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Sunday, 08 January 2017 14:01
World’s largest greenhouse gas emitter will deploy squad targeting polluters to combat toxic air crisis.
China has announced plans to set up an « environmental police » force tasked with enforcing pollution restrictions across the capital Beijing in a bid to improve the city’s notorious air quality.
Cai Qi, who is both the deputy chief of the country’s ruling party and mayor of Beijing, promised to impose tougher measures in the city’s 16 districts to combat a longstanding and widespread toxic smog problem that has brought « harm » to people’s lives.
« Open-air barbecues, garbage incineration, biomass burning, and dust from roads – these acts of non-compliance with regulations are actually the result of lax supervision and weak law enforcement, » Cai was quoted by the Xinuhua news agency as saying.
UN: 80 percent of global urban dwellers breathe bad air
« Like many of us, I am used to checking the weather and the air quality index (AQI) of Beijing first thing in the morning. I totally understand the public’s concerns and complaints over air pollution, » he said during a three-hour meeting with the press.
Beijing will also work harder with the neighbouring province of Hebei and the Tianjin municipality to curb pollution, Cai added.
China, the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has in recent years taken initiatives to fight the pollution crisis by closing coal-fired power plants and high-polluting factories, as well as imposing vehicle restrictions.
But critics say a lot more needs to be done.
« The government must strengthen environmental protection and step up supervision and accountability in 2017, » He Ren, a spokesperson for the Beijing Volunteer Service Federation – a civil rights group – was quoted by Xinhua as saying.
Beijing’s only coal-fired power plant will be shut down soon and coal consumption will be cut by 30 percent in 2017. Cleaner gas and diesel initiatives will also be implemented on February 15.
Furthermore, 500 polluting factories will be closed and 2,560 others will be revamped to meet higher pollution treatment standards, the news agency said.

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The first Nokia-branded smartphone is to be released exclusively in China.
The device will be marketed in partnership with the local internet retail giant JD.com.
The team behind the Nokia 6 phone said it believed the handset’s « premium design » would appeal to the local market.
The announcement coincided with the final day of the CES tech show in Las Vegas, where other new mobile phones and gadgets have been launched.
Nokia no longer manufactures phones that carry its name but has instead licensed its brand to another Finnish company, HMD Global.
Until now, the only phones that had been released under the deal had been more basic « feature phone » models.
The Android device had been highly anticipated and marks Nokia’s return to the smartphone market after a series of Windows Phone models. Microsoft briefly used the brand for about a year after buying Nokia’s mobile devices unit in 2014.
Nokia once dominated the mobile phone market but struggled after the launch of the iPhone a decade ago, and the subsequent release of Google’s Android operating system.
HMD Global had previously indicated it would release several Nokia-branded Android phones in 2017.
It is expected to provide details of at least some of the other launches at another trade show – Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress – in February.
« The decision by HMD to launch its first Android smartphone into China is a reflection of the desire to meet the real world needs of consumers in different markets around the world, » the firm said in a statement .
« With over 552 million smartphone users in China in 2016, a figure that is predicted to grow to more than 593 million users by 2017, it is a strategically important market where premium design and quality is highly valued by consumers.  »
The Nokia 6 phone runs Android 7.0 – the latest version, also known as Nougat – and features:
The specifications are mid-range, and so is the price: 1,699 yuan ($245; £200).
That makes it slightly more expensive than Huawei’s Honor 6X but cheaper than Xiaomi’s Mi 5s.
« Nokia remains one of the most recognised mobile phone brands on the planet, » commented Ben Wood from the CCS Insight technology consultancy.
« HMD Global will be hoping it can capitalise on this as it seeks to relaunch Nokia devices in 2017.
« It will be hoping the brand will help it stand out in the incredibly crowded Android smartphone market, which is characterised by cut-throat competition and a sea of design sameness.  »
Follow all our CES coverage at bbc.co.uk/ces2017

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(CNN) Officials in Beijing are taking steps toward tackling the city’s long-standing smog problem with the creation of an environmental police force , according to state media.
CNN’s Julia Jones, Jennifer Deaton and Josh Berlinger contributed to this report.

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In China, igniting « Star Wars  » fever appears to be a goal far, far away for Disney.
Underscoring how perhaps The Force was not particularly strong with this country, « Rogue One: A Star Wars Story » opened to a fairly tepid $31 million over three days at the Chinese box office this weekend, according to comScore .
That was about 60 percent of what « Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens » grossed in its first two days in the country a year ago, comScore said.
« Rogue One » managed to take the top spot in China this weekend. Still, its performance shows Disney still faces an uphill battle when it comes to cashing in on perhaps its most valuable franchise in the all-important Chinese market.
Many Chinese were not familiar with the original « Star Wars » trilogy when « The Force Awakens » marketing machine revved up. Even the prequels that debuted between 1999 and 2005 predated the current boom at the Chinese box office.
To drum up excitement, Disney launched a marketing blitz ahead of the Chinese debut for « The Force Awakens, » even lining up the film’s iconic stormtroopers along the Great Wall.
« You can’t walk into a mall in China I’m told without seeing Star Wars everywhere, » IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond told CNBC last January. « We did a lot of viral marketing, a lot of online things that appeal to consumers.  »
That push appeared to work at first. « The Force Awakens » set a record for a two-day premiere in China, but the receipts fell sharply in the second weekend.
English-language movies get a short release window in China, so a relatively low opening weekend does not bode well for the ultimate prospects for « Rogue One » in the country.
Still, « Rogue One » has now earned more than $914 million around the world , putting it among 2016’s top global releases. It is also just shy of edging aside « Finding Dory » for the top spot at the U. S. box office for the year.
Disney also performs well in China with its movies based on Marvel Comics. That franchise tracked the explosion in Chinese movie-going, and the country is frequently the best-performing market for comic book adaptations after the United States.

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