News Scan 20160619

ZXY: Xi&`&s visit to further lift Great Wall-like China-Serbia friendship BELGRADE - Chinese President Xi Jinping kicked off a historic visit to Serbia on Friday, in a trip that Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said "sends a strong signal that China values its friendship with Serbia". The visit, a testimony to the time-tested and trusted friendship between the two sides, shows that "China seriously considers Serbia as its great partner," said Nikolic. Serbia was the first Central and Eastern European (CEE) country to forge a strategic partnership with China. In September last year, Nikolic, along with a group of Serbian troops, came to China for the commemoration activities for the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People&`&s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, also known as World War II (WWII). It was the first time that foreign troops had been invited to participate in China&`&s military parade. Hosting Nikolic in Beijing, Xi recalled that China and Serbia made tremendous sacrifices in WWII and made great contributions to the eventual defeat of the Fascist forces in Asia and Europe. In the future, it is still their common objective and sacred mission to jointly safeguard the hard-won world peace, Xi said. Speaking highly of China&`&s role in promoting world peace and development, Nikolic said China&`&s rise is a blessing for the world, and hailed the Chinese people&`&s pursuit of freedom and equality. "Grudges in the past should not hinder international cooperation at present, thus all participants of WWII, including Japan and Germany, should attend China&`&s commemorative activities to prevent historical tragedies from happening again," the president said. The two countries&`& firm support for each other on issues concerning their core interests demonstrates the nature of their strategic partnership, said China&`&s ambassador to Serbia, Li Manchang. LCJ:Belgium arrests 12 in counter-terrorism raids Police in Belgium have made 12 arrests in a huge anti-terrorism operation, nearly three months after the deadly bomb attacks on Brussels. Those detained overnight are suspected of plotting a terrorist attack, prosecutors say. They were among 40 taken in for questioning. Searches were conducted in 16 municipalities, mainly around Brussels, with checks on 152 lock-up garages. PM Charles Michel said security would be stepped up at public events. He tweeted (in French) after a meeting of the Belgian security council to say events would go ahead as planned and he urged the public to remain calm. According to a report by public broadcaster RTBF (in French), terrorism suspects were seen driving on Friday near a fan zone in central Brussels, where Saturday&`&s Euro 2016 match between Belgium and the Republic of Ireland is due to be relayed from France by giant screen. On 22 March, bombs killed 32 people at a Brussels airport and a metro station. No arms or explosives were found during the searches, which passed off without incident, Belgium&`&s federal prosecutor said in a statement. Among the areas where searches took place was Molenbeek, a Brussels district which has become notorious because of its associations with jihadists. The federal prosecutor said the operation had been launched after investigations which "necessitated an immediate intervention". The country is under a level 3 terror alert, one below maximum. "It is not over," Interior Minister Jan Jambon was quoted as saying by Associated Press news agency on Saturday. "We remain under terror alert three. It means that something is still up. Last night, we had a very successful action." HCX:Half-year space experiment starts Four volunteers on Friday started a 180-day living experiment in a sealed space capsule, which will test technologies that support China&`&s deep-space exploration projects. The volunteers－three men and one woman－will live in a sealed capsule in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. Scientists hope the experiment will cast light on how oxygen, water and food can be used and recycled under controlled conditions. The project has been designed to test the "controlled ecological life support system", which is inspired by technologies used on China&`&s Shenzhou spacecraft. The 1,340-cubic-meter capsule, which has a floor space of 370 square meters, is divided into eight compartments, including the passenger compartment, resource compartment and greenhouse compartments. Scientists have cultivated 25 kinds of plants in the capsule, including wheat, potatoes, sweet potatoes, soybeans, peanuts, lettuce, edible amaranth and bok choy. Strawberries, cherries, tomatoes and horseradish are also on the list. The plants are part of a larger ecological treatment system that will help regenerate oxygen and water, reducing dependency on outside supplies. Scientists will also monitor and observe how a hermetic environment affects physiological changes, biological rhythms, sleep patterns and emotional well-being. The Astronaut Center of China launched a call for volunteers in May last year, and selected eight people, including an alternative team, from 2,110 candidates. Two of the volunteers are from the center. More than a dozen Chinese and overseas institutions are involved in the experiment, including the Shenzhen-based Space Institute of Southern China and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.