203 students hospitalized

A total of 203 primary school students in Ziyang, Sichuan province, have been hospitalized with fever, vomiting and diarrhea, local government officials said on Thursday. Fifty of them are being treated at Yingjie township hospital, while 153 others have been transferred to three hospitals in Yanjiang district of Ziyang. They were initially diagnosed with acute gastroenteritis, and all of them are in a stable condition, according to doctors.

Australian PM to visit China

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said on Thursday that the country can't take its trading relationship with China for granted as she prepared to lead a senior government delegation to Australia's biggest export market. Gillard said she would lead "the most senior Australian political delegation ever to visit China" on Friday only weeks after President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang took office. "The timing of this visit is deliberate and reflects the importance of our rapidly evolving relationship with China," Gillard said in Sydney.

March CPI to see milder rise

Analysts forecast that China's consumer price index, a gauge of inflation, will grow mildly in March, as food prices have continued to fall since February. China's CPI rose 3.2 percent year-on-year in February, the highest level in 10 months. Due to rising vegetable supplies, overall food prices in March may decline sharply compared with February, and demand for non-food products will also fall, said Tang Jianwei, a macro-economic analyst with the center for financial research of the Bank of Communications. Tang forecast that March CPI will rise about 2.5 percent year-on-year.

Officer arrested in rape case

A police officer has been arrested for allegedly raping a 13-year-old girl in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, according to local prosecutors. The officer surnamed Lyu was arrested along with two "go-betweens" for raping the student. Lyu had been the head of the police station in Dongshan township, Quanzhou county.

Xinhua - Agencies