Pilot projects to improve oversight efficiency

For Lyu Xiaodong, a grassroots disciplinary official in Zhejiang province, recent moves by the Communist Party of China Central Committee will help improve the efficiency of discipline inspection work.

IN BRIEF (Page 4)

Writer starts 'Books on the Chongqing Light Rail'

A bookseller in Chongqing municipality has been leaving novels on trains and at stations to inspire more commuters to read, after seeing British actress Emma Watson take part in a similar project in London.

Cost of nannies soars due to increase in demand

New mothers in Shanghai wanting a nanny to care for them and their babies in the months immediately after birth could find that service becoming ever more expensive.

More LGBT plan to reveal sexuality

A growing number of gay men and lesbians on the Chinese mainland plan to come out within five years, according to a survey released by WorkForLGBT, a nonprofit business network that advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

Chinese firm sends tortoise into space, nearly

A flying machine carrying a special "passenger" - a tortoise - reached an altitude of 12,000 meters on its maiden flight on Thursday night in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Endangered gazelle growing in numbers

There are now more than 1,400 Przewalski's gazelle, a species even more endangered than the giant panda, living around a lake in Northwest China's Qinghai province, its only habitat. According to a survey by Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserve, there are 1,464 gazelle living around the lake, about 200 more than the number recorded last year.

English examinations to be unified nationwide

The Ministry of Education is drafting a national English proficiency testing and rating system, an education official said at a symposium in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, over the weekend, according to a local news report.

Major English testing systems in China

Public English Test System: A five-level system used by the National Education Examinations Authority for people with various educational backgrounds working in a wide range of industries in different positions.

Fugitive returned 15 years on

One of the country's most-wanted economic fugitives, who had been on the run for 15 years in New Zealand, returned to China on Saturday to turn himself in, according to the Communist Party of China's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Astronauts grow lettuce in space lab

One of the most impressive parts of the movie The Martian is when the lead character - an astronaut stranded on Mars after his team assumed him dead - succeeds at growing potatoes to keep himself alive while waiting to be rescued.

Scholars call for museum dedicated to Tokyo Trials

A commemorative museum dedicated to the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, known as the Tokyo Trials, was suggested by scholars at a two-day forum in Shanghai on Saturday to mark the 70th anniversary of the opening of the trials.