Boy gets soccer ball - and then some

An 8-year-old village boy who had been saving up for a soccer ball since winter in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region not only got what he wished for but a lot more. Training gear for his classmates came as an unexpected bonus.

Hangzhou bicycles get electric upgrade

Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, is planning to upgrade its public rental bicycles from strictly pedal power to electric hybrids.

Two jailed for illegally selling vaccines

Two people have been sentenced to jail after being convicted of illegal trading vaccines, Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday.

Trial approved for blood protein cultivated in rice

WUHAN - China's food and drug authority has approved a clinical trial of human blood protein cultivated in transgenic rice seeds, which could lead to large-scale production of much-needed blood plasma.

IN BRIEF (Page 4)

Wrongfully jailed father presses for compensation

Guo Li stared across the table, his calm exterior momentarily giving way to anger. "My fight is not over yet," he said, shortly after a court overturned his 2010 conviction for attempting to extort the manufacturer of a tainted milk powder that poisoned his daughter.

Beijing to make a citywide push for student nutrition

Boarding schools in Beijing will be banned from selling soda drinks in cafeterias and stores inside campuses this year, part of an effort to encourage students to eat healthy food, the city's health authority said.

Cameras to keep watch for fires

Henan province plans to install 20,000 surveillance cameras this year to monitor the burning of straw or rubbish on farmland, which can cause fires and pollute the air.

Gaokao reforms should be prudent, steady, experts say

With this year's highly competitive college entrance exam approaching, educators are weighing reforms to the system.

Parents are warned of Blue Whale

Police in Chongqing municipality and Sichuan and Guangdong provinces are warning parents to prevent their children from playing Blue Whale, the so-called suicide game.

System helps search for children

Chinese police have expanded an emergency response system to help find missing children faster.

Virus hits young hardest this time of year, expert says

Hand, foot and mouth disease has killed about 450 children a year in China over the past decade and remains a threat, according to a senior public health specialist.