News Roundup

China

Tech Innovation Hub

Chinas State Council has issued a plan on transforming Beijing into a national scientific and technological innovation hub. According to the document， China aims to make the hub a world leader in innovation， a growth pole for the economy， and a pool for talent. The innovation hub is expected to become a powerful engine to boost the countrys innovation drive by 2030， the plan said.

The document stresses the key role of north Beijings hi-tech zone Zhongguancun and neighboring regions of Tianjin Municipality and Hebei Province in supporting the technology innovation hub drive. It also called for enhanced fundamental research in cutting-edge technology， improved personnel training and government services as well as a better policy environment for innovation.

Tanzania

Judicial Modernization Program

Tanzanian Chief Justice Mohamed Chande Othman said in September the judiciary has set aside $120 million for making administration of justice more efficient and transparent.

“As part of the modernization program， the judiciary will introduce a new training course for court stenographers along with the provision of online services，” he said. The five-year Judicial Modernization and Justice Service Delivery Program was aimed at improving efficiency and transparency of courts in the country.

“With the introduction of online services people will be able to file cases through the Internet and follow proceedings through the same，” said the Chief Justice.

He said the newly established anticorruption and economic crime court has also been lined up for modernization to speed up hearing of cases and rendering of judgments.

Kenya

New Currency

Kenya plans to introduce a new generation currency in the second half of 2017， Central Bank of Kenya （CBK） Governor Patrick Njoroge said in September. Njoroge said the designs for the currency were being finalized.

In 1966， the CBK issued its first Kenyan currency that replaced the then-prevailing East African currency which was legal tender in the region. Njoroge said the new currency will include security features to ensure that counterfeits will be almost impossible to make.

The governor said that a massive publicity campaign will be rolled out before the introduction of the new currency in order to increase uptake.

Africa

Agricultural Green Revolution

African leaders， donors and major multilateral firms have pledged more than $30 billion to help transform Africas agriculture from subsistence farming to agribusiness in the next ten years， officials said in September.

The collective pledges made during the Sixth African Green Revolution Forum are believed to represent the largest package of financial commitments to the African agricultural sector to date， backed by the broadest coalitions ever assembled in support of food production on the continent.

A joint statement said the pledges were in investments to increase production， income and employment for smallholder farmers and local African agriculture businesses over the next 10 years.

China

Stricter Safety Supervision

China will strengthen supervision of production safety through a nationwide inspection on the implementation of the new production safety law. The inspection will primarily target the performance of duties in accordance with the law and supervision systems of the State Council and related departments， according to a statement released by the National Peoples Congress （NPC） Standing Committee. The overall situation for production safety is stable as Chinese authorities have placed more focus on the issue in past years. The number of accidents and casualties has dropped by 8.8 percent and 5.3 percent， respectively， in the first half of this year compared with the same period last year， but potential risks still remain， according to the statement.

Cameroon

Campaign for Childrens Rights

UNICEF Cameroon and the Confederation of African Football（CAF） presented their partnership on September 17， 2016 during a joint press conference for the 2016 Africa Women Cup of Nations. The event will help send out strong messages for protection of childrens rights in Cameroon. This innovative partnership aims at attracting the national and international communitys attention on key issues related to children in Cameroon. Notably， it will enable CAF and UNICEF to launch a joint campaign for the respect of childrens rights in Cameroon and to involve players in fostering advocacy for children and to launch fundraising activities for UNICEF in Cameroon.

Zambias New President Takes Office

Edgar Lungu assumed office with a five-year mandate during a grand ceremony held in Lusaka， Zambias capital， on September 13. Lungu said his ruling party， Patriotic Front， will continue on the same path of development agenda embarked upon during his first five years in office， and that he will push the frontiers of the countrys national agenda. Lungu also announced a Commission of Inquiry to determine the cause of the violence that erupted in some parts of the country after the results were announced.

New ICBC President

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd， the worlds biggest bank by assets， is to appoint Gu Shu as its new president. Gu， 49， has extensive experience in finance and accounting， and will be the youngest banking chief of Chinas big four state-owned lenders. The appointment of Gu has generated industry discussion about how the new chief would lead the bank at a time when Chinas overall banking sector is under pressure due to rising bad loans and declining profit. Attention also focused on how the new president would transform the banks business model and address the challenges posed by the rise of internet and digital banking.

China

Simpler ForeignersPermits

China will streamline work application paperwork for foreigners in an effort to attract more talent. The pilot scheme will cover provincial-level regions including Beijing， Tianjin， Hebei， Shanghai， Anhui， Shandong， Guangdong， Sichuan and Ningxia， from October 2016 to March 2017， the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs（SAFEA） said in September. Under the current system， foreigners must apply for two types of work permit： an employment license for foreign employees and a foreign expert work permit for top talent， which are issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and SAFEA respectively. The trial will unify the two permits into a single work permit， making it easier for foreigners to work in China， said Gao Xiang， Director General of the Department of Poli- cies and Regulations under SAFEA.

China

Rehabilitation University

China will establish a rehabilitation university before 2020 to help people living with disabilities， the China Disabled PersonsFederation said. An estimated 85 million disabled people live in China， of whom about 26 million are registered. “We aim to provide high quality rehabilitation services，”the federations chairwoman， Zhang Haidi， said. “The main problem we are currently facing is the lack of trained professionals.”Zhang said that under the current system， there are fewer than 8，000 rehabilitation graduates every year， and 70 percent of those come from two-year colleges， which is far from meeting the demand for such services. In 2015， only 30 percent of registered people living with disabilities received any kind of rehabilitation services. Establishment of more rehabilitation programs is part of the countrys 13th Five-Year Plan （2016-20）.

China

New E-Sports Major

The major Electronic Competitive Sports and Management is now listed among 13 new majors at vocational schools in China， according to the Ministry of Education. The major falls under the discipline of sports and education.

The e-sports major will be launched in vocational colleges nationwide starting in 2017. Other new majors include Early Childhood Development and Healthcare， Public Welfare and Charity Management and Music Communication.

The e-sports industry has grown dramatically in recent years， with various league matches and plentiful prizes offered on campuses. It became a hot topic after Chinese teams excelled in top e-sports events worldwide.