China beats emission reduction target

2011-01-14 13:24:51 GMT2011-01-14 21:24:51(Beijing Time) China Daily

File photo shows a sewage treatment plant at the Three Gorges Reservoir area, in Yichang, Central China's Hubei province. [Photo/Asianewsphoto]

A chemical factory in Yichang, Hubei province releases smoke after purification, July 30, 2008. [Photo/Asianewsphoto]

China exceeded its target on reducing pollutant emission during the 11th Five-Year Plan from 2005 to 2010, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection on Jan 13. A total of 500 million kilowatts of desulfurization facilities in coal-fired power plants had been built and the urban sewage treatment rate had reached 75 percent, 23 percent more than in 2005.

Rabbit stamps getting hot in China

01-14-2011 09:32 BJT Special Report:2011 Spring Festival |

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The Rabbit is getting hot in China, 2011 is the year of the rabbit according to the traditional zodiac cycle of 12 animals. Rabbits can now be seen on almost everything including clothing, accessories and even food shaped like rabbits. But the must-have item is the rabbit stamp.

Covering the table are some 500 stamps, all depicting the rabbit. It's Zhao Zhongwei's entire collection of rabbit stamps, which is dear to him since he was born in the year of rabbit.

Zhao Zhongwei, Rabbit Stamp Collector, said,"I was born in the year of rabbit, and I like cute animals like the rabbits. In 1999, I visited a stamp exhibition in Beijing. And there the idea to collect rabbit stamps were born."

Since then, Zhao started his collection of rabbit stamps everywhere he visited. Whether on a business trip or holiday, he didn't miss an opportunity to collect. He also makes use of the Internet to search for his beloved rabbits.

Japanese PM names new ministers

01-14-2011 13:59 BJT

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Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan is set to appoint a fiscal hawk to a key post and replace his deputy in a cabinet revamp.

Kaoru Yosano, an advocate of raising the 5 percent sales tax, will be an economics minister.

The Prime Minister also appointed former administrative reform minister Yukio Edano as his chief cabinet secretary, while retaining Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda, Foreign Minister

Seiji Maehara and banking minister Shozaburo Jimi.

Kan reshuffled his cabinet in a bid to smooth lawmaking in a divided parliament and tackle reforms to rein in public debt.

Related stories

• Japanese PM names new ministers in cabinet reshuffle 2011-01-14
• Japanese PM to announce Cabinet reshuffle Friday 2011-01-14
• Japanese PM calls for comprehensive tax reform 2011-01-04

Editor:Zhang Pengfei |Source: CNTV.CN

New subway lines ease traffic pressure in Beijing

01-14-2011 09:24 BJT Special Report:Beijing Battles Traffic Jam |

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To ease increasingly difficult traffic pressures on the road, Beijing is investing heavily in its subway network.

The city's streets are becoming more and more congested.

Commuting between work and home has become a daily torment, especially for people living in the suburbs.

A Beijing driver said, "I can't recall a day without jams."

But the recent completion of five new subway lines may make their life a little easier.

A passenger said, "I had to get up at 5 am and then take the bus to Xidan. It usually took two hours. Now taking the subway cuts the time nearly in half."

The five lines opened on December 30th, adding 108 kilometers to the capital's metro rail network. Each of these new routes connects existing lines to the surrounding suburbs.

At Songjiazhuang Station, transferring from Line 5 to the newly opened Yizhuang Line takes less than one minute.

Tao Ran, chief of JIugong Station,said, "During the rush hours, 3,000 people enter the station each hour. We will arrange additional staff at key positions to make sure the passengers get on and off safely."

In 2010 alone, Beijing invested 15 billion yuan to subsidize surface and underground public transportation systems. At least 100 million people have travelled though the newly opened lines. Park-and-Ride facilities are also being constructed so people living in the suburbs don't have to drive into downtown areas.

Beijing authorities are planning to add another 10 subway lines by 2015. The subway network will be extending some 700 kilometers, which equals to 3 round trips from Beijing to Tianjin. The aim, authorities say, is to create a city where people don't have to drive.

Editor:Zhang Ning |Source: CNTV.CN

Gaza victims: Struggle for life

01-14-2011 13:46 BJT

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A Palestinian girl paralyzed in an air strike on Gaza will be allowed to remain in Israel for medical care.

The Israeli government has labelled her a "special humanitarian case" and granted the girl and her family temporary residency. But while the medical care she receives may ensure the girl's survival many of her fellow Palestinians blockaded in the Gaza Strip are not so fortunate.

9-year-old Marya Amen was wounded in a 2006 air strike that was allegedly targeting militants from the Islamic Jihad group in Gaza City. Her mother, brother and grandmother were all killed in the attack.

Since then, she has been at a Jerusalem hospital while her remaining family members fought attempts by Israel to transfer her to a West Bank facility where they say her condition could not be treated as she needs a respirator to breathe.

The surprising decision announced on Thursday will not only enable Marya, along with her brother and father, to stay in Israel as temporary residents, but also ensure she receives state-sponsored health insurance and compensation.

Hamdee Amen, Father of Marya Amen, said, "We were very, very surprised. We didn't know about it and it was a great surprise. People called me to tell me 'we heard in the news that you are getting Israeli residency, so now you can get everything that a citizen is entitled to for an injury like Marya's'."

Despite the guarantee of medical care, doctors say they expect Marya to remain paralyzed from the neck down for the rest of her life. Medical care can only assure that Marya now has a much greater chance of survival.

NGO workers in Israel say the decision has come too late.

Ran Yaron, Physicians for Human Rights, said, "It took a lot of time, maybe too much time, until the family finally received this residency. It actually means that she can stay in Israel and be alive."

Israel has regularly carried out air strikes in the Gaza Strip targeting militant groups that have killed civilians. About 1,200 people were killed during a 22 day Israeli offensive in 2008.

Israel says it will maintain its crippling blockade of Gaza, meaning residents have to find other ways of getting vital aid and supplies.

In 2010, pro-Palestinian groups and a Turkish human rights organization sent a flotilla of aid to Gaza. Turkey had urged Israel to allow it safe passage and said the 10,000 tonnes of aid the convoy was carrying was humanitarian. However the Israeli navy intercepted the convoy, killing 19 people on board.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei |Source: CNTV.CN

German tanker capsizes in River Rhine

01-14-2011 13:46 BJT

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Parts of the River Rhine in Germany have been sealed off after a tanker carrying nearly two and a half thousand tons of sulphuric acid capsized, leaving two people missing.

Officials say no acid leaked from the ship after the accident near the town of Wiesbaden on Thursday but it was not confirmed when the river, an important trade route, would be reopened.

Youngest victim of Arizona shooting buried

01-14-2011 11:01 BJT Special Report:US Congresswoman Injured in Shooting |

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of mourners on Thursday attended a funeral for the youngest victim of Saturday's shooting rampage in Tucson, Arizona.

Nine-year-old Christina Taylor Green's funeral was the first for the six victims killed when a gunman opened fire on a crowd in front of a supermarket, according to the Arizona Republic.

The shooting also left 14 others wounded, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

Green was born on Sept. 11, 2001, the day of the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil. She was featured in a book called "Faces of Hope" that chronicled one baby from each state born on the day terrorists killed nearly 3,000 people.

The U.S. flag that flew atop the World Trade Center was displayed at the funeral, according to the report.

Several hundred mourners, many in white T-shirts, lined a road leading to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton church as Green's small brown casket was carried into the church, the report said.

Green's parents, Roxanna and John, attended the funeral with their son, Dallas.

"Christina Taylor Green," John said, "I can't tell you how much we all miss you."

"I think you have affected the whole country," he was quoted as saying.

Also on Thursday, Giffords is continuing to exhibit progress, from opening her eyes spontaneously and tracking people and objects to moving all her limbs, the report said, quoting her doctors.

The physicians at University Medical Center described the steps as "a major leap, a major milestone for her," as she recovers from a gunshot wound to the head, according to the report.

"We hope she crosses many more" in the days ahead, said Dr. Michael Lemole, chief of neurosurgery.

This morning, Giffords opened her eyes for 10 to 15 minutes, an improvement from about a minute or two on Wednesday, Lemole said.

Editor:Du Xiaodan |Source: Xinhua