Program aims to increase knowledge of two oceans

China will launch a national program to push forward oceanic research in the Pacific and Indian oceans in the next 15 years, as part of the country's ongoing efforts to protect its maritime interests and boost the sector.

IN BRIEF (Page 4)

The games people play

Ze Xin (not his real name) felt as though he'd been brainwashed after attending a five-day workshop held by a number of "pickup artists".

'It's not like a college'

China's "pickup artists" first formed a "seduction community" in 2008, when amateur PUAs began gathering on online forums, but it wasn't until 2010, when Southern Weekend published a two-page feature detailing their activities, that the phenomenon attracted widespread attention.

Xinjiang enforces new website rules

Website operators offering instant communications, online storage or audiovisual sharing services in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region must now register their services or set up servers in the region.

US supplier takes aim at Shanghai regulator

US food supplier OSI Group, which came under fire in China last year over allegations it used out-of-date meat, has criticized the handling of the case by the local food regulator, a rare act in China where firms are usually careful not to openly challenge the authorities.

Doctors encouraged to work second jobs

The top health authority vowed to further facilitate private operators to enter the nation's overloaded healthcare market, particularly at the high end, said Li Bin, head of the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

State funds campaign to halt spread of panda distemper

Authorities stressed on Wednesday the importance of treatment and disease prevention for pandas after two of the animals died of a virus related to human measles.

Guidelines expand inspectors' power to make polluters stop

Environmental protection authorities now have greater powers to stop polluters through measures such as sealing production equipment or transferring the offenders to judicial organs, the top environmental watchdog said on Thursday.

Reporter helped to win justice for a dead man

Few things are as important to journalist Tang Ji as the pursuit of justice.

Around China

Hong Kong consultation hits phase 2

Hong Kong's chief executive and chief secretary urged opposition lawmakers not to deprive the city's 5 million eligible voters of the right to universal suffrage in the 2017 chief executive election, as the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government launched its second public consultation to refine election procedures.