This is NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Liu Yan in Beijing. Here is the news.

Premier Li Keqiang has promised more initiatives to prevent and treat AIDS in order to limit its spread.

To mark the World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, Li said in a written instruction that the government needs to guarantee spending on prevention and treatment, especially in the worst-hit regions and poverty-stricken areas.

He said social organizations should be brought more into play and he called for faster development of anti-AIDS drugs, while stressing that health insurance needs to be put in place to reduce the burden for those most in need.

The premier also said an action plan for AIDS prevention and treatment for the next five years must be formulated as soon as possible.

Latest figure suggests there were 575,000 people living with HIV or AIDS in China by the end of October, and 177,000 had died following infection.

This is NEWS Plus Special English.

Environmental watchdogs have strengthened inspections to reduce pollutant emissions as the air quality deteriorated to the most severe readings recently in north China, including Beijing.

Beijing required over 2,100 major companies in polluting industries to suspend their production. It also ordered all construction sites to stop work as well to cut emissions. The move came after an orange alert was issued on Nov. 28, the second-highest response to air pollution.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection has sent several inspection teams to supervise the implementation. Ignoring the suspension order can result in punishment including hefty fines.

The air quality index in many cities, including Beijing and the cities of Langfang and Baoding in Hebei province, reached the top reading of 500 last Monday, meaning air pollution had reached the most severe level. Heavy smog shut down major highways and expressways in the region.

You're listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Liu Yan in Beijing.

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