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http://english.cri.cn/7146/2014/09/29/2582s845913.htm

This is NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Yun Feng in Beijing. Here is the news.

A new study in the United States has found that Apple's new and bigger iPhone 6 and iPhone 6-Plus are more durable than last year's model and a leading Android phone.

Extended warranty firm Square Trade has found that Apple's iPhone 6 did the best across a variety of tests that measures how prone smartphones are to break due to everyday accidents.

The iPhone 6 Plus wasn't far behind but lost points because it could slip out of a person's hand since some users may have a hard time gripping its large but slim form.

The iPhone 5s, which came out last year, fared better than Samsung's Galaxy S5. The Samsung phone got poor marks on several tests including the slide test. The more a phone slides, the greater its chance of falling off the edge of a table.

Still, all four of the smartphones tested had a medium risk of breakage and had no drastic differences among them.

Square Trade, the largest electronics safety provider in the U.S., examines the phones based on eight factors, including size, weight, grip and the quality of the front and back panels.

The company measured how far the phones slide when pushed across a table on their backs, how well they withstand drops from 4 feet - or almost 122 centimeters high, and being dunked in water for 10 seconds.

This is NEWS Plus Special English.

The United Nations says Africa's international tourist arrivals grew by 3 percent during the first half of this year, but it warned that the Ebola outbreak may affect the sector in the second half of the year.

The U.N. World Tourism Organization says the growth was a result of the recovery consolidated in North Africa. It indicated that the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa might affect tourism on the continent, due to misinterpretations about the transmission of the virus.

The organization said the main focus at the moment is on taking supporting action to contain the virus. But it must also ensure that misperceptions do not harm the African economy, in particular its tourism sector.

It says the World Health Organization does not recommend any ban on international travel, and putting a halt on flights or imposing unnecessary travel restrictions will not help contain the virus. On the contrary, these measures will surely dampen the economy of the region.

This is NEWS Plus Special English.

U.S. Space Agency NASA's first spacecraft dedicated to exploring the upper atmosphere of Mars has entered its Mars orbit, completing a 10-month journey of 711 million kilometers.

The aircraft, commonly known as MAVEN, began to enter the Martian orbit on September 21st. Over the next few weeks, MAVEN will begin maneuvering into its final orbit, and testing its instruments and science-mapping commands.

Thereafter, MAVEN will begin its one-Earth-year primary mission to measure the composition, structure and escape of gases in Mars' upper atmosphere and its interaction with the sun and solar wind.

As the first orbiter dedicated to studying Mars' upper atmosphere, MAVEN will greatly improve people's understanding of the history of the Martian atmosphere, how the climate has changed over time, and the potential habitability on the planet.

The study will help to make it possible for a future mission to send humans to the Red Planet in the 2030s.

You are listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Yun Feng in Beijing.

A new survey has found that the European people's concern about the environment has not diminished, and air pollution becomes the biggest issue among environment worries.

The European Union survey covered 28,000 EU citizens. Most of the interviewees said that protecting the environment is important to them personally, and many think that more can be done.

Environment officials of the EU say it's good to see such solid and widespread support for environment protection, even in difficult times.

The survey shows that besides air and water pollution, people are particularly concerned about chemicals and waste, and they feel that more must be done by everyone to protect the environment.

Meanwhile, more than half of the interviewees believed that social and environmental factors should be as important as economic criteria in measuring progress in a country.

They are calling for the public authorities to favor environment-friendly considerations over cost, in relation to spending and investment of the government.