新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 08:00 2015/12/06(在线收听) |
The Beijing HourMorning EditionSunday December 6th 2015. This is Paul James.
And I'm Bob Jones - Welcome to the Beijing Hour, live from the Chinese capital. Coming up on the program this morning...
This year's Forum on China-Africa Cooperation coming to an end in South Africa.
A final draft of a new climate change document has been put forward in Paris.
the Islamic State officially taking responsibility for this past week's mass shooting in California.
We have our weekly roundup what's been taking place in the world of Science and Technology this past week.
In Sports.... Leicester back to the top of the English Premier League table, but without a goal from Jamie Vardy.
In Entertainment.... Kim and Kanye add a new edition to their celebrity family.
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.
You can follow us on our weibo account at weibo.com/beijinghourFind us on WeChat by searching "beijinghour"Or email us directly at [email protected].
You can also visit crienglish.com for the latest news and information from China Radio International.
Top NewsFOCAC Summit closes with fruitful resultsAnchor:
The 2015 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit has come to an end in South Africa with all sides hailing it as a success, yielding fruitful results.
Leaders on both sides reached a consensus on lifting China-Africa relations to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.
CRI's Li Jianhua has more.
Reporter:
The Johannesburg summit was the second of its kind under the 15-year-old framework of FOCAC, which groups China, 50 African countries that have established diplomatic ties with China, and the Commission of the African Union.
Attended by the Chinese President Xi Jinping and the leaders and representatives of about 50 African countries, it ended with the approval of the Johannesburg Declaration of FOCAC and the FOCAC-Johannesburg action plans (2016-2018).
Addressing the meeting, the Chinese President said the two documents, representing all-round planning for the future development of China-Africa relations, would also provide a strong spiritual guide and a political guarantee for the two sides to conduct mutually beneficial cooperation on a higher level across more areas.
In his closing speech, President Xi also noted the remarkable achievements FOCAC had reached in the past 15-years and considered the prospects for further China-Africa cooperation in the future.
"We have exchanged opinions on global and regional issues and decided to strengthen cooperation and coordination to maintain our mutual interests of China and Africa and the overall interests of developing countries."From the African side, the President of the Republic of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, described the summit as a "ground-breaking and momentous occasion."He said that the relationship between Africa and China was not new but a long-standing historic relationship, and that China had given great support to Africa in its process of fighting colonialism and imperialism in the African continent decades ago.
In addition, Zuma also expressed his appreciation of President Xi's earlier announcement to provide financial support for Africa.
"The package of capital assistance to support the ten areas to the tune of 60 billion U.S. dollars was announced. This includes grants, preferential and concessional loans, a China-Africa industrial cooperation fund and debt relief."The Africa leaders expressed willingness to participate actively in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, enhance security cooperation, and speak with one voice in the international arena, so as to safeguard common interests, and face common challenges.
For CRI, this is Li Jianhua.
Chinese President Pledges Support for African Independent DevelopmentChinese President Xi Jinping says the Chinese government is fully behind Africa's independent development.
He's made the suggestion while co-chairing the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Johannesburg, saying the Chinese side is willing to share its experience in making reforms and expanding economic growth.
Xi Jinping also says more Chinese companies will be encouraged to invest in African industrialization.
In a sideline meeting, 17 different African countries say they're looking for more cooperation with China in areas including agriculture, infrastructure construction, the digital economy, regional integration, education, people-to-people exchanges and security.
Chinese FM says implementation of Africa industrialization plan underwayThe China-Africa Industrial Cooperation Strategy, initiated in East Africa, has now been expanded to include South Africa and Egypt on a pilot basis.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi gave details of the move on Saturday while addressing the concluding session of the Forum for China-Africa Cooperation.
The Chinese government has selected industrial growth as one of the key aspects of the new economic relationship between China and Africa.
Wang said that China had sophisticated industries to help Africa to achieve its dream of industrialization.
He added that such a strategy was already underway in Kenya and Ethiopia, where new industrial parks had been built with the help of China.
According to the minister, efforts to promote African business have also included offers of free exhibition space and trade booths in China to promote the purchase of the African produced goods.
Peng Liyuan Promotes AIDS Prevention in SAOn the sideline of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, China's first lady Peng Liyuan has joined her African counterparts to promote HIV and AIDS prevention in Johannesburg.
The first ladies called for more measures to prevent infection at a meeting of the Organization of African First Ladies Against HIV and AIDS (OAFLA).
Peng became a World Health Organization goodwill ambassador for AIDS and tuberculosis back in 2011 and has been tasked with promoting China's international cooperation on AIDS prevention and control.
As part of her address at Saturday's meeting, Peng Liyuan outlined her participation in China's HIV and AIDS fight over the past decade.
"I'm determined to do my best to combat AIDS. With the help of the Chinese government and social forces in the last ten years, I've been to many places in China to visit HIV/AIDS patients, publicize knowledge on prevention of HIV/AIDS, promote the treatment of HIV/AIDS patients, call on the society to care for HIV/AIDS patients and eliminate discrimination towards HIV/AIDS patients, all of which have reaped great achievements."The OAFLA comprises of First Ladies from 40 African countries.
Nompumelelo Ntuli, the South African First Lady, gave a speech focusing on African girls under the threat of AIDS.
"In order for us to ensure an HIV free generation across Africa, we must not forget the structural and societal issues that place our adolescent girls at risk of acquiring HIV AIDS. Poverty, gender inequality, gender-based violence, child marriage, all of these issues hinder our youth from benefiting from the education and care that is required to ensure they reach their full potential."AIDS is one of the top causes of death in Africa that comprises slightly under 15 percent of the world's population.
According to estimates by WHO and UNAIDS, 36.9 million people were living with HIV globally at the end of 2014.
Africans account for nearly 70 percent of those who live with HIV and are dying of AIDS related illnesses.
China's Poverty Relief in Africa RecognizedAnchor:
A number of International observers are applauding the Chinese government's latest moves to reduce poverty and develop agriculture in Africa amid Chinese President Xi Jinping's time on the continent.
CRI's Liu Yuanhui reports.
Reporter:
As part of President Xi Jinping's time in Africa, a package of plans has been announced to increase agricultural development and help modernize the continent.
Kim Jong-jin with UN's Food and Agriculture Organization says China's experience in agriculture should go a long way in Africa.
"China made great achievements in agriculture and rural developments. And China accumulated lots of innovation, technologies, development experience during this period. And this is very precious development solutions for many other developing countries."Speaking to the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, Xi Jinping has promised 60 billion US dollars will be provided to Africa to help the regional economy become more advanced.
Doctor Godwin Ichimi with the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs says the pledge is being well-received.
"The African economy is a very vibrant one. It's one that is still growing, and has the potential to absorb even more investments from China."At the same time, calls are being made for more African investment in China.
Trade between China and Africa exceeded 220 billion US dollars last year.
China has been the largest trading partner with Africa for the past 6-years.
During his time at the FOCAC Summit in Johannesburg, Xi Jinping has also pledged financial support for African countries affected by this year's El Nino weather system.
200-thousand African technicians are going to be trained with Chinese help over the coming 3-years.
Former Pakistani ambassador to China, Akram Zaki, says China help in developing nations in Africa fits with the Chinese government's long-standing external policies of assistance.
"Human development, education, health, social security and job opportunities. So this is a comprehensive concept of human development in uplifting Africa, and making them real partners without looking down upon them on the basis of equality and mutual interest."Ronnie Linns, a Brazilian scholar on Chinese issues says China's role in Africa should be viewed as positive.
"As we all know, Africa is a vast land with a lot of potential. It can have a good future. Cooperating with China is very important to Africa, as China is helping Africa develop with the highest speed in the history and brings Africa more opportunities."The 2-day Forum on China-Africa Cooperation is wrapping up this Sunday in Johannesburg.
For CRI, I'm Liu Yuanhui.
Final Draft of Paris Climate Agreement ReachedAnchor:
Ministers from around the world are getting ready to start negotiations on a series of political differences this week in Paris now that a final draft of a new global climate agreement has been reached by negotiators at the UN's climate conference in Paris.
CRI's Niu Hong Lin has more.
Reporter:
"Colleagues, at this point let me turn now and say that we propose that the ADP adopt the draft conclusions as contained in document FCCC/ADP/2015/L6. Without objection. So decided. Thank you."The draft, currently running to 21 pages, consists of 26 articles covering different issues include emission reduction, adaptation, loss and damage, finance, technology and transparency of action and support. It will now be handed over to ministers for further discussion next week.
China's chief negotiator Su Wei explains that compared with the draft reached in Geneva in Switzerland earlier this year, this one is much more readable with fewer and clearer options on different issues.
"The progress is reflected in the brackets and the options. It is fair to say that we have made big progress in this period. The first version of the draft was over 100 pages, last year it was hundreds of pages, and it is now running to about 20 pages, more like an agreement."The Paris agreement is expected to be the second legally-binding instrument under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, a treaty which obliges developed countries to take the lead in cutting carbon emission and providing financial support to developing countries.
As negotiations came to a close, the French President Francois Hollande has appealed to negotiators to put regional and national interests aside to reach a global climate deal "worthy of the whole planet".
"Standing before you, I'm launching an appeal for us to manage to put all interests behind us, regional interests, national interests, interests relating to our level of economic development, so that we might be worthy of the whole planet"United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon also struck a more upbeat tone, saying that never before had the chances of a deal been so good.
"Today as never before the stars are aligned in favor of a strong, concerted action on climate change. The pace of climate action is quickening. Governments, cities, the private sector, investors and the public at large increasingly understand the grave risks posed by climate change. They also see the tangible benefits to be gained by early action."Moreover, representatives of the most vulnerable low-lying nations are also showing cautious optimism about the final draft.
Tony de Brum is the Foreign Minister of the Marshall Islands.
"Keeping in mind that some of the ambitions of the smaller islands states that seemed impossible just three or four years ago have found their way into the text, we are very very pleased that at least that has happened."Even so, many divergences still remain to be bridged in the agreement.
While financing any deal has been the toughest issue in the negotiations, how to reflect the principal of "common but differentiated responsibility" in emissions reduction, along with the problems of adaptation, and transparency still require a lot of work by participants at the conference in the coming week.
For CRI, I'm Niu Honglin.
China Plays Active, Constructive Role during First week of NegotiationsLeading Chinese officials at the talks in Paris say they've been taking on an active role at the talks.
China's special representative on climate change, Xie Zhenhua, says China is looking for a "comprehensive, balanced and strong" agreement on curbing climate change.
He says the Chinese delegation has been working as a facilitator.
"China will act as a go-between among the developed and developing countries based on their requirements. But I think, we still need the multilateral mechanism to solve the problems. We will continue to play a constructive and positive role in the Paris climate talks. I believe the talks will be very successful through efforts and negotiations made by all the countries."Chinese authorities have already announced the establishment of a 3-billion-US-dollar fund to help developing countries combat climate change.
Chinese envoy concludes Myanmar visitChinese vice-Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin has wrapped up a three-day visit to Myanmar.
As part of his time, Liu Zhenmin has sat down with a number of leaders in Myanmar, including the head of the National League for Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi.
The vice-Foreign Minister has told her it's the Chinese government's willingness to work with the new government in Myanmar to extend ties with the country, including expanding trade and cultural contacts.
Suu Kyi's party is set to become the next government in Myanmar after sweeping last month's national elections.
Liu Zhenmin has also met with outgoing Myanmar President Thein Sein, as well as other leaders in the previous administration.
Chinese woman wanted on corruption charges returned from U.S.
One of China's most-wanted bribery suspects has been repatriated to China from the U.S.
The 64-year-old Huang Yurong was a former party chief of Henan's Provincial Highway Administration.
She fled to the US in 2002.
Huang says she gave herself up and has volunteered to help the Party's anti-graft probe.
"The reason I volunteered to come back is to help with the investigations and help investigators get to the bottom of all the problems. I promise to abide by all the legal procedures."Huang is among 100 graft suspects on a list published in April as part of the "Sky Net" campaign.
"Sky Net" is the broad-based program Chinese authorities have launched to get fugitive corrupt officials back to China.
All 100 on the list are subject to an Interpol "red notice," which is the equivalent of an international arrest warrant.
IS Says Its Followers Carried out California AttacksThe Islamic State militant group has claimed on its online radio station that the married couple who killed 14 people in California earlier this week were followers of the militant group.
"We begin in California where two soldiers of the Khilafah executed and attacked on the inland regional centre in San Bernardino, California, on the 20th of Safar."The declaration comes three days after U.S.-born Syed Rizwan Farook and his spouse, Tashfeen Malik carried out the attack on a holiday party for civil servants in San Bernardino, about 100 kilometers east of Los Angeles.
The two died hours later in a shootout with police on Wednesday.
The FBI is investigating the attack as an "act of terrorism."U.S. Government sources have said Malik and her husband may have been inspired by Islamic State, but as yet there was no evidence the attack had been directed by the militant group or that the organisation even knew who they were.
If the mass shooting proves to have been the work of people inspired by Islamist militants, it would mark the deadliest such attack in the United States since September 11, 2001.
Triple suicide blast kills 30 in Lake ChadThree suicide explosions carried out by the Islamist group Boko Haram have killed at least 30 people, and injured more than 80 others.
Three suicide bombers blew themselves up at three different locations on Saturday on an island in Lake Chad.
In recent months, the Lake Chad region has come under regular terrorist attack, carried out by Boko Haram.
Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno announced a state of emergency on November 9th in the frontier region with Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria, which is the entry point and stronghold of Boko Haram extremists.
Chadian MPs agreed an extension to the state of emergency for a period of four months on November 18th.
The activities of Boko Haram in the Lake Chad basin and counter-insurgency operations have displaced more than 2.5 million people in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
Over 30 in Oil Rig Fire on Caspian SeaIt's being reported 32 people are dead following a fire on offshore oil rig in the Caspian Sea.
The fire broke out on the rig on Friday evening after a gas line leading into the rig ruptured and caught fire in high winds.
Authorities in Azerbaijan originally reported this Sunday that one person was dead and 30-others were missing.
At least 30 others did manage to survive.
Officials say the high winds and heavy seas have hampered the search for those who were missing.
The offshore rig itself handles around 60-percent of all the oil produced by an Azerbaijani state-run oil firm known as SOCAR.
Turkey tries not to escalate with RussiaTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country's row with Moscow over the shooting down of a Russian jet over Syria will not affected joint energy projects.
Russia imposed trade sanctions, including freezing investment projects and restricting food imports, after the Turkish air force brought down a Russian fighter near the Syrian border as it took part in the bombing campaign against militants in Syria. Turkey says it didn't know the jet was Russian.
President Erdogan said Turkey did not approve of Russia's tone in escalating tensions and suggested that the Turkish side was "being patient on this issue."Meanwhile, the country's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has called on both sides to be responsible and urged sincerity and honesty while trying to resolve the rift.
"A day will come when problems are solved, but the seeds of discord sown between two peoples may continue for a long time. And because of this everybody needs to act responsibly. Not only do we have strong, friendly ties between us, but we also have important projects that we have carried out or are trying to carry out. And Russia is our second biggest trade partner."Turkey says sanctions would be detrimental to both sides and has urged Moscow to open a dialogue so the incident could be resolved diplomaticallyIraq Demands Turkey Withdraw Troops from near MosulThe Iraqi government is demanding Turkey withdraw its troops from an area near the Islamic State-controlled city of Mosul.
Iraqi President Fuad Masum says the presence of Turkish troops in Iraqi territory is "a violation of international norms and law."Iraqi security analyst Hashim al-Hashimi says it's a question of territorial integrity.
"The deployment of Turkish troops in Iraq came as a result of political differences on oil exportation and a lack of military coordination between Baghdad and Irbil. The issue is, Kurdistan is part of Iraq, but behaves like an independent state."Turkey says it’s deployed 150 soldiers in the town of Bashiqa near Mosul to train Iraqi Kurdish forces fighting the Islamic State.
Mosul has been under the control of the Islamic State since last year.
Mosul is the largest city in northern Iraq, and is believed to be where the Islamic State was able to secure around 500-million US dollars in revenues after cleaning out the regional central bank in the city last year.
Turkey's ties with the autonomous Kurdish regions in Iraq have been improving in recent years, although the Turkish government still views Syrian Kurdish groups over the border as hostile toward Ankara.
Paris to Hold Auction for MeteoritesAnchor:
A new auction is set to take place in Paris this coming Monday, dealing exclusively with meteorites.
CRI's Victor Ning has more.
Reporter:
Space enthusiasts can bid for 250 extraterrestrial rocks on Monday at the Drouot auction house in Paris.
The meteorites are from the collection of Pierre Delpuech, a French collector who travelled the world to acquire the most beautiful pieces. He passed away earlier this year.
An expert at the Drouot auction house Luc Labenne explains why this auction is unique.
"This is the very first time that you have the collection of one collector which will be sold at auction. So pieces that have never been on the market, that went directly from the finder, maybe through an intermediary to the collector. And now, in one go, we have them presented to the public and they have not been seen ever before."The pieces include the Gibeon meteorite. It was discovered in the Kalahari Desert in Africa in 1836. Weighing 110 kilograms, the rock is expected to fetch up to 70,000 dollars.
Auctioneer at the auction house Christophe Lucien says buyers looking for cheaper finds are also in luck.
"The smallest object, the smallest meteorite of the sale is estimated at 55 or 65 US dollars, so those are the objects that one can even offer for Christmas."Rocks, dust or debris travelling in outer space are called meteoroids. Meteorites are those that have reached the earth. A number of them can be traced back to the moon or Mars.
Most of the meteorites on sale in Paris are 4.5 billion years old. Currently, about 30,000 meteorites are known to exist. Only less than 1 percent are considered aesthetic.
Labenne explains the shapes of the rocks are determined by the forces of nature.
"That shape of the meteorites comes from the fact that they entered the atmosphere with the speed of several dozens of kilometres per second and that sculpted them, gave them the shape, it is a natural sculpture; it is a little bit the marriage between the space and the Earth."The expert says the space rocks attract a good number of collectors on this planet.
"Meteorite collectors, those who regularly buy some pieces, who are following a precise theme, a shape, or their importance for science or their aesthetics, they are couple of thousand in the world, but only couple of hundred of them are very active."Two main markets exist currently for meteorites – one for those with aesthetic appeals, and another for rocks with other notable attributes, such as having come from the planet Mars.
For CRI, I'm Victor Ning.
WeatherBeijing expects smog in the day with a high of 4 degrees Celsius; tonight snowy with a low of 0.
Shanghai, slight rain in the day with a high of 11 ; cloudy overnight a low of 6 degrees Celsius.
Chongqing, cloudy today with a high of 15 and a low of 8.
Lhasa, cloudy in the day with a high of 9, overcast tonight a low of minus 3 degrees Celsius.
Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Islamabad, cloudy, 21.
Kabul, sunny, 10.
Over in North America,New York will be cloudy with a high of 13 degrees Celsius.
Washington DC, also cloudy, 13.
Honolulu, wet , 28.
Toronto, overcast, with a high of 8.
In South America,Buenos Aires will be cloudy with a high of 24.
And Rio de Janeiro will be wet with a high of 26 degrees Celsius.
7:27:30-7:28:00 Coming upHeadline NewsFOCAC Summit closes with fruitful resultsThis year's Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit has come to an end.
In wrapping it up, leaders attend the sessions in South Africa have released a series of action plans.
In his closing speech, Chinese President Xi Jinping has gone through the achievements made through FOCAC over the past 15-years.
He's also used the speech to talk about the prospect of further China-Africa cooperation.
On the African side, South African President Jacob Zuma has described this year's meetings as "ground-breaking and momentous."Final Draft of Climate Change Agreement Reached in ParisNegotiators have reached a final draft of a global climate agreement in Paris on Saturday, which will be further discussed by ministers next week.
The draft consists of 26 articles covering emissions reduction, adaptation, loss and damage, finance, technology and transparency of action and support.
The COP21 president Laurent Fabius said the draft agreement represented "progress".
Full of brackets and multiple options, a host of sticking points remain to be worked out.
The Paris agreement is expected to be the second legally-binding instrument, which obliges developed countries to take the lead in cutting carbon emission and financially support developing countries.
The first one was Kyoto Protocol, which was reached in Japan in 1997 and set quantitative emission cutting targets for developed countries.
IS Says Its Followers Carried out California AttacksThe Islamic State militant group has claimed that the married couple who killed 14 people in California earlier this week were followers of the militant group.
The declaration comes three days after U.S.-born Syed Rizwan Farook and his spouse, Tashfeen Malik carried out the attack on a holiday party for civil servants in San Bernardino, about 100 kilometers east of Los Angeles.
The two died hours later in a shootout with police on Wednesday.
The FBI is investigating the attack as an "act of terrorism."If the mass shooting proves to have been the work of people inspired by Islamist militants, it would mark the deadliest such attack in the United States since September 11, 2001.
Abe says no simultaneous parliamentary elections next summerThe Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has denied that he is considering holding simultaneous upper and lower house elections next year.
There were rumors - believed to have come from senior members of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party - that he wanted to dissolve the lower house of parliament and schedule a general election to coincide with the scheduled upper house elections next summer.
Abe told reporters on Saturday that such notions were not in line with his thinking, and that he was more concerned with reforming the electoral system, as vote disparities in some areas had called into question the constitutionality of past results.
Weekly Sci&Tech ReportsAnchor:
It's time now to check in with what's been happening this week in the science and technology sector.
In this edition of our Sci-Tech report, we hear about the man who turned dense smog in Beijing into a concrete brick, and the Chinese doctors who've cured a leukemia patient by using gene therapy at a hospital in Chongqing municipality.
Here's CRI's Wen Jie.
Visible pollutants: Man turns Beijing smog into brickA young man from southern China's Shenzhen has turned air pollutants collected in Beijing into a brick.
The man, nicknamed "nut brother", said he sank into the idea two years ago.
At that time, media reports were largely concerned with smog and air pollution.
He collected air particles with an industrial vacuum cleaner in the capital during the past one hundred days.
The cleaner can last four days with every charge, sucking in the amount of air that over 60 people breathe every day.
The dust collected was compressed and fired into a brick at a factory in the neighboring city of Tangshan.
The man said he plans to use the brick as building material in Beijing.
The city witnessed its worst smog this year last Sunday, with a PM2.5 reading that peaked at 900 micrograms per cubic meter.
====================================China to get first self-built cruise linerChina is hopefully to set embrace its first cruise ship in 2020, tapping into booming tourist demand.
Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding is set to take on the construction task with technical support from Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri.
President of the parent firm China State Shipbuilding Corporation Hu Wenming explains why the ship is to be built.
"We've been able to make LNG carrier and aircraft carrier already. A cruise liner is the last of the three high-tech ships that China doesn't have the ability to make. We are resolved to finish it, for it marks the country's great industrial capacity."The design of the vessel will feature traditional Chinese elements, and cost one billion U.S. dollars.
It's expected that four and a half million Chinese will be taking cruise vacations by the time the liner is delivered.
====================================Gene therapy cures adult leukemia patient in ChinaChinese doctors have cured a leukemia patient by using gene therapy at a hospital in Chongqing.
Zhang Fang is the first patient who has been completely cured of the disease after she was treated with CAR-T therapy in the hospital.
The CAR-T treatment uses modified T cells to fight cancer cells in leukemia patients.
China has about four million patients with the disease.
Most of them are treated by using chemo-therapy or bone marrow transplants.
The CAR T gene therapy is still at the clinical trial stage and has been carried out in less than ten hospitals in the country.
==================================China's first polar fixed-wing aircraft arrives at research station in AntarcticaChina has sent a solar fixed-wing aircraft to the South Pole for the first time.
The "Xueying 601", or "Snow Eagle", arrived at China's research station "Zhongshan" on Monday.
It took off in mid of November from Canada, carrying three crew members.
The scientists will test the flight characteristics of the "Xueying" under the climatic conditions of Antarctica, as well as the performance of its equipment including the ice radar and the gravimeter.
The "Zhongshan" station would serve as its testing base in the South Pole.
The fixed-wing aircraft is designed for fast transport and emergency rescue.
So far, only the US, Germany and Britain own multi-functional fixed-wing aircraft in Antarctica.
===================================Climate change puts global food security at risk: reportA report released at the UN climate conference in Paris found that climate change poses threats to global food security and sustainable farming.
The scientific assessment says that global warming is likely to disrupt food availability, decrease access to food and make food utilization more difficult.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack stressed the importance of global food security in adapting to climate change in a speech.
"This effort that this COP21 is focused on is really not just about dealing with the impacts of a changing climate but making sure that we do what we can to make sure that every human being has the right, the availability, the access, the proper utilization, the stability of a food supply."Vilsack also said that the number of food insecure people has been cut by 200 million in the past decade or so.
He pointed out that forward progress is directly related to how aggressively they could tackle on climate change.
==============================Machu Picchu Put onto the Map by Google.
Machu Picchu is literally being put onto the map by Google.
Daniel Filip, the Engineering Manager of Google Street View, announced the good news.
"Today we are here to capture for the first time to capture a street view imagery of Machu Picchu and publish it on Google maps for the whole world to appreciate and be inspired to come to Machu Picchu and visit."Deanna Yick, Street View Program Manager for Google Maps demonstrates the device at Google HQ in California.
"Everyone I think is familiar at this point with street view imagery and seeing this imagery of the cars from the road. But a lot of people would argue that the most interesting stuff is actually off the beaten path and once you get off the roads that is where the good stuff is. So that is what we are focused on bringing people to some of the most exciting, monumental, historic places around the world that they are interested to see and we want to be able to provide that seamless experience on Google Maps."In the 1980s, visitors shunned Peru because of a raging guerrilla conflict that ended in 1999.
Its popularity has grown since then and over a century later the site receives an average of 4-thousand visitors a day.
Susana Pabon, General Manager for Google in Colombia and Peru, says that to provide information of remote places has always been Google map's main desire.
"Google is constantly working in innovation to be able to go into the most remote and important areas in the world, to be able to create what we call the perfect map, and that is the objective, to be able to create that perfect map, that is why we are going to areas like Machu Picchu, so people can see just with one click any part of the world and have access to places like this from their own computers"UNESCO inscribed the Inca stronghold on its World Heritage list in 1983, boosting the site's fame and making it eligible for international technical support.
The images released Thursday are the latest addition to the diverse collection of photos supplementing Google's widely used digital maps.
======================================Pocket sized robot that acts as a phoneThis year's International Robot Exhibition has kicked off in Tokyo on Wednesday.
A tiny humanoid robot that acts as a smartphone has attracted much attention.
The robot, named "RoBoHon", is small enough to fit in the pockets of a jacket or a bag.
About 19 centimeters tall, the cute gadget features a camera, a projector and a touch screen on its back.
However, the robot creator Tomotaka Takahashi encourages people to use the voice function of the friendly piece of tech.
"People hardly use the voice recognition function on the phones in their daily lives. The reason of that is because it feels strange to be speaking into a square tablet. Then, would it be a different feeling if the device you were speaking to was shaped as a human or animal? Wouldn't it feel more natural? That is what I thought."The "RoBoHon" can talk to the user to wake them up, and even tell you what you have planned on your calendar like a mini personal assistant.
It's reported that the robot will be on sale some time next year, but the price has not been announced.
And that brings us to the end of this edition of our weekly science and technology report.
I'm Wenjie. See you next week.
SportsLeicester Beat Swansea 3-0 to Regain Top of EPLIn football,Jamie Vardy's record-tying goal scoring streak in the English Premier League has come to an end.
However, Leicester City's Riyad Mahrez picked up the slack, scoring a hat-trick to help Leicester move back to the top of the league with a 3-nil away win over Swansea last night.
Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri says despite Vardy's goal scoring streak coming to an end at 12, he's happy with the result.
"We made a very good performance, we scored three goals but we had to chance to score again three or four goals and I am so pleased with that because we didn't concede a goal and you know for me this is very important."Leicester moves to the top of the table with 32 points after Man City went down to Stoke 2-nil last night.
City manager Manuel Pellegrini says defense was his squads issue.
"We didn't have too many chances to score. We didn't defend well, but when we must defend, all the team..... all the players must be involved also in defending. I think that was a complete game that we didn't have the energy to play in (with) the same pace as did Stoke."City now drops down to 3rd after Arsenal jumped into 2nd with a 3-1 win over Sunderland.
Man United drops to 4th with a goalless draw with West Ham United.
--Other action from last night and this morning,It was Watford over Norwich 2-nilSouthampton and Aston Villa drew 1-1, as did West Brom Albion and Tottenham.
And Chelsea's woes continue, with the defending champions falling to Bournemouth 1-nil.
--------In off-field football news,Former Peruvian Football Federation president Manuel Burga has been arrested amid a widening investigation into the FIFA corruption scandal.
Burga is among 16 officials charged on Thursday with multi-million dollar bribery schemes for marketing rights in connection with soccer tournaments.
They are all from the South American confederation and North and Central American and Caribbean football's governing body, CONCACAF.
Basketball: Golden State WarriorsIn basketball,The Golden State Warriors are north of the border, looking to extend their incredible winning streak to 21-straight wins to open the NBA season, as they take on the Atlantic Division leading Toronto Raptors.
------------In NBA action from earlier this morning,The Philadelphia 76ers are back into their losing ways.
After finally snapping their record-breaking losing skid on Wednesday against Los Angeles, Philadelphia has lost 2-in-a-row, going down to the Denver Nuggets 108-105 this morning.
--In other action in the NBA this morning,Jeremy Lin and the Charlotte Hornets are on the road in Chicago to take on the Bulls.
--The Houston Rockets are playing host to the Sacramento Kings looking for their third win in a row--After suffering their back to back defeats, the Milwaukee Bucks are hoping to bounce back with a home win as they host to the New York Knicks.
--LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are at home to LeBron's former Miami Heat teammates.
--The Portland Trail Blazers are on the road to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves.
--And it's the Boston Celtics are up against the San Antonio Spurs.
---------Here in China,At 12-1, league-leading Xinjiang plays host Shanxi.
---The Guangdong Southern Tigers are looking to extend their winning streak to 9 at home to Bayi.
--It's struggling Tianjin up against Sichuan.
Tianjin has lost 12-in-a-row.
--Foshan looking for its 4th straight win as the former bottom dwellers entertain Beijing Beikong.
---In other action,It's Shenzhen at home to Qingdao.
--Fujian will take on Shanghai.
--It's Jilin against second place Guangsha.
--Liaoning is at home to Jiangsu.
--The Beijing Ducks are on the road in Jinan to take on Shandong.
--And it's Jiangsu Tongxi against Zhejiang Chouzhou.
Hockey: Washington taking 6-game winning streak into WinnipegIn action from the National Hockey League this morning.
The Washington capitals.
The Caps, tops in the Metropolitan Division, came into the game in winning their last 4 on the road.
--In other early action,An early start out west in Los Angeles, where the Kings are entertaining the Pittsburgh Penguins.
---In other action this morning,Atlantic-leading Montreal is on the road in Carolina.
--Detroit entertains Nashville.
--The New York Islanders take a 4-game winning streak into Ottawa.
--St. Louis is at home to Toronto.
--Philly, riding a 4-game winning streak, is at home to Columbus.
--Colorado is in Minnesota.
--Vancouver hoping to snap a 4-game losing skid at home to Boston.
--And Tampa Bay is out west taking on the San Jose Sharks.
Marc Leishman leads after round three of Nedbank Golf ChallengeIn golf,Australia's Marc Leishman finished with back-to-back birdies on Saturday to card a 6-under-66 for a one-stroke lead heading into Sunday's final round of the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa.
"It was obviously a good day. I got the speed of the greens a little bit better today. I was missing a lot of putts earlier in the week and my speed was a bit soft. I fixed that up today and managed to hole some putts. That was the main difference."Henrik Stenson currently sits 1-back of Leishman at minus-13.
--At the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas,Bubba Watson with a 2-stroke lead heading into the final round today after firing a course record 9-under-63 on Saturday.
He heads into the final round at minus-19.
World number-1 Jordan Speith still in the hunt, tied for 5th at minus-15.
He Bingjiao to Take on Chen Yufei at Indonesian Master FinalIn badminton,Rising Chinese star He Bingjiao is into the finals of the Indonesian Masters women's singles event.
The 17-year-old is through after rolling over a local Indonesian player in straight sets in the semi-finals.
She'll be taking part in an all-China final tonight against Chen Yufei.
--------In women's doubles,Tang Yuanting and Yu Yang have made it to the final, and will be taking on an Indonesian pair for the title.
---------In men's doubles,China's Chai Biao and Hong Wei are also into the finals in Jakarta.
Liang beats Fu to make semis at UK ChampionshipIn snooker,Only one Chinese player is left standing at the UK Championship.
Liang Wenbo has edged out Hong Kong's Marco Fu to make his first-ever semi-final appearance at the tournament in the UK.
Liang had three century breaks in downing Marco Fu to make it to the semi's.
His next opponent is David Grace, who is also a semi-final debutant.
In other action,Neil Robertson is through after narrowly edging John Higgins.
And it was Mark Selby making it to the semi-finals after rolling over Matthew Selt 6-1.
Guangzhou Marathon to Kick offThis year's Guangzhou Marathon is just getting started in the southern Chinese metropolis this morning.
Around 30-thousand runners from 46 different countries and regions are taking part in the race.
The gun went off in Guangzhou to start the race about 15-minutes ago.
Entertainment3D Beijing Opera 'Farewell My Concubine' Debuts in BeijingThe Beijing Opera film "Farewell My Concubine" has premiered in Beijing - it's the first Chinese film to capture the art form using 3D technology.
"Farewell My Concubine" is a love story based on the legend of Chinese hero Xiang Yu and his concubine Yu. Xiang loses a battle for the throne and Yu commits suicide by using his sword.
The film stars 74-year-old opera veteran Shang Changrong and rising star actress Shi Yihong.
The film's director, Teng Junjie said when researching the culture of the Beijing Opera he realised the potential for filming it in 3D.
The director altered the traditional staging of the classic, and cut the run time to appeal to a younger audience.
The film made its international debut in Hollywood at the Dolby Theater in 2014.
'Trainspotting 2' with Ewan McGregor, Jonny Lee Miller and director Danny Boyle goes to TriStarIt's been confirmed a sequel to the breakout film "Trainspotting" is going to happen.
Sony's TriStar label has confirmed it will back the follow-up to the hit 1996 film.
Danny Boyle is going to return to direct the sequel.
"Trainspotting 2" will also include the original cast.
Ewan McGregor, Jonny Lee Miller, Ewen Bremner and Robert Carlyle will all reportedly be back.
Initial indications are the film will catch up with the original cast 20-years after the original film took place in Edinburgh.
The original "Trainspotting" followed a group of young Scottish drug addicts as they tried to cope with their addictions and life as junkies.
The film helped launch Ewan McGregor's career, as well as director Danny Boyle's.
It also made Robert Carlyle and Jonny Lee Miller household names.
It's not clear yet when the "Trainspotting" sequel will be released, or what it will be titled.
'Fargo' Season 3 Setting Revealed, Season 1 Characters May ReturnDetails of "Fargo" season 3 have been revealed.
The forthcoming third season of the FX drama will be set in Minnesota, and could feature cast members who played characters in the first or second season.
It'll be set a few years after 2006, but certainly not in 2016, in order to preserve the "based on a true story" format.
While both seasons have had almost entirely different casts, one key character has remained: Lou Solverson, who was played by Keith Carradine in the first season, and then by Patrick Wilson in season 2.
"Fargo" season 2 continues Mondays on FX, with the season finale airing on December 14.
Season 3 was officially commissioned by the cable network late last month.
Kim and Kanye welcome baby no 2The newest member of the Kardashian clan has arrived.
Proud parents Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West welcomed a baby boy early Saturday in Los Angeles.
"He's here!" the reality star teased on Twitter.
A representative for the couple confirmed to The Associated Press that 'mom and baby' are doing well.
This is the second child for the superstar couple: daughter North was born in 2013.
Beatles 'Reunited' By Ringo Starr Drum Kit SaleThe owner of the Indianapolis Colts NFL team has claimed the Beatles are "together again" after he bought Ringo Starr's drum set at auction for 2.2 million US dollars.
The 1963 Ludwig Oyster Black Pearl three-piece drum set was used to record some of The Beatles' biggest hits.
Why together? Well, Jim Irsay already owned guitars from the group's other three members - Sir Paul McCartney and the late George Harrison and John Lennon.
The three-day sale this week by Julien's Auctions in Los Angeles featured items including musical instruments, artworks and personal items belonging to Starr and his wife Barbara Bach.
The Ludwig drum kit was used by Starr in more than 200 performances between May 1963 and February 1964 and featured in the recordings of smash hits including Can't Buy Me Love, She Loves You and I Want To Hold Your Hand.
It was also used by Sir Paul on his first solo album, McCartney.
Adele Continues to Dominate UK ChartsBritish singer Adele has continued to dominate the UK charts, as her latest album '25' eyes another bumper sales week.
Being the Oscar-winning singer's third studio album, '25' keeps breaking records as it enjoyed a further 439,000 copies sales this week, which has sold more than rest top 10 combined.
The album has now surpassed Ed Sheeran's 'X', regarded as the fastest million-selling album in the UK chart history.
Besides achievements in album sales, the 27-year-old singer also announced that she will add eight more dates to her European tour, to meet her fans' demand.
According to Yahoo's report, the tickets for her upcoming gigs in British cities, including London and Belfast, sold out within minutes as soon as they went on sale.
In the UK's Singles Chart, Justin Bieber remains at the top, with his third number one single 'Love Yourself'.
This results help the Canadian pop star to break a 52-year record previously held by The Beatles, with their hits 'She Loves You' and 'I Want to Hold Your Hand'.
That’s it for this weekend edition of the Beijing Hour.
A recap of your headlines:
This year's Forum on China-Africa Cooperation coming to an end in South Africa.
On behalf of co-host Bob Jones and the rest of the Beijing Hour team: This is Paul James in Beijing hoping you'll join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour, to open a window to the world together. |
原文地址:http://www.tingroom.com/lesson/thebeijinghour/335993.html |