Birth permit now easier process

The top family planning authority on Monday issued a notice simplifying the procedure of granting birth permits to parents-to-be, particularly for the migrant population. Migrant couples have faced great difficulty in applying for a permit to give birth to a child, with one couple contacting more than 10 different agencies and getting more than 40 stamps and signatures over two months to get a permit.

Traffic violations may hurt credit

Traffic violations like jaywalking may be recorded into people's personal credit records in the future, said an official with the traffic bureau with the Ministry of Public Security. The source said on Sunday that public security authorities will establish a credibility system for traffic safety, and violating rules may affect personal credit, insurance and job permissions.

Few school buses meet standards

One in 10 of China's school buses meets the country's safety standards, said Liu Limin, vice-minister of education. A total of 285,000 school buses were being used nationwide in 2011, and only 29,000 of them met the safety standards, Liu said in an article published on Saturday. Liu said substandard school buses put children's safety at risk, as road conditions in rural areas are bad and many drivers disobey traffic rules.

2.1m volunteers register in 5 years

Beijing has registered 2.1 million volunteers in the past five years, according to the city's Bureau of Civil Affairs on Sunday. Beijing residents donated more than 6.8 billion yuan ($1.1 billion) to charity, benefiting about 2.4 million people, the bureau told a philanthropic gala.

Judge upends 'Haager-Dasz'

A court in Beijing has confiscated the "Haager-Dasz" trademark from a clothing manufacturer, saying the public would confuse the name with the well-known Haagen-Dazs ice cream. Beijing No 1 Intermediate People's Court on Monday made a ruling in favor of General Mills Co, the American food corporation, which sought to remove the trademark from clothing.

Garden may be planted in space

Chinese astronauts may get fresh vegetables and oxygen by gardening inside extraterrestrial bases in the future, Deng Yibing, deputy director of the Beijing-based Chinese Astronaut Research and Training Center, said after a lab experiment in Beijing. Deng said the experiment focused on a dynamic balanced mechanism of oxygen, carbon dioxide and water between people and plants in a closed system.

Graduates to teach in poor regions

More than 1,500 college graduates will teach in poverty-stricken areas in 2013 as part of a program co-organized by the Ministry of Education. The program, launched in 1999, selects college graduates every year to teach for one year in primary and secondary schools in poor regions. This year's graduates will be sent to 12 underdeveloped provinces, as well as three regions mainly occupied by ethnic groups.

Hebei

District official detained in injury

A Party secretary in Qiaoxi district in Shijiazhuang has been detained by police after being accused of injuring an official of a sub-district office. A city government department said on Saturday that Tao Mingfa, secretary of Qiaoxi district Party committee, was detained on Oct 17. He is alleged to have seriously injured Zhang Shumo, deputy director of the city's Zhongshan sub-district office.

Henan

Civil servants play mahjong at work

Eight civil servants in Miluo have been punished for playing mahjong at work. On Oct 12, the eight, including the deputy director of the city's grain bureau and the deputy director of its commerce bureau, were found by a disciplinary inspection team playing mahjong in an entertainment lounge during working hours. The group was suspended from work for six months. The bureaus involved were also criticized.

Guangdong

9 missing in ship collision

Nine people are missing following a collision on Monday between a cargo ship and a fishing boat off the coast of Guangdong, maritime authorities said. A cargo ship registered in Guangxi sank in the early morning near the city of Shanwei after colliding with a Hong Kong-registered fishing boat. Eleven people from the cargo ship were thrown into the water. Two of them were rescued.

Hubei

Wuhan to launch probe of taxis

The government of Wuhan promised to launch an investigation after a media report said on Sunday that more than 13,000 new taxis in the city have faulty brake systems. The new Elysee-brand taxis were sold to taxi companies for about 40,000 yuan ($6,400) above market prices, although they lack antilock braking systems and their brake discs are smaller than they should be, according to a report on CCTV on Sunday.

Tianjin

5 suspected of using forced labor

Five people have been detained, suspected of using forced labor at a car wash in the city. On Nov 21, police took 11 workers from Guang-liang Car Service Center, and detained five people suspected of forcing people to work. Lu Shilun, one of the rescued workers, was a mentally disabled man who lost contact with his father in Northeast China on July 22.

Gansu

Anti-theft manual proves popular

A college student in Lanzhou has written a manual on ways to avoid thieves after spending a year trying to observe criminal behavior. Song Qing at Northwest Normal University fell victim to thieves in both 2009 and 2010. So she paid close attention to the people around her wherever she was to see if she can spot thieves. The manual becomes an online hit and was forwarded thousands of times.

China Daily-Xinhua