<p><span style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">A persistent drought in&nbsp;China&nbsp;has left more than 14 million people short of drinking <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/10/world/asia/10chinabrf.html?_r=1&amp;ref=water" title="Drought Leaves 14 Million Chinese and Farmland Parched">water</a> and damaged large tracts of farmland, according to a report on Friday&nbsp;by Xinhua, the state news agency.&nbsp;(Source: The New York Times)</span></p>