by Ronald Njoroge

NAIROBI Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative will assist partner countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Everson Griffen Hoodie , a United Nations official said on Sunday.

Jamil Ahmad, head of intergovernmental affairs at the UN Environment Program (UNEP), told Xinhua in Nairobi that the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road initiative and the SDGs are complimentary.

"The Belt and Road Initiative provides a good example on how to begin implementation work for the SDGs whose aim is to improve the lives of all citizens of the world," Ahmad said.

"The SDGs are exactly talking about the types of development that have been identified in the projects of the Belt and Road Initiative," he said during a forum on greening China's Belt and Road Initiative, which is part of the UN Science Policy Business Forum on the Environment.

The initiative, comprising the overland Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, aims to build a trade, investment and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along and beyond the ancient Silk Road trade routes.

Ahmad noted that both the Belt and Road Initiative and the SDGs focus on five pillars which will improve the quality of lives of global citizens.

He noted that the Belt and Road Initiative is an enormous project and so various UN agencies are working toward greater and broader partnerships with the Chinese government and partner countries to ensure successful implementation of the project.

The UN Environment Program's role will be to ensure that environmental sustainability is incorporated into all aspects of the projects and programs, he said.

Ahmad said that the very basis of the Silk Road Economic Belt is to promote partnerships among governments and the private sector.

UNEP has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese government to provide expertise on green economy and financing for sustainable development for projects on the Belt and Road Initiative.

MACAO, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Macao Light Festival 2017 was unveiled at the Ruins of St. Paul on Sunday night, kicking off a string of events and festivities to fill the entire December with new elements of tourism and leisure.

Under the theme "Wish-Making under the Stars", the opening ceremony featured dance performance choreographed and performed by a local dance troupe. The opening kicked off an array of projection mapping shows and light installations at eight local tourist attractions, taking visitors and residents onto a dazzling journey.

In the opening ceremony, Macao Government Tourism Office Director Senna Fernandes said that the tourism office will forge the Macao Light Festival into one of Macao's annual signature events and continue to combine elements of gastronomy, culture and creativity for the goal to build Macao into a world center of tourism and leisure.

She also added that a string of other events and festivities will follow in this month, including the 2nd Macao International Film Festival & Awards, the Macau Shopping Festival and the Macao International Parade, as well as celebrations for the 18th anniversary of the establishment of the Macao SAR, the Christmas holidays and the New Year's Eve.

Staged from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. local time from Dec. 3 to 31, the festival will present projection mapping shows, light installations, interactive games and a series of new activities such as light art exhibitions, outdoor local concerts and outdoor movie shows. Related cultural and creative products will also be launched during the festival.

China stocks rose on Thursday, as investors were inspired by the country's commitment to maintain steady economic growth next year while deepening structural reforms and curbing financial risks.

At the close, the Shanghai Composite Index was up 13.08 points, or 0.38 percent, at 3,300.06 while the blue-chip CSI300 index was up 0.93 percent.

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 1.04 percent higher at 11,118.25 points.

The ChiNext Index, which tracks China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, gained 0.41 percent to close at 1,789.74 points.

The largest percentage gainers in the main Shanghai Composite Index were Poly Real Estate Group Co up 7.61 percent, followed by Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co gaining 7.12 percent and China Jushi Co up 7.03 percent.

About 14.21 billion shares were traded on the Shanghai exchange, roughly 88.1 percent of the market's 30-day moving average of 16.13 billion shares a day. The volume in the previous trading session was 13.77 billion.

Major resources shares rose, as investors bet the industry would benefit from further supply-side reforms that would give incumbents bigger pricing power.

Healthcare and consumer stocks also gained on optimism they would benefit from China's transition toward quality growth.

Meanwhile, the government's pledge to reduce risks in the financial system gave a boost to banking shares.

The Chinese government will push forward with structural supply-side reforms and maintain neutral monetary policy in 2018 as it looks to improve the quality of growth, the Xinhua News Agency said on Wednesday, citing top leaders at a key economic planning meeting.

(Agencies)

ABUJA, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Four abducted Chinese nationals have been rescued in southern Nigeria following a gunfight between their abductors and the military, an army spokesman confirmed on Saturday.

The Chinese nationals were kidnapped Friday by suspected sea pirates in a riverine area of Nigeria's southwestern state of Ondo, said Ojo Adelegan, the army spokesman.

Adelegan said some of the Chinese were hurt by their kidnappers and . Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Free Shipping   Cheap Jerseys China   Cheap NFL Jerseys   Cheap NFL Jerseys China   Cheap NFL Jerseys   Cheap NFL Jerseys China   Wholesale Jerseys   Cheap NFL Jerseys China   Wholesale NHL Jerseys China   Cheap NFL Football Jerseys