(VistaNingxia)CHINA-NINGXIA-ZHONGWEI-ENVIRONMENT-SAND CONTROL (CN)

(VistaNingxia)CHINA-NINGXIA-ZHONGWEI-ENVIRONMENT-SAND CONTROL (CN)

(240616) -- ZHONGWEI, June 16, 2024 (Xinhua) -- A Kenyan Ph.D. candidate (1st L) of Peking University tries to set up a part of the straw checkerboard in the Tengger Desert, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, May 31, 2024. In the 1950s, to protect China's first railway that runs through a desert, the city of Zhongwei embarked on a journey of desert mitigation. Scientists at the Shapotou Desert Research and Experiment Station, part of the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, along with local residents, developed straw checkerboards to stabilize the sand and prevent dunes from shifting. Tang Ximing, a senior engineer at a state-owned forestry farm in Zhongwei, crafted a steel tool that differs from regular shovels by featuring two horizontal bars at the front tip. This innovative tool enables the planting of seedling roots 50 centimeters deep into the moist sand layer. This simple tool increases the survival rate of afforestation by 25 percen

Indonesia's inflation rises in August

STORY: Indonesia's inflation rises in August DATELINE: Sept. 2, 2023 LENGTH: 00:02:08 LOCATION: Jakarta CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. various of views in Jakarta 2. various of streets 3. various of vendors and shoppers STORYLINE: Indonesia's inflation rate for August rose from the previous month's 3.08 percent to 3.27 percent, both of which were within the goal range of 2 to 4 percent set by the central bank. Transportation has been one of the major drivers of inflation for months, along with food commodities, and tobacco, said Statistics Indonesia BPS Deputy for Distribution and Services Statistics Pudji Ismartini. Several initiatives to manage commodity prices, maintain supply availability, facilitate distribution, and monetary and fiscal policy, as well as the real sector, were successful in bringing inflation under control faster than the target, according to Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto. The country is targeting inflation to reach a range of 1.5 to 3.5 percen

Bsous Silk Museum keeps Lebanon's history of sericulture

STORY: Bsous Silk Museum keeps Lebanon's history of sericulture DATELINE: May 19, 2023 LENGTH: 00:01:45 LOCATION: Beirut CATEGORY: CULTURE SHOTLIST: 1. various of Bsous Silk Museum and visitors STORYLINE: Located in the village of Bsous of Aley County in Mount Lebanon Governorate, Bsous Silk Museum is the only one of its kind in Lebanon. Its structure was originally built by the Fayad family and operated as a silk factory between 1901 and 1954. It was restored by its owners, George and Alexandra Asseily who bought the property in 1973, and has been serving as a museum since 2001. Part of the silk museum's permanent collection includes live silkworms. The museum also regularly puts on annual exhibitions under different themes, showcasing silk culture from around the world. Past exhibitions have spotlighted the silk industry in China, India, Vietnam, Italy and France. The museum is open from May to October. Silk production was for one period the pillar of the Lebanese economy, accounting for 62 percen

Turkish voters divided between hope and despair about 2nd round of elections

STORY: Turkish voters divided between hope and despair about 2nd round of elections DATELINE: May 16, 2023 LENGTH: 00:02:35 LOCATION: ISTANBUL, Türkiye CATEGORY: POLITICS SHOTLIST: 1. various of Istanbul 2. various of voting and vote counting 3. SOUNDBITE 1 (Turkish): DENIZ CAY, Football coach 4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Turkish): DENIZ CAY, Football coach 5. various of Istanbul 6. SOUNDBITE 3 (Turkish): LEVENT TURGAL, Istanbul resident 7. various of Istanbul 8. SOUNDBITE 4 (Turkish): BARIS DOSTER, Scholar at Marmara University 9. SOUNDBITE 5 (Turkish): BARIS DOSTER, Scholar at Marmara University STORYLINE: On the streets of Türkiye's largest city, Istanbul, citizens seemed divided between hope and deep despair on Monday after it became certain that the country will have a runoff presidential election. The Sunday vote count in the critical elections revealed that neither of the candidates secured above the 50 percent threshold of the votes to win outright. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received 49.51 percen

U.S. stocks fall after Fed raises rates, signals more hikes ahead

STORY: U.S. stocks fall after Fed raises rates, signals more hikes ahead DATELINE: Dec. 15, 2022 LENGTH: 0:02:28 LOCATION: NEW YORK, U.S. CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. various of New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street 2. various of U.S. Federal Reserve 3. various of Fed Chair Jerome Powell making opening remarks while attending a press conference on Dec. 14 4. various of consumers in New York City during holiday season STORYLINE: Wall Street's major averages declined on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the seventh time this year and signaled more hikes to come next year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 142.29 points, or 0.42 percent, to 33,966.35. The S&P 500 fell 24.33 points, or 0.61 percent, to 3,995.32. The Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 85.93 points, or 0.76 percent, to 11,170.89. Ten of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with financials and materials down 1.29 percent and 1.11 percent, respectively, leading the laggards. Health care rose 0.14 percen

Türkiye targets 5 pct growth in 2023: minister

STORY: Türkiye targets 5 pct growth in 2023: minister DATELINE: Nov. 11, 2022 LENGTH: 0:01:25 LOCATION: Ankara CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. various of people and vehicles on the street 2. various of farming 3. various of industry 4. various of Turkish lira 5. various of ports STORYLINE: Türkiye foresees economic growth of 5 percent in 2022 and targets the same growth rate in 2023 as the government expects to "maintain its balanced outlook" next year, Turkish Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati said on Thursday. Preliminary indicators for the second half of 2022 point to moderate growth with the impact of the global slowdown, Nebati said during the budget talks of the parliament. The total employment capacity of the country has risen above the pre-pandemic period and reached historically high levels, Nebati said, adding "total employment reached 31.4 million people as of September, while as of August, the unemployment rate decreased to the lowest level of the last 8 years with 9.9 percen

Malaysia's services revenue surges 32.3 pct in Q3

STORY: Malaysia's services revenue surges 32.3 pct in Q3 DATELINE: Nov. 10, 2022 LENGTH: 00:01:52 LOCATION: Kuala Lumpur CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. various of chefs preparing food 2. various of a restaurant 3. various of a supermarket 4. various of Kuala Lumpur's street view STORYLINE: Official data showed Wednesday that the total revenue of Malaysia's services sector surges 32.3 percent year on year to 517.4 billion ringgit (109.7 billion U.S. dollars) in the third quarter. According to a statement of the Department of Statistics Malaysia, the growth was contributed by wholesale and retail trade, food and beverages, and accommodation segments which soared 33.4 percent year on year to 417.8 billion ringgit (88.58 billion dollars). Meanwhile, the information and communication, and transportation and storage segments' revenue rose 23.9 percent year on year to 73.4 billion ringgit (15.56 billion dollars). Private health, private education, arts, entertainment and recreation segments, jumped 45.5 percen

India's trade deficit almost triples in one year

STORY: India's trade deficit almost triples in one year DATELINE: Aug. 14, 2022 LENGTH: 00:01:35 LOCATION: New Delhi CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. various of India gate 2. various of market 3. various of fuel station 4. various of coal mine area 5. various of traffic STORYLINE: India's trade deficit almost tripled to a record 30 billion U.S. dollars in July compared to a year ago, said official data released by the country's Commerce and Industry Ministry. The rise in trade deficit has been attributed to a surge in imports driven by elevated global commodity prices. According to the data, merchandise exports rose by 2.1 percent in July to 36.3 billion dollars compared to the previous year, while imports jumped by 43.6 percent to 66.3 billion dollars. Overall exports fell 9.5 percent in July as compared to June, said the data. The data further showed that during the first four months of this financial year, exports grew 20.1 percent to 157.4 billion dollars, while imports jumped 48.1 percen

China-Europe freight trains see constant growth, show bright prospects of BRI

STORY: China-Europe freight trains see constant growth, show bright prospects of BRI DATELINE: April 1, 2022 LENGTH: 00:01:41 LOCATION: Warsaw CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. various of "Shanghai-Express" reaching the DUSS terminal in Hamburg 2. STANDUP 1 (English): ZHU SHENG, Xinhua correspondent 3. STANDUP 2 (English): CHEN CHEN, Xinhua correspondent 4. various of China-europe Railway Express STORYLINE: Freight trains transporting goods between China and Europe have seen constant growth in recent years, showing bright prospects of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). STANDUP 1 (English): ZHU SHENG, Xinhua correspondent "Germany is an important node country for the China-Europe freight train routes. German cities like Duisburg, Hamburg and Mannheim have witnessed the continuous growth in the number of China-Europe freight trains." In 2021, the number of two-way freight train trips between China and Europe reached 15,000, carrying 1.46 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), up 22 percent and 29 percen