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

Coming up on the program this evening...

China marking its 2nd National Memorial Day for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre...

An extradition treaty signed between China and Italy goes into full effect...

Experts and world leaders welcoming the final draft of the landmark Paris Climate Change agreement...

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

In sports... Guangzhou Evergrande making it to the Club World Cup semifinals...

And in entertainment... the Martian continues to dominate the Chinese box office...

Top NewsChina Marks 2nd National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre VictimsChina has marked its 2nd National Memorial Day for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre.

People observed a minute's silence while sirens were sounded at 10:00 a.m. throughout the city in east China's Jiangsu province.

Li Jianguo, vice chairman of Standing Committee of China's top legislature, delivered a speech during the event held at the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall.

He explained that the memorial aims to safeguard peace.

"We hold this memorial to mourn the deceased victims and martyrs, and to condemn wartime atrocities. The purpose is to recall that every good-hearted person yearns for peace and a bright future, and not to plant hatred. However, we must also resolutely oppose any glorification of aggression, and any attempt to begin reversing the words and deeds of history in order to avoid historical tragedies."He also urged that China and Japan to hold on to the spirit of learning from the past and facing the future so as to promote good-neighborly and friendly cooperation.

The invading Japanese troops captured Nanjing on Dec. 13, 1937 and started a bloodbath that lasted for more than 40 days. More than 300-thousand Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers were killed and around 20-thousand women were raped.

China last year designated Dec. 13 National Memorial Day for Victims of the Nanjing Massacre.

China-Italy Extradition Treaty takes effectThe "China-Italy Extradition Treaty", signed in Rome in 2010, officially took effect on Sunday.

The treaty is aimed at curbing the escape of Chinese corrupt officials and to push China's foreign judicial cooperation to a new level.

Sun Ang with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs elaborates on the treaty.

"These successful cooperation cases not only help arrest the criminals involved but clearly show to the fugitives and those attempting to flee that there is no 'safe haven' for them in the world."Another treaty between the two countries on criminal and judicial assistance took effect this August.

Based on the two treaties, both sides have an obligation to help each other with investigations, recovering criminal earnings and repatriating fugitive suspects.

China has signed a total of 121 bilateral extradition and judicial assistance treaties since 1987, covering 66 countries all over the world.

The "Sky Net" campaign launched in April is based on those treaties.

As of the end of November, Chinese police have repatriated a total of 738 fugitives from overseas in the campaign.

China's South-North water transfer project celebrates milestoneThe 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."Lin Aiwu, head of the Water Quality Monitoring Center of Beijing Waterworks Group, confirmed the safety of the water quality.

"There's no instability on the pipe water's quality due to the change of the water source, neither did the pipe water itself ever turn dirty. The quality of the transferred pipe water is very safe."According to Lin, the turbidity of the water is tested twice a day at over 200 monitoring stations in the capital.

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.

China's Hualong One construction gets substantial progressThe construction of China's nuclear power plant Hualong One, in southeast China's Fujian province, has made new progress, with part of its 13-layer containment vessel completed.

Xue Junfeng, a senior engineer of Fujian Fuqing Nuclear Power, said the work was finished more than 20 days ahead of schedule.

"We welded in the workshop steel plates together in the form of a cylinder, then lifted it up to the right location and welded it to the building. Such a process has greatly shortened the time needed at the construction site. It saves at least one third of the needed time to construct each module."The design of the project, which is being independently build by China, has a great focus on safety. It is built to withstand the crash of large commercial jet-liner as well as earthquakes of 8 magnitude and above.

Construction started on the Hualong One nuclear power unit in May and it is expected to be finished in 2020.

The project is part of efforts to ease power shortages, and cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Two more will soon be built, one also in Fujian and the other one in Fangchenggang in south China's Guangxi region.

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.

Beijing Mulls Points System for Non-localsThere 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.

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.

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.

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.

China Welcomes Paris Climate Deal, Promises ImplementationChina has welcomed the historic Paris climate change deal and promised its full implementation.

CRI's Victor Ning reports.

On Saturday, China's Special Representative on Climate Change and chief negotiator Xie Zhenghua praised the adoption of the deal in Paris.

"The Chinese delegation fully supports the joint efforts of the chairman of COP21, negotiators and delegations of other countries. We fully support the final Paris agreement. Although the agreement is not perfect and needs to be further improved, it does not stop us from taking a historic step forward. So we are quite satisfied with the agreement."Highlights of the agreement include calls for limiting global temperature increases to below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, but it has an ultimate goal of keeping temperature rises below 1.5 degrees.

It has a goal of setting aside 100-billion US dollars a year for developing countries by 2020. The deal also calls for a review of each country's progress every 5 years.

Meanwhile, also speaking in Paris, China's Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin called the climate change summit a milestone in human history.

"The agreement is a third milestone document reached in the past 25 years by all countries' effort in negotiating on climate change. Its great significance is that the pact has formulated clear plans for the world on fighting against climate change after 2020, and it includes all kinds of work including funds and technology. It also abides by the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities for the developed countries and developing countries.

In 1992, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change was formed. Nations were bound to combat climate change, but without a detailed action plan. In 1997, the Kyoto protocol set out to cut global emissions by about 5% by 2012 compared to 1990 levels. Due to disagreements, the pact did not become legal until 2004.

The Chinese Vice Foreign Minister said the new agreement can also help to guide China's future green development.

"As the world is to enter the era of low-carbon development and green development, China also faces the phase of economic transition and is seeking for a low-carbon and green development. In fact, the green development will be listed as one of China's five main development goals in the upcoming 13th Five Year Plan."Special Representative Xie Zhenhua summed up China's resolve in creating an environmentally friendly future.

"For China, a responsible developing country, tackling climate change is not only the internal need for promoting its sustainable development, but also a responsibility for building the destiny community of human beings. China will actively assume the obligations suited to its conditions and stage of development, continue to achieve the goals of dealing with climate change before 2020, actively implement independent contributions, and reach the peak of carbon emissions."Nations must next ratify or approve the deal individually.

It will only take effect if it is approved by 55 countries. Those countries' greenhouse gas emissions must represent 55% of the world's total.

For CRI, I'm Victor Ning.

World Leaders and Environmental Activists Welcome the Paris AgreementWorld 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.

Almost 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.

"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.

"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.

"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.

Singapore students build personal flying machineA team of eight engineering students from the National University of Singapore have built a personal flying machine, dubbed 'Snowstorm'.

Snowstorm has been successfully tested and is said to be capable of vertical take-off and landing with one person on board.

CRI's Fei Fei with more.

Joerg Weigl, who came up with the idea and is one of the supervisors of the project, said he wanted 'Snowstorm' to help people realise their dreams of flying.

"Because flying is now a community. People can now fly with a jetliner, but the feeling of flying got lost on the way. So 'Snowstorm' is our multi-copter where you can get the feeling of flying back, the feeling of flying to anybody who wants to fly."The flying machine is comprised of motors, propellers and landing gear set within a hexagonal frame and can be controlled by the person sitting in it, or remotely.

It's environmentally-friendly too, as the three rechargeable batteries get their energy from solar power.

The team said the current prototype can technically bear the load of a single person up to 70 kilograms for a flight time of about five minutes.

Team member, student Wang Yuyao admitted 'Snowstorm' is still a work in progress.

"The next step is, from an electrical standpoint, it's definitely to have more fail-safes, better stability and easier control for the pilot, and from the mechanical side of the staff, it's definitely more structural stability as well as maybe even more power. We can always add more motors to lift a heavier person.""Snowstorm" was created as part of an engineering project called FW Air: Electric Aviation, which aims to turn the fantasy of flying cars into reality.

Weigl said he could see it being commercialised some years down the road.

"As soon as you make it stable and possible as a fun activity, a fun activity is what people want and if people want this, it's a product and as soon as it's a product, it's a commercial market (product). That's very simple and it's a commercial market (product) that doesn't pollute the environment, so that is a nice thing."The Snowstorm was Singapore's first personal flying machine, built within a year.

The world has seen a number of efforts in the area, including NASA's Puffin, a electric-powered personal concept aircraft revealed in 2010.

For CRI, this is Fei Fei.

Vast desert sun farm to help light up MoroccoMorocco's first solar power plant on the edge of the Sahara desert is ready to be put into operation.

Scarce in oil and gas reserves, Morocco is the biggest importer of energy in the Middle East and North Africa.

Moroccan Minister of Energy and Environment, Abdelkader Amara, said the plant is part of a vision to raise renewable energy production to 42 percent of the country's total power supply by 2020.

"We have a project to introduce 6,000 MW to the existing electricity production nationwide; 2,000 MW will come from solar energy and 2,000 MW from wind and hydroelectric power. Things have been going well so far, we're likely to go beyond 2,000 MW by 2020 in the area of wind power."About half a million U-shaped mirrors are spread over an area equivalent to more than 600 football pitches.

They store thermal energy from the sun's rays and use it to activate steam turbines that produce electricity.

Amara said its first solar power plant will allow the country to reduce CO2 emissions by 240-thousand tonnes per year initially, and by 522-thousand tonnes with the second two phases.

"There is no doubt that what we will do at the COP22 in Marrakesh will be influenced by the results of the COP21 in Paris, and it's highly likely that the Paris summit will achieve 80% of the planned objectives."The plant is said to be the world's largest solar power production facility.

It will generate 580 megawatts and provide electricity to a million homes.

Colombia, Spain negotiate distribution of riches from Sunk GalleonThe governments of Colombia and Spain have started talks on how to distribute the riches from a discovered sunken Spanish galleon.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announced that they discovered the San Jose galleon last week off Colombian's Baru peninsula.

Colombian Foreign Minister, Maria Angela Holguin, said they had received a note from Spain in which it claimed sovereignty over the boat.

"Basically, we have the same objective, and we want to be clear on that -- this is part of patrimony of all mankind, and it's how this heritage is conserved, and on that we can continue discussing. That's the baseline of this issue. We have received a verbal note, we will respond to it as soon as we hear back from all the studies the Colombian government has done."Spain's claim is based on the sovereign immunity that the vessel should receive on the seas.

Spanish Foreign Minister, Jose Manuel Garcia, said the two sides have pledged to work in conjunction, but that discrepancies still exist.

"There are discrepancies with regards to the ownership of the property. The two parties have both insisted at this time that we have to find a formula so the two countries can collaborate on conservation and protection of a property, which is part of patrimony for all mankind."San Jose sunk in the early 18th Century and is estimated to carry treasure worth between 1 and 17 billion US dollars.

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.

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 theBurundi 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.

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.

Headline NewsChina holds memorial for Nanjing Massacre victimsThe Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council held a memorial for Nanjing Massacre victims in Nanjing on Sunday.

Li Jianguo, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, attended the event at the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall.

People observed a minute's silence while sirens were sounded at 10:00am throughout the city.

The invading Japanese troops captured Nanjing on Dec. 13, 1937 and started a bloodbath that lasted for more than 40 days. More than 300-thousand Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers were killed and around 20-thousand women were raped.

China last year designated Dec. 13 National Memorial Day for Victims of the Nanjing Massacre.

23 Killed in Russia Psychiatric Hospital FireAt least 23 people have been killed in a deadly blaze at a psychiatric hospital in southwestern Russia.

2 more bodies have been found in the debris after 19 were recovered at the site earlier.

Another 2 died in a local hospital.

Media outlets reported that all the deceased were bedridden patients or patients undergoing medical treatment.

Over 70 people were inside the hospital when the fire broke out late last night, and 51 of them were successfully evacuated while 21 with burns have been hospitalized.

The cause of the tragedy is still under investigation.

France Holds Second Round of Regional ElectionsFrance is holding its second round of regional elections on Sunday. The results will show whether the far-right National Front can turn popularity into power.

Amid uncertainties over the continental refugee crisis and the Paris attacks, the National Front made a breakthrough last week and led in the first round of regional elections.

Former President Nicolas Sarkozy's Republican Party came in second, while current President Francois Hollande's Socialists came in third.

The 13 regions in France hold strong powers over local affairs.

Pangolin Smugger in Guangxi Jailed for 5 YearsA man in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has been sentenced to 5 years in prison for smuggling pangolins.

The man surnamed Tang from Dongxing City was also fined 50 thousand yuan, or over 7700 U.S. dollars.

Tang, hired by other smugglers, was accused of driving 26 smuggled pangolins in a commercial van from Vietnam to China.

He was arrested in Dongxing while driving his vehicle on an expressway leading to Guangdong Province.

Pangolins are under second-class state protection in China, and those illegally catching, killing or trading them could face over 10 years in prison plus fines.

Sci&Tech (Sunday)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.

Let's catch all the latest with CRI's Victor Ning.

=========================================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 more simple. 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.

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.

SportsGuangzhou Evergrande reaches Club World Cup semis to meet BarcelonaBeginning with the biggest event from China today, and it is good news:

Chinese and Asian champions Guangzhou Evergrande have reached the Club World Cup semifinals with a 2-1 win over CONCACAF champions America.

Evergrande fell 1-0 behind early in the second half.

Zheng Long equalized 25 minutes later with an assist from Gao Lin who opted for Zheng behind him when flanked by America's defensives on both sides.

Man-of-the-match Paulinho headed home a buzz beater from close range to send Evergrande through.

They go on to meet European champions Barcelona next Thursday.

Euro 2016 drawElsewhere in football,The draw has been made for the Euro 2016.

Belgium and Italy have fallen into the undisputed group of death. The world's number one team and former World Cup winners are in Group E which also has Sweden and Ireland.

Italy manager Antonio Conte is confident about their chances but feels the threats coming from Belgium.

"It's an interesting group, it's a difficult group, it won't be a walk in the park. I think on paper Belgium are better than the rest, better than us, than Sweden, than Ireland. But I can see a certain equilibrium. We know we can go through, we will work towards that. We are ambitious and we want to have a good tournament, to, as I said, make the fans proud, the Italian fans."Neighbours and rivals England and Wales are in Group B with Russia and Slovakia.

Germany and Poland have once again ended up together. The teams which both emerged from the same qualifier group are in Group C with Ukraine and Northern Ireland.

Defending Champions Spain are in Group D.

Host nation France lead Romania, Albania and Switzerland in Group A.

France and Romania will get group action underway in the Euro 2016 opener on June 10.

Axelsen Upsets Chen Long at BWF Super Series FinalsA major upset at the badminton 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.

Chen went down to Denmark's Viktor Axelsen 21-12, 21-17 in the semi-finals.

It is his first defeat at the hands of Axelsen in Chen's career.

Axelsen is thrilled to have overcome the world number one.

"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 Women's Singles,China's Wang Yihan is into the finals after she rolled over Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon in straight-sets.

She'll be up against Japan's Nozomi Okuhara in the final.

The Women's Doubles final in Dubai will have Luo Ying/Luo Yu taking on a duo from Sweden.

Chai Biao/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.

The world number ones in all four categories failed to make the final.

Chen Meng over Liu Shiwen at ITTF World Tour Grand FinalsMore surprise results for Chinese players, at the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in Lisbon,Chen Meng shocked compatriot and world number one Liu Shiwen 4-1 to reach the women's semi-finals.

Chen next takes on a Japanese player for a place in the final.

Doubles Partners Ding Ning and Zhu Yuling will compete for the other spot in the final.

Ding and Zhu had whitewashed their Japanese opponents 4-0 and won the women's doubles event.

On the men's side,All four Chinese players defeated their quarter-final opponents.

Ma Long, Zhang Jike, Fan Zhendong, and Xu Xin set up all-Chinese semifinals and have bagged the gold medal for China.

Jin Boyang fifth at Figure Skating Grand Prix Finals; Yuzuru Hanyu wins with record-breaking performanceOver at the ISU Figure Skating Grand Prix Finals in Barcelona,Japanese skater Yuzuru Hanyu has beaten his own record again to win a third straight men's title.

Hanyu tops both the free skate and overall charts.

The Olympic champion topped his own record of overall score from two weeks ago with eight more points, finishing at just over 330.

He is the first skater to break the 300-point mark.

World champion Javier Fernandez is second.

China's Jin Boyang is fifth.

The ladies' competition is won by Russia's Evegenia Medvedeva.

Feng Shanshan wins Dubai Ladies Masters by 12 shotsIn golf,China's Feng Shanshan has won the Dubai Ladies Masters by a whopping 12 shots.

Feng is excited about being the only player to have won the tournament three times.

"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 golfer now tops the Ladies European Tour's Order of Merit with the victory.

Over in China,Park Sung Hyun held on to her two-shot lead after round two of the Hyundai China Ladies Open in Hainan.

Shi Yuting and Zhang Weiwei are joint 18th place at three-under.

Warriors' best season start stops at 24 winsIn basketball action from the NBA,The Warriors' record best season start was stopped at 24 wins as they fell to Milwaukee 108-95.

Counting their four straight wins from the end of last season, the Warriors' winning streak stretched to 28, five short of the longest in NBA history.

Forward Draymond Green says that the streak had a "playoff feeling" and looks forward to a regular season without so much attention.

So just now, get back to what we know and that's getting better each and every day. And once we focus on getting better each and every day, hey, another streak might happen. We can put together a lot more wins but most importantly just, let's have a regular season now and enjoy the regular season. We don't want to get caught up in the regular season, caught up in streaks and tire ourselves out for the playoffs, because that's the most important thing. So, pretty much just let's have a regular season."In other NBA results,Houston thumped the LA Lakers 126-97,Lakers' city Rivals the Clippers downed Brooklyn 105-100,And Boston got past Taiwan player Jeremy Lin's Charlotte 98-93.

Entertainment'The Martian' Keeps Ruling China's Box OfficeAmerican science fiction film 'The Martian' continued to dominate China's box office in the week ending December 6th, by pulling in 172 million yuan, or 26.6 million U.S. dollars in seven days.

Faithfully adapted from Andy Weir's 2011 namesake novel, the film portrays an Astronaut played by Matt Damon, who finds himself stranded and alone on Mars.

Since opening on November 25th, the film has already earned over 482 million yuan in Chinese theaters.

Meanwhile, domestic romantic comedy 'Fall in Love Like A Star' opens in the second spot, with 98 million in the week.

Starring popular actor Li Yifeng and actress Yang Mi, the film depicts a secret love between a super idol and his talent agent.

The third place goes to American-Chinese co-produced thriller 'Point Break'.

Released on December 4th, the film has grossed some 76 million yuan.

'Our Times', a romantic comedy from Taiwan, earned 70 million yuan, and dropped the fourth spot.

However, it remains the highest-grossing film from Taiwan to be released on the mainland.

Rounding out the top five is domestic comedy 'Impossible', with 54 million yuan in ticket sales during the week.

Chinese Folk Music Performance Makes US DebutA grand Chinese folk music performance 'Rediscover Chinese Music' has made its US debut at the Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington DC.

The ten-program performance combines a 110-piece orchestra with story-telling, technical innovation and stunning multimedia backdrops.

Classical Chinese folk music, including 'High Mountain Flowing Water', 'The Moon Reflected on the Er-quan', and 'Ambush from Ten Sides' are all featured in the show.

The performance is a creative production of the China National Traditional Orchestra.

The orchestra's president Xi Qiang says their team "injected new ideas into masterpieces, amplifying the soul and the power inherent in traditional Chinese music ".

He highlights that through innovation, the production is true to the roots of authentic traditions.

Wang Chaoge, a member of the core creative team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and the director of the 2010 World Expo China Private Museum, directed the performance.

Founded in 1960, the China National Traditional Orchestra is a state-level art-performing institution, with highly esteemed musicians both at home and abroad.

Spike Lee's New Michael Jackson Documentary to Debut on 2016 Sundance Film FestivalA new Michael Jackson documentary will make its debut at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, which is set to open next month.

This documentary features rare footage and interviews of the legendary singer, and the people who backed him up throughout his efforts with the album 'Off the Wall.'

According to Essence, this new documentary produced by Spike Lee will offer a different perspective of the King of Pop, compared to pervious documentaries about the icon.

The documentary is entitled 'Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall'.

Sundance Film Festival's director indicates that the film portrays the legendary singer's "drive and commitment", as he "transitioned from the Jackson Five into a solo career".

The director believes audiences will be fascinated by the documentary, regardless of whether or not they are Michael Jackson's fans or not.

The 2016 Sundance Film Festival will run from January 21st to 31st in the US.

Grammy Nominated Country Group 'Little Big Town' Holds Online ConcertAmerican country group Little Big Town have given a special online concert through Skyville Live, in celebration of their Grammy nominations.

Group member Phillip Sweet says, he hopes fans can enjoy this special form of performance.

"I think it's really special for the fans because it's not like other things in that we can play as long as we want to. We can do a really long version of a song. There's no real rules to it. And we can just be musical and just be artists and that's really very freeing for us to get to do that and just do whatever we want. To let the fans in on that, that free feeling experience."Another member Kimberly Schlapman adds that the medium of the online concert is most likely a coming wave of the future.

The country group has also been honoring Gregg Allman during the performance, along with singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton and blues guitarist Taj Mahal, which viewers can watch online.

Ealier this week, Little Big Town gained two Grammy nominations in country group/duo performance of 'Girl Crush', and for their album 'Painkiller'.

And the songwriters of 'Girl Crush' are up for all-genre song of the year and country song of the year.

Founded in 1998, the group's musical styles rely heavily on four-part vocal harmonies.

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

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

China has marking its 2nd National Memorial Day for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre...

An extradition treaty signed between China and Italy goes into full effect...

Experts and world leaders welcoming the final draft of the landmark Paris Climate Change agreement...

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 together...