Nobel Nominee

(XINHUA)

The 84-year-old Chinese agricultural scientist and educator Yuan Longping was nominated for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize for his contributions to food safety in Asia.

Yuan, known as the Father of Hybrid Rice in the Chinese media, is known for developing the first hybrid rice varieties back in the 1970s. These rice species yielded significantly more than common species at the time and were able to withstand water shortages. Yuan's hybrid rice is now used in more than 20 countries and in over 50 percent of China's rice fields.

Yuan is currently the director general of the China National Hybrid Rice R&D Center and a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He has received numerous awards and honors for his work, including the 2004 World Food Prize and the 2004 Wolf Prize in Agriculture.

New Coach

(XINHUA)

The Chinese Football Association announced the appointment of Frenchman Alain Perrin as new head coach of the Chinese National Football Team at a press conference on February 28.

The 57-year-old French native will take over the position from Chinese caretaker Fu Bo, who has been in charge of the team after Antonio Camacho was sacked following a humiliating 1-5 loss to Thailand.

"The spread of the H7N9 virus in Guangdong Province signals the need for stricter management of the poultry industry by promoting industrialized chicken raising and processing and encouraging the public to consume frozen products instead of live poultry."

He Youlin, a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), explaining his motion to this year's annual session of the NPC

"The bases of energy and chemical industries at the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River produce the bulk of industrial solid waste, which remains unprocessed. The waste has polluted air and will pollute soil and underground water in the long run."

Zhang Shuzhi, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) from Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, during the annual session of the CPPCC

"China is central to the makeup of the world system today in ways that are well understood on the level of geopolitics but have not yet been fully elaborated in the realm of culture ... this section aims to change that."

Philip Tinari, Director of Beijing-based Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, which will curate contemporary art from China at the 2014 Armory Show in New York