Beijing

China to clean up grassroots medicine

Health authorities have vowed to conduct a thorough cleanup and rectification of grassroots medical institutions in order to ensure quality and safety. The campaign will also focus on the regulation of antibiotic and hormone use, as well as the management of key units in grassroots hospitals, such as surgery and dialysis rooms, according to the statement.

Fujian

11 die in SE China expressway accident

The death toll of an expressway accident in East China's Fujian province on Friday rose to 11, local authorities said late on Friday. Another 35 people were injured and hospitalized. A semi-trailer loaded with cement hit a car, a sleeper coach and a truck on the expressway between Zhangzhou and Longyan in Nanjing county. Investigators say that the semi-trailer may have experienced a brake failure.

Hebei

Truck accident claims 8 lives at fair

Eight people were dead and 10 others injured after a truck carrying stones was driven into the crowd and overturned at a temple fair in North China's Hebei province on Friday afternoon, local authorities said. Falling stones from the truck hit villagers at the fair in Shuiquan village, Fuping county, according to sources with the county government. An investigation into the accident is underway.

Shanghai

Scholars mull China's future

The fifth World Forum on China Studies opened in Shanghai on Saturday. About 300 acclaimed China scholars from 30 countries and regions will weigh in on the country's economic and industrial transition, foreign exchange rate reform and the impact of its rise on the world's political and economic systems at the two-day event. The forum will present prizes to an undisclosed number of accomplished scholars.

Lebanon

Prime minister bows out in Beirut

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Saturday, local media said, paving the way for a caretaker government after a political standoff with the powerful Hezbollah movement. Hezbollah opposed extending the term of a senior security official and the creation of an oversight body for the planned June parliamentary elections.

Israel

Turkey to restore relations after apology

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday phoned his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and apologized for an Israeli naval raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla three years ago in which nine Turkish nationals were killed, with the two leaders agreeing to normalize bilateral relations, Netanyahu's office said.

News Watch

Senate passes first budget in 4 years

The US Senate on Saturday narrowly passed its first federal budget in four years, a move that will usher in a relative lull in Washington's fiscal wars until an anticipated summer showdown over raising the debt ceiling. The Senate budget plan passed on a 50-49 vote in the Democratic-controlled chamber. The measure seeks to raise nearly $1 trillion in new tax revenues by closing some tax breaks for the wealthy.

China Daily - Xinhua - Reuters

(China Daily 03/24/2013 page2)