新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 20:00 2016/02/21（在线收听）

The Beijing Hour

Evening Edition

Shane Bigham with you on this Sunday, February 21st, 2016...

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

Coming up on the program this evening...

Rallies have been held across the US in dozens of cities on behalf of a Chinese-American police officer convicted of manslaughter...

Six employees of one of China's biggest banks, arrested in Madrid, remain in custody as police investigate alleged money laundering...

And at least six people have been killed in what appears to be a shooting spree targeting random people in Michigan...

Our weekly Science & Technology roundup will be heard in the second half of the program...

In sports...CBA playoff action between the Beijing Ducks and Xinjiang Flying Tigers...

And in entertainment...the winners of the major awards at the Berlin International Film Festival...

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/beijinghour.

We're also on WeChat. Type in "Beijing Hour" to find us.

Email us directly at [email protected].

You can also visit crienglish.com for the latest news and information from China Radio International.

Top News

Rallies held across US for NYPD officer Peter Liang

Anchor:

Nationwide rallies in at least 40 cities across the US held on Saturday on behalf of NYPD officer Peter Liang.

Some supporters say that in addition to protesting the manslaughter verdict against the officer, they want to join the debate on policing reform, the justice system, and minority rights.

CRI's New York correspondent Su Yi reports.

Reporter:

Almost 10-thousand protesters gathered at Brooklyn's Cadman Plaza Park Saturday morning.

They chanted "justice now" or "no selective jury" and handed out petitions demanding a reconsideration of the verdict.

New York City council member Gu Yaming says the tragedy is a failure of the government and police system, but not a crime.

"It was a failure of our public housing. Their lightless stairwells are common place and endanger both residents and police. It was a failure of NYPD's training because rookie police officers should not be patrolling in such an unsafe district."

The rally in Brooklyn also began with a moment of silence for Akai Gurley, the African American victim of the fatal incident.

The Brooklyn rally is the largest among the over 40 rallies held across the country.

This comes after Liang was found guilty of manslaughter earlier this month in the death of the unarmed black man.

Liang's defense team says the killing was an accident, as the gun was mistakenly fired in the stairwell of a Brooklyn housing project. The bullet ricocheted off a wall killing 28-year-old Gurley.

Supporters say Liang is being used as a scapegoat, after other police officers across the US were cleared in police shootings.

Police coach Tang Baibin with California-based Great Wall security personnel training school, says it was an accident as the firing posture the officers put on was in line with policing protocol.

"Their handguns were rightfully loaded under such circumstances as the officers were in a dim place with potential dangers. I cannot agree with the argument that there was no apparent dangers. The officers were in danger the minute after answering the call."

New York-based criminal defense attorney Nicholas Fortuna echoes this view, saying it was a politicized verdict.

"If you look at the legal definition of manslaughter, he should not have ever been convicted. I think the political winds have pushed the prosecutors in this case to bring this to trial. The Brooklyn district attorney recently ran for reelection in that office on the promise of cracking down on police. I think this person was a scapegoat in this compound tragedy of what had happened that night. I do not see there is validity to the verdict. I think it is driven by emotion."

Police coach Tang Baibin says, apart from judicial reform, better understanding and integration of minority groups is also what they want.

"First of all, money talks in the American society. Establishing a foundation is a proper way to help officer Liang. Secondly, the tragedy of the shot African American brother should also be taken into consideration. His family deserves financial support from the foundation. Looking into the issue thoroughly and comprehensively helps to make different communities integrate and make them understand and respect each other. We should leave legal issues to experts and do what we can do. Also what we can do is to better protect ourselves and get to know more legal knowledge."

The final sentencing decision in the case is set to be announced in mid April.

Liang could face up to a maximum of 15 years in prison, but some legal observers say he could end up serving a much shorter sentence, as he is not accused of deliberately causing the death of Gurley.

For CRI, I am Su Yi in New York.

Madrid court orders arrested ICBC employs to be kept in police custody

A court in Madrid has ruled that the six employees from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China will be held in police custody, as an investigation into alleged money laundering continues.

The six from the lender's Madrid branch were arrested after Spanish police raided the bank earlier this week.

ICBC said on Saturday that it has been complying with local laws and will fully cooperate with the probe.

The bank says it will also take measures to protect its legitimate rights.

Restaurant fined for "over-priced fish"

Anchor:

Local authorities in Harbin have punished several people over the issue of "overpriced fish" at a restaurant in the northeastern Chinese city.

CRI reporter Guo Yan has details.

Reporter:

The issue garnered widespread attention after a tourist named Chen Yan claimed he was charged over 10-thousand yuan for a feast at a restaurant featuring wild fish.

Chen posted the bill to his Sina Weibo account, showing the price of the Huso sturgeon he ordered was nearly 800 yuan per kilogram.

The restaurant claimed the fish had been caught in the wild but it was later proven to be a farmed fish.

Songbei District Deputy Director Ding Wei led the investigation.

"By checking their order list and supply channels for the fish, we discovered the restaurant purchased the fish at a price of 60 yuan per kilogram. We have verified that the fish are not wild but artificially raised. The order list was faked."

Investigators say the restaurant had also cheated on registrations and permits, and they have verified Chen's accusation that there was a physical altercation involving restaurant staff.

Local authorities describe the issue as a serious infringement on consumer rights. The license for the restaurant has been revoked and the owner has been fined 500,000 yuan.

These findings represent a complete reversal of a previous investigation of the issue.

In a report released two days after Chen's viral online post, The Harbin Market Supervisory Authority had said the fish had been sold at a reasonable price.

When talking about the contradiction in the results, Ding says staff members with some local authorities have been negligent in their work, as they took testimony from the restaurant's side only.

"After receiving the message on Weibo, we sent out investigators to check the issue immediately. We have tried to contact Chen Yan but failed. Under such circumstances we only listen to the testimony from the restaurant and drew the first report. We wanted to send an immediate response to the public and media. "

He says local authorities involved in the case will be subjected to executive accountability and will take responsibility for their actions.

Ding says the issue has harmed the image of the city and the local authority has been reflecting on the case.

"The issue has made us to reflect on our work. We will enhance the supervision of the Market and stress the rule of law to ensure food safety. The qualifications of the managerial staff needs to be improved. And we welcome public supervision."

According to the National Tourism Administration, tourism revenues during the Spring Festival holiday hit 13.8 billion yuan, up 14 percent from last year.

Yet many problems, including price fraud and selling under coercion, have been exposed in the booming sector.

To deal with these problems, China's State Council announced on Friday that it will expedite establishment of a tourism supervision body to address problems such as the infringement of tourists' rights.

Local governments have also been urged to do their part to ensure fairness in the sector and protect consumer rights, and publicize details of any wrongdoing.

For CRI, this is Guo Yan.

Beijing plans ventilation corridors to blow away smog

Beijing is planning to build ventilation corridors to facilitate air flow and blow away smog and pollutants from the capital.

Wang Fei, Deputy director of the Municipal Commission of Urban Planning, says the five corridors are designed to be more than 500 meters in width.

Some secondary corridors will be over 80 meters wide.

"Five first-level and a dozen second-level ventilation tunnels will be built. There might even be third-level ones in the future. Based on the different conditions of the tunnels, we will conduct further studies with meteorological departments and related experts. Each tunnel will have a model. The aim is to ease the urban heat island effect and decrease air pollution."

Authority says Beijing's average PM2.5 density in 2015 dropped by 9.9 percent from that of 2013.

The decrease comes after the city's two-year long effort to curb pollution.

The city's Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau says the average densities of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide in 2015 also decreased by 49 percent and 11 percent respectively from two years prior.

Yu Jianhua, chief engineer with the bureau, details Beijing's efforts.

"Four gas-fired heat and power centers have been put into use in the past two years and three of the four coal-fired power plants were shut down. Nearly no coal-fired boilers are used in the six urban districts. We should say that the city's total coal use in the past two years has been reduced by nearly half."

Beijing recorded 186 days of adequate air quality in 2015.

In total, that is 14 days more than the year previous.

Film industry eyes more success after record holiday box office

Anchor:

Box office records in China have fallen over the first week of the Year of the Monkey.

Analysts say the rise in revenue is thanks to the increase in the number of movie theaters across the country, making it more convenient than ever for Chinese film fans to catch a show.

CRI's Niu Honglin takes a look.

Reporter:

Chinese cinemas earned 3 billion yuan, more than 460 million U.S. dollars, during the first six days of the Lunar New Year holiday.

Revenue is up by 67 percent over the same period last year.

Yin Hong is the deputy director of the School of Journalism and Communication at Tsinghua University.

He says the rapid growth of the market is mostly because of the increasing number of cinemas, especially in some under-developed cities.

"In recent years, the box office during the Spring Festival period has seen a year-to-year increase. A major reason for that is because more and more cinemas have been built in the so-called third, fourth or even the fifth-tiered cities. So when people are back home for family reunions from big cities, they can go to cinemas with their families and friends, which has been attributed to the increased tickets sale."

Echoing this point, Liu Jun, a professor with Beijing Film Academy, says more people are choosing to go to the movies as traditional holiday activities, such as watching new year galas or sampling festival fairs, are losing their appeal.

All debuting on Feb. 8, the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, and made in China, the week's top three films, comedy "The Mermaid," action-comedy "From Vegas to Macau III," and fantasy film "The Monkey King 2" generated a collective 660 million yuan in ticket sales on that first day of release.

However not every one was satisfied with the quality of these films. Some of them were given low-ratings by film critics despite the record box office.

Yin Hong from Tsinghua University explains.

"Actually the Spring Festival holiday is quite a special period of time of year. Any films, given that they are suitable for family members watching together, with acceptable public review, could generate exploding tickets sales. Because during the Spring Festival, people are not actually focused on the films, they just take the chance to do something together with their families."

With China aiming to increase the value of its creative industry to 100 billion yuan by 2020, insiders agree it is only a matter of time before the country overtakes the United States to become the world's largest film market.

"The exploding box office numbers during Spring Festival can not represent the ticket sales of a whole year. However I believe that this year the film industry will see continuous growth for sure, but it still needs one or two years to catch up with the United States."

As well as growing the market at home, authorities are hoping Chinese films can win more commercial success abroad.

Chinese films currently seem to have little appeal abroad.

Overseas sales figures were up 48 percent in 2015, but the films' takings of 2.8 billion yuan equals just one tenth of the box office sales in China.

Things may start to look up, especially after Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group announced its acquisition of leading Hollywood film producer Legendary Entertainment for 3.5 billion U.S. dollars in January.

For CRI, this is Niu Honglin.

Consumer Zest Remains Strong Despite Rising Gold Price

Anchor:

Since the beginning of February, the price of gold has been rising rapidly.

The value of the commodity has gained nearly 20 percent compared to early January.

However, this has not dampened the enthusiasm for gold among Chinese consumers, especially those who are shopping for jewelry.

CRI reporter Chi Huiguang has details.

Reporter:

International gold price witnessed a marked weekly rise of more than 7 percent in the early February. This is the fastest weekly growth in 7 years. But, consumers throughout the country remained passionate for purchasing gold despite the sharp rise.

The Caibai Jewelry in the Chinese capital Beijing has reflected the bustling gold market in China somehow; many people are looking for gold products.

Li Yang is the gold stock analyst with the Beijing Caibai Jewelry.

"The lowest international gold price in the year hit 1,061 U.S. dollars [per ounce]. The international gold price picked up to reach 1,263 U.S. dollars [per ounce]."

In a gold jewelry shop in Shijiazhuang, capital city of Hebei Province, Ms. Li, a customer says:

"The rise in gold price has little impact on my desire to buy gold. I just want to buy some small items."

The manager of the gold shop explains:

"The rise in gold price has not dampened consumers' zest for gold jewelry. Most of them come here for the gold jewelry in the shape of monkey. The gold jewelry like bracelets, pendants and zodiac gold bars sell well. The sales volume is up 30 percent year-on-year."

A financial manager elaborates that the gold market is attracting more investers this year.

"The purchase volume, demand and zest for gold are all higher compared with last year. Many investors are paying attention to this market again."

Down south, in a shopping mall in Guangzhou, capital city of south China's Guangdong Province, a series of gold jewelry sales campaigns have attracted a large number of consumers.

Liang Jianfeng is a chartered gold investment analyst.

"As people feel pessimistic after the Federal Reserve raised interest rate and other investing channels, like the stock market, are sluggish around the world, I think consumers' passion for gold will remain for a while."

Market insiders said the demand for gold will keep increasing due to the global economic recession and turbulence in the stock market.

According to a report released by the World Gold Council, the demand for gold from the global market in 2015 was virtually unchanged compared with 2014.

Roland Wang is the Managing Director of World Gold Council in China.

"There was a relatively lower price point in the fourth quarter of 2015, thus the investors entered the market and increased purchases of gold for investments."

The World Gold Council said China and India were the mainstays of the global market, with their total demand accounting for nearly 45 percent of the global demand.

Back anchor:

That is our reporter Chi Guiguang reporting.

Shootings leave 6 dead in U.S. Michigan

Police in Michigan have arrested a suspected gunman involved in a deadly shooting spree.

Kalamazoo County Undersheriff Paul Matyas confirms that at least six people have been killed.

"We had several shootings here tonight in the county city of Kalamazoo. They all appear to be related, we have multiple people dead. In summary what it looks like is driving around and shooting them in their tracks."

Nine people across three locations have been shot.

The three survivors are said to have serious injuries.

The victims and shooting scenes appeared to have no link apart from the suspect, who witnesses described was a white man, aged about 50, driving an SUV.

No motive for the seemingly random shootings has been determined.

The victims' identities were not released, but local media say an eight-year-old boy is among the dead.

Severe tropical cyclone Winston kills at least 5 in Fiji

Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama confirmed on Sunday that five people have been killed by tropical cyclone Winston.

The cyclone has been listed as category five, the highest possible level.

It swept over the Pacific Island country with wind gust of more than 320 kilometers per hour.

Roofs were torn from buildings, trees were uprooted, and power & communications were cut.

The Fijian government has declared a 30-day state of natural disaster, including school closures for at least a week.

A nationwide curfew imposed by the Prime Minister on Saturday evening will remain in effect until 5:30 a.m. Monday.

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has offered support to Fiji.

"I have been in touch with my counterpart, Foreign Minister Inoke Kubuabola, and I have offered Australia's support and we have in place pre-positioned supplies in Suva that are available. Our experience in previous natural disasters in the Pacific is that communications can be difficult in the outer lying islands and there needs to be an immediate needs assessment and we've offered to send a P-3 Orion should the Fijian government require it."

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced on Sunday that it is working on a plan to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to Fiji.

According to an official of the Chinese embassy in Fiji, no reports of casualties or injury of any Chinese nationals have been received.

Top DPRK leader guides military drills

State media in North Korea says top leader Kim Jong Un recently guided war maneuvers involving the army's combined units, and watched a fight drill.

The exercises are said to have involved the metropolitan defense corp, a tank division, and two motorized infantry division.

A statement released in the media says the maneuvers aimed to "further round-off operational preparedness for reliably defending Pyongyang from an enemy attack."

The fight drill involved fighter pilots and the top leader is said to have expressed his satisfaction with what he saw.

Britain to Make Historic Decision on EU Membership

Anchor:

Following Britain's reform deal with the EU regarding the country's membership in the bloc, politicians and voters alike in the UK have expressed their opinions about Britain's future within the EU.

CRI's Victor Ning has more.

Reporter:

British Prime Minister David Cameron announced on Saturday that Britain would hold a referendum on its EU membership on June 23rd.

Calling the EU a "strong economic unit', Britain's opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has confirmed he will campaign for the country to remain in the EU.

"Our recommendation as a party, most of the trade unions affiliated with the Labour party are of a similar point of view, that the best interests of ordinary people and workers in Britain is to remain part of the European Union in order to protect those jobs and ensure investment for the future. If we leave, it's very difficult to see what the trade patterns of the future will be."

On Saturday, Cameron called a cabinet meeting over the issue. It was Britain's first cabinet meeting on a Saturday since 1982 during the Falklands War. Cameron says he has won the cabinet's support in staying in the EU.

"This morning, I have just chaired a meeting of the cabinet in which I updated them on the special status we have secured for Britain and the cabinet agreed that the government's position would be to recommend that Britain remains in a reformed European Union."

Cameron then went on to persuade the British people over his stance, mainly citing economic and security reasons.

Despite the government support, some senior British politicians have said they would back Britain's exit from the EU, including Justice Minister Michael Gove. London mayor Boris Johnson is also expected to join the exit campaign.

What UK Thinks is an independent research institute. Its average of the six most recent polls of voting intentions show the British voters are almost equally divided over the matter. 51% of voters have said they want to stay in the EU, while the other 49% said they would choose to exit.

"What don't I like? I don't like the fact that our decisions on our own country are taken out of our hands. I feel that we have lost all our border controls. I don't mind having eastern Europeans here providing they live their lives according to our rules."

"I think we should be part of Europe. Without Europe I don't think the UK will survive as a country and a lot of companies, particularly financial centres, will lose out to Europe and it's a big part of our economy."

Under the reform deal that Cameron secured with other EU leaders, Britain will not be forced to adopt the euro currency or give up certain government powers. It can also restrict on some welfare payments to the citizens of other EU countries who work in Britain.

For CRI, this is Victor Ning.

Primary Election Results update

Real-estate mogul Donald Trump has won the South Carolina Republican primary.

The victory gives Trump an injection of momentum heading into Nevada's Republican caucuses this Tuesday, and the 13 states voting on March 1st.

The win is also seen as significant since no Republican has ever won both New Hampshire and South Carolina but gone on to lose the party's nomination.

On the Democratic side, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has defeated Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in the Nevada Democratic caucuses by nearly 5 percentage points.

Colombia sees Zika case rises 17 percent in a week

Colombia's health authority says the country's confirmed Zika cases have risen over 17 percent in the past week.

Health Minister Aleandro Gaviria says there's an increase of 26 percent in the number infections involving pregnant women.

"We now have the new report. There are 37,000 confirmed cases of Zika in the country. The region with the most cases remains Norte de Santander followed by what we can call Alto Magdalena, Tolima and Cundinamarca. It also remains significant in Atlantico, Cordoba and Magdalena. Of pregnant women with Zika, the latest figure from the report is 6,301."

Colombia has the second highest number of cases of Zika in the Americas, behind only Brazil.

Zika is transmitted to people through the bite of infected mosquitoes, the same type that spreads dengue and yellow fevers.

Several cities in Brazil are now using airborne drones to detect and destroy mosquito breeding grounds, as efforts to stop the spread of the virus continue.

PKK kidnaps 3 Turkish journalists in southeastern Turkey

Rebels of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party kidnapped three journalists from the Anatolia News Agency in southeastern Turkey.

The three reporters were taken in a town bordering Syria.

Turkey's southeast has seen the worst violence in two decades since a 2013 cease-fire between the government and the PKK collapsed last July.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

Weather

Beijing will be cloudy tonight with a low of -4; sunny tomorrow and a high of 8.

Shanghai, slight rain tonight with a low of 5; moderate rain tomorrow with a high of 6.

Chongqing will have slight rain with a low of 7; overcast tomorrow, highs of 11.

Lhasa, cloudy tonight with a low of 3; overcast tomorrow with a high of 17.

Elsewhere in Asia,

Islamabad, sunny tomorrow with a high of 23.

Kabul, cloudy, 6.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney will be overcast, highs of 26.

Brisbane, cloudy, 27.

Perth, slight rain, 25.

And finally Auckland will have some rain with a high of 26 degrees Celsius.

Headline News

Madrid court orders arrested ICBC employs to be kept in police custody

A court in Madrid has ruled that the six employees from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China will be held in police custody, as an investigation into alleged money laundering continues.

The six from the lender's Madrid branch were arrested after Spanish police raided the bank earlier this week.

ICBC said on Saturday that it has been complying with local laws and will fully cooperate with the probe.

The bank says it will also take measures to protect its legitimate rights.

Lock-up shares worth 42.3 bln yuan to become tradable

Lock-up shares of more than 40 billion yuan will become eligible for trade on China's stock markets in the coming week.

The largest portion is from SDIC Essence, a Shanghai-listed manufacturing company, which will see shares worth 21 billion yuan enter the market on Monday.

Under China's market rules, major shareholders of non-tradable stocks are subject to a one or two year lock-up period before they are permitted to trade.

10 killed, 150 injured in riots in N. Indian state so far: police

At least 10 people have been killed and 150 injured during protests by the Jat community in Haryana, a state in northern India.

The protests over social status have lasted for over a week.

Trains and buses to and from the capital and other places have been cancelled due to the violence.

All major highways passing through Haryana have been blocked by protesters.

The government says it will negotiate with Jat community leaders.

Twin bombings kill 46 in Syria's Homs

At least 46 people were killed and dozens of others wounded on Sunday in twin bombings in Syria's central city of Homs.

The bombings rocked a pro-government district.

The neighborhood, along with other districts in the city loyal to the government, has suffered from repeated suicide bombings, as well as rocket and mortar fire from rebels entrenched in the countryside.

Over 30 people were killed last month in similar bombings in the same district.

5.9-magnitude earthquake hits NW Pakistan

An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 was felt in Pakistan on Sunday afternoon.

The Pakistani meteorological department says the quake's epicenter was in Afghanistan's Hindu Kush Mountain range, at a depth of 157 km.

The tremors were felt in Pakistan's northwest region, including the provincial capital, Peshawar.

The temblor created panic among the people, but no loss of life or property has been reported so far.

Sci&Tech (Sunday)

Anchor:

Time for our weekly Science and Technology report.

In this edition, we will tell you about Chinese scientists unveiling a new plan to detect gravitational waves.

And developers in Jerusalem claim they have invented the world's first touch-free smartphone.

Let's catch up on all the latest with CRI's Wen Jie.

Reporter:

Chinese scientists have announced a gravitational wave research plan they're dubbing "Taiji."

The Chinese Academy of Sciences says a research plan will be finalized later this year.

Academy member Wu Yueliang says the research will focus on low and medium-frequency gravitational waves, which are different from those found by US researchers last week.

"Gravitational waves can be categorized into three types according to their frequency bands. Low-frequency gravitational waves come from a larger variety of sources than the other two types, like the merger of binary galaxies or supermassive binary black holes and celestial body explosions. But these sources are yet to be found and this is what we are striving for."

The new "Taiji" project will be similar to the "Tianqin" plan being launched by Sun Yat-sen University.

"Tianqin" is due to be carried out in four stages over the next 15 to 20 years, ultimately launching three high-orbit satellites to detect gravitational waves.

However, Wu says Taiji and Tianqin have different objectives.

"Tianqin project is aimed at something different from ours. The two projects target gravitational waves of different frequencies. The satellites for Tianqin project will orbit the earth and try to observe the waves, while ours fly around sun and help with study the theories behind the waves as well as the evolution of the universe."

US researchers confirmed last week that they detected gravitational waves for the first time, coming from the collision of two black holes 1.3-billion years ago.

The waves from that collision were first detected back in September after making their long journey through the cosmos.

This discovery is expected to give scientists and entirely new way to study the universe. It's been compared to "hearing" the universe for the first time.

The annual Mobile World Congress is set to take the stage in Barcelona, Spain, on Monday.

This year's event will see some Chinese tech giants expanding into the European market, such as Xiaomi, Huawei, and Lenovo.

Xiaomi is to hold an event on Wednesday that will be seen simultaneously in Beijing and Barcelona.

Meantime, Huawei, the world's third biggest exporter of smartphones, is pushing harder in Europe and North America.

MWC veteran Sascha Pallenberg says it is easy to see why Chinese vendors are doing so well.

"Because right now, you can buy a Chinese phone at the price point of 200 dollars that delivers flagship device specs of devices that costs like seven, eight hundred dollars about two years ago. So, this is where the real disruption, where the real competition is happening."

As for Samsung and LG, they will try to counter the threat from the cheap Chinese smartphones by adding new features, faster processors, better cameras and an overall better Android experience.

During the event, Samsung is expected to debut its next generation flagship Galaxy S7, while LG will unveil the G5.

The Mobile World Congress runs from February 22nd to 25th.

A nucleic acid detection reagent developed in China is being used to detect the Zika virus at the country's borders, after China reported three imported Zika cases earlier this month.

The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention says the tests take three hours to determine whether a patient is infected with the virus.

Li Dexin, the director of National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention under the CDC, explains how the method works.

"After collecting samples, we'll use the specific reagent to extract virus nucleic acids from these samples. After the extraction, we'll then use the real-time PCR, or called fluorescence quantitative PCR, to amplify nucleic acids to the certain amount. If the virus nuclei acid is presented in the sample, we can confirm the patient is infected with the Zika virus."

The nucleic acid detection reagents are currently available to the provincial centers for Disease Control and Prevention and inspection and quarantine departments of major ports.

Disease prevention experts said the symptoms of Zika virus, which spreads to people through mosquito bites, include fever, joint pain, a rash, conjunctivitis, headache and muscle pain.

George Washington University scientists are coming up with two potentially life-saving inventions: a medical 'tricorder' and flexible ring that can deliver rapid diagnostic testing.

The 'tricorder' uses advanced microfluidic technology to build complex liquid networks capable of testing blood, urine, and saliva samples.

The system is then connected to a smart phone application that can communicate diagnostic results within minutes.

While still under development, Dr. Li Zhenyu, the Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at George Washington University, says the goal is to eventually make it available at physicians' offices or even a patient's home.

"And the goal of this is to make point of care, medical diagnostic system, is to bring accessibility, so put this thing in potentially physicians' office or even in the patient's home. And then also the speed. You can get the results at least within hours if not minutes, and then you reduce the cost."

The second device under his development is a wearable wireless ECG sensor, which is embedded in a flexible finger ring and can perform electrocardiograms on demand.

The device could be a useful tool in diagnosing symptoms of cardiac arrhythmias and heart attacks, among other conditions.

The results are also delivered via a smart phone app or directly to a physician.

"In terms of wearables, I think a ring is really the only thing that people wear all the time and also it's relatively stable compared to other formats like wristbands or watch. So in order to provide this 24/7 and on-demand measurements we cannot think of another position that really allows you to do that."

However, he acknowledged that not everyone may be keen to adopt this kind of do-it-yourself healthcare.

Some developers in Jerusalem have invented what they claim is the world's first touch free smartphone.

The phone gives people with limited mobility greater access to smartphone technology through voice commands and head tracking.

A small device, called a Sesame Controller, needs to be within a few meters of the person using the smartphone.

It works with an application which can be downloaded to a smartphone using the Android-based operating system.

The application then detects the user's head movements.

Oded Ben Dov is a co-founder of the four year-old company Sesame Enable.

"Sesame is actually the world's first touch free smartphone. There has been solutions in assistive technology to enable use of computers, but those usually require you to put stickers on your head or your nose. They come with specialised hardware and Sesame is unique in that we chose smartphones."

Sesame Enable says as long as someone can move their head, they can learn how to use the device.

The company plans to distribute 5-thousand Sesame phones across Israel to people of all ages who suffer spinal cord injuries, ALS, sever Parkinson's disease and other conditions.

And that warps up this edition of our weekly science and technology report.

Thank you for listening. I'm Wenjie. See you next time.

Sports

Beijing to play Xinjiang in a deciding CBA semi-final match

In basketball,

Only four matches in the NBA this morning.

The Golden State Warriors beat the LA Clippers 115-112, the second game of a back-to-back match up.

The Clippers were playing without Blake Griffin, and Chris Paul's 24 points were not enough to secure a second straight victory over the League's best team.

Stephen Curry and Clay Thompson combined for 55 points for the Warriors and lead their team to its 49th victory of the season. The warriors have lost only five games.

Meanwhile, Hassan Whiteside scored 25 points and pulled down 23 rebounds as the Miami Heat beat the Washington Wizards by twenty points, 114-94.

The huge victory was achieved without injured star Dwyane Wade, who has a sore left knee. Star forward Chris Bosh is also out indefinitely because of a blood clot in his left leg.

In other action,

The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Atlanta Hawks 117-109.

The New York Nicks got past the Minnesota Timberwolves 103-95

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In China, defending CBA champions the Beijing Ducks are hosting the Xinjiang Flying Tigers at Wukesong Stadium in what could be the deciding game of a semi-final match up.

The game is just getting started.

Beijing is down two-games- to- one in the best-of-5 series against second placed Xinjiang.

Wang Fei officially announced to have left the national women's football team

China's national women's football team has announced in its official Weibo account that its goalkeeper Wang Fei has left the team for health reasons.

This means Wang will not be able to attend the Rio Olympic qualifiers to be held in Japan at the end of this month.

Hours before the announcement, Wang revealed in her personal weibo account that she has chosen to retire from football. She deleted the message soon afterwards.

It's been reported that this has a lot to do with her injury after she accidentally cut her finger while cooking two weeks ago.

As the chief goalkeeper of the team, Wang helped China earn a spot in the semi-final of the latest Women's World Cup in Canada with her excellent performance. She also serves teams in German and French leagues.

Wang's leave is believed to likely have a negative effects on China's prospects in this summer's Olympic Games.

Pablo Cuevas and Guido Pella will face off in the final of the Rio Open

In tennis,

Pablo Cuevas and Guido Pella will face off in the final of the Rio Open after beating highly favored opponents in the semifinals to get there.

Cuevas upset Rafael Nadal — who used to be unbeatable on clay — 6-7 (6), 7-6 (3), 6-4 on Saturday.

It was the Uruguayan's first victory over Nadal in three attempts, and he finished off the match with an ace.

Nadal, the 14-time Grand Slam winner, was also beaten in the semifinals in Buenos Aires a week ago, also on his favored clay surface.

Commenting on the losses, Nadal said that he's been trying to change his dynamics in these tournaments.

"I just… I lost an opportunity and that's it. I fought a lot until the end, you know? I am losing some (chuckles) of these matches at the last three tournaments, in Australia, last week in Buenos Aires and today here. So, just accept and keep working to try to change the dynamic to lose the matches with a lot of opportunities. And that's what happened today. Just keep going to work hard to change that."

Pella won over rising Austrian star Dominic Thiem 6-1, 6-4.

Pella and Thiem played in heavy wind during the first set. Then the match was delayed for an hour in the second set by a downpour. None of it fazed the Argentine.

This is the second time for Pella to beat top 20 players in a week as he had knocked out John Isner in the first round.

Manchester United gives Louis van Gaal ultimatum to win the next FA cup match

In football news,

It's been reported that Manchester United has given Louis van Gaal an ultimatum that he will be fired if the team loses its next FA cup match against Shrewsbury Town.

This comes after a string of losses by ManU, including a 2-1 defeat to a Danish team in the last UEFA Europa League match.

With the loss, hope is fading for Manchester United to earn a spot in the UEFA Champions League.

Manchester United is in fifth place in the Premier League with 41 points, six points back of Manchester City in 4th place.

Reports say Ryan Giggs will take over for the rest of the season if van Gaal gets sacked, and José Mourinho will take over as head coach next season.

Haru Nomura wins Women's Australian Open by three shots over Lydia Ko

In golf,

Haru Nomura has won the Women's Australian Open by three shots over world number one Lydia Ko.

Three players were tied for the lead as the final round of the Women's Australian Open teed off on Sunday.

Nomura finished the day with a 65 to win the 2016 Women's Australian Open by three shots at sixteen-under par.

The victory is the Hawaii-based Nomura's first career LPGA title in 72 starts and only her fourth top ten finish in a Tour event.

"Today I shot really good and putter, wow, unbelievable putter. I wanted to make clear, no bogey, but last hole make a bogey, but win."　

Defending champion Lydia Ko finished three back of the leader after firing a 67.

Karrie Webb shot 71 to finish third while Danielle Kane was tied for fourth after a 73, eight strokes back.

Wins for Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning in latest NHL actions

In NHL action,

Tampa Bay forward Steven Stamkos has become the third player in franchise history to reach 300 goals, and the Lightning beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 on Saturday in Pennsylvania.　

This was Tampa's first road win against the Penguins since November of 2010.

The Ottawa Senators beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in a shootout at Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata, Ontario.

With just under four minutes to play, Dion Phaneuf scored his first goal after being traded from Toronto to Ottawa, and his 4th of the season, to get the Senators level 2-2.

After a scoreless overtime, Kyle Turris scored for Ottawa in the shootout and Detroit forward Pavel Datsyuk failed to convert on his turn, sealing the win for the Sens.

Entertainment

"Fire at Sea" Wins Golden Bear in 66th Berlinale

Italian Documentary "Fire at Sea" has won the Golden Bear for best film at the Berlin International Film Festival, marking the end of the nine-day event.

The movie revolves around the Italian island of Lampedusa which is many migrants' first destination after a risky journey toward safety and a better life in Europe.

In the movie, director Gianfranco Rosi shows the sharp contrast between the native islanders' everyday life and that of the many men, women and children making the dangerous trip from Africa across the Mediterranean Sea.

"Fire at See" is the first documentary ever to win the top prize at this major European film festival, and Rosi says he didn't anticipate this happening.

"No, I didn't expect it at all. For me to be here in Berlin with this film and be in competition at such an important festival was already a huge achievement, and when they called us yesterday telling us that there was an award I didn't think about this award. Then, when I saw the jury count down slowly, slowly, slowly, and this was the only one left, I felt totally overwhelmed. I couldn't move. I don't even know what I said on stage. It was a complete blackout. I don't remember a single word that I used to thank."

As the only Chinese movie competing at the film festival, "Crosscurrent" brought back a Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to its photographer Li Pingbin.

Others winners at this year's Berlin International Film Festival include "Death in Sarajevo" winning the festival's grand jury prize, which comes with a Silver Bear statuette; and female French film director Mia Hansen-Love winning the Silver Bear for Best Director for her movie "Things to Come."

Ip Man 3 to Hit Chinese Theaters in 2 Weeks

Martial arts film "Ip Man 3" is scheduled for release in China on March 4th.

As the final episode to the "Ip Man" franchise, the movie focuses on the Kung Fu master's later life.

Set in the 1950's in Hong Kong, Master Ip is forced to take a stand and protect what he believes in after a band of brutal gangsters led by an evil property developer make a play to take over the city.

As in the previous installments, the iconic character Ip Man is played by action star Donnie Yen, who's probably the most popular martial arts actor in China. He is also the star of "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon 2," which opened two days ago.

The film also features Mike Tyson, Lynn Hung and Max Zhang.

JYP Entertainment Establishes Music Distribution Partnership With China Music Corporation

JYP Entertainment has signed a deal with one of China's top online music distribution companies, China Music Corporation.

The deal gives China Music Corporation exclusive rights to distribute JYP Entertainment's music over the next five years.

The new deal marks JYP Entertainment's continued push into the large Chinese music market.

Not only will the deal handle JYP Entertainment's music distribution in the country, the two companies will also set up a joint venture to foster musical growth in China.

JYP Entertainment has several international acts under its label, including idol groups GOT7 and Twice.

China Music Corporation manages music sites such as KUWO, KUGOU, and RAINBOW Century media, as well as digital copyright services. Through the online sites and platforms, the company has a share of more than 60 percent of the Chinese PC user market, and 40 percent of the mobile market.

'The Big Short,' 'Show Me a Hero' Win at USC Scripter Awards

The USC Scripter Awards, which honor the authors of printed works and the screenwriters who adapt their stories, took place on the USC campus in Los Angeles on Saturday night.

This year, Academy Award nominated picture "The Big Short" took home the prize for film.

Films "Brooklyn" "The End of the Tour" "The Martian" and "Room" were also nominated.

This year, for the first time, Scripter also gave out an award for a television adaptation, which went to the HBO miniseries "Show Me a Hero."

The other television nominees were all single episodes of series: "Game of Thrones," "The Leftovers," "The Man in the High Castle" and "Masters of Sex."

The finalist was selected from a field of 73 film and 18 television adaptations.

It was made by a committee made up of screenwriters, critics, authors, producers and academics.

Weather

Beijing will be cloudy tonight with a low of -4; sunny tomorrow and a high of 8.

Shanghai, slight rain tonight with a low of 5; moderate rain tomorrow with a high of 6.

Chongqing will have slight rain with a low of 7; overcast tomorrow, highs of 11.

Lhasa, cloudy tonight with a low of 3; overcast tomorrow with a high of 17.

Elsewhere in Asia,

Islamabad, sunny tomorrow with a high of 23.

Kabul, cloudy, 6.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney will be overcast, highs of 26.

Brisbane, cloudy, 27.

Perth, slight rain, 25.

And finally Auckland will have some rain with a high of 26 degrees Celsius.

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

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

Rallies have been held across the US in dozens of cities on behalf of a Chinese-American police officer convicted of manslaughter...

Six employees of one of China's biggest banks, arrested in Madrid, remain in custody as police investigate alleged money laundering...

On behalf of the Beijing Hour team, it’s Shane Bigham in Beijing. Tune into the next edition of the Beijing Hour. Let's open a window to the world together..