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

Coming up on the program this evening...

A final draft of the Climate Deal has been 'agreed' to just a few minutes ago in Paris...

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin saying that the issue of "differentiation" is at the core of China's concern about the Paris climate negotiations..

China's top diplomat outlining the country's goals on the world stage for the next year...

In the 2nd half of the hour, it is our weekly round up of what's been happening in the world of business....

In sports... the Chinese team disqualified for going off-lane at the ISU Speed Skating Dutch Grand Prix.

And in entertainment... Kung Fu Panda 3 gets a Mandarin-customized version...

Top NewsParis climate deal reached after two weeks of discussionsA final deal at the Paris climate talks has been reached after nearly two weeks of negotiations.

French Foreign Minister and president of the COP21 Laurent Fabius chaired the Paris Committee meeting and is expected to present a final draft proposal for Paris agreement on climate change in the French capital.

Representatives from the some 200 parties of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change also received the final draft in six U.N. official languages.

But details of the deal have yet been revealed.

The meeting was postponed for two and a half hours on Saturday.

The ministers and negotiators had been working since Monday to reach a final Paris agreement on climate change.

Negotiations around the final deal, originally due on Friday, went into overtime.

Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon on Friday urged negotiators to reach a final outcome for the climate talks, adding that "this is not the moment for talking about national perspectives".

For more on the UN Climate Conference, I spoke earlier with our correspondent Jack Parrock in Paris.

Differentiation of responsibilities at center of China's concern over climate deal: officialThe final version of the proposed deal to combat climate change is going to be presented later on this Saturday in Paris.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin said the issue of "differentiation" is at the core of China's concern about the agreement.

"Of course, the issue of differentiations would be at the core of our concern for the Paris agreement. And we would like to see that the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities would be clear, stable in the Paris agreement and be reflected in all the places in the Paris agreement."Emerging and developing countries have demanded that developed countries fulfill their obligations in reducing emissions and helping less-developed countries tackle climate change.

Liu emphasized it was not just China's request for differentiation, but a request from all developing countries.

"We are in the same situation with most developing countries, because I think our contribution has been very ambitious. But I think with regard to our ability, our national conditions to accomplish that contribution, we still have some difficulties. We need to do our best to conquer these difficulties. That's why I speak for the process."He noted that the Chinese delegation "has actively and constructively participated in the negotiations" and is confident that an agreement will be reached at the Paris climate conference.

"Every Single Country Has to Lead on Climate": UN EnvoyAs the Paris climate change conference nears its conclusion, a UN envoy has said that every nation has to contribute to the effort of combating climate change.

The UN Secretary-General's Climate Change Envoy, former President of Ireland Mary Robinson made the comments in Paris on Friday.

"I'm hopeful because there has been a lot more preparatory work, and also we're talking about four layers of the agreement. The most important is the climate change agreement itself, but we're also talking about climate financing and transfer technology and being serious about it. So unlike in Copenhagen, it's now realized that although we have common but differentiated responsibilities, everyone has to be a leader, every single country has to lead on climate."Around 108 countries and regions have submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions to the UN as they hope to meet global climate change targets.

Robinson said she held out for a strong agreement in the negotiations despite the lines drawn by rich and poor nations.

Chinese FM Outlines Diplomatic Goals for 2016Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has outlined the country's diplomatic goals for the next year.

Wang Yi said at a press conference in Beijing that one of the major goals would be promoting global cooperation in industrial capacity, as well as pushing for further interconnectivity between China and the world.

"Chinese diplomacy will focus on serving domestic construction. We will promote in-depth docking of China's and the world's development strategies with "One Belt One Road" construction as the mainline and interoperability and capacity cooperation as two key points."Wang also pledged that China will uphold the principle of openness and win-win cooperation at the upcoming G20 Summit, to be held in the eastern city of Hangzhou next year.

He added that China will be shouldering a bigger responsibility in safeguarding world peace and fighting terrorism, while continuing to support the global efforts in nuclear nonproliferation.

China will also make efforts to promote regional development in the Asia-Pacific region and work closely with other countries to build a Community of Common Destiny.

Wang also noted that the country will accelerate the construction of overseas livelihood projects, and spare no efforts to assist Chinese citizens and enterprises abroad.

Wuzhen is fully prepared for 2nd World Internet ConferenceChina's Wuzhen in east China's Zhejiang Province is said to be ready to hold the 2nd World Internet Conference on December 16.

Deputy Director of the State Internet Information Office, Ren Xianliang explained why they chose the 13-hundered year-old water-town as the conference site.

"Wuzhen is the most representative city and epitome of the Chinese culture of southern China. It is an ancient town with over a thousand years of history and could remind people of China's five thousand years of culture here."Supervisor of the Wuzhen Tourism Co., Ltd., Ge Wei, said the town has fully prepared to welcome people from around the world.

"We have laid and re-enhanced the over 50 kilometers long optical links in total. So, there are more than 20 ten-gigabyte optical cables in the whole scenic spot."Now people in the ancient town can easily connect with the internet through over 3,000 WI-FI spots.

More than 2,000 attendees from more than 120 countries and regions around the world will gather in Wuzhen to discuss the future development of the internet.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will also give a key-note speech at the conference.

Japanese Government Should Face Up to History: HistorianA famous Japanese historian has urged that the Japanese government to face up to history and deeply reflect its war crimes.

Hisashi Inoue, a professor with the Surugadai University, made the remarks before China's Nanjing Massacre Memorial Day, which falls on Sunday.

"History is fact and the most important thing is to face the facts. The Nanjing Massacre did happen, with no doubts. There are many Japanese politicians denying the fact and I feel sorry for that. I hope they can face up to history."Inoue added that the massacre should be the common memory of human beings worldwide to prevent wars and similar massacres from happening again.

He also expressed worries that there'll be fewer surviving war participants and lesser of the young generation knowing about the historical truth, though many Japanese civilian organizations hold memorial events annually.

Inoue has been working on Japan's invasion history during the WWII for the past 3 decades and providing support for Chinese war victims to claim compensation.

Some 300 thousand locals in Nanjing were killed in the massacre in the following 6 weeks after Japanese troops' occupied the city on December 13, 1937.

China's top legislature designated the date as the National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims last February in order to mourn the deceased and expose the Japanese troops' war crimes.

The documents of the tragedy were also listed in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register this October.

440 trafficked children find way home in 2015Chinese authorities have help more than 440 trafficked children find their parents through a DNA database in 2015.

Chen Shiqu with the Ministry of Public Security said great achievements have been made since a campaign against trafficking was launched in 2009.

"Since the national DNA database on trafficked children was set up in 2009, we have successfully matched the DNA of more than 4100 long lost children to their parents. Only this year, we helped over 440 children find their parents through the DNA database."Meanwhile, Chen said the government also is also working with private organizations to help find the lost children.

"They have collected many clues of the trafficking and share them with the public security authorities. With their help, we have solved many trafficking cases and rescued many children."Since this November, those who buy trafficked women and children will face criminal penalties.

The new law aims to crack down on and prevent human trafficking at its root causes.

China's new residence permits promise better public servicesFrom next year, the Chinese government is rolling out an interim regulation on the country's residence permit system.

The regulation, published on the order of Chinese premier Li Keqiang, is part of changes being made to the household registration "hukou" system, which was set up to manage population distribution and control rural-to-urban migration.

The new regulation will ensure basic public services such as education, basic employment and automobile registration is made available to more citizens in order to promote social equity.

A temporary residence permit system for migrants drew widespread criticism for perceived injustice and inequity.

In February, the top leadership approved major reforms of the police system, abolishing temporary residence permits.

Several big cities have already implemented the new residence permit system.

Smart device tells whether the air is cleanIn years past, a smog-shrouded Beijing was accepted as a fact of life in the big city. But increasingly, people are taking notice.

Companies now are focusing on using the internet, smart devices and big data to help the Chinese make informed decisions about how they go about their daily life.

CRI's Ryan Price has more.

Origins, a Beijing-based start up, created a Laser Egg, which is a portable device that measures air pollution on a real-time basis.

A built-in laser beam picks up particles in the air, presenting a calculation of the fine particulate matter per cubic metre.

Liam Bates of Origins explained they wanted to create a device which is easy to use, affordable, and can tell whether you are breathing healthy air.

"Air pollution is completely invisible. In your house, you have no idea if it's very healthy or hazardous."Selling for 379 Yuan, or around 60 US dollars, the Laser Egg aims to highlight the sometimes forgotten issue of indoor air pollution.

A customer, Chen Yan, came to buy two air purifiers and a few Laser Eggs.

"In the past, Chinese people were not very much aware of environmental protection. Even though the government appealed to the people to care about this issue, they felt it did not really affect them. But now everyone is experiencing it themselves. The awareness of this issue will increase in the future and it is a good thing."Air Visual is another company born out of the air quality crisis.

It has a smart phone application that uses air quality data from monitoring stations across Beijing. When that information is combined with the weather forecast, a prediction is made on how the quality of the air will evolve over the next few days.

Yann Boquiod, co-founder of Air Visual, said they are aiming to turn data into information that will help citizens, business owners and schools take charge of their immediate environment.

"Our artificial intelligence has learned already about six to seven years of previous data. So it knows that tomorrow, under the current weather conditions and the current pollution emissions, there is a big chance, so like we talked about - a probability of above 80 percent chance to actually have this air being cleaned out"Air Visual is also developing a portable indoor air quality monitoring device that is scheduled to be released in January.

Beijing's city government is starting to use more sophisticated technology for its forecasts.

The system takes into account not only weather patterns that suspend pollutants in the air, but also industry emissions, and flows of vehicles and their emissions.

It also incorporates real-time data from air monitoring systems, satellite images, and even information that is passed around on social media.

China plans to upgrade coal power plants over the next five years to tackle the problem, and says its emissions will peak by around 2030 before starting to decline.

For CRI, I'm Ryan Price.

Alaska living with climate changeGlobal warming has again become one of the most mentioned words among media outlets, as the climate negotiations continue in Paris.

Located near the Arctic, the US state of Alaska is a vivid demonstration of the results of climate change, as people there are trying to cope with the worsening living conditions.

CRI's Fei Fei with more.

Research Engineer Bruno Grunau at the Cold Climate Housing Research Center in Alaska says people there are witnessing the effect of climate change.

"I would like to see in Paris or what not, the discussion to be surrounded on the impact that climate change has already had. In Alaska, we have thousands and thousands of miles where we show the effects of climate change and how's it's impacted on people and communities. We're seeing it first-hand here in interior Alaska."About 80 percent of the American state is covered in permafrost, the layer of frozen ice under the ground.

But warmer weather has thawed the permafrost and eroded soils.

This has put homes, roads and pipes there on the brink of sinking.

Experts in Alaska have been helping the authorities find ways to build structures that will survive the increasing temperatures.

Doug Goering, a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alaska, says the state transportation department is keen to understand how to minimize the effects of thawing permafrost.

"There's only a few methods out there for really effectively keeping permafrost cool beneath roadways. And two methods that are used here, one involves what are called thermosiphons. And in a fairly new configuration however, and the other involves a couple different kinds of applications of air convection embankments."Thermosiphons are carbon dioxide-filled steel pipes that are engineered to carry away heat from below the road's surface, to help keep the ground frozen.

The system will operate only in the winter, when the ground is colder than the air.

Research Engineer Bruno Grunau also explains they are experimenting on four homes built on permafrost at the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus, each with a different foundation and cooling system.

"Two of the homes are on standard pilings, steel pilings driven into permafrost, and two of them, we have what is called thermal raft foundation. A thermal raft is basically 12 or 16 inches of foam where the house sits right on the foam. And the idea of the foam is that minimizes the heat that goes into the ground."In 2012, the United Nations Environment Program released a report warning of the implications of thawing permafrost.

The study shows that a global temperature increase of three degrees Celsius means a six degrees Celsius increase in the Arctic, which could result in between 30 to 85 percent loss of near-surface permafrost.

The U.S. government estimates that some 1 hundred thousand Alaskans live in areas which could be affected by the melting permafrost.

For CRI, this is Fei Fei.

Japan and India Ink Multi-Billion Rail DealJapan and India on Saturday signed a 15 billion US dollar agreement for a high speed train. The train will link India's Mumbai with Ahmadabad in the state of Gujarat.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the project will revolutionize India's rail system.

"No less historic is our decision to introduce high-speed rail on the Mumbai-Ahmadabad sector through the Japanese Shinkansen, known for its speed, reliability and safety. We greatly appreciate Prime Minister (Shinzo) Abe's extraordinary package of approximately 10 billion US dollars and technical assistance on very easy terms for this project."Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe promised full cooperation and support for the deal.

"We will proceed with our complete cooperation going forward, bringing the first high-speed rail line in India into a reality, with our Japanese Shinkansen system, with our proud record for safety and punctuality is employed."The 505-kilometer railway will shorten the travel time between the two cities from 8 hours to 2.

The two countries also agreed on the peaceful use of nuclear energy, with a final deal expected.

Shinzo Abe is in India for a 3-day visit. Other items on his agenda include military purchases from India and firming up Japanese aid to upgrade India's infrastructure.

Afghanistan Suppresses Taliban Bomb Attack in KabulAfghan security forces suppressed a suicide attack near the Spanish embassy in Kabul on Saturday.

Three Taliban fighters were killed in shootouts with the police. Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi reported additional casualties and a number of injuries.

"When the attack happened, Afghans and foreign citizens were trapped in surrounding buildings including the one which was used as a guest house by Spanish citizens and we rescued them. Only one Spanish citizen is killed and another is wounded. Unfortunately five policemen are killed and wounded and nine civilians are wounded and they were taken to hospital. We could rescue at least 47 Afghans and foreigners in this attack."The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which followed a separate Taliban attack on the Kandahar airport on Wednesday.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had recently returned from a regional peace conference in Pakistan, where he sought support to revive stalled peace talks with the Taliban.

Syrian Refugees Spend First Day in Canada as Permanent Residents163 Syrian refugees spent their first day in Canada on Friday as permanent residents.

An admissions program by Canada's Liberal government plans to take in 25-thousand Syrian refugees by the end of February.

On Thursday, a military plane carried the first batch of arrivals to Toronto. Among them was a Syrian father who is looking forward to a new life with his family.

"Beginning a new life with the hope, with everything you can do it here, a lot of things you can do, for my kids. It's enough to see them smiling, and loving."Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was at the airport to greet the new arrivals. Many in the group had private sponsors and met them for the first time.

One such private sponsor described the experience as "emotional.""It's so emotional, it's a historic moment. I can't believe how happy I am to make, to allow these people to start a new life, with safety, with humanity, with human dignity."Another plane with more refugees is expected to land in Montreal on Saturday.

US and Cuba to Restore Direct Mail ServiceThe US and Cuba said on Friday they will resume direct cross-border postal service. The announcement came months after the two countries re-established ties in July.

Direct mail service was suspended between the two nations in 1963. Mail between them has been routed to third countries, such as Canada and Mexico.

A Cuban citizen Marisela Perez welcomes the news.

"I find the new measures very interesting because it was an obstacle we had and by re-establishing this now, we will be able to send and receive everything we need from over there and from here as well, to any relatives one has over there."The announcement came ahead of the first anniversary of the December 17 announcement by the US and Cuba to normalize relations.

Talks for resuming direct mail service had already taken place prior to the improvement in relations.

Polls in Saudi Arabia Open for Women for the First TimeIt's been reported that polling stations in Saudi Arabia are now inviting women to be voters and candidates for the first time in a landmark election.

Over 5000 men and around 980 women are running as candidates for local municipal council seats, with more than 130 thousand women registering to vote compared to over 1.3 million men.

The election is widely seen as a small but significant opening for women to play a more equal role in the country's society.

Municipal councils are the only government body in which Saudi citizens can elect their representatives.

China Delivers Warships to BangladeshChina has delivered two advanced frigates to the Bangladeshi navy.

Zhu Xuejun, from the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, says the vessels have comprehensive combat capacity and excellent maneuverability and are able to sail at a max speed of 25.5 knots on the high seas.

Zhu was keen to highlight in particular the anti-air missile systems installed on this type of ship.

"This corvette is equipped with a ship-to-air missile weapons system which can coordinate with the search radar and tracking radar to conduct joint combat to multiple targets in air."The ships are based on China's most advanced frigate type 056, and are expected to become a key part of the Bangladeshi naval forces.

Fanuc Hasan, Brigadier of the Bangladesh navy, said the performance of the ships was impressive.

"I'm very much satisfied with the design and construction of the ship. We have been very much impressed with the design of the ship down by the CSIC Shanghai, and very much happy with the quality of the construction. And we also see the performance of the ships at sea. And we were really impressed to see the performance."The deal for two warships was signed in 2013.

Headline NewsParis climate deal reached after two weeks of discussionsA final deal at the Paris climate talks has been reached after nearly two weeks of negotiations.

French Foreign Minister and president of the COP21 Laurent Fabius chaired the Paris Committee meeting and is expected to present a final draft proposal for Paris agreement on climate change in the French capital.

Representatives from the some 200 parties of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change also received the final draft in six U.N. official languages.

But details of the deal have yet been revealed.

The meeting was postponed for two and a half hours on Saturday.

The ministers and negotiators had been working since Monday to reach a final Paris agreement on climate change.

Child trafficking cases record high in MyanmarMyanmar police are investigating human trafficking cases involving 93 child victims in November alone, a record number compared to that of previous months.

Authorities say they saved more than 500 out of 617 victims including about 100 children this year.

Official figures show a total of 25-hundered trafficked victims were rescued between 2006 and November of this year.

Mexico allows first four people to grow, consume marijuanaThe Mexican government has ruled that four Mexicans are allowed to plant, grow and use marijuana for their own purposes.

The four people belong to a Mexican group that advocates complete marijuana legalization, as it believes that legalizing marijuana would help reduce drug trafficking and associated violence.

In a statement released Friday, the country's health watchdog explained that their smoking marijuana "could not be done in the presence of children or married women...or in public places where others have not given their consent."This move came five weeks after the Mexican Supreme Court ruled in favor of the same group, stating that using marijuana should be the right of all Mexicans.

China's property investment remains weakLatest official stats show that China's real estate investment continued to slow in the first 11 months of this year.

Investment in the property sector grew merely 1.3 percent year on year, down 0.7 percentage points from the January to October period.

The National Bureau of Statistics released a series of economic indicators on its official website on Saturday.

That includes the highest-ever monthly growth in the retail sales of consumer goods, recording an 11 percent rise in the sector.

Meanwhile, the industrial output expanded 6 percent year on year last month, picking up from the 5.6-percent growth recorded in October.

The country's fixed-asset investment also moved up 10 percent year on year in the first 11 months of this year.

Weekly Biz Roundup(Saturday)It's time to take a look back at some of the headlines from the world of business in our Weekly Business Review.

This week sees the decision of a major shift of China's stock market to a registration-based IPO system.

We'll also look at China's automobile industry rebounding after the government's stimulus, and how the Chinese are spending more on healthy food and sports equipment.

All of that and more with CRI's Victor Ning.

++++++++China is introducing a registration-based system for initial public offerings.

China Securities Regulatory Commission will roll out details and solicit public opinions within two years.

The regulator plans to shift IPO approval powers to the two main bourses, the Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen component indexes.

Cao Can, CRI's financial commentator, said that the new IPO system will emphasize information disclosure rather than corporate profitability and the regulator will focus on supervision.

"In the past, many companies in order to go through the IPO approval process paddle their information and exaggerate many aspects of their operation. Under the new system, the accuracy of the information will be emphasized and information disclosure brings supreme over profitability. So the companies will be more cautious to manipulate their earnings."Under the new system, the market will play a bigger role in determining share pricesThe draft plan still needs to be authorized by the country's legislature, as it involves adjustment of the current securities law.

More than 600 companies here in China had sought regulatory approval for their IPOs as of this Tuesday.

+++++++++China's consumer inflation picked up last month, while factories continued to stagnate due to continued weak market demand.

The National Bureau of Statistics posted the consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, at 1.5 percent year on year last month, up 0.2 percentage points from October.

Pan Jiancheng, a deputy director at the NBS, attributed the rise mainly to rising food prices.

"The changes of CPI figures of this year are relatively stable. The price of pork has a major influence on CPI and has declined in recent months after price rises earlier this year."The producer price index, a measure of costs for goods at the factory gate, dropped 5.9 percent year on year, falling for the 45th straight month.

The reading was unchanged from the rate seen in the last three months.

Price drops in the non-ferrous metal smelting and oil processing industry are said to have caused the decline in manufacturing.

+++++++++China's foreign exchange reserves, the world's largest, fell 0.03 percent last month to 3.44 trillion U.S. dollars, the lowest level since February 2013 and the third-largest monthly drop on record.

Gao Shang, senior analyst of Guantong Futures, explained the reasons.

"The root cause is that there are double pressures including both expectations of weaker RMB and lower returns on RMB assets. Both these reasons result in the pressure of capital outflow. At the same time, the U.S. dollar is really strong. So the valuation of non-dollar currencies in foreign exchange reserves dictated the result that the part of non-dollar currencies had a shrinking value because of it."China's forex regulator also said that recent declines on the country's foreign exchange reserves are due to the financing of a large number of economic projects in Eurasia.

Wang Yungui, a head at the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, made the remarks at a press conference held by the regulator in Beijing on Thursday.

Wang said that modest falls in foreign exchange reserves are something that can be tolerated.

He also added that there is no basis for a sharp drop of the Chinese currency given that the country's international balance of payment position remains sound.

++++++++China and South Korea are set to implement the new bilateral free trade agreement on December 20.

Under the deal, Beijing and Seoul will eliminate tariffs on more than 90 percent of trade goods within 20 years.

South Korea expects the FTA with China to create over 50 thousand jobs and enhance consumer benefits by 15 billion U.S. dollars.

At the same time, China and Australia have also announced that their FTA will come into force on the same day.

The deal is expected to cut import tariffs on a wide range of products including agriculture and financial services which target the rising middle-class here in China.

++++++++The China Association of Automobile Manufactures said that sales of vehicles in China have posted their biggest growth in two years last month, up 20 percent, thanks to the government's tax cuts.

Vehicle sales grew 12 percent in October after a 2 percent increase in September.

Strong gains for two straight months confirm that the country's auto market, also the world's largest auto market, has rebounded amid risk of contracting.

At the same time, the association is forecasting electric car sales in China this year may surpass the US for the first time, making China the world's top market for electric vehicles.

The organization estimates electric cars sales in China will hit between 220-thousand to 250-thousand this year.

Figures for the U.S. market are expected to come in at around 180-thousand.

++++++++China's e-commerce giant Alibaba says that consumption behaviors in China have become healthier and smarter.

A report was drawn based on transactions made on Alibaba's online shopping platform Taobao.com over the past five years.

Xia Ji, marketing director of Taobao.com, said the study found five major consumption trends in China: healthy, intelligent, personalized, traditional, and young.

"Consumers eat healthier, such as non-genetically modified food and organic food. The consumption of these products has seen fast increases. The other is exercise. Running at night has been popular in China in recent two years, which has boosted the consumption of running equipment."The report also revealed that young people who were born in the 1980s and 90s have been the main force for online shopping in China.

Most of people under the age of 25 use mobile phones to shop online, especially in China's second- and third-tier cities.

Spending on traditional festivals has also surprisingly overtaken Western festivals, bolstered by young consumers.

++++++++China's cabinet has confirmed the merger of China Ocean Shipping Group and China Shipping Group.

Earlier reports said that the new company, called China Cosco Shipping Group, will be headquartered in Shanghai.

The two shipping giants are looking to merge their tanker, dry bulk and port operations.

The merger could be worth upward of 20 billion U.S. dollars, marking it the world's fourth largest container operator.

The two companies have not revealed details of the merger.

The deal is part of ongoing government efforts to consolidate the operations of major State-owned undertakings so that they can fully leverage their advantages and resources in the global arena.

Last year saw the merging of two locomotive makers into China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation.

++++++++German carmaker Volkswagen said the installation of software in diesel vehicles designed to cheat U.S. emissions standards first happened all the way back in 2005.

The company also announced that only about 36 thousand of its vehicles will be affected, far fewer than previously suspected.

This means Volkswagen will no longer face a loss of 2 billion euros.

Volkswagen's chairman says the company will start road testing all its vehicles, with the results to be verified by a third party, to avoid a repeat of the scandal.

"Our most important task and our biggest challenge now are to win back that trust of the public. At this point, we must continue to act with credibility and determination, so we can learn rigorously with the mistakes of the past and make sure something like this never happens again."Hans Dieter Poetsch also indicates that the investigation into the German car maker's emissions scandal won't spare top managers.

And that concludes this edition of the weekly business review. I'm Victor Ning. Thank you for listening.

SportsChina disqualified from speed skating team sprintBeginning with skating action,Triple champion Zhang Hong led China's ladies to a first-place finish in team sprint at the ISU Speed Skating Dutch Grand Prix.

However the three-strong Chinese team were disqualified for going off-lane.

Host nation the Netherlands won the gold medals.

Zhang Hong was unable to follow up her three gold medals from Canada and the United States. She finished fourth in women's individual 500 meters.

That event was won by South Korean skater Lee Sang-hua who snatched the world number one status from Zhang in Germany last week.

China's men's team were fourth in team sprint.

Chinese pairs 5th, 6th at Figure Skating Grand Prix FinalsAt the Figure Skating Grand Prix Finals in Barcelona,Chinese pair Yu Xiaoyu/Jin Yang are fifth in doubles free which was won by Russian skaters Ksenia Stolbova/Fedor Klimov.

The other Chinese team Peng Cheng/Zhang Hao are sixth.

Russian youngster Evegenia Medvedeva is unchallenged in women's short program. The 16-year-old is leading her compatriot by over five points.

Canadian pair Kaitlyn Weaver/Andrew Poje are on top of Short Dance in Ice Dancing.

Marco Fu compiles maximum 147 break at Gibraltar OpenIn snooker,Marco Fu from Hong Kong has made a maximum 1-4-7 break at the Gibraltar Open.

Fu completed the feat in the fifth frame of his 4-2 win over Sam Baird in the last 32.

It is Fu's fourth maximum break of his career.

He will collect 3,500 pounds of prize money.

Last week's UK Championship runner-up Liang Wenbo joins Fu in the next round.

China's Yu Delu, Zhao Xintong both fell at Mark Selby's cue on his way to the last 16.

Ding Junhui and four other Chinese potters are scheduled to play later today along with John Higgins and Judd Trump.

Chinese players all through at Table Tennis World FinalsIn table tennis,Chinese players are in a league of their own at the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in Portugal.

Ma Long, Xu Xin, Zhang Jike and Fan Zhendong all safely progressed into men's quarterfinals.

China also took up half of the women's quarterfinal berths.

Liu Shiwen, Ding Ning, Chen Meng and Zhu Yuling are through.

There will be an all-Chinese quarterfinal between Liu and Chen.

The only surprise of the day came from Japan's Olympic medalist Fukuhara Ai who exited following a seven-sets defeat by her compatriot.

BMF Super Series Finals resultsIn badminton action from the Super Series Finals in Dubai,Chen Long had already made the semifinals but it did not satisfy his hunger for victories when he took on Jan Jorgensen in a top-of-the-world clash.

He won the summit meeting in straight sets to go undefeated in the group.

Jorgensen is also through with two wins and one defeat.

Wang Yihan will be the only Chinese representation in women's singles.

In doubles action,Luo Ying/Luo Yu are in women's doubles semis; Tian Qing/Zhao Yunlei pulled out.

Hong Kong mixed duo Lee Chun Hei/Chau Hoi Wah are still in it. Both mainland pairs are out.

Finally it is Chai Biao/Hong Wei in men's doubles last four.

CBA/NBA updateIn basketball action,The Zhejiang Lions have earned their way into a tie for 1st place in the CBA, rolling over Tianjin 133-111 last night.

With the win, the Lions move to 14-2 on the season, good for a tie with Xinjiang, which were upset by Tongxi 113-104.

Guangdong now sit alone in second place on the table, with Yi Jianlian throwing down 43 points and 8 rebounds to give the them a 114-111 victory over Jiangsu.

The Beijing Ducks won the city derby against Beijing Beikong 107-102.

Qingdao upset Liaoning 113-110.

In the NBA,Boston almost bagged a win, but the Warriors showed them how it is done by crawling back twice when people thought they were going down.

The Warriors needed double overtimes to beat Boston 124-119 in their toughest game this season.

Fatigue is kicking in on a relieved Stephen Curry who notched 38 points and says there is still more to accomplish.

"Now I can admit I'm tired, in the overtime and stuff you just give whatever you got but we'll dig deep for tomorrow, head to Milwaukee hopefully get another win and do something that again has never been done in history to finish a road trip 7-0 so this was a big one for us to set that up for tomorrow."Defending champions Warriors improved to 24-0 and are closing in on the record of the longest winning streak in NBA history.

Mourinho not giving up ahead of Leicester visitSome football action coming up,Premier League defending champions Chelsea travel to Leicester this weekend to meet the current leaders.

There is a 17-point gap between the two teams.

While Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho acknowledges how well Leicester are doing, he is not giving up hopes for a fourth-place finish which will qualify them for next season' Champion League.

"The reality is that some clubs are doing well and some other clubs are not capable of doing what people are are used to. It's not easy for the top clubs to win three, four, five or 10 matches in a row, so who knows? (If) we can get a run of four or five consecutive victories and because none of the top clubs is doing that, maybe we have a chance to shorten the distances and to dream of a great finish and finish fourth. While mathematically it's possible we have to try."Mourinho's side have already reached the knock-outs at the ongoing Champions League.

Feng Shanshan extends lead at Dubai Ladies MastersIn golf,China's Feng Shanshan has extended her lead to five shots heading into the final round of the Dubai Ladies Masters.

She carded another round of 67 to improve to 15-under overall.

Here in China,South Korean golfer Park Sung-hyun is holding a two-shot lead at 8-under at the Hyundai China Ladies Open in Hainan.

Local Zhang Weiwei sits tied for 4th at 5 under par.

Entertainment'Kung Fu Panda 3' to Make Extra Mandarin-customized VersionDreamWorks' CEO has announced a surprise for Chinese fans by making a Mandarin customized version of 'Kung Fu Panda 3'on Friday.

CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg highlights this extra film is not a mandarin-dubbed version, but a redesign and re write of the script.

The Mandarin version also adds some dialect elements, in order to help Chinese audiences' get punchlines.

In this new installment of the popular franchise, Po reunites with his biological father and travels with him to a secret sanctuary of pandas, where he has to fight against a villain who intends to steal the masters' Kung Fu powers.

Last week, this American-Chinese co-produced animation has released a promotional music video named 'Deep', which is sung by popular Chinese singer Lu Han.

The pop idol co-stars with Po in the music video, by interweaving Kung Fu into dance movements.

In addition, big names like Jackie Chan, Jay Chou, Yang mi, Jiang Wu and Huang Lei have voice-over roles in the film.

'Kungfu Panda 3' is set for release in China and US on January 29th next year.

Lady Gaga Honored as Billboard's 2015 Woman of the YearLady Gaga has attended Billboard Women in Music event in New York City on Friday, as she was honored as their 2015 Woman of the Year.

While walking the red carpet, the pop icon could hardly hold back her excitement.

"Really surreal. I remember running around the city just trying to hustle and meet people and book shows at the Knitting Factory and Arlene's Grocery and the Cutting Room and Pianos and The Bitter End. I mean I could go on and on all the venues I've played here, certainly never as fancy as Cipriani's. They didn't let girls like me in here when I was younger. It's really exciting."It has been quite a week for Lady Gaga, as she is nominated for a Golden Globe in the best actress in a miniseries, for her role in 'American Horror Story: Hotel'.

The up-and-coming actress gives her response on being recognized for her acting.

"Well it feels great because I really care about my work as an actress and I spend a lot of time on it and you never know if people can see that or if they just think, 'You're a musician who wants to do everything' and that's not me at all. I love acting and I put so much of myself into it when I'm working so to be recognized is so amazing."The 29-year-old is also nominated for a Grammy in best song written for visual media, with her hit 'Till It Happens to You'.

Female celebrities who also recognized by Billboard include girl group Fifth Harmony, who were named Group of the Year.

Demi Lovato was given the inaugural 'Rulebreaker' title by Billboard.

Billboard Women in Music 2015 will air on Lifetime on December 18.

Frank Sinatra Born 100 Years agoSinger Frank Sinatra, a towering icon of American popular music, would have turned 100 on Saturday.

Recognized as a cultural phenomenon, the icon communicated across generational lines with love songs and a sense of vulnerability.

Sinatra's signature songs include 'Night and Day', 'Young at Heart', and 'Strangers in the Night'.

His movie credits include 'Guys and Dolls' and 'High Society'.

During his lifetime, Sinatra was honored with 11 Grammy Awards, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.

He died on May 14th 1998.

Earlier this month, a star-studded concert was held to remember the late entertainer, with Celine Dion, Lady Gaga and John Legend giving performances.

Jennifer Hudson Makes Broadway Debut in 'The Color Purple'

Jennifer Hudson is now officially a Broadway star, following her debut in the musical 'The Color Purple'.

The 34-year-old broke down in tears during the curtain call.

Appearing in this Broadway revival of 'The Color Purple', Hudson says it's quite challenging as the set is minimalist compared to the original.

"Definitely that - I think because it's so - it's less. You know, there's not a lot of bells and whistles happening around you, so everything - your talent is forefront, so you have to be on your stuff. It's terrifying, but at the same time I love the challenge of being able to have to represent and put your best foot forward as a singer, as an actress."Based on the acclaimed novel by Alice Walker, the musical portrays a Southern black girl, who survives hardships and poverty before eventually finding love and contentment in womanhood.

Danielle Brooks and Cynthia Erivo also star in the musical.

Shooting to fame from 'American Idol', Hudson has done pretty well for herself after the competition, as she won won an Oscar, Grammy, and a Golden Globe.

"The Color Purple' is now playing on Broadway at the Bernard Jacobs Theater.

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

A quick look at the headlines before we go...

Reports saying that a final draft of the Climate Deal has been 'agreed' to just a few minutes ago in Paris...

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin saying that the issue of "differentiation" is at the core of China's concern about the Paris climate negotiations..

China's top diplomat outlining the country's goals on the world stage for the next year...

On behalf of the Beijing Hour News team, this is Spencer Musick in Beijing. Join us for the next edition of the Beijing Hour. Lets open a window to the world togethe...