Sichuan Province

South China drought worsens, threatening crops and livestock. Parts of southern China are suffering from the worst drought in decades, leaving millions of people with inadequate water and huge areas of farmland too dry to plant, state media reported Thursday.

Millions of people face drinking water shortages in southwestern China because of a once-a-century drought that has dried up rivers and threatens vast farmlands, state media reported Wednesday.

Millions of people face drinking water shortages in southwestern China because of a once-a-century drought that has dried up rivers and threatens vast farmlands, state media reported Wednesday.

Millions of people face drinking water shortages in southwestern China because of a once-a-century drought that has dried up rivers and threatens vast farmlands, state media reported Wednesday.

Twitter remains blocked in China, but company hopes to develop Chinese registration page. Twitter is working on a way to allow Chinese users to sign up to the social networking site in their own language, a co-founder of the site said Monday night, but access to the popular site remains blocked in the country.

Authorities in southwestern China have closed a factory after nearly 100 people -- most of them children -- tested positive for lead poisoning, state media said Monday.

At least 94 people living near a lead factory, most of them children, have tested positive for lead poisoning, state media said Monday, prompting authorities to order the closure of the plant. Hundreds more people are still waiting for test results.

Internet giant Google on Thursday joined a top journalists' rights group in rewarding a collective of Iranian women bloggers for their reporting on last year's post-election unrest.

Internet giant Google on Thursday joined a top journalists' rights group in rewarding a collective of Iranian women bloggers for their reporting on last year's post-election unrest.

Mao Zedong may have used paintbrush and ink to write classic poems in calligraphy, but his grandson is firmly in the 21st century -- micro-blogging by laptop from China's annual session of parliament.

BEIJING (Reuters) - They build the skyscrapers and lay the highways, mind the city children, sew the clothes and tend the shops, but China's army of migrant laborers are still fundamentally aliens in the country's bustling urban centers.

A young Asian chef opens a restaurant. He has spent time in influential kitchens around the city. He trained in French cooking, but his menu focuses on noodles, dumplings, and pork belly buns. He has more than a passing obsession with pigs, which are delivered regularly from regional farms. The comparison is inevitable: Chef Phillip Tang and the new East by Northeast in Cambridge have much in common with New York's famed, and famously foulmouthed, David Chang and his meat-centric Momofuku restaurants. This is consequential only if you are among those who follow the restaurant scene the way others follow sports, or if you'd like a frame of reference for what you are about to eat. For one thing, thanks in part to Chang, half the country's chefs are obsessed with pigs and get them delivered regularly from regional farms. It's hog hell out there. For another, Tang's food has more soul than swagger. It feels hand-hewn. More than meat, it is a showcase for local vegetables, and for dough. No

US-born panda Tai Shan freed from quarantine after arrival in China, shown to the public. After a month in quarantine, American-born panda Tai Shan paced around his new home in southwest China as he was put on public display Tuesday for the first time since his much-anticipated arrival in the country.

Welcome to AFP's live report on the 2010 Oscars. A crush of stars in all their finery are beginning to descend on Hollywood?s Kodak Theatre for the movie industry?s biggest night out.

Oscar day has arrived! After all the anticipation, it's time for the 82nd Academy Awards. The big day is here.

TONGREN, China (Reuters) - For Tibetans living near the birthplace of the Dalai Lama, one question is very much on their minds these days -- who will succeed the aging exiled spiritual leader once he dies?

China activist sues government for not revealing Sichuan quake recovery budget, other details. A prominent Chinese artist and activist has filed a suit against the Ministry of Civil Affairs for allegedly failing to respond to his request for information about the toll and cost of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

A prominent Beijing artist has lodged a lawsuit accusing the Chinese government of refusing to comply with rules on transparency over the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, state press said Wednesday.

A prominent Beijing artist has lodged a lawsuit accusing the Chinese government of refusing to comply with rules on transparency over the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, state press said Wednesday.

Chinese writer again blocked from leaving country, this time for German literary festival. An outspoken Chinese writer and government critic says he has been blocked from leaving China for a 13th time, this time taken off a plane as he was setting off for Europe's largest international literary festival.