Space Ambition

China

China will focus on space transportation systems, Earth satellites, human spaceflight and deep-space exploration in the next five years, said a government white paper China's Space Activities in 2011. In 2012, the country will launch the Shenzhou 9 and Shenzhou 10 spaceships and achieve unmanned and manned rendezvous and docking with the currently orbiting Tiangong-1 vehicle, the white paper said.

Plan for Census

Central African Republic

The Central African Republic and its development partners must mobilize $10.6 million to conduct the fourth general population and household census in 2012, according to the Planning and Economy Ministry. The ministry director called for support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for the general census.

Nursing for Seniors

China

The Chinese Government has issued a five-year plan to boost social services for the elderly. By 2015, the country expects to provide 30 beds in nursing homes and community care centers for every 1,000 elderly people. China has a total of 178 million people aged above 60, accounting for 13.26 percent of the total population. That figure is expected to rise to 221 million in 2015.