Chinese President Xi Jinping has confirmed poverty alleviation will be one of the main goals in the forthcoming 5-year plan.

The Chinese President now on his way to Paris for the start of the closely-watched UN Climate Change Conference.

His trip comes as authorities upgrade the smog alert in Beijing.

In the 2nd half of the hour, We have our weekly round up of what's been happening in Science and Technology.

In sports... Britain on the verge of its first Davis Cup Tennis victory in nearly 80-yearAnd in entertainment - shooting underway for the movie version of a popular Chinese TV series.

All 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.

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Top NewsChina pledges resolute measures to root out poverty by 2020A national conference on poverty alleviation has taken place this weekend in Beijing, with Chinese President Xi Jinping confirming plans are being crafted to pull everyone in China above the poverty line in the next 5-years.

"To build a well-off society in an all-round way, it's a solemn promise to our people. The government must make poverty alleviation the top priority, to ensure that all poor people live in a well-off society and enjoy essential social services by 2020."This will mean ensuring some 70-million people below the poverty line are given access to adequate food and clothing, as well as basic education, health care and housing by 2020.

At the same time, those at the conference have also issued a call for national education programs to be expanded to in poor areas, and special attention will need to paid to the children of migrant parents - the so-called left-behind children.

Industrial development has also been cited as a key to poverty alleviation.

China's poverty alleviation meets challengeAs China's politicians prepare the broad-ranging goals to be included in the next 5-year national devleopment plan, political observers in China are starting to key-in on some of the priorities when it comes to eliminating poverty across the country.

Political analyist Yang Yu with China Central Television says President Xi Jinping's ambitious goal to get everyone above the national poverty line is going to be a challenge to reach.

"The Chinese Government is looking at lifting 70 million people out of poverty in 5-years, which means one million people have to be pulled above the poverty line every month, on average. Over the past 5 or 10 years, a whole village might all have been below the poverty line. But in today's reality, some of them might be above the line, and some might be below. The most difficult task will be to how to identify them as quickly as possible to make the goal a reality."To accomplish this, Yang Yu says a 3-step approach will be needed to pull 70-million out of poverty in the next 5-years.

"The first is tailoring poverty-relief programs to the local conditions. This can be done by applying different methods, such as offering subsistence allowance, as well as improving local infrastructure construction or possibly relocation in some cases. The second is to ensure local authorities make better use of the resources handed down from Central government. And lastly, the government needs to create incentives to get poor people standing on their own feet by relying on their own hard work."The next 5-year national development plan is due to be codified when Chinese lawmakers meet for their annual political sessions, the so-called "lianghui," in Beijing early next year.

President Xi leaves for visit to Paris, AfricaChinese President Xi Jinping has left Beijing heading first to Paris, and then on to Africa.

Xi Jinping is due to attend the opening ceremony of the 21st UN conference on climate change in Paris from Sunday to Monday.

He will also pay a state visit to Zimbabwe from Tuesday to Wednesday at the invitation of his Zimbabwean counterpart Robert Mugabe.

At the same time, Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to South Africa from Wednesday to Saturday and chair the summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Johannesburg.

Financing Issues to Be Big Challenge at Paris Climate ConferenceAhead of Monday's start to the Paris Climate Conference, questions about how to funding the potential commitments are already being raised.

Su Wei, China's chief negotiator at the summit, admits money is going to be a major issue in Paris.

"I think it's very important for developed country parties to honor their commitments under the convention to provide financial and technology support to developing countries. Because there's only five years before 2020. Really we need a very clear picture and also a road map how we are going to scale up the climate financing from the first start financing 10 billion U.S. dollars to 100 billion U.S. dollars."Under previous agreements, developed countries around the world have agreed to supply the developing world with 100-billion US dollars a year in the next 5-years to help them cover the cost of lowering emissions.

However, it's still up in the air as to whether specific financial commitments will be included in any legally-binding document which might come out of this year's Climate Conference.

Experts Praise China's Anti-climate-change PledgeAhead of this week's start of the UN's Climate Change Conference, environment experts are weighing-in on expectations.

Professor Chris Rapley with the Department of Earth Sciences at University College in London says he expects the Chinese delegation is likely going to take on a leading role in Paris.

"China is showing real international leadership in this issue, which we see as an incredibly welcomed. It is such a huge economy, it is so politically important and the fact that it is taking leadership is really showing the rest of the world the direction that they need to head in."The Chinese government has already promised to cut in CO2 emissions by 60 to 65 percent from the 2005 levels, based on the growth of the Chinese economy, over the next 15-years.

At the same time, Chinese authorities have set a goal to have emissions peak by 2030, on top of pledging just over 3-billion US dollars to help poorer nations reduce their impact on climate change.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is arriving in Paris today to lead the Chinese delegation before heading for stops in Africa.

France hands over COP21 keys to UNIn France, the site of the international Paris climate conference officially became United Nations soil on Saturday, as journalists and officials began to arrive amid heightened security.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who is also the chief negotiator at the meeting, handed the keys of the sprawling Le Bourget conference centre to Christiana Figueres, head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat.

Almost all governments have outlined plans for fighting global warming beyond 2020 in a positive sign for resolving a string of obstacles at the climate summit.

For the first time there is almost universal involvement. So far this year, over 95 percent of nations have issued long-term plans for tackling climate change, meant as building blocks for a Paris accord.

Fabius has said the high number of submissions is encouraging. The summit is to be attended by 143 world leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Fabius has stressed the importance of reaching a deal on December 11.

"Of course I will respect this mandate with one objective which is known to all of us and which is to be able to say six simple words on December 11, but which will be the product of an unprecedented effort: the Paris agreement is approved."For her part, Christiana Figueres urges more action to achieve the U.N. goal of limiting global warming to two degrees Celsius in order to avert floods, the extinction of animals and plants, and rising sea levels.

"We're now in the bandwidth of 2.7 to 3.5, a very, very important sign of progress of technology, of policy and of capital shifts. Is that enough? No."Current plans would put the world on track for a warming of anywhere from about 2.7C to 3.5C by 2100, broadly the range estimated by various expert groups.

Governments hope the summit will end in a deal that marks a turning point away from rising dependence on fossil fuels since the Industrial Revolution, shifting towards cleaner energies such as wind or solar power.

The summit will be held amid tight security after the attacks in Paris by Islamic State militants that killed 130 people.

Xi's Visit to Zimbabwe Marking 35th Anniversary of Establishing Diplomatic TiesChinese president Xi Jinping will visit Zimbabwe in the coming week, before attending the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Huang Ping said the state visit will invigorate the development of the bilateral relations.

"Xi's visit will be the first by a Chinese head of state in the last 20 years. Zimbabwe is the only country, apart from South Africa, that Xi will pay a special visit to during his trip to Africa, which shows President Xi and China attach great attention to the Sino-Zimbabwe relationship."This year marks the 35th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between China and Zimbabwe.

The ambassador also said that a host of agreements will be signed during the state visit, covering areas like infrastructure construction, energy and power projects.

FOCAC to Deepen Cooperation between China and AfricaJust over 10-years on from restoring diplomatic ties with China, the small West African nation of Senegal is said to be 'geared-up' about Chinese President Xi Jinping's forthcoming trip to Africa this week.

Zhang Xun is the Chinese Ambassador to Senegal.

"Senegalese President Macky Sall told me they highly value China's help in Africa, as well as the cooperation between the two sides. The Forum itself is a big topic of discussion among people here in Africa. I truly believe it will help strengthen cooperation between China and Africa, and should do a lot to help push forward ties between China and African nations."Diplomatic ties between China and Senegal were re-established in late 2005 after a 9-year split.

Since then, around 30 different projects have been launched in Senegal with Chinese funding, including millions of US dollars in preferential loans for infrastructure development through China's Exim Bank.

Smog persists in north ChinaChina's meteorological authority has renewed a yellow alert for smog as smog continued to shroud north China for a second day on Sunday.

Forecasters say Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Shanxi and Shaanxi will continue to experience smog from Sunday to Monday morning.

South Beijing, central and south Hebei Province and north Henan Province will be especially affected.

Forecasters have warned the public to take protective measures when engaging in outdoor activities and those that suffer from respiratory diseases are advised to stay indoors.

Beijing issues first heavy smog alert of this yearBeijing has upgraded the smog alert from yellow to orange on Sunday.

This is the highest smog alert the Chinese capital has issued this year.

The Municipal weather authority forecast the smog will linger for another two days before a cold front arrives on Wednesday.

On Sunday, the reading for PM2.5, airborne particles smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter, hit 274 micrograms per cubic meter in most parts of the capital.

Under the orange weather alert mechanism, industrial plants are required to reduce or shut down production.

Construction sites are required to stop the transportation of materials and waste, while heavy-duty trucks are banned from the roads.

The municipal environment watchdogs have reinforced checks on discharge from coal-fired plants, outdoor barbecues and burning.

China meets pollution reduction targets ahead of schedule: MinisterChina's Environment Ministry has said the country achieved the pollution reduction targets for major pollutants outlined in its 12th Five-Year Plan, six months ahead of schedule.

By 2014 discharge of sulfur dioxide and Chemical Oxygen Demand, a measure of organic pollutants in water, had dropped by some 13 and 10 percent from 2010 levels.

Emissions of Ammonia Nitrogen and Nitrogen Oxide had also declined by close to 10 and 9 percent repectively.

In the 12th Five-Year Plan, China vowed to cut Chemical Oxygen Demand and Sulfur Dioxide emissions by 8 percent and Ammonia Nitrogen and Nitrogen Oxide emissions by 10 percent compared with 2010 levels.

Environment minister Chen Jining noted that China had phased out some 250-thousand tons of ozone-depleting substances during the same period.

This is more than half of the total amount phased out by all developing countries.

Meanwhile, the minister warned that some 20 million tons of major pollutants are still being discharged annually in China.

The Chinese government has set a target to reduce that figure by another 30 to 50 percent.

China releases report on employees' pension reserve situationThe latest official report on China's employee pension reserve situation has suggested there is still huge potential to improve retirement security.

The employee pension reserve refers to the benefits, cash or asset accumulated or will be accumulated by employees before retirement.

The report showed a slight decline in the pension reserve index for Chinese employees in large and medium-sized cities this year. The higher the index figure is, the better retirement security it reflects.

Zheng Bingwen with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences says the situation will gradually improve as the government rolls out more supportive policies.

"The pension reserve index of Chinese employees in large and medium-sized cities reached 59.7 this year, down 0.6 from last year's figure. It reflects that our employee pension reserve is still at a low level. We believe that the index will see a huge increase at the end of next month, after the government issues favorable tax policy measures for commercial old-age insurance."Stats in the report also show the pension reserve index of employees from state-run companies is the highest among all types of firm, at 63.8.

The report suggests that the best way to enhance Chinese employees' pension reserve levels is to develop commercial insurance and encourage employees to refine their asset structure.

Mainland and Macau Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement signedAnchor:

The latest Mainland and Macau Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement or CEPA for short, has been signed kicking off a further round of trade liberalisation between the Mainland and Macau.

CEPA is designed to allow companies from Macau to have preferential access to the mainland Chinese market by progressively reducing or elimiating tarrif barriers and promoting further trade and invetsment.

CRI's Li Jianhua has more.

Reporter:

The CEPA process got underway in 2003 with the signing of an initial agreement. It came into full force a year later. That agreement has been augmented by a series of supplements, further liberalising trade.

This latest chapter opens up another 153 service trade sectors in the Mainland to Macau by the begining of June next year.

Most notably, CEPA is making it easier for Macau's service providers to enter the mainland Chinese market by initiating a record management mechanism, cutting red tape and boosting the efficiency of administrative management.

Ministry of Commerce Deputy Minister Wang Shouwen explains.

"The 'blacklist' created by the Mainland would, to a certain extent, bring convenience to those service providers who are off the list, since they don't have to go through a tedious process of examination like before. The Mainland would put more effort into screening those service providers who are on the list."Among recent supplements to the initial deal, perhaps the most important was the Guangdong Agreement, which allowed 62 service trade sectors from Macau the same access rights as mainland providers. This has made Macau's market expansion in the Mainland easier, and at the same has diversified the nature of economic development.

Liang Weite, Secretary for the Economy and Finance of Macau, adds two further important points.

"There is no doubt this agreement is beneficial to enterprises from Macau. We will do more research on how Macau should take advantage of CEPA and expand its market in the Mainland. For one thing, I believe making sure the agreement can be implemented on time is of great significance. For the other, more promotion work should be done to ensure the service providers in Macau make full use of this opportunity."The Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) has been working to rid its economy of an over-dependence on gambling, and is seeking to develop the city in other ways.

For CRI, this is Li jianhua.

1st Home-developed Regional Plane DeliveredAnchor:

China's first home-developed regional aircraft has been delivered to its customer.

CRI's Tu Yun reports.

Reporter:

The ARJ-21, produced by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, was delivered to its first customer, Chengdu Airlines, on Sunday.

It is China's first regional jet to be manufactured conforming to international standards.

Luo Ronghuai, director of the ARJ21 Project, says it's a milestone for China's commercial plane making industry.

"This is China's first 90-seat regional jet. For us, this airliner will be the largest and most advanced model after it is put into service."China is currently the world's largest civil aviation market, with annual traffic exceeding 10 million passengers, and a fleet of over 3,000 aircraft - dominated however by Boeing and Airbus models.

With a standard range of more than 22-hundred kilometers, the first ARJ-21 will fly seven domestic routes over the coming three months, and later, on routes to southeast Asian countries.

COMAC has received more than 300 orders from 19 airlines, including three from the Republic of Congo.

Chengdu Airlines will receive another five ARJ21 jets before the end of next year.

It also plans to build a fleet consisting of 30 such jets over the coming five years.

Wu Xingshi, chief designer of ARJ21, hopes a successful market performance for the jet will help increase the competitiveness of China-made planes.

"China's own passenger airliner has begun to enter the market. This is a direct contribution to complete China's aviation structure and propel China into being a world aviation power."The COMAC started to test the airliner back in 2008, making it the only model to have passed the world's longest trial flights.

So far, ARJ-21 has been awarded airworthiness certificates from the Civil Aviation Administration of China, and U.S. Federal Aviation Agency.

COMAC also expects the jet to help with the development of China's first large passenger aircraft the C919.

Unveiled earlier this month, the C919 is expected to take to the skies in seven years time and compete with the Airbus 320 and Boeing's 737.

For CRI, this is Tu Yun.

Efforts Urged against Drug Use in SchoolsAnchor:

Schools in China are being called-upon to keep a closer eye on potential drug use by their students.

The suggestion is being made following a high-profile drug bust this past week at a famed school for the arts in Beijing.

CRI's Luo Wen has more.

Reporter:

Sixteen students from the Beijing Midi School of Music have been busted for drug use after police launched a surprise raid at the school.

Authorities swooped into the Midi dorms on Tuesday, detaining suspects ranging in age from 17 to 29 after their urine tested positive for marijuana.

All are guitar majors at the acclaimed music school, which is the first in China to focus exclusively on teaching modern music.

The bust has created a buzz around the liberal arts campus.

"They are young and think it's cool and awesome. Maybe they believe the old theories that smoking marijuana can bring inspiration to the music they create. But they need to understand its illegal. You just can't take drugs because you want to.""This group doesn't represent all of us. Most of us are here to realize our dreams. We came here to study hard."This isn't the first time Midi has been linked with drug use.

Police in Beijing's Univeristy District in Haidian busted another group of students for drugs at the Midi dorms back in May after being tipped-off.

The latest stats on drug use in China suggests drug use is becoming increasingly prevelant among young people in China.

Stats from last year show that of the 480-thousand newly identified drug users in China 29-thousand were under the age of 18.

Around three-quarters of all known drug users in China are believed to be under the age of 35.

Curiosity, as well as family issues and peer-pressure are cited as the main factors behind drug use among young people in China.

Zhang Li with the People's Public Security University of China says is because of this, more attention needs to be focused on convincing young people not to start down a path toward drugs.

"Most students at a young age don't fully comprehend adult life. Their judgement centers aren't fully formed, which means they can have a difficult time telling right from wrong, and can lack the ability to control their behavior. They're often also inexperienced when it comes to making friends."Professor Zhang Li says changes in modern society are also playing a factor in the rise of younger Chinese drug users.

"The spread of drugs has been accelerating with the rise of social communication through the internet, as teenagers today have way more access to information about what people older then them are doing. This can make them more prone to drug use than others."The professor also suggests the smoking and drug-related bans at schools in China aren't working as they should.

To change this, he suggests schools should be finding new ways to stop young people from experimenting with drugs, including tougher rules and harsher penalties for those caught if deterrence isn't working.

The Midi School of Music has since issued a public apology for this past week's scandal, and is promising to take a more proactive approach toward stamping out drug use at the school.

For CRI, I'm Luo Wen.

Russia Launches Economic Sanctions agaisnt TurkeyRussia has launched a series of sanctions against Turkey following the shooting down of a Russian warplane by Turkish forces.

President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree, including a ban on importing certain Turkish goods and prohibition of the activities of Turkish companies in Russian territories.

It's also reported that Russia is mulling over whether to cancel charter flights between the two countries, which are estimated to be worth 4 billion US dollars for Ankara annually.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov says the crisis has prompted Putin to "mobilise" in the way an army does in tense times.

"The president is mobilized, fully mobilized, mobilized to the extent that circumstances demand. The circumstances are unprecedented. The gauntlet thrown down to Russia is unprecedented. So naturally the reaction is in line with this threat."It's been estimated that 90,000 Turkish nationals work in Russia, with an expat population at 200,000 when family members are taken into account.

Moscow suspended its visa free policy with Turkey earlier this week.

A government spokesman from Turkey says his government is also considering measures.

Turkey has advised its citizens against non-urgent travel to Russia.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he is saddened by the downing of the Russian plane.

"We are really saddened by this incident. We wouldn't have wished this to happen, but unfortunately it did. I hope this will not happen again. Turkey has never been in favour of triggering tensions and clashes and we never will be."President Putin has so far refused to contact Erdogan because Ankara does not want to apologize for the downing of the jet, which resulted in the death of one of the pilots.

The two countries are at odds on whether the Russian jet intruded into Turkish airspace.

NSA ends mass phone surveillance programThe U.S. National Security Agency has officially brought an end to its mass telephone surveillance program.

The controversial program, initiated under the post 9/11 "Patriot Act," is being replaced it with a focused and targeted domestic surveillance program.

Under the new rules, the NSA is prohibited from collecting telephone metadata in bulk.

Instead, the spy agency will now have to make a request to telephone companies and obtain a court order before gaining access to specific metadata records.

Phone metadata only includes phone numbers and the time and length of calls.

Conversation of the calls themselves are not included in the records.

Under the new rules, the US federal government is also required to report to Congress once a year how many metadata orders were issued.

The changes are part of a new law passed in June.

They come some 2-years after former NSA contractor Edward Snowden unveiled the level of the US government's underground spying aparatus, triggering heated debate in the United States about privacy versus national security.

Chinese National Civil Servant Exam Starts with Fewer ExamineesThe annual national civil servants exam has taken place this Sunday.

Some 1.39-million people have sat the exam across the country.

The figure, while huge, is the 2nd year in-a-row the numbers have declined after peaking in 2013 at 1.52-million.

Over 27-thousand so-called "iron rice-bowl" positions in the national-level government bodies are available this coming year.

This is a 25-percent increase from last year.

WeatherBeijing will be cloudy and hazy tonight with a low of minus 5, tomorrow will also be cloudy and hazy with a high of 4.

Shanghai will be cloudy tonight with a low of 8, tomorrow will be overcast, high of 15.

Chongqing will be cloudy with a low of 10, tomorrow will be cloudy, high of 14.

Lhasa will be clear with a low of minus 3, tomorrow will be cloudy with a high of 14.

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad will be cloudy with a high of 24.

Kabul, cloudy, 11.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney, cloudy, high of 29,Brisbane,rainy,30,Perth, slight rain, 30,And finally Auckland, New Zealand will be rainy with a high of 20 degrees Celsius.

Headline newsPresident Xi leaves for visit to Paris, AfricaChinese President Xi Jinping has left Beijing heading first to Paris, and then on to Africa.

Xi Jinping is due to attend the opening ceremony of the 21st UN conference on climate change in Paris from Sunday to Monday.

He will also pay a state visit to Zimbabwe from Tuesday to Wednesday at the invitation of his Zimbabwean counterpart Robert Mugabe.

At the same time, Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to South Africa from Wednesday to Saturday and chair the summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Johannesburg.

Chinese State Councilor to visit U.S., chair dialogue to fight cybercrimeChina's State Councilor and Public Security Minister Guo Shengkun is visiting the United States from Sunday to Thursday.

During his trip, Guo Shengkun is due to chair the first China-U.S. high-level joint dialogue on cybercrime.

He will also co-chair the second ministerial meeting between the Chinese Public Security Ministry and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security with Secretary Jeh Johnson.

Beijing issues first heavy smog alert of this yearBeijing has upgraded the smog alert from yellow to orange on Sunday.

This is the highest smog alert the Chinese capital has issued this year.

The Municipal weather authority forecast the smog will linger for another two days before a cold front arrives on Wednesday.

On Sunday, the reading for PM2.5, airborne particles smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter, hit 274 micrograms per cubic meter in most parts of the capital.

Under the orange weather alert mechanism, industrial plants are required to reduce or shut down production.

Construction sites are required to stop the transportation of materials and waste, while heavy-duty trucks are banned from the roads.

The municipal environment watchdogs have reinforced checks on discharge from coal-fired plants, outdoor barbecues and burning.

NSA ends mass phone surveillance programThe U.S. National Security Agency has officially brought an end to its mass telephone surveillance program.

The controversial program, initiated under the post 9/11 "Patriot Act," is being replaced it with a focused and targeted domestic surveillance program.

Under the new rules, the NSA is prohibited from collecting telephone metadata in bulk.

Instead, the spy agency will now have to make a request to telephone companies and obtain a court order before gaining access to specific metadata records.

Phone metadata only includes phone numbers and the time and length of calls.

Conversation of the calls themselves are not included in the records.

Under the new rules, the US federal government is also required to report to Congress once a year how many metadata orders were issued.

The changes are part of a new law passed in June.

They come some 2-years after former NSA contractor Edward Snowden unveiled the level of the US government's underground spying aparatus, triggering heated debate in the United States about privacy versus national security.

Sci&Tech (Sunday)Anchor:

It's time now to check in with what's been happening this week in the science and technology sector.

In this edition of the Sci-Tech report, this year's World Robot Conference took place in Beijing, and US researchers are developing a wearable device that can translate sign language into English speech.

Here's CRI's Wen Jie.

Reporter:

World Robot Conference 2015 kicks off in BeijingThe World Robot Conference 2015 kicked off in Beijing on MondayOrganized by the China Association for Science and Technology and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the three-day event includes a forum, an exhibition and a robot contest for young people.

All kinds of robots with cutting-edge technology can be seen at the exhibition.

Service robots with artificial intelligence have become a highlight of the exhibition. They are designed to help humans with various tasks, and play a major role in enhancing productivity.

The conference has attracted more than 100 experts, 12 international robotics organizations and over 120 robotics companies.

In a letter of congratulations, Chinese President Xi Jinping said China is willing to cooperate with other nations in promoting robotics research and development.

Premier Li Keqiang said the conference is important for promoting robot technology as China pushes innovation-driven development and entrepreneurship to transform the country from the "world's factory" to a technological powerhouse.

As the supply of cheap labor dries up, Chinese manufacturers are gradually replacing manual labor with robots.

According to the International Federation of Robotics, a total of 57,000 industrial robots were sold in China last year, a year-on-year increase of 55 percent, and a quarter of all global sales.

Wearable technology being developed in US to translating sign language into English speechThe communication barrier between deaf people who use sign language and those that don't understand it may be coming to an end thanks to a new wearable technology being developed at Texas A&M University.

The device incorporates a system of sensors that records the motion of hand gestures, as well as the electromyography or EMG signals produced by muscles in the wrist when signing.

Roozbeh Jafari, is Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University.　"We decode the muscle activities we are capturing from the wrist. Some of it is coming from the fingers indirectly because if I happen to keep my fist like this versus this, the muscle activation is going to be a little different."He adds that the system is also designed to learn from its user in order to guarantee its accuracy.

"When you wear the system for the first time the system operates with some level of accuracy. But as you start using the system more often, the system learns from your behavior and it will adapt its own learning models to fit you. "Currently the proof of concept device is equipped to send the translated sign language to a computer or smartphone using Bluetooth.

Going forward the team hope to miniaturize the device so it can be worn on a users' wrist like a watch and program it to decipher complete sentences rather than just individual words.

The researchers also want to incorporate a synthetic voice speaker, an upgrade that could potentially give the 70 million deaf people around the world a new voice.

Li-Fi Internet: First Real-World Usage Boasts Speed 100 Times Faster Than Wi-FiLi-Fi, a super-fast alternative to Wi-Fi is finally moving from research lab to the real world.

Li-Fi - short for Lighg Fidelity - is a similar wireless technology similar that allows data to be sent at a speed that is 100 times faster than Wi-Fi.

At these speeds, a high-definition film could be downloaded in just a few seconds.

Velmenni, an Estonia startup has revealed that it has begun trialing the technology within offices and industrial environments in Tallinn.

Li-Fi uses the Visible Light Communication technology, allowing people to access the Internet using light bulbs.

While it's difficult to build a whole new infrastructure for the technology, the CEO of Velmenni is optimistic that it can be integrated with the existing system, for a cleaner, greener and even brighter future.

Iceland's Glaciers could Disappear in 200 Years: ScientistA leading glacier scientist has warned that Iceland's glaciers will disappear in the next 200 years if global temperatures continue rising.

Helgi Bjornsson is a glacier research professor at the University of Iceland:

"If climate warming continues at a rate of two degrees per century, as people are afraid of and that is the prediction of climatologists, then our glaciers will disappear in 150 to 200 years."Iceland's glaciers, which currently cover 11 percent of the country's land, are melting at an alarming rate. Many locals have raised concerns about their living environment. Halli is one of them:

"When I was a child, there was much, much more snow in Iceland. So totally different like this today. All the way from middle of September to maybe late in April, but now today the winters are much shorter."According to professor Bjornesson, Iceland has lost over 11 billion tons of ice per year in recent years. So far, the country has lost nearly six percent of its ice since 1995.

The rapid melting of ice will lead to changes in river system and eventually leave them without water.

China's new-generation Beidou navigation satellite completes in-orbit testChina's new-generation Beidou navigation satellite completed an in-orbit test recently, and will provide navigation and positioning service in the next step.

The new-generation satellite was sent to orbit on Sept. 30 in the southwestern province of Sichuan. It was the 20th satellite for the Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), and puts China one step closer to providing an alternative to the U.S.-operated GPS.

Xie Jun is the chief engineer of the Beidou project.

"We mainly judge and analyze the states of the satellites, like whether they're stable in the sky and check their time. These are major tasks of satellite checking. As of today, we have launched 20 satellites. All of them on orbit provide the good navigation signal service. They operate very well."By applying the more stable rubydium atomic clock and hydrogen clock, the new satellite's navigation precision has been improved by over 100 percent.

Through a special design of inter-satellite link, data can be transmitted between satellites, which helps ensure the data's integrity and improve the precision of navigation.

What's more, data transmission speed of the new satellite has been improved by over 20 times than that of the former satellites. In the past, it took two days to transmit the satellite data to the ground center. Now data can be sent back in real time.

U.S. researchers create malaria-blocking mosquitoesU.S. researchers have managed to breed a new strain of mosquitoes which carry a malaria-blocking gene.

Through gene splicing, researchers at the University of California have managed to insert an anti-malarial gene into the breed of mosquito which is responsible for the largest spread of Malaria in Asia.

Researchers say the anti-Malaria gene is inherited by 99.5 percent of the mosquito's offspring.

It's hoped the advancement will help ultimately eliminate the insects' ability to transmit the disease to humans.

Further testing is being carried out to confirm whether the antibodies the geneticaly-modified mosquitos will continue to work through generational advancements.

Malaria is one of the world's leading global killers.

The virus, spread through mosquito bites, kills close to a million people every year.

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

I'm Wenjie. See you next week.

SportsAndy Murray to Face David Goffin TonightIn tennis,Britain is just one victory away from hoisting the Davis Cup tennis trophy, and can secure the Men's world title through the UK's strongest weapon tonight.

World number-2 Andy Murray is to battle Belgium's David Goffin in the first singles match of the night in Ghent this evening, with a shot at giving Britain its first Davis Cup Title since 1936.

Murray and his brother Jamie managed a 5-set victory over Goffin and Steve Darcis last night in the critical doubles match.

Goffin, currently ranked 16th in the world, has never taken a set against Andy Murray in their previous 3 encounters.

"They lead 2-1 in the tie. I just have to give everything I have for the match. I think on clay court I have some weapons to play a good match. I still don't know how Andy's going to play and how he's feeling today, but I think I'm going to focus on what I have to do, and I will do it until the end."While Murray does have the advantage, Goffin is said to be better technically on clay than Murray is, which is the surface they're playing on in Ghent.

If Goffin overcomes Andy Murray in the first match, the Davis Cup will be decided in a match between the unknown Rubens Bemelmans against Kyle Edmonds.

Edmonds is currently ranked 100th in the world, while the Belgian Bemelmans is ranked 107th.

However, Bemelmans has 7-years experience on the ATP Tour, which the 20-year old Edmonds has only begun playing against ATP Tour professionals this year.

--------Here in China,Liu Fangzhou from Tianjin has won this year's China Tennis Grand Prix Cup in Shenzhen.

The 6th seed has claimed the title by downing Beijing-native Yang Zhaoxuan in a 3-set match.

The 25-year-old is currently ranked 201st in the WTA world rankings.

Tian Houwei Takes Silver at Macau OpenIn badminton,China's Tian Houwei is once-again the bridesmaid.

The 23-year old rising badminton star has once-again failed to capture his first-ever professional tournament, going down in this Sunday's final of the Macao Open in a 3-set battle with a competitor from South Korea.

Tian lost in the final of the Hong Kong Open last weekend in the BWF Super Series to former World Number-1 Lee Chong Wei from Malaysia.

----------------In other badminton action,The men's singles final at the Brazil Open will take place later tonight.

It will see Olympic Champion Lin Dan up against Spaniard Pablo Abian.

"I'm playing in this tournament not just for myself. We came here because the Chinese national team wants prepare for the Olympics next year. Our coaches and the technical staff are also here to get ready for the Rio Games."Following tonight's final in Brazil, Lin Dan will head to Dubai for the Super Series Finals, which will take place from December 9th to the 12th.

He, along with Chinese World Number-1 Chen Long will represent China in the Men's Singles Event at the season-ending tournament.

Basketball: Xinjiang looks to keep pace with Golden State in win columnIn basketball,Here in China, round 11 of the CBA season is underway tonight, with Xinjiang looking to continue following in the footsteps of the NBA's Golden State Warriors, as the Flying Tigers look for their 11th straight win to start the season as they play host to Shandong.

Other match-ups have the 9-1 Sichuan Blue Whales on the road in Zhejiang tonight to take on Chouzhou.

--A battle of .500 clubs is underway in Shangahi, with the 5-5 Sharks entertaining Jiangsu Tongxi.

--Tonxi's cross-province rivals, the Dragons, are at home to Bayi.

--Its 1-9 Tianjin in Liaoning to take on the 7-3 Dinosaurs.

--Yi Jianlian and the Guangdong Southern Tigers are here in Beijing to take on Beikong.

--Guangsha is looking for a repeat-performance from Jeremy Pargo tonight in Shenzhen as the Lions take on Yikan.

Pargo, who signed this year with Guangsha after playing in Europe the past couple of years, knocked down 54-points in the Lions' win on Friday over Foshan.

--Foshan "Longshi," or Dralions in English - if you will -, which is the combination Dragon and Lion if you mash the two characters together, takes its mashed up name and its mashed-up record into action tonight at home to Fujian.

Foshan has yet to win a game this season.

--Qingdao is at home Jilin, while the Beijing Ducks are in Taiyuan to take on Shanxi.

---The big basketball news out of Taiyuan came earlier in the day today out of the WCBA, with the announcement the so-called "Invincible Queen" is heading back to Shanxi to help the Flame defend their WCBA title this year for the 3rd straight year.

Maya Moore is returning to her Chinese after helping lead the Minnesota Lynx to this year's WNBA title in October.

Moore, a triple goal-medalist with Team USA, has played with Shanxi since 2012, leading the Flame to WCBA titles in all 3-years.

---In the NBA this morning,The big question now is when the streak is going to end.

Golden State have now won 18 in-a-row to start the season, rolling over upstate and inter-division rivals Sacramento this morning 120-101.

Stephen Curry sat most of the game, but still managed to go 3-3 from 3-point-land.

Utah gets the next chance to play giant killer when the Jazz play host to Golden State on Tuesday morning, Beijing time.

--Other NBA action,Toronto-native Cory Joseph did his home-town proud, knocking down a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded to give the Toronto Raptors a 84-82 upset victory over the Washington Wizards.

Toronto, which leads the Atlantic Division, have won 4-in-a-row.

--It was Cleveland barely holding off visiting Brooklyn 90-88.

--San Antonio schooled Atlanta 108-88.

--Across Texas in Dallas, it was the Mavericks over Denver 92-81.

--New Orleans went down to Utah 101-87.

--And it was the Lakers with their 5th-straight loss, going down to Portland 108-96.

Kobe and the Lakers have the 2nd-worst record in the NBA this year, with just 2-wins on the season, behind only the winless Philadelphia 76ers on the futility chain.

Manchester City beat Southampton 3-1 in the EPLIn football,Four matches on the docket for tonight in the English Premier League,Defending champions Chelsea, desperate to claw its way back into relevance and away from the relegation line, are across town in London to take on Tottenham.

That's the first match of the day, which will get underway in around 15-minutes time.

Following that, it's West Ham United entertaining West Brom Albion.

The late matches have Arsenal looking for it's 6th away-win of the season, and a share of the Premiership lead on points, as the Gunners take on Norwich.

A 4-goal performance tonight would put Arsenal at the top of the Premiership table.

The other late match has Swansea heading up the coast to take on Liverpool.

AFC Annual Awards To Be Held Tonight in New DelhiIn off-field football news,The annual Asian Football Conference awards are taking place this evening in India's capital, New Delhi.

Zheng Zhi, captain of both Guangzhou Evergrande and China's national team, is among players up for this year's AFC Player of the Year Award.

"For this year, we made a lot of changes at the club level and we encountered a lot of challenges, to be honest. So, to be honest, at the beginning of the year, I had a lot of trouble adjusting. So to be nominated for the Player of the Year Award is a real honor. It would be absolutely great to win this award again."The 35-year-old was named the AFC's Player of the Year in 2013.

Gao Hong, head coach of China's Under-16 Girls team, is also nominated for the AFC women's Coach of the Year award.

Tyson Fury Beats Wladimir Klitschko to Become Heavyweight World ChampionVladimir Klitschko has been knocked off his throne as the World Heavyweight Champion.

The 39-year old Ukranian went down to the UK's Tyson Fury in a 12-round decision.

"But tonight just wasn't his night and it was my night. God gave me the victory tonight - so I hope to have many more defences of these title in the future. And if I could just say one thing, if I could be half as good as champion as Vladimir Klitschko I'd be very, very happy."　Fury's unanamous decision secures him the WBA, IBF and WBO Heavyweight titles, and moves the 27-year old from Manchester to 25-0 in his professional career.

The last remaining Heavywight belt, the WBO title, belongs to Klitschko's younger brother Vitali, who is currently the mayor Ukraine's capital, Kiev.

Vladimir Klitschko should have an opportunity to try to regain his titles, as the fight on Saturday night in Germany does have a contractual clause for a rematch.

Klitschko is already asking for a rematch.

Fury hasn't said whether he'll accept, though he does say he will take on all-challengers, making a rematch likely sometime next year.

EntertainmentFilm version of "Chinese Paladin" starts shootingThe film version of the popular television series "Legend of Sword and Fairy", also known as Chinese Paladin starts shooting in Zhejiang Province today.

The film is shot to mark the tenth anniversary of the television series, first released in 2005.

It's been confirmed that Hu Ge who took the leading role of "Li Xiaoyao" will join the cast of the film, while the name of female lead has not yet been revealed.

Both the film and the television series are adapted from the Taiwan action role-playing game of the same name which was developed by Softstar Entertainment.

The game is considered by many as simply one of the best Chinese RPG's ever created.

Since its first release in 1995, many new versions and sequels have been created. However, fans say none could replace the breath-taking and tragic tale of the original.

The drama and the original game have a large fan base and enjoy great popularity in China, and even elsewhere in Asia.

Shooting of Finding Mr. Right 2 Almost FinishedThe much-anticipated second installment of Finding Mr. Right, a smash hit from Chinese director Xue Xiaolu in 2013, has almost completed shooting.

That's according to famous Chinese actor Wu Xiubo, who has starred in both movies with actress Tang Wei.

"Shooting of Finding Mr. Right 2, which took about eight months, has now almost come to an end. In addition to Beijing, our team has also visited many places, including Hong Kong, Macao, Chongqing, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and London during the shooting."Wu Xiubo, has been out of the limelight recently probably down to filming, but has recently been spotted as a celebrity spokesperson for a new type of Ariel liquid detergent designed for washing machines.

Wu Xiubo admits he is still new in the role of poster child. Widely nicknamed "Stylish Uncle" among his fans in China, Wu Xiubo is currently one of the highest-paid actors on Chinese television.

But it wasn't until he was 42, that he began to grab public attention starring in a Chinese drama called Before the Dawn. After the drama, he became an A-list leading actor in China.

Chinese Kung Fu Superstar Bruce Lee's 75 birth anniversaryYesterday would have been Chinese superstar Bruce Lee's 75 birthday, and many people paid respects to the legendary Kung Fu masterKoby Tweeted "Happy birthday to the great Bruce Lee #BruceLee75#legend" while Tiger Shroff celebrated the date while shooting his film and says that "I'm dedicating this film to Bruce Lee. He is the reason I am here today and the reason I am blessed with a movie like this."In the celebration ceremony held by the Bruce Lee Foundation, a limited edition wristwatch has also been released.

Hailed as the greatest martial arts master of all time, Lee first kicked his way into stardom as Kato on ABC's "The Green Hornet."In 1973, Bruce Lee died at the age of 32 - just as he was on the brink of super-stardom with "Enter the Dragon." Still, the legend of the "Dragon" named Bruce Lee gave way to a new action genre that includes Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Steven Seagal and Chuck Norris.

Ron Howard Directing Thriller 'The Girl Before' for UniversalRon Howard is to direct a movie adaptation of the J.P. Delaney thriller "The Girl Before" for Universal.

Universal bought the movie rights to "The Girl Before," a novel due to be published in the fall of 2016.

The story involves a traumatized woman who falls in love with a minimalist house and the man who designed it — only to discover that another woman died at the house three years earlier.

Delaney is believed to a pen name for novelist Tony Strong.

Howard directed Warner Bros.' "In The Heart Of The Sea," which opens on December 11, and Sony's "Da Vinci Code" follow-up "Inferno," which launches October 14, 2016. De Luca is a producer on "Inferno" and Universal's "Fifty Shades of Grey" franchise.

Michael De Luca will produce 'The Girl Before', along with Imagine Entertainment's Howard, Brian Grazer and Erica Huggins. Imagine's Tyler Michael will be executive producer and Elishia Holmes will executive produce for Michael De Luca Productions.

WeatherBeijing will be cloudy and hazy tonight with a low of minus 5, tomorrow will also be cloudy and hazy with a high of 4.

Shanghai will be cloudy tonight with a low of 8, tomorrow will be overcast, high of 15.

Chongqing will be cloudy with a low of 10, tomorrow will be cloudy, high of 14.

Lhasa will be clear with a low of minus 3, tomorrow will be cloudy with a high of 14.

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad will be cloudy with a high of 24.

Kabul, cloudy, 11.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney, cloudy, high of 29,Brisbane,rainy,30,Perth, slight rain, 30,And finally Auckland, New Zealand will be rainy with a high of 20 degrees Celsius.

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

A quick look at the headlines before we go...

Chinese President Xi Jinping, who arrives in Paris this evening for the climate change conference, confirming plans before he left to make poverty alleviation a 5-year priority in China.

On behalf of cohost Bob Jones and the rest of the Beijing Hour team, this is Bob Jones hoping you'll join us for the next edition of the Beijing Hour, and open a window to the world together.