新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 08:00 2015/01/26（打印版）

An anti-austerity opposition party has won the national election in Greece, a likely shock for the countries European creditors...

India and the US have made a breakthrough on civil nuclear issues stemming from an agreement signed in 2008...

And Chinese officials responsible for government auctions say steps will be taken to ensure the fairness of the bidding process and other issues, following the first ever auction of government vehicles...

China's national observatory says a yellow alert for smog will stay in place in some northern and eastern regions.

It says smog will continue to shroud the cities of Beijing and Tianjin and provinces like Hebei, Liaoning and Jiangsu this morning.

Beijing will be overcast in the day with a high of 5, clear tonight with a low of minus 7 degrees Celsius.

The anti-austerity Syriza party is on course to win a decisive victory in Greece's national elections, a result many political analysts believe will send shockwaves through Europe.

The most recent exit poll projected Syriza to get between 36 percent and 38 per cent of the vote.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras' conservative New Democracy party is at a distant second, with 23 percent and 27 percent.

Syriza supporters celebrated the result in Athens, many waving flags or holding placards asking for change in Europe.

"I believe in those of us who lived through this struggle. Those of us who fought the struggle with our country for the last five years shouldn't simply be happy, we should be satisfied and proud. I believe we are able to change not only Greece but we can change Europe and these policies of monopoly."

Speaking afterwards, Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras pledged to restore Greece's dignity after what he called "five years of humiliation and pain" brought by the austerity measures.

However, it is still unclear if the party has won by a big enough margin over New Democracy to govern alone.

The Interior Ministry says that its projections show Syriza gaining 150 of the 300 seats in parliament, one short of the majority it needs to govern alone.

If Syriza forms a government, it will be the first time in Greece's modern history that a Left party governs since World War II.

Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras has promised to renegotiate the country's 240 billion-euro international bailout deal and seek forgiveness for most of Greece's massive debt load.

He has also pledged to reverse many of the reforms that creditors demanded in exchange for keeping Greece financially afloat since 2010.

The anti-bailout rhetoric has renewed doubts over Greece's ability to emerge from its financial crisis that has seen a quarter of its economy wiped out, sent unemployment soaring and average income plummeting.

The relationship between the US and India has taken another step forward with a breakthrough in a nuclear deal that had remained stagnant for years.

The commercial civil nuclear cooperation deal used to be one of the major irritants between the two sides after it was first initiated in 2008.

"Today we achieved a break through understanding on two issues that were holding up our ability to advance our civil nuclear cooperation and we are committed to moving towards full implementation and this is an important step that shows how we can work together to elevate our relationship."

For his part, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also pleased with the agreement, calling it a "centerpiece ".

"The civil nuclear agreement was the centerpiece of our transformed relationship which demonstrated new trust. It also created new economic opportunities and expanded our option for clean energy."

The deal resolved key differences over the liability of suppliers to India in the event of a nuclear accident and U.S. demands on tracking the whereabouts of material supplied to India.

He is not only the first U.S. president to visit India twice in his tenure, but the first American leader to be a chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations.

At least 16 people have been killed in Egypt as hundreds of protestors loyal to ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi clashed with police.

Sunday's protests marked the fourth anniversary of the 2011 uprising that unseated former President Hosni Mubarak.

In Cairo, at least nine protesters and one police conscript were killed in the clashes in the eastern district, Matariyah.

Earlier on Sunday, mourners packed the streets of Alexandria for the funeral procession of a female protester who was shot dead in Cairo.

Khaled Dawoud, spokesman for the Constitution Party of Egypt, a liberal political party in Egypt:

"We do not see that this kind of incident that happened yesterday, this crime that happened yesterday, helps in any way to prepare the general atmosphere for the upcoming parliamentary elections, or to convince our young people in our own political party that there is a political space that allows them to express themselves freely and to take part of the political process, which is our right."

Last year, more than 60 people were killed in demonstrations marking the revolution's anniversary and in protest of the military's ouster of Morsi.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has chaired an emergency roundtable meeting of the country's National Security and Defence Council.

The meeting comes after at least 30 people were killed in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol on Saturday when rockets slammed into a market, schools, homes and shops.

Poroshenko condemn the violence, blaming what he called "terrorists" supported by Russia for the attack, citing intercepted radio and telephone conversations.

"On Monday, there should be a meeting of foreign ministers of the EU where we'll coordinate further steps to provide the security of Ukraine and to increase pressure on Russia."

Poroshenko cut short a trip to Saudi Arabia in order to coordinate the government's response.

Mariupol is a strategically situated port city under Ukrainian control and had been relatively quiet for months.

On a visit to India, US President Barack Obama also expressed his concern over the situation in Ukraine.

"We will continue to take the approach we have taken in the past which is to ratchet up the pressure on Russia, and I will look at all additional options that are available to us short of military confrontation and try to address this issue."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has spoken separately with European Union foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, saying the Ukrainian government bore responsibility for the latest military escalation.

However, Lavrov did not directly address who had carried out the attack on Mariupol and said that it should be investigated.

Mogherini has announced that EU foreign ministers would hold an "extraordinary" meeting in Brussels on Thursday to discuss Ukraine.

Leaders of Japanese opposition parties have urged Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to uphold the Murayama Statement that offers an apology to Asian countries for Japan's wartime atrocities.

Abe said during a TV appearance earlier in the day that his planned new statement, expected to be issued at the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII, would change key wording like "colonial rule" and "aggression" in the 1995 Murayama Statement.

Many leaders believe the form of expression used in the Murayama statement had significant meaning and should be given respect, and that Abe's remarks are intolerable.

Then Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama said in a statement in 1995 that Japan caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of Asia and other countries through its colonial rule and aggression.

More than 100 official government vehicles were auctioned off on Sunday for a combined 6.6 million yuan, or about 1 million U.S. dollars.

But some members of the public have expressed concern over pricing and bidding transparency.

In response, officials overseeing the process are promising to take steps to ensure a fair auction and prevent government property from being underpriced.

Liu Lisheng is with the Government Offices Administration of the CPC Central Committee.

"First, we selected used car assessment agencies through open tender. And after assessment, all of the cars will be auctioned on an open transaction platform."

Shang Xiaoting is deputy head of the Government Offices Administration of the State Council. He says there is no privilege for public servants.

"Public servants also have to take part in the auction if they want to buy one of these cars. And if they are based in cities like Beijing that have adopted the car purchase quota policy, it's necessary for them to get a quota before making a purchase."

The auctioned cars were among over 3,000 vehicles that were taken out of service because of reform measures enacted last July aiming to slash spending on government vehicles.

Police in the eastern city of Nanjing have cracked down on a fake bank that allegedly cheated 200 million yuan, or about 32 mln U.S. dollars, from unwitting depositors.

The "rural cooperative," without a banking license, ensnared more than 200 customers over the past year with the promise of higher interest rates, including this man.

"It is decorated exactly the same as a bank. The shop-front, counters and the queue machine, everything makes customers believe it's a real bank. And the manager kept trying to assure me that they were reliable. I had no doubt at the time."

The scheme was unraveled after a victim of the scam attempted to withdraw money, but was denied.

A legal representative and four "managers" of the bank have been detained on suspicion of illegally taking public money.

Police say most victims are from neighboring Zhejiang province and the number of victims is expected to rise.

Meanwhile, local banking regulators have been blamed for failing to perform supervisory duties.

"This case indicates supervision loopholes exist in many sectors in our country. Regulators of different industries only focus on their own areas, while the lack of a linkage mechanism has led to a regulatory gray zone. It's a big problem."

Wang Xixin suggests enhanced information sharing should be given a priority in the effort to improve joint enforcement efficiency, especially among departments that have overlapping supervision ranges.

The parents of a teenager who was wrongly executed have filed a lawsuit against those responsible for their son's case, including police officers, public prosecutors, and judges.

Hugjiltu was sentenced to death for raping and murdering a woman in 1996, but another man confessed to the crime nearly a decade after the teen was put to death.

The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has set up a team to investigate the people responsible for this miscarriage of justice, but progress has been slow.

Shang Aiyun, Hugjiltu's mother, says the work of holding those responsible for her son's death to account is far from over.

"The file we submitted doesn't include any names on it. That is to say, from the police to the courts, whoever did anything wrong in whichever part must stand up and admit their mistakes. My requirement is if you did anything wrong, in no matter which part, then you should come out and take your responsibility. My hope is to sound the alarm to the police, the prosecutors and the courts to avoid cases like this in the future."

In the file, the parents write that the officials working on the case were reckless from the initial investigation to the execution of their son.

They want the regional government to conduct a thorough investigation into the officials responsible for their son's case, and they want the results published in a timely fashion.

Authorities in northeast China's Heilongjiang province will announce the official investigation results of a fraud case committed by a prisoner later today.

The case came to light in November and media attention has slowly been building up since then.

The prisoner, Wang Dong, allegedly swindled two women of more than 110-thousan yuan, or nearly 18-thousand US dollars, by offering an investment project.

The 28-year-old also extorted money and other benefits from several women after befriending with them through the mobile messaging app WeChat.

One of the victims was a worker in the Nehe prison. She reportedly gave Wang Dong 80-thousand yuan.

Wang is said to have several mistresses. He has been accused of forcing one woman to have sex with him at the prison by threatening her with nude photos and videos.

Prison authorities have confirmed some guards were involved in assisting Wang Dong in the case.

This is Wang's third time in prison. He was first sent behind bars for robbery in 2005, for fraud in 2009, and for kidnapping in 2012.

A Chinese artist has staged a spectacular display combining fireworks, live music, and tango dancing in Argentine's capital Buenos Aires.

More than 43-thousand fireworks were launched from a floating platform behind the dancers during Cai Guo-Qiang's 80-minute display on Saturday night.

A tango orchestra and a group of professional tango dancers took part in the performance along the boardwalk next to the Riachuelo River.

An estimated 200,000 Argentines turned out for the show, according to the Argentine newspaper, La Nacion.

"It was awesome. We’ve travelled to see this and we are really satisfied. It was unforgettable."

"When I arrived in Argentina I started studying the culture of the La Boca area and I realized that this is one of the birthplaces of tango, so I wanted to use the history of tango to reflect Argentine culture and also to reinterpret the dance. I used that to create the fireworks here."

Born in China's Fujian province, Cai has exhibited in countries around the world and now lives and works in New York City.

Last week the European Central Bank announced a monthly asset-purchase plan that exceeded expectations.

The latest U.S. economic data will arrive in the form of reports on PMI services and the Dallas Fed manufacturing survey, due today; weekly jobless claims, and the pending home sales index, due Thursday.

Today, Eurozone finance ministers will gather in Brussels to discuss the outcome of Greece's elections and the country's bailout package.

The weekly economic survey, with more than 100 financial institutions, includes forecasts for gross domestic product, interest rates and inflation rates.

Apple, Microsoft, Google and Facebook are among the U.S. companies poised to release their latest quarterly results in the coming days.

China's financial hub Shanghai has abandoned its GDP growth target for the New Year to emphasize the quality and efficiency of the economy.

Shanghai is the first Chinese city to drop the GDP growth target in its annual government work report. Shanghai's economy grew 7 percent in 2014.

Experts believe this move reflects a more realistic approach to economic growth and one likely to be adopted by other regions in the future.

Shanghai mayor Yang Xiong said the city will continue to optimize the economic structure and revise its growth model from one that's investment-driven to one that's innovation-driven.

Experts also say the removal of the growth targets, once a key gauge of the city's economic development plan, shows that local governments in China have begun to abandon the old practice of chasing numbers.

The Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce has been authorized by China's business watchdog to establish a third-party platform to supervise ecommerce transactions across the country.

The vice mayor of Beijing, Cheng Hong, told a meeting of local political advisors over the weekend that the first phase of the platform will be online this year.

He says the move was authorized by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and aims to break the regional and departmental barriers in the supervision of e-commerce and further streamline the development of online markets.

According to the vice mayor, the number of consumer complaints about e-commerce transactions has been on the rise, from 28,000 cases in 2012 to 46,000 cases in 2014 in Beijing alone.

Shoddy contracts, poor after-sale service and poor product quality top the list of complaints.

For more this, we are now joined live by Mike Bastin, Director of The China Business Centre based in London.

The market expects another cut in China's retail gasoline and diesel prices today, as global crude prices keep falling.

In the past nine working days crude oil prices have fallen by more than 11 percent, suggesting that gasoline and diesel retail prices are likely to be cut by about 57 U.S. dollars per tonne.

China adopted a pricing regime last year that adjusts domestic fuel prices when international crude prices change by more than 50 yuan per tonne for 10 working days.

This currently represents a change of around 1.15 dollars per barrel, depending on the grade of crude.

On Jan. 12, the retail prices of gasoline and diesel were cut by about 29 U.S. dollars and 37 U.S dollars per tonne, the 12th cut since July of last year.

China CNR Corporation Limited, a leading manufacturer of locomotives and rolling stock in China, has announced major contracts worth nearly 4 billion U.S dollars.

In a statement filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the company said that 12 of its subsidiaries have recently signed more than 30 contracts with both Chinese and foreign companies, involving high-speed trains, subway trains, locomotives, and other products and services.

The total value of the new contracts is the equivalent of nearly a quarter of the company's 2014 revenue.

Chinese steel makers are conducting plant maintenance as they look to curb oversupply that helped knock off nearly one-third of the alloy's price last year.

Leaner demand in winter, when construction activity typically slows, has also forced steel mills to keep iron ore inventories low.

Chinese steel producers including Jiangsu Shagang Group, the biggest private mill, and Hebei Province-based Tangshan Iron & Steel, are scheduling maintenance at some facilities.

Twelve large mills will cut their total output by an estimated 900-thousand tons during scheduled overhauls through January and February.

China Energy Fund Committee held a meeting in Beijing on Sunday to call for the establishment of a new fund which would focus on investing in energy infrastructure construction in countries along the route of the "One Belt, One Road" initiatives

"One Belt, One Road" refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. The projects were launched by President Xi Jinping in 2013.

Under the plans, China aims to support infrastructure construction in partner countries along the routes.

The "One Belt, One Road" Energy Development Fund was initiated by private Chinese enterprises and will invite government funds and foreign investors to participate, planning to raise a total of 20 billion US dollars.

He Yafei, deputy head of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, said Friday that the "One Belt, One Road" initiatives have received interest from more than 50 countries.

A lot of foreign investors have paid attention to the Energy Development Fund and the fund will operate under international standards.

The anti-austerity Syriza party is on course to win a decisive victory in Greece's national elections.

The most recent exit poll projected Syriza to get between 36 percent and 38 per cent of the vote.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, who heads the onservative New Democracy party, has conceded defeat.

Speaking afterwards, Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras pledged to restore Greece's dignity after what he called "five years of humiliation and pain" brought by the austerity measures.

However, it is still unclear if the party has won by a big enough margin over New Democracy to govern alone.

The United States and India have announced a breakthrough in a nuclear deal that had remained stagnant for years.

The commercial civil nuclear cooperation deal will allow American companies to supply India with civilian nuclear technology.

It had been held up for six years amid concerns over the liability for any nuclear accident.

Now key differences have been resolved, including U.S. demands on tracking the whereabouts of material supplied to India.

More than 30 police commandos have been killed in a clash with Muslim insurgents in the southern Philippines.

Officials say dozens of commandos were looking for a top terror suspect near the town of Mamasapano, but encountered members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

At least seven people have been killed after dozens of mortar shells landed in the Syrian capital on Sunday.

Local media reports say a rebel group east of Damascus launched at least 40 mortar rounds that landed in residential areas of the city.

Last week, a rebel leader had threatened that he would "rain down on the capital" in retaliation for mortar attacks in rebel-held areas.

Government troops responded to the mortar attack with heavy fire and shelling against a group called the Islam Army.

China is taking new steps to reform military-run schools which accept the children of military personnel.

Under the plan, such schools located outside military bases will be taken over by local governments to run.

Those situated inside bases will be shut down if they are located in cities, or be transferred to local governments if they are in towns and border areas.

Rescuers are searching for 26 backpackers who were trapped on a mountain in Zhejiang Province.

Authorities for civil affairs in Beijing are mulling a draft law to provide subsidies for companies that offer home-care services for elderly people.

The draft is to secure the basic needs of those seniors including food, medical care, and emergency aid.

Local authorities say 90% of elderly people in Beijing choose to stay at home instead of going to nursing homes.

An anonymous man has won his auction bids on 9 cars formerly owned by the central government.

The man said he bought the cars for a private collection. It's the first batch of vehicles that have been auctioned by the central government.

Xinjiang's regional government has announced plans to build more roads to remote villages.

The local transport department says 2.7 billion yuan will be spent on 4,000 kilometers of blacktop connecting all roadless townships, and on construction of roads in remote villages.

Shanghai Mayor Yang Xiong told lawmakers and political advisers that the city is at a "critical stage" of its "innovation-driven economic transformation."

Delivering the city government's work report at the Shanghai People's Congress, he said Reform and opening-up will make new headway.

Yang added the city will continue to accelerate the construction of its free trade zone, making it a place for the introduction of new policies and a model for other recently established zones in the nation.

Marathons are now big business in China. 2014 saw more than 50 marathons in the country, with about 800,000 participants. That's a massive 50 percent increase over 2011.

CRI's Luo Wen is finding out what's inspiring so many ordinary people to test their endurance on these long-distance runs.

Every weekend morning, the 10-km track in the Olympic Forest Park in the north of Beijing comes alive with athletes and amateur joggers.

They embrace the refreshing, slightly chilly morning air and gamely ignore the capital's pollution in their quest for fitness.

While some prefer to run in the early morning, a significant number of others run in the evening after they finish a day's work.

"I started to run in 2008 for health reasons. I used to be overweight, I had high blood pressure and depression. I run to lose weight and to get rid of some of the stress from work."

Thanks to his regular exercise, Tian has now been able to take part in two Marathons, the Beijing and Xiamen marathons. When he'd run both, Tian said he felt completely rejuvenated.

Like Tian Jun, a growing number of people in China's big cities enjoy running a marathon - but it's not just about finishing the race. Runners find many other sources of inspiration.

"Through running, I get along with myself better, keep up with my life. It even helps me to realize how I'm feeling. A Marathon is a platform on which to show yourself, and to rediscover yourself, and also a place to meet fellow 'marathoners' and share your enjoyment with them."

So far, marathons have been held in all four Chinese municipalities and in 34 cities across 17 provinces and autonomous regions. In the past three years, the number of events has risen by around 10 percent a year.

According to Zhang Tianwei, a senior media office worker, the Marathon has transformed from an elite sport into an activity of mass participation.

"Compared with developed countries such as the United States and Japan, there are still fewer Chinese people running marathons. But more and more are taking part and enjoying the benefits of doing it. So in my opinion, there are bound to be more events in China in the future."

Statistics show that as many as 10 percent of Beijing's 21 million populations are long-distance runners. So whatever the motivation, whether it's to improve one's physical or mental health, or both—it seems the Marathon trend is going to run... and run.

Briton Andy Murray remains on course for a fourth appearance in the men's singles final at the Australian Open after battling to a fourth round win over Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov on Sunday.

Next up for Murray is a quarter-final meeting with teenager Nick Kyrgios - the first Australian to reach the last eight of his home Grand Slam since Lleyton Hewitt in 2005.

No. 3 Rafael Nadal took the win in three sets over South African Kevin Anderson, converting his second match point with a blistering forehand to set up a quarter final meeting with seventh seed, Tomas Berdych.

Five time Grand slam winner Maria Sharapova took on 21st seed Peng Shuai in the second match on the Rod Laver arena.

In truth, much of the match was closer than the scoreline might imply, but Sharapova was rarely under sustained pressure and played the key points well en route to her victory.

The world no. 2 will now face seventh-seed Eugenie Bouchard for a place in the final four.

The Williams sisters are in action, with world no. 1 Serena taking on Spain's Garbine Muguruza and Venus facing sixth-seed Agnieszka Radwanksa.

Quarter-final jinx haunts Asian Cup favorites Iran as they are eliminated by neighbors Iraq 7-6 on penalties, after a classic quarter-final encounter in Canberra on Friday (23rd January).

Captain Younus Mahmood made a diving header from close-range to put the Iraqis ahead on 93 minutes.

Iran came fighting back - and Morteza Pouraliganji made it two-all with a thumping header in the 103rd minute.

Iran kept on battling - and they erased Iraq's lead for the second time in the match with substitute Reza Ghoochannejhad scoring from a goalmouth melee in the 119th minute.

Three-all with that late equaliser and it was down to penalties--where Iraq would take the match 7-6.

They face South Korea in the semi-finals in Sydney tonight in a repeat of the 2007 Asian Cup, where Iraq went on to become the champions.

And the United Arab Emirates marched on to the semi-finals of the AFC Asian Cup for the first time in 19 years as they eliminated champions Japan on penalties on Friday.

Shinji Kagawa was next and the Borussia Dortmund midfielder smashed his effort against the post.

The onus was now on Ismail Ahmed, who dutifully scored, as the United Arab Emirates marched on to the semi-finals of the AFC Asian Cup for the first time since 1996.

The Iraq war movie starring Bradley Cooper as Navy SEAL marksman Chris Kyle, topped the box office for a second weekend in a row with 64.4 million U.S. dollars.

The total haul for the Warner Brothers film now stands at 200.1 million U.S. dollars.

"American Sniper" also earned an additional 17.6 million dollars in 16 international territories, including Australia, Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

The film already broke box-office records globally last weekend, easily surpassing "Avatar" to become the biggest January opening for a movie.

"American Sniper" is up for six Academy Awards, including best picture and best actor for Cooper.

Also known as BTS, the band, has gained increasing popularity not only in South Korea but also in other Asian countries like China, since the release of their debut song "No More Dream", in 2013.

The boys have already grabbed themselves several music awards for young and promising artists.

"Bangtan Boys" will present their concert at ThinkPad Space of Beijing's MasterCard Center on March 21.

U.S. actress Julia Roberts will produce and star in a feature adaptation of the "Batkid" documentary.

"Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard around the World", directed by Dana Nachman, follows the story of Miles Scott, a five-year-old boy diagnosed with leukemia who wanted to be Batman for a day.

Roberts will produce alongside partners Lisa Gillan and Marisa Yeres Gill through their Red Om Films banner.

"Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard Around The World" had its international debut at the Slamdance Film Festival in the U.S. over the weekend.

Actress and United Nations representative Angelina Jolie has called on the international community to do more for people in Iraq and Syria.

She made the statement during a visit to a refugee camp in northern Iraq over the weekend.

Jolie visited people at the Khanke internally displaced people camp near Dohuk, and said the UN is "extremely concerned" at the slow pace of humanitarian assistance this year.

"The international community has to step up and do more. UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) received only half of the funding it needed in 2014 for programs in Iraq and Syria."

Jolie also met with mothers at the camp whose children have been kidnapped by the Islamic State group.

新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 08:00 2015/01/26（在线收听）