【听 · 焦点】中共十九届二中全会将于明年1月召开

Chinese dead, 10 seriously injured in tour bus accident in Iceland

At least one Chinese tourist has been confirmed dead and over 10 others seriously injured after their bus skidded off the road in southern Iceland.

According to the Chinese embassy, the accident took place around 11:00 a.m. Wednesday local time in a town 250 km south of Iceland's capital Reykjavik.

Police say the bus carrying more than 40 Chinese tourists collided with a car before skidding off the road.

An initial investigation suggested the car slowed down in front of the bus while attempting to turn toward a lookout point.

Constitution amendment tops agenda for CPC January session

It's been announced the CPC Central Committee will hold its second plenary session in January, with a potential amendment to the country's Constitution a major agenda item.

The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee made the announcement on Wednesday.

General Secretary Xi Jinping presided over Wednesday's meeting.

Details of the proposed constitutional amendment have not been published.

Wednesday's meeting has also heard a work report from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, and also discussed plans for the Party's anti-graft work in the coming year.

Armed police to be commanded by CPC Central Committee, CMC

It's been announced that China's armed police will be under a new command.

Starting from January 1st, the country's paramilitary force will be commanded by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Central Military Commission.

A CPC Central Committee statement says the armed police will be a division under the CMC only and will no longer be listed under the State Council.

It says coordination will be established among the central and local authorities and the armed police.

It is calling for governments at all levels, the People's Liberation Army and armed police to take steps to ensure a smooth command transfer.

Top legislature approves one-stop boundary control arrangement in HKSAR

China's top legislature has adopted a decision to apply a one-stop boundary control cooperation arrangement in Hong Kong.

Under the agreement, a port will be established at the railway station in West Kowloon, Hong Kong.

This is going to be the Hong Kong terminus of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link.

Mainland and Hong Kong authorities will both carry out exit and entry supervision at the port.

The Hong Kong section of the Express Rail Link is scheduled to open in the third quarter of next year.

After its adopted, mainland and Hong Kong authorities will soon begin local legislative process to implement the arrangement.

South Korea confirms "secret deals" with Japan in 2015 comfort women agreement

South Korea has confirmed that its bilateral agreement with Japan over the "comfort women" issue includes content not publicly disclosed at the time of its announcement in 2015.

It's reported the secret, undisclosed parts include something related to statues, monuments and descriptions for comfort women.

Meantime, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha says the government under former President Park Geun-hye lacked communications with the victims when reaching the bilateral deal.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry ordered the review of the whole procedure in reaching the 2015 agreement shortly after the inauguration of the current administration under President Moon Jae-in.

Putin submits documents for 2018 presidential candidacy

Russian President Vladimir Putin has submitted the documents needed to start his 2018 presidential campaign.

Putin announced earlier this month that he would seek a new term in next year's presidential election.

（这里有一句留给大家来填空，记得听完留言写下你的答案哦！）

The United Russia and Just Russia parties have decided to support Putin and will not propose an alternative candidate.

10 injured in supermarket blast in St. Petersburg

An explosion at a supermarket in St Petersburg has left 10 shoppers injured.

Over 50 people were evacuated from the scene at a branch of the Perekrestok supermarket chain, and no deaths were reported.

Officials say the homemade bomb with a force equivalent to 200 grams of TNT had been hidden in a locker where shoppers leave their belongings.

The motive for the blast still remains unclear, and a criminal investigation has been launched.

Ukrainian government, rebels hold largest prisoner swap

The Ukrainian government and pro-independence insurgents in the eastern part of the country have carried out their largest prisoner swap since the conflict started over three years ago.

During the exchange, the rebels in Donetsk and Lugansk transferred 74 Ukrainian soldiers and pro-government civilians to Kiev.

Meanwhile, the government released 238 supporters of the rebels.

It's estimated that more than 100 Ukrainian soldiers and pro-government civilians and 86 insurgent supporters are still kept as prisoners.

The prisoner swap is a key part of the Minsk ceasefire agreement designed to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine that has killed 10 thousand people.

China's central bank to standardize QR code payment

The People's Bank of China has announced plans to regulate QR code payment to contain risks arising from the popular service.

Payment institutions will be required to obtain proper permits to offer barcode-based payment services.

It also stipulates both banks and non-banking payment institutions channel cross-bank transactions involving barcodes through the clearing system of the central bank or other legal clearing houses.

The standards will be put into trial use from April next year.

（以上文稿仅供参考）

上期回顾：甲骨文入选世界记忆名录

上期答案：Oracle bones from ancient China, as well as ancient texts of Egypt, Babylon and the Mayan cultures, are among the world's most famous ancient writing systems.

跟随英语环球，天天进步就从这每日一题开始吧！