And I'm Paul James - Welcome to the Beijing Hour, live from the Chinese capital. Coming up on the program this morning...

Major commemorations taking place to mark the anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre.

A landmark deal on Climate Change finally agreed in Paris after two weeks of deliberations. But doubts remain over how the tough targets can be met.

China's Foreign Minister sets the diplomatic goals for the year ahead.

We'll have our weekly look back at the Science and Technology World.

In Sports.... Chinese world number-1 Chen Long bounced from the Badminton Super Series Finals in Dubai.

In Entertainment.... China backed film Point Break tastes box office success.

All of that coming up in the next hour, but first, just a reminder there are several ways to reach out to us here on the Beijing Hour.

You can follow us on our weibo account at weibo.com/beijinghourFind us on WeChat by searching "beijinghour"Or email us directly at [email protected].

You can also visit crienglish.com for the latest news and information from China Radio International.

Top NewsNanjing Marks 2nd Memorial Day for Massacre VictimsA series of activities are set to take place today in the city of Nanjing to mark the 2nd National Memorial Day for the Nanjing Massacre.

Ceremonies are taking place this morning at the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall.

A series of other events will take place later this morning at 17 different mass grave sites around the city.

Around 300-thousand people were killed by Japanese troops after they occupied the former Chinese capital, Nanjing, on December 13th, 1937.

The 6-week slaughter, which included mass rapes and indiscriminate killings, has long been an area of contention between Japan and China, with conservative elements in Japan continuing to deny the massacre or white-wash it from the history books.

However, every Japanese government since the War has conceded a massacre did take place in Nanjing.

December 13th officially became a National Memorial Day for the first time last year.

Historic Paris Agreement on Climate Change Adopted at COP21A final agreement on a draft climate change deal has been reached in Paris, after nearly two weeks of negotiations.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has made the announcement.

"I now invite the COP (conference of the parties) to adopt the draft decision entitled 'Paris agreement' which features in the document. I'm looking around the room, I see that the reaction is positive, I don't hear any objection, the Paris agreement for the climate is accepted."The Paris agreement includes objectives, financing, technology development and transfer arrangements, as well as language which requires transparency for signatories.

It calls for limiting temperature increases to below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, but has an ultimate goal of keeping temperature rises below 1.5 degrees.

The agreement also has a goal of setting aside 100-billion US dollars a year for developing countries from 2020.

It also calls for a review of each country's progress every 5 years.

World Leaders and Environmental Activists Welcome the Paris Agreement.

AnchorWorld leaders, NGOs and Scientists have been swift to welcome the final draft of the landmark Climate Change agreement finalized in Paris on Saturday. There are some however who have expressed doubts on how the far-reaching objectives set can be achieved.

CRI's Niu Honglin has more.

ReporterAlmost as soon as the climate change accord was agreed, U.S. President Barack Obama tweeted his approval of the deal describing it as "huge" and crediting American leadership for the agreement.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called the climate change agreement "a victory for all of the planet and for future generations."Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop also gave her backing to the agreement, summing up the spirit of the two week negotiations.

Act 1 Bishop in English"Our work here is done and now we can return home to implement this historic agreement. This is a pivotal moment for we have concluded a new global, legal agreement that we see all countries committed to taking ambitious steps in accordance with the national circumstances and capabilities. The world has come together to capture our common aspirations."Among the delegates at the conference hall, South African Environment Minister Edna Molewa was one of the first to speak following the adoption of the global pact to combat climate change.

She praised the agreement, saying that it calls on all countries to reduce or rein in their greenhouse gas emissions as "the best we can get at this historic moment", at the same time, she stressed that developed countries should enhance the ambition of their actions.

Act 2 Edna Molewa"Again, developing countries have been asked to take this leap without a firm commitment to provide the support that will enable us to contribute our fair share. For our efforts to combat climate change to be successful, Mr. President, it is critical that developed countries significantly enhance the ambition of their actions and ensure that the enhanced actions of developing countries are adequately supported."According to the draft, nations would have to reach a peak in greenhouse emissions "as soon as possible" and achieve a balance between output of manmade greenhouse gases and absorption - by forests or the oceans - "by the second half of this century".

However, Environmental Politics Specialist Francois Gemenne expressed his concern, saying the objective to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels was not realistic.

Act 3 Gemenne in French"In my opinion, the big uncertainty is how this objective of 1.5 degrees, which is the big surprise of the agreement, will be taken seriously because as things stand now, this objective is absolutely not realistic. So if we take it seriously, we have to change direction immediately and that means the immediate end to energy derived from fossil fuels, and that is a revolution which we probably don't measure the consequences of yet."As the conference was entering its final phase, demonstrations continued in Paris.

Activists saying the final agreement would not go far enough, and staging protests to call attention to populations threatened by melting glaciers, rising seas and expanding deserts.

For CRI, I'm Niu Honglin.

DPRK art troupes performance not staged as scheduledA series of concerts by two North Korean art troupes set to get underway this weekend in Beijing have reportedly been called off.

Sources are suggesting the performances, set to begin on Saturday night, have been called off due to communication issues at the working level.

It's being reported the North Korean performers have since flown back to Pyongyang.

The North Korean side has yet to comment on the situation.

The North Korean State Merited Chorus and the Moranbong Band were scheduled to perform at Beijing's National Center for the Performing Arts between Saturday and Monday.

It was due to be their first overseas appearance.

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

Wang Yi said at a news 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 would uphold the principle of openness and win-win cooperation at the forthcoming G20 Summit, to be held in the eastern city of Hangzhou next year.

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

The Foreign Minister said China would 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 in assisting Chinese citizens and enterprises abroad.

Beijing Mulls Points System for Non-localsAnchor:

There have been heated discussions over a planned points-based residence registration system in the Chinese capital that accommodates over eight million non-locals.

The move comes as the capital steps up measures to control the size of the population in central areas.

CRI's Luo Wen reports.

Reporter:

The draft regulation issued this week is designed to help migrants to claim permanent Beijing resident permits or "hukou" based on a points system.

It brings hope for Beijing drifters like Liu Yue who appears to have everything - a good job and a cozy home in the city - but who has no Hukou.

But For the 29-year-old, the bigger concern is her daughter's future.

"Without a hukou, she would not be able to attend high school in Beijing and would face far fiercer competition in the college entrance examination back in my home town. That's what worries me most."This latest move in Beijing is one of several recent steps taken to reform China's hukou system, which has divided the nation into rural and urban populations since the 1950s and has been blamed for preventing migrants from accessing public services in the cities they work.

According to the draft regulation, applicants should be under 45 years old, have a temporary residence permit and have paid social security premiums in the city for at least seven consecutive years.

And they shouldn't have a criminal record or have violated the family-planning policy.

Applicants who meet these basic requirements can accrue points based on their educational background, employment and property.

The number of points needed will be determined on a yearly basis and according to the changes in the city's population.

But debate erupted as soon as the draft legislation was released. The most complained about aspect is the age threshold.

However, Yang Hongshan from Renmin University of China, said this would determine whether the city can develop in a sustainable way in the future.

"The age limit shows which group of people the new policy will favor. It's widely recognized in the world that the age of 44 divides young and middle-aged groups and there is no doubt that younger people have greater potential and will make greater contribution to the city in the future."Apart from middle and more senior age groups, the rules won't benefit those working in low-end sectors, either.

Li Caiyun, a newspaper seller, is among them.

"There is nothing different for us before and after the policy comes out. It's more likely to help those Hukou pursuers who have better jobs and backgrounds."Wang Liejun with the Development Research Center of the State Council, said the policy is not expected to add to the pressure on the city's population which has already quite intense.

"The population control, at present, is more urgent than any other problem the municipal government of Beijing has to address. So, there won't be significant steps taken to ease the city's settling-in restrictions as the policymaker is struggling to attain a balance between the population size and the basic wellbeing of the citizens."Similar points systems are already in place in China's first tier cities such as Shanghai and Tianjin.

Last year, Shanghai accepted just over 10,000 new citizens while the number in Tianjian was around 6,000.

Beijing is striving to cap its population at 23 million by 2020.

Its current permanent population exceeds 20 million, about two and half times that of London and New York.

But Gao Wenshu at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said although the new policy will help optimize Beijing's population structure, there is still room for improvement.

"I think it would be more reasonable if the age limit of 45 years old could be broadened. Second, the requirement for paying social security for 7 consecutive years will rule out a large number of applicants, as the payment may halt due to job transfer to another city and overseas education. It would be more reasonable if we change it into 7 cumulative years."The draft has now been published for public consultation.

It will be reviewed by the authorities before being put into effect.

For CRI, this is Luo Wen.

Senior-level talks between North, South Korea ended without agreementVice ministerial-level talks between North and South Korea have come to an end without any new headway being made.

It's said differences over the resumption of cross-border tours has been the main sticking point.

The two-day meeting is the first high-level talks between the two Koreas since both sides agreed to sit down this summer as part of talks to end a border skirmish at the time.

The talks have ended without any date set for further negotiations.

North Korea's official KCNA news agency is blaming Seoul for the breakdown.

Hwang Boogi, head of the South Korean delegation, says Pyongyang was unwilling to separate the issue of family reunions with South Korean tourism to Mount Kumgang.

"Because North Korea consistently claimed we must include a clear stance of restarting the tourism at the Mount Kumgang in an agreement as a priority, we could not make progress."Mount Kumgang, located just north of the demilitarized zone, was closed in 2008 following the fatal shooting of a South Korean tourist.

87 killed in attacks against Burundi's military sites: army spokesmanThe International community is monitoring the situation in Burundi closely following the latest deadly clashes in the capital of the central African nation.

Unknown gunmen launched attacks at three military sites in the capital Bujumbura on Friday, leaving at least 87 dead in the country's worst outbreak of violence since May.

Gaspard Baratuza, spokesman of the Burundian army, said on Saturday that the operation to pursue those gunmen had ended.

"On the side of the enemy 79 of them died, 45 have been captured, 97 arms seized and lot of ammunitions. On our side, we lost eight soldiers, four of them from the army and four of them from the police. 21 have been injured."Burundi has been facing political turmoil since April when President Pierre Nkurunziza announced his bid for a third term.

The opposition and civil action groups have accused the President of violating the constitution.

This political crisis has led to the killing of more than 300 people and forced some 200,000 into exile in neighboring countries.

The International community fears Burundi could slide back into ethnic conflict, which had led to a 12-year civil war in the country.

Russia's ex-oil tycoon summoned for questioning of murderRussian authorities are preparing to put a former Russian oil tycoon on a wanted list in connection with the killing of a local politician close to 20-years ago.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky is wanted for questioning for his alleged involvement in the 1998 murder of a mayor in Siberia, with Russian investigators saying they have uncovered new evidence in the case.

Vladimir Markin is a spokesperson for Russia's lead investigative committee.

"So taking into account this new proof, the investigation issued a decree to bring Khodorkovsky to court as a defendant accused of organizing a murder and an attempt of murder. In view of Khodorkovsky's failure to appear before the Investigative Committee, in the near future he will be put on a wanted list."Khodorkovsky, who now lives in London, claims he's the target of persecution by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Once Russia's richest man, Kordorkovsky already spent a decade in prison on tax evasion, fraud and embezzlement convictions.

A staunch critic of the Kremlin, Kordorkovsky contends he is the target of a political vendetta by Putin.

First Saudi elections open to women endsVoting in the first-ever elections open to women in Saudi Arabia has come to an end.

Municipal council seats across Saudi Arabia are up for grabs.

These are the only elected positions in the country, which is still controlled by the monarchy on the federal level.

This year's vote also marks the first time women in the conservative country have been allowed on the ballot, with 979 women running for the roughly 7-thousand municipal council seats across the country.

"I think it's an achievement not only for women, for women and men as well - for the society. Because there's a lot of changes in this time, the age of the candidate, the age of the participation and also the candidate number. Before it was 20 appointed by the government, one chosen by the people; now it becomes two chosen by the people, one appointed by the government. A lot of power that the candidate can have so it is really like totally different now."Results of the vote are due out later on this Sunday.

The decision by the Saudi royal family to allow women to vote is being viewed by many as a first step toward greater equality.

However, women in Saudi Arabia are still restricted in certain areas, such as being allowed to drive.

Thousands of Iraqi protesters condemn the presence of Turkish troops in the countryThousands of protesters have taken to the streets in central Baghdad, demanding the current government do more to kick Turkish troops out of the country.

Protest organizers contend the presence of Turkish troops in northern Iraq could split the country apart.

"We categorically reject to violate our nation's sovereignty and the suspicious plans that aim to divide Iraq, under any reason and we also consider and military existence on Iraqi land as a foreign invasion and we have to face it with force and with all available methods."Mass demonstrations have also taken place in other parts of Iraq through Saturday.

The demonstrations came two days after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced he would not withdraw Turkish troops from an area around the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

Turkey claims its troops, around 300 in total, are there under an agreement with the Kurdish regional government to assist Kurdish forces in the fight against the Islamic State.

Their presence only became known after Turkey revealed plans to insert more troops into the area, which the administration in Baghdad has since denounced as a violation of Iraq's sovereignty.

Week-long ceasefire to begin in Yemen on MondayA week-long ceasefire is set to begin in Yemen on Monday, one day before the start of UN-sponsored peace talks.

Senior officials with the Yemeni government and the Shiite Houthi rebels have confirmed the ceasefire will take place.

Rebel spokesperson Mohammed Abdul-Salam.

"Based on what had been agreed upon, there will be a halt of the aggression on the fourteenth of this month and it will be confirmed within twenty-four hours then we will enter for positive and serious dialogue. We are going to the talks with serious intentions to take broad steps to end the war."Fighting in Yemen, which devolved into a full-blown civil war earlier this year, has left nearly 6-thousand people dead.

Shiite Houthi tribes, which had maintained a form of regional autonomy in Yemen's northern regions for years, swept south earlier this year, forcing President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee the country.

The conflict is viewed by many as a proxy war between Iran, which supports the Houthi forces, and Saudi Arabia, which supports Hadi's government.

A previous round of peace talks launched back in June failed to reach an agreement.

Smart device tells whether the air is cleanAnchor:

Amid lingering concerns in Beijing and other parts of China about air pollution, a number of companies have been taking steps to try to capitalize on the continued 'fact of life.'

CRI's Ryan Price has more.

Reporter:

Origins, a Beijing-based startup, 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 .

China's South-North water transfer project celebrates milestone.

The Central Route of the massive South–North water transfer project is marking its first anniversary of being open.

Since its opening in mid-December of last year, the project moved over 2-billion cubic metres of water from a tributary of Yangtze River into the parched northern areas of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, as well as parts of Henan.

The government estimates around 38-million people have directly benefited from the opening of the central route over the past year.

Zhang Zhongyi, head of the Construction and Management Department of the project, says plans are being worked on to increase water flows from central China into the capital region.

"Next year, the plan is to send 3.33 billion cubic meters of water north, which is one billion cubic meters of water more than this year."Once all three sections of the South-North water diversion project are open, close to 45-billion cubic meters of fresh water will be moved from the Yangtze River basin to areas of northern China.

The project itself was first initiated back in the 1950's.

However, it has been fast-tracked over the past 5-years, with the government pumping in billions of yuan into the project.

China's New Generation of Turboprop Aircraft CertifiedChina's new independently developed turboprop aircraft -- Y12F received an airworthiness certificate from the authorities on Saturday, marking an official entry into the domestic aviation market.

Li Xianzhe, chief designer of the plane, said the Y12F is on target for commercial success.

"We have achieved approval for commercial use [of the plane], which is in a leading position among competing models. The plane also boasts the fastest speed. Both these facts suggest that our technology in light aircraft is no less developed than our competitors. The next key step is after-sales service."With a maximum take-off weight of 8.4 tons, the plane can accommodate 19 passengers.

Other potential uses for the plane include marine monitoring, aerial delivery, aerial photographing, geological prospecting and cloud seeding.

The Y12F project was launched in 2005 with the maiden flight completed in 2010.

Jack Ma: Huge Potential in Rural AreasChina's internet pioneer Jack Ma says he believes rural areas provide a huge potential for online industry and e-commerce.

Ma said the Internet would go a long way towards helping rural businesses reach potential consumers.

"We have been working on Taobao for more than a decade and already have some 300 million users. However, the majority of Chinese live in rural areas and there lies a great opportunity. But with no Internet, you can't realise that potential."Jack Ma will be among the over 600 world leaders and entrepreneurs, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, at the upcoming World Internet Summit in the water town of Wuzhen in Zhejiang.

Ma said it will provide opportunities for Chinese internet-based firms to join the global market.

WeatherSmog has again come to Beijing. The capital is plagued with smog in the day with a high of 4 degrees Celsius; tonight snowy with a low of 2.

Shanghai, wet today with a high of 11 and a low of 7 degrees Celsius.

Chongqing, also wet y with a high of 11 and a low of 9.

Lhasa, cloudy a high of 12 and a low of minus 5 degrees Celsius.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Islamabad, cloudy, 17.

Kabul, cloudy, 4.

Over in North America,New York , rainy with a high of 21 degrees Celsius.

Washington DC, cloudy, 23.

Honolulu, wet , 28.

Toronto, also wet, with a high of 9.

In South America,Buenos Aires will be cloudy with a high of 35.

And Rio de Janeiro will be wet with a high of 31 degrees Celsius.

Headline NewsHistoric Paris agreement on climate change adopted without objection at COP21A new agreement on climate change has been adopted.

The 196 parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change have adopted the pact after some 2-weeks of negotiations in Paris.

It has a stated goal of keeping average temperature increases below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, but with a target of keeping temperatures within 1.5 degrees of pre-industrial averages.

The new deal also includes a system to encourage individual countries to increase their own carbon emission programs.

A previous plan to provide 100-billion U.S. dollars a year to the developing world by 2020 is also part of the final agreement.

Nanjing Marks 2nd Memorial Day for Massacre VictimsA series of activities are set to take place today in the city of Nanjing to mark the 2nd National Memorial Day for the Nanjing Massacre.

Ceremonies are taking place this morning at the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall.

A series of other events will take place later this morning at 17 different mass grave sites around the city.

Around 300-thousand people were killed by Japanese troops after they occupied the former Chinese capital, Nanjing, on December 13th, 1937.

The 6-week slaughter, which included mass rapes and indiscriminate killings, has long been an area of contention between Japan and China, with conservative elements in Japan continuing to deny the massacre or white-wash it from the history books.

However, every Japanese government since the War has conceded a massacre did take place in Nanjing.

December 13th officially became a National Memorial Day for the first time last year.

IS claims responsibility for deadly bombing in Syria's HomsThe Islamic State is claiming responsibility for a deadly bombing in the central Syrian city of Homs on Saturday.

Over 20 people were killed in the attack.

A car bomb went off in a pro-government district in Homs.

This was then followed up by a suicide bombing in the same area.

It comes just days after an UN-brokered pull-out by rebel forces was announced in Homs.

Libyan rival factions to meet in Rome on peace agreementRepresentatives from China are among those sitting down later on this Sunday in Rome in an attempt to help broker a peace deal between the rival governments in Libya.

China, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, is among a group of countries being represented at talks designed to create a unified administration in Libya.

A Wednesday deadline has been set to reach a final peace agreement and form a national unity government.

The talks in Rome follow a series of intense talks this past week in Tunisia.

Libya has been in a political vacuum following the ouster of former leader Muammar Gadaffi in 2011, with an Islamist and secular administration both claiming control.

Sci&Tech Weekly ReviewAnchor:

Time to take a look at what's been happening this week in the science and technology sector.

In this edition of the Sci-Tech report, China's Internet company Letv is planning to develop connected electric cars with Aston Martin; and a turtle-like underwater robot is being developed in Estonia to provide a new way to carry out maritime archaeology.

Here's CRI's Victor Ning.

China Launches New Communication SatelliteChina launched a new communication satellite into orbit this week.

The "ChinaSat 1C" satellite will provide high-quality voice, data and radio and TV transmission services.

The satellite was developed by the China Academy of Space Technology, and was carried by the Long March-3B carrier Rocket.

=========================================Mt. Qomolangma Glaciers Shrink 28 Pct in 40 Years: ReportA report released last weekend shows that glaciers on Mount Qomolangma have shrunk by nearly 30 percent over the past 40 years due to climate change.

The glacier area on the south slope of the mountain in Nepal has also decreased 26 percent.

The data was collected by Chinese researchers during the long-term remote sensing and on-site monitoring.

The shrinking glaciers have resulted in swelling glacial lakes and higher river levels downstream.

Data shows that the area of a glacial lake in China's Mt. Qomolangma nature reserve has increased by 14 square kilometers.

=============================================Letv, Aston Martin Unite to Develop Connected CarsChina's Internet company Letv is planning to develop connected electric cars with British carmaker Aston Martin.

The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding last Thursday.

The cooperation will range from connected technologies to car engineering and manufacturing.

Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer said that the company's Rapide S would embody Letv's touch-screen system.

More connected technologies will feature in Aston Martin's first electric car RapidE.

Letv's CEO Jia Yueting said on its Sina Weibo that Aston Martin will be the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) for Letv's first electric car.

The car has completed testing in the US and a small scale trial production is on the horizon.

=============================================Stringless Virtual Guitar Launched in UKA 'stringless' virtual guitar makes it possible for a novice to learn and play songs in a matter of minutes.

The Kurv Guitar consists of a button pad and sensor-packed guitar pick.

Chords and notes are generated by pressing down on the buttons on the palm pad and strumming with the pick.

Kurv co-founder Suran Goonatilake explains how they let the guitar work.

"What we've done is take a whole bunch of different sensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, pressure sensitive stuff; and then combine that with a mobile phone which has the computational power to actually drive real-time music synthesis. And then combined that with another bunch of technologies, in this case machine learning, to really understand your gestures. "Years of practice required to play the guitar cause many people give up too soon.

However, Kurv's makers prove that anyone can make music by using their virtual guitar.

Goonatilake adds that the guitar can also be used by accomplished musicians.

"It's highly portable, so if they want to compose on the go then they can just use it, they can just plug their headphones in. So it is actually quite extendable in that it has the full chromatic scales, so it's very musically accurate, if you like."Millie is a student who has never picked up a guitar before. He is taught to play Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" by using the Kurv Guitar on London's Denmark Street.

"I didn't think I could do it, but today I believe I can, so yeah - it's great."Kurv Guitar has recently been launched on crowd-funding site Kickstarter.

The patent-pending prototype is still being tested and perfected, but the makers hope early adopters will take the technology to new levels.

===================================Russian Scientists Research Delicate Noses of Sniffer RatsRussian scientists are conducting research to determine whether rats can be used to detect potential explosives or humans trapped under debris.

Head of the Rostov-on-Don's Laboratory Dmitry Medvedev hopes that the rodents could be used to assist rescuers.

"If we learn to allocate the smell of a human, one can use a rat as a detector to find people under rubble. A rat can get into a place that was obstructed. Unlike a dog, a rat can get through the smallest crack where it seems even a rat could not crawl though."Scientists have determined that rats can differentiate between different types of tea leaves by using their delicate noses.

However, they still don't fully understand how the rodents use and process that ability.

Medvedev thinks highly of using the rats to replace sniffer dogs to check luggage at airports.

"With luggage it's a little simpler. Here you could put a rat in one place and could bring baggage past it on a conveyor like it moves in the airport."Medvedev also points out that using rats is cheaper and causes less damage than using a dog if it becomes aggressive.

==================================Turtle-like Underwater Robot Provides New Way to Maritime ArchaeologyA turtle-like robot being developed in Estonia is likely to provide a new way to maritime archaeology.

The U-CAT robot has been improved by engineers at Estonia's Tallinn University of Technology Center for Biorobotics.

Lead designer Taavi Salumae explains why they're working on the latest prototype of underwater exploration robots.

"For archaeology this robot is unique because there are no such robots available at the moment. The robots available are really large and really expensive and not especially made for underwater archaeology. So this is the robot that is especially made considering the requirements of underwater archaeologists."The difference between U-CAT and other underwater robots is inspired by sea turtles.

Salumae says it uses fins instead of propellers.

"And the main advantage, for example, is that if you take a robot with propellers and send it inside a ship wreck, then if you start the propeller it will bring up a lot of sediment from the bottom. So it will generate a lot of disturbance. "Archaeologists say the U-CAT robot could help to investigate thousands of ship wrecks in the Baltic Sea during WWII.

The first field testing took place in March in Spain's Gran Canaria.

Engineers hope to test the robot again in the summer of 2016 after they improve the current prototype.

However, it is unclear when the U-CAT will be put into commercial use.

===================================Eco-house Makes More Energy than It UsesA group of scientists in Germany have built a house they hope will produce twice the amount of energy it needs. They say the project shows how we could all live carbon neutral lives in the future.

This is the B10 house in central Stuttgart.

It might look like a regular office building - but this small house represents the very peak of energy efficiency and production.

With its solar photovoltaic-thermal panel covered roof, its highly tuned system for heating and electricity usage and a specially designed app to keep everything working together - it produces more energy than it needs.

It was built in the summer of 2014, and has now been tested as an office space for over a year.

The results are encouraging, the house has produced enough surplus electricity to power an electric car, heat a nearby museum and still feed some electricity into the public grid.

Thorsten Klaus is the Head of Building Systems at Aktivhaus, the group that runs the project.

He says the researchers are able to control the heating and cooling systems through an app.

"This is our heating, cooling and ventilation module. Here we have our heat pump. Our central ventilation system with heat recovery. Our hydraulic matrix which lets us couple different heat sources and sinks. And together with our buffer tank and our ice store and our solar-thermal roof array, that comprises the heating and cooling system of the house. All of it works together, in combination with our app which has a self-learning algorithm. And that lets us control this house with the utmost efficiency."The house is small, it has a living area of just 52 square metres, and there is only one room, a garage and a bathroom.

A row at the back of the house is taken up by the battery and the heating and cooling systems.

Many buildings in Germany, and across the world, were built decades or sometimes centuries ago.

They are not energy efficient and it is hard to retrofit them to produce energy and consume less.

Klaus envisages a future where new buildings are so energy efficient and energy producing that they can provide the old buildings with enough energy - creating carbon neutral cities.

"I think the way forward in terms of the energy revolution that we really need, is to create more buildings that create a surplus of energy, with which we can supply our existing building stock. So that we don't have to worry so much about renovating existing buildings, especially heritage buildings, and go through the cost and material requirements of that, that it actually requires. But instead produce new buildings that are so advanced and produce so much of a surplus that we can use them to supply our existing buildings with energy."The researchers say the B10 project will run for a few years and the house will be fully tested in different situations.

In the end it will be removed and recycled.

And that brings us to the end of this edition of our weekly science and technology report.

I'm Victor Ning. See you next week.

SportsAxelsen Upsets Chen Long at BWF Super Series FinalsA major upset at the BWF Super Series Finals in Dubai,Chinese World number-1 Chen Long will not be competing in the finals in the Men's Single's event later on this Sunday.

Despite having won all previous 7-matches against him, Chen Long went down to Denmark's Viktor Axelsen 21-12, 21-17 last night in the semi-finals.

"Right now of course I'm pretty overwhelmed. This is a major achievement for me, it is one of my best matches of my career, if not the best. So of course I'm really happy right now."Axelson will be up against Japan's Kento Momota, who got past Jan O. Jorgensen in the other semi-final.

--------In the Women's Singles event,China's Wang Yihan is into the finals after she rolled over Thailand Ratchanok Intanon in straigh-sets on Saturday.

She'll be up against Japan's Nozomi Okuhara in the final, after she surprised world number-1 Carolina Marin of Spain in straight sets.

"Yesterday I was lucky that Tai Tzu Ying could beat Saina (Nehwal). Now she, (Nozomi) Okuhara performed better than me. So now I have time for a break because I need it for my mind and for my body. Yeah, I will come back stronger next year."-------The Women's Doubles final in Dubai will have Luo Ying and Luo Yu taking on a duo from Sweden.

--China's Chai Biao and Hong Wei will contest the Men's Doubles final against a pair from Indonesia.

--The mixed doubles final has a pair from England battling a duo from South Korea.

Chinese players all through at Table Tennis World FinalsIn table tennis,Chinese players continue to dominate at the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in Portugal.

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

Chinese players also make up half of the women's quarterfinal berths.

Liu Shiwen, Ding Ning, Chen Meng and Zhu Yuling are into the last-8.

An all-Chinese quarterfinal between Liu and Chen will take place today.

Feng Shanshan wins third Dubai Ladies Masters title by 12 shotsIn golf,Guangzhou-native Feng Shanshan has won the Dubai Ladies Masters tournament, with a dominant 12-stroke victory.

"Well, I'm still a little excited right now because this is my third time to win here - and, you know, when I just arrived last Saturday all in my mind was all the good memories here in the past three years, and I was just hoping to copy and do that again. And I was actually really relaxed on the course and I really enjoyed all four days, and really happy I'm here again."The 26-year-old now tops the Ladies European Tour's Order of Merit with the victory.

-----------Elsewhere in Asia,Rising French golfer Clement Sordet fired a 9-under-63 to come into today's final round with the lead the Thailand Golf Championship.

Jamie Donaldson and Lee Westwood sit 2nd and 3rd.

Guangzhou Evergrande get ready for quarter-final in Club World CupIn football action this afternoon,Asian champions Guangzhou Evergrande is set to open its 2015 FIFA Club World Cup campaign against Mexican side Club America later this afternoon in Japan.

Evergrande Captain Zheng Zhi says they don't know much about their opponents.

"The domestic results of both teams doesn't mean much to each other. Any team that participates in the Club World Cup is very strong, but we don't know much about them. We haven't played many American clubs and we don't know their football style, so it could be difficult for us. It will be a tough match for us. Whoever plays better will be the winner."This is Guangzhou's second appearance at the Club World Cup tournament.

Guangzhou lost both matches against Bayern München and Atletico Mineiro two years ago.

------In the English Premier League from last night,Manchester City is back at the top of the table following a 2-1 victory over Swansea.

City Manager Manuel Pellegrini:

"It is very important for the team to win these kind of games. I knew before the game that it would be a very difficult game for the moment to Swansea because we have an important achievement during the week. I repeat once again."In other action,It was Man City blowing a chance to keep pace with United at the top of the table, going down to Bournemouth 2-1.

Norwich and Everton drew 1-1.

Sunderland went down to Watford 1-0.

Crystal Palace edged Southampton 1-0.

West Ham United and Stoke ended in a nil-nil draw.

------3 games on deck tonight,Third place Arsenal are on the road to take on Aston Villa.

Arsenal comes in after reaching the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.

Manager Arsene Wenger says they need to re-focus on the task-at-hand.

"I think it was a fantastic performance in the end that got us through, now we are in it (the last 16) let's focus again on the Premier League, that's where we are in a strong position and it's important again that we manage to move from one competition to the other with the same level of focus and performance."------In other action tonight,Liverpool will host West Bromwich Albion.

And it's Tottenham against Newcastle.

Basketball: Golden State Warriors Take on Milwaukee Bucks for 25th WinIn NBA action from earlier this morning,The Angeles Clippers vs the Brooklyn Nets.

---------In other action in the NBA this morning,The Golden State Warriors are looking to extend their incredible winning streak to 25-straight wins to open the NBA season, as they take on the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Bucks comes into this matchup after losing to the Toronto Raptors yesterday.

-----------Elsewhere,Jeremy Lin and the Charlotte Hornets are at home to the Boston Celtics.

--Kobe Bryant and the L.A. Lakers are on the road in Houston to take on the Rockets, hoping to snap their 5-game losing streak.

--The Indiana Pacers will be up against the Detroit Pistons.

--The Atlanta Hawks will host the San Antonio Spurs.

--The New Orleans Pelicans on the road to take on the Chicago Bulls.

And it's Portland Trail Blazers over New York Knicks for 2nd win in a row.

---------Here in China,CBA leaders Xinjiang and Guangsha both take their league-leading records on the road tonight.

Xinjiang is in Nanjing to take on the Jiangsu Dragons, while Guangsha is in Beijing to battle Beikong.

Both top the league with 14-2 records.

------In other CBA action tonight,It's the Beijing Ducks hosting Foshan, looking for their 3rd win in a row.

------Yi Jianlian and 3rd place Guangdong Southern are at home to Tianjin.

------Fujian will host Sichuan, hoping to snap a 3-game losing skid.

------After suffering their back to back defeats, Shandong will take on Liaoning.

------Qingdao will be up against Jiangsu Tongxi.

------Jilin is at home to Bayi.

---And it's Shanxi up against Shenzhen.

Hockey: Penguins dump head coach amid strugglesFrom the NHL,The Pittsburgh Penguins' management has pulled the trigger on a coaching change.

The Pens have fired head coach Mike Johnston and promoted Mike Sullivan from the Penguins' AHL affiliate.

Sullivan is a former Boston Bruins head coach and long-time NHL assistant.

Despite a roster filled with high-end scoring talent, only three teams have scored fewer goals than Pittsburgh so far this season.

The Penguins are one of 10-teams not in action this morning in a busy NHL schedule today.

One game is already in the books, which saw Boston down Florida 3-1.

Later on this morning,It’s the LA Kings looking for their 7th straight win in Buffalo against the Sabres.

--Montreal, still leading the Atlantic Division, looks to snap a 5-game losing skid at home to Ottawa.

--Columbus entertains the Islanders.

--Washington is in Tampa.

--Nashville is at home to Colorado.

--League-leading Dallas is in St. Louis.

--Arizona entertains Carolina.

--The Calgary Flames, winners of 4-straight, are at home to the Rangers.

--and San Jose looks to snap a 5-game losing skid at home to Minnesota.

Entertainment'Point Break' Sees Solid Chinese Box Office Debut"Point Break" has generated 22.7 million US dollars at the Chinese box office in its first week of release across 3,700 screens — including five straight days as the top performer.

Alcon Entertainment said Friday the extreme-sports action movie is poised to remain at first place in its second week of release with a projected drop of only 8 percent, going into its second weekend.

"Point Break" opened against "Fall In Love Like A Rock Star," a Chinese film that has so far grossed 20 million US dollars.

The "Point Break" remake was approved last month for a December 4th release date in China — an unprecedented three weeks before its U.S. opening.

"Point Break" has a Chinese investor, DMG Entertainment.

The second weekend of Matt Damon's "The Martian" won the Chinese box office in the first weekend of December with 27 million US dollars, expanding its cumulative Chinese gross to 76.2 million US dollars after 12 days.

An ancient mutant awakens in first 'X-Men: Apocalypse' trailerMarvel Studios and 20th Century Fox have released the first trailer for "X-Men: Apocalypse", giving us our first sense of the powerful enemy the X-Men must defeat if they're going to save the world.

In the trailer's opening scenes, we see a young Jean Grey have a vision of the end of the world, with chaos, destruction and death all around her.

This vision will become reality if the X-Men fail to save that world from the film's villain, the first mutant who's been slumbering for many thousands of years, and who wakes up to find a world, he thinks, is not worth saving and so must be destroyed.

The movie has an all-star cast that includes Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Olivia Munn, James McAvoy and Oscar Isaac as the villain 'Apocalypse'.

"X-Men: Apocalypse" will be released in theaters around the world beginning on May 18, 2016, in the UK on May 19, Australia on May 26 and the US on May 27.

First 'Kubo and the Two Strings' Teaser Trailer Showcases Gorgeous AnimationLaika, the animation studio known for quirky and visually stunning stop-motion animated movies such as Coraline, ParaNorman, and The Boxtrolls, is back with its latest project, Kubo and the Two Strings.

And like their previous work, which floated between genres and refused to pin down the company as the maker of a certain kind of movie, this offering also looks visually stunning, and unlike anything else being sold to family audiences today.

The story - Clever, kindhearted Kubo, voiced by Art Parkinson of Game of Thrones, ekes out a humble living, telling stories to the people of his seaside town.

But his relatively quiet existence is shattered when he accidentally summons a spirit from his past which storms down from the heavens to enforce an age-old vendetta.

The movie features the voices of several Hollywood A-listers, including Charlize Theron and Matthew McConaughey.

"Kubo and the Two Strings" opens in theaters August 19.

First Trailer for fantastic beasts and where to find them to arriveWarner Brothers Pictures is to debut the 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' trailer online this Tuesday, December 15.

'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' is set in the same world as the Harry Potter franchise, so fans will have a good idea of what to expect from the new film.

That being said, the Harry Potter movies vary considerably in terms of tone and feel from one another, so it'll be interesting to see how 'Fantastic Beasts' will fit in to the genre.

The film is being produced by David Heyman, producer of all eight of the blockbuster Harry Potter features, JK Rowling and Steve Kloves, who scripted all but one of the Harry Potter films with Rowling herself supplying the screenplay.

It stars Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler, and Colin Farrell.

Warner Brothers Pictures has slated the first 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' for worldwide release in 3D and IMAX on November 18, 2016.

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.

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

A recap of your headlines:

Major commemorations taking place today to mark the anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre.

A landmark deal on Climate Change finally agreed in Paris after two weeks of deliberations. But doubts remain over how the tough targets can be met.

On behalf of co-host Paul James and the rest of the Beijing Hour team: This is Bob Jones in Beijing hoping you'll join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour, to open a window to the world together.