In This Edition

 

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi holds talks with a special envoy to Palestinian President Mahmood Abbas over the situation in the Middle East.

Life in both Gaza and southern Israel appears to be returning to normal, following the ceasefire agreement.

European leaders meet in Brussels to try to set the spending budget for the EU from 2014-2020.

And Japanese carmakers admit their sales in China have been disrupted by recent violent anti-Japanese protests.

 

Hot Issue Reports

 

Palestinian Envoy Holds Talks with Chinese Foreign Minister

 

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi has met with a special envoy to Palestinian President Mahmood Abbas here in Beijing.

 

Yang Jiechi told Basasm al-Salhi that China welcomes the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, and is hopeful that both sides will observe the truce and avoid future conflicts.

 

Yang also said China will support the planned Palestinian attempt to gain observer status in the UN.

 

For his part, Salhi said the Palestinian side is thankful for China's support in ending the violence in the Gaza Strip. And he said he's hopeful the truce will hold.

 

"Now what is the Israelis' position is the main factor of this. I hope that the Israelis are committed to this, have their commitment, and Egyptians could give a guarantee to continue this truce, but we do not trust the Israelis' behavior."

 

 

Ceasefire Holding in Gaza

 

Life in both Gaza and southern Israel appears to be returning to normal, following the ceasefire agreement on Wednesday.

 

The deal to end the fighting is allowing people in Gaza to get back to work.

 

"The agreement is good. Thank God for the first time we have victory and we make the rules. Thank God the resisters won and made us victorious. I work in the Emirates and I am returning to my place of work."

 

However, the calm is far from permanent, as both Hamas and Israel are warning of retaliation if either breaks the agreement.

 

The Israeli side is warning of even stronger assaults if Hamas or other militant groups in the Gaza Strip resume rocket attacks into Israel.

 

At the same time, the strong stand by the Israeli side over the course of this past week appears to be boding well for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's electoral fortunes.

 

Israeli political analyst Amotz Asael.

 

"Benjamin Netanyahu emerges as a winner, not so much in terms of the international system but in term of the Israeli system, because this was, oddly enough, the first time in his accumulative 5 years as a prime minister, the first time that he actually led Israel into battle."

 

The latest outburst of violence between Gaza and Israel left more than 160 Palestinians and at least 6 Israelis dead, most of them civilians.

 

 

EU President Herman Van Rompuy Says EU Budget is Future Minded

 

The head of the European Council has issued a call for European leaders to be "sensible and realistic".

 

Herman Van Rompuy and the rest of Europe's leaders are meeting in Brussels to try to set the spending budget for the European Union from 2014-2020.

 

The European Commission has been pushing for more spending, arguing that cross-border initiatives will help create economic growth and jobs.

 

"Doing more with less money involves political choices. This is painful even when cuts are evenly spread. So we must be sensible and realistic. But we must not forget this budget is a budget for the rest of the decade. So it must be future-oriented."

 

The leaders of Britain and France have staked out starkly different visions of the European Union's future.

 

British Prime Minister David Cameron is trying to keep British payments into the EU as low as possible.

 

French President Francois Hollande is calling for sustained subsidies for farming and development programmes for poorer nations.

 

With each of the 27 nations having the power of a veto, expectations are the meeting may drag out through the weekend, and may end without passing the budget.

 

 

D-8 Summit Concluded

 

The so-called "D-8" summit of developing Muslim nations has wrapped up in Islamibad.

 

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has issued a call for the countries involved to work together for the collective development of the roughly one-billion people the 8-countries are home to.

 

"Today, D-8 is not just eight developing countries. Today, with the grace of Allah Almighty, we are eight democracies. We always shared common bonds of religion and culture. But, today we are also bound, by the will and spirit of our people. As leaders of the D-8 democracies, we are answerable to one billion people. We owe them a journey towards a better future. This is not going to be easy."

 

Several proposals for fostering economic cooperation have been put forward during the summit.

 

The D-8 was established in 1997.

 

It includes Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Turkey.

 

 

Hostages Freed at a Japanese Bank

 

Japanese police have freed 5 people taken hostage at a bank in the central prefecture of Aichi.

 

No one was hurt in the assault, which saw police smash through the bank's front window to free the hostages.

 

The 32-year old suspect took the hostages at knifepoint on Thursday, reportedly demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's government.

 

"We have apprehended the suspect for the hostage situation which took place at the Bank. Suspect: No known residence, unemployed, name Koji Nagakubo, 32-years-old."

 

Japan's parliament has already been disolved.

 

Elections are slated for December 16th.

 

 

Mexico's President Tries to Change Country's Name

 

Outgoing Mexican president Felipe Calderon is taking one final crack at trying to change the country's name.

 

Mexico's formal name is "The United States of Mexico," though few people use it.

 

Calderon has signed a constitutional reform proposal, suggesting the formal name was adopted in 1824 to imitate the country's northern neighbour, The United States of America.

 

Calderon is hoping to change the name to simply "Mexico."

 

"The name of our country doesn't have to emulate the name of other nations anymore, like it did in the 19th century." "The use of the term 'United States of Mexico' is now relegated to some official documents and some formal events through usage and perhaps by popular wisdom."

 

The constitutional reform would have to be approved by Congress and a majority of the country's 32 state legislatures.

 

Calderon will leave office on December 1st.

 

He first proposed the name change in 2003 when he was a congressman.

 

 

Egypt Hopes to Boost Weakened Tourism Industry

 

Ceremonies have taken place in Luxor, Egypt to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun.

 

The event is part of a broader plan by Egyptian officials to try to revive the local tourism industry, which has been hit hard following the uprising to overthrow Hosni Mubarak.

 

Hotels in Luxor, one of Egypt's ancient capitals, are only at 27-percent capasity, despite November being the peak tourism season.

 

Egyptian Tourism Minister Hisham Zaazou.

 

"We will continue to have an agenda, a tourism agenda, a touristic agenda, throughout the coming weeks and months for these parts to help boost the interest and the demand once again to Egypt."

 

A group of guests, including the U.S. and Kuwaiti ambassadors to Egypt, took part at the event at the tomb of Tutankhamun.

 

Tutankhamun, known colloquially as King Tut, only ruled Egypt for 9-years during the so-called New Dyansty from 1332 to 1323 BCE.

 

The short-lived king shot to fame through the discovery of his lavish tomb by British explorers in 1922.

 

 

Light News

 

 

Japanese Car Sales Sluggish in China

 

Japanese carmakers attending this year's Guangzhou auto show admit their sales here in China have been disrupted by violent anti-Japanese protests.

 

Nissan, Honda, Toyota and Mazda have all seen their sales in China halved this past month.

 

This has cut Japanese automakers market share to 17 percent here in China.

 

Mazda says it expects its Chinese vehicle sales to fall by more than one-third this month from a year earlier, dragging its fourth-quarter sales down by around 40 percent.

 

Mazda China chief Noriaki Yamada.

 

"So far this year Mazda China sales have unfortunately been lower than those of last year due to a sluggish market and the (other) circumstances,"

 

But at the same time, Ford's October vehicle sales in China jumped 48-percent from a year earlier.

 

Auto sales in China had been growing in double-digit figures through to 2010.

 

However, a sluggish economy last year saw vehicle sales growth increase by only 2.5-percent.

 

This year the market is expected to grow by about 5 percent.

 

Wenzhou Moving Forward with Financial Reforms

 

Authorities in Zhejiang are drawing up the details of a financial plan which may eventually allow individuals in the city of Wenzhou to make overseas investments using the yuan.

 

At this point, Chinese citizens are only allowed to invest abroad in securities or to set up businesses through asset-investment programs run by the state.

 

Hou Ruoshi is a researcher with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

 

"It will not only promote the internationalization of RMB and RMB to become international reserve currency, but also solve the bottleneck problems of China's overseas investment."

 

Doctor Di Dongsheng, an economist with Renmin University, says the new program should help China enter a new economic era.

 

"Allowing individuals to make direct overseas investments in yuan means private capital's entering capital export sector. Besides, the investments are made in yuan rather than in US dollar or euro, which is a new way of currency export."

 

The move by the authorities in Zhejiang follows a string of bankruptcies in the city of Wenzhou which eventually prompted the central government to step in.

 

Private, black-market lending in the entrepenurial hub led to a string of suicides and business owners disappearing to avoid repaying their loans, which in some cases, were being lent with interest as high as 40-percent.

 

For more on this situation, we spoke earlier with Shen Hong, China Bureau chief of Dow Jones Newswires.

 

Charity NGO Calls for Clean Energy in Remote Border Areas

 

A charity NGO is trying to promote the use of clean energy to provide electricity for people in the border areas of China.

 

The China Environmental Protection Foundation is trying to promote the idea of combining clean energy, charity and development in underdeveloped areas.

 

Foundation head Li Wei.

 

"In fact, local people has a much more profound feeling about being able to use lamps and watch TV. A herdsman told me electricity shortened the distance between us and Beijing and allowed us to know about the outside world. A young pupil told me that electricity is our eyes, we can see future and hope, we can see a bigger and wider world."

 

China Environmental Protection Foundation has set up a charity project to provide solar-generated power in a nature reserve in Qinghai.

 

The project - set up 3-years ago - also powers 36 schools, 9 villiages and 3 Buddhist temples with portable solar energy lighting.

 

Recycling Energy-Saving Bulbs

 

New Chinese guidelines to promote the use of longer-lasting lightbulbs is starting to create a new issue: namely, disposal. CRI's Lai Ming explains.

 

Reporter: In 2008 China initiated a Green Lights project to encourage the use of energy-saving lights. Such lights are five times more durable than regular lights and five times more energy efficient. The project is helpful for energy conservation, but the popularity of energy-saving lights may also pose a threat to the environment.

 

An energy-saving light salesman, surnamed Zhang, has more:

 

"People simply toss them away. For longer ones, they break them up and throw them into the rubbish bin. Sanitary workers break them too."

 

Most citizens are not aware of the risks. Each energy-saving light contains an average of five milligrams mercury. If exposed, such a small amount can pollute 300 cubic meters of air, or 180 tons of water. In 2011, China produced 4.7 billion energy-saving lights, nearly 2 billion of which were used in the domestic market. If these lights are not properly treated, they can create 95 tons of mercury.

 

Doctor Shi Lin with the South China University of Technology College of Environmental Science and Engineering evaluate the environmental risk.

 

"The substance can be absorbed by fish in the water and will in turn be taken in by those who eat the fish. Too much mercury in the human body will cause Minamata disease."

 

Some still remember the disease that plagued Japan in the early half of the 20th century. This is why volunteers are collecting these used bulbs, but they are not organized and do not have enough support.

 

Some professional recycling companies have considered taking up the task, but since the economic prospects are uncertain, they are not willing to take the risk. Recycling manager Yang Jingshan explains.

 

"Although every household uses energy-saving lights, no system has been fully developed to recycle them. We don't know how many bulbs we can actually get back from each household, and that makes it hard to calculate our costs. In this case, we won't dare invest without government subsidies."

 

In the southern Province of Guangdong, recycling used to be the responsibility of light manufacturers. Companies that refuse to recycle used bulbs are subject to fines of less than 10,000 yuan, but the regulation has never been carried out.

 

Peng Peng, a researcher with the Guangzhou Academy of Social Sciences, calls for legal means to curb the danger of pollution.

 

"There must be recycling laws to go with the promotion of energy-saving lights. Otherwise, the more people use the lights, the more pollution they will create, and that undermines the effects of conservation."

 

Other suggestions include subsidies for both individuals and enterprises who contribute to the recycling. But, above all, informing the public about the potential threat is the most urgent necessity.

 

For CRI, I'm Lai Ming.

 

[Media Digest]

 

SHANGHAI DAILY: "Stories of Shanghai Streets Compiled"

 

Shanghai officials are doing profiles on 64 roads and streets with historic significance, and will publish books about them.

 

It's part of an effort to preserve the city's cultural and historic flavor amid rapid urban change.

 

Shanghai Urban Construction Archives said it's doing research on the protected roads and streets, like Zhongshan Road E1, Hengshan Road and Shanyin Road, and the historic buildings and anecdotes along the roads.

 

The protected roads, along which building and real estate development, is strictly controlled, are also dubbed the "never-widen streets."

 

Yu Sijia, chief engineer with city urban planning administration, said the roads will never be expanded and that "the building structures and trees along them will be protected."

 

The roads are among city's total of 144 protected roads, stretching more than 100 kilometers, that encompass different cultural styles that trace the city's growth.

 

The archives will compile maps and historical files concerning the streets.

 

The whole project may take years to complete.

 

GLOBAL TIMES: "Man Builds Boat to Weather Apocalypse"

 

A man from Urumqi, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, afraid that his home would be submerged in a doomsday flood in 2012, has poured his life savings of 1 million yuan or 160,500 US dollars into building what he hopes will be his own indestructible ark.

 

It is reported that Lu Zhenghai began building the boat in 2010.

 

The vessel, designed by Lu himself, is 21.2 meters long, 15.5 meters wide and 5.6 meters high.

 

Lu said he was worried that the apocalypse would happen in 2012, so he decided to invest all his money into the boat, which he hoped would be a lifesaving refuge.

 

Other major motivations for building the boat were to receive sightseers alongside the Tarim River, combat floods and provide ferry services.

 

DAILY MAIL: "Now It's Fine to Eat with Your Fingers"

 

Etiquette experts say eating with hands in a restaurant is now acceptable-so long as you do not lick your fingers clean afterwards.

 

Debrett's has issued a ten-point guide to modern dining manners designed to help people navigate the potentially messy minefield of 'finger food'.

 

Top tips include cutting food into manageable pieces before picking it up, using a napkin to wipe messy hands and using a fork to pick up any food that spills on to the plate.

 

It advises taking small bites when eating finger foods such as pizza and reassures those who dislike modern eating trends that it is acceptable to use cutlery even if fellow diners choose not to.

 

The advice comes as the Pizza Express chain introduces calzone ? a folded pizza ? to its menus. Jo Bryant, etiquette adviser at Debrett's, said: 'The influence of other cultures and new foods, such as calzone, means eating with our hands is a growing trend.

 

BBC: "Indian Capital Delhi Bans Plastic Bags"

 

A blanket ban has been imposed on the sale, storage and use of plastic bags in the Indian capital, Delhi.

 

The penalty for violation of the law is a fine of up to 100,000 rupees or around 1,800 US dollars or five years in jail.

 

The government says the bags are a "grave threat to the environment if not managed properly" and has carried out awareness campaigns in the city.

 

A previous effort in 2009 to introduce a partial ban in Delhi did not make much of an impact.

 

Although shops in many areas have moved to bags made from paper and other materials, authorities say millions of plastic bags are still used in Delhi every week.

 

Environmentalists say plastic bags block the drains and sewage system, and pose a threat to the health of people and animals.