China: WHO chief: Healthcare in rural area faces challenges
The head of the World Health Organization yesterday warned the health gap between rural and urban areas is growing wider, leading to deteriorating health in rural China.
Margaret Chan said, "The health indicators have failed to improve in pace with economic indicators."
She added, "when fair and accessible public health services become the clear targets of a country's public health policy, people's health will improve".
Recent WHO research has found that diseases are the source of poverty for 30 to 50 percent of China's rural population of 737 million.
US: Court suspends lethal injections
America's execution chambers fell silent on Wednesday after the Supreme Court ordered a review of the legality of lethal injection.
Anti-death penalty campaigners said they expected the informal moratorium to last until next summer, when the Supreme Court is expected to make a ruling.
The decision is a powerful sign that America’s top court wants to halt the death penalty, while it considers the way executions are conducted.
Lethal injection is used in all but one of the 37 states that currently impose the death penalty.
China: Beijing prepares for Olympic tourists
Beijing is pulling out all the stops to welcome foreign tourists for next year's Olympic Games.
The country’s largest tourism company, China International Travel Service, said that by August, tourists can get information and book tours on its website in six languages - English, French, Spanish, Italian, German and Japanese.
It’s also improving its online payment services for domestic travel agencies.
There will also be a 24-hour hotline in the six foreign languages.
Australia: Spider bite no excuse for rape
An Australian man who claimed he raped a woman after being bitten by a poisonous spider, has defence thrown out of court on Wednesday.
Philip Ronald Spiers was convicted and given eight years in jail for subjecting the woman to a four-hour ordeal in 1997.
Although Spiers admitted the rape, he blamed the effects on a bite from a funnel web spider 12 days earlier for his actions.
But the judge ruled that neither a spider's bite, nor a viral illness were to blame for the attack, which he said was committed because Spiers just wanted to have sex.
Autumn has arrived in the Middle Kingdom and China Daily Video News sent Marc and Producer Annie Xu out into the streets of Beijing to capture the season’s many colours. This is what they saw.
Despite the cold front that swept through Beijing on Sunday the city has been bathing in the sunlight. Allowing locals to enjoy the last of the autumn before the icy hand of winter arrives.
Temperatures plummeted more than 12 degrees in some regions of north and central China over the past week.
On Monday and Tuesday Beijing experienced a low of 1 degree Celsius.
Thankfully the sun has remained upbeat and provided spectacular clear blue days most notably seen at the Olympic Stadium and Swimming Centre nearing completion.
The weekend is expected to stay clear with only moderate winds, so enjoy the autumn sun while you can.
（英語點津 Linda 編輯）
About the broadcaster:
Marc Checkley is a freelance journalist and media producer from Auckland, New Zealand. Marc has an eclectic career in the media/arts, most recently working as a radio journalist for NewstalkZB, New Zealand’s leading news radio network, as a feature writer for Travel Inc, New Nutrition Business (UK) and contributor for Mana Magazine and the Sunday Star Times. Marc is also a passionate arts educator and is involved in various media/theatre projects in his native New Zealand and Singapore where he is currently based. Marc joins the China Daily with support from the Asia New Zealand Foundation.
Bernice Chan is a foreign expert at China Daily Website. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Bernice has written for newspapers and magazines in Hong Kong and most recently worked as a broadcaster for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, producing current affairs shows and documentaries.
