2020年CRI 欧盟与阿斯利康达成疫苗购买协议 美联储决定将利率维持在接近于零的水平（在线收听）

China has expressed opposition after the United States announced sanctions against 24 Chinese companies and several individuals involved in construction in the South China Sea.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian says construction in Chinese territory is entirely within the scope of the country's sovereignty and the works in question have nothing to do with militarization.

The spokesman also says China will take measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and individuals.

Sixteen temporary labs for coronavirus testing are now ready for operation in Hong Kong to support its plan to conduct wide-scale tests scheduled for next month.

The Chinese mainland has sent medical equipment to the facilities.

Some labs have a daily testing capacity of up to 500,000 samples.

The central government has also sent medical personnel to help carry out the testing.

The regional government says more than 100 sampling centers will be set up in the 18 districts of Hong Kong.

Health care workers will collect samples from residents who take the test voluntarily.

The European Union has signed a contract with British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to provide a possible COVID-19 vaccine to all EU member states.

European Commission Spokesperson Tim McPhie says the vaccine candidate is already in large-scale phase two- and-three clinical trials after promising results on safety.

The contract also allows vaccines to be donated to poorer countries or redirected to other European nations.

Four people in Louisiana have been killed by falling trees as Hurricane Laura swept through the U.S. state.

Also, Governor John Bel Edwards has asked residents in three southwestern communities to stay indoors as a toxic plume rises from a chemical fire in an area hit by the hurricane.

The company manufacturing chlorine-based products confirmed the fire at its Lake Charles facility.

The facility has been shut down and all employees evacuated.

The Federal Reserve is planning to keep rates near zero even after inflation has exceeded the Fed's 2 percent target level.

Chairman Jerome Powell made the remark at the Fed's annual gathering of global central bankers and top economists.

Powell says that the policy change reflects the reality that high inflation no longer appears to pose a serious danger, even when unemployment is low and the economy is growing strongly.

Donations continue to pour into Lebanon as the international community tries to support the country's recovery following the blast in Beirut earlier this month.

The Australian embassy offered masks for the fight against COVID-19 while the World Health Organization and Greece sent medical equipment to hospitals.

Two Lebanese expatriates delivered food to their home country from Canada.

Two explosions at Beirut port killed at least 183 people and wounded 6,000 others.

Chinese war epic "The Eight Hundred" will launch in limited theatrical release in North America today.

The war film will be released in over 90 selected theaters in Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, Denver and a few other cities across the U.S. and Canada.

Major markets including New York and California will be added in the coming weeks pending cinema reopenings in those states.

The film has grossed about 210 million U.S. dollars after seven days of release in China, despite local theater capacity limited to 50 percent due to COVID-19.

在美国宣布制裁参与南海建设的24家中国企业和数名个人，中国表示反对。

外交部发言人赵立坚表示，在中国领土上开展相关建设，完全是主权范围内的事，与军事化无关。

发言人还表示，中国将采取措施维护中国企业和个人的合法权益。

中国香港的16个冠状病毒检测临时实验室现已准备就绪，以支持下月进行大规模检测的计划。

中国大陆已将医疗设备送至这些设施。

一些实验室的日检测能力最高可达50万个样本。

中央政府也派出医务人员协助进行检测。

中国香港特区政府表示，将在18个区设立100多个采样中心。

医护人员将为自愿参与检测的市民采集样本。

欧盟已与英国阿斯利康制药公司签署一项合同，将向所有欧盟成员国提供潜在的新冠肺炎疫苗。

欧盟委员会发言人蒂姆·麦克菲表示，在安全性方面取得可喜的成果之后，这种候选疫苗已进入了大规模的第二阶段和第三三阶段临床试验。

这份合同还允许疫苗捐赠给较贫穷国家或转销给其他欧洲国家。

飓风“劳拉”横扫美国，致路易斯安那州4名居民被倒下的大树砸中身亡。

此外，该州州长约翰·贝尔·爱德华兹要求西南部三个社区的居民待在室内，因为飓风袭击某地引起的一场化学火灾产生了有毒气体。

这家生产氯基产品的公司证实，查尔斯湖工厂发生火灾。

该工厂已经关闭，所有员工已撤离。

美联储计划将利率维持在接近零的水平，即使通胀率已超过美联储设定的2%的目标水平。

美联储主席杰罗姆·鲍威尔在美联储年会上发表了上述决定，年会由全球央行官员和顶级经济学家参与。

鲍威尔表示，政策的调整反映了这样一个现实，即高通货膨胀似乎不再构成最严重的危险，即便失业率已经处于低位，经济依然可以实现强劲增长。

在贝鲁特港于本月早些时候发生爆炸后，国际社会努力支持黎巴嫩的重建，捐款源源不断地汇向黎巴嫩。

澳大利亚大使馆提供了防疫口罩，世界卫生组织和希腊向医院运送了医疗设备。

两名黎巴嫩侨民将食物从加拿大运送到祖国黎巴嫩。

贝鲁特港口发生两起爆炸，造成至少183人死亡，6000人受伤。

中国史诗级战争电影《八佰》将于今天在北美部分影院上映。

这部战争片将在波士顿、亚特兰大、芝加哥、丹佛以及美国和加拿大的其他几个城市的90多家指定影院上映。

包括纽约和加州在内的主要市场将在未来几周重新开放后增加电影场次。

尽管受疫情影响，中国影院的上座率限制在五成，但该片在中国上映七天后，总票房已达2.1亿美元。