Beijing

Small cities give new graduates best chances

Small cities offer the best job prospects for new graduates, due to their steady demand for talent, a recent survey found. Sixty-one percent of the university students surveyed said they want to get a job in second-and-third-tier cities after graduation. This compares with 46 percent in 2011, according to a Zhilian Recruiting report released on Tuesday.

Smog shrouds most cities on Christmas Eve

Smog covered much of China on Christmas Eve. In Beijing, air pollution reached the upper limit of the air quality index. Readings of PM2.5, tiny particles that can pose serious health threats, continued to rise throughout Tuesday, the Beijing Environmental Monitoring Center said. Seven other cities and provinces had dense smog, according to the National Meteorological Center. Air quality index readings in 16 cities exceeded 300 on Tuesday, indicating severe pollution. Seven of the 10 most polluted cities were in Hebei province.

Jiangsu

Old turtle given a new lease on life

A man in Sheyang county has released a large female soft-shelled turtle into a tributary of the Yellow River. Ji Zongbian caught the 10.25 kg turtle in his fishing net on Sunday morning. Although a hotel offered a high price for the turtle, believed to be more than 100 years old, Ji declined the offer and released it.

Driver delays bus in search for a gentleman

A bus in Changzhou stopped for more than seven minutes until someone gave their seat to a woman with a baby, Yangtze Evening News reported on Tuesday. The driver on Route 93 asked passengers to give a seat to the woman, but nobody responded, the report said. The driver then said if nobody gave up their seat, the bus would not move. Finally, a man gave up his seat to the woman.

Anhui

Medic's killer sentenced to life imprisonment

A man who killed one health worker and injured four was sentenced to life in prison by Hefei Intermediate People's Court on Tuesday, China Central Television reported. Cai Chunfeng was spared the death sentence because he has a paranoid psychological disorder, limited capacity for criminal responsibility, and he surrendered after the crime.

Woman arrested for selling granddaughter

Police have detained a woman in Sixian county for selling her granddaughter for 10,000 yuan ($1,639) several days after she was born, Xin'an Evening News reported. The baby's father is deaf and her mother is mute. They were reunited with their child after police recently found the baby, who is now 11 months old, in Lingbi, a county bordering Sixian.

Hebei

Four die, two hurt in fire at nursing home

Four people were killed and two injured in a fire at a nursing home in Weichang Manchu and Mongol autonomous county on Tuesday. The fire broke out at the Changlefu nursing home, which was caring for elderly people, at around 3 am and was put out one hour later.

Shanghai

People with disabilities can be civil servants

The city's civil servant recruitment examination will be opened to people with disabilities for the first time in 2014, China Central Television reported on Tuesday. The municipality's 16 government departments and 27 public institutions will each offer one position for applicants with disabilities. Positions will include office secretary, accountant, typist and clerk.

Newspaper to cease publication on Jan 1

The Shanghai Evening Post will stop publishing on Jan 1, Qiu Xin, Party chief of Shanghai United Media Group, with which the paper is affiliated, announced on Monday. The group was established in October after two media groups - one of which owned the paper - merged. The company publishes eight newspapers, six of them dailies.

Fujian

One killed, four injured in early morning blaze

A fire broke out in an apartment building in Gutian county on Tuesday, killing one person and injuring four, Fujian Southeast Net reported. The blaze, which started at 3:15 am, swept through 14 homes, affecting 43 people. It was put out at about 6 am.

Liaoning

Scores of birds found dead in Shenyang park

More than 40 sparrows and magpies were found dead in Nanhu Park in Shenyang on Monday morning. A man who often visited the park said it was the first time such a large number of birds had been found dead. He suspected they had been poisoned, Shenyang Evening News reported.

Newlyweds presented with divorce papers

A newly married couple received a divorce certificate, but the local marriage registration center said on Monday it will rectify the mistake and pay compensation, Chinese Business Morning View reported. The couple married in Fuxin county last week, but did not realize they had been given a divorce certificate until the groom showed it to his father in the afternoon.

Hunan

Spicy food makes province top hot spot

The hottest food on the Chinese mainland is served in Hunan province, according to an online survey. The province is known for its chili-based dishes. Chutian Metropolis Daily in Hubei conducted the survey, which ranked Guizhou province second. The province's Laoganma-brand chili sauce is popular nationwide. Chongqing and Sichuan province tied for third place.

Shaanxi

Chinese kept cats 5,300 years ago

Archaeological findings indicate the Chinese have a long history of keeping cats to thin the rat population, China News Service reported. Researcher Hu Songhai, of the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeological Research, said cat fossils were recently discovered in Huaxian county. "The archaeologists have proved local people used cats to help keep the rat population under control 5,300 years ago," Hu said.

Heilongjiang

Man gets 10 years for bid to kill baby daughter

A man was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Monday for attempting to kill his baby daughter, according to Xinhua News Agency. Yin Zhihe has not appealed to a higher court. Prosecutors said Yin suspected the newborn was not his biological child and tried to kill her by inserting needles into her body. The girl was seriously injured, according to the hospital that treated her.

Chongqing

Campaign to curb banquets widened

Qijiang district has introduced a system to document banquets hosted by close family members of officials. The measure, to limit corruption, has tighter requirements than the one that applies to banquets hosted by leading officials, Chongqing Commercial Daily reported on Tuesday.

Shandong

Oil pollution ruled out after marine deaths

Qingdao environmental protection bureau has said that hundreds of fish, crabs and shrimp found floating in Jiaozhou Bay were not killed by crude oil pollution caused by a pipeline explosion in late November, China News Service reported. In a statement, the bureau said a thorough investigation immediately after the event indicated the fish may have died from a lack of oxygen because the sea had frozen over.

Hubei

Man held on suspicion of sending toxic parcel

A man in Jingmen has been detained on suspicion of sending a parcel containing a toxin that killed one man and made nine others ill, authorities said on Monday. On Nov 27, the Xiongxing Chemical Co employee, named Yang, sent a parcel containing methyl fluoroacetate samples to a pharmaceutical factory in Weifang, Shandong province.

Xinhua - China Daily

Nursing without boundaries Two Siberian tiger cubs, born on Nov 10, enjoy a meal provided by a canine wet nurse at Hangzhou Safari Park in Zhejiang province on Sunday. The park used the dog - mother to three puppies - to feed the tiger cubs because their mother didn't have enough milk. Photo by Xu Kangping / for China Daily

(China Daily USA 12/25/2013 page3)