FIFA to add 16 teams for 2026 World Cup www.nhk.or.jp

Soccer's governing body, FIFA, says the 2026 World Cup will have 48 teams, 16 more than at present.

Chinese official: Economy grew about 6.7% in 2016 www.nhk.or.jp

A top Chinese official says he thinks the government has met its growth target for 2016 as the economy is believed to have expanded by about 6.7 percent.

Ban Ki-moon's brother and nephew charged with bribery www.bbc.com

The brother and nephew of former United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon have been charged with conspiracy to bribe a government official.
New York officials accuse Mr Ban's younger brother, Ban Ki-sang, and his nephew, Joo Hyun Bahn, of offering money to a Middle Eastern official.
They allege that bribes were given to entice the official to use government funding to buy their building project.
Ban Ki-moon served as UN secretary general from 2007 until 2016.
He was succeeded by former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres on 1 January 2017.
Prosecutor say that in early 2013 the South Korean construction firm Keangnam, of which Mr Ban's brother Ban Ki-sang was an executive, was faced with growing debt and sought to sell a building complex in Vietnam known as Landmark 72.
In an 39-page indictment unsealed on Tuesday at a Manhattan courthouse, prosecutors alleged that he and his son Joo Hyan "Dennis" Bahn, a Manhattan estate agent, stood to make millions of dollars in commission on the sale, valued at up to $800m (£657m).
US officials say that the two men paid millions of dollars in bribes and tried to trade on the prominence of their South Korean family in order to persuade a Middle Eastern official from an unnamed country to arrange a purchase of the complex by that country's sovereign wealth fund.
Federal papers say the two even tried to secure a meeting to discuss the deal with the unnamed Middle Eastern country's head of state during his visit to New York during an annual UN general assembly meeting.
"This alleged bribery and fraud scheme offends all who believe in honest and transparent business," said New York Attorney General Preet Bharara, "and it stands as a reminder that those who bring international corruption to New York City, as alleged here, will face the scrutiny of American law enforcement."
M Ban's relatives are charged with corruption, money laundering and conspiracy.

France's Le Pen wants repatriation of car plants a-la Trump www.rt.com

Far-right French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has been inspired by US President-elect Donald Trump’s initiative to repatriate car production. She wants to see manufacturing back in France.

EU clears French capital injection for Areva www.reuters.com

European Union antitrust regulators approved on Tuesday French plans to grant a capital injection of 4.5 billion euros ($4.75 billion) to nuclear group Areva (AREVA.PA) and said Areva's restructuring plan would not unduly distort competition.

Bank of America warns US-China tension puts global economy at risk in 2017

An escalation of trade tension between the world's two biggest economies –the US and China – could become one of the major threats to the global economy this year, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML).

Yahoo to change name after Verizon deal, Mayer steps down www.rt.com

Yahoo said it would rename itself Altaba as soon as the deal with Verizon Communications is completed.

Pen power: China closer to ballpoint success www.bbc.com

It has sent rockets into space, produced millions of the world's smartphones and built high-speed trains. But until now, one bit of manufacturing had perhaps unexpectedly eluded China: the ballpoint pen.
A year ago Premier Li Keqiang went on national television and bemoaned the failure of his country to produce a good quality version of this seemingly-simple implement.
Locally-made versions felt "rough" compared to those from Germany, Switzerland and Japan, Mr Li complained.
High precision
The problem was not the body of the pen, but the tip - the tiny ball that dispenses ink as you write.
It might be something we take for granted, but making them requires high-precision machinery and very hard, ultra-thin steel plates.
Put simply, China's steel has not been good enough. And it has struggled to shape its pen tips accurately.

Without that ability, China's 3,000 penmakers have had to import this crucial component from abroad, costing the industry a reported 120m yuan ($17.3m; £14.3m) a year.
But according to People's Daily, the state-owned Taiyuan Iron and Steel Co thinks it has cracked the problem, after five years of research.
The first batch of 2.3-millimetre ballpoint pen tips has recently rolled off its production lines, the paper says.
And once lab tests are completed, it's expected China could phase out pen tip imports completely within two years.
Symbolic
On one level, whether China can make a great pen is not hugely important in the scheme of things.
High-tech and innovative manufacturing lie at the heart of the central government's Made in China 2025 programme - designed to help domestic growth.
Relatively low-value items, like ballpoint pens, have not been a priority.

European firms have dominated the ballpoint pen industry at both the top and lower ends of the market
Despite producing more than half of the world's crude iron and steel, China has still heavily relied on imports for high-grade steel.
It was a failing that Mr Li said highlighted the need to upgrade China's manufacturing capabilities.
Different culture
"Historically, China has never been able to do precision engineering very well and the ballpoint pen is an example of that," says Professor George Huang, head of the University of Hong Kong's department of industrial and mechanical engineering.
"Its parts are so small and very precise, and it's not easy to solve this problem"
Precision engineering is thriving only in certain sectors such as aerospace and defence where the government has placed a high priority, says Prof Huang.
Even when it comes to smartphones and computers, the high end computer chips are usually imported from Japan and Taiwan.
Prof Huang says that China lacks a culture of excellence in precision engineering.
He uses the Mandarin term "fucao" or "floating grass", a euphemism for something that is not 100% solid or reliable.
"The culture is different from the Japanese and Germans," he says, who are known for innovation in engineering.
"We Chinese are supposed to be craftsmen, but somehow the spirit is not as good."

Russian Elite $29Bln Richer After Trump Election Victory www.themoscowtimes.com

Russia’s wealthiest have seen their fortunes grow by $29 billion since the election of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in November, Forbes magazine reported Tuesday.

New technology products against air pollution introduced www.gogo.mn

With an aim to reduce air pollution, new technologies to provide households with electric heating and to improve insulation of houses and gers are being introduced. A technology fair, where over 50 companies displayed their products, opened yesterday at ‘Misheel expo’ expo hall. The Government made decision to provide ger district residents with free electricity for nighttime use and the fair has been organized to help people to choose products.
Electric heaters, air cleaning equipment, compressed fuels made of industry waste including sawdust and shell of nuts, and masks are on display. Products which developed by Mongolian engineers or co-produced with foreign companies attracted the visitors of the fair. 
 ‘Arya’ company introduced its set of insulation materials for Mongolian traditional ger. This new technology based insulation materials have been proved with tests that it keeps warm equal to 6- layer felt covering. “- The inner layer is made of aluminum laminate/shield and outer layer is of water resistant synthetic polystrol. In addition, our set contains floor insulation material, which is useable instead of wooden floor. Using the set, allows ger to get warm in short period and the warm can be kept for some 12 hours. Price of our set is MNT1.250.000, which means cheaper than traditional materials for ger warming and insulation” said director of ‘Arya’ company Z.Zoljargal. The company also offers to customers its eco-stove pipe, which impulses to complete combustion of fuels and filters smoke.
Prime Minister J.Erdenebat and Minister of Environment, Green Development and Tourism D.Oyunkhorol visited the fair and the Prime Minister promised to meet the company delegates in the near future to discuss the effectiveness of their product and how to introduce their new technology products.