Tour packages face new safety scrutiny

Online tour packages for outbound self-guided travel are under scrutiny after two boats capsized during a violent storm off Thailand's Phuket Island last week, killing at least 41 Chinese tourists, and authorities are targeting unqualified tour packages and operators that pose potential risks, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said on Saturday.

Family's only surviving member tells harrowing story of tragedy

Zheng Lancheng - the sole member of one family to survive a tour boat sinking in waters off Thailand on Thursday - sits in a chair with a bag in his hand. Inside are clothes for his dead wife, daughter, son-in-law and 18-month-old granddaughter, whose bodies are in a morgue.

Police nab online gamblers during World Cup

As the list of the teams in the ongoing 2018 FIFA World Cup has narrowed, Beijing police cracked down on an online gambling network on Thursday, arresting 46 suspects.

Mosquito forecast may help avoid some itches

People more sensitive to mosquito bites across China are now able to adjust their outdoor activities and take precautions using real-time, publicly available data about the pests' density.

'New disease like AIDS' can follow bug bites

The Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention has posted a reward for the capture of triatomine bugs as it works to prevent an outbreak of Chagas' disease by identifying cases early.

Villagers share the taste of success

President Xi Jinping praised Party members in a village in Zhejiang province on Friday for donating tea saplings to poverty-stricken areas.

Pilot reforms to give scientists more autonomy

China will test new reforms that grant more autonomy to science workers in selected research institutes, officials said on Friday.

Ex-KMT chairman to visit mainland

The upcoming visit of Lien Chan, former chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang in Taiwan, to Beijing next week shows a gesture to ease tensions across the Taiwan Straits, a scholar said on Friday.

Media forum held to intensify cooperation

Representatives from more than 10 leading media outlets in China and Rwanda gathered in Kigali to discuss intensified cooperation on Thursday.

Meeting lays down track for Belt, Road

The eighth ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum next week is expected to lay down concrete and workable road maps for China and Arab nations to build the Belt and Road, a foreign ministry official said on Friday.

IN BRIEF (Page 2)

High-speed trains to go even faster

China's high-speed railway system is setting more ambitious goals for domestically developed Fuxing bullet trains, Lu Dongfu, head of the national railway operator, said on Thursday.