate irregularities surrounding the issue, said Deng Haihua, spokesman of the Ministry of Health.

"Any medical research and clinical practice using stem cell therapy without the approval of the ministry and the State Food and Drug Administration will be put to an end after the overhaul."