And I'm Bob Jones - Welcome to the Beijing Hour, live from the Chinese capital. Coming up on the program this morning...

[paul] Another smog red-alert is now in effect here in Beijing.

[bob] A major Internet conference has come to a close here in China.

[paul] Ukraine set to default on a massive loan due to Russia tomorrow.

[Bob] We'll have our weekly review of what's been taking place in the business world this past week.

[Paul] In Sports.... The Guangsha Lions move to the top of the table in the Chinese Basketball Association standings.

[Bob] In Entertainment.... this year's short-list for the Foreign Language Oscar has been announced.

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 NewsBeijing Sees 2nd Red Alert in EffectAnchor:

A second red alert for air pollution is taking effect in Beijing, with the Chinese capital experiencing dangerous levels of air pollution.

CRI's Luo Wen has more.

Reporter:

The red alert has taken effect as of 7am this Saturday.

It will run until the end of Tuesday.

Municipal officials say the red-alert will also see inspectors fanning out across the city.

"Inspections will be conducted once a day at companies which have been told to either shut down or stop their production. Aside from that, we're also focusing on restaurants to make sure they're adhering to the ban on coal use"Pollution levels are expected to be much worse than the previous red-alert between December 6th to 9th - the first-ever in Beijing.

As part of the protocols, vehicles in Beijing will be restricted to an odd-even license plate restriction, meaning half the private-vehicles will be off the roads.

Industrial production is also being curtailed.

Outdoor barbeques or fireworks are also banned.

The red-alert is also prompting schools across the greater-Beijing area to advise parents to keep their kids at home, which doesn't work well for many parents.

"I don't want schools to suspend classes unless all employees in the city can stay at home. Just try to think who is going to look after the kids if their parents still have to go to work."Meteorologicial experts are warning the PM2.5 levels are likely to exceed 500 over the next few days.

Levels above 200 are considered heavy pollution by Beijing standards.

The World Health Organization considers any levels above 25 as potentially hazardous.

Though pollution in Beijing is not a new phenomenon, the issuing of the 2nd red-alert, the highest of the 4-tiered color-coded system for smog, has started to raise questions about the effectiveness of the government's efforts to reduce air-quality concerns.

Professor Li Junhua with Tsinghua University says knocking down air pollution is something the government can fix all-at-once.

"The government has adopted a set of policies to rein in pollution, and has taken steps to ensure the policies are well-implemented. I'm confident that Beijing's air quality will improve. However, it will be a long process that may take as long as 20 years."Heavy industry has been slowly moved out of the capital region over the past few years.

However, the reliance on coal-fired power generation in northern China, as well as vehicle exhaust, continue to create major pollution days, particularly during the winter months.

For CRI, I'm Luo Wen.

2nd World Internet Conference concludesAnchorThe second World Internet Conference came to an end on Friday, but as participants agreed, the world needs to keep working together to ensure a safer and better online community.

More than 2,000 attendees from governments, enterprises, academic institutions and technological communities participated in the high profile three-day event.

CRI's Niu Honglin has more.

ReporterDuring the high-profile meeting, President Xi Jinping urged all countries to respect Internet sovereignty, jointly safeguard cyber security, combat online crime and terrorism, cooperate with an open mind, and improve Internet governance together.

Kevin Sheekey, head of Government Relations and Corporate Communications, Bloomberg L.P., spoke highly of President Xi's proposals.

"I think he really added to the international conversation around what the role of government is in terms of internet regulation. One in four online users in the world is in China, and so China has a role to play, and I think what the president laid out is that China will play a role, will play a constructive role."China has become a major victim of international cybercrimes.

The latest PricewaterhouseCoopers Global State of Information Security Survey shows that the average number of detected security incidents in the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong surged some 500 percent to more than 12 hundred over the last 12 months.

In the first half of 2014 alone, more than 6 million computers in China were hijacked and controlled from foreign IP addresses.

Wang Xiujun, deputy director of China's Cyberspace Administration, says combating cybercrime is getting harder, with development of technology serving as a double-edged sword.

"The old ways and approaches cannot solve the problems. We need innovative protective ideas. We should adhere to the dynamic, comprehensive and systematic ideas of protectionism, which guard against new risks and new threats via persistent theoretical innovation and industrial development."He adds that participants have reached a consensus on the importance of legislation in the field of cyber security, and the necessity for a code of conduct with universal standards, in order to prevent and fight cybercrime.

It has also been stressed that users should be on high alert for the increased security risks brought about by new technologies and smart devices.

Professor Richard Taylor with the University of Hawaii is a renowned telecommunications and information policy expert. He said Internet security is vital, especially in the field of online retail and commerce.

"The cyber security is absolutely critical to the future of the Internet in every way, not just crime or safety, but also commerce. People will not do E-commerce, if they cannot trust the Internet, so it's absolutely central to the future success of the Internet."The conference also made progress on a Wuzhen Initiative - a Report on Internet Finance Development, a joint initiative addressing poverty with an "Internet Plus" strategy, and a Cooperation Declaration on the Construction of a Digital Silk Road.

The Wuzhen Initiative, perhaps the most important achievement of the conference, reflects all sides' aspirations and responsibilities in promoting cyberspace construction, and developing and improving institutional, administrative and technological innovation.

For CRI, I'm Niu Honglin.

NYC Syria TalksAnchor:

The United Nations has passed a resolution agreeing a way forward for the Syria peace process.

But differences of opinion between the United States and Russia almost scuppered the agreement as CRI's Nick Harper reports from New York.

Reporter:

The Syrian conflict has raged for nearly five years, killing around a quarter of a million people.

Throughout the path to peace has been cracked and cratered by the differing opinions of other countries.

Now, a new agreement, aimed at paving the way to peace talks next year.

The United Nations Security Council unanimously voted on a draft resolution that calls on the UN to bring the Syria government and the opposition to the negotiating table by the end of January.

Here's UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

But this agreement almost didn't happen. Ahead of the Council meeting, the foreign ministers of 17 countries met to try and agree the wording of the resolution. Haggling ensued.

Among the issues of contention - what to do with Syria's President Bashar al-Assad.

Russia has long held the view he should stay. The US wants him gone.

But meetings between the two countries in Moscow earlier this week saw a further softening of stance.

Russia and America seeming to agree he can remain for a transitional period before stepping aside.

Another issue that needed resolving - who to invite to the peace talks.

Each country had differing views, some feeling that certain opposition members should be label "terrorists" and excluded for January's discussions.

But an agreement was reached that allowed for this UN resolution which calls for peace talks along with a nationwide ceasefire - something China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said must go together.

“The two most important issues are the launch of a political negotiation and a ceasefire and cessation of hostilities. They are the most pressing issues and they are interrelated. We cannot have a peace process without a ceasefire; and without a ceasefire peace talks cannot continue to produce results."Now, the two-year road map begins, with peace talks, a unity government and eventual elections.

And the hope that the Syrian government and opposition groups to work together to jointly defeat the other crisis facing their country: the Islamic State.

For CRI, I'm Nick Harper in New York.

Iraqi PM to visit ChinaThe Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi will pay an official visit to China this coming Tuesday and Wednesday.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said Abadi was visiting at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

The trip was originally scheduled for August, but was postponed by al-Abadi due to security and reform issues in his country.

The Iraqi government is seeking China's support for a UN meeting over the withdrawal of Turkish troops from Iraq.

Taiwan finalize candidates list for leader's electionTaiwan's election commission has formally announced three pairs of candidates running for the island's 2016 leader's election.

Eric Chu and his running mate Wang Ju-hsuan will represent the Kuomintang, which is the island's current ruling party.

The other pairs are Tsai Ing-wen and her running mate from the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as well as James Soong of the People First Party and his running mate.

The election campaign is due to start on Saturday and last till January 15.

In addition to the leadership election, Taiwan residents will also elect legislators.

Both elections are scheduled for January 16.

Nine missing after barge sinks in Yangtze RiverNine people are missing after a barge sank in the Yangtze River in southwest China's Chongqing City on Friday.

The barge was berthed at Jigongzui in the Fuling reach at around noon on Thursday.

A crew member left the vessel later that afternoon, and returned the next morning to find the barge had disappeared.

The local maritime authority found the ship had sunk in the waters of the dock.

All nine people reported missing are from Fuling District.

The wreck is being salvaged, and an investigation into the cause of the sinking is now underway.

Chinese Medicine Expected to Benefit from China-Australia FTAAnchor:

The free trade agreement between China and Australia is due to take effect on Sunday.

Chinese traditional medicine has been identified as one of sectors most likely to reap benefits from the trade deal.

CRI's Li Jianhua explains.

Reporter:

The bilateral agreement was signed this June after ten years of negotiations.

Chinese traditional medicine was included in the deal despite doubts over its efficacy among some Australian people.

Traditional Chinese medicine manufactures, like the time-honored Tong Ren Tang, are especially expected to benefit, once the agreement comes into effect.

The company already has five branch stores in Australia, and the General Manager of its business in Australia, Ma Anyang, is eager to see the agreement come into force.

"I think with the implementation of the agreement, many medicines, especially some important herbs, good-quality herbs, and those written in the Chinese herbal dictionary, will be approved by the Australian medicine authorities. As a result, we will have an increasingly wider road, and open more and more branch stores in Australia."Also, as part of the agreement, China will send a certain number of medical practitioners to work in Australia each year.

Australia is the first western country to regard Chinese traditional medicine as having the ability to treat patients.

A national registration and accreditation scheme was launched in 2012 to license Chinese medicine doctors.

So far, close to 4,600 physicians engaging in traditional Chinese medicine throughout the country have been certificated.

Each year, about 4 million people in the country use Chinese Medicine or acupuncture treatment while the total turnover of the sector is around 300 million Australian dollars.

In a joint promotional effort, a research center was established last month by the National Institute of Complementary Medicine of the Western Sydney University and the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences.

It plans to conduct clinical trials on patients who suffer from vascular dementia in Sydney.

Alan Bensoussan, with the NICM team, said the center will invite medics from both countries to carry out a bunch of experiments in search of new treatments combined with traditional Chinese medical therapy and modern medicine.

"We help our Chinese partners to do some strong clinical trials in Chinese medicine on Australian patients. And we actually focus particularly on Chinese medicines. So for many years that's been our main priority."The professor called for more support to boost the development of the sector in the country.

"We really want to see this grow. This is an enormous opportunity for China. It's an enormous opportunity for western patients, western medical researchers as well. I think that the partnership is ideal, but it will only grow with some really strong support from both governments, from industry, from philanthropy."Chinese Medicine has been used in Australia for more than a hundred years since the Gold Rush.

Its importance is reflected in the fact that courses in Chinese Medicine are taught in Australian tertiary institutions.

For CRI, this is Li Jianhua.

Obama Ends 2015 on High NoteAnchor:

The U.S. President Barack Obama has praised Congress for ending 2015 on a high note, after the legislative body handed him a 1.8 trillion-dollar-budget bill that would ensure the operation of government services for the first nine months of next year.

The move is seen as a great step forward in governance in the United States. But observers are saying that the latest terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, in California, have overshadowed some of the other achievements made by the President in the last twelve months.

Here is CRI's Washington chief correspondent Xiaohong with the story.

Ann:

2015 has indeed been a great year for President Obama. In addition to the long-awaited budget bill, the Supreme Court knocked down the last major challenge to his health-care law, consolidating it as the law of the land for many years to come. Same-sex marriage was also legalized nationwide by the High court.

The U.S. economy continues recovery with some tangible results.

"Our early actions to rescue the economy set the stage for the longest streak of private sector job growth on record with 13.7 million new jobs in that time. The unemployment rate has been cut in half, down to 5%. And most importantly wages grew faster than any time since the recovery began."On the diplomatic front, President Obama also has a stellar list including the Paris Climate Accord, the Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement, the Iran nuclear treaty and the normalization of relations with Cuba.

However, the latest terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, have overshadowed that high note. Across America, people are questioning his ability when it comes to homeland security.

President Obama acknowledged that it's very hard to deal with the new situation since self-radicalized terrorists are now targeting vulnerable citizens at casual locations.

"It is very difficult for us to detect lone wolf plots because despite the incredible vigilance and professionalism of our law enforcement from Homeland Security etc. It's not that different from us trying to detect the next mass shooter."But he reassured the nation that the law enforcement agencies had found no specific and credible threat against the U.S. at this moment, urging people not to bow to terror.

"And all of us can do our part by staying vigilant, by saying something if we see something that is suspicious, by refusing to be terrified, and by standing united as one American family."President Obama also says he has never been more optimistic than he is now and has pledged to continue the second half of, what he calls, a wonderful fourth quarter that is full of promise.

Xiaohong ,CRI, Washington DC.

US Senate approves gov't spending, tax breaks packageThe U.S. Senate has approved a government spending and tax breaks package, averting a damaging government shutdown like the one experienced in 2013.

The landmark bill passed on Friday will also lift a 40-year-old ban on U.S. crude oil exports.

The bipartisan legislation will provide for 1.15 trillion U.S. dollar in government spending through to next September and 680 billion dollars in tax breaks over 10 years.

The agreement was reached after weeks of intensive negotiations on Capitol Hill, with compromises from both parties.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell praised the efforts of senators on both sides of the aisle.

"I think one of the things that the American people really wanted the most in last year's election was for the Congress to get back to work, to end the dysfunction, to do at least the basic work of government. This big bill we just passed was a trillion, 100 billion dollars in one bill. That's not the way to do business. And, so we're going to try our best not to end up in that situation again."The package also includes a provision to authorize the International Monetary Fund's 2010 quota and governance reforms, which had been blocked by U.S. Congress for five years.

The move means the US lawmakers have given the green light to giving emerging markets, including China, more saying in the international lender.

Ukraine imposes ban on debt repayments to RussiaUkraine has imposed a moratorium on repayments of its multi-billion debts to Russia, following Moscow's refusal to accept repayment terms already accepted by other international creditors.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk announced the decision on Friday at a cabinet meeting.

"The Ukrainian Government today establishes a moratorium on repayment of so-called Russian debt. I would like to remind one more time that Ukraine has restructured debt obligations with creditors who accepted conditions and offers from the Ukrainian side".

The moratorium means that Ukraine is defaulting on the 3 billion dollar debt owed to Russia which is due Sunday.

Yatsenyuk did not indicate when Ukraine would be ready to repay the debt.

The move by Kiev to impose a ban on debt repayments was unexpected, as the Ukrainian Finance Ministry said on Thursday that the country was committed to a dialogue with Moscow over a possible credit relief deal.

In August, the Ukrainian government and a group of its other international creditors reached an agreement, which envisages a 20-percent write-off of 15 billion U.S. dollars of Kiev's foreign debts and a 4-year extension of the loan repayment period.

Three months later, Ukraine offered Russia the same conditions of the debt restructuring, but Moscow rejected the proposal.

Russia has said it would file a lawsuit against Ukraine to the international court if the payments were not met.

1st European Land-based U.S. Missile Defense Site CompletedIn a somewhat low-key ceremony, a new U.S. missile defense site south of Romania's capital, Bucharest, has been deemed completed.

The Aegis Ashore site includes a powerful radar, missile interceptors and communications equipment.

The system is set to become officially combat-ready early this coming year, and is tied into NATO's broader ballistic missile defense system.

While not far from Russian territory, US ambassador to Romania, Hans Klemm, insists the system is meant more to deter Iranian provocations.

"First and foremost, the system at Deveselu is only meant to counter threats originating from outside of Europe. On the same line as Foreign Minister Comanescu stated, Deveselu is not, I repeat, not directed at Russia. Nor does it have the capability to threaten Russia. We have explained this to Russia on many occasions."US concerns about Iranian ballistic missile launches were ramped-up in early October after Iran launched a test of a home-grown ballistic missile, which the United Nations has deemed a violation of Security Council resolutions.

Uganda Markets its Tourism to China using golden monkeysAnchor:

Uganda is hoping to attract more Chinese tourists with its new campaign to track golden monkeys.

2016 is China's Year of The Monkey, and Uganda wants to tap into this potential to boost its tourist numbers.

Uganda has seen a steady increase of Chinese visitors, from 5000 in 2010 to 14,000 in 2014.

CRI's Isabel Nakirya reports.

Reporter:

Golden monkeys are a rare species found at the Mgahinga National park in western Uganda.

With Uganda tapping into new Asian markets, the country's Wildlife Authority expects to make gains from an increase in Chinese tourists as China celebrates the year of the monkey in 2016.

JOSSEY MUHANGI - SPOKESPERSON, Uganda Wildlife AuthorityChinese are discovering Uganda as a new tourism destination, that's why they are coming in big numbers for the traditional markets especially seasonal. They come when its winter in their time. But the Chinese have been helping us out especially peak season- June to September.”

The East African country has seen a steady growth of Chinese tourists.

The numbers have increased three fold in the last five years.

JOSSEY MUHANGI - SPOKESPERSON, UGANDA WILDLIFE AUTHORITY.

"The only obstacle has been the language barrier but we are making efforts along with Uganda tourism board to even start training our guides in Chinese language. But they usually come with one who understands English to interpret what our guides are telling them."Uganda is now seeking to capitalize on the celebration of the monkey.

About 5000 golden monkeys exist in the wild.

Tour operators now want to explore ways of making them more tame so visitors can get a closer look.

Uganda's tourist numbers had drastically decreased at the beginning of year.

The tourism board attributes this to the terror scares and the Ebola outbreak in West Africa which affected the whole continent.

But tour operators hope numbers will go up with the new campaign in golden monkey tracking.

Isabel Nakirya, CRI in KampalaHeadline NewsUN Security Council endorses roadmap for Syria peace processThe UN Security Council has adopted a resolution endorsing an international roadmap for a Syrian-led political transition in order to end the country's conflict.

The resolution calls for Syrian peace talks to begin in early January.

It also calls for the U.N. to present the council with options for monitoring a ceasefire within one month of the adoption of the resolution.

The resolution has also backed a timeline previously agreed in Vienna, for talks between the government and opposition groups, and the eventual holding of elections.

Beijing issues second red alertBeijing has issued its second air pollution "red alert," the highest emergency response level, as a new round of heavy smog is forecast for northern China.

The alert is expected to last 89 hours, in effect from 7 am this Saturday until 12 am on Wednesday.

During this period, car restrictions will be imposed based on odd or even license plate numbers to keep half the vehicles off the roads.

Kindergartens, primary schools as well as middle schools are advised to suspend classes.

Beijing issued its first "red alert" for air pollution on December 7 when PM 2.5 reached the top of the scale at 500.

Appeal of Scriptwriter Yu Zheng Rejected by Higher CourtBeijing's Higher People's Court has rejected an appeal by mainland scriptwriter Yu Zheng in a plagiarism case where he was accused by Taiwan novelist Chiung Yao.

The court upheld the first-instance verdict issued last December, ordering Yu Zheng and the four companies involved to pay five million yuan, more than 770,000 U.S. dollars, to Chiung Yao. It also ordered that Yu should apologize to the novelist.

The final instance ruled Yu had violated the copyright of Chiung Yao's novel "Plum Blossom Scar" as an almost identical plot was used in Yu Zheng's TV series "The Palace: The Lost Daughter."Yu had not sought permission to use her work.

Chiung Yao said she would use the compensation to support causes advocating originality.

Finnish Supreme Court agrees to extradite Russian suspect to AmericaThe Finnish Supreme Court has endorsed the extradition of a Russian citizen from Finland to the United States.

Maxim Senakhin was detained at the Finnish-Russian border in August, and the United States requested his extradition.

The U.S. state of Minnesota has filed charges against him for computer fraud.

Senakhin, along with possible accomplices, allegedly installed malware on thousands of servers in the United States, Finland and worldwide.

Senakhin himself had opposed the planned extradition.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has also been publicly critical of his detention.

A final decision will be made by the Finnish justice and labor ministers probably early next year.

Weekly Biz RoundupAnchor:

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

This week saw the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to raise its benchmark interest rate, ending a seven-year period of near-zero borrowing rates.

We'll also check in with some of the key economic indicators as the year end approaches.

All of that and more with CRI's Wenjie.

The US Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in seven years, by 25 basis points.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen says the decision reflects the committee's confidence that the economy will continue to strengthen.

"The Federal Open Market Committee decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate by one-quarter percentage point, bring it to one-quarter to one-half percent. This action marks the end of an extraordinary seven year period during which the federal funds rate was held near zero to support the recovery of the economy from the worst financial crisis and recession since the Great Depression."But the Fed's statement suggested that rates would remain historically low well into the future, saying it expects "only gradual increases."China's Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Shen Danyang later said that the Fed's decision will have some impact on China's trade but the level of that impact is not yet known.

"As for how much of the impact will be, at present we will have to do a specific analysis depending on the circumstances of the interest rate raise, the scale of the interest raise and the implementation of other supporting policies (on which) we will do an assessment."The Hong Kong Monetary Authority also increased its base rate for the first time in 7 years by 25 basis points to 0.75 percent, following the increase in US rates by the Federal Reserve.

China's central bank projected its baseline forecast for 2016 growth at 6.8 percent.

The rate is slightly lower than the central bank's forecast of 6.9-percent expansion for this year.

The People's Bank of China released a working paper saying it expects positive factors such as the recovery of real estate sales and the lagged impact of government policies to bolster growth.

But China's economy still faces problems including overcapacity, profit deceleration and rising ratios of non-performing loans.

Recent official stats show that the Chinese mainland made over 100 billion U.S. dollars in non-financial investment in overseas markets in the first 11 months of 2015, up 16 percent year on year.

Zhou Liujun from the Ministry of Commerce explains where the money went.

"Fruitful investments were made in the construction of economic and trade cooperation zones, infrastructure, and overseas contracted projects. There was significant growth in direct investment overseas in large-scale projects and in the manufacturing sector."Meanwhile, Chinese companies have built 75 economic and trade cooperation zones in over 30 countries, which have generated 18 billion U.S. dollars of ODI.

Factory output growth last month picked up to stand at a five-month high, up an annual 6.2 percent, quickening from October's 5.6 percent.

Growth in China's fixed-asset investment, one of the main drivers of the economy, also rose 10.2 percent in the first 11 months.

Retail sales grew an annual 11.2 percent in November, the strongest expansion this year.

At a regular press conference, the spokesperson from the Ministry of Commerce Shen Danyang expects the year-round number to grow by some 11 percent.

"China's social consumer retail sales grew 10.6 percent cumulatively from January to November, 0.1 percent growth compared to the first three quarters. It's expected that China's retail sales in this year will probably grow by around 10.7 percent."The spokesperson added that online shopping continued to expand last month.

Spending on entertainment surged with box office sales across the country up nearly 50 percent during the first eleven months of the year.

The National Bureau of Statistics said that, last month, among 70 large and medium-sized cities surveyed, new home prices climbed month on month in 33 cities, up from 27 in October.

Meanwhile, 27 reported monthly price declines, down from 33 cities in October.

South China's Shenzhen saw the biggest gain in new home prices last month, surging some 45 percent.

The NBS attributed the warming signs to the government's stimulus measures.

The central bank had cut benchmark interest rates five times since last November and lowered banks' reserve requirement ratio three times since February.

The country also lowered down payment requirements for second-home purchases and some local governments have rolled back restrictions on home purchases.

China will suspend the price adjustment of domestic refined oil products in a bid to combat air pollution.

The country's top economic planner says giving full play to the leverage effect of refined oil prices is an important way to promote energy conservation and tackle air pollution.

Right now, prices for refined oil products are adjusted when international crude oil prices translate into a change of more than 50 yuan per ton for gasoline and diesel within a period of 10 working days.

However, according to the new plan, when international oil prices are low, domestic prices for refined oil products will remain steady.

Chinese authorities plan to solicit public opinion about the new rules before they go into effect.

In a bid to support public-private partnership projects, China will provide rewards instead of subsidies in a pilot scheme starting from next year.

The Ministry of Finance said private partners in the PPP demonstration projects will be offered three-tier rewards based on investment scale.

The ministry also encouraged uncompleted locally-funded public service projects to transform into PPP model projects, rewarding then with 2 percent debt reduction.

The reward program will be trialed for three years, as the central government phases out the old subsidy scheme.

On Wednesday, China's top economic planner said that the country has a total of over 2,100 potential PPP projects valued at 3.5 trillion yuan, or 540 billion U.S. dollars.

Apple has partnered with China UnionPay to bring its payment service Apple Pay to China, along with 15 banks in the country.

UnionPay cardholders will be able to use their bank cards on Apple devices for daily shopping at the beginning of next year.

The move is considered to add leverage for the two companies to compete against Alibaba's Alipay and Tencent's WeChat wallet.

UnionPay said it also planned to tie up with the Samsung payment system, Samsung Pay, which was launched earlier this year.

China Unionpay is the country's only domestic bank card issuer. The number of UnionPay cards issued both at home and abroad has exceeded 5 billion.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and Walt Disney have announced a licensing agreement for a device that will deliver Disney and Pixar movies and games here in China.

The Mickey Mouse-themed system, called DisneyLife, has been selling on Alibaba's online shopping site Tmall.com.

The deal came after Alibaba agreed to acquire the South China Morning Post and other media assets of SCMP Group for 266 million U.S. dollars.

SCMP Group says it expects to record a gain of around 1.4 billion Hong Kong dollars from the asset sale.

Alibaba has acquired or invested in a growing portfolio of media and content companies in recent years.

In June, the company agreed to pay 194 million U.S dollars for an undisclosed stake in the domestic financial media firm China Business News.

And that concludes this edition of the weekly business review. I'm Wenjie. Thank you for listening.

SportsGuangsha Beat Fujian 128-112In basketball,Action here in China,Guangsha has moved to the top of the CBA table, winning its 12th in a row, 128-112 over Fujian last night.

With the win, the Lions move to 17-2 on the season.

Xinjiang, which had been tied with Guangsha at the top of the league, drop s down to 2nd after going down to Liaoning 104-86.

Liaoning sits in 5th at 13-6.

It was Sichuan going to 14-5 with a 116-107 win over Beijing Beikong.

The Blue Whales and Guangdong are now locked in 4th at 14-5, after the Southern Tigers lost their 2nd in a row last night, going down to Shenzhen 93-87.

Yikan's 3rd in a row puts them back in contention for a playoff spot in 9th.

In other action,The Beijing Ducks have won 5 in a row, getting past Bayi 81-74.

The Ducks sit in a playoff-positioned 7th.

It was Zhejiang edging Qingdao 118-116.

Jordan Crawford nailed 40 points to help Tianjin with 122-116 win over Foshan.

It was Shandong over Shanxi 115-87.

Shanghai got past Jilin 105-86.

And it's Jiangsu going down to Tongxi 115-109.

In the National Basketball Association,The Golden State Warriors are looking to avenge their only loss of the season as they entertain the Miwaukee Bucks in Oakland.

The Bucks ended the Warriors' 24 game regular-season winning streak with a 108-95 on SaturdayThe San Antonio Spurs are hoping to extend their winning streak to five games when playing at home to Los Angeles Clippers.

The Toronto Raptors are on the road in Miami, looking to snap the heats' three-game winning streak.

The Raptors comes into the matchup after going down to the Charlotte Hornets 109-99 on Friday.

In other action,The Philadelphia 76ers are hoping for their second win this season when hosting the New York Knicks.

The Brooklyn Nets are on the road to take on the Indiana Pacers.

The Orlando Magic are at home to the Portland Trail Blazers.

And it's the Atlanta Hawks up against Boston Celtics.

The Chicago Bulls are hosting the Detroit Pistons.

The New Orleans Pelicans are on the road in Phoenix to take on the Suns.

The Dallas Mavericks will play at home to the Memphis Grizzlies.

And it's the Denver Nuggets taking on the Utah Jazz for their fourth win in a row.

Football: English Premier League PreviewIn football,Guangzhou Evergrande is set to take on Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the 3rd place match at this year's FIFA Club World Cup without Zhou Zheng.

The 27-year old went down during Evergrande's 3-nil loss in the semi-finals to Barcelona, and will not be available tomorrow.

Barcelona is still unwilling to say whether or not Lionel Messi is going to be in-action tomorrow in the final against South American side River Plate.

Manager Luis Enrique.

"Well, I don't know if he (Lionel Messi) will be able to play in the final and the players don't have a clue about that as well. We just have to see how it develops."Barcelna is looking to become the first club to win the title three times.

In the English Premier League,League leading Leicester is set to take on Everton tonight, looking for its 4th road-win in a row.

Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri.

"They are in good moments now. In the last six, I think, six matches they win and draw. They play football very well. Another tough match. Another good appointment for us."Elsewhere,Chelsea is set to play host to Sunderland in the club's first match after the sacking of manager Jose Mourinho on Thursday.

Tottenham is on the road in Southampton.

Hotspurs manager Mauricio Pochettino says Mourinho's sacking this week should be a lesson to the entire Premiership.

"It's a good lesson for us, what happened yesterday...I couldn't imagine that it would be the end for Jose Mourinho at Chelsea and that's a lesson, we need to think about today, in the present and not tomorrow."In other action,Manchester United is at home to Norwich.

Crystal Palace is up against Stoke City, looking for its 9th win of the season.

West Bromwich Albion are set to take on Bournemouth.

And it's Newcastle United taking on Aston Villa.

Hockey: Penguins hope to give new coach first winIn action from the National Hockey League this morning,The Pittsburgh Penguins will be looking to snap a 2-game losing streak, and at the same time, give their new head coach his first win behind the bench.

They hope to do it at home against the Boston Bruins, who blanked the Pens 3-0 in their last encounter on Thursday.

Five other games on the slate today,Florida, winners of their last 2, are on the road in Carolina.

San Jose continues its Canadian road swing in Ottawa against the Sentators.

The slumping Vancouver Canucks are in Detroit.

Winnipeg entertains the New York Rangers.

And the Washington Capitals look to keep pace with the Dallas Stars for the best record in the league as they entertain the Tampa Bay Lightning.

UAE Royals Beat Singapore Slammers 27-23In tennis,Roger Federer has held the UAE Royals to a 27-23 victory over the Singapore Slammers in front of an enthusiastic crowd as part of the International Premier Tennis League tournament.

"I'm happy you forgot about the mixed but you know I lost that one. So, the last two were big. I had a great time, thank you guys for coming, I love coming here to Singapore."The Slammers remain in second place in the tournament, while the Royals sit 3rd.

In off-court tennis news,Greek tennis player Alexandros Jakupovic has been banned for life for match fixing.

Details as to how he has been involved in match-fixing have not been disclosed.

The Tennis Integrity Unit has found Jakupovic guilty of five charges under the anti-corruption program.

The 34-year-old Jakupovic only played two matches this season, losing both.

Chinese ladies win Water Polo Championship, qualify for RioChina's women's Water Polo team has made it into the Rio Olympics, getting past Japan at the Asian Championships in the city of Foshan in Guangdong.

On the men's side,Hosts China got past Iran 19-6 for their second consecutive victory.

China will next face Kazakhstan and Japan.

Only the champions will get the ticket for the Rio Olympics.

76ers hired Mike D'Antoni as associate head coachIn other NBA news,The Philadelphia 76ers have hired seasoned NBA coach Mike D'Antoni as an assistant head coach.

D'Antoni has a lengthy track-record in the NBA, having been behind the bench for the Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers.

His most success came as head coach of the Suns from 2003 to 2008, reaching two Western Conference finals and being named the 2004-05 NBA coach of the year.

Entertainment9 foreign language films advance in Oscar raceNine features will advance to the next round of voting in the Foreign Language Film category for the 88th Academy Awards.

Arguably the most high profile of the shortlisted films are Mustang from French director Deniz Gamze Ergüven and Hungary's Son of Saul directed by László Nemes.

Also on the shortlist, which has been slimmed down from the 81 eligible films, Belgium's The Brand New Testament directed by Jaco Van Dormael, and Denmark's A War from Tobias Lindholm.

The outcome has left several notable films out of the equation, including Taiwan director Hsiao-Hsien Hou's film The Assassin.

The shortlist will be further trimmed down to the category's five nominees by specially invited committees in New York, Los Angeles and London.

They will spend three days in January viewing three films a day, and then casting their ballots.

The 88th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 14, 2016.

The Oscar ceremony itself will be held on Sunday, February 28.

The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

Big Bang Confirm Performance At 30th Annual Golden Disk Awards In ChinaIt's been announced, the South Korean boy band 'Big Bang' will be attending the 30th annual Golden Disk Awards on January 20 in South China's Shenzhen city.

The group's record label had previously said they wouldn't be making any appearances at year-end K-pop music ceremonies, due to album preparations and the final leg of their MADE World Tour.

Now it says, as their 'MADE' series has been riding high in the charts since May, their attendance at the 'Golden Disk Awards' was quickly confirmed.

Furthermore, a representative revealed that 'Big Bang' has been working with stage crews and will be giving a spectacular and memorable performance on the night.

Last year, Big Bang member Taeyang won the award for Digital Single of the Year for solo hit song "Eyes, Nose, Lips."Following the Golden Disk Awards, Big Bang will wrap up their MADE 2015-16 World Tour in Japan with the final performance on February 23 in Tokyo.

Katherine Waterston has been cast as the lead in Ridley Scott's Alien: CovenantAmerican actress Katherine Waterston has signed up to star in Ridley Scott's upcoming continuation of the Prometheus/Alien saga, Alien: Covenant.

The 35-year-old - who starred in 'Inherent Vice' and 'Steve Jobs' has apparently been cast in the lead role of Daniels.

She will join Michael Fassbender in the upcoming sci-fi movie, which is believed to be the first in a trilogy of new films linking the events of Prometheus with the 1979 classic Alien.

Alien: Covenant had previously been put on hold as Ridley directed The Martian, which has garnered three Golden Globes nominations.

Plot details for the upcoming Alien film are being closely guarded, though it is thought to be about the crew of the colony ship Covenant.

They crew are bound for a remote planet, only to discover that what they thought to be an uncharted paradise is actually a dangerous world whose only inhabitant is David - played by Michael Fassbender - the survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition.

Alien: Covenant will make its theatrical debut in October 2016.

The Clean Cut: Warner Bros. releases 'Storks' official announcement trailerWarner Brothers Pictures - distributor of "The Lego Movie," - have released a trailer for a new film, "Storks."The movie follows Junior, a delivery stork, and Tulip, the sole human at Stork Mountain, as they deliver an unauthorized baby girl.

In the trailer, a stork speaks to viewers about the company's perfected "human infant production facility." Behind him, Tulip breaks a piece of a machine.

When Junior notices the disaster occurring behind him, he deviates from the presentation to focus on the malfunction.

The voices of Kelsey Grammer, Andy Samberg, Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele will be featured in the film.

The trailer has already notched up almost 3 million views on YouTube and Facebook.

The movie is expected to hit theaters in September 2016.

WeatherBeijing will have smog today with a high of 3 degree Celsius; tonight smog with a low of -2.

Shanghai, cloudy with a high of 11, overcast tonight with a low of 8.

Chongqing will see slight rain with a high of 8 and a low of 6.

Lhasa, sunny, a high of 7, clear tonight with a low of minus 8 degrees Celsius.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Islamabad, cloudy, 16.

Kabul, cloudy, a high of 4.

Over in North America,New York will be cloudy today with a high of 6 degrees Celsius.

Washington DC, cloudy, 7.

Honolulu, slight rain, a high of 27.

Toronto will see sleet today with a high of 0.

In South America,Buenos Aires, sunny with a high of 28.

And Rio de Janeiro will have a little bit rain with a high of 32 degrees Celsius.

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

A recap of your headlines:

Another red-alert for smog is now in effect here in Beijing.

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.