The Beijing Hou120150913

The Beijing Hour

Morning Edition

Spencer Musick with you on this Sunday September 13th 2015....

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

Coming up on the program this morning...

Chinese premier Li Keqiang promoting mass innovation and entrepreneurship in Dalian over the past several days...

China and the United States reaching a major consensus on the issue of cyber security...

And Jeremy Corbyn elected the new leader of the UK Labour Party in a landside...

In our weekly sci-tech feature... Apple unveils a slew of new products....

In Sports...Flavia Pannetta walks away victorious at the US Open...

In Entertainment... Daniel Radcliffe's new show the Gamechangers drops on BBC 2....

Top News

Mass Innovation and Entrepreneurship Vigorously Promoted in Northeast China City

Anchor:

The port city of Dalian in northeast China's Liaoning Province has been vigorously promoting mass innovation and entrepreneurship with a host of policy measures.

Chinese Premier has expressed his great appreciation towards the efforts made by Dalian on promoting innovation.

CRI's Xie Cheng reports.

Reporter:

On Wednesday, one day ahead of the opening ceremony of this year's Summer Davos Forum in the city, Li Keqiang visited a local company called Dalian Maker's Space.

The company assigned about a dozen employees to carry out a project called Ninth Micro-controller Development Network, attracting 280 thousand tech savvy people to register on its online platform and leading to nearly 100 new developments.

Premier Li expresses the significance of pooling the wisdom of the masses while talking to some of the employees.

"You are just like the seeds in the land of innovation and entrepreneurship, and the government and society are providing you with soil. I believe that you will not only grow up yourselves, but also spur many others to participate in. To accomplish greater achievements requires pooling the wisdom of the masses."

He adds that the combination of innovation and good craftsmanship is vital for making top-quality products.

One of the project's tasks is to develop models to increase the utilization of machine tools.

It has collected data on some 30 thousand available machine tools in northeast China, and managed to link the production of machine tools with consumers who need them.

Zhu Hongnan, a member of the network, says trial production, usually unfeasible on traditional tools, could be carried out on a newly-designed virtual machine tool made to serve customers.

"There is no trial production on the machine tools these days. If you want to make a product, your only choice is to input a routine, watch the machine tool work and wait to see whether the product turns out to be successful or not. However, this virtual machine tool can avoid this. It reduces waste and saves manpower and material resources."

Their service has greatly improved the utilization rate of these tools and, more importantly, offered smart solutions for upgrading the tools.

Currently there are over 20 companies in Dalian's Hi-tech Development District offering similar services as Dalian Maker's Space.

Dai Jingtao, general manager of Venture Workshop Technology Services Company Limited, explains their services.

"We offer space, capital support including angel investment, talent support and legal consultancy services to the innovative companies. We also help them recruit new employees. We offer a one-stop service to help solve entrepreneurs' problems."

A series of policies have been launched by the district's authorities to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, including a planned investment worth of 150 million yuan, or 23.5 million U.S. dollars, on establishing 1000 more innovative enterprises in 5 years.

For CRI, I'm Xie Cheng.

China, U.S. reach important consensus on cyber security

China says it has reached important consensus with the United States on combating cyber crimes.

The announcement by China's Xinhua news agency comes after visit to the US by a a high lelvel government delegation led by Meng Jianzhu, President Xi Jinping's special envoy.

During the visit, Meng met with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice.

The two sides have exchanged in-depth views on tackling outstanding issues of law enforcement and security, including cyber crimes.

Meng, who is a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, has led a delegation composed of officials from the ministries of public security, state security, justice and information technology.

He says it is important for the two countries to enhance mutual trust and cooperation in the sphere of cyber security, against the backdrop of

ever-increasing security threats in cyberspace.

He has also stressed China's firm stand against cyber attacks and commercial cyber espionage.

Chinese-born Professor Cleared of Spy Charges by US

The US Justice Department has dropped charges against professor Xi Xiaoxing, a Chinese-born US citizen who was accused of sharing sensitive technological information with China.

The US dropped the charges after false evidence was discovered in the case. US authorities thought the professor had shared a diagram related to semiconductor research.

After examinations by independent experts, it turns out the diagram in question was for a different unrestricted device, and no sensitive information was compromised.

Xi Xiaoxing was arrested in May after FBI agents stormed his home. Due to the arrest and accusations, he was demoted from his former position as the chairman of Temple University's physics department.

Strictest car crash standard assessment put into use in China Anchor:

Test results of seven new vehicle types under the crash standards of

China-New Car Assessment Program, or C-NCAP, have been released in Tianjin city.

This is the first time that the latest assessment has been implemented to rate cars.

CRI's Wang Mengzhen has more.

Reporter:

Among seven tested car models, three were graded "five-star" including Mazda's Atenza, RuiTeng from SAIC Motor and Great Wall Motor's Haval, while three others were rated "four star" and one "three star".

This is said to be the strictest assessment imposed by China Automotive Technology & Research Center so far.

Director of the C-NCAP management center Zhao Hang says the revised testing standard raised the "five-star" and "four star" threshold.

"As the drafter and maker of the standard, we keep raising it to push up the technological level of vehicle safety, and technological improvement will in turn push up the standard. So the current five-star standard has a higher technological level than the previous five-star version."

The 2015 C-NCAP crash standard has also highlighted the safety for motorists' head and neck.

Liu Yuguang, director of the test evaluating department of the center, elaborates on the new requirement.

"We tested seven vehicle types this time, and none of them got a full mark in head and neck injuries tests. In comparison, a considerable proportion of old models received full marks, which means the 2015 standard for head and neck safety has more strict requirements"

At the same time, Liu Yuguang reveals that one-third of over 100 vehicle models rated "five-star" under the old rule will be downgraded to "four star". "If it causes a fire within three minutes after the crash test, we will downgrade the vehicle, as fire is potentially a big threat to personal safety. Internationally, there is no precedent for such a standard on fire and star-rating downgrading."

According to the testing procedures, the center buys vehicles directly from the market and then puts them to multiple tests including emissions, fuel consumption, three different types of crashes and whiplash.

The rating process has taken two months.

The current C-NCAP crash assessment is in line with the European standards and it is reported to be higher than most existing mandatory ones around the world.

For CRI, I am Wang Mengzhen.

Chinese RVs Highlighted at Beijing International RV Exhibition Anchor:

Chinese-made RVs are highlighted at the ongoing Eleventh Beijing International RV and Camping Exhibition in Beijing.

CRI's Wang Wei with more.

Reporter:

More than one thousand RVs from over one hundred prominent domestic and international RV manufacturers are being displayed at the exhibition.

The Chinese RVs on display include one that can tow a sedan and that has an extendable balcony and living room.

Wang Jidong is the founder and CEO of 21 RV.

"This is the first Chinese RV that can tow a sedan. We are standing in the RV's living room. Both the left and right sides of the living room can be extended for 80 more centimeters. The right side also has a balcony that can be opened when the RV is not moving."

Recreational vehicles have kitchens, bathrooms, and sleeping facilities. The ones being built domestically typically are less-than six meters in length and the average price tag is around 400-thousand yuan, which is equivalent to about 62-thousand US dollars.

Designed for leisure activities such as vacations and camping, RVs are gaining popularity in China.

However, a citizen surnamed Liu, who bought an RV at the exhibition event, says he will use his as a mobile office.

"I will make the RV into a moveable photography studio. It will be much easier to meet my customers and show them what I am capable of. It also can serve as a mobile media for advertising and marketing."

RVs have long been a popular trend in western countries. In the US, the modern RV industry has been around since the late 1920s.

An Qingheng, an industry insider, says the RV market here in China is growing.

"China currently produces about 10-thousand RVs per year, and there are around 21-thousand RVs nationwide. Of course, that is far less than the number of RVs in the U.S. and European countries, but the market is gaining momentum. We believe RV sales will increase by 60 to 70 percent annually over the next few years."

Experts say that with declining manufacturing costs due to the growing market, and the introduction of western technology, the prices of domestic RVs will see a substantial drop in the near future.

For CRI, this is Wang Wei.

Stormy winds may cause Crane collapse in Saudi Arabia

Saudi authorities say that Islam's annual hajj pilgrimage will go ahead despite a crane collapse that killed 107 people at Mecca's Grand Mosque.

The accident occurred only about an hour before evening mahgrib prayers on the Muslim weekly day of prayer.

It is said the stormy winds have knocked over the crane.

Mohamed from Morocco is one of the pilgrims on the site.

"All of a sudden, there were clouds, the sky was filled with clouds and there was strong wind. Suddenly, I heard thunder and then we heard a very loud noise. That was the sound of the crane falling."

Mecca's governor, Prince Khaled al-Faisal, has ordered an investigation into the incident.

It is said more than 900,000 pilgrims have arrived in Mecca for this year's hajj, which is expected to start on Sept. 21.

Authorities have broadened access paths and imposed limits on the millions of Muslims who converge on Mecca to perform the annual rite in an attempt to reduce accidents.

For years, construction work has been underway on a 400,000 square meter expansion of the Grand Mosque to allow it to accommodate up to 2.2 million people at once.

Death toll in India's building blast rises to 90

At least 90 people have been killed and over 150 others injured when an explosion hit a restaurant near a bus stop in central India's Madhya Pradesh state.

Sources say it may have been triggered by gelatine sticks that were stored along with gas cylinders in a nearby home.

The blast occurred in the town of Petlawad at around 08:30 a.m. when dozens of office workers and schoolchildren were having breakfast at the restaurant. The death toll is likely to rise as the blast took down three houses and reduced the restaurant to rubble, leaving many people trapped in the debris.

Jeremy Corbyn Elected New Leader of UK Labour Party

Anchor:

Long time left-wing veteran Jeremy Corbyn has been elected leader of UK's Labour Party.

CRI's London correspondent Duan Xuelian with more on what is widely seen as a swing to the left for the largest opposition party in parliament. Reporter:

During the build up to the Labour Party leader election which took place last Thursday, Jeremy Corbyn took British politics by storm. Entering the Labour Party leadership competition in the last minute, the left-wing MP ended up winning nearly 60% of more than 400,000 votes.

It is the first time for the Labour Leadership election to employ the "one member one vote" system, allowing anyone to register to vote in the

leadership election by paying a 3 pound fee online. Results show that over 80% of this new category of voters voted for Corbyn.

"During this amazing three months, our party has changed. We've grown enormously because of the hopes of so many ordinary people for a different Britain, a better Britain, a more equal Britain, a decent Britain. They're fed up with the inequality, the injustice, the unnecessary poverty. All those issues have brought people in in a spirit of hope and optimism."

The 66-year-old Corbyn has been a backbencher in the House of Commons for over 30 years and has been described as a "rebel" inside his own party. Corbyn's election is seen as a broad rejection of the centrist "New Labour" consensus that dominated the party during the Premierships of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

Former Labour Leader Ed Milliband who resigned following Labour's 2015 General Election defeat, says Corbyn will have to face the great challenge of uniting an increasingly divided Labour Party.

"I will be offering Jeremy Corbyn my support and I hope people across the Party do so too. I hope also that Jeremy reaches out to all parts of the Party because he as a big job to do to seek to unite the Party and I believe he doesn't intend to do that and I hope he does."

On the Government side of the bench, Conservative Defence Secretary Micheal Fallon has described the new opposition leader as a risk to Britain's national security.

"This election shows that Labour now poses a very serious risk to our security, our national security, because they'll undermine our defences; to our economic security, because the will be taxes on jobs, on earnings, and more borrowing, and the security of every family that will affect every working people."

In his acceptance speech, Jeremy Corbyn promised that Labour will take the fight directly to the Conservative Party.

A few hours after winning the election, Corbyn addressed a rally in central London calling the government to welcome more refugees.

"But above all, open your hearts and open your minds and open your attitude towards the people who are desperate, who needs somewhere safe to live, want to contribute to our society and our human beings just like all of us." For CRI, I'm Duan Xuelian in London

Russia to Keep Aiding Syria to Fight Against IS

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Russia will continue to send military equipment to Syria to help fight against the group calling itself the Islamic State.

"I can say it once more that Russian military personnel and experts are in Syria to maintain and service the military equipment. They cooperate with the

Syrian government forces and teach the servicemen how to use the equipment."

He also added that Russia would continue to offer military aid to Syrian government forces to ensure they have the ability to fight the threat of terrorism.

Yet NATO's European commander Philip Breedlove has said the alliance was watching Russia's presence in Syria "with concern".

"We, like you, are watching this with concern. We don't truly understand yet what it is that Russia is going to do in Syria. We have heard everything from humanitarian operations to combat operations. It remains to be seen what this will be in the end."

While reiterating NATO's cooperation with Ukraine in defensee training, Breedlove did not confirm that NATO was planning new ways of supporting Ukraine.

Foreign ministers meet on cease-fire in Ukraine

The foreign ministers of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine are gathering in Berlin to discuss the implementation of the February cease-fire in eastern Ukraine.

After preliminary talks with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier says that the ceasefire in Eastern Ukraine needs to be stabilized and that economic ties between Kiev and the Donbass region need to be re-established.

"We would like to add more detailed compromises, such as the withdrawal of not only heavy weaponry, but also lighter weapons with calibers of less than 100 millimeters. Also, we will debate the question of how easier access for OSCE observers can be made possible."

Steinmeier also stressed the need for political progress, calling for local elections and constitutional reform in Ukraine.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe will monitor the cease-fire.

The Minsk deal provides for a political settlement, including local elections in areas under separatist control, but the Ukrainian government and the separatists have failed to agree on how those elections will be held.

Tel Aviv Festival Brings Technology and Fashion Together Anchor:

Technology and clothing continue to evolve together. The Tel Aviv Innovation Festival brought together startup technology companies with the fashion industry.

CRI's Victor Ning reports.

Reporter:

Thousands of people gathered at the Tel Aviv Innovation Festival for demonstrations of new, wearable gadgets.

Yael Kochman Said, the organiser of Fashion Tech, said the aim was to bring together the worlds of fashion and technology to show how the two can work together.

"Think about age going to a fashion store, it doesn't add up right? But those startups really prove that with technology you can change the way that people consume fashion, whether it's online or in store. In real life you can also do an Omni channel experience and combine the online and the offline together, and those startups really take it to the next level."

Trendi Guru, one of such new startup companies, produces an app which allows people to buy similar items of clothing to those they see in images when they're browsing.

Kyle Giddens, the CEO of Trendi Guru, said they work with publishers all over the world and allow them to monetize their content. With one click, the shopper can buy an outfit similar to the one a celebrity is pictured wearing Another company, Infime, has developed an app to help people buy lingerie in the right size. It measures the body in 3D so that customers can buy lingerie without having to try it on.

Bar Timor, an Israeli fashion blogger, said she is seeing an increase in

co-operation between the fashion and technology industries.

"I think it's amazing. I think that finally we're actually making the good connection between the high tech and fashion which is like of international interest so finally something is coming up together maybe it's just the beginning."

Fashion Tech was part of the "Digital Life Design" conference at the Innovation Festival. Three thousand overseas visitors traveled to Israel to join the event, which ran from September 6 to 12.

For CRI, this is Victory Ning.

Chinese Language in Russian Schools

Anchor:

Starting from 2016 Russia will include Mandarin as an optional foreign language in its higher education system. Students will be able to choose between English, French, German, Spanish and Mandarin when they take college entrance exams. The experiment will run in several Russian regions, including Moscow and St Petersburg.

CRI's Julia Lyubova reports.

Reporter:

Ekaterina Arkhipova is one of several students who chose to study Mandarin as a foreign language at her school in Moscow. During her first lesson, she is very keen to learn the language.

"Chinese is a very difficult language - even after studying it for a few years some new Chinese characters appear that need to be learnt and this language doesn't come easy for many, many people can't study it, can't pronounce it well - but I am good at it."

Ekaterina believes that studying Mandarin is a good investment into her future. In the light of Russia's and China's growing cooperation over recent years, Ekaterina believes there will be a demand for Chinese-speaking specialists, like interpreters. Her teacher, Veronika Shaskova, agrees.

"I think the fact that Russia is developing its relations with China has a lot to do with that. Different contracts, agreements between Russia and China provoke this interest."

Due to a growing demand in students wanting to learn Mandarin, Russia's Education Ministry has decided to add Chinese to a list of foreign languages test in Russia's Unified State Exam in 2017.

So far the list includes English, French, Spanish and German. High school students in Russia have to pass this test when they apply to college and university. So far it is an experiment but Yaroslav Kuzminov, from Higher School of Economics, says there is a lot of potential.

"As to when this can become an entrance exam along with English and French - this will happen as soon as we have 1500 people who know Chinese well and who can read in Chinese starting from their first year. We will continue working in this direction and I think we are, as a country, interested in this." The experiment will run in several Russian cities, in Moscow, St.Petersburg and in the far eastern city of Khabarovsk. However, Russian education authorities plan to make foreign languages a mandatory subject in the test, which includes 14 different disciplines, by 2020.

For CRI, I'm Julia Lyubova, in Moscow.

China's securities watchdog punishes brokers

China's securities watchdog has announced punishments for four securities companies and one futures company for illegal operations, while two brokers have been punished for short-term manipulation of stocks.

The companies are Huatai Securities, Haitong Securities, Guangfa Securities, and Founder Securities.

Zheshang Futures was accused of flawed risk control.

The watchdog decided to confiscate illegal profits and to fine the companies.

Headline News

Xi urges CPC cadres to set examples

Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged Communist Party of China cadres and members to set an example in improving work styles and serving the people. Xi Jinping made the remarks on Friday at a study session attended by members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, which the Chinese President chairs.

A press release on Saturday called on party cadres and members to always keep the 'three stricts and three earnests' in mind.

The "three stricts and three earnests" are a series of requirements for officials to improve their lifestyles and work.

They refers to being strict in morals, power and discipline, as well as being earnest in decisions, business and behavior.

Xi Jinping says Party officials should dedicate themselves to meeting these requirements in their daily work and life.

Chinese premier underlines entrepreneurship, innovation Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has urged local governments to enhance support for mass entrepreneurship and innovation to add new impetus to the country's growth.

Li made the remarks in an inspection tour to northeast China's Dalian, which hosted the Summer Davos forum from Wednesday to Friday.

He visited a platform providing services to makers, or those who turn innovative ideas to products.

Li Keqiang lauded some of the creative products and their market prospects, and urged the makers to come up with innovative ideas that meet market demands.

He also called on the makers to pursue the continuous improvement of details and quality of products.

He noted that the country should create a sound environment for promoting the growth of startup companies, so as to inject new impetus for economic growth.

Eight missing in Tianjin blasts unlikely to be found alive: authorities

Tianjin authorities have announced that the eight people still unaccounted for are unlikely to be found alive, around one month after the Tianjin warehouse explosions killed 165 people.

The information office of Tianjin municipal government says courts in districts where the missing were last known to have lived will declare their deaths when receiving petitions from their families.

Two blasts ripped through a warehouse at around 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 12 in Tianjin Port, where large amounts of toxic chemicals were stored.

A total of 165 people, including 99 firefighters and 11 policemen, were killed in the blasts. Eight people including several firefighters are still missing. Hundreds of injured people remain hospitalized.

Iran discovers "considerable" uranium reserves: atomic chief

Iran says recent explorations have resulted in discovery of a considerable amount of natural uranium reserves in the country.

The Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Ali-Akbar Salehi, says over 60 percent of Iran's geography has been explored and the rest will be surveyed in the next four years.

Salehi told the official IRNA news agency that he cannot go into detail about the level of the country's uranium reserves, but the recent explorations have raised hopes about the deposits.

Sci&Tech (Sunday)

Anchor:

It's time to check on the latest updates from the science and technology sector in the past week in our Weekly Sci-Tech feature.

This week:

Tech giant Apple has unveiled a slew of new products.

China aims to land its Chang'e-4 probe on the Dark side of moon.

And Scientists in Germany have come up with a method for extracting the precious element germanium from plants.

Let's catch up on all the latest with CRI's Wenjie.

Reporter:

Apple has unveiled a slew of new products, including a larger iPad tablet, a TV box with its own app store, and new iPhones with 3D touch technology that can detect how firmly the screen is being pressed.

Chief Executive Tim Cook has unveiled the new products at the company's annual product release in San Francisco.

"Today we have the biggest news in iPad since the iPad and I am thrilled to show it to you. This is the iPad Pro."

The iPad Pro is aimed mostly at business customers.

The release of the iPad Pro comes amid a decline in the overall sale of iPads. Meanwhile, Apple's new phones, the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, with the new '3D touch technology' go on sale here in China and other parts of the world in just over 2-weeks.

====

Baidu has launched a new virtual assistant program, Baidu Secretary.

Baidu CEO Li Yanhong says the virtual assistant program, called "Du Secretary," is a virtual program which will be able to learn from its user.

"It's different from other intelligent robots in the market, which tell you jokes and make you laugh. But Baidu secretary is here today to serve each of us." Baidu says its virtual program will be different than Apple's Siri or other similar assistant programs, as it will get to know its primary user, and will be able to better serve the user the more it interacts with them.

"Du Secretary" is going to be available in the latest 6.8 version of Baidu's mobile search app.

===

China's space administration says it's planning to become the first to land a lunar probe on the far side of the moon.

A scientist with the program says the mission will be carried out before 2020. The dark side of the moon, is never visible on Earth because of gravitational forces.

Chinese space authorities say they hope to get a better sense of the geological conditions in that area.

China became the third country to soft land a spacecraft on lunar soil two years ago, after the former Soviet Union and the United States.

A Chinese probe designed to collect lunar samples and return to earth is set to be launched in 2017.

===

New standards are set to be released by Chinese authorities for the

next-generation of mobile communications technology.

The 5G technology may be available by 2018.

The testing is set to begin sometime next year.

The technology is expected to offer users bandwidth as high as 10 gigabytes per second, which would be 100 times the current 4G levels.

China Mobile says 5G will allow for more applications.

Right now around 250-million people in China use the current 4G networks. ====

Astronomers at the University of California, Irvine have a more focused image of the formation of the earliest galaxies 500 million years after the Big Bang. Astronomers used about 10 years of data from the Hubble Space Telescope to create "one mosaic image of the sky."

They then removed all of the stars and galaxies.

Using statistics with the new image, they were able to get a better image of the fainter galaxies from the universe's earliest days.

In essence, the scientists were taking a look back in time to the "epoch of reionization," a few hundred million years after the Big Bang.

The most significant finding from the new data is that there are early galaxies that are "much more different" than the familiar ones such as the Milky Way. ====

Scientists at Freiburg University of Mining and Technology in Germany have found a revolutionary way of extracting the precious element germanium from plants.

Biology professor Hermann Heilmeier is one of the scientists using common plants for this uncommon process.

He explains how the method works:

"What is being cultivated in this field are various energy crops -- for example sunflowers, corn, reed canary grass - but instead of using them for energy purposes we want to use them for phytomining. In German we call it 'mining with plants'. We want to bring elements that are present in the soil into the roots and shoots of the plants, harvest them and then extract these elements from the plants after they have been used for energy, that is to say fermented." The process is still in its early stages, but Heilmeier says they have now identified the plants that could allow them to scale-up the attempt. Germanium is a semi-conductor and is able to transport electrical charges extremely quickly.

Nowadays, silicon-germanium alloy is indispensable to modern life, crucial in making computers, smartphones and fibre-optic cables.

Transparent in infra-red light, germanium is also used in intelligent steering systems and parking sensors for vehicles.

Although germanium is present in soil all over the world, it is difficult to extract.

====

Canadian company Thoth Technology has announced plans to build a 20 kilometer tall space elevator tower to propel spacecraft into the atmosphere. The company says its ThothX Tower will allow for a major cost reduction in space flights by helping navigate the difficult first 50 kilometres of travel that traditionally requires rockets.

Thoth Technology has been granted a United States patent for an elevator which is pneumatically pressurised and actively-guided over its base.

It would stand more than 20 times higher than the world's largest man-made structure - the 829.8 metre tall Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

The tower will be built with reinforced inflatable sections.

====

A new app called Try It On enables users to test cosmetics virtually.

Using facial recognition technology and specialized algorithms, consumers can snap a selfie or upload a photo, scan the bar codes of makeup products on their phone, and instantly know how the product looks on them.

Creator Ruth Gal and her team worked with technologists and the latest facial recognition software to develop the app:

"We are analyzing the facial feature and also we are analyzing the pigmentation from 26 different dots on the face and we are doing an average skintone. And then we extract the eye color and hair color in order to gain specific characteristics for each customer. Then we blend together all those parameters with the attributes from the products."

Gal says developing a program that defines every person's features and truly shows how the properties of different cosmetic products will look - is a major achievement.

Try It On works with 12 well-known cosmetics brands including Revlon,

L'oreal and Cover Girl ... And it works with nail polishes as well.

The app recently launched in the U.S. and is featured in Rite Aid drugstores as well as Walmart.

====

The U.S. Department of Energy has green-lit the construction of a

3.2-gigapixel digital camera for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope or LSST. Once complete, it'll be the world's largest camera and will be about the size of a small car and weigh more than three tons.

To put the extraordinary 3.2-gigapixel resolution in perspective - it would take 1,500 high-definition television screens to display a single picture snapped by the camera.

The LSST will be used by astronomers to study everything from the Big Bang to the motions of nearby asteroids.

The LSST is expected to detect tens of billions of objects over the course of a 10-year span.

====

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

Thank you for listening and I hope you enjoy the show.

I'm Wenjie. See you next week.

Sports

Flavia Pennetta wins women's US Open

In news from the US Open:

Flavia Pennetta defeated fellow countrywoman Roberta Vinci 7-6, 6-2 to win the women's US Open title.

The first-time Grand Slam finalist is the first Italian woman to win the U.S. Open.

After finishing her on-court interview, Pennetta announced that this would be her last match.

The Italian tennis star stated that this decision to retire was made before the start of the tournament.

Herbert and Mahut win the US Open men's doubles title

In tennis news:

Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut became the first all-French pair to win the US Open men's doubles title after they beat Britain's Jamie Murray and John Peers of Australia 6-4 6-4 in the final on Saturday.

It was second consecutive Grand Slam final defeat for Murray and Peers who were runners-up at Wimbledon in July.

The French pair commented that this victory was a big privilege for them.

"It's big, but I remember back in '85 or '87 something like that, when (Yannick) Noah and (Henri) Leconte were in the final. I think they had to win this one, and for some reason they didn't. No, it's great to be the first French team to win this one. Yeah, it's a privilege to hold the trophy, and now it's time to celebrate."

Mahut and Herbert were slick around the net and more clinical when the opportunities arose, as one break at the end of each set was enough to seal victory.

Shanghai Shenua, Guangzhou Evergrande & Olympiacos advance

in Super League

Now let's kick in some Super League action:

Shanghai Shenhua beat Guizhou Renhe 2-1 on Saturday.

Guangzhou Evergrande demolished leaders Shanghai SIPG 3-0.

The visitors made their first point on 22 minutes.

Guangzhou Evergrande continued to press in the second half and eventually got a second goal in the 76th minute.

Any hopes of a Shanghai comeback effectively ended two minutes later. Substitute Elkeson judged to have been fouled by Kim Joo Young in the box as the referee awarded the visitors a penalty.

Elkeson duly scored from the spot, 3-0 to Guangzhou Evergrande on 79 minutes.

Guangzhou Evergrande took all three points to go to the top of the Chinese Super League on 54 points with just five more rounds to go.

Mi Hyang Lee leads in Evian Golf Championship

And in the world of golf:

Mi Hyang Lee retained the lead at the Evian Championship in France in the third round of the final major of the season on Saturday .

Lee was paired with Morgan Pressel, and they went toe to toe until the

par-four 18th hole, when the American double-bogeyed.

Lee shot one-under 70 for a 10-under total of 203, while Pressel dropped to third place, two shots off the pace.

Lee has a one-shot lead over American Lexi Thompson, who carded a

five-under 66.

Only five shots separate the 10 best players heading into the final round. Italy & US advance in Beach Volleyball tournament in Sochi

Now for some World Tour beach volleyball action out of Sochi:

Italian Second seeds Marta Menegatti and Viki Orsi Toth moved through the women's World Tour final after defeating Switzerland's Nadine Zumkehr and Joana Heidrich 2-0 (21-18, 21-17) on Saturday.

The victorious Italians will face off against Swiss pair Isabelle Forrer and Anouk Verge-Depre in their next match.

And looking at the men's tournament:

Russia's Konstantin Semenov and Viacheslav Krasilnikov were hoping to give the home crowd reason for cheer when they met Nick Lucena and Phil Dalhausser in their last semi-final.

In an entertaining encounter, the Russians took the first set 21-13.

But back came the 35-year-old American veterans who put pressure on Semenov and won the second set 21-16 to take the match into a decider.

It was the American third seeds who prevailed 15-8 to win the game.

This will be the 40th FIVB final for Dalhausser.

Valentino Rossi leads MotoGP standings

In some MotoGP racing news:

Jorge Lorenzo on Saturday kept up the pressure on championship leader and Yamaha teammate Valentino Rossi by taking pole position for Sunday's San Marino MotoGP.

Spain's Lorenzo secured his third pole of the season ahead of Honda's Marc Marquez of Spain and Rossi of Itlay.

Lorenzo timed 1 minute 32.146 seconds to beat Marquez's 2013 Pole Record by almost 0.8 seconds.

Rossi, the nine-time World Champion, claimed only his third front row start of the season as he seeks back-to-back wins at his home Grand Prix.

With six championship races remaining, Rossi leads Lorenzo by 12 points with Marquez third, 77 points behind the Italian.

France's Tom Pages Wins Red Bull X Fighters

Now for some extreme sports news out of South Africa:

France's Tom Pages shook up the 2015 World Tour standings with an electrifying triumph in the Red Bull X-Fighters return to Pretoria, South Africa.

Pages faced the man who has clung to the top of the overall leaderboard all season, Clinton Moore of Australia, in a flawless final of the motorbike stunt competitions.

Moore drew roars from the 17,000 spectators, delivering his signature Bundy and the first dirt-to-dirt Volt ever landed in competition on the unique track's double line.

But Pages showed the biggest bag of tricks in the sport.

The Frenchman threw down his signature Alley-Oop Flair, Bike Flip and Special Flip, as well as the Transfer Flip he just added to his trick list, to claim the unanimous votes of all five judges.

For Pages, this win was unexpected as he had sustained an injury before arriving to the tournament.

"Really so happy for today. I arrived here with a small injury - I fell last weekend at a show in France and to go out against the best in the world - it could be Josh Sheehan, Clinton Moore who do incredible runs, it was for me very difficult. I was happy not to make any mistakes and to win it is enormous. So I must continue to work now."

The result tied Pages and Moore at the top of the overall standings, setting up a showdown at the season finale in Abu Dhabi on October 30.

Entertainment

Palace Museum to Display Precious Collection of the Stone Moat China's Palace Museum in Beijing is going to launch another five open areas, and display 18 key exhibitions next month, to celebrate the ninetieth anniversary of its founding.

The Precious Collection of the Stone Moat is part of the commemoration, as it will showcase 283 pieces of precious cultural relics and genuine works by celebrated painters and calligraphers in ancient China.

Shan Jixiang, curator of the Palace Museum, elaborates on the important value of this exhibition.

"The special exhibition of the Precious Collection of the Stone Moat is an unprecedented practice for the Palace Museum. The contents it displays are beyond comparison. They are the classic of classics."

He indicates, over four hundred precious sculptural masterpieces, are on the display list in October as well.

Founded in 1925, The Palace Museum is the largest museum housing ancient Chinese culture and arts, which is located in the Forbidden City.

The exhibition will run from September the 8th to November the 11th.

72nd Venice Film Festival Closes Curtain

Venezuelan director Lorenzo Vigas won the Golden Lion prize for best picture at the Venice Film Festival, with his film 'From Afar'.

The Caracas-based drama features a story between a street teenager and a middle-aged, middle class man.

Vigas dedicated his prize to his country.

At this year's Venice Film Festival, filmmakers from the Americas beat renowned European directors to the main trophies.

Animated film 'Anomalisa', created by Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson, has won the Grand Jury Prize, which is regarded as the runner-up trophy. Meanwhile, the Silver Lion for best direction went to Argentina's crime thriller 'The Clan', which has broken box-office records in its homeland.

U.S. director Jake Mahaffy's 'Free in Deed' took the top Horizons prize, by narrating a story about a faith healing went wrong.

Fabrice Luchini gained the best-actor trophy for his performance in 'Courted', while Valeria Golino was named best for her role in 'For Your Love'.

The 11-day festival has already identified some potential Oscar competitors, such as Johnny Depp for his role as gangster Bulger in 'Black Mass' and Eddie Redmayne's performance in 'The Danish Girl' as a transgender artist.

The world's oldest film closed its curtain on Saturday.

'Mr Six' Closes Venice Film Festival

Chinese director Guan Hu's action comedy film 'Mr.Six' wrapped on Saturday, as the closing film of this year's Venice Film Festival.

The 47-year-old director says Feng Xiaogang is the first choice in his mind as he is finishing the script of 'Mr Six', also known as 'Lao Pao Er' in Chinese. "There are a lot of great actors in China but I thought of Feng Xiaogang first. I was a bit concerned in the beginning, I thought it would be a challenge to

direct another director and I think Xiaogang thought so too, but once we started collaborating, everything went smoothly."

The film is a modern tale of Mr Six, a middle aged former kingpin who reigned over the Beijing streets for years.

As he lives in a world that is bound to be destroyed by modernity, the film portrays the battle between him and a much younger drag-racing street gang leader.

Hot but young actors, Kris Wu and Li Yifeng have starred in the film. Feng Xiaogang has praised their performance.

"I think this generation is obviously their moment, so they're happy,

open-minded, positive, optimistic and they're open to new things and new technologies but I think what we're looking for in cinema takes a bit more than that. So I just used my own experience, my own sincere approach to cinema to help them."

'Mr Six' is scheduled to screen at Toronto Film Festival, and due to kick off Chinese market on December 24th.

Daniel Radcliff's 'The Gamechangers' to Hit BBC Two

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliff is gaming in the upcoming BBC drama 'The Gamechangers'.

The 26-year-old actor leads the drama as Sam Houser, one of the co-founders of GTA publishers Rockstar Games.

This ninety minute feature dramatized the famous transatlantic battle over the popular video game franchise.

Owen Harris, the director of Misfits and Black Mirror director, shot 'The Gamechangers' in South Africa.

Being part of Make It Digital initiative, the drama designed for inspiring younger generation to set foot in coding and programming.

'The Gamechangers' will debut on BBC Two on September 15th.

Two Dead in Cruise Movie Plane Crash

Two crew members have died on the set of Tom Cruise's new film Mena following a plane crash on Friday night.

Area coordinator for Administrative Department of Disaster Prevention, Gilberto Mazo, gives more details on the accident.

"At 5:30 p.m, community members reported the accident to the municipal administration of San Pedro and San Jeronimo. Immediately, first responders from nearby municipalities were dispatched to the location. They found a person alive, who has been already transported to the medical centre in Medellin, and two people who died, whose bodies have been removed."