1. Fengtai

Hospital forced to pay out over baby pain

Dongtieying Hospital has been ordered to pay 237, 000 yuan in compensation to a couple after medics failed to carry out sufficient pregnancy checkups.

Li and her husband said the hospital failed to ask them to do pre-natal screening that would have found any physical or mental birth defects.

The couple said the results of the examination done by the hospital suggested the baby was developing normally, but on delivery it was discovered that their child was mentally disabled

They sued the hospital for more than 590,000 yuan.

2. Dongcheng

City's ticket offices no longer open 24 hours

As the Spring Festival travel rush winds down, ticket offices at Beijing Railway Station will no longer be open for 24 hours, Beijing News reported on Tuesday.

The new working hours came into effect on Monday, meaning ticket offices will be closed between midnight and 5:30 am.

The travel rush is expected to end by Feb 27.

3. Xicheng

Thief skips city with pal's life savings

A security guard has been arrested after going on the run with his colleague's life savings.

The alleged thief, Yang, had previously helped the victim draw money from an ATM when he was ill, providing him with both his bank details and pin number. The duo had only known each other for roughly three months.

When the victim discovered that 32,000 yuan had been taken from his account, he called Yang only to find he had fled to Kunshan in Jiangsu province.

Yang was later caught by Xicheng district people's procuratorate.

Prison for man who faked poisoned soda

A man who falsely claimed he suffered mercury poisoning after drinking a can of Sprite has been sentenced to 1 year in prison at Xicheng district court.

Ma Sai, 21, complained that he had opened the can and had no knowledge of the potentially deadly substance inside.

However, it was later proved that his girlfriend contaminated the soda, Beijing Youth Daily reported on Tuesday.

Major spending plan funds care programs

Xicheng will invest 1.13 billion yuan in 23 projects to boost public welfare in 2011, the district government announced.

The projects will largely center on education, healthcare and improving living conditions.

According to the plan, five new kindergartens will be built this year, while out-patient services at the district hospital will be extended to 8 pm. Elderly people without social welfare will also enjoy free physical examinations once a year.

Subway air-con to ease travelers discomfort

All subway trains running on the capital's Line 1 will be equipped with air conditioning soon.

The renovation project will include 183 trains and is aimed at easing the discomfort experienced by passengers when services are crowded, Beijing Times reported.

The project is expected to be finished before the summer.

Test run of high-speed railway link starts

The Shanghai section of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway began a joint trial on Sunday. The project includes testing the new-generation bullet trains and its power system, Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday.

The Shanghai section of the route covers 645 kilometers and connects Zaozhuangxi in Shandong province to Hongqiao in Shanghai.

The track linking Zaozhuangxi and Bengbu in Anhui province has already finished its test run.

Trains traveling that section can reach speeds of 486 km/h. The trial is to be completed by May.

The Beijing-Shanghai line is China's longest high-speed rail line. It covers more than 13,000 km and connects two major economic zones in the Bohai Sea Rim and the Yangtze River Delta.

The service, which is slated for completion in June, will cut the travel time between Beijing and Shanghai from 10 hours to less than four.

Award urges players to stub out habit

The Chinese Association on Tobacco Control gives its Dirty Ashtray Award to players and products in smoky scenes on screen to reduce the amount of smoking in films and operas.

The association said there are a lot of smoking scenes in hit films, like Let the Bullets Fly, adding a list of actors has already been drawn up.

The State Administration of Ratio, Film and Television recently issued a requirement on the strict control of smoking in films and operas.

Push to get more on buses across the city

Beijng will encourage more people to get out of cars and onto public transport as part of a long-running transport campaign.

According to the plan, months will have different themes, such as public transport in February and March, walking in April and May and bicycles in June and July.

Liu Xiaoming, director of Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport, said at the launch ceremony on Tuesday that the city will try various means to increase the numbers using subway and bus services, including new bus routes and environmentally friendly buses.

The goal is to have 42 percent of residents using public transport when traveling, said Liu.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/23/2011)