 Across China: Beijing
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-07-25 07:27 Book of developments The Asian Development Bank yesterday published a book featuring participatory development projects in developing countries, including China, India, Mongolia and Papua New Guinea. Among them is a scheme launched in China to empower poor and isolated communities in Jiangxi province by using NGOs, in partnership with local government agencies, to help local people identify and develop village improvement projects. Soldiers well trained Since 2003, almost 100,000 PLA soldiers have taken training programs under a campaign launched by the Headquarters of the General Staff, a PLA official said on Wednesday. The three- to six-month courses covers such things as computing, English, psychology and management, and in place of a diploma, the soldiers receive national skills certificates, he said. Quake figures released The death toll from the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan was 69,197 as of noon yesterday, the State Council Information Office said in a statement. The number of people listed as missing was 18,209, 374,176 were classed as injured, and nearly 1.49 million people have been relocated, it said. The relief fund is now more than 61.6 billion yuan ($9 billion), including 55.1 billion yuan from the central budget and 6.5 billion yuan from the local budget, it said. Halal food on menu Muslim visitors to Beijing will find halal food outlets throughout the city, a legislator in charge of supervising food hygiene law enforcement said on Wednesday. Beijing has 2,053 halal food outlets, including restaurants and food shops, Wu Shixiong, deputy director of the municipal people's congress, said in a report to the legislature's standing committee. (China Daily 07/25/2008 page3) |
