IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Bringring affordable art to new generation

Tom Pattinson is a big fan of art and adventure. The British national combines both his passions by nurturing a platform that showcases affordable art by artists in China.

Through negatives, Frenchman brings 80s and 90s China back to life

Women in dresses pose by refrigerators, tourists on the beach stand with the sun setting behind them and children hug a statue of Ronald McDonald.

Changing how food gets to our plates

Food lovers can change China's farm land - that's the belief of Wang Mei, a steadfast foodie and promoter of uncontaminated food.

Charity app seeks transparency for gift-giving via social media

"The road of doing good deeds is filled with frustration," said Guo Peng, the founder of a technology company that supports charity projects. Yet he sees each frustration as a door that can open to a solution and a more effective way of providing charity. His story offers a glimpse of how charitable giving is China is evolving from mass donations of money into more effective interaction.

Master storyteller continues to delight

Stories by Toronto-based author Zhang Ling, 58, know how to enter the readers' hearts and leave an impression that demands more pages to turn even when the book is finished.

How Edwin Maher became a face familiar to millions

Edwin Maher has a face known to millions as he delivers the news in reassuring and informative tones which are his hallmark. The New Zealander, the first foreign news anchor on Chinese state TV when he came to Beijing nearly 12 years ago, seems as much a regular feature of many homes as the furniture.

Youth get opportunity to innovate

It's truly China Week in Sydney, with the harbor city glowing red from Chinatown to the Opera House with New Year lanterns, and applications for the ground-breaking China Australia Millennial Project entering the final phase.

Immigrant dressmakers bring touch of Afghanistan

With ball gowns, Western-style bridalwear and cocktail dresses, Afghan tailors driven out of their homeland by the Taliban are carving a niche for themselves in Pakistan's capital.

Boyfriend of slain US hostage recalls effort to have her freed

Kayla Mueller was in a detention cell in Syria, face to face with her boyfriend who was posing as her husband. Had she told her captors she was married to Omar Alkhani, she might have been freed from the hands of Islamic State militants, he said. Instead, she denied being his wife.

Around the world

Australia's richest person is suing a local television channel for screening a drama series based on her life, which she said was misleading and "twisted". Lawyers for mining magnate Gina Rinehart said on Monday they still intended to sue the Nine Network over the series House of Hancock, despite already forcing changes and cutting four minutes from the program.

PM 'to recover fully' after cancer surgery

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has successfully undergone surgery for prostate cancer and is expected to make a full recovery, his office said on Monday.