If all went as planned, China's unmanned Shenzhou VIII spacecraft is now on its way to a rendezvous with the Tiangong-1 space module circling hundreds of kilometers above the Earth's surface.
The family planning policy has now been modified to allow any couple to have a second child, as long as both parents are only children themselves.
The decision to not give millions of dollars to Chinese organizations fighting AIDS and other diseases will not bring about the end of those organizations,said the top health official.
An earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale jolted the border area of Sichuan and Gansu provinces in west China at 5:58 am Tuesday Beijing Time.
China reported about 429,000 registered AIDS patients and HIV carriers as of the end of September, up by nearly 60,000 over the past 11 months, according to official figures released Monday.
President Hu Jintao's visit to Austria is the first by a Chinese president in 12 years. Special
Bonding through classical cultures
Chinese flock to Vienna for music
Planned 20 rockets, 25 satellites will make China '2nd to Russia'. Foreign officials invited to spacecraft launch
Future space station a 'villa'
New banking, securities and insurance regulators have been appointed in a major reshuffle.
Lack of legislation and huge profits make it hard to enforce the smoking ban in China.
Low visibility forced the closure of six highways and caused delays or cancellations to more than 200 flights to or from the city of Beijing.
China will adhere to its family planning policy so as to maintain a low reproduction rate, said the country's family planning chief.
Education authorities have halted intelligence quotient (IQ) tests for students with low examination scores in Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu province.