新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 20:00 2015/02/24（打印版）

Beijing will have some snow tonight, with a low of minus 1. It will be cloudy tomorrow, with a high of 6.

Chongqing will be overcast tonight, 11 degrees the lowest, tomorrow it will be cloudy with a high of 15.

One person is missing, and at least 20 others have been injured after a blast occurred in a road tunnel under construction in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The blast on Tuesday assumed to have been caused by gas explosion in the No. 1 Tunnel of Wuluo Road.

The UN Security Council has held an open debate on the maintenance of international peace and security.

Holding the presidency of the Security Council this month, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has issued a call to better implement the UN charter and for the building of a new-type of international relations.

Diplomats and Foreign Ministers from over seventy countries and organizations participated in Monday's meeting.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is calling on the international community to stick to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.

"These basic norms serve the fundamental and collective interests of all countries and peoples. Though written into the Charter 70 years ago, they still have great relevance today and continue to play an indispensable role in maintaining world stability and tranquility."

Wang Yi says the Charter affirms humanity's pursuit of lasting peace, defines the basic norms of international relations, and created mechanisms to prevent war.

" Today, 70 years after its creation, the Charter of the UN remains as relevant as ever before. Not only should we stay true to the spirit of the UN Charter, we also need to act along the trend of the times and in line with practical needs to add new dimensions to the Charter and bring to it new dynamism and vitality."

These principles include upholding peace and preventing conflict, cooperation not confrontation, making sure justice prevails in the world instead of hegemony, and seeking win-win solutions to problems.

"In the world today, countries are more interdependent than ever and their interests are increasingly intertwined. Antiquated thinking, such as the cold-war mentality and zero-sum games, should have long been thrown into the trash bin of history."

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon outlines the major changes that have been taking place since the birth of the UN Charter, but he says the Charter is still "valid, valuable and vital".

"The world is starkly different than when the Charter was drafted in San Francisco in 1945. The membership of the United Nations is nearly quadrupled. New powers have emerged. Globalization, urbanization, migration, democratic shifts, technological advances, climate change and other developments continue to remake our societies and transform international relations. Yet the expression of 'we the peoples' enshrined in the Charter remains just as valid, valuable and vital."

The UN chief is calling on the international community to take the opportunity of the 70th anniversary of the UN to look forward.

"We should use this year's observance of the 70th anniversary of the United Nations to seriously reflect on our common enterprise on peace operations, peace building, women's empowerments, disaster risks reduction and much else. We should also seize this year's opportunity to take transformative action on sustainable development and climate change."

The delegates attending Monday's open debate also touched upon a number of global issues apart from the UN missions.

The Security Council open debate is widely seen as opening the curtain for this year's commemorative activities for the 70th anniversary of the end of the World War 2 and the founding of the UN.

The disciplinary watchdog of China's ruling party says it uncovered one-thousand six-hundred fifty cases of eight-point anti-graft rule violations involving two-thousand one hundred thirty three people in January.

Of those who committed violations, one-thousand four hundred six have been given Party or administrative punishment, said the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

The violations include private use of official cars, illegal subsidies, lavish spending at weddings and funerals, accepting festival gifts and use of public funds for high-end entertainment activities and travel.

Last year, disciplinary organs at all levels punished more than seventy thousand people for violations of anti-graft rules, with a third of them given Party or administrative punishment.

Hong Kong Chief Executive C.Y. Leung says the government is seeking to tighten the Individual Visit Scheme for tourists from the Chinese mainland.

The latest figures from Hong Kong's Immigration Department show says the number of mainland tourists visiting Hong Kong in the first five days of the Spring Festival holiday fell for the first time in nearly two decades.

Despite the slight drop, he says the Hong Kong government will discuss with mainland authorities measures to tighten arrangements under the Individual Visit Scheme for mainland tourists, citing Hong Kong's limited capacity to accommodate tourists.

"We totally understand the pressure created on Hong Kong residents' daily lives by the mainland travelers, so the government is concerned about it. If we want to set limitations or reduce the numbers of mainland travelers, we have to discuss the issue with the relevant departments of the Central Government to tighten the policy. "

Tensions between Hong Kong resident and mainlanders have been escalating in recent years as city residents accused visitors of snapping up daily essentials which have caused either scarcity of products or soaring prices.

A couple of protests have been held against mainland tourists and smuggling couriers in shopping malls recently.

"We cannot accept a small fraction of people with political wills, who take advantage of local residents' resentment and make illegal actions including storming shopping malls. These acts should be condemned. We should solve the problem through policy."

Leung says he will bring up the issue during his visit to Beijing next month at the National people's Congress.

He adds that Hong Kong will develop tourism facilities including shopping malls, to increase its capacity for visitors.

Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem has confirmed that he received the list of Greek reform measures for final approval in time ahead of a four-month bailout extension.

This has refuted the earlier report saying Greek had delayed the reform plans, missing the Monday deadline.

"It has been received. I read it on the morning newspapers that they (Greece) were late but they were not. They were in time. So they sent me the letter last night and it is being assessed at the moment by the institutions so we will hear from them later today."

According to Greek Minister of state Nikos Pappas, measures to fight tax evasion and trim the civil service will be included in the reforms.

The new anti-austerity government has vowed to reverse budget cuts after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras won power last month.

New Zealand will send a small number of troops to Iraq to help train local forces in their battle against the Islamic State group.

"Such an operation would be behind the wire and limited to training Iraqi security forces in order to counter ISIL (Islamic State) and legitimately protect innocent people. The government has decided to deploy a non-combat training mission to Iraq to contribute to the international fight against ISIL. This is likely to be a joint training mission with Australia."

Key says the country will deploy up to 143 military personnel and most of whom will likely be based in the Taji military base north of Baghdad as part of a non-combat mission with Australia to train units within the Iraqi Security Forces.

The Prime Minster and his government made the decision without putting it to a parliamentary vote, a move that some say was prompted due to a perceived lack of parliamentary support for the measure.

Opposition Labor Party leader Andrew Little contends that it is 'unrealistic' to say the troops would be there purely in a non-combat role.

The Spanish Interior Ministry has confirmed that four people have been arrested in an operation against a network suspected of indoctrinating and recruiting fighters for the Islamic State.

Authorities highlighted that some of their "recruits" had begun preparing to travel to zones controlled by the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.

This is the latest in a string of operations carried out against groups dedicated to recruiting radical fighters in Spain in recent months.

The majority of those arrested are from the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, but several arrests have also been on the Spanish mainland, in cities such as Almeria, Murcia and Barcelona.

Security at a shopping mall in the United States has been increased after a video released online over the weekend urged Muslims to attack shopping malls in Western countries.

The video, purported to be released by Somalia's al-Qaida-linked rebel group al-Shabab, specifically mentioned the Bloomington shopping mall, in the US state of Minnesota.

Josh Earnest is the White House press secretary, and made a statement elaborating on remarks made by homeland security secretary Jeh Johnson on Sunday.

"No, I think the secretary was noting how important it is for the American people to continue to be vigilant. That said, the intelligence community has said that they are not aware of any specific, credible plot against the Mall of America or any other domestic commercial shopping centre here in the United States. But we certainly are mindful of the threat that exists, and that's why, you know, DHS has their 'See something, say something' campaign, and we encourage people to be vigilant about that."

Johnson earlier commented on the video, calling it a "new phase in the global terrorist threat" and says the US is taking such threats seriously, advising the public to be careful, aware and vigilant.

An Egyptian court has found two top former officials, who served under ousted president Hosni Mubarak, not guilty in corruption charges.

Former prime minister Ahmed Nazif and former interior minister Habib al-Adly were both charged with profiteering and squandering public funds for their own interests.

The acquittal comes one day after liberal activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, who spearheaded the massive protests that toppled Mubarak in 2011, was sentenced five years in jail.

Most of Mubarak's top officials have been cleared of charges, mostly corruption and murder, since they were arrested following Mubarak's removal in 2011.

South Korea has announced that its annual joint military drill with the United States will start early next month despite repeated threats from Pyongyang.

The virtual war-game exercise, called 'Key Resolve', will take place from 2nd to 13th of next month and the field training exercise, 'Foal Eagle', will last for nearly two month.

Last month, North Korea warned the US that it was willing to impose a temporary moratorium on its nuclear tests if Washington scraps the military drills with South Korea this year.

With the Chinese Lunar New Year underway, we take a look at how the Spring Festival has been celebrated around the world.

The Chinese employees at the UN Headquarters in New York spent their Spring Festival in the office. Many of them are hoping it could become an official holiday at the UN.

There are nearly 240 Chinese nationals working at the UN Headquarters. Most of them work for the General Assembly or the Mandarin Department.

"I hope it could become an official holiday like the major holidays for other communities. It will be good also for the Vietnamese, Koreans, Japanese and all other communities that celebrate this holiday. We will be very happy then."

Lu Mei works for China's permanent mission to the UN. She had meetings every day this past week while people back home celebrated the seven-day Spring Festival holiday.

"I think we tried even harder to celebrate it. Eating dumplings and making Spring Festival scrolls are like rituals. Back home, it is not like this so much."

Lu says maybe because most of the Chinese nationals working for the UN live separately from their loved ones, they cherish this familiy-oriented holiday even more. And with or without an official holiday, the festive atmosphere won't be weakened a bit.

For more on Chinese New Year celebrations elsewhere around the world, CRI's Wang Mengzhen brings you more.

The Chinese New Year celebration in London reached its climax on Sunday when tens of thousands of people gathered in China Town and Trafalgar Square to watch the dragon and lion dances.

"It's very special for us this year, because one we are also helping to organize some other martial arts team to join in, and two we've had the opportunity to showcase our techniques on national television, on Channel, on BBC and also on London Live. "

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister David Cameron has invited more than 200 guests to celebrate the Chinese New Year at Number 10 Downing Street in London on Monday evening.

"It's an interesting but less known fact that in America during Thanksgiving they spent $50 million in terms of restaurants and bookings for Thanksgiving. The figure for China and Chinese New Year, it's $100 billion. So that gives a sense of who knows best how to party."

The festive atmosphere of the Chinese New Year in France has culminated in an annual parade on Sunday in Paris.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls is among the crowd, and offered some thoughts on the Chinese zodiac.

"The goat is a kind of very smart animal that can bring auspiciousness to people. It also signifies loyalty of friendship between our two countries. I wish everyone a happy year of the goat."

At the same time, thousands of people join the Chinese New Year parade in Chicago's Chinatown for the yearly parade on Sunday afternoon, despite the cold weather.

Down to Sydney, Australia, where 90 lanterns shaped like the famous Terracotta Warriors have been lit up in the iconic Sydney Harbor area to welcome the lunar New Year.

The artwork was created for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 by a team of Chinese artists. And this year, the same team was invited to bring the lanterns to Australia.

The massive installations have attracted thousands of visitors. Mrs Zhao from China is married to an Australian local and has a 2 year old son. She had come with her family to see the lanterns.

"We want to celebrate Chinese New Year. it's amazing that we have lanterns of terracotta warriors in Sydney. We have specially brought Jaden, my son, to see the lanterns. It's his first time to see the terracotta warriors. I have brought him here so that he can feel the atmosphere of Chinese New Year."

The lanterns are among more than 80 other exhibitions and activities being held in connection to the Chinese New Year in Sydney this year.

Official data shows that China had more invention patent applications than any other country last year for the fourth year running.

The number of patent applications filed to the State Intellectual Property Office in 2014 stood at nine-hundred twenty-eight thousand, up more than 12 percent from 2013.

The Office authorized a total of two-hundred thirty-three thousand invention patents in the year, nearly 70-percent of which were from Chinese applicants.

The Office says that by the end of last year, China had six-hundred sixty-three thousand invention patents with high quality and market value, and the number of invention patents per ten-thousand Chinese people reached 4.9.

Italian air carrier Alitalia it will operate non-stop service between Milan and Shanghai from May 1 to Oct. 24.

Flights will depart the Italian city in the morning on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and arrive in Shanghai at midnight. Return flights will leave the Chinese city early the next morning.

Asian shares were almost flat on Monday as many countries in the region returned from Lunar New Year holidays, with positive sentiment supported by relief that Greece reached a deal to avert an immediate fiscal crisis.

Doctors in London have found a new technique to map the brains of unborn babies. It is hoped that this new technology may hold the key to finding cures for conditions like autism.

New State of the art MRI technology is now helping doctors to look at fine nerve fibres, just a few millimetres long which criss-cross through the brain of Laura Crittenden's unborn baby.

Laura, who is pregnant for the second time has volunteered her unborn baby as a study subject for a new cutting edge research project, spearheaded by the Kings College London, Centre for the Developing Brain that aims to create a 3D map of the brain from its earliest foetal stage.

The research team then plans to make it a live model that shows how the baby's brain develops in the womb, over time.

Laura is participating in the study more out of curiosity to see how her baby grows in her womb. But she also knows that problems before, or during birth to a child's brain can have a severe impact on children, but they only becomes apparent years later.

"I'm really, really nosey so I like to know what's going on. I'm quite sort of self aware of what's going on in there, so to actually have the images on top of that is pretty special really, to see what they're doing and how they're growing."

We've known for a long time that our brains are constantly sending messages in the form of electric pulses, but we haven't still been able to map where these signals are going very accurately or the impact they're having.

By understanding the brains assembly from an early stage doctors hope they'll get a better understanding of what happens when things go wrong.

Professor David Edwards is a consultant neonatologist and professor of paediatrics for King College London who is part of this research team.

"Our physicists have made very novel methods of scanning babies which in particular cope with the fact that babies might move, especially before they're born and this ability to take scans during movement is quite a big breakthrough, it means we can start mapping the brain of the foetus as well as the brain of the baby who's been born."

Edwards says until now attempts by scientists to find their way around the brain has been like that of a stranger trying to pinpoint a place in a busy city without even having a basic map.

"The Connectome will provide a map so that we can understand what's going on in the brain and provide a context for all the other information we have."

Despite advances in genetic medicine, scientists are still uncertain about what causes certain diseases like autism.

Doctors hope that they might be able to solve this puzzle by being able to spot abnormalities and disruptions in foetal brain development early on.

新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 20:00 2015/02/24（在线收听）