20160909 BBC_North Korea conducts 'fifth and biggest nuclear test'

North Korea is believed to have carried out its fifth and largest ever test of a nuclear device, say South Korean military officials.

It comes after an "artificial" magnitude 5.3 earthquake was detected close to its nuclear test site on Friday morning,

Previous artificial earthquakes in the same area and of that magnitude have all been nuclear tests.

There has been no comment from the North as yet.

In a statement carried by the Yonhap news agency, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said: "We estimate the North has carried out the biggest-ever test."

It said the yield was estimated to have been 10 kilotonnes, almost twice the power of its last test in January. At that time the North said it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb, but many analysts cast doubt on that claim.

Japan's meteorological agency said seismic activity was "different than in a normal quake"

The US Geological Survey, which monitors global seismic activity, said the tremor had been detected in the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in the north-east and was caused by "an explosion".

It said it could "cannot determine what type of explosion it may be, whether nuclear or any other possible type".

Recent satellite imagery has shown increased activity at the site, indicating a fifth test could be imminent.

Friday is also North Korea's National Day, which celebrates the founding of the current regime. The North often uses such events as an opportunity for a show of military strength.

20160425 China Daily_Chengdu's Silicon Valley dream powers rise of startups

A woman looks at a 3D bioprinter, developed by Revotek, at the launch of the product last October.[Provided to China Daily]

Holed up in a shiny glass building in the Chinese city of Chengdu, Y. James Kang spends his days researching ways to repair damaged hearts, livers and brains－with the help of stem cells and 3D printers.

The Chinese-born and US-trained biologist set up his healthcare startup, Revotek, in this southwestern city in 2014. At the time, he was attracted by the region's rich local supply of monkeys that were ideal for testing human treatments. In Chengdu, the company has drawn 215 million yuan ($33 million) in funding from a local real estate company seeking to diversify.

A few miles from Kang's lab, AllTech Medical Systems has developed and is selling MRI systems intended to compete with multinational giants such as General Electric Co, Royal Philips NV and Siemens AG, which have dominated the market. Its MIT-trained founder, Zou Xueming, chose Chengdu to start his second company after selling his Cleveland-based startup to GE in 2002. AllTech hopes to submit an application to go public by the end of next year, with Zou planning to raise $50 million to $100 million.

They are among a string of local businesses that stand to benefit from a push by the Chinese city to attract researchers and venture capital investors. Known for its spicy cuisine and leisurely lifestyle, Chengdu has in recent years attracted the likes of Intel Corp and IBM, which have set up research and manufacturing bases there. More recently, the flurry of investment activity is in response to Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's call for innovation and entrepreneurship.

China's leaders are seeking new engines of growth as the country's economic expansion hits its slowest pace in 25 years. That's encouraged provinces across the country to create special zones where new ventures can tap funding opportunities and other incentives. While technology startups have been some of the biggest beneficiaries, medical research firms are also getting a boost－giving new life to a Chinese industry that lagged the West for years.

Since it was launched in 2014, China's campaign to encourage entrepreneurship has helped create tens of thousands of small companies. In Chengdu, the local government has set up seven start-up focused funds backed by private capital totaling 700 million yuan to promote industries like telecommunications, health and biotech.

The science and technology bureau has a dedicated team to help banks assess startups based on the value of their technology and patents. It also has incubators that provide office space and training to new businesses. "There are strong driving forces," in Chengdu, said AllTech founder Zou. "Policies to attract talent, land and tax policies are very favorable."

Like Kang's firm, most of Chengdu's startups are many years away from making big profits from their businesses. That means Chengdu's government also has a long wait before it sees major benefits to the local economy.

Dozens of Chinese cities are launching similar programs, and these new ventures also offer a window into the rising ambitions of Chinese researchers, many of whom have trained overseas. Kang was among the first batch of Chinese to go back to college in 1977 after the Cultural Revolution, eventually earning his PhD at Iowa State University. His primary research focus now is 3D bioprinting, a new frontier of medicine aimed at creating replicas of human organs.

His team has been developing techniques to repair damaged skin, hearts, livers and brains in animals including pigs and monkeys through regeneration－a process that involves creating 3D printed structures that can replicate, for example, a layer of skin or a blood vessel. For organs like a damaged heart, a specialized catheter is used to deliver "bio-ink" or stem cells mixed with nutrients and other growth factors.

20160425 Standard_(Ecuador quake) Time runs out for survivors; deaths rise to 587

 
• Email
 
• Print
 
• Font
 
• Font

The death count from Ecuador's worst earthquake in a decade increased to at least 587 on Thursday even as the country faced another grim toll: a long and costly reconstruction effort likely to cost billions of dollars.
On Thursday evening, the government raised the death toll to 587. 
Officials listed 155 people as missing and the number of those made homeless climbed to over 23,500. The final death toll could surpass casualties from earthquakes in Chile and Peru in the past decade.
President Rafael Correa announced Wednesday night that he would raise sales taxes and put a one-time levy on millionaires to help pay for reconstruction.
The damage from the 7.8-magnitude quake adds to already heavy economic hardships being felt in this OPEC nation because of the collapse in world oil prices. Even before the quake, Ecuador was bracing for a bout of austerity, with the International Monetary Fund forecasting the economy would shrink 4.5 percent this year.
In a televised address Wednesday night, Correa warned the nation of a long and costly post-quake recovery and said the economic pain shouldn't fall only on hard-hit communities along the coast.
“I know we're at the most-difficult stage right now but it's just the beginning,'' he said.
Rescuers continued to comb through the rubble in coastal towns hit hardest by the quake, but the clock was running down for finding survivors. Rescue workers have said a person without serious injuries can survive up to a week buried in debris in the Ecuadorian heat.
On Thursday, Jorge Zambrano, mayor of the community of Manta, announced that three people had been pulled from beneath a collapsed building the night before and vowed to continue searching.
“I still have hope we can find more people who are still alive beneath the rubble,'' he said. “If we have even a hope of life, we must work with extreme care.''
Rescuers also found a more unusual survivor: a flapping white-and-brown duck was pulled from under a pile of rubble, becoming a social media celebrity in a country eager for good news.
Using authority granted by the state of emergency he declared after Saturday night's quake, Correa said sales taxes would increase from 12 percent to 14 percent for the coming year.
People with more than US$1 million in assets will be charged a one-time tax of 0.9 percent on their wealth, while workers earning over US$1,000 a month will be forced to contribute a day's wages and those earning US$5,000 a month the equivalent of five days' pay.
Taxes on companies will also go up, and Correa said he will look to sell certain state assets that he didn't specify. He is also drawing on US$600 million in emergency credits from the World Bank and other multilateral lenders.
The tax increases come as the scale of devastation continues to sink in. A helicopter flyover of the damage zone Wednesday showed entire city blocks in ruins as if they had been bombed.—AP

20160425 Standard_171 countries sign landmark climate pact

The UN says a record 171 countries are expected to sign the landmark climate change agreement.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon said at the start of a high-level UN ceremony that “history is in the making.''
He told global leaders and ministers the world is in “a race against time,'' citing record global temperatures, record ice loss and record carbon levels in the atmosphere.
“The era of consumption without consequences is over,'' Ban said. “We must intensify efforts to decarbonize our economies.''
Ban, who recalled that climate change has been his top priority since he became secretary-general over nine years ago, urged all countries to ratify the agreement so it can come into force as early as possible.
The agreement will enter into force once 55 countries representing at least 55 percent of global emissions have formally joined it. 
US Secretary of State John Kerry is joining dozens of world leaders at the ceremony.
States that don't sign today have a year to do so.
Many expect the climate agreement to enter into force long before the original deadline of 2020. Some say it could happen this year.
After signing, countries must formally approve the agreement through their domestic procedures. The United Nations says at least 13 countries could take that step today by depositing their instruments of ratification.—AP

20160418 BBC_Japan earthquake: 'Nearly 250,000 told to leave amid fear of tremors'

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36069405

Saturday's magnitude-7.3 quake struck at 01:25 (15:25 GMT on Friday) close to the city of Kumamoto, which had been hit by a magnitude-6.4 quake on Thursday night.

Both quakes were shallow, causing huge damage to roads, bridges and tunnels. Big landslides cut off remote mountain villages.

The US military said it was preparing to provide aerial support for Japan's relief efforts. America has several military bases and about 50,000 troops in the country.

The earthquakes are the biggest to have hit Japan since 2011 when a 9.0 magnitude quake caused a huge tsunami, leaving more then 19,000 dead and missing.

Japan is regularly hit by earthquakes but strict building codes mean they usually cause minimal damage.

20160418 BBC_Ecuador earthquake: Death toll 'likely to rise'

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-36070407

A state of emergency has been declared and some 10,000 troops and 3,500 police have been deployed in the affected areas, with an emphasis on finding survivors.

"I fear that figure will go up because we keep on removing rubble," a shaken Mr Correa said in a televised address.

"There are signs of life in the rubble, and that is being prioritised."

The magnitude-7.8 quake struck on Saturday evening. Coastal areas in the north-west were closest to the epicentre.

The quake is Ecuador's largest since 1979. More than 130 aftershocks have followed.

The US Geological Survey said the earthquake struck at a fairly shallow depth of 19.2km (11.9 miles), about 27km from Muisne in a sparsely populated area.

The quake was also felt in neighbouring Colombia.

20151223 BBC_What is El Nino and how is the strongest El Nino since 1950 on the way affecting countries around the world?

How is El Nino affecting countries around the world?

Powerful hurricanes in Mexico, drought in Ethiopia, flash-floods and mudslides in southern California - all have been attributed to the El Nino weather phenomenon.

Occurring every few years, the current El Nino is one of the strongest recorded and could contribute to making 2015 the hottest year on record.

But what is El Nino?

What is El Nino?

An El Nino climate event is under way that could potentially become one of the strongest events since 1950.

That's according to a new Met Office report which says that 2015 has already seen the warmest start to any year on record.

It also outlines that El Nino is one of three key climate patterns that could lead to changes in our global temperature.

The event occurs when the waters of the Pacific become exceptionally warm and distort weather patterns around the world.

20160412 China Daily_Tree-planting project cleans Yangtze's branches

Tree-planting at Chongqing to alleviate the alteration of drainage basin due to the construction of Sanxia Dam Project
https://goo.gl/maps/nsYviaAuZFv

20151209 BBC_First person: Family evacuated from Beijing as threat looms

At the age of 4, my daughter has become an environmental refugee.

To escape the heavy smog that started to blanket the capital city late Monday, my mother-in-law, 63, and my little girl, accompanied by my husband, boarded the train early Tuesday morning for my hometown of Nanjing, an eastern city about 1,000 kilometers away.

Unlike traditional tragic refugee trips, the journey was a happy one. Having no idea of all the possible hazards that smog could cause to her, my daughter appeared very chirpy at the railway station for being able to skip kindergarten for a few days, and in Nanjing, she could see her beloved grandmother.

"It's like a holiday. I like it!" she said.

"Do you know why Mom is sending you away?" I asked.

"It's so dirty here. The sky doesn't wash its face these days."

I'm now the only person in my family staying in Beijing. As expected, I will endure the smog for another two days, and possibly some more days when a new round of smog hits the city starting this weekend.

Sending my family away was a rush decision. After the red alert came on Monday evening, it took us five minutes to make the decision, another five minutes to book the train tickets by mobile phone, and 30 minutes to pack. At 6 am on Tuesday, while the sky was still dark, they departed.

"We cannot make any change (to the air quality), but we can escape," my husband said.

And I'm not alone. A friend of mine took her 2-year-old son to Shanghai on Tuesday, and another friend flew with her 10-year-old daughter to the southern city of Guangzhou, where a lovely safari park is located.

Travel agencies said there's an uptick in demand. Ctrip.com, an online travel service, said its sales of "Skip the Smog" packages have seen a 20 percent rise among Beijing residents. The trips range from nearby cities to as far away as Southeast Asian countries.

As the capital of China and an ancient city world famous for its Forbidden City and Great Wall, Beijing is now losing some appeal due to the lingering air pollution problem. Some of my friends, who were scared by the previous round of smog that pushed the city's PM2.5 reading above 1,000 micrograms per cubic meter last week, are seriously considering moving abroad.

"I know the government is making great efforts to improve the air quality and it is taking effect, but the progress will be slow and the harm is unalterable," said a college classmate of mine, who now runs a small private equity fund in Beijing and is considering going to the United States for investment immigration.

"I don't want any of my family members to end up with lung cancer."

I'm also starting to ponder whether settling in this city 15 years ago, amid the admiration and envy of my friends back in Nanjing, was a good choice.

At that time, I came to Beijing for the abundant chances brought by the country's rapid development, and now I'm sending my child away due to the consequences of this growth.

20151208 BBC_China smog red alert

http://www.bbc.com/weather/features/35031258

Beijing on red alert as smog levels soar but Delhi branded the most polluted city as particulates build up over the city.

The Indian government has announced it will restrict the number of cars it will allow in the capitals streets to try to reduce the chocking smog.

20151208 China Daily_Beijing issues first red alert for heavy air pollution

The CCTV headquarters is shrouded in heavy smog in the central business district in Beijing, China Dec 7, 2015.[Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING -- Beijing has upgraded its alert for air pollution from orange to red, the most serious level, on Monday afternoon.

This is the first time the capital has issued the red alert, which will last from 7:00 a.m. Tuesday to 12:00 pm Thursday.

Beijing's Education Commission has decided to suspend classes in all elementary and middle schools, kindergartens and extracurricular training schools during the alert. Teachers are encouraged to give learning advices to students via Internet and other communication tools.

Car use will be limited as cars are allowed on the roads on alternating days depending on the odd or even numbers of their license plates. In addition, 30 percent of government cars will be banned from streets on an odd/even basis.

According to the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center, heavy air pollution will linger until Thursday. It is expected to disperse Thursday afternoon as a cold front arrives.

This is the first time Beijing has issued a red alert for smog since 2013 when Beijing adopted an emergency response program for air pollution.

Four-tier alerts--blue, yellow, orange and red--will be issued on "heavy pollution" days. Red alert, the highest, will be issued for heavy pollution that is expected to last more than three days.

According to the city's emergency management headquarters, during a red alert, kindergartens, primary and high schools are advised to suspend classes, and outdoor operations of construction sites are banned and some industrial plants are required to limit or stop production.

Chinese Environment Minister Chen Jining has vowed to strictly punish agencies or personnel who fail to initiate emergency response plan in a timely manner.

Local environment protection agencies, especially those in Beijing, Tianjing, Hebei, Shandong, Henan and Shanxi which are constantly haunted by air pollution, should examine their emergency response measures and reflect upon deficiencies, said Chen on Sunday at an emergency meeting to cope with the upcoming smoggy days.

Strict standards and practical work styles should be adopted to deal with the upcoming days, he ordered.

The minister asked local governments to initiate appropriate emergency responses according to the highest level of forecasted pollution.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection has dispatched inspection teams to regions with heavy pollution to ensure emergency plans are being launched in time, monitor and control pollution sources such as coal burning, and enhance management on vehicles that cannot meet national emission standards.

A woman walks by a river near the Imperial Palace on a smoggy day in Beijing. [Photo by Zou Hong/Asianewsphoto] Buildings are pictured amid heavy smog in Beijing, China, Dec 7, 2015.[Photo/Xinhua]

20151204 China Daily_Two more spells of smog predicted to sweep North China

Cities in North China are forecast to experience another two spells of smog in the coming weeks due to windless weather, but not as severe as the one that enveloped Beijing since Nov 27, the national weather authority said on Thursday.

The first spell is expected to arrive on Tuesday and last for three days before a new cold front arrives, said Liu Hongli, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences.

He added after the wind, a second spell of smog may come between Dec 14 and 16, covering the vast region of northern China including Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province.

Xue Jianjun, senior engineer of the National Meteorological Center agreed, adding that the two spells of smog would occur between the intervals in wind, and southern cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region may have severe air pollution during them.

On average, the trilateral region will not have smog as severe as that which covered the region late last month until the wind dispersed pollutants on Wednesday, Xue said.

The capital has seen the concentration of PM2.5 – particulate matter with a diameter of less than 2.5 microns – off the charts, exceeding 945 micrograms per cubic meter on Sunday.

The national safety level for the PM2.5 concentration is 75 micrograms per cubic meter.

20151204_China Daily_Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei govts to cooperate on emissions control

Environmental officials ensure production is suspended at a concrete mixing plant in Tongzhou district in Beijing on Monday as the city suffered from severe pollution. LIU CHANG/CHINA DAILY

The heavily polluted cluster of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province signed a cooperation framework on Thursday to control air, water and soil pollution, marking a breakthrough in regional integration, according to a statement released by the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau.

The move set up a new joint coordination system to curb serious smog, and included a plan to create the first unified regulation on the control and prevention of environmental pollution in the region as a whole－including plans for the management of industries likely to affect air, water, soil and solid waste, said Li Lixin, head of the bureau's regional cooperation department.

In addition, the trilateral region will develop standards for emissions. Beijing currently has stricter standards than Hebei and Tianjin for emissions in major polluting industries and for vehicle exhaust.

The three will also conduct joint monitoring and inspections and share information on an environmental monitoring network, Li said.

Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province have faced severe air pollution since 2013. The recent spell of smog that settled in to the region last week underlined the governments' need to take action quickly.

Half of the air pollutants in Beijing come from neighboring cities, Liu Hongli, associate researcher at the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, said on Thursday. Without effective regional control, it's hard to control the smog, he said.

In recent days, the capital saw the concentration of PM2.5 go off the air index charts, exceeding 945 micrograms per cubic meter on Sunday. The national safety level for PM2.5－particulate matter with a diameter less than 2.5 microns that poses health hazards to humans－is 75 micrograms per cubic meter.

In December, the trilateral region is forecast to have another two spells of heavy haze because of windless weather, but not as hazardous as the recent one that lingered until Wednesday, the national weather authority said.

The first spell is expected on Tuesday and will likely last for three days before a new cold front will again bring wind to North China, Liu said.

He added that a second spell of smog might come between Dec 14 and 16, covering a vast region of northern China.

Xue Jianjun, senior engineer at the National Meteorological Center, said the two spells of smog will occur between intervals of wind, and the southern cities in the region may experience severe smog.

Polluters to pay for damage

China will start a compensation system for ecological damage in some pilot provinces by the end of this year, with a view toward expanding it to the whole country in 2018 if successful.

The State Council published the pilot plan, the first national regulation of its kind, on Thursday, saying the system will be tried and improved as needed.

Provincial governments can ask for compensation when natural resources within their jurisdictions have been damaged. Companies, organizations or individuals responsible for the pollution will bear the burden of compensation.

Pollution caused by the mistakes of decision-makers in governments will be excluded.

Under the plan, compensation would cover the costs of environmental remediation and any economic losses arising from the cleanup process itself or any permanent losses.

Financial institutions such as banks will also be the targets of compensation if they give polluters loans knowing the risks of ecological damage.

The pilot plan also out-lines a process for governments to file lawsuits, make assessment reports and create rules to strengthen management after receiving compensation.

20151204_China Daily_China to become global nuclear energy player with 110 reactors

Nuclear reactors under construction in Sanmen, Zhejiang province.[Photo/Xinhua]

Exports of indigenous technologies to be key thrust in new five-year plan, saysPowerChina

China will have 110 operational nuclear reactors by 2030, making it one of the largest nuclearenergy users in the world by then, a leading power plant builder said on Thursday.

Power Construction Corp of China Ltd, also known as PowerChina, said that the total scale ofnuclear power generation from reactors both under construction and in operation in thecountry will reach 88 gigawatts by the end of 2020, according to estimates in the draft 13thFive-Year Plan (2016-20) for the power industry.

According to the draft plan, China will set aside 500 billion yuan ($78 billion) for setting upnuclear power plants using its homegrown nuclear technologies and add six to eight nuclearreactors every year from 2016 for the next five years.

Though it is only a draft proposal, it will "set the tone during the annual legislative and politicaladvisory sessions in 2016", the State-owned firm said.

During the first nine months of this year, the listed firm saw its revenue rise 24.7 percent to145 billion yuan from the same period a year earlier, according to a regulatory filing.

The Beijing-based company, founded in 2011, provides services including planning,investigation, design and construction to a wide range of sectors of the industry likehydropower, thermal power and nuclear.

It claims to have built about one-third of the nuclear reactors that are currently operating inChina.

The company's claims come at a time when China is embarking on a clean energy drive toreduce emissions, with nuclear being one of the major beneficiaries.

At the same time, China is also looking to popularize its homegrown pressurized-waternuclear technology known as Hualong One both at home and abroad.

In May, work on a pilot project involving Hualong One started in Fuqing, Fujian province,indicating that China is ready to export its nuclear technologies, experts said.

Sun Qin, chairman of China National Nuclear Corp, said the third-generation nucleartechnology meets the highest requirements for global safety standards and has a competitiveedge over others in terms of economic performance and reliability.

Chinese nuclear companies are already making huge inroads in global nuclear markets suchas the United Kingdom, Argentina and Kenya.

CNNC has clinched deals with Argentina to build two nuclear reactors－one using heavy-water technology developed by Canada's Candu Inc with an estimated cost of about $6 billionand the other possibly using the Hualong One technology.

There are 22 nuclear reactors in operation and 26 under construction in China, according tothe National Energy Administration.

20151109 Standard_Choreographed historic meeting between Xi and Ma seen as symbolic message

Choreographed historic meeting between Xi and Ma seen as symbolic message
(11-06 19:51)

The maiden meeting between the presidents of China and Taiwan presents a formidable challenge: how can they ensure the event's place in history when nothing of substance should happen?
No agreements or joint statements are to be issued and only a vague agenda has been sketched out, a reflection of the extreme sensitivity surrounding the event, especially on the part of Taiwanese wary of Beijing's unification agenda.
Yet the event's symbolism as a moment of coming together is undeniable, putting a strong emphasis on presentation, atmosphere and optics.
The get-together is fundamentally “about recognition, not about results,'' said University of Virginia China expert Brantly Womack. “The meeting is the message.''
China's Xi Jinping and Taiwan's Ma Ying-jeou are the first leaders from the two sides to meet since their territories split during the Chinese civil war in 1949. Ma is the successor to Chiang Kai-shek, whose Nationalists retreated to the island, while Xi now leads Mao Zedong's victorious Communists, who set up government in Beijing.
Already, arranging the meeting has required extraordinary flexibility and patience.
According to Taiwan, planning for Saturday's meetings began two years ago, complicated by the need to meet conditions consistent with China's refusal to recognize Taiwan's government and insistence on the “one-China principle,'' stating that Taiwan and China are part of the same nation.
Ma's government, meanwhile, needed to be highly mindful of public sentiment in Taiwan, where the Nationalists took a drubbing in local elections last year, due in large part to their pro-China policies. They're now struggling ahead of presidential and legislative polls in January and a negative response to Saturday's meeting could deal them a knockout blow.
Ma had already committed to not traveling to China, while Beijing had ruled out meeting at multilateral forums such as the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation economic leaders' meeting. In the end, they settled on the neutral ground of mainly ethnically Chinese Singapore, whose government is close to both Taipei and Beijing.
The two will meet in the afternoon at Shangri-la Hotel and attend an evening banquet. It's not clear what contact they'll have with the horde of Chinese, Taiwanese and international media descending on the Southeast Asian city-state for the event.
Mutual non-recognition requires a particular set of protocols and government agencies. Because they don't recognize each other's titles, Xi and Ma will refer to each other as “Mr.’’, rather than “President.''
Unheard-of for a meeting of heads of state, no flags will be in view, at least where cameras are present. Although Taiwan is more relaxed about the matter, even low-level Chinese delegations to Taiwan threaten to cancel events unless the island's flag is removed from meeting venues.
Confirmation of the visit on the Chinese side came not from Xi's office or the Foreign Ministry, but the Cabinet-level Taiwan Affairs Office, in keeping with Beijing's insistence that issues involving the island are an internal affair, not foreign relations. Sticking to those ideological guns, China's Foreign Ministry this week referred all questions about the event to the Taiwan Affairs Office, even though the country's president is holding a high-profile meeting on foreign soil.
When China's state broadcaster CCTV showed a portion of a news conference Ma held Thursday in Taipei to discuss the meeting, it blurred out his Taiwan flag lapel pin.
With neither leader serving as host, and given the sensitivity over any sign of attempted dominance, the photo opportunities and other events will have to be handled like musical theater: carefully choreographed, with the proper sets, and, most importantly, careful execution of the script.
And as always, there's the question of the handshake.
In 2005, at the first meeting between Taiwan Nationalist and mainland Communist leaders in 60 years, Beijing arranged for the two men to walk ceremoniously across a vast hall before meeting in the middle for their historic grip. The Nationalists did not hold the presidency at the time, but the act of reconciliation set in motion the move toward closer ties under Ma.
Given the historic weight of Saturday's meeting, the sides will no doubt be looking for a scene no less epic.—AP

20151109 Standard_Start of Winter(立冬)Heat is on as winter arrives

Monday, November 09, 2015

It was the first day of winter or Lidong yesterday, according to the Chinese calendar. But Hong Kong scorched at 28.7 degrees Celsius at noon, making it the fifth hottest start to winter since 1947.
The 28.7-degree figure was recorded at the Tsim Sha Tsui Observatory, and reflected the heat of urban areas. It also happened to be the sixth-hottest Lidong since 1885.
Hong Kong Observatory scientific officer Christy Leung Yan-yu said the long-term picture is more complex.
"If we look at the long-term trends, there are no significant warming trends for this particular day," she said.
The highest temperature recorded yesterday was in Sheung Shui, which peaked at an impressive 31.9 degrees.
Leung said it isn't unusual for inland areas like Sheung Shui, Tuen Mun or Yuen Long to have significantly higher daily maximum temperatures than urban areas, given their greater distance from the sea.
Temperatures today will be 25 to 29 degrees, with inland areas seeing 30 to 31 degrees.
The four times when the observatory recorded Lidong temperatures higher than yesterday were in 1947, 1980, 1996, and 2008, with the last holding the record for the hottest at 29.4 degrees.

Temperatures will drop later in the week, falling to 21 degrees on Saturday. TIMOTHY LEE

20150928 BBC_Shell stops Arctic activity after 'disappointing' tests

Image copyrightAP

Royal Dutch Shell has stopped Arctic oil and gas exploration off the coast of Alaska after "disappointing" results from a key well in the Chukchi Sea.

In a surprise announcement, the company said it would end exploration off Alaska "for the foreseeable future".

Shell said it did not find sufficient amounts of oil and gas in the Burger J well to warrant further exploration.

The company has spent about $7bn (£4.5bn) on Arctic offshore development in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas.

"Shell continues to see important exploration potential in the basin, and the area is likely to ultimately be of strategic importance to Alaska and the US," said Marvin Odum, president of Shell USA.

"However, this is a clearly disappointing exploration outcome for this part of the basin."

Environmental groups oppose Arctic offshore drilling and say industrial activity and more greenhouse gases will harm polar bears, walrus and ice seals.

Over the summer, protesters in kayaks unsuccessfully tried to block Arctic-bound Shell vessels in Seattle and Portland, Oregon.

Shell said it would take financial charges as a result of halting exploration, which it would disclose during its third quarter results. The company has existing contracts for rigs, ships and other assets.

The US Geological Survey estimates that the Arctic holds about 30% of the world's undiscovered natural gas, as well as 13% of its oil.

According to Shell, this amounts to around 400 billion barrels of oil equivalent, 10 times the total oil and gas produced in the North Sea to date.

---

Image copyrightPA

Analysis: Roger Harrabin, BBC environment analyst

Environmentalists are jubilant at Shell's withdrawal from the Arctic.

Greenpeace ran a campaign protesting that firms have already found three times more fossil fuels than scientists say can be safely burned without risk of destabilising the climate.

They also warned that an accident was likely in the brutal Arctic weather. And they said if a spill happened, it would impossible to clear up oil spreading under sea ice.

Shell maintained that it had the technology to cope with a spill, and that the world still needed oil and gas.

But some other leading figures in the oil industry said they were staying out of the Arctic because of the huge exploration costs and reputational risk - especially at a time of low oil prices.

And Hillary Clinton, a Democratic hopeful for the US Presidency, has said she would block new permits for Alaskan offshore drilling because it's too risky.

20150928 BBC_Typhoon Dujuan approaches Taiwan, thousands evacuated

Image copyrightReuters

Image captionStrong winds have already hit the country ahead of Dujuan's arrival

Thousands of people have been evacuated and tens of thousands of troops are on standby ahead of Typhoon Dujuan's arrival in Taiwan.

Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau upgraded Dujuan to a "strong typhoon" on Sunday - also known as "super typhoon" by some weather agencies.

Landfall in Taiwan is expected at 11:00 pm local time (1500 GMT), bringing heavy rain and high winds.

The storm is expected to weaken before reaching mainland China on Tuesday.

Before hitting Taiwan, Dujuan will pass close to Japan's Ishigaki island, where theJapan Meteorological Agency has warned it could cause 13 metre-high waves.

Image copyrightCentral Weather Bureau

Image captionTaiwan's Central Weather Bureau issued a sea and land warning for Dujuan on Sunday, saying it was now a strong typhoon

Around 3,000 people, mostly tourists, were evacuated from Taiwan's Green Island and Orchid Island on Sunday, with around 4,000 more moved from vulnerable areas on Monday.

Some of those were transported from the hot spring town of Wulai, near Taipei. Wulai was badly hit by Typhoon Soudelor in August and the Weather Bureau warned that rubble left over from that could cause more damage this time.

Soudelor, the most powerful storm of the season so far, killed at least eight people in Taiwan and a further 21 in China.

The storm has already disrupted many people's plans for the mid-autumn festival long weekend. Hundreds of flights and many ferry services have been suspended.

US rock band Bon Jovi also cancelled a concert planned for Monday night - their first gig in Taiwan in decades - though they are currently still planning to perform on Tuesday.

Image copyrightGetty Images

Image captionThe storm was already causing high waves and many ferry services have been cancelled