新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 20:00 2015/02/02（打印版）

China's central authorities issuing the first policy document of the year focusing on growing this country's agricultural sector.

Two cult members have been executed in Shandong for beating a woman to death at a McDonald's outlet in May.

In business.... China's manufacturing activity remaining weak in the first month of this year.

Special reports....The New Economic normal providing opporunity for entreprenuers here in China

In sports... New England Patriots have captured their first Super Bowl title in 10 years.

In entertainment....Indian blockbuster PK is set for a wide release in China following a deal with Disney India.

Beijing will have smog tonight, with a low of minus 5. It will be cloudy tomorrow, with a high of 7 degrees.

Meanwhile Shanghai will be rainy tonight, with a low of 5, tomorrow will be cloudy, with a high of 8.

Chongqing will be overcast tonight, 7 degrees the lowest, tomorrow will be cloudy, high of 10.

Anchor: China's central authorities has released this year's first policy document. Focusing on agriculture, the document outlines the government's priorities that include agricultural modernization, increasing farmers' income, and shoring up rural infrastructure.

The document stresses that as China's economy shifts from a high-speed to a slower growth rate, agriculture remains the foundation of the country's economy.

It lists 5 aspects for detailed government work on reforms and tasks related to the "three rural issues", agriculture, rural areas, and farmers.

"These five aspects can be categorized into two parts. The first part is the major tasks, to consolidate the agricultural sector, to increase farmers' income, and to build a beautiful countryside. The second part is about how to achieve these tasks. We say reform is the driving force, and to improve the legal system is a guarantee to achieve these tasks."

These include surging production costs, shortages of agricultural resources, excessive exploitation, and worsening pollution.

"The transformation of the development mode is the most crucial task featured in the document, which for the first time put equal emphasis on quantity, quality, and benefits."

The document calls for deepening agricultural restructuring, raising the quality and safety levels of agricultural products and innovating the circulation patterns of farm produce.

All the efforts are to accelerate agricultural modernization, a goal set by the central government at the end of last year.

China will also increase investment in the agriculture sector and the countryside, boost the effectiveness of agricultural subsidy policies, improve the pricing mechanism for farm produce and enhance supporting services.

Meanwhile, the document has for the first time noted the importance of rule-of-law in the countryside.

It calls for improving the agricultural and rural legal systems in dealing with issues such as protection of rural property rights, regulation of rural markets, and rural reforms.

"As the agricultural reforms are proceeding, the rights and obligations of farmers should be properly defined and protected during the transition of land and the trade of rural resources, so strengthening the legal system in rural area becomes increasingly necessary."

The document issued by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council every year is dubbed the "No.1 Central Document".

For more on the highlight of China's latest efforts to modernize its agricultural sector, CRI's Xu Qinduo spoke earlier with Zhang Hongzhou, an Associate Research Fellow at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

Two cult members were executed in China's eastern province of Shandong on Monday for beating a woman to death at a McDonald's outlet in May.

Zhang Fan and Zhang Lidong, who were members of the Almighty God cult, known in Chinese as Quannengshen, were put to death by the Intermediate People's Court of Yantai City.

In November 2014, the Shandong Higher People's Court rejected the cult members' appeals and upheld their death sentences.

The Supreme People's Court approved the death penalty, saying the convicts' crimes were extremely serious, their means brutal and that the incident brought an extremely bad social effect.

The female victim was beaten to death after she refused to give her cellphone number to the cult members, who were allegedly trying to recruit new members for the cult.

It is one of many illegal cults that authorities have had to reckon with in recent decades.

Japan says it will conduct a "thorough investigation" into the purported beheading of Japanese journalist Kenji Goto by Islamic State (IS) extremists.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga makes this comment at a press conference on Monday.

International condemnation of the killing has also been pouring in, with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon calling the murder "barbaric".

Condemning Goto's killing as a heinous murder, US President Barack Obama vowed to continue to take decisive action against the extremist group. British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has echoed that pledge.

French President Francois Hollande has also voiced indignation over the incident, vowing that France and Japan would continue to work together for peace in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, the Jordanian government, who had earlier agreed to a prisoner swap for both the Japanese and Jordanian hostages, is still working closely to secure the release of its captured fighter pilot.

The IS is demanding the release of an al-Qaida suicide bomber who is on death row in Jordan for her role in the triple hotel bombings in Amman in 2005.

For more analysis on the Japanese hostage crisis, CRI's John Artman spoke earlier with Jun Okumura, a political analyst and commentator drawing on three decades of government service and visiting scholar at the Meiji Institute for Global Affairs.

Meanwhile, Iraqi defense ministry says the military operation against terrorism in Iraq could end within months.

"I think the two-year-period that the U.S. government has mentioned refers to the time to defeat extremist groups across the world because extremist groups exist not only in Iraq, but also in other areas in the world. For Iraq, the last day for extremist groups is not far off. It might arrive within a few months. We don't need to wait until next year,"

Obeidi says Iraqi troops have achieved positive results in recent operations against extremist groups and have freed the eastern province of Diyala from Islamic State (IS) militants.

The army is currently preparing to recover the country's second largest city of Mosul, which will lead to the final phase of military operations and the end of the fight against extremist groups in Iraq.

The U.S.-led coalition previously said it would take at least two years to fully expel the radical militants from Iraq.

Late last month, the Islamic State launched a renewed attack on the oil rich city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq.

The action by IS is threatening to divert Kurdish troops fighting to capture the Islamist extremist group's stronghold of Mosul.

Co-founded by China and France, China's first laboratory to study highly contagious and fatal diseases has been inaugurated in Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province.

The National Bio-safety Laboratory, the country's first bio-safety level-4 laboratory, also known as a P4 laboratory, will enable scientists to research live strands of the Ebola virus.

"Despite all of our previous knowledge about Ebola, even on the international level, further studies on Ebola virus-induced immunopathology and the cellular mechanism of pathological phenomena are still needed. With the completion of P4, once we study Ebola, this is a very critical scientific question to be answered."

It is an essential platform for research and development against highly contagious and infectious diseases.

President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Bai Chunli says P4 is important for China's public health defense system.

"Major national scientific and technological infrastructure is an important foundation for scientific research. It is also a very significant means of measuring a country's ability to innovate technologically. P4 is a fundamental part to the building up of China's public health defense system. It will play important role in the country's future response to new outbreaks of infectious diseases and aid in developing antiviral drugs and vaccines."

In October 2004, China signed a cooperation agreement on the prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases with France.

With French assistance in laboratory design, establishing biosafety standards and personnel training, construction started in 2011 and lasted for three years.

Professor Gao Fu says he is optimistic about the prospects for the future elimination of the Ebola virus.

"Currently, the Ebola epidemic situation has been restrained and we have started the post-Ebola discussions. It looks like the virus will not pick up again in Western African areas. But to completely eliminate each case, it may take some time. And in terms of research, now the international community has two vaccines and so far the treatment effects are pretty good."

Professor Gao has also pointed out that, despite the initial successes seen in controlling the spread of the virus, studies on Ebola should continue.

Earlier, ten national-level research institutes in China have carried out studies on Ebola diagnosis techniques with an eye to developing diagnostic tools and a vaccine.

Since the epidemic, China has also sent several medical teams to help African countries to fight against the deadly virus.

Asian shares languished on Monday, after the latest gauge of China's factory sector activity raised concerns about the world's second-largest economy.

Securities and insurance sectors were among the biggest losers. Minsheng Bank dumped over 3 percent after the company announced the resignation of its president, Mao Xiaofeng, who is reportedly implicated in the corruption case of a former senior political adviser.

China's largest train makers CNR and CSR declined by the daily limit of 10 percent, as the Mexican government has announced its plan to cut public finances and suspend the high-speed train tender.

China's top economic planner is calling on Mexico to properly handle the aftermath of its suspension of a Chinese-backed high-speed rail project.

A spokesperson from the National Development and Reform Commission says that China regrets Mexico's decision to suspend the HSR project, which would have connected Mexico City with the central state of Queretaro.

The spokesperson urges Mexico to "value and properly cope with the huge manpower and money Chinese enterprises invested in the project bid, and carry out measures for further bilateral cooperation".

The Mexican government on Friday announced the project's "indefinite" suspension, as well as canceling a proposed trans-peninsular rail line, citing state budget cuts.

China's new rules designed to rein in cross-border tax avoidance schemes have come into effect, citing firms that invest in China through companies set up in Hong Kong or Singapore as examples.

The new measures are seen as an elaboration on China's existing "general anti-avoidance rule" or GAAR framework.

Tax professionals and business lobbies have welcomed the move as an attempt to bring China's tax regime more in line with international standards.

At a meeting of G20 leaders in Australia in November last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping endorsed a global effort to crack down on international tax avoidance schemes.

For more on this, the Beijing Hour's Shane Bigham spoke earlier with Mike Bastin, Director of the China Business Centre based in London.

The latest statistics from HSBC show that China's manufacturing activity remained weak at the start of 2015.

The final reading for January by the HSBC Purchasing Managers' index posted at forty-nine point seven percent, up from forty-nine point six in December.

The data provides a snapshot of the operating conditions in China's manufacturing sector, which picked up momentum in January.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below that represents contraction.

Reports say the latest data signals a second successive monthly deterioration in the sector, albiet a slight one.

The National Bureau of Statistics official manufacturing PMI posted at forty-nine point eight percent in January, down three-tenths of a percentage point from December.

The Chinese government has expressed firm opposition to any meeting between any country's leader and the Dalai Lama.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei made the comments in response to a possible meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama at a "prayer breakfast" in Washington later this week.

Hong Lei says China strongly opposes any country interfering in China's internal affairs in the name of issues regarding Tibet.

Japan says it will conduct a "thorough investigation" into the purported beheading of Japanese journalist Kenji Goto by Islamic State (IS) extremists.

International condemnation of the killing has been pouring in, with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon calling the murder "barbaric".

The IS is demanding the release of an al-Qaida suicide bomber who is on death row in Jordan for her role in the triple hotel bombings in Amman in 2005.

Iraqi defence minister Khalid al-Obeidi says Iraqi troops have achieved positive results in recent operations against extremist groups and have freed the eastern province of Diyala from Islamic State militants.

The U.S.-led coalition previously said it would take at least two years to fully expel the radical militants from Iraq.

A crowd analytics system based on Beijing's experience in preventing stampedes at major commercial areas is expected to be rolled out nationwide.

For the last five years, the Chinese capital has been using a crowd analytics system, which was developed by the Beijing Municipal Institute of Labor Protection.

The system provides real-time data on crowd density, distribution and flow and can identify crowd patterns that indicate potential danger in major tourist areas.

If a risk is detected, the system can issue a 10 minute alert to help authorities make an emergency response decision.

Crowded conditions and lax safety management during festivities can result in safety problems.

The Chinese government says China will step up its efforts in improving public awareness of genetically modified technology in agriculture in 2015.

Focused on agricultural modernization, the No. 1 Central Document notes the country will strengthen the technical study, safety management and better public awareness of GM technology.

Compared with the United States and many South American countries that have freely adopted GM technologies, China has shown a marked reluctance to do so.

Though there is no evidence that GM crops harm human health or the environment and most Chinese know little about these technologies, they seem to overwhelmingly regard them with great suspicion.

Many of the most outspoken critics in the country are celebrities and their high profiles have helped the campaign against GM organisms gain strong support.

However, last year Chinese President Xi Jinping suggested that genetically modified organisms will finally be accepted in China and the technology should be allowed to develop in the country so long as the right caution is exercised.

The first subway train produced in China for the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil has arrived in Rio de Janeiro, three months after shipment.

Built by Changchun Railway Vehicles under China CNR Corporation, the train is expected to be put into operation by the end of March or beginning of April.

It is designed to be rust-proof, given the humidity in Rio, while the windows and doors are made from blast-proof materials.

The company has signed contracts to produce 204 subway trains and 400 motor train units, comprising 82% of Rio de Janeiro's urban rail transit.

The subway trains will operate on Line Four, between the Olympic village and the Copacabana game center.

This will be the first time that Chinese railway transportation development serves the Olympic Games overseas.

Campaigners urged British lawmakers to seize a chance to become the first in the world to allow three-way fertility treatments to families who want to avoid passing on incurable diseases to their children.

Charities and advocacy groups say the opportunity "offers families the first glimmer of hope that they might be able to have a baby that will live without pain and suffering."

The technique under debate is often referred to as three-parent in vitro fertilisation (IVF) because the offspring would have genes from a mother, a father and from a female donor.

The process, still only at the research stage in Britain and the United States, involves intervening in the fertilisation process to remove faulty DNA, which can cause inherited conditions such as fatal heart problems, liver failure, brain disorders and blindness.

It is feared by critics who say it effectively allows "designer babies" because it would involve implanting genetically modified embryos into women.

The first large-scale trials of an experimental vaccine against Ebola are due to begin in Liberia.

The potentially preventative medicine was taken under strict security to a secret location in the West African country.

More than 8,500 people have died in the Ebola outbreak, the vast majority in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The trial beginning on Monday will involve injecting a small amount of the strain of the Ebola virus into 12 volunteers in order to trick the body into producing an immune response.

"New norm" of Chinese economy provides greater opportunities to entrepreneurs: business leaders

During a recent innovation forum held here in Beijing, some business leaders say they remain upbeat over the future of entrepreneurship in China.

It is used by policymakers, business leaders and academics to describe a slower but more balanced and sustainable growth for the world's second largest economy.

At the same time, the transition period has caused some pain to the real economy, which is felt by local governments, large companies and certain sectors including the real-estate market and the heavy industry.

However, Cai Hongyuan, Dean of the Guanghua School of Management with Peking University, says on the other hand, the new norm provides greater opportunities to entrepreneurs.

"I think the most important feature or characteristic of the new stage or new norm is that the innovation is lot more important driving force to economic growth. That means innovation and entrepreneurship will be critical for a long term growth in the future from now on. "

Numerous successful stories have emerged at a time when the Chinese economy is emphasizing on quality rather than quantity.

Its creator Liao Jieyuan used 5 million yuan back in 2010 to make this happened. Its website and mobile app allow people to book doctor appointments with a simple touch in a country where people complain about overcrowded hospitals.

In four years, the company has been named as one of the 15 most valuable unlisted Internet companies in China.

"As an entrepreneur myself, I think now is the time for young people to use their specialties to make some real changes and help the whole economy grow in a more efficient manner."

In fact, the Chinese government has been actively promoting innovation and entrepreneurship.

Guanghua business Professor Liu Qiao says that requires a better and more up-to-date knowledge about new technologies.

"I think for entrepreneurs and innovators who want to be more successful, I think they should understand the future trend of technologies. They should also understand the big picture about the advancement of technology in business."

When it comes to technological innovations, a recent global innovation index compiled by the World Intellectual Property Organization and several business education institutions is suggesting China ranks the 29th place in the world.

Liu Qiao says he believes Chinese entrepreneurs will take the lead in technological innovation in the global market.

"I don't think in the future Chinese firms will always do this copy-paste thing. They have different path in the future. But one thing that is extremely critical is that you have to be on the top of the technologies and also understanding about how to capitalize technologies. "

The New England Patriots have captured their first Super Bowl title in 10 years after beating defending champions the Seattle Seahawks 28-24.

The Seahawks were just one yard away from their fourth touchdown, but a pass from quarterback Russell Wilson was intercepted by New England's cornerback Malcolm Butler with 20 seconds remaining.

The Patriots were down 14-24 after the first three quarters, but quarterback Tom Brady rallied the Patriots to snatch two touchdowns in the fourth.

Brady also set two Super Bowl records along the way, first a record of 11 TD passes and then another for 37 completions.

He was named the most valuable player of the Super Bowl, but was all praise for Butler's game-sealing interception.

"Unbelievable play by Malcolm. We didn't call a timeout and the clock was winding down and we realised, you know, this is basically it if we stopped them. I saw the interception and couldn't believe it. It was just an incredible play."

They became the sixth franchise to win the biggest sporting event over in the states four times.

The four teams of Dongguan, Guangdong, Jilin and Beijing are grouped in the upper zone and will battle for one final berth.

Guangsha, Liaoning, Shanxi and Qingdao are in the other bracket and will contend for the other final berth.

Action will officially start this Friday with Dongguan taking on cross-province rival Guangdong and Beijing on the road to Jilin.

The Xinjiang Flying Tigers have missed the playoff this time around for the first time in eight years.

Xinjiang drubbed Foshan 129-103 last night. However, the final spot went to Dongguan after the Leopards beat Beijing and leap frogged Xinjiang in standings.

But Xinjiang's chances of staging a comeback season have been boosted. Various reports are now suggesting that the team have signed 19-year-old Zhou Qi, described by many as China's next Yao Ming, in recent days.

Zhou, who is 217 centimeters tall, helped China's national youth team win two international tournaments in 2011.

In the east, LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers will host the struggling Philadelphia 76ers.

Atlanta is also on the road, looking to extend their winning streak to 20 with a victory over New Orleans.

Dallas are awaiting the Minnesota Timberwolves and lastly, Memphis are looking to grab a win at Phoenix.

Linel Messi scored the winning goal as Barcelona beat Villareal 3-2 to stay relevant in the La Liga title race.

Barca came from behind twice to win their eighth game in a row and the victory put them just one point behind leaders Real Madrid.

Arsenal have caught up with Southampton's 42 points and moved up to the fifth, after the team won a precious three points by thrashing Aston Villa 5-nil on their home pitch.

It was the first time Arsenal have hit five goals in a match this season and marked the third victory in a row for Arsene Wenger's side.

However, they are still six points behind second-placed Man City and 11 points behind leaders Chelsea.

In Formula One, Sebastian Vettel made a formidable debut with Ferrari in the first pre-season testing in Perez, Spain.

The four-time world champion had the fastest one-lap speed, but only drove 60 laps on the day.

Alonso, having moved from Ferrari, only managed six laps in total and was seventh fastest.

Lastly, in golf, world number one Rory McIlroy has continued his good form in the Arabian Desert and clinched the Dubai Desert Classic.

McIlroy won the title three shots ahead of Sweden's Alex Noren and finished on a tournament record equaling 22-under-par.

It is the first title of the season for the Northern Irishman after he finished second in Abu Dhabi earlier this month.

"It feels great you know to get my first win of the season, which is really nice. I feel like I have been knocking on the door a little bit, and played well in Abu Dhabi and you know didn't quite get the job done and to finish it off here is fantastic. And to get my name on that trophy for the second time is really good."

17-year-old Lydia Ko of New Zealand has become the youngest golfer to become world number one by tying for second place at the LPGA season opener Coates Championship in Florida.

Ko ended the 2014 season by winning the CME Titleholders event in November, and a 1 million US dollar prize for claiming the season-long points race.

Indian blockbuster PK is set for a wide release in China following a deal with Disney India.

A contract was signed in Beijing last week in the presence of the Indian ambassador to China and an official with China's film and television watchdog.

PK tells the story of an alien played by Aamir Khan who lands in India and ends up questioning the country's traditions.

It has grossed 100 million dollars worldwide with 89 million coming from international markets.

The previous Indian film to release in China was 2013 action caper Dhoom 3, which was released last July across 2,000 screens.

A release date has not yet been given for PK however a spokesperson for Disney India said it would be very soon.

Well we've heard about the action on the pitch from the Super Bowl now it's time to hear about Katy Perry's halftime show.

Viewers of the Super Bowl definitely heard Katy Perry roar with some assistance from Lenny Kravitz and surprise guest Missy Elliott.

The performance started with Perry riding on a giant robot animal before Kravitz brought a little bit of rock and roll to the pop performance.

Perry put on a colorful show performing hits such as California Girls and Teenage Dreams, with dancing sharks and beach balls in the background. She closed the performance with Firework while floating through the stadium.

Even if you're not a fan of the mega star, you had to be impressed with her spectacle. She owned the show with her fantastic vocals and hilarious props.

It's not just about the game or the half time show at the Super Bowl,it's also about the adverts screened.

The clip welcomes us to the park, where we see actor Chris Pratt doing a spot of Dino whispering as he trains a trio of raptors.

We also get to see more of the main attraction, a new dinosaur that was created by the park called Indominus Rex who kills for sport and wreaks havoc on the terrified guests.

Other movie trailers screened during the Super Bowl included Pitch Perfect 2, Ted 2, Minions and Terminator Genisys.

The hip hop star has made a 56 million dollar bid for the Scandinavian company which operates music streaming company Tidal in the US and elsewhere including Canada and the UK.

The company also owns the WiMP music service in Norway, Sweden and other parts of Europe.

Both services offer much better music quality than the bigger streaming companies including Spotify and Pandora however the subscription fees are a bit more pricy at 20 US dollars monthly.

Jay Z and his companies see the move to net streaming of music and video as something listeners want and a way to promote artists' music.

More information about the offer is expected to be made public in about two weeks. Then an acceptance period runs till March 11.

An actor from the hit Power Rangers tv series has been jailed on suspicion of fatally stabbing his roommate with a sword.

Ricardo Medina is being held on a 1 million U.S. dollar bail in connection with the fatal stabbing of his roommate in the apartment they shared.

A spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's office says the pair got into an argument and when the actor's roommate tried to break into his room, Medina picked up a sword from his bedside and stabbed his roommate. He later called the emergency services and waited for first responders to arrive.

Medina played the Red Lion Wild Force Ranger in the Power Rangers Wild Force series in 2002 and voiced the character Deker for both a tv series and a video game for Power Rangers Samurai. He has also appeared in episodes of ER and CSI:Miami.

新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 20:00 2015/02/02（在线收听）