IN BRIEF (Page 8)

Nine Dragons profit may slump

Equities regain ground on govt reassurances

Share prices rose on Friday after the government signaled it will curb overcapacity in industries that have been dragging down economic growth.

CNPC to boost natural gas output this year

China National Petroleum Corp, the country's biggest oil and gas producer, plans to increase natural gas production this year and maintain crude output near 2015 levels.

China Orient, KKR team up for distressed asset investments

Two units of China Orient Asset Management Corp, a leading State-owned bad-assets management firm, said on Friday that they had formed a strategic partnership with global investment firm KKR & Co to co-invest in credit and distressed asset opportunities in the Chinese market.

Demographic challenge calls for serious response

Buried deep in the latest official statistics about China's economic and social development in 2015 is the fact that the number of the country's newborns decreased to 16.55 million last year, 320,000 fewer than 2014.

Intervention poison not magic potion

The new era of win-win cooperation heralded by President Xi Jinping's visit to three countries in the region presents the crisis-ridden Middle East with a golden opportunity to blaze a new trail out of its chronic turmoil.

How local govts cope with blizzards indicate their skills in public service

CHINA'S NATIONAL Meteorological Center announced a blue alert on Wednesday morning for snowstorms, which are expected to sweep across China in the coming days.

Evaluate juvenile offenders before showing leniency

AN 11-YEAR-OLD GIRLwas raped and killed on Jan 18, with a suspect surnamed Wei arrested two days later.

Poverty causes parents to sell their children

POLICE IN SOUTHWEST China's Sichuan province and East China's Shandong province rescued 15 babies from gangs that planned to sell them. Among the 78 suspects detained, are some of the babies' biological parents. Beijing News says on Thursday:

Hot Words

Spring Festival test for transport

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Belt and Road Initiative needs good laws

Since its introduction by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative (the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road) - an ambitious plan to revitalize the ancient Silk Road overland and maritime trade routes linking East and West - has attracted considerable attention.