IN BRIEF

Property

Home prices fall in key cities

Property prices fell in more than a third of the major cities in China last month, on a yearly basis, with analysts expecting the trend to continue amid government curbs.

Of the 70 large and mid-sized cities tracked by the government, 27 saw new home prices fall year-on-year, compared with 15 cities in January, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

On a monthly basis, new home prices dropped in 45 cities, down from 48 in January. Four cities witnessed a slight increase in prices while 21 cities saw prices unchanged, according to the bureau.

IPR

Apple in the dock over copyright

Several writers from China have raised concerns that Apple's App Store is infringing on their copyrights by offering pirated e-book versions of their works.

A senior official of the China Written Works Copyright Society said that the organization "will do all it can" to support 22 writers' lawsuits accusing Apple of copyright infringement and demanding more than 23 million yuan ($3.6 million; 2.75 million euros) in compensation.

Zhang Hongbo, deputy director-general of the organization, said 500 writers from the society will collect evidence of Apple's alleged infringement on its members' copyrights and will disclose the information to the public and for administrative and legal authorities' action at appropriate time.

Finance

Fraud on high-speed rail project

A report released by the National Audit Office showed more evidence of fraud, waste, mismanagement and irregular procurement totaling billions of yuan connected to the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway.

The report marked the end of a three-year audit aimed at regulating the management and use of funds in major railway projects.

Most of the problems pinpointed have been corrected, said a senior audit official, adding that the railway sector will remain its focus in the future.

The third audit report into the rail link that opened in June last year found that irregularities started from the bidding process on the project as early as December 2007, five months before construction began.

Health

Doctors order good night's sleep

More than 40 percent of Chinese people suffer from sleep disorders, but less than 1 percent have been diagnosed or treated, experts said.

Working people, particularly shift workers in cities who have fast-paced lifestyles, have the highest risk of sleep problems, said Han Fang, vice-president of the Chinese Sleep Research Society, on March 20 at the 2012 World Sleep Forum held by the Ministry of Health and the Chinese Sleep Research Society.

The problems, if not properly addressed, will affect working efficiency and social productivity.