Direct talks between Sri Lankan leaders fail and China launches BeiDou navigation satellites.
China set to become world’s largest theme park market by 2020
With tourists expected to cross 230 million, China is all set to become world’s largest theme park market by 2020, reported Global Times.
According to the report by US engineering firm AECOM, the number of tourists to Chinese theme parks has witnessed an annual growth of 13 per cent in the past decade, and reached 190 million in 2017. There could be a double-digit growth in the following years.
The report attributes the growth to Chinese consumers’ rising income.
“These findings demonstrate a significant opportunity for future growth in the Chinese market,” said Chris Yoshii, vice president for Asia and global director for leisure and culture with AECOM.
Macron calls for a new chapter for Europe in German parliament
French President Emmanuel Macron Sunday urged for opening a new chapter for Europe and to make it more integrated, stronger and independent, reported Global Times.
In a speech to the Bundestag, the German Federal Parliament, to mark Germany’s Day of Mourning for those killed in war, Macron said that Germany and France had overcome 200 years of “merciless wars” to make a “lasting peace” and “cement a bedrock of cooperation in all fields.”
Agreeing that Europe is facing multiple challenges starting from climate change to migration, Macron said the France-Germany partnership has the duty to prevent the world from sliding into chaos.
He called for each member state to share decision-making power with other states on foreign policy, immigration and development policy.
Macron’s speech was one of a series of events to mark the Day of Mourning.
Sirisena, Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe meet but talks fail
The direct talks among Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and Ranil Wickremesinghe Sunday, after country’s weeks-long power struggle, failed to reach a breakthrough, reported Al Jazeera.
Sirisena called for the talks after Rajapaksa faced several votes on a no-confidence motion in the Parliament, said the report.
Sirisena and the two rival Prime Ministers accompanied by their parties met at the president’s office in Colombo, but their positions on the no-confidence vote remained unchanged.
In a statement after the meeting, Sirisena said he would only accept a no-confidence motion if a vote was “taken by name of members or by electronic voting.”
A voice vote, though technically legal, was not acceptable on such an important matter as it lacked transparency, he added.
China launches new twin BeiDou navigation satellites from Sichuan
China launched new twin satellites of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) into space from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province Monday, reported Xinhua.
With the launch of these satellites, China plans to provide navigation services with the BDS-3 satellites to countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative by the end of this year.
The twin satellites are also the 42nd and 43rd satellites of the BDS satellite family.
“This is a key step for BDS developing from a domestic experimental system to a regional and then a global navigation system,” said Yang Changfeng, chief designer of the BeiDou system.
BeiDou system started serving China in 2000 and the Asia-Pacific region in 2012.