Welcome to the Beijing Hour, live from the Chinese capital.

Coming up on the program this morning...

The Chinese ambassador to the UK reveals more details of President Xi Jinping's state visit...

Taiwan's ruling party has replaced its candidate for the upcoming election...

Russian officials say the purpose of the country's military action in Syria is not to prop up the regime of Bashar al-Assad...

We will look back at the science & technology stories that have made headlines over the past week...

In Sports...the men's doubles and singles finals coming up at the Shanghai Masters...

In Entertainment...the China Shanghai International Arts Festival...

Top NewsPreview of President Xi's UK VisitAnchor:

China's Ambassador to the UK has revealed more highlights of President Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to the UK.

CRI's Niu Honglin has more.

Reporter:

President Xi Jinping will arrive in the UK on Monday - the first state visit to that country by a Chinese president in a decade.

"I am convinced that Xi Jinping's visit will officially usher in a golden era for China-UK relations."According to Ambassador Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese President will be greeted with a high-level reception.

The president will honoured with a 103-gun salute on the Green Park and the London Tower Bridge and Queen Elizabeth will hold a grand welcome ceremony for him. After the ceremony, the royal couple will accompany Xi Jinping and his wife to Buckingham Palace.

"When I say 'super high standard,' I mean the royal family, not only the queen but also the three generations of royal family members, will attend President Xi's activities. On the government side, Prime Minister David Cameron will hold official talks with Xi Jinping and accompany him to participate in a series of activities."The Chinese President's time in the UK has been scheduled with a variety of activities, including a visit to historical London, and rambling in the countryside with Cameron.

Ambassador Liu Xiaoming notes that a number of cooperation deals are expected to be sealed during Xi Jinping's stay in the UK.

"The two governments will reach a series of agreements and companies on both sides will sign big contracts in such fields as infrastructure, financial cooperation, investment, new energy, and creative industry."Besides trade and investment, inter-governmental relations and people-to-people exchanges are also topics to be addressed during the visit.

Xi Jinping is going to attend a business forum and visit parliament, where he is scheduled to deliver a major speech.

"The two countries see more closer high-level contacts and deepening political mutual trust. Another area is deepening cooperation. The third highlight is more people-to-people exchanges, so that the people of the two countries will become more familiar with each other. China-UK ties are growing increasingly mature and stable, with closer cooperation in international affairs."According to the Ambassador, Xi Jinping will also visit the London-based Imperial College and attend the annual meeting of the Confucius Institute.

More than 2,000 Chinese students pursue studies in this college.

For CRI, this is Niu Honglin.

Talks of Infrastructure Projects Gains Attention ahead of Xi's UK VisitAnchor:

As Chinese national flags fly alongside British Union Jacks in London to herald the upcoming state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Sino-UK cooperation projects are among the heated topics in the UK.

CRI's London Correspondent Duan Xuelian has more.

Reporter:

During his recent visit to China, Chancellor of Exchequer George Osborne announced that the UK government will underwrite the Chinese funding of the Hinkley Point nuclear power station, which has raised speculation that the two sides will seal the deal during Xi Jinping's visit to the UK.

Martin Freer is a professor of nuclear physics at the University of Birmingham and director of the Birmingham Energy Institute.

He explains that to meet the UK's target of reducing carbon emissions by 40% by 2030, the country needs to develop its nuclear power stations with overseas investment.

"So to get to 40% requires a massive investment in nuclear energy and the UK doesn't have the capability to deliver that investment, it hasn't built a nuclear reactor in the last 25-30 years. It doesn't have substantial nuclear industry which can build reactors and therefore needs companies from overseas to join the venture. "He says China is a likely partner in the UK's nuclear power-station development because the nuclear industry is very active in China.

He also says China has the biggest building program for nuclear power plants in the world.

"This is an opportunity for China to understand the culture in the UK market. Once they have understood the culture and subsequently brought their technology to the UK, this becomes a shop window to the world. If China can bring Chinese nuclear plants to the UK which is one of the most challenging places to get a reactor through the regulation system, then you can sell the technology worldwide, so this is a great market opportunity for the Chinese companies. "Another possible Sino-UK cooperation project that has been at the center of attention is the UK's high speed two (HS2) rail.

The planned link will connect a cluster of cities in northern England including Manchester and Liverpool.

It will play a significant role in the UK's "Northern Powerhouse" scheme proposed by Chancellor of Exchequer George Osborne.

Jin Xu, Minister Counselor of the Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese embassy in London, says the project has attracted Chinese investors' attention and will open new channels for Sino-UK business cooperation.

"In areas including high speed rail construction and other infrastructure development, the 'Northern Powerhouse' project will generate vast potentials for China-UK cooperation. The boost to England's traditional industry powers will create a win-win situation for both sides."During his state visit, Chinese President Xi Jinping will travel to Manchester to hear about UK's plans to revive its northern cities and looking at prospects of Sino-UK cooperation in the football industry.

For CRI, I'm Duan Xuelian in LondonChina upholds peaceful negotiation in disputes handling: military officialThe Chinese military is reassuring the world that the country is committed to resolving disputes in a peaceful manner, and wants to avoid potential conflicts in the South China Sea.

Fan Changlong, vice chair of China's Central Military Commission, has issued a statement while addressing a high-level Defense forum currently being held in Beijing.

"We will never recklessly resort to the use of force, even on issues bearing upon sovereignty, and have done our utmost to avoid unexpected conflicts. We will continue to resolve disputes and differences with directly related parties through friendly consultation and we are committed to working with relevant countries to maintain regional security and stability."At the same time, Fan has told delegates to the Xiangshan Forum that Chinese construction on the Nansha Islands is meant to serve mostly civilian purposes.

"In fact, those construction projects are mainly carried out for civil purposes. As we have promised, the projects will not affect freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. Instead, they will enable us to provide better public services to aid navigation and production in the South China Sea."500 defense officials and scholars have gathered in Beijing to discuss Asia-Pacific security.

The attendees include defense ministers from 16 different countries, including the Philippines and Indonesia.

For the first time, the United States and Japan have also sent representatives to the event.

KMT replaces candidate for Taiwan leadership electionTaiwan's ruling Kuomintang party has replaced deputy legislative speaker Hung Hsiu-chu with KMT chairman Eric Chu for the island's leadership election.

Eric Chu has been officially voted into the position.

The deputy legislative speaker was dumped from the candidacy after polling showed she was poised to suffer a significant defeat at the hands of DPP candidate Tsai Ing-wen.

Hung was originally nominated by the KMT back in July.

Despite the change in candidates, most polling is still suggesting the Kuomintang is going to lose its hold on Taiwan's leadership on January 16th.

Current Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou isn't allowed to run again under the island's election rules.

Giant money pit delivery service to be tested by booming businessesAnchor:

It is expected that China's rapidly-expanding express delivery services will move 20 billion packages this year.

CRI's Min Rui has more.

Reporter:

With nearly a month to go, couriers in China have already started to prepare for the massive number of order they are expected to take during the Double 11 shopping frenzy.

China's State Post Bureau predicts the "special day" this year will generate more than 500 million packages from e-commerce companies during the promotion period, up 5 percent from last year.

Ma Junsheng, Director of China's State Post Bureau, urges courier firms to upgrade services, and expand services into far reaching areas.

"Internet plus delivery services is the direction. Delivery and postal services should integrate with the Internet through online platforms and IT technology, so to grow the market and expand services. By 2020, we aim to complete the upgrade of delivery services into rural areas, and provide better, greener and more efficient services to all people."The notion of Internet Plus was proposed by Chinese premier Li Keqiang.

It stresses the integration of the Internet and traditional industries through online platforms and IT technology, to help economic restructuring.

Ma Junsheng from the State Post Bureau says as the express delivery grows rapidly, certain regulations on the vehicles and motor tricycles used by courier services are also necessary.

"The latest document includes standards in two aspects. First is the vehicle standard, which regulates both commutes and temporary parking of these vehicles in the city. Second, a national standard for motor tricycles in delivery services is currently under study and will come out soon to solve practical problems."Express delivery has now become a pillar of the e-commerce industry, and is becoming increasingly important for Chinese economic development because of its fast-paced growth.

Authorities estimate that the number of deliveries could reach 20 billion by the end of the year.

According to a China Daily report, express delivery companies in the country have already overtaken their US counterparts in terms of total deliveries annually, making China the "express delivery capital" of the world.

For CRI, I'm Min Rui.

Parliamentary polls to kick off in EgyptThe first stage of Egypt's long-awaited parliamentary polls will kick off today.

The country has been without a parliament for three years. The goal is to have a new one set up by the end of the year.

President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi is currently holding all legislative authority.

The last Egyptian parliament, which was elected in late 2011 after the ouster of long-time leader Hosni Mubarak, was dissolved in June 2012 by a court order.

The election of a new parliament represents the third and final phase of a three-stage roadmap , including a new constitution and presidential elections.

Just ahead of the voting, a policeman was killed and several others injured when an explosion struck the vehicle they were riding in, in the country's restive North Sinai province.

Authorities say the bomb was planted by unknown assailants.

Egypt has been facing anti-government attacks, mostly in the Sinai Peninsula, which have killed hundreds of police and soldiers since the ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi by the military in July 2013.

Migrant crisis: Slovenia army to help policeSlovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar says the country's army will support police efforts in managing thousands of migrants.

"The government has decided to include the army in helping police. Army personnel and army equipment will be used to secure the state border."The army will be providing logistical support and surveillance near borders.

This comes after Hungary sealed its border with Croatia overnight, diverting migrants west into Slovenia.

Media reports in Slovenia say 2,700 migrants entered the country from Croatia on Saturday.

Slovenian authorities say the new arrivals will be registered before continuing to Austria and Germany, the preferred destination of the vast majority of migrants entering Europe.

The country expects to receive thousands of migrants daily, as the flow of refugees who had been taking the Balkan route into western Europe is redirected.

Slovenia has also suspended rail traffic with Croatia, saying it needed "complete control" over the flow.

Russia's military operation in Syria aimed at defeating IS, not propping up AssadRussian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev says the purpose of his country's military operation in Syria is not to keep President Bashar al-Assad in power but to defeat Islamic State militants.

He also says the leadership of Syria is a decision of the Syrian people.

"It is up to the Syrian people to decide who will be the head of Syria. It is complicated and this is the choice the people should make themselves. At the moment, we operate on the premise that al-Assad is the legitimate president."Russia began air strikes in Syria in late September.

However Western powers say it aims to support Assad.

According to Russia, so far its air force has made some 670 sorties, hitting 450 targets in Syria.

Russia and ex-Soviet partners plan joint border defenseAnchor:

Russia and its former Soviet satellite states in Central Asia have agreed to create a joint task force to defend the external borders of the regional block and stop the violence in Afghanistan from spreading north into Central Asia.

The agreement comes from a meeting among several heads-of-state taking place in Kazakhstan.

CRI's Poornima Weerasekara has more.

Reporter:

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that violence in Afghanistan could spill over into the former Soviet states.

Putin says the situation is "genuinely close to critical.""It is particularly important to monitor the situation at the external borders of the CIS. I express concerns about the situation developing in Afghanistan. The situation there is really close to critical. Terrorists of various kinds gain more and more influence and do not hide plans of the further expansion. One of their objectives is to break through into the Central Asian region."Afghanistan shares a border with Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

Afghan Opium has been pouring into Russia via central Asia for years.

The country's ongoing troubles with the Taliban and other extremist elements have made it one of Moscow's major security worries.

Putin's statement came a day after US President Barack Obama said American troops would remain in Afghanistan after 2016, reversing an earlier campaign pledge.

The US president admitted earlier, that Afghan forces were not ready to stand alone against the resurgent Taliban.

The Taliban have made a serious comeback in recent weeks with the capture of Kunduz.

Moscow still has military bases in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

The new agreement could lay the ground for Russian and other regional troops to be deployed along Tajikistan's border with Afghanistan.

Putin also told the regional forum that thousands from central Asia have already joined the ranks of ISIS.

He warned that the Jihadists could pose a serious risk if they returned home.

"According to different estimations, five to seven thousand people from Russia and other CIS countries have already been fighting on the side of ISIS. And of course we cannot allow for them to use the experience they get, the experience they get in Syria today, to use it later at our home."Russia began its air strikes in Syria late last month.

Putin dismissed criticism of Russia's air campaign saying it's made more progress on the ground than the US-led coalition.

"An operation of Russian Aerospace Forces with the involvement of navy warships in the Caspian Sea is being held within complete accordance of international law. It's absolutely legitimate as it's being carried out based on the official request of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Russia says it is negotiating with regional powers, including Saudi Arabia, and attempting to build co-operation with the US and Turkey to create a wider international coalition to crush ISIS.

For CRI I'm Poornima WeerasekaraToddler and 5-Year-Old Raped in IndiaTwo girls, a toddler and a 5-year-old, have been gang-raped in the Indian capital, New Delhi, in separate incidents.

Family members of the toddler found the child lying unconscious in a park three hours after she went missing on Friday.

"She is two-and-a-half years old. There was a dance programme. She got distracted and walked two or three steps to watch the dance. Suddenly the power was cut and they picked up my baby. The electricity came back after a while and we started looking for our baby but we could not find her. We found her in a park three to four hours later."No one has been arrested in connection with this case.

Another 5-year-old girl was gang-raped in the east of the city.

Three suspects have been arrested.

Both girls have been hospitalized.

The Indian government has introduced tough laws against sexual assaults after a gang rape in 2012, during which a 23-year-old medical student was assaulted by six men.

There have been an estimated 2,000 cases of rape in New Delhi in the last year.

Mexico Intensified Effort in Searching Escaped Drug LordMexico has intensified efforts to find fugitive drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman after he avoided capture on Saturday.

The security cabinet says officials believe the drug trafficker injured a leg and his face as he made his getaway.

It provided no details on when or exactly where the operation took place, but there have been media reports it happened in or around Guzman's home state of Sinaloa.

Residents in mountain communities in the search area are complaining about the search operation and shooting by the military.

"Why did you start shooting? At our ranch, when the helicopter arrived at the ranch, it was already shooting.

"It would be very difficult for them to catch him (referring to "El Chapo") in the mountains, he knows the mountains way better than any American or any police officer or marine."The drug lord was said to have flown to Sinaloa following his escape from a maximum security prison in July.

The search in recent weeks have been focusing on a rugged area that stretches from Sinaloa into neighbouring Durango state, part of Mexico's famed Golden Triangle drug-producing region that is considered Guzman's home turf.

Bear Hunting under SpotlightAnchor:

In Canada, the high-profile case of a hockey player charged with illegal bear hunting has re-opened the debate over killing wildlife for sport.

It also follows the killing of Cecil the Lion in Zimbabwe, which drew international outrage earlier this year.

CRI's Victor Ning has more.

Reporter:

Canadian ice hockey player Clayton Stoner has been charged with illegally shooting a grizzly bear in British Columbia.

He is accused of two counts of falsifying statements to obtain a hunting license.

Stoner is also accused of hunting out of season, without a license and unlawfully possessing dead wildlife related to the shooting of a bear.

The case has shined a spotlight on trophy hunting in Canada.

A large number of grizzly bears live in British Columbia's Great Bear Rainforest, one of the richest unprotected wildlife habitats.

It's legal to hunt black bears and grizzlies there.

About three hundred grizzly bears are killed by trophy hunters every year in the provinceGwen Barlee, from the Wilderness Committee, says many Canadians are opposed to the practice of hunting bears.

"The vast majority of British Columbians are opposed to it and to kill this majestic bear, for pleasure, for sport, for a trophy or for being a rug, that just strikes people as wrong and it strikes them as wrong whether you live in a rural community in British Columbia or whether you live in the city"British Columbia's government claims there are 15,000 grizzly bears across the province, but environmentalists fear the number is as low as 6,000.

Foreign hunters are the main shooters of grizzly bears in the region. They have to be accompanied by a tour operator. Operators charge up to 25,000 Canadian dollars, or just below 20,000 USD, to kill a Grizzly.

Resident hunters have to pay 1000 Canadian dollars, or around 800 USD, for a hunting license each year, but there is a lottery system to obtain a license.

Research results show only 1.9% of resident hunters identify themselves as trophy hunters.

Alan Martin, President with the British Colombia Wildlife Federation, which represents the interests of 100,000 resident hunters in the province, says negative media coverage tarnishes all hunters.

"It is damaging because it affects, perception of, of hunting and hunters. I think that the focus is on, not the benefits of hunting but individual incidences where, there was inappropriate behaviour that is not certainly not condoned by the, by the BC Wildlife Federation or the hunting population at large."The federation says there is a clear distinction between hunting for food and hunting for sport, and for most hunters it's just an opportunity to experience nature.

The killing of grizzly bears and the Zimbabwean lion Cecil have incited widespread public mourning and sparked a major debate on the ethics of trophy hunting.

But proponents argue that it brings millions into the local economy. Wildlife is a serious business in British Columbia, generating 1.5 billion Canadian dollars, or 1.2 billion US dollars, and sustaining 26,000 jobs.

For CRI, this is Victor Ning.

Over 200 residents in N. Philippines evacuated due to typhoonThe Philippine government has ordered thousands of people to evacuate from coastal areas as Typhoon Koppu is to hit the country later today.

Koppu packed maximum sustained winds of 175 kilometers per hour near the center.

Typhoon Koppu is expected to batter China's southeastern regions after passing through the Philippines.

It will bring gales to coastal regions of Fujian Province and Taiwan in the next two days.

WeatherBeijing is cloudy today with a high of 18 degrees Celsius, also cloudy tonight with a low of 13.

Shanghai is cloudy with a high of 24 and a low of 19.

In Chongqing, it has showers today with a high of 24, overcast tonight with a low of 18.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Islamabad, mostly sunny with a high of 31.

Kabul, mostly sunny with a high of 22.

Over to North America,New York will be partly cloudy with a high of 11 degrees.

Washington, partly cloudy with a high of 14 degrees.

Honolulu, mostly sunny, 29.

Toronto will be partly cloudy with a high of 6 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,Buenos Aires will be partly cloudy with a high of 19.

And Rio de Janeiro will have showers with a high of 24 degrees Celsius.

Headline newsChina upholds peaceful negotiation in disputes handling: military officialThe Chinese military is reassuring the world that the country is committed to resolving disputes in a peaceful manner, and wants to avoid potential conflicts in the South China Sea.

Fan Changlong, vice chair of China's Central Military Commission, made the comment while addressing a high-level Defense forum in Beijing.

Fan has told delegates to the Xiangshan Forum that Chinese construction on the Nansha Islands is meant to serve mostly civilian purposes.

500 defense officials and scholars from 16 countries have gathered in Beijing to discuss Asia-Pacific security.

For the first time, the United States and Japan have also sent representatives to the event.

KMT replaces candidate for Taiwan leadership electionTaiwan's ruling Kuomintang party has replaced deputy legislative speaker Hung Hsiu-chu with KMT chairman Eric Chu for the island's leadership election.

Eric Chu has been officially voted into the position.

The deputy legislative speaker was dumped from the candidacy after polling showed she was poised to suffer a significant defeat at the hands of DPP candidate Tsai Ing-wen.

Hung was originally nominated by the KMT back in July.

Parliamentary polls to kick off in EgyptThe first stage of Egypt's long-awaited parliamentary polls will kick off today.

The vote aims to end a three-year absence parliament in the country, with a new one hopefully set up by the end of this year.

President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi is currently holding all legislative authority.

The last Egyptian parliament, which was elected in late 2011 after the ouster of long-time leader Hosni Mubarak, was dissolved in June 2012 by a court order.

The election of a new parliament represents the third and final phase of a three-stage roadmap , including a new constitution and presidential elections.

2,700 refugees enter Slovenia from Croatia on SaturdayMedia reports in Slovenia say 2,700 migrants entered the country from Croatia on Saturday.

The surge of people into Slovenia follows a move by Hungary on Friday night to seal its border with Croatia, in order to stem the flow of migrants into Hungary.

Most of the new arrivals in Slovenia arrived by train. They are to be registered at reception centers near the border before being taken to a facility prepared to accommodate them, located near the border with Austria.

The Slovenian Press Agency says the country expects to receive thousands of migrants daily, as the flow of refugees who had been taking the Balkan route into western Europe is redirected.

Sci&TechAnchor:

It's time to check in with what's been happening in the world of Science and Technology with our weekly Sci-Tech feature.

In this edition, we'll take you through the development of an artificial skin, and tell you how a Chinese company plans to help prevent the spread of the deadly ebola virus.

Here's CRI's Wenjie.

Reporter:

A Chinese researcher working at Stanford University in California has led a team who has developed a new form of skin.

which might one-day be able to help people with prosthetics feel their missing limb.

Bao Zhen'an, a chemical engineering professor at Stanford, has worked for the last decade to create a flexible plastic 'skin.'

She and her research team, which includes PhD student Alex Chortos, have developed the 'skin' through a technique which aligns neurons together to send signals through it.

"This concept for sensing is a general concept that in the future we plan to extend it to basically all of the things that people can sense, things like temperature and the stretching of the skin as well as the pressure that's applied to it. So in this study we did a kind of proof of concept where we showed that we can do this with pressure and the next stage is to do this with all types of sensations that you would want to feel."The team of 17 scientists say they're hoping to turn their design into a practical device which might, one-day, allow people with prosthetics to once-again feel their missing body-part.

==Final preparations are being made for a major international conference in early December to discuss the ethnics of genome manipulation.

The meeting has been called by the American National Academy of Scientists.

It's expected to include gene researchers from around the world, including a number of Chinese scientists.

Kevin Esvelt with Harvard University says the focus of the session will be to discuss whether human gene editing is a road scientists want to go down.

"I would like to see a consensus built around how we should handle the challenges posed by CRISPR and other potentially extremely powerful technologies relating to biology."Gene-editing allows researchers to precisely edit genes inside living cells, correcting or repairing them, allowing them to wipe out genetic diseases.

Scientists are already widely using the technique for research in plants and animals.

However, the session in December will debate whether or not this is a technique scientists want to begin testing on human embryos.

Some have argued it could lead to breakthroughs in ending genetic diseases.

However, the same techniques can also be used to manipulate human genomes to potentially create human beings with tailored attributes, something the Nazi's experimented on during their time in power in Germany.

==Research is underway that could prevent people contracting malaria from a mosquito bite.

Scientists are looking at ways of stopping the parasite which causes the infectious disease from spreading within the blood.

Professor Mike Blackman is one of the lead researchers at the Francis Crick Institute in London.

"If we can prevent this we can essentially prevent disease. We can design drugs that prevent the parasite from destroying itself and leading to all the manifestations of malaria, or the symptoms of fever and anaemia that make people so ill."Similar technology has already been used to produce drug therapies for HIV infections.

Malaria is a viral infection spread through mosquito bites which results in a fever that typically mimics the flu.

However, in severe cases it can cause organ failure and death.

Malaria kills around 600-thousand people every year.

==NASA has unveiled a new, highly-detailed, animation of Jupiter.

The North American Space Agency has used the Hubble Telescope to take more precise shots of the massive planet, hoping to study Jupiter's intricate characteristics.

The new animation shows a variety of colours and shapes on Jupiter.

Featuring prominently is the Great Red Spot.

This is a giant storm which scientists have discovered is shrinking and becoming more circular.

NASA is using the Hubble Telescope to study the planet's winds, clouds, storms and atmospheric chemistry.

Researchers hope to use the new information to better-judge how planets change over time.

The same research is also planned for Uranus, Neptune and Saturn.

==A number of new technological advancements, including dancing robots and wearable technology for pets, have gone on display at this year's Hong Kong electronics fair.

This edition is focused on how smart devices and mobile technology can benefit people's daily lives.

A drone featuring customized applications, including a "Follow me" and "Watch me" mode, has gone on display.

Lawrence Wan with Yuneec International is the developer of the high-tech drone.

"The "Follow me" function is something like if you moving the RC ( remote control) to this side, the drone will follow, from here, they will follow together, and then, it's doing the "Follow me"(function). However, when you press the "Watch me" function and the drone will automatically turn the camera to facing the drone, the RC, the remote control, and then do the "Watch me" function."Smart technology, robotics and unmanned technology are also being highlighted at this year's event in Hong Kong.

==Technology is now being incorporated into the arts on a regular basis.

This is been made quite evident at one of the world's leading contemporary art fairs which took place this past week in London.

The London Frieze is an annual contemporary art event.

This year's event featured 164 galleries from 27 different countries.

This year's event was home to a number of tech-based art creations.

Art critic Estelle Lovatt.

"You know, in the 1960s when Dan Flavin was using electronic flight strips, everybody thought; 'Wow, this amazing'. But now, to incorporate it with master painting at canvases, it's incredible. Nobody ever thought that this day would come and that's all down to technology."New-York based artist Rachel Rose is one of those using technology in art.

"Every project is an opportunity to explore new forms of making and living in the time we live in now, it's a great opportunity to take advantage of the technologies available,"The London Frieze ran for 3-days this past week in Regents Park.

==A Chinese biotechnology company has announced plans to mass-produce a vaccine for the Ebola virus.

Tianjin CanSino Biotechnology has already begun construction of an industrial facility to produce the vaccine.

It's due to be complete in 2018.

Authorities in Sierra Leone, one of the three West African countries which was hit by the mass ebola outbreak, has declared the Chinese vaccine clinically safe.

The vaccine itself was produced by researchers with the Chinese military.

==A series of unique park benches are beginning to pop up around the eastern European country of Croatia.

Designed by a group of Croatian students, the next-generation park benches are essentially solar panels you can sit on.

They absorb power through the day and store it in batteries inside the bench.

People can then use them throughout the day to charge their electronic devices.

"Everybody needs to charge their electronic devices and it really plays well into the European idea of public spaces being used to the public and being for everyone."The benches can also store enough power to light up at night, making them useful as lights in an otherwise dark public park.

The first so-called Smart Bench was established in the designer's home town of Solin in Croatia, but are now being set up in other public parks across the country.

==Three Chilean engineering students have developed a device that can charge smartphones and tablets using household plants.

The E-Kaia portable charger prototype is based on a plant's bio-circuit, capturing the residual energy of the plant and converting it into electricity.

A single plant can charge a smartphone in two hours or less. The plant's growth is not affected.

The idea occurred to the three student engineers six years ago.

Now the trio have been awarded several prizes by the Chilean government for this innovation.

Program Coordinator Mauricio Cifuentes, says he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the prototype.

"It has been the most amazing project I've ever seen in my life, plain and simple. At first, I didn't believe what Evelyn had brought to me as a project and she had to bring the prototype for me to believe her. "The device is not yet available for sale, as it's in the stage of prototyping and testing.

How the plant charger functions is being kept secret until the patents for the technology are registered.

==And that brings us to the end of this edition of our weekly science and technology feature.

Thank you for listening and I hope you enjoy the show.

I'm Wenjie. See you next week.

SportsMen's doubles and singles semi finals take place at the Shanghai Rolex MastersIn some tennis news:

Saturday was a big day for the Shanghai Rolex Masters as the men's doubles and singles semi finals took place.

CRI's Sophie Williams has more from Shanghai.

Reporter:

The big names in men's tennis battled it out on Saturday for a place in the finals.

France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Spain's Rafael Nadal wowed the crowd with a display of phenomenal tennis that had everyone on the edge of their seats. The Frenchman has had a rough year, missing the first eleven weeks of the season due to an arm injury.

However on Saturday he put the past behind him stunning Nadal 6-4, 0-7, 7-5. He says the second set was tiring but he managed to fight back in the third.

"In the second set, he broke me playing a good game and after that I felt a little bit tired and I said okay, who do I have in front of me, it's Rafa and if I want to come back it's going to be a war and I thought I will not be able to have enough energy until the end if I fight for this one so I tried to play with my mind and make him run and be ready for the third set."In the other singles semi final, Britain's Andy Murray struggled against world number one Novak Djokovic. Murray's serving throughout the match was not up to its usual standard and Djokovic took advantage winning the match in straight sets 6-1,6-3.

The Serbian has now reached the final of every tournament he has played since the Qatar Open in January.

Djokovic says it was the best match of the tournament for him.

"It was the best match of the tournament. Today there was a lot at stake, there always is exciting, there is always a huge challenge, I was ready, I came in with the right intensity at a high level, I had a good percentage first serve and he had a low one ."Meanwhile in the doubles semi finals, Simone Bollelli and Fabio Foggini beat Daniel Nestor and Edouard Roger Vasselin 7-5, 6-7, 10-3.

They will meet Raven Klaasen and Marcelo Melo in the final. The pair beat Rohan Bopanna and Lukasz Kubot 6-3, 7-6, 10-7.

The doubles final will take place later on today at 1.30pm Beijing time followed by the men's singles final at 4.30pm.

For CRI, I'm Sophie Williams in Shanghai.

Hong Kong Open and Generali Ladies see finalistsIn some more tennis news:

Jelena Jankovic edged past Venus Williams 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday to reach the final of the Prudential Hong Kong Open.

The two former world number ones clashed in the second semi-final of the Hong Kong OpenDefeat for WIlliams means that her hopes of reaching the WTA Tour Finals in singapore are over.

Jankovic will meet Angelique Kerber in the finals in Hong Kongand in Austria:

Germany's Anna-Lena Friedsam beat Johanna Larsson 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 to reach her first career final at the WTA Generali Ladies in Linz on Saturday.

The win was unexpected by some as Friedsam's rating was 59 places below larson.

The 21-year-old will move into the finals to face Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova for the first time on Sunday.

Chen Long and Pusarla Sindhu advance in Denmark OpenIn badminton news:

The race to qualify for the season-ending Dubai World SuperSeries Finals resumed at the Denmark Open on Saturday.

After an excellent run in his home town of Odense, Viktor Axelsen had reached the semi-finals after beating five-time world champion Lin Dan.

But defending champion and top seed Chen Long proved too tough for Axelsen, and the Chinese player won through to the final with a 15-21, 21-17, 21-16 victory.

Chen Long will now move on to face Indonesia's Tommy Sugiarto in the final.

and in women's action:

Current women's world champion Carolina Marin suffered defeat against Pusarla Sindhu, who won with a 21-15, 18-21, 21-17 .

The two-time world championship bronze medalist will move take on former world number one and reigning Olympic champion Li Xuerui in Sunday's final.

Springboks beat Wales for Rugby World Cup semi-finalsIn rugby news:

South Africa beat Wales 23-19 at Twickenham to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup on Saturday.

South Africa captain Fourie du Preez broke Welsh hearts by scoring a try five minutes from time, to book the Springboks a World Cup semi-final place at Twickenham.　Preez stated after the game that some indicators from the other team gave him edge he needed to motivate his team.

"Their rush defence put us under pressure. But around about 60 minutes I could see a few of their guys were lying down, they were slowing the game down and I just told the guys look, 'they're probably off their feet at the moment. We've got a lot of gas left, so just keep on pushing and then we'll pull you through.' Luckily we did."This is the fourth successive win for South Africa, after recovering from a loss against Japan.　South Africa will face the defending champions New Zealand who demolished France to reach the semi-finals.

Third round of Portugal Masters sees Andy Sullivan in the leadIn golf news:

Andy Sullivan claims a five-shot lead after the third round of the Portugal Masters in Vilamoura on Saturday.

With an Atlantic storm rolling in, the third round of the Portugal Masters enjoyed a 'shotgun' start early Saturday morning.

It was only the second time in European Tour history such a thing had occurred.

But Andy Sullivan was not phased and added a 67 to his two previous rounds of 64 to open up a five-stroke lead.

Sullivan is gunning for his third European Tour titleAs it stands, another early 'shotgun' start awaits for the next round on Sunday.

Entertainment"Jews in Shanghai" Staged in China Shanghai International Arts FestivalA musical titled "Jews in Shanghai" was performed at the opening ceremony of the ongoing 17th China Shanghai International Arts Festival.

The musical tells a story during the World War II when Jews took refuge in Shanghai to escape Nazi persecution.

Xu Jun is the musical's director.

"We hope more people, even the whole world, can learn about the history through our musical Jews in Shanghai."Also at the Shanghai International Arts Festival,Famous violinist Vadim Repin and the Prague Symphony Orchestra have also brought their skills to Shanghai to perform an outdoor concert to people.

Repin stated that performing outdoors will be a pleasurable experience for him.

"I think it's a beautiful idea so that the people just from the street, anybody can witness classical music making process. And there are for the rehearsal, some really good professionals that making sounds, and so it even sounds I think okay for the open-air performance. So it's for me a really great, great pleasure."Stage performances, exhibitions, art spaces, forums and a Young Talent Show will be held across the city until Nov. 16th.

In the meantime, a total of 91 outdoor performances, ranging from music and dancing to opera, will be staged during the festival and most of them will be open to the public for free.

Filmmakers and actors mark 65th anniversary of China's film educationFilmmakers, scholars and actors celebrated the 65th anniversary of China's film education on Saturday in Beijing.

In 1950, China's first college on film studies, the Beijing Film Academy, was founded.

Famous alumni who came to the event included, director Zhang Yimou, actor Tang Guoqiang, Huang Xiaoming, Huang Bo, actress Zhao Wei, Yao Chen and Liu Yifei.

Teachers and students from the college have taken part in the production of 64 percent of all the domestic films so far.

A forum of leaders from international film academies also kicked off Saturday.

This year also marks the 110th anniversary of the birth of Chinese film, and the 120th anniversary of the world film industry.

Maura Tierney says the murder mystery on 'The Affair' will be revealed in season twoSeason two of Showtime's Golden Globe-winning drama "The Affair" is underway, and one of its star's, Maura Tierney, says the ongoing murder-mystery plot will be resolved this season.

The show follows the story of Noah and Alison, played by Dominic West and Ruth Nelson, who begin an affair while married to other people.

Season one told the story of the affair from both Noah and Alison's point of view. Season two has expanded the narrative to include their spouses' perspectives, which Tierney believes deepens the story.

"I mean, I think that's what makes it really interesting, is that everyone has their own truth. None of them think they're lying, except, you know, when they lie to each other. They don't think they're lying to themselves."The end of season one introduced a mysterious death, and showed Noah in jail, without explanation.

Tierney assures viewers that "The Affair" will resolve the murder-mystery by the end of this season.

Gaz Coombes nominated for Mercury PrizeFormer Supergrass frontman Gaz Coombes has been nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, 20 years after his band's debut album made the shortlist.

The singer was just 19 when Supergrass appeared on the list.

He appeared on and produced his first solo show and released his debut solo single "Hot Fruit" in 2012.

His debut album, "Here Come the Bombs" was released shortly after and was well received by critics and audiences. Then his second solo album, "Matador", was released this January and has debuted at number 18 in the Official UK Album chart.

According to BBC, other artists nominated for the prize include Florence + The Machine, Jamie xx and Wolf Alice.

There are only two bands in the shortlist, which leans heavily towards singer-songwriters making intimate, confessional music.

Tracy Morgan to host "Saturday Night Live"Tracy Morgan will host "Saturday Night Live" this weekend, marking a triumphant return for the comedian and "SNL" alumni.

Morgan suffered a traumatic brain injury after he survived a horrific car crash last year.

In promo videos for Saturday's episode, Morgan pokes fun at the injury, pretending not to remember his time on "SNL".

Morgan returned to the stage earlier this week, performing stand-up on Monday at two New York comedy clubs. According to Refinery29, the comedian told the crowd at the Comedy Cellar that he would be hosting "SNL" this week and cracked jokes about speech therapy.

But "Saturday Night Live" will be Morgan's most high-profile performance since his accident. It's unclear what "SNL" has planned, though surprise cameos are always a possibility on the comedy show.

WeatherBeijing is cloudy today with a high of 18 degrees Celsius, also cloudy tonight with a low of 13.

Shanghai is cloudy with a high of 24 and a low of 19.

In Chongqing, it has showers today with a high of 24, overcast tonight with a low of 18.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Islamabad, mostly sunny with a high of 31.

Kabul, mostly sunny with a high of 22.

Over to North America,New York will be partly cloudy with a high of 11 degrees.

Washington, partly cloudy with a high of 14 degrees.

Honolulu, mostly sunny, 29.

Toronto will be partly cloudy with a high of 6 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,Buenos Aires will be partly cloudy with a high of 19.

And Rio de Janeiro will have showers with a high of 24 degrees Celsius.

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

A recap of your headlines:

The Chinese ambassador to the UK reveals more details of President Xi Jinping's state visit...

Taiwan's ruling party has replaced its candidate for the upcoming election...

Russian officials say the purpose of the country's military action in Syria is not to prop up the regime of Bashar al-Assad...

We will look back at the science & technology stories that have made headlines over the past week...

In Sports...the men's doubles and singles finals coming up at the Shanghai Masters...

In Entertainment...the China Shanghai International Arts Festival…