If you are someone with a wait-and-see attitude towards buying a house, then you might want to prick up your ears for this first story.

Official figures from Beijing and Shanghai show that property sales in the two cities rose in November after being stagnant in the previous few months.

Apartment sales climbed 52.4 percent in Beijing from October, while Shanghai grew 41.98 percent.

Despite the increase from last month, apartment sales in November haven't brought much cheer to real estate developers and agents.

However, analysts add the increase in sales in November was from a low base in October when sales were dismal.

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It's a matter of concern no matter you are outside on the street, or working in the office--the air we breathe!

And this news may just serve as a wake up call for all those spending hours in their offices.

Almost 80 percent of office buildings in Qingdao, Shandong province, fail to meet national standards for indoor air quality, and people's health is suffering as a result.

According to a survey by the Qingdao Indoor Furnishing Industry Association, when heating systems are running, there is a lack of proper ventilation in the offices, as windows tend to be kept closed. This leads to a buildup of pollutants in the air that can be harmful to people's health.

Most of the pollutants found in the air were volatile organic compounds, ozone and various forms of bacteria. In some instances, their levels were more than 12 times the acceptable limits.

High levels of pollutants can cause people to experience headaches, nausea, difficulties breathing and sore throats.

According to the World Health Organization, 2.8 million people around the world, and 111,000 in China, die each year from conditions related to indoor air pollution. And more than 300 polluting substances found in air can be linked to almost 60 percent of all human diseases.

Song Guangsheng, head of the China Indoor Environment Treatment Supervision Center, reminded the public of the need for proper ventilation in their homes, regardless of the cold winter weather. People should also try to limit their use of heaters to reduce the amount of air pollution.

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When sending off a message in a bottle, you may not have high hopes of it reaching anyone on shore. But perhaps, you should not give up hope that easily that soon.

A message in a bottle tossed into the ocean off Barnegat Bay in the US, has turned up in North Carolina — 39 years later. The note was sealed in a Schaefer beer bottle. It was dated Aug. 17, 1969 and read: "If found notify the North Haledon Fire Company Number 2."

Mark Ciarmello and his 3-year-old daughter found the bottle along a beach in Corolla, North Carolina. That's about 400 miles from where it was released.

Mark said he got on his cell phone, called North Haledon and e-mailed photos of the bottle to the firefighters.

No one is sure who tossed the bottle. But firefighters suspect it was during one of the many fishing trips that they used to take years ago.