The Beijing Hour

 

Morning Edition

 

 

It's Mark Griffiths with you this Sunday, June 14th 2015.

Welcome to the Beijing Hour, live from the Chinese capital.

Coming up on our program this morning...

The last few bodies recovered from the ferry disaster on the Yangtze River are identified.

China and the United States sign a framework document establishing an Army-to-Army Dialogue Mechanism between the two countries.

Investors call on young talents in Taiwan to start businesses on the Chinese mainland.

In our weekly Sci Tech Review.... Doctors in Shanghai have separated conjoined twins with the help of 3D printing technology.

In Sports... Switzerland tops the medal table with 3 golds after the first day of the European Games.

In Entertainment...The 18th Shanghai International Film Festival gets underway with Mike Tyson, Jackie Chan and Aaron Kwok walking the red carpet at the opening ceremony.

 

 

Top News

 

 

Final Bodies of Ferry Disaster on Yangtze River Identified

The last few bodies recovered from this month's ferry disaster on the Yangtze River have now been positively identified.

The final body, which has been missing since the accident took place, was recovered on Friday.

At the same time, authorities have now readjusted the numbers connected to the disaster, confirming that only 12 people survived.

Tang Guanjun is head of Yangtze River Administration of Navigational Affairs.

"Earlier announced number of survivors was 14, but after repeated checks and verification, the number was confirmed to be 12. We did not get the number accurate at first mainly because the rescue work was done by different systems and departments, and some relevant data overlapped."

The authorities now say there were 454 people on the Eastern Star when it flipped over, not 456 as originally thought.

Among them, 403 were tourists, 46 were members of the crew and 5 were tour guides.

The Eastern Star capsized in a heavy storm which hit the ship on June 1st while it was heading up the Yangtze River from Nanjing to Chongqing.

Most of the 442 who died were seniors from the Shanghai area.

 

 

China, US Sign AADM

Anchor:

China and the United States have signed a framework document in an initiative to establish an Army-to-Army Dialogue Mechanism between the two countries. Experts say this will help bolster the bilateral military relationship.

CRI's Yu Yang reports.

Reporter:

General Fan Changlong, the Vice Chair of China's Central Military Commission, witnessed the signing of the document at the National Defense University in Washington D.C. on the last day of his visit to the US.

The document is the first of its kind in recent years regarding cooperation between the ground forces of the two countries.

U.S. Army General Raymond Odierno says under the new mechanism, the two armies can work better together to deal with common challenges.

"Today marks a new level of military-to-military relationships and dialogue between the United States Army and People's Liberation Army. This signing is designed to strengthen areas of cooperation and help us in order to work through our common challenges. We will strive to build professional ties and deepen an expertise through educational exchanges for officers and soldiers."

The Chinese Ministry of National Defense says the AADM framework is expected to open a new channel for leaders in the two armies to raise and discuss issues of mutual concern, such as humanitarian assistance and disaster response practices.

Guan Youfei is from the Foreign Affairs Office of the ministry.

"With the signing of the framework document, the two sides are planning to conduct a joint land-based exercise or a military skills competition as early as next year and develop it into an exemplary cooperation mode in the future."

Zhao Xiaozhuo, with the Academy of Military Science, says the framework marks a significant step forward for the two sides to develop military ties.

"Last year, the two sides signed the mechanism for the notification of major military activities and the Code for Unplanned Air or Maritime Encounters. With the endorsement of the framework, the communication mechanism between the two armies will further improve. The framework aims to enhance cooperation while managing risks. It can boost the effort to develop the bilateral military ties in an institutionalized and stable way."

Fan Changlong's week-long trip is seen as part of preparations for President Xi Jinping's state visit to the US in September.

During his visit, Fan has also reaffirmed his commitment to reach consensus by September on the air-to-air annex to the U.S.-China Memorandum of Understanding on the rules of behavior for the safety of air and maritime encounters.

The new annex aims to reduce the risk of miscalculation or accidents when the two countries` aircraft operate in close proximity.

Meanwhile, China has been invited to take part in next year's Rim of the Pacific Exercise, the world's largest international maritime warfare drill, while Fan has invited U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter for a visit to Beijing later this year.

For CRI, I'm Yu Yang.

 

 

Investors Call on Young Talents from Taiwan to Start Business in Mainland

Anchor:

Investors are calling on young talents in Taiwan to start their businesses on the Chinese mainland at the ongoing 13th Straits Youth Forum.

CRI's Luo Yu reports from Xiamen.

Report:

At the forum, investors urge more youth in Taiwan to consider the mainland as the ideal place to start their business ventures.

Scott Zheng is one of China's best known angel investors. He explains why the Chinese mainland is a land of opportunity for youngsters in Taiwan.

'Honestly, Taiwan might be your focus at the initial stage. Yet I hope that you will broaden your minds and embrace the Chinese mainland, because the mainland is a massive market and it'll maintain the momentum of rapid economic development in the coming 20 years, though we might see some fine-tuning or adjustments.'

However, entrepreneurs have to be aware of the differences in start-up culture between the mainland and Taiwan. Dai Zhouying, CA Ventures Managing Partner, is one of those who first invested on the island.

'In Taiwan, a lot of entrepreneurs have done a great job in lean operations, even in Asia, due to the limited market size. Business owners have to make great strides to optimize their operations to improve their efficiency thereby increasing profit margins. In contrast, on the mainland, entrepreneurs lay more emphasis on the pace and the scale of their businesses because their projects will serve 1.3 billion potential customers.'

A Taiwan college student named Jiang Zhu-Hsiang started his bio-technical company in Fujian a couple of months ago. He maps out the future of his business.

'I think there are two things I found very charming on the Chinese mainland. One is the humongous amount of venture capital and the other is the government support. Now we have held talks with the high-tech zone in Xiamen. In the future, we hope to establish a lab that runs on a daily basis, and promote our business idea at the same time.'

Lin Yi Yuan, a college girl form Taichung, says the mainland offers more favorable policies for student entrepreneurs.

'The business environment for start-ups is better that that in Taiwan. Besides large capital, universities will provide offices for their students. I've asked a student in Hangzhou and she said that it's more of a tendency here in mainland. Offices, water, electricity are all free and there is start-up fund for the project. I think it's very good. In Taiwan, we don't have this policy yet.'

The business environment seems captivating for start-ups following Premier Li Keqiang's remarks to encourage mass innovation to counter the downward pressure and boost the economy. But Vincent Wang, chairman of Sunsino Venture Group in Taiwan, says entrepreneurs should be cautious of the challenges ahead.

'There is a lot potential to start their businesses, but there are still legal constraints. Such as the ICP license, also the joint venture agreement, stuff like that. And also the exit for the IPO market. They the obstacles that have to be overcome.'

This year's forum highlights innovation and creativity among young people across the straits. More than 60 percent of the participants come from Taiwan.

As an important part of the 7th Straits Forum, the Straits Youth Forum aims to encourage young talents to realize their potential on the 'broad stage' of cross-Strait cooperation.

For CRI, I'm Luo Yu reporting in Xiamen.

 

 

Incredible 'Beijing Blue' Brings Outing Boom

Anchor:

Since Thursday, the capital city of Beijing has embraced blue sky and puffy white clouds after thunderstorms and strong wind took away air pollution.

The so called 'Beijing Blue' has transformed the city which has long been criticized for its smog pollution.

CRI' Wang Wei reports.

Reporter:

Photos of the capital's breathtaking blue sky and fleecy clouds have gone viral on social network websites.

The uncommonly clear sky and fresh air have enticed many residents to go outdoors and take a photographic record of the good weather.

Local residents have expressed their passion for the summery conditions.

"I feel that APEC blue has come back, and the clean air makes people feel comfortable." "I like going out in such good weather, and I hope this can last in the future. Young people are more willing to going outdoors. It's good for us." "Beijing has witnessed really good weather recently, with blue sky and white puffy clouds. It'll be great if this can carry on."

Thousands of people are choosing to hang out in parks or suburban areas getting close to nature and enjoying the beautiful scenery.

Not only Beijing, but also neighboring Tianjin city has seen blue sky.

Ma Xuekuan with China's National Meteorological Center explains the reasons.

"The cold vortex in high altitude brings continuous fresh cold air which can help to dilute and diffuse pollutants in the air. Meanwhile, the cold vortex brings more rainfall, also contributing to air cleaning. So air condition in the north region of the country is very good."

Besides meteorological factors, the authorities have made intense efforts in recent years to curb air pollution in the capital which is frequently enveloped in acrid smog.

To prevent the situation from worsening, the government has banned substandard vehicles and increased funding to fight pollution.

The capital has closed a series of coal power plants, to bring back "APEC Blue" -- a phrase describing the city's clear skies during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings last November.

Local authorities also aim to reduce the density of PM 2.5, particulate matter that causes hazardous smog, by twenty percent by 2017.

An anonymous Beijing resident says she is confident about the government's measures to tackle air pollution.

"I believe that through the government's efforts in fighting air pollution, residents can enjoy more and more clean days like this."

At the same time, officials point out that 'Beijing Blue' could ease the public's concerns over the air pollution problem and attract more tourists from both home and abroad.

Statistics show that the capital has witnessed a steady decline in tourists' number from 2012 to last year, with air pollution considered a major factor.

For CRI, this is Wang Wei.

 

 

Suspect Shot after Police HQ Attack in Dallas

Police in Dallas, Texas, have shot and killed a man after he attacked the police headquarters in the city.

There were no known links to terrorism.

The city's Police Chief David Brown.

"There are bullet holes in squad cars where officers were sitting. There are bullet holes in the front lobby where our staff was sitting, and one staff member had just walked away to get a coke. If they had stayed there during the ordeal, they would have been shot, we believe and killed, based on the trajectory of the bullets."

Police snipers shot the suspect through the front windshield of his armored van outside a restaurant.

Nobody was hurt or killed except for the suspect.

Police officers did not directly approach the van at first due to the threat of explosives inside.

Preliminary investigation shows the incident stemmed from an issue surrounding custody of the suspect's child.

 

 

Rouhani: Final Nuclear Deal "Within Reach"-6125

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has warned that a comprehensive nuclear deal could be delayed if western powers bring new issues into play.

"If the other side sticks to the framework that has been established and does not bring new issues into play, I believe the nuclear issue can be solved and we can reach an agreement. But if they want to take the path of brinkmanship, the negotiations could take longer."

Rouhani made the remarks at a news conference on Saturday marking two years of his presidency.

Iran is aiming to strike an accord with six powers by the end of this month that would curtail its nuclear programme in exchange for relief from sanctions.

But negotiators have hit an impasse, in part over how much enhanced access inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency should have to Iranian military sites.

The U.S. and France have called on Iran to grant the access.

　　

But Tehran has refused, citing the risk of security-sensitive information being passed on to Western intelligence agencies.

 

 

Sierra Leone enforces curfew as Ebola virus resurfaces in North West regions

Anchor:

Sierra Leone has enforced a curfew in the face of a renewed outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in the north west of the country. The government has also extended the state of emergency.

CRI's Poornima Weerasekara reports

Reporter:

Sierra Leone has enforced a three-week curfew in two northern districts after 15 new cases of Ebola were reported in the region last week. This was the highest weekly Ebola case count in the country in nearly three months.

In Guinea, the outbreak has spread into districts previously free of the disease, including the border area with Guinea Bissau.

Among the three worst-affected countries, only Liberia has been declared Ebola-free since May.

Joanne Liu, head of the medical charity Doctors without Borders warns that the epidemic could flare-up again, but that health authorities are no better equipped to control it than they were a year ago.

"The reality today, if we were to have Ebola to hit at the scale that it did in August and September, we would hardly do much better than we did last time around."

Week after week, up to a few dozen new Ebola cases are still being reported in West Africa. Public health officials are racing to find out what's driving these pockets of Ebola transmission.

In Sierra Leone, health workers are still struggling to convince some people not to seek treatment from local healers.

In Guinea the challenges are greater, with surprise cases surfacing beyond the known chains of transmission. The practice of unsafe burials, that could spread the disease further, are still taking place, with 19 such cases reported just last week in Guinea.

Liu says there was a state of "semi-denial" about the virus similar to the time when it was first discovered 18 months ago.

"It's not over until it's over. I'm very concerned about the fact that there's a general fatigue and waning of attention on Ebola, and that people are basically declaring victory before it's time. And that is really detrimental. We need to finish the job. To get to the finish line, we're going to probably need to double our effort; otherwise we will never get there."

Leaders of the G7 industrial nations this week vowed to wipe out the epidemic that has killed more than 11,100 people across West Africa, but offered little concrete action.

The World Health Organisation has been criticized for its slow reaction when the epidemic first broke out

The WHO did not declare an international public health emergency until August last year, more than eight months after the first Ebola case, delaying resources to the sick.

But last month they pledged to setup an international epidemic prevention task force.

Liu, however, says medical workers on the ground are not optimistic about the world's response to another potential outbreak.

"What happened in Ebola is we didn't get one earthquake, but we've been getting a mass casualty event on a daily basis for 10 months. Can we sustain that? And will there be an international workforce ready to deploy that long? And that's what we need to ensure, that it's not only a very appealing sexy ideas, but it's the fact that how will it translate into action in the field afterwards?"

Those on the front-lines of the battle against Ebola say that top leaders need to step up efforts to turn promises into reality.

For CRI I'm Poornima Weerasekara

 

 

Lavender Festival Kicks off in Ili

Anchor:

Over the weekend, the 5th Huocheng Lavender Festival has begun in Xinjiang's Ili prefecture. Tens of thousands of people will visit the China's largest lavender fields during the one-week festival.

CRI's Wang Mengzhen brings us more on why and how the lavender industry is growing so rapidly in Ili, Xinjiang.

Reporter:

Every June, a large number of tourists from China and aboard are surrounded by purple waves as lavender comes into blossom in Huocheng county, Xinjiang, the so-called "Oriental Provence".

This is the 5th year of the Huocheng lavender festival, which features a lavender experts' forum, a "Miss. Lavender" beauty contest, and ethnic groups' traditional performances.

Yang Menghan, a tourist from Shanghai is surprised about how much lavender is planted in Xinjiang.

"For me, the sheer number of lavender fields in Ili (伊犁) came as a really big shock. Previously, I thought this kind of plant could only be cultivated in foreign countries, and I just realize it can grow so well in China. I would like to buy some lavender-derived essential oil for my relatives and friends."

Back in the 1960s, three species of lavender were introduced from Provence, France to Ili for the first time.

Since Huocheng is located at the same latitude as the world famous lavender base Provence, the city has ideal climate conditions to plant the crop on an industrial scale.

After half a century, Huocheng has taken up 98% of China's lavender fields.

French lavender expert Pierre Ross still remembers his first visit to Ili several years ago, when he took a sample of Xinjiang's lavender seeds back to a laboratory in France.

Mr. Ross has been working on how to improve the lavenders' quality in Xinjiang over the past few years.

"I would like to say with confidence, you know... the great difference between lavender from Ili and lavender from Provence is the price, because it is the French (brand), it is more expensive. So for example, if Americans know that, they would buy more lavender from Xinjiang. "

As Ili stands at a key position for building China's Silk Road Economic Belt, Ren Ke, CEO of the local lavender giant Jieyou Princess is expecting more opportunities for Xinjiang lavender to go global.

"In the past, we were lagging behind those global top brands due to the less well developed technology. Thanks to the "Belt and Road" initiative, the authorities have helped us bring more foreign experts here. As such, the improved quality has created good conditions for our products to sell overseas. "

In recent years, more and more farmers have turned their eyes from tradition food crops to lavender planting, since the latter is more lucrative.

The number of farmers planting lavender in Huocheng County has now reached 15 thousand.

For CRI, I am Wang Mengzhen in Xinjiang.

 

 

Leave Your Phone in Your Pocket Please

Anchor:

Nocializing, or phubbing refers to the act of being out in a public setting but only spending time on a mobile device, ignoring the people around you. But, besides hurting the feelings of family and friends, there are even worse consequences caused by nocializing and phubbing: it could cost you your life.

Our reporter Chi Huiguang brings us the facts and a warning.

Reporter:

A man in his twenties was killed by a car when he was riding a bicycle in Beijing on the night on April 4th.

Witnesses told the police that the car escaped after the crash. Deng was the driver. According to him, he was sending a wechat message via his mobile phone at that moment.

"I heard a sound of 'Bang' then, and found that the right wing mirror had been folded but not broken. I thought I just scratched someone's car. I didn't think too much and left immediately."

Deng, the criminal suspect is now under arrest approved by Changping District Procuratorate. He admitted that he found the right part of front windshield was broken. Then he took a photo of the glass and posted it on his timeline, typing: scared. But committed a hit-and-run until being arrested.

Chen Lei is a procurator at Changping District Procuratorate.

"At that time, he paid all his attention on his mobile phone so that he didn't realize that his car had been deviated from the original direction. Then the unavoidable result was caused. "

Nowadays, there are nocializers and phubbers everywhere in the streets around the globe. Among them, drivers on the roads can be considered as the most dangerous group.

Yang Zhi is an instructor at Police Acadamy.

"When you are driving on the city roads, if you look down on your mobile phone screen, your attention is diverted immediately. If you face an emergency, the braking distance multiplies."

Yang did an experiment to show how Nocializing influences safe driving.

He supposed that it would take 2 seconds for a driver to take a glance at the mobile phone and then turn to watch the road. He calls the distance a car has passed during the 2 seconds as "blind driving".

The experiment results show that when a car is at 40 kilometers per hours, the blind distance is more than 20 meters; when the car speed is 80 kilometers per hour, the blind distance becomes over 40 meters; as the car is at 120 kilometers per hour, the blind distance reaches beyond 120 meters long.

Yang Zhi explains, if we take the response time that a driver realizes the dangerous condition into account, the blind driving distance is much longer than the experiment results.

Compared with the nocializing drivers, walking phubbers threaten less to others but put their own lives in danger.

On May 13th, in Zhuha, south China's Guangdong province, a woman who was talking through her mobile phone as she walked across the street, was struck down by a truck, and then was killed when run over by another truck.

Before the dawn of July 14th last year, in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan province, a man named Xiao was hurt by a car when he was playing on his mobile phone, without noticing that he had walked into the middle of the road.

Last year in a subway station in Shanghai, a passenger stepped off the platform while playing mobile phone.

According to the surveillance video, he maintained eye contact with the screen as he was falling down.

Leng Song, secretary-general of the media research center at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, explains:

"When we overuse any kind of new media or equipment, it hurts those around us."

Leng elaborates, these accidents are visible lessons, but there are also some hidden dangers caused by social alienation that are even more worrisome.

"It causes more indifference among people. For example, if the timelines of social media and communications via wechat can replace the real society, we don't have to see each other anymore. This causes a great deal of people to have communication barriers that they cannot communicate their feelings face to face."

Nocializing or phubbing has become a common concern around the world, there have been many public advertisements to remind us, do not use mobile phone in the streets, cafeteria or even office, treasure the lives of ourselves and others; respect to the scenery, food and music, as well as the work we are in.

For CRI, I am Chi Huiguang.

 

 

Weather

 

 

Beijing is sunny today with a high of 32 degrees Celsius; tonight cloudy with a low of 17.

Shanghai , overcast to rainy with a high of 28 and a low of 24 degrees Celsius.

Chongqing, overcast with a high of 26 and a low of 22 degrees Celsius.

Lhasa, is wet with a high of 22 and a low of 10 degrees Celsius.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,

Islamabad, rainy, 37.

Kabul, cloudy, 25.

Over in North America,

New York will be overcast with a high of 19 degrees Celsius.

Washington, rainy, 24.

Honolulu, also wet, 26.

Toronto, rainy, 28.

In South America,

Buenos Aires will be sunny with a high of 15.

And Rio de Janeiro will also see bright sunshine with a high of 29.

 

 

Headline news

 

 

Final death toll of China capsized cruise ship at 442

The final death toll rose to 442 as bodies of the last few missing people from the capsized Yangtze River cruise ship Eastern Star were found.

Only 12 people survived the disaster.

Earlier 456 people were reported to have been aboard the cruise ship and 14 survived.

The final revisions were made after further check-ups and verifications.

All the dead have been identified after DNA testing and the bodies had been transferred to relatives.

Search and rescue operations have ended, but an investigation is still under way.

The Eastern Star cruise ship was on an 11-day trip along the Yangtze River when it was overturned by a tornado on the night of June 1.

 

 

Top political advisor calls for closer cross-Strait ties

China's top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng has called on people across the Taiwan Strait to build closer relations and work together to create a better life.

Yu Zhengsheng made the remarks when meeting a group of people from Taiwan who had come to attend the 7th Strait Forum in the coastal city of Xiamen in Fujian Province.

The visitors from Taiwan share the same family roots as local people living in Xiamen's Qingjiao village.

Yu Zhengsheng also applauded ideas from the youth representatives from both the mainland and Taiwan, who have formed a cooperative society serving cross-Strait start-ups.

He will attend the opening ceremony of the 7th Strait Forum on Sunday.

The forum is the largest annual event for cross-Strait exchanges at grassroots level.

 

 

Heartbroken mother says farewell to children after mass suicide

The mother of 4 children who took their own lives this week in a rural area of Guizhou has returned to the village to say goodbye to her kids.

32-year old Ren Xifen says if she had to do it over again, she would find a way to pay for their care, regardless of the cost.

Her children, between the ages of 5 and 13, killed themselves by drinking poison after being left without parental supervision since March, after their father left to find work.

The case has highlighted the plight of so-called "left-behind" children in China.

The case has prompted Premier Li Keqiang to call for better supervision of and care of children in need.

 

 

Suspected MERS patient transported to Bratislava Hospital

A patient suspected of having Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) has been transported from Zilina to Bratislava University Hospital in Slovakia.

The individual showing symptoms of the disease is a 39-year-old foreign national.

The suspicion that the patient has been infected by MERS hasn't been confirmed yet.

The Slovak Public Health Authority along with the police are searching for individuals who might have come in contact with the patient.

 

 

Sci&Tech

 

 

Doctors in Shanghai have separated conjoined twins with the help of 3D printing technology.

China plans to use its home-grown Beidou satellite navigation system to detect gas leaks.

A study shows that chimpanzees can smile silently just like humans.

CRI's Wenjie has more.

Doctors in Shanghai have successfully separated conjoined twins with the help of 3D printing technology.

The twin sisters, born in east China's Jiangxi province three-months ago, were connected at the hip and shared one lower bowel.

Chief surgeon Zheng Shan with the Children's Hospital of Fudan University says that they used 3D printing to build two models of the babies' connected parts.

"We carried out the surgery very precisely. The 3D printed models help us better understand the bent angel of the lower connected spine, so that we could find the starting point more precisely to ensure the separate and healthy systems of the babies. "

The twins were separated and had their anuses and perineum reconstructed after a five hour operation.

Zheng says that the twins' ability to bear children will not be affected.

Chinese authorities have announced plans to use the Beidou Satellite Navigation system to help log and detect possible leaks in gas pipelines.

The system will be used to establish a coordination center to monitor pipelines around the country.

There are some 400-thousand kilometers of gas pipelines in China.

They're all fitted with pressure transistors that indicate low pressure or potential leaks.

Engineers say using Beidou will help them more accurately record locations where leaks are occurring.

A Hong Kong startup has developed a robot to help detect wildfires on the Chinese mainland.

Rex Sham set up the firm named Insight Robotics in 2009 with his partner Kevin Chan.

Sham says that the robot they created can pinpoint fires before they spread and alert firefighters.

Catastrophic wildfires tend to cause massive damages in countries like Canada, the United States and Australia.

Sham adds that forest fires also contribute up to 30 percent of global carbon emissions each year.

"In a random discussion we say if water does not work, then let's go fire. And then we go do some research and then we find out that forest fire is the largest carbon emissions source in the world. It is really a serious issue if carbon trading is coming into practice. So that is a lot of money actually."

Seventy fire detection robots have been sold to 10 mainland cities since 2013.

EasyJet, an UK budget airline, has successfully inspected one of its aircraft by using an automated drone.

The smart and soaring drone is expected to do detailed checks of aircraft to assess damage.

Engineers will decide whether or not to maintain a plane when drones send information back.

Mark Bunting is the EasyJet Project Manager.

"So, the drones allow us to get the aircraft back into service as quick as possible. We'll be able to do an inspection and understand what needs to be fixed, fix it and get it back in service, so the passengers should see less disruption and a faster return to service."

It's thought that by using this technology checks could be finished in a couple of hours instead of more than a day, which is usual.

EasyJet hopes that drones can be used at their up to ten European engineering bases by the end of next year.

The ultimate aim of the airline is that the drone can achieve automatic damage recognition by itself.

Tilmann Gabriel, an aviation expert of the City University London, says that he hopes a number of airlines to experiment with this kind of technology.

"It's predominantly an easyJet solution for easyJet maintenance. I would assume that other airlines will look at this and will maybe copy that because if it a secure way of checking such event like lightning strike it would be a nice tool to have quickly, to dispose."

Besides, the airline also previewed that it hopes to use 3D printing technology to produce replacement parts of an aircraft.

Ian Davies is the head of engineering of easyJet.

"Some of the items we have in the cabin that get broken - arm caps, the side panels, plastic items at the moment, they get broken day in day out - are really hard to get, they have leap times with the manufacturer. What we're using is we're removing them, we are scanning them, we are 3D printing the prototype and from the prototype we can create moulds to be able to make these things in thousands at a fraction of the cost that we're used to."

The airline's next generation of engines, the LEAP engine, is set to feature 3D printing technology, including 3D printed fuel nozzles, fan blades and ceramic matrix composites.

A new study has revealed that chimpanzees can smile without making a laughing sound, just like humans.

The new findings, published in the U.S. journal PLOS ONE, said that chimps' communication is more similar to humans than was previously known.

Lead author Marina Davila-Ross from Britain's University of Portsmouth filmed 46 chimpanzees at a wildlife orphanage in Zambia with her colleagues.

And then, they used a facial action coding system called ChimpFACS to measure the animals' subtle facial movements.

The study showed that chimpanzees produced the same 14 types of 'laugh faces' whether or not they present laugh sounds.

Researchers thus suggested that laugh faces of humans must have gradually emerged from laughing open-mouth faces of ancestral apes.

But Davila-Ross noted that there are still differences between humans and our ape ancestors.

Another interesting finding is that chimps rarely display crow's feet when laughing, which is often shown by laughing humans.

Oculus, the virtual reality company owned by Facebook Inc, has unveiled the much-anticipated consumer version of its headset, Oculus Rift on Thursday.

The headset is set to provide a more immersive gaming experience by simulating the sensation of touch and gesturing.

Oculus VR's CEO Brendan Iribe shows off the latest Oculus Rift headset at the news event in San Francisco.

"So here it is, this is it. This is the Oculus Rift. It's light you can hold it with one hand. With this device you're going to finally be able to teleport to new worlds."

The touch controllers unveiled are designed to enable people to pick up guns and other objects in the fantasy scenes they see through Oculus Rift.

The controllers will also make it possible to point and wave inside the video games being played on the Rift.

Palmer Luckey is the founder of Oculus VR.

"This is Oculus Touch. These are going to take virtual reality gaming to the next level. Come on let's clap. Let's do it. Oculus Touch is a pair of track controllers that we've created to take VR to the next level. These are feature prototypes for Oculus Touch, a set of prototypes that we've codenamed Half Moon. We wanted to enable the best and widest range of virtual reality experiences."

Oculus also announced a partnership with Microsoft to make the headset compatible with the Xbox One gaming console.

Video game expert Jon Hicks says that he is looking forward to the advent of virtual reality gaming

"I think it's the most exciting and potentially innovative thing that we've had in a very long time and I think the fact that it's taking a while to come out is a really good sign because it means that people are taking the time to get it right."

The price of Rift hasn't been announced yet, but Oculus had said the headset and the computer needed to run it will cost about 1,500 US dollars at a conference last month.

The consumer version of Rift will be available for pre-order later this year, and start shipping early next year.

And that concludes this week's sci&tech report, I'm Wenjie, see you next week!

 

 

Sports

 

 

Colombia Stun France 2-0 in WWC Group F

In football action from the Women's World Cup in Canada,

Colombia stunned third-ranked France 2-nil on Saturday in Moncton, one of the biggest upsets in Women's World Cup history.

Lady Andrade and Catalina Usme each scored a goal for their country.

This marks the first World Cup win for Colombia.

France wraps up group play against Mexico on Wednesday and Colombia will next face England.

In other action,

Brazil beat Spain 1-nil.

And England beat Mexico 2-1.

Elsewhere,

The Republic of Ireland and Scotland drew 1-all in a Euro 2016 qualifying Group D match in Dublin on Saturday.

Scotland manager Gordon Strachan offered these thoughts after the game.

"I'm pleased, really pleased and the reason is being because you can only ask players to perform, you've heard me saying this before and they have performed. Occasions in the first half today you think, 'Well...' but overall the performances, I think we should all be delighted with these performances."

Scotland is now ranked second in Group D with 10 points and Ireland is fourth with 5 points.

 

 

Man United Sign with Memphis Depay

In off-pitch news from the English Premier League,

Manchester United announced on Friday that they have completed the signing of PSV Eindhoven forward Memphis Depay on a four-year contract.

The club announced last month that they had reached a deal to sign the 21-year-old Netherlands international for a fee reported to be around 33.67 million dollars.

Depay made 124 senior appearances during his career with PSV.

He scored 22 goals in 30 games last season.

He also netted 2 goals for the Netherlands in last year's World Cup.

 

 

Nadal and Troicki through to Mercedes Cup Final

In tennis action from the WTA Aegon Nottingham Open,

China's veteran Zheng Jie and her partner Chan Yung-Jan will play British duo Jocelyn Rae and Anna Smith later on today for a place in the women's doubles final.

Another Chinese pair Xu Yafan and Chan Chin-Wei will face American Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears.

In the men's event,

Top seed Rafael Nadal beat Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-4 to book a place in the Mercedes Cup final.

Nadal offered these thoughts on the win.

"It is a great feeling to be back in the finals especially on grass since 2011. I did not play a final on grass so it is very good news to be back on a final here on grass and I think I am playing well. It was a tough match but I think I played against a very difficult opponent to play (Gael Monfils)."

This is Nadal's first grasscourt final since 2011.

The Spaniard is now aiming for a third Stuttgart trophy after winning in 2005 and 2007 when the tournament was held on clay.

Awaiting Nadal is Viktor Troicki from Serbia, who beat Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 to reach the final.

Nadal enjoys a 4-love head-to-head advantage over the 28th-ranked Troicki.

 

 

Switzerland Topped European Games Medal Table with 3 Golds

Switzerland topped the medal table with 3 golds after the first day of the European Games on Saturday.

Jolanda Neff won the women's cross-country mountain biking.

Her compatriot Nicola Spirig took the honours in the women's triathlon.

Hosts Azerbaijan picked up their first gold of the games in men's karate.

Firdovsi Farzaliyev beat Italian Luca Maresca to claim the title in the kumite 60-kilogram division.

The other two golds for Azerbaijan came from matches in Greco-Roman wrestling.

Turkey also clinched two karate gold medals.

Serap Ozcelik was victorious in her women's kumite 50-kilogram division final against Bettina Plank of Austria.

And Burak Uygur overcame Steven da Costa in the men's kumite 67-kilogram final.

 

 

Bolt Struggles to 200m Win

In Athletics,

Usain Bolt won the 200-meters event in 20.29 seconds at the Diamond League meet in New York on Saturday.

Bolt's old rival Tyson Gay claimed the title in the men's 100-meter race.

In the men's 5000 meters,

American Ben True delighted outsprinted New Zealand's Nick Willis to claim victory.

In the women's event,

Francena McCorory from America took the gold medal in the women's 400 metres, clocking the fastest time in the world this year at 49.86 seconds.

Canada's Christabel Nettey captured her first Diamond League victory in the long jump, setting a new meeting record of 6.92 metres.

 

 

Hockey: Chicago and TB Meet for Game 5 of Stanley Cup Final

In NHL Playoff action,

The Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning will hit the ice later on today at 8 a.m. Beijing time, for a pivotal game 5 in the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup Final.

Chicago held on in game 4 to win 2-1 and even the series up to two games apiece.

Lightning injured goalie Ben Bishop remains uncertain for the game.

Rookie Andrei Vasilevskiy will start his second straight game if Bishop can't attend.

 

 

Torii Hunter Drops Appeal of Suspension

In Major League Baseball news,

Minnesota outfielder Torii Hunter has dropped the appeal against his two-game suspension and will sit out the rest of the weekend series at Texas.

39-year-old Hunter was in the original lineup for Saturday's game, but the decision to drop him was announced about an hour before the scheduled first pitch.

He will be reinstated before Monday's game at St. Louis after the suspension.

Hunter received the suspension and was fined on Friday after throwing equipment during a tantrum during Wednesday's home game against Kansas City.

He had said then that he was appealing, calling the two-game suspension a 'little harsh'.

 

 

Gregory Bourdy Leads after Third Round of Lyoness Open

In golf,

Frenchman Gregory Bourdy fired a 3-under-par 69 on Saturday to take a two-shot lead after third round of the Lyoness Open in Atzenbrugg, Austria.

Bourdy said it's not easy to get this far.

"Oh, it was a good round, because I think three-under in those conditions... it's a good score. It's not so easy, you have to understand, after the stop (for lightning), but I restart with a nice birdie at the tenth and the wind was blowing hard at the end, so we had some, yeah, not so easy holes, especially 17 and 18 was not easy and the par fives as well, 15, 16, it was not easy to make birdies. So I think three-under is a good score."　

It will be Bourdy's fifth European Tour win and the first since the Wales Open in 2013.

Spaniard Rafael Cabrera-Bello hit an six-under par 66 to grab the second and Chris Wood of Great Britain was third.

In other golf news,

It was reported on Saturday that the 2016 KPMG Women's PGA Championship will be played for the first time in the Pacific Northwest.

The Sahalee Country Club in Washington has been chosen to host the event next year.

This will be the second time a women's major has been held in Washington, with the first one being the U.S. Women's Open in 1946.

 

 

Entertainment

 

 

Celebrities walk the red carpet on Shanghai International Film Festival

The 18th Shanghai International Film Festival got under way on Saturday with Mike Tyson, Jackie Chan and Aaron Kwok walking the red carpet at the opening ceremony.

During the week-long annual festival, more than 1,200 contemporary and classic films from around the world, including "The Theory of Everything", "Whiplash". "A Most Violent Year", "Foxcatcher" and "Revivre" will be screened at local cinemas in the Chinese city.

Russian director Andrei Zvyagintsev, who is famous for his controversial Oscar-nominated film "Leviathan", was selected as president of the Golden Goblet jury for the festival this year.

The visiting celebrities will also participate in a range of film industry activities during the festival which is scheduled to last until June 21.

 

 

Foo Fighters singer falls from stage in Sweden, injures leg

Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl fell off the stage during a concert in Sweden and apparently broke his right leg - but still continued with the show.

Grohl's U.S. representative Steve Martin confirmed the fall to the Associated Press and said Grohl finished the concert in Goteborg.

Grohl talked about his passion for music.

"Oh, I just, I get bored easily and I don't sleep and I love music and so I'm the guy that starts emailing everyone at 4 o'Clock in the morning like 'here's my idea. We've got to go to Smithsonian, we do the thing at the Smithsonian and then I want to make sure, then I want to record a song in each city and then after we do that I want to go and do the record. No, here's how I'm going to write the lyrics. So I just have this little engine inside of me that's just like 'go go go go go go' all the time."

Videos posted on social media show Grohl walking across the stage when he appears to trip and plunges over the edge.

The rest of the band resumed playing as Grohl was taken away for medical attention.

But he was later carried back on stage on a stretcher with his right foot bandaged and continued the concert sitting down or supporting himself on crutches.

The former Nirvana drummer told the crowd he wouldn't leave the stage unless given orders by a doctor to do so.

Later, the Foo Fighters tweeted an X-ray image of what appeared to be a clear fracture of the leg.

 

 

Sweden's Prince Carl Philip says 'I do' to fiancé Sofia Hellqvist

Sweden's Prince Carl Philip married former model and reality TV star Sofia Hellqvist in the chapel of the royal palace in Stockholm on Saturday.

The 36-year-old prince, third in line to the throne, was visibly nervous during the ceremony, which was attended by royals from around the world including Princess Takamado of Japan, Queen Mathilde of Belgium and the Earl and Countess of Wessex from Britain.

Thirty year old Hellqvist wore a dress designed by Swede Ida Sjostedt with lace sleeves and back which revealed a star-shaped tattoo between her shoulder blades.

After a long wait at the altar, the prince struggled to put the wedding ring on the finger of his bride.

The wedding was a more low-key affair than that of the prince's elder sister and heir to the throne, Princess Victoria, who married Daniel Westling in 2010.

 

 

Blond punk rocker plays the Isle Of Wight festival

Blond punk legend Billy Idol appeared in a special Thursday night performance at the BT Big Top at the Isle Of Wight festival.

Idol, though older, still has what it takes and sported his iconic spiked hair and custom trench coat and a bit of a six pack.

The singer treated the crowd to some old favorites and some new material.

The Isle of Wight festival takes place this weekend headlined by Blur, Fleetwood Mac The Black Keys and The Prodigy.

 

 

David Beckham opened the inaugural store in Macau for a Swedish fashion giant

40-year old former footballer David Beckham has collaborated with a fashion chain to launch a body wear and men's essential wear collection.

He said that he was excited to see the reaction from the fans.

Beckham teamed up with pal, British film director Guy Ritchie to make the ad campaign used to market the body wear collection.

Beckham recalled the fun times they had while making the campaign.

"Guy was one of the first people that I spoke to and got his advice and he had an idea. I think what we did was pretty incredible. You know, obviously he is great...he's an amazing film director. So, to do a campaign like this was interesting for him. I think he did an amazing job. I think people saw the humor throughout the (TV) spot, and that was something that we really wanted to get across. Running around the streets in my underwear was definitely something I've never done before. So it was interesting, but it was fun."

A footballer-turned-global style icon, Beckham is married to singer-turned-fashion designer Victoria Beckham. Calling their family "normal", Beckham said he squeezes in top quality family time in between his busy work schedule.

 

 

That’s it for this weekend edition of the Beijing Hour.

The last few bodies recovered from the ferry disaster on the Yangtze River have been identified.

China and the United States have signed a framework document establishing an Army-to-Army Dialogue Mechanism between the two countries.

Investors called on young talents in Taiwan to start businesses on the Chinese mainland.

In our weekly Sci Tech Review.... we heard how doctors in Shanghai have separated conjoined twins with the help of 3D printing technology.

On behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers, this is Mark Griffiths in Beijing hoping you'll join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour to open a window to the world together