IN BRIEF (Page 4)

DPRK, ROK officials meet in Panmunjom

The first working-level talks in more than two years between officials of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea began on Sunday in the border village of Panmunjom, according to the ROK's Yonhap News Agency.

Thousands of Turks defy call to end protests

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party on Saturday ruled out early elections as tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators defied his call for an immediate end to protests.

IN BRIEF (Page 4)

South Africans pray as Mandela remains hospitalized

South Africans prayed for Nelson Mandela's recovery on Sunday as the 94-year-old former president spent a second day in hospital with a recurring lung infection.

Showtime for modern Chongqing

On a map, the narrow Yuzhong Peninsula, bounded by the Jialing River to the north and the Yangtze River to the south, resembles a smaller version of Manhattan Island in New York.

Leaving the fields behind, villagers become city slickers

"When I leave the apartment, I will always remember to turn off the gas," said Xu Chaohui in a serious voice.

Investigators hunt for clues to fire

Police have cordoned off the road running up to the slaughterhouse in rural northeast China where the death toll climbed to 120 in a fire early on Monday morning.

Company Special: Novartis expands drug research domestically

For more than two decades, the Chinese economy has been growing at a spectacular rate.

Families cling to fading hopes of finding survivors

On Tuesday morning, Wang Shunwen was standing outside the gates of Jilin Baoyuanfeng Poultry Co, waiting for news of his daughter.

Help at home is maid to order

Xue Qianchun, 35, carefully used a chef's knife to chop bell peppers and onions. After that, she put some ginger into a food processor and reduced the spice to powder.

Former military base opens doors

Wushitala township in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region is only able to thrive because it is next to the Malan military base.