The complete online text of Striking Hard by W. W. Jacobs.

W. W. Jacobs, remembered today almost exclusively for his horror story "The Monkey's Paw" (The Lady of the Barge, 1902), was one of the most popular English humorists of the early twentieth century. His stories, many of them amusing tales of life along t...

China issued an urgent notice Tuesday ordering stronger controls over unscrupulous pork selling practices amid soaring prices for the country's staple meat.Separately, the Health Ministry reported 3,503 cases of food poisoning nationwide in the second quarter of this year, including 70 deaths. Most fatalities occurred...

China issued an urgent notice Tuesday ordering stronger controls over unscrupulous pork selling practices amid soaring prices for the country's staple meat.Separately, the Health Ministry reported 3,503 cases of food poisoning nationwide in the second quarter of this year, including 70 deaths. Most fatalities occurred...

Authorities have increased arrests on Christian groups operating outside China's sole official government church following a crackdown ordered last month, an overseas monitoring group reported Friday.At least 15 leaders in the unofficial church have been detained in recent days across six provinces and regions, according...

China _ the world's leading executioner of prisoners _ should reduce the number of death sentences it carries out but cannot abolish capital punishment altogether, the country's top legal bodies say.In a joint statement released late Sunday, the Supreme People's Court, Ministry of Public Security,...