'Super bus' planned to beat jams

A Shenzhen company has developed a decidedly odd-looking, extra-wide and extra-tall vehicle that can carry up to 1,200 passengers, takes up no road space and is partly solar powered, the New York Times reported yesterday. Called the "straddling bus," by Shenzhen Huashi Future Parking Equipment, it resembles a train and runs along a fixed route - but it requires neither elevated tracks nor extensive tunneling. Its passenger compartment spans the width of two traffic lanes and sits high above the road surface supported by stilts that allow ordinary cars to pass underneath. The outsize vehicle is powered by a combination of municipal electricity and solar power derived from panels mounted on the roofs of the vehicles and at bus stops. It will travel at an average speed of 40 kilometers an hour - could reduce traffic jams by 25 to 30 percent on major roads. There are plans to test the vehicle in Beijing and other Chinese cities have shown interest.

Central bank says no 500-yuan note

The People's Bank of China has denied Internet rumors that it has released a new 500-yuan note, the People's Daily said Wednesday. Japanese media recently claimed China was considering introducing a 500-yuan note bearing a portrait of Confucius in order to give the Renminbi wider international appeal. The central bank said the rumors could affect the normal circulation of the Renminbi and jeopardize financial security. It called on the police to launch an investigation into the source of the rumor.

Superfast broadband by 2020

Most homes will have Internet access with the speed of 100 megabits per second by 2020, Sina.com.cn reported today, citing an IT expert. Bandwidth is the foundation of a high-end information society, Zhou Hongren, deputy director of the State Council Advisory Committee for Informatization told the 2010 Digital TV Industry Summit. He said 100 megabits is a target accepted by most countries. The US plans to give 100 million homes access to the Internet at downstream speeds of 100 megabits and upstream speed of 50 megabits by 2020. Australia's goal is to give 90 percent of homes superfast broadband and the remaining 10 percent access through wireless networks.

China opens interbank bond market

The Financial Times reports that China is to allow foreign central banks and overseas lenders to invest in its domestic interbank bond market, in a move to "encourage cross-border Renminbi trade settlement" and "broaden investment channels for Renminbi to flow back (to China)." Beijing is trying to encourage use of the yuan in trade deals as part of a long-term plan to promote it as a reserve currency and reduce China's exposure to the US dollar, which is currently used for most Chinese trade.

Smoking in China 'as bad as SARS'

"China's longstanding high prevalence of tobacco addiction deserves the same level of concern as an outbreak of SARS or H1N1," Michael O'Leary, the head of the World Health Organization in China told AFP on Tuesday. According to data released on the same day by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 52.9 percent of men in China smoke and China has a total of 301 million smokers - down from a previous high of 350 million. A total of 13,354 people across China took part in the survey which also revealed that 70 percent of non-smokers were exposed to second-hand smoke each week. China is the world's biggest consumer of tobacco and up to one million people in the country die every year from lung cancer or other smoking-related diseases.

Young unable to care for parents

More than 70 percent of China's young people say they will not be able to take proper care of their parents, according to a survey by China Youth Daily. Researchers interviewed 1,612 people from all over the country. 74.1 percent said they were willing to take care of their parents but their finances were inadequate; 58.3 percent said they would live near their parents; 43.5 percent would like to live with their parents. But 24.8 percent said their parents live in another city and they can only visit them during holidays. 7 percent said they would prefer their parents to be cared for by community nurses, and 6.9 percent were willing to send their parents to an old people's home. The pressure is greater on couples who are both only children. They face the challenge of taking care of four aged parents without help from siblings.

Surfer killed by great white shark

File photo: a great white shark.

31-year-old surfer Nicholas Edwards died after being attacked by a great white shark off Western Australia's south-west coast yesterday, the Daily Mail reported. The huge creature was chasing a group of seals when it attacked Edwards. As he battled to reach the safety of land, other surfers raced to help him, dragging him ashore, but described the loss of blood from his shredded leg as 'just terrible'. Despite desperate rescue efforts, the father-of-two was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at hospital. Great white sharks are common along the Western Australian coast and surfing in the early morning is regarded as risky. Six years ago another surfer, Brad Smith, died in a shark attack at the same beach.

Newsweek names Finland best country

U.S. Newsweek magazine ranked Finland the best out of 100 countries to live in, Helsinki Times reported. The survey measured five categories of national well being: education, health, quality of life, economic competitiveness and political environment. Countries were also divided into groups based on size and income. Overall, Nordic countries did well in the ranking. Sweden was third, Norway fifth and Denmark 10th, all being small but wealthy. Switzerland was second, while the U.S. didn't squeeze into the top 10 (ranking 11th). China came in at 59.

Mesut Ozil moves to Real Madrid

Real Madrid announced today that they have signed German midfielder Mesut Ozil from Werder Bremen, the Guardian reports. Real are understood to have paid €20 million for the 21-year-old, who has signed a six-year deal and will earn €5 million a year.

Singer gets probation for stripping

R&B singer Erykah Badu was fined US$500 and given six months probation for stripping while filming a music video in Dallas' Dealey Plaza where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, Reuters reported. The 39-year-old music star was charged with disorderly conduct in April over her nude video shoot.

Micro pig farm ads banned

The British Kune Kune Pig Society has complained to the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) about advertisements from Cambridgeshire-based Little Pig Farm that offer "easy to care for" pigs as pets that are the "smallest in the UK", measuring just 12in to 16in (30cm to 40cm) when fully grown, the Guardian reports. The society argued the ad was misleading because there is "no breed that would grow only as tall as 16 inches" and reckoned the pigs would grow much larger and would thus "become difficult to care for as pets". The ASA agreed with the society and banned the advertisement.

(China.org.cn August 19, 2010)