IN BRIEF

Health

Rate of birth defects increasing

China has seen the rate of birth defects increase by more than 70 percent between 1996 and 2010.

"The percentage of infant deaths associated with congenital disorders has also been rising on the mainland," said Fu Wei, deputy director of women and children's care and the community health department of the Ministry of Health.

Currently, 800,000 to 1.2 million babies are born with various birth defects each year on the mainland, accounting for 4 percent to 6 percent of births, Deputy Minister of Health Liu Qian said at a recent news conference.

From 1996 to 2010, the rate of birth defects increased from 88 per 10,000 births to 150 per 10,000 births. Commonly reported defects include neural tube defects, congenital heart disease, cleft lip, hydrocephalus or water in the brain and Mediterranean anemia, a blood disorder.

Environment

Water extraction to end by '14

Underground water extraction will be halted by 2014 in the urban areas of Beijing as authorities seek to prevent further land subsidence, or sinking, in the city.

The 800 water extraction wells within the Fifth Ring Road will be closed this year as part of an effort to conserve underground water, said Yu Yaping, a publicity official at the Beijing Water Authority.

The North-South Water Diversion Project will bring 1 billion cubic meters of water supply to Beijing in 2014. The water could satisfy one-third of the total water demand in Beijing.

Education

Colleges seek Chinese students

About 400 higher education institutes from more than 30 countries and regions will attend the 17th China International Education Exhibition Tour to attract Chinese students.

The tour will be held in seven major Chinese cities from March 10-25.

There were 339,700 Chinese students pursuing study overseas in 2011, a year-on-year increase of 19.3 percent, Bai Zhangde, director of the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange under the Ministry of Education, the organizer of the exhibition, said at a news conference in Beijing on Feb 28. Nearly 90 institutes from the United States will take part in the event.

Culture

Government backs bookstores

Shanghai is offering 5 million yuan ($793,800, 589,400 euros) to support book retailers who find themselves in harsh competition against their online counterparts, the municipal government said on Feb 28.

Besides the major branches of State-owned Xinhua Bookstores, the money will go largely to private bookshops that play a significant role in enriching people's cultural lives, according to Kan Ninghui, deputy director of the city's press and publication bureau. This is the first time a local government in China has introduced policies to support offline bookstores.