Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke in Shanghai Monday to open the China International Import
Expo.
Xi spoke to about 3,000 business and government representatives who gathered for the event.
Many expected Xi to announce reforms for trade and investment.
But that did not happen.
Carlo Diego D'Andrea is vice president and Shanghai Chapter chairman of the European
Chamber of Commerce in China.
He told VOA, "We were waiting today for President Xi to inform the world about the reform that
will take place in the coming days, but what we wanted to hear, (such as) the complete
steps on implementing the reform and a clear timetable, did not appear."
Xi said China would ease barriers to industries such as financial services, agriculture, mining
and education.
He said the nation would increase purchasing of imported goods and lower tariffs.
He also said China would create a better business environment with a reasonable system of rules,
including punishing intellectual property rights violators.
Xi admitted China could work to better protect intellectual property rights.
But he also said those who are not pleased with China's behavior should look at their
own treatment of such rights, as well.
Some of Xi's comments appeared to be directed toward the United States and its leader, President
Donald Trump.
Xi promised that China would import as much as $30 trillion in goods and $10 trillion
in services during the next 15 years.
Last year, China imported $1.8 trillion in goods and $458 billion in services.
Thousands of foreign companies are taking part in the expo.
Some countries, like Kenya, even have national exhibitions at the event in an effort to win
interest in their products and improve ties.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta was one of several leaders who, in addition to Xi, spoke
at the opening ceremony Monday.
Kenyatta noted how China is his nation's biggest trading partner.
In fact, trade between the two countries grew from $471 million in 2007 to $4 billion in
2017.
Kenyatta said, "This trade, however, was skewed heavily in favor of China…It is important
therefore to correct the trade imbalance and enable a fairer share of trade."
Xi praised Shanghai as a center for technology and invention.
China wants Shanghai to be one of the world's leading international financial centers by
2020.
China remains one of the world's most protectionist economies.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ranks China 59 out of 62 countries
in terms of openness for foreign direct investment.
D'Andrea said the expo will help countries reduce their trade deficits with China.
But, he added, it will not change China's reform deficit.
Pictures of the bird called the red siskin appear on Venezuela's money, on products
and in school books.
The "Little Cardinal," as the bird is known, is loved by Venezuelans.
But the small song bird is disappearing from the wild.
It has become the victim of shrinking forests and poachers who want to sell their bright
red feathers.
That threat has brought together an international team.
The team includes scientists from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. and coffee
farmers in Venezuela's mountains.
They hope to save the bird.
The plan is to have farmers plant organic coffee plants.
Such coffee plants are covered with branches which make good nesting places for the birds.
"They don't have many years left, unless we do something right now," said Miguel Arvelo.
He is an animal doctor for the nonprofit group Provita in Caracas.
It is one of the groups leading the effort.
Once found in the millions, as few as 300 red siskins remain in Venezuela.
However, scientists say it is difficult to estimate their numbers now because of Venezuela's
current economic crisis and violence.
The Red Siskin Initiative began about three years ago on a budget of less than $100,000
from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and private groups in the U.S. and Venezuela.
Planting organic coffee crops with branches stops farmers from increasing production by
thinning their coffee crops to let more sun onto their fields.
Farmers who meet the project's rules will win the right to sell their beans with "Bird
Friendly" labels.
They will be able to set prices for such "high quality" products that can be five times
higher than legal prices set by the socialist government.
At the same time, a red siskin breeding center is being built at a private zoo in Venezuela.
There, 200 birds are expected to be born next year.
This number will be added to the 25 siskins at the Smithsonian Institution.
Red siskins from the center will be placed in the coffee groves.
These efforts could prevent the birds from disappearing.
There are reports of early success.
About 40 farmers in the mountains of Carayaca, northwest of the capital Caracas, have stopped
cutting down trees, a move that will help the siskin.
The male siskin is valued for its red feathers and black head.
Breeders cross them with yellow pet birds to create babies with colorful feathers.
Protection under Venezuelan law has not stopped poachers from catching the birds to sell on
an illegal international market.
Poor Venezuelan families often catch and sell the birds.
The money they receive can feed their children for months, said biologist Jhonathan Miranda,
a Provita researcher.
Michael Braun is co-founder of the Red Siskin Initiative and a research scientist at Smithsonian's
National Museum of Natural History.
He said Venezuela's economic crisis has hurt the project.
Researchers and scientists have been robbed or shot by Venezuela's growing poor population.
It is difficult to get people to travel to or to stay in Venezuela and work on the project,
Braun said.
Scientists keep the places where the birds are known to live a secret to protect them
from poachers.
They permitted The Associated Press to photograph a small number of birds at one of those secret
places.
Twelve or more of the small, red birds flew into sight just as the sun appeared.
"It's the first time I've seen so many together," said Miranda.
"It gives us hope."
I'm Susan Shand.
Militants have kidnapped at least 78 students from a Christian school in northwestern Cameroon.
The governor of North West Region said the kidnappers also seized the school's leader.
Separatists are fighting an armed campaign in the area as they seek to set up an independent
state called Ambazonia.
The Associated Press reported a video was posted on social media claiming to show some
of the kidnapped children.
Men calling themselves Amba Boys reportedly posted the video.
Hundreds of people have been killed in English-speaking areas of Cameroon in the past year, as violence
increased between armed separatists and the military.
Government forces have fought separatists in Cameroon's North West and South West
regions.
The separatists have ordered curfews and closed down schools to protest President Paul Biya's
French-speaking government.
Tensions increased after Biya was easily reelected last month for a seventh term in office.
Biya, who is 85, has ruled Cameroon for more than 35 years.
The separatists say the Cameroonian government unfairly treats the country's English-speaking
population.
About 20 percent of Cameroon's 22 million people are English speaking.
The AP said the video shows the kidnappers forcing several boys to say their names and
the names of their parents.
The children also say that armed men kidnapped them Sunday night and that they do not know
where they are being held.
Men who identified themselves as the kidnappers told the children of the conditions for their
release.
"We shall only release you after the struggle.
You will be going to school now here,'' the men said on the video.
The AP said it could not independently confirm that the video was made by the kidnappers.
But it reported that some parents said on social media that they recognized their children
in the video.
There have been other kidnappings from schools in North West Region.
But Sunday's involved the largest number of people kidnapped at once, the AP reported.
Armed separatists have also killed teachers who disobeyed orders to keep schools closed.
They also burned down at least 100 schools and removed students and teachers from others
they took over, the AP said.
I'm Bryan Lynn.
The United States again restricted Iran's oil and financial industry on Monday.
Iran criticized the move.
Iranian President Hassan Rohani said on Iranian television Monday that his country would try
to continue to sell oil to break the U.S. sanctions.
Rouhani added that his country would resist efforts to punish it for its disputed nuclear
program.
Western nations say Iran aims to build nuclear weapons.
Rouhani added, "We are in the economic war situation."
Eight governments have received temporary permission to continue to import Iranian oil.
They are China, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey.
Those governments make up a majority or Iran's oil exports.
It is not clear when the special permission will end.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin described the sanctions that took effect on Monday.
"Today we sanctioned more than 700 individuals, entities, aircraft and vessels as part of
Treasury's largest-ever single day action targeting Iran," Mnuchin said.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also commented, saying Iran had a choice.
"It can either do a 180 degree turn from its outlaw course of action and act like a
normal country, or it can see its economy crumble," Pompeo said.
Iran is already facing an economic crisis.
Over the last year, the exchange value of Iran's currency has dropped sharply against
the U.S. dollar.
A lack of jobs and high prices have also led to major protests.
The restrictions officially end all economic gains the U.S. permitted Iran after the nuclear
agreement of 2015.
The U.S., Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany signed that agreement, along with
Iran.
But President Donald Trump announced last May that the U.S. would withdraw from the
agreement.
Trump said the deal permitted Iran to continue its secret development of nuclear weapons
and gave it money to support violence throughout the Middle East.
Supporters of the agreement say Iran remained compliant with the deal.
And, they say, the agreement was the best way to slow Iran's nuclear development.
In a statement Friday, Trump said the purpose of re-imposing sanctions is to force Iran's
leaders to end the country's "destructive behavior."
If Iran fails to do this, he said, it would "continue down the path toward economic
disaster."
On Sunday, some Iranians marked the 39th anniversary of the seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran
in 1979.
Iranian revolutionary activists held more than 50 Americans hostage for 444 days.
I'm Mario Ritter.
A new study shows that the Japanese nuclear industry is unlikely to reach a government
target of providing at least 20 percent of the country's energy by 2030.
The study was prepared for the Reuters news agency.
In Japan, eight nuclear power centers are currently producing electricity.
Another is expected to start operating this month.
That means nuclear centers are set to provide more electricity this year than any other
form of renewableenergy, except for hydroelectric power.
It will be the first time Japan's nuclear industry has produced that much electricity
since 2011.
That was the year when an earthquake and tsunami destroyed part of the Fukushima power center
in eastern Japan.
After that disaster, all of the country's nuclear power centers were ordered closed.
Researchers say as few as six nuclear power centers are likely to re-start production
in the next five years.
That is likely to result in fewer than the 30 power centers needed to reach the government's
goal by 2030.
Reuters noted that, based on its research, Japan may get 15 percent of its electricity
from nuclear energy by 2030.
"It's impossible to meet the target, that's pretty much confirmed," said Takeo Kikkawa,
an energy studies professor at the Tokyo University of Science.
He was part of a group that studied Japan's energy policy earlier this year.
Kikkawa said that he did not expect other nuclear reactors to restart operations before
2020.
Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority created new safety rules after the Fukushima disaster.
All nuclear reactors had to receive new operating permits before restarting.
But the recovery has been slow.
Before the disaster, Japan had 54 reactors, which provided 30 percent of the country's
electricity.
At that time, Japan had the third largest number of reactors in the world.
But the return of nuclear energy in Japan has been uneven and may be based on the technology
used.
Kansai Electric Power and Kyushu Electric Power have won approval or are set to receive
permits to restart all of their reactors.
Those reactors use pressurized water to create electricity.
All are far away from Tokyo, home to over 9 million people.
In eastern Japan, boiling water reactor, or BWR technology is used to produce electricity.
Japanese courts are hearing many cases involving nuclear reactors in the eastern part of the
country.
In addition, government regulators are disputing risk levels with power plant operators.
The older BWR technology is being reconsidered because it was used at Fukushima.
Nobuo Tanaka is chairman of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation.
He served as head of the International Energy Agency from 2007 to 2011.
Tanaka notes that reactor design has become a political issue.
"When you come to the BWRs, the issue becomes very politicized," he said.
He added that the public image of another major electricity provider, Tepco, has been
harmed.
Tepco operates two nuclear plants that have been damaged in natural disasters.
Tanaka said, "Tepco does not have any support as a nuclear operator."
Tepco has reached the first level in the approval process for some of its plants, but it faces
local opposition.
However, supporters of Japan's power industry point to progress.
Satoru Katsuno is chairman of a group representing electric utilities in Japan.
He said that approval of pressurized water reactors takes time.
He noted there also are developments with boiling water reactors.
Katsuno is president of the utility Chubu Electric.
His company has been locked in a dispute with regulators over its Hamaoka nuclear energy
center on Japan's east coast, which uses the older technology.
For now, many experts believe that Japan will depend on fossil fuels, such as liquefied
natural gas and coal, for a large part of its energy production.
That could be needed as the growth of solar, wind and hydropower energy slows.
However, that will make meeting international agreements to cut carbon dioxide gases more
difficult for the country.
In the last six years, Japan has had to buy fuel to replace the energy that would have
been created by nuclear reactors.
Most of that fuel has been liquefied natural gas.
The government estimates that the electricity industry has had to spend $130 billion for
fuel during that period.
Utility industry officials say the lack of realistic energy goals makes it difficult
to invest for the future.
And concerns over the ability of power stations to survive natural disasters are strengthened
with each new event.
I'm Mario Ritter.
A large group of Central Americans is continuing toward Mexico City from the south in an effort
to reach the United States.
The group is trying to leave a part of Mexico that has been considered dangerous for traveling
migrants.
Members of the group held a meeting Sunday at a gymnasium in the city of Cordoba.
About 1,000 members voted to try to reach the capital, Mexico City, by walking and asking
for rides on Monday.
Cordoba is 286 kilometers from the capital by the shortest path.
The trip would be the group's longest one-day journey since the group began walking more
than three weeks ago.
Several hundred other migrants have already arrived at a large outdoor sports area in
the capital.
They rested and watched local people play soccer.
City employees offered hot food to the migrants.
The migrants made it to Cordoba after a 200-kilometer trip through the state of Veracruz.
Hundreds of migrants have disappeared there in recent years.
Many have been taken by kidnappers who demand money for their release.
The migrants hope to gather together in Mexico City to seek medical care and wait for stragglers.
The group has grown in numbers as it moves north.
Mexicans in small villages have come out to offer food, water and clean clothes.
It is unclear where along the U.S. border the caravan will arrive or how many people
will leave the group to cross on their own.
Most of the migrants said they believe traveling in a large group is the best way to reach
the U.S.
The migrants say they are fleeing poverty and violence in Central American countries.
They come from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua.
"We think that it is better to continue together with the caravan.
We are going to stay with it and respect the organizers," said Luis Euseda, a 32-year-old
from Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
Forty-two-year-old Yuri Juarez said he knows there is a "very low" chance he will get
asylum in the U.S.
But he said there is no work in his hometown of Villanueva, Guatemala.
There, he closed his internet cafe after a criminal group demanded money of him, robbed
his customers and finally stole his computers.
Mexicans have helped the migrants on their way, although the government has tried to
discourage them.
Catalina Munoz said she bought food on credit when she heard the migrant caravan would pass
through her town of 3,000 people.
She and 15 others gave the food to the migrants.
Mexican officials say three separate migrant groups are traveling through 500 kilometers
of roads in the states of Chiapas, Oaxaca and Veracruz.
The largest group entered Mexico first.
It was followed by a second group of about 1,000 people who came from Guatemala last
week.
A third group of about the same size entered the country on Friday.
President Donald Trump has ordered U.S. troops to the Mexican border because of the migrant
groups.
He will send more than 7,000 soldiers to the border states of Texas, Arizona and California.
I'm Caty Weaver.
From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.
They are the world's smallest human beings.
A premature baby is born too early, before 37 weeks of pregnancy.
A micro preemie is born even earlier, spending less than 26 weeks inside the mother.
A pregnancy normally lasts about 40 weeks.
Some of the smallest premature babies weigh less than 1,500 grams.
And these micro preemies need every gram of weight they have.
When Vanessa Ohakam gave birth to her son, she was only 24 weeks pregnant and she was
frightened.
Her newborn son, J.C., weighed just a little more than 736 grams.
"I couldn't even change his diaper.
I was so nervous and anxious.
He just looked so frail.
But the nurses were very supportive and encouraging."
J.C.'s low birth weight placed him among the very smallest of premature babies.
Doctors say he needed special medical attention 24 hours a day in a hospital's neonatal
intensive care unit, called NICU for short.
But J.C. was lucky.
He was a patient at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
A team of specialists there has come up with a nutrition plan to give micro preemies the
best chance to live and grow strong.
The newborn was also part of a nutritional study of micro preemies.
The hospital's NICU had a team of specialists from different health care fields.
It included doctors specializing in neonatal care, nutritionists and breastfeeding specialists.
Their goal was to increase the weight of pre-term babies and improve their chances of survival.
Because they are born so soon, premature babies can have many developmental issues and health
problems.
Micro preemies can have even more.
Their organs are not fully developed.
And they are not able to breastfeed.
So helping them to eat and gain weight is most important.
The team looked at what and when the babies ate.
Caitlin Forsythe is the lead nurse who watched over the premature babies in the study.
She said the best thing for them is to have mother's milk.
"That is what's best for the premature babies.
They tolerate it better, it has great antibodies..."
She said one goal of the study was to standardize the feeding process for the micro preemies.
Whenever possible, Forsythe said, the babies were fed mother's milk, but not just breast
milk.
They were given enriched, donated breast milk since not all the mothers could provide their
own.
The micro preemies were also given enriched milk and formula.
Forsythe told VOA that she is pleased with the results.
"We have been able to put protocols in place so that there's a standardization of care.
We've also increased the amount of mother's own milk we've been providing for the babies,
which is great."
Also on the team was a breastfeeding expert.
Judy Campbell helps new mothers feed their babies, should they run into trouble.
She knows the value of breast milk.
"We know that mother's milk has growth factors in it, can't be replaced with any other substance."
The health care administrator who led the team is Michelande Ridoré.
She notes that micro preemies have little body fat and have no energy to waste.
So, she explains, the team kept the babies in incubators, which provides a controlled
environment.
This keeps them warm and helps them to sleep better.
As a result, they are less likely to move around and burn calories.
Ridoré says there was a big improvement in the ability of the babies to grow and gain
much-needed weight.
"Preemies, in particular, have poor development.
We were able to improve their weight by 30 percent."
The team has not yet published a report on the study.
However, Ridoré presented the findings at the Virginia Neonatal Nutrition Association
conference in September 2018.
And that's the Health & Lifestyle report.
I'm Anna Matteo.
For more infomation >> Arirang News 이지현 기상캐스터 20181106 - Duration: 1:56. 
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét