新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 08:00 2015/12/05

 The Beijing HourMorning EditionSaturday December 5th 2015. This is Bob JonesAnd I'm Paul James - Welcome to the Beijing Hour, live from the Chinese capital. Coming up on the program this morning...

Chinese President Xi Jinping outlines a major plan for Africa China Development.

African Countries are lauding calls by Chinese President Xi Jinping for his call for stronger ties with the continent.

Authorities in California are working under the assumption that a mass shooting which left 14 people dead on Wednesday may be an act of terror.

We have our weekly round up of the Business week here in China.

In Sports...... a young Chinese golfer poised to once-again earn her LPGA tour card from this year's Q-school in California.

In Entertainment......Coldplay confirmed for Super Bowl halftime ShowAll of that coming up in the next hour, but first, just a reminder there are several ways to reach out to us here on the Beijing Hour.

You can follow us on our weibo account at weibo.com/beijinghourFind us on WeChat by searching "beijinghour"Or email us directly at [email protected].

You can also visit crienglish.com for the latest news and information from China Radio International.

Top NewsXi announces 10 major programs in coming three years in AfricaAnchorChinese President Xi Jinping has announced ten major programs to boost China-Africa cooperation in the coming three years.

The big package covers the areas of industrialization, agricultural modernization, infrastructure, financial services, and green development among others.

CRI's Niu Honglin has more.

ReporterChinese President Xi Jinping co-chairs the second summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation with South African President Jacob Zuma from Friday to Saturday in South Africa's Johannesburg.

He made a keynote speech at the opening ceremony, announcing the 10 major plans.

"To promote construction of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, China is willing to implement 10 major cooperation programs with Africa in the coming three years."President Xi announced that to ensure smooth implementation of the cooperation plans, China will offer 60 billion U.S. dollars of funding support, including 5 billion dollars of free aid and interest-free loans, 35 billion dollars of preferential loans and export credit on more favorable terms, and a China-Africa production capacity cooperation fund with the initial capital of 10 billion dollars.

The programs will focus on helping African countries break the three development bottlenecks of backward infrastructure, talent shortage and inadequate fund, accelerate industrialization and agricultural modernization, and realize independent and sustainable development.

As regards the lack of skilled personnel, the president said China will establish a number of regional vocational education centers and several capacity-building colleges for Africa, train 200 thousand technicians for African countries, and invite 40 thousand of them to study in China.

In order to help Africa accelerate agricultural modernization, China will carry out agricultural development projects in 100 African villages to raise rural living standards, send 30 teams of agricultural experts to Africa, and establish a "10+10" cooperation mechanism between Chinese and African agricultural research institutes.

"China will share experiences of agricultural development with Africa, transfer practical agricultural techniques, and encourage Chinese enterprises to develop large-scale planting, livestock breeding, food storage and processing to increase local employments and farmers' incomes."The president added that to help the poor harvest caused by El Nino in many African countries, China will provide 1 billion yuan of food aid.

Meanwhile, President Xi has announced plans on poverty reduction and public welfare, public health, people-to-people exchanges, and peace and security.

He also proposed that the new type of China-Africa relations be upgraded to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

"The China-Africa relationship is under the best period in history currently and we should adopt a long-term perspective and stride forwards. Let's make efforts hand in hand, draw together the wisdom and strength of all the 2.4 billion Chinese and African people, and open a new era of the mutual beneficial and common development of China and Africa."Established in 2000 to promote China-Africa friendship and cooperation, FOCAC groups China, 50 African countries that have established diplomatic ties with China, and the Commission of the African Union. Its last summit took place in 2006 in Beijing.

For CRI, I'm Niu HonglinAfrican Countries Hail President Xi's Historic Speech on Stronger TiesSenior African officials have welcomed with enthusiasm Chinese President Xi Jinping's keynote speech on China-Africa cooperation, saying the new initiatives announced by the president dovetails nicely with the priorities of Africa.

President Xi is the co-chair of the summit with South African President Jacob Zuma, who said that African countries needed Chinese help to process their abundant natural resources, which he said had made the continent vulnerable to exploitation in the past.

"I have deliberately mentioned mineral resources last because whilst these are a blessing, they have also made Africa vulnerable to exploitation. It is for this reason that we want to prioritize beneficiation and value addition. In that way, what is buried in the belly of our soil will translate into benefit for the bellies of our citizens."Meanwhile, Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe expressed his will to deepen the relationship with China.

"Our relations go much deeper than the extraction of resources, we are committed to strengthening the current and multifaceted and multidimensional relations between African countries and China."Many other leaders also commented on the speech including Mohamed Eisa, with Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sudan, describing Xi's speech as "a milestone in the relations between Africa and China," as well as Jeff Radebe, minister in the presidency of South Africa, saying the speech was "the most important speech in the last century from China" concerning its relationship with Africa.

Xi Jinping raises 5-point proposal on boosting China-Africa cooperationChinese President Xi Jinping has put forward a five-point proposal for seeking the common development of China and Africa at the 5th Conference of Chinese and African Entrepreneurs in Johannesburg.

President Xi says in his speech that the cooperation between Africa and China would be based on equality and common interests.

"We must go for win-win cooperation based on equality. Both China and Africa should uphold the values of friendship, justice and shared interests, bearing in mind their realities and each other's concerns, seek and expand converging interests and jointly build a community of shared future for China and Africa."Also, he added that "other countries are welcome to get involved on the basis of mutual benefit."In the third proposal, President Xi showed expressed confidence that the deepening of China-Africa cooperation would highlight pragmatism and yield fruitful results.

"China is ready to share, without any reservation advanced, applicable technologies with Africa and combine Chinese competitive industries which African needs to deepen industrial cooperation. This will help enhance the quality of the African workforce and create more jobs and strengthen Africa's internal drive for economic development."In addition, Xi Jinping emphasized that China-Africa cooperation must give the top priority to low carbon and sustainable development.

In order to achieve the goals, the Chinese President also proposed building a new model of international partnership to encourage all-round business cooperation between China and Africa.

Xi Meets African LeadersOn the sideline this year's summit among Chinese and African leaders, Chinese President Xi Jinping has been holding a series of bilateral sit-downs among the African leaders attending the meetings.

Among them, Xi Jinping has told Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is ready to increase its aid to the country as it tries to pull itself out of some 2-decades of lawlessness.

Xi Jinping says China stands ready to increase support for national defense and security in Somalia, which is battling an insurgency by the Boko Haram group which nominally controlled the country until around 3-years ago.

Meanwhile, Xi Jinping's discussions with Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail have included discussions about electricity, transportation and infrastructure construction.

They too have also talked about security cooperation.

Xi Jinping is in South Africa attending the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which is taking place this year in Johannesburg.

Q&A with Zhong Jianhua, China's Special Representative on African AffairsFore more on this, I spoke a little earlier to Ambassador Zhong Jianhua, China's Special Representative on African Affairs, who's in Johannesburg.

China issues new Africa policy paperChina has issued a second Africa policy paper, as Chinese President Xi Jinping attended a summit of the Forum on China-African Cooperation (FOCAC).

The paper consists of 5-parts, including China's relations with Africa, principles of China's African policy, China's all-round cooperation with Africa, FOCAC and its follow-up actions, as well as China's relations with African regional organizations.

It is designed to further clarify "China's determination and goodwill to develop friendly and cooperative relations with Africa," and expounding China's new vision and measures concerning China-Africa cooperation.

The first version of the document was issued in 2006. This latest paper underlines that China has been Africa's largest trading partner since 2009, with trade volume between the two sides rising to four times in the past ten years.

In 2006, the Chinese government proposed a new type of China-Africa strategic partnership featuring political equality and mutual trust, economic win-win cooperation, and greater cultural exchanges.

China, Japan to Hold Consultations on Maritime AffairsA new set of talks between Chinese and Japanese officials connected to maritime issues are set to take place next week.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying says the forthcoming sessions in Xiamen are meant to try to build up trust between the two sides.

"The China-Japan high-level consultation on maritime affairs is a way for both sides to come together with mutual goals in mind. We're hoping this will be a thorough exchange of opinions from both sides when it comes to our issues at sea. We hope it will build up mutual understanding and trust."The talks are set to begin on Monday, and will include representatives from the Chinese and Japanese Defense, Foreign and Maritime Affairs departments.

China and Japan have been at odds over which country controls the Diaoyu Islands off the northeast coast of Taiwan.

The talks set to begin on Monday were first established in early 2012 to try to difuse tensions connected to the dispute.

New Round of Smog for BeijingHazardous smog is expected to engulf Beijing and its neighbouring areas again, starting from today.

The country's Environmental Protection Ministry is predicting the new round of smog will last until Wednesday with PM2.5 still the dominant pollutant.

The capital region suffered from the worst air pollution of the year last week.

The smog prompted Beijing to upgrade its alert level to the second-highest for the first time and triggered the suspension of most industrial production.

Vehicle exhaust emissions, coal-fired power generation and winter heating have been blamed for most of the pollution in northern China.

Agricultural Bank of China president resignsThe Agricultural Bank of China has announced that its president has resigned "for personal reasons".

In a statement, the bank said Zhang Yun has filed a letter to resign from his posts as the bank's deputy chairman, executive director and president.

Zhang Yun has been with the bank for more than 30 years and was appointed vice-chairman, president and deputy secretary of the Party committee at the bank in 2009.

The resignation comes amid speculation over his involvement in a financial scandal.

The bank's board chairman Liu Shiyu will temporarily take on the role as president.

The ABC saw its profits up just 0.57 percent year on year, in the first three quarters of 2015, the slowest pace among China's big four state-owned banks.

Controversy over Jail Term for Bird HunterAnchor:

A controversy is raging on over a lengthy jail term for a college student who was jailed for hunting endangered birds in central China, despite a court ruling upholding the sentence.

CRI's Liu Yuanhui reports.

Reporter:

In an appeal hearing earlier this week, the Intermediate People's Court of Xinxiang City in Henan upheld the original verdict.

The student, surnamed Yan, was sentenced to 10 years and six months in jail for illegally hunting and selling endangered animals, while his friend, surnamed Wang, got 10 years in prison, for poaching.

The two were also fined 10,000 yuan and 5,000 yuan respectively.

The rulings were first given by the court in Huixian County this May, but has triggered debate ever since.

An online poll conducted by Tencent showed close to 90 percent of the over 120-thousand netizens surveyed thought the penalties were too heavy.

Some of those surveyed cited reports that Yan had once claimed that he didn't know that the birds he caught were protected.

But Zhang Peifeng with the intermediate court of Xinxiang said Yan was clear about the bird's value.

"In his testimonies, the defendant confessed to selling the birds via QQ. The messages recovered from his cellphone also showed that he had been aware that these birds are protected when he decided to sell them. The evidence we have is enough to prove he knew his conduct was illegal."Investigations show Yan and Wang took 12 Eurasian Hobbies from nests in July last year.

One of the birds flew away and another died later.

Then the two posted the birds' picture online and sold the remaining 10 for money.

They later caught two more Eurasian Hobbies, and Yan also illegally bought a crested goshawk.

Both crested goshawk and Eurasian Hobby are Class-B protected animals in China, where hunting, killing or selling such animals can carry a maximum sentence of more than 10 years in prison.

But some netizens argued that a more lenient sentence could be imposed as Yan had said he didn't know much about the related laws.

However, Ruan Qilin with China University of Political Science and Law believes that's no excuse.

"Insufficient understanding of law could never be a reason to get an offending person exempt from punishments. It's not acceptable. It will undermine the authority of law."Ruan Qilin also said the final ruling is significant especially for wild animal protection in China.

"Protecting endangered animals is to help protect the biodiversity. The country has made laws aimed at preventing these animals from being hunted and killed. Anyone should be punished if hunting such animals. In many places around the country, wildlife is still neglected. It's why the ruling has made so many people surprised and appeared significant."In the latest development, Yan's father has hired a lawyer to seek a retrial, and Henan High People's Court will hear the case.

Illegal hunting of wild birds is still rampant in China despite years of crackdown.

The hunted birds are either sold to bird markets or restaurants.

The law professor Ruan Qilin also urged efforts to be made to step up education campaigns in this regard.

During a recent trip to a wildlife sanctuary in Zimbabwe, Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated the country's commitment to wildlife protection.

For CRI, I'm Liu Yuanhui.

APP Aims to Help Shy Students Speak OutAnchor:

A pair of students from a prestigious university in China have come up with a new smart phone application which allows students to more easily communicate with their professors while in lectures.

CRI's Li Jianhua has details.

Reporter:

The APP, 'zenkr', allows students to participate in class, not through a show of hands, but by communicating through their smartphones.

Users scan a QR codes projected on screens with their smartphones or other devices and then answer questions.

The results are then collated and shown to the professor.

"I feel that the traditional way of the class is low in efficiency, when questions are asked but no one answers. Secondly, many of our generation are relatively more introverted, so this traditional way of taking part in class is not something that makes us more comfortable."Zhang Xinyu, along with co-designer Ding Shu, they put they came up with the concept to try to help increase communication between students and their teachers.

The juniors at Fudan University in Shanghai are both majoring in Computer Science.

Sun Weiwei, Associate Professor with Fudan's Computer Sciences department, says the app has helped her better judge which students in her program are understanding the course material.

"The most obvious think is that it's made communicating more efficient in my class. Before the students created the app, I would really only hear from a few in my lectures. But now, I know I have a better idea of how all my students are understanding what I'm trying to teach them."'Zenkr' is now being used in more than 40 different classes at Fudan University, New York University in Shanghai, as well as certain high schools in the United States.

"We normally have a lot of questions that need answering during class. But many of my fellow students are afraid to ask questions when taking part in the lectures because they're worried about 'losing face.' But with the new app, if our instructors ask us if we have any question, at least we're able to inform our teachers whether or not we understand the material."'Zenkr' is currently free of charge, but is only available through invitation from the app's inventors.

At this point, neither the students or Fudan University have plans to try to make the app a commercial venture, despite being approached by a number of possible investors.

For CRI, this is Li Jianhua.

California Shooting Confirmed as Terrorism ActThe FBI has confirmed its investigating Wednesday's mass killing in California as an act of terrorism.

This comes amid reports the woman involved in the mass shooting is said to have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.

David Bowdich, assistant director of the FBI's Los Angles office, says they're acting on evidence the 27-year old woman involved in the husband-and-wife mass killing pledged allegiance to the Islamic State's leader before planning their massive attack.

"Based on the information and the facts as we know them, we are now investigating these horrific acts as an act of terrorism. We have uncovered evidence that has led us to learn of extensive planning. Obviously, we've uncovered evidence of explosives, multiple armaments, you know that. You know the ammunition that was out there, the high powered weapons, the explosive devices. We are continuing to go down the path to ensure that we find all of the evidence that pertains to this matter."The young couple opened fire on a party of the husband's co-workers in the LA suburb of San Bernadino on Wednesday, leaving 14 dead and numerous others hurt.

Officials say neither of the shooters, both of whom were later killed by police in a shoot-out, were thought to be radicalized Muslims before the attacks.

No output ceiling set by OPEC with oil producers reluctant to cut supplyDespite oil prices hitting their lowest level in some 6-years this past year, OPEC has decided not to cut production.

Ministers attending a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries say at least 30 million barrels of oil per day are going to continue to be pumped-out by the export bloc.

Current OPEC President Emmanuel Kachikwu says at this point OPEC can't make cuts while the rest of the oil-producing world continues to pump out oil at a faster pace.

"The only way OPEC functions is by cutting volumes. The world dynamics has changed. We need to look at other parameters for sustaining price. We need to look at negotiations between OPEC members and non-OPEC members. OPEC produces only about 35 to 40 percent of world consumption. So even if we keep cutting that doesn't solve any problem."Iran, one of the largest producers among OPEC-member countries, is expected to see its output increase by at least 500-thousand barrels a day next year when international sanctions against the country are lifted connected to its nuclear programs.

However, market observers are also suggesting domestic oil production in the United States is expected to drop-off somewhat next year, somewhat off-setting the Iranian output.

28.3 turnout in Egypt's legislative elections28.3 percent of Egypt's eligible voters took part in the country's first parliamentary election since the army-led ousting of former President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. The figure is a record low compared with the more than 54 percent in the 2012 elections.

Head of the Election Committee Ayamn Abbas added that after holding two rounds of elections, 316 individual and 239 party-affiliated candidates won seats at the parliament.

President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi stays in power until the election of a new parliament, the third and final phase of the country's future roadmap to democracy.

The first and second steps are approving a new constitution and electing a new president.

The new parliament is expected to convene later this monthWeatherBeijing is sunny today with a high of 6 degrees Celsius; tonight cloudy with a low of minus 4.

Shanghai , slight rain today with a high of 9 ; still wet tonight a low of 5 degrees Celsius.

Chongqing, wet today with a high of 14, overcast tonight with a low of 9.

Lhasa, cloudy in the day with a high of 9, overcast tonight a low of minus 5 degrees Celsius.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Islamabad, cloudy, 21.

Kabul, also cloudy, 11.

Over in North America,New York will be cloudy with a high of 12 degrees Celsius.

Washington DC, sunny, 12.

Honolulu, overcast, 28.

Toronto, overcast, with a high of 8.

In South America,Buenos Aires will be cloudy with a high of 29.

And Rio de Janeiro will be wet with a high of 29 degrees Celsius.

Headline NewsXi Announces Major Programs for AfricaChinese President Xi Jinping has announced ten major programs will be launched to boost China-Africa cooperation over the coming three years.

As part of his address to a summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, Xi Jinping promised 60 billion U.S. dollars will be earmarked to ensure smooth implementation of the initiatives.

The programs cover areas such as agricultural modernization and financial services.

Xi Jinping also said China would provide 60 million US dollars to bolster Africa's rapid response forces.

Another 1 billion yuan of food aid will be provided to African countries affected by the El Nino weather system.

Xi Jinping also pledged China will help train 200,000 African technicians.

The summit currently being held in Johannesburg is co-chaired by Xi Jinping and South African President Jacob Zuma.

The two-day event is expected to adopt a declaration and action plan outlining measures on consolidating China-Africa relations.

Obama, Cameron discuss efforts against Islamic StateU.S. President Barack Obama has discussed the ongoing fight against the Islamic State with the British Prime Minister David Cameron.

According to the White House, Obama spoke with Cameron on Friday, in the wake of the approval by Britain's House of Commons to extend British airstrikes against IS in Syria.

The White House says that Obama "welcomed the outcome of the vote and expressed his appreciation" that the United Kingdom had joined the counter-IS campaign in Syria.

The two leaders also discussed further steps that could be taken to degrade and destroy IS.

Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour died: reportsMedia reports are suggesting Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour has been killed and replace by an interim leader.

A Pakistani TV station is reporting Mansour has died following a shoot-out among top Afghan Taliban commanders earlier this week.

The Afghan Taliban has rejected the claims as "baseless".

Mansour took over as the top Taliban leader in July after it was confirmed Taliban founder Mullah Omar had die 2-years earlier.

It's been widely reported there is a split among different factions within different camps within the Taliban about whether or not to enter into negotiations with the Afghan government about entering into the current political structure.

The Taliban, which ruled Afghanistan before being oustered in the US-led invasion in late 2001, has since become a factional group of local warlords who control certain small sections of Afghanistan's rural areas.

China to launch stock circuit breaker in the coming yearChina's stock market will launch a circuit breaker mechanism on the first day of next year to curb wild swings in the stock market.

With approval from the country's securities regulator, the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges and China Financial Futures Exchange have issued relevant regulations for the mechanism on Friday.

The three bourses gathered public opinion on the idea of the mechanism in September, which would suspend trading temporarily in response to substantial rises or drops on the bourses.

Weekly Biz Reports (Saturday)Anchor:

It's time to take a look back at some of the headlines from the world of business in our Weekly Business Review.

The admission of Chinese currency into IMF's benchmark basket was the biggest story making headlines in China and around the world this week.

We will also look at China's cooperation with African countries, a hot topic of discussion during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the continent.

Let's catch up on all of that and more with CRI's Wenjie.

+++++++++++++On Monday, the International Monetary Fund officially announced that the Chinese currency is eligible for joining the Special Drawing Rights basket as an international reserve currency.

The inclusion of the RMB will take effect October 1 of next year.

Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, made the announcement in Washington.

"The IMF's executive board decided that the renminbi qualified for the SDR basket and existing criteria."Lagarde says the decision is an important milestone in the integration of the Chinese economy into the global financial system.

According to IMF, the RMB will have a weighting of 10.92 percent in the new SDR basket.

China's Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao described the inclusion as a win-win decision, since both China and the rest of the world will benefit from it.

"This is not just in the Chinese interest. It is the IMF's interest. It is in the global interest. We hope the decision made can benefit the Chinese side with a more open financial sector reform and make the IMF SDR boast more attractiveness and more representativeness."He also added that the country is continuing a manageable floating system so as to make the economy led by innovation rather than investment.

The IMF's Special Drawing Rights basket is a type of international reserve asset that IMF members can turn to in times of need.

The basket is currently made up of the US dollar, the euro, the British Pound and the Japanese Yen.

It's composition is reviewed every five years.

+++++++++After IMF's admission of yuan's into its benchmark basket, China's Cabinet has decided to set up pilot zones to open up financial reforms in the country.

One pilot zone will be established in Taizhou of east China's Zhejiang province with a focus on advancing innovation, online services and financing for micro and small businesses.

The second one is in northeastern province of Jilin, aiming to launch financial services in the agriculture sector.

The meeting also said that a new pilot zone will be established in each of the existing Guangdong, Tianjin and Fujian free trade zones to develop cross-strait financial co-operation.

+++++++++China's stock market will launch a circuit breaker mechanism on the first day of next year to curb wild swings in the stock market.

With approval from the country's securities regulator, the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges and China Financial Futures Exchange issued relevant regulations on the mechanism on Friday.

+++++++++A series of deals have been reached between China and countries in Africa, as part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Africa.

Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Shen Danyang says bilateral cooperation now covers more areas.

"China-Africa cooperation has covered industry, finance, tourism, telecommunications, aviation, broadcast and television. More and more Chinese enterprises are focusing on the African market and will make greater contributions to Africa's development."On Tuesday, the state-owned Power China has announced that it has signed an agreement to loan 1.2 billion U.S. dollars to rehabilitate and expand Zimbabwe's coal-fired Hwange power plant.

On Wednesday, 26 bilateral agreements were signed, worth some 6.5 billion US dollars to build infrastructure in South AfricaAs part of the deals, China will lend 500 million U.S. dollars to Eskom, South Africa's national power supplier, to help its operations.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China will also sell 10 billion rand or 696 million U.S. dollars worth of bonds in South Africa, making it the first Asian issuer of rand-denominated debt.

China will also help to build a car manufacturing plant in South Africa. It should begin exporting vehicles to other African countries by the end of 2017.

On Friday, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced in Johannesburg that the country will roll out 10 major programs to strengthen cooperation with Africa in the coming three years.

Meanwhile, China will offer 60 billion U.S. dollars to ensure smooth implementation of the initiatives.

+++++++++On Thursday, the ECB decided to lower the interest rate of its deposit facility by 10 basis points to minus 0.3 percent.

"The ECB's decisions help address increased downside risks to the recovery. Today's actions and its strong commitment to adjust the program if needed will help meet the price stability objective. The ECB should continue to strongly signal its willingness to act and use all the instruments available until its price stability mandate is met."Meanwhile, the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the marginal lending facility will remain unchanged.

The central bank is expected to extend the asset purchase program until the end of March 2017 from September 2016.

In addition, the ECB is set to include euro-denominated marketable debt instruments in the public sector purchase program in the list of assets.

After the ECB announced its decision, both U.S. and European stock markets ended in negative territory on Friday.

Most Asian markets also saw losses at close of the same day.

++++++++++Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, along with world leaders, announced a plan to research and develop clean energy technology at the ongoing UN climate summit in Paris.

It's been reported that at least 19 governments and 28 leading world investors have signed up so far, including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Ma of China's Alibaba.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates introduced the 'Breakthrough Energy Coalition' to the press and public.

"We're launching the 'Breakthrough Energy Coalition'. It's a global private investment group that will take risks that will allow companies to get innovation out of the lab and into the marketplace, and will focus on early-stage companies that could scale up to major carbon solutions."Gates committed one billion US dollars of his money and has been described as the "intellectual architect" behind the effort to get investors involved.

At the same time, Chinese authorities are telling the operators of coal-fired power plants to upgrade technology, with a goal of cutting pollutant discharge by 60 percent before 2020.

The move is expected to save 100 million tons of raw coal and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 180 million tons annually.

The country aims to cut total coal consumption to below 65 percent of primary energy use by 2017.

+++++++++A subsidiary of Evergrande Real Estate Group has agreed to buy 4 assets from a unit of New World China Land, marking the biggest purchase in China's real estate business.

Evergrande said in a statement that the deal was worth 13.5 billion yuan or 2.1 billion U.S. dollars.

This is another investment by the third largest developer in China whose acquisitions have mounted to some 6 billion U.S. dollars in the past 6 months.

++++++++Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says that he and his wife will give 99 percent of their Facebook shares to charity, as they announce the birth of their daughter Max.

The couple's holdings in the company are currently worth about 45 billion U.S. dollars.

It will be managed by a new organization known as the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

Meanwhile, Facebook said in a securities filing that Zuckerberg has planned to give away up to 1 billion dollars of Facebook stock each year for the next three years.

SportsHenrik Stenson leads after round two of Nedbank Golf ChallengeIn golf,Beijing native Feng Simin has a share of the lead heading into the 4th and final round of this year's LPGA Q-School in Florida.

The 20-year old, along with a golfer from South Korea, are tied for the lead at the tournamnent at minus-11.

As long as Feng stays in the top 20 at the tournament, she will automatically qualify to be on the LPGA next year.

It's unclear whether Feng will join the tourfull-time this year should she qualify again, as she still at sophomore at Vanderbilt in the United States.

Feng Simin earned her Tour Card last year at the Q-school, but had to re-qualify again this year because she didn't play in enough LPGA sanctioned tournaments.

---From the professional ranks,World number 1 Jordan Spieth finds himself in a 3-way tie for 3rd after the 2nd round of the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.

Spieth, along with Bill Haas and fellow American Jimmy Walker currently sit tied at minus-11 heading into the weekend.

Meanwhile,Sweden's Henrik Stenson carded 5 birdies on his back nine to shoot a 5-under 67 and take a one-stroke lead at minus-11 after the second round of the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa.

"so to be leading after two days, it's a bit of a turnaround to say the least and yeah, you go out and beware of the injured golfer, sick golfer, I guess. I mean, you've got no expectations and you just try and hit one shot at a time and make your way round and yeah, I've done pretty well so far."South Africa's Jaco van Zyl, who started the 2nd round tied for the lead with Stenson, is tied for 2nd at minus-10.

--On the women's side,Host nation Japan has a 12-point lead after the opening fourball event at The Queens match play tournament.

The host nation won all four of their matches.

South Korea is in second place with seven points after two wins and a halved match.

The Ladies European Tour team is in third place with four points after one win and one halved match.

He Bingjiao into Semi-finals at Yonex Sunrise Indonesian Masters 2015In badminton,China's He Bingjiao has booked a place in the semi-finals of the Yonex Indonesian Masters women's singles event.

The 17-year-old knocked out top seeded P.V. Sindhu from India in straight sets 23-21, 21-13.

China's Chen Yufei is also into the final 4 of the tournament after downing a local Indonesian player in straight sets.

---------In men's doubles,Chai Biao and Hong Wei have progressed after downing an Indonesian pair in a three set battle.

Awaiting them in the semi-finals are teammates Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen.

---Most of the big names in the badminton world are sitting out this tournament in Indonesia as they prepare for the BWF World Finals coming up next week.

The tournament in Dubai gets underway on Wednesday.

Xinjiang Beat Beijing 97-91In basketball,Xinjiang has bounced back from its first loss of the season this past week, getting past the Beijing Ducks 97-91 last night.

Beijing went down despite Randolph Morris knocking down 43 points and pulling in a dozen rebounds for the ducks.

With the win, Xinjiang stay at the top of the league with a 12-1 record.

The Ducks' are now 7-6 on the season.

In other action from the CBA last night,Guangdong has extended its winning streak to 7 after rolling over Jiangsu Tongxi 122-98 last night.

Yi Jianlian's 21-points has made him only the 9th player in CBA history to score over 7-thousand points in the league.

--Guangsha has kept pace with the Southern Tigers for 2nd in the league at 11-2 with a 98-83 win over Bayi.

--Liaoning's three-game winning streak has come to an end, going down to Foshan 103-99.

Foshan has won 3-straight after going the first 10-games of the season without a victory.

--In other action,It was the Jiangsu Dragons over Jilin 106-92.

The Dragons have won 4-straight.

--Beijing Beikong held off Tianjin 111-95.

--Fujian rolled over Qingdao 124-99.

--Shandong edged Zhejiang 108-106.

--Shanxi downed Shanghai 122-114.

--And Sichuan has turned around its minor losing skid, edging Shenzhen 114-112.

The Blue Whales sit alone in 4th at 10-3 on the season, while the loss, Shenzhen's 3rd straight, moves Yikan down to 6-7 on the season.

-------------In NBA,Six games on deck this morning,The Brooklyn Nets head across the bridge into Manhattan to take on the New York Knicks.

The Phoenix Suns are in DC to take on the Washington Wizards.

Detroit is at home to Milwaukee.

The Lakers, coming off only their 3rd win of the season on Wednesday, are in Atlanta to take on the Hawks.

Houston heads down the road to take on Dallas.

And its LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavs on the road in 'the big easy' taking on the New Orleans Pelicans.

Manchester City to Take on Stoke City in EPLIn football,Round 15 of the English Premier League is set to kick off tonight with 8 games on the schedule.

The first one has Manchester City up against Stoke.

Man City coach Manuel Pellegrini.

"It's very important when you play against Stoke to be an aggressive team from the beginning, try to go for the three points from the first minute, because they are always an aggressive team, especially in the first 15 or 20 minutes, they want to make the difference, so it's very important to have good possession and be very attentive in defending."City are going to be without both Sergio Aguero and Yaya Toure, both of whom are suffering from injury.

------------Elsewhere,Leicester, which is tied at the top of the table with Man City at 29-points, is on the road in Wales taking on Swansea.

Leicester's Jamie Vardy comes into this evening's match with a chance to write his name into the Premier League record books if he can net a goal tonight, which would be his 12th straight match with a goal in the Premiership.

Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri says he is hoping for a lot out of all his players tonight.

"Now for me, Swansea's a very good team and this moment is no play(ing) well, how they deserve or can do. And I told to my players, 'be careful because Swansea's a good team,' and for us a very important (game)."Should Vardy score tonight, he would tie a record set back in 1932.

-------------In other action,3rd place Man-U is at home to West Ham United.

4th place Arsenal entertains Sunderland.

Norwich is looking to put some distance between itself and the relegation line as they take on Watford.

And it's West Bromwich Albion up against Tottenham.

------------------In off-field football news,Real Madrid has announced it's planning to appeal after being disqualified from Spain's Copa del Ray tournament for fielding an ineligible player during its first-round victory.

The Spanish power house was informed on Friday that it has been bounced from Spain's top tournament after accidentally starting Denis Cheryshev during the first leg of its victory over Cadiz.

Cheryshev was supposed to be on a one-game suspension after accumulating too many yellow cards last season.

However, Real Madrid says it wasn't made aware of the situation until after-the-fact.

The gaffe is the latest blow to Real Madrid manager Rafa Benitez, who is already under fire in Madrid for the club's embarrassing 4-nil home loss to Barcelona last week in the first match-up of La Liga's top clubs this season.

Hockey: Stars in Edmonton to try to extend NHL points leadThere are 7 games on the docket this morning in the National Hockey League,3 are set to get underway in about 15-mintues time (8am Beijing), including Floridia taking a 4-game winning streak into Columbus to battle the Blue Jackets.

Philly, winners of their last 3, are in New Jersey to take on the Devils.

And Buffalo is at home to Arizona.

Later this morning, the New York Islanders are at home in Brooklyn taking on the St. Louis Blues.

Boston is out west in Canada taking on Calgary.

Up the road in Edmonton it's league-leading Dallas taking on the Oilers.

The Stars, the first team to 20 wins so far this season, have an 8-point lead on St. Louis at the top of the Central Division.

-and out west, the late game has Anaheim entertaining San Jose.

EntertainmentManager: Ex-Stone Temple Pilots frontman Weiland dead at 48Scott Weiland, the former frontman for the Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, has died. He was 48.

The singer's manager, Tom Vitorino, confirmed the news, but didn't provide further details. He simply referred people to a statement on Weiland's Facebook page.

The statement said Weiland, who was dogged by substance abuse problems throughout his career, passed away in his sleep while on a tour stop in Bloomington, Minnesota.

The singer rose to fame as the frontman of the Grammy Award-winning Stone Temple Pilots, whose hits include "Interstate Love Song," "Plush," and "Vasoline."The band broke up in 2003 and Weiland went on to front Velvet Revolver, the supergroup that featured former members of Guns N' Roses, including guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan. Among that group's hits was "Fall to Pieces."The Stone Temple Pilots eventually reunited in 2008.

But the group split again in 2013.

Coldplay to Join Super Bowl Halftime ShowThe news that Coldplay is headlining the 2016 Super Bowl as the annual National Football League game's halftime-show performers has been confirmed.

The British rock band, including Chris Martin, Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland and Will Champion, will give their Super Bowl debut show on February 7 at Levi's Stadium in California.

NFL officials announced on Thursday that Coldplay's halftime set will be made up of hits, including hot tracks from the new album 'A Head Full of Dreams' such as 'Adventure of a Lifetime', which was released Friday.

Meanwhile, Coldplay will appear in a series of behind-the-scenes videos on Pepsi.com, about the making of the halftime show, which will begin on January 11th.

Earlier this year, Katy Perry starred in the most-watched Super Bowl halftime show in history, with over 118 million viewers tuned in to see her performance.

Liu Yifei to star in the film "Flying Tigers"Chinese actress Liu Yifei is to replace Yu Nan as the female lead in Danish director Bille August's film "Flying Tigers".

The film is based on a real Chinese story about an American pilot who was saved by Chinese villagers after his plane was shot down by Japanese forces.

The pilot in the movie, Jack Turner, was a member of the U.S. "Flying Tigers" air squadron, who helped the Chinese during World War II.

Several of these American pilots had to make emergency landings and were saved by Chinese soldiers and civilians.

The director said that he hoped to portray the warmth of humanity, even in the setting of a brutal war.

Bille August is best known for "Pelle the Conqueror," which won both a Palme D'or and an Academy Award in 1987.

The visual effects will be managed by Chris Edwards, CEO of U.S.-based Third Floor company, which worked on "Avatar" and "The Hunger Games."The film is set for release next October.

Coen Bros' 'Hail Caesar!' To Open Berlin Film FestivalThe Coen Brothers' Hail Caesar!, featuring an all-star cast including George Clooney, Jonah Hill and Chaning Tatum, will open the Berlin Film Festival on February 11.

Also starring in the madcap Hollywood caper is Scarlett Johansson, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and Ralph Fiennes.

The story follows a single day in the life of a studio fixer who is presented a stream of problems to fix.

The Coens last opened Berlin in 2011 with western 'True Grit' starring Jeff Bridges.

Hail Caesar reunited the brothers with frequent collaborators, the British production powerhouse 'Working Title'.

This marks the second A list European film fest opening night selection in a row for 'Working Title' dynamic duo Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, after Everest opened Venice earlier this year.

The Coens also produce through Mike Zoss productions.

Universal Pictures is releasing the film worldwide.

It will open in Germany on February 18, 2016.

That’s it for this weekend edition of the Beijing Hour.

A recap of your headlines:

Chinese President Xi Jinping outlines a major plan for Africa China Development.

African Countries lauding calls by Chinese President Xi Jinping for his call for stronger ties with the continent.

Authorities in California are working under the assumption that a mass shooting which left 14 people dead on Wednesday may be an act of terror.

On behalf of co-host Paul James and the rest of the Beijing Hour team: This is Bob Jones in Beijing hoping you'll join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour, to open a window to the world together.