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Foreigners may be asked to provide identity papers during the 100-day crackdown on illegal visitors. STORY HIGHLIGHTS New regulations demand all foreigners carry a valid passport, visa and resident permit Locals can also call a number for a hotline to report "suspicious foreigners" Campaign comes amid a heated online debate about poor behavior of foreigners in China Some expat residents in China report increasing hostility towards them Beijing (CNN) -- At just after midnight on Saturday, in a bar down an old lane in Beijing, the band suddenly stops playing. Grabbing the microphone, the manager tells everyone to remain in the venue; the police are outside threatening to escort to the nearest police station any foreigner not carrying valid documents. The atmosphere instantly sours. This ... Continue reading →

A prehistoric relative of the giant panda has been discovered in Spain, a new study says—which suggests that the charismatic Chinese bears might have originated in Europe.The 11-million-year-old species, dubbed Agriarctos beatrix, lived in humid forests in what's now Spain, according to scientists who recently found the animal's fossil teeth near the city of Zaragoza (map).The teeth give paleontologists a lot of information about a species, according to study leader Juan Abella, a paleobiologist at the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales in Madrid, Spain."For example, all bear [teeth] have a series of characters that tell us that they are bears. And the same thing happens with dogs, cats, deer, or other vertebrate groups," Abella said via email.After analyzing the fossil teeth, he added, the researchers ... Continue reading →

Official: 122 girls, 3 teachers poisoned at Afghan school From Nick Paton Walsh, CNN May 23, 2012 -- Updated 2123 GMT (0523 HKT) STORY HIGHLIGHTS "They are more traumatized" than ill, a hospital director says The alleged poison was a type of spray, official says 40 of the girls remain hospitalized Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- More than 120 girls and three teachers were admitted to an Afghanistan hospital Wednesday after being poisoned in their classes with a type of spray, a Takhar provincial official said. The incident occurred in the provincial capital of Talokhan, in the Bibi Hajera girls school, said Dr. Hafizullah Safi, director of public health for the northern Afghanistan province. Forty of the 122 girls were still hospitalized, he said, with symptoms ... Continue reading →

Chen Guangcheng, the brother of Chen Guangfu and seen here with his wife, is now in the US. Photograph: Andrew Burton/Reuters The brother of the Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng has fled his family's captors in a second audacious escape from their tiny village in eastern China.Chen Guangfu arrived in Beijing early on Thursday morning after breaking out of Dongshigu, where relatives have been living under tight guard since his brother, who is blind, fled to the US embassy in Beijing last month, according to lawyers in the capital.Ding Xikui said Chen was seeking help for his son Kegui, who has been charged with voluntary manslaughter following a clash with local officials who broke into their home after learning of Chen Guangcheng's escape.Chen Guangcheng is now ... Continue reading →