新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 08:00 2013/10/29

The Beijing Hour
 
Morning Edition
 
 
Paul James with you on this Tuesday, October 29th, 2013.
Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
Coming up on our program this morning...
China and South Africa have agreed to increase their relationship status amid high-level meetings here in Beijing.
European officials are expression frustration as more revelations emerge about the United States' alleged spying programs.
Over 2-dozen Palestinians are set to be released from Israeli prisons in connection with the peace process.
In Business.... the Chinese State Council has rolled out a new set of plans for economic reforms.
In sports...Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy play 18 in Hainan.
In entertainment... Rapper Jay Z has explained his position amid the controversy surrounding racial profiling by high-end retailer Barney's.
First, let's check on what's happening on the weather front...
 
 
Weather
 
 
Beijing will be cloudy today, with a high of 15 degree Celsius in the daytime, and it will be clear tonight with a low of 3.
In Shanghai, it will be cloudy today, 23 the high, and it will be cloudy tonight, the low of 17 degrees Celsius.
Lhasa will be cloudy in the daytime the temperature's at 14, and tonight will be cloudy with a low of 0 degree Celsius.
Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia
Islamabad, cloudy, 18.
Kabul, cloudy, with a high of 19.
And in North America
New York, slight rain, with a high of 6 degrees.
Washington, slight rain, highs of 11
Houston, slight rain, 24.
Honolulu, slight rain, 25.
Toronto, cloudy, 2.
Finally, on to South America,
Buenos Aires, cloudy, 18.
And Rio de Janeiro will see slight rain with highs of 26 degrees Celsius.
 
 
Top News
 
 
South Africa vow upgraded relationship
 
The Chinese and South African governments have announced an upgrade to their comprehensive strategic partnership.
The move has been announced during the latest session of the China-South Africa Bi-National Commission being held here in Beijing.
The meeting has been co-chaired by Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao and South African Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe.
Li Yuanchao is calling for more cooperation in areas such as economics and trade, science and technology, energy and agriculture.
For his part, Motlanthe say his country is looking forward to working with China in those areas.
A number of documents connected to tourism and public administration have also been signed.
Motlanthe is in Beijing to attend the 2-day meeting, which began yesterday.
He's also met with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
China is South Africa's largest trading partner, with trade between the two currently standing at 21-billion US dollars.
 
 
US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz met with Chinese Vice Premier
 
US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz has met with Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli in Beijing.
The two have been discussing energy and environmental cooperation between the two countries.
Moniz has also delivered a speech to students at Tsinghua University, where he discussed nuclear power.
"China and the US have opened up a very significant collaboration in nuclear power. China is accounting right now for roughly half of all the new nuclear power construction in the world."
Moniz says he hopes to see China's nuclear power program move back into full stride.
The Chinese government temporarily haulted its nuclear power plant construction plans following the Fukushima disaster in Japan in 2011.
While the Chinese program has since been restarted, authorities have been more cautious about nuclear power development.
 
 
China's nuclear submarine "capable of nuclear deterrence and nuclear counterattack": PLA navy
 
Anchor
China's nuclear submarine fleet has been carrying out military exercises to deal with nuclear deterrence and a possible nuclear counterattack.
CRI's Wu Yanping has more.
Reporter
The drill is aimed at testing the maneuver capability of the fleet in deep-sea navigation, long-distance operation, submarine communication and coordination with other battleships.
Other than nuclear-powered submarines, a wide range of destroyers, frigates, depot ships and military helicopters were also engaged in the drill.
Living conditions in the nuclear submarine are extremely harsh. Confined in an enclosed space, the soldiers are subject to physiological malfunction.
Hu Junhua, is a sergeant from the training fleet.
"We can barely tell daytime from nighttime while under the sea. Within weeks, the crew members feel dizzy and have difficulty falling asleep, and even lose their appetites, which are very serious challenges to their health."
To tackle this, the navy bases have conducted psychological training for the crewmembers, including listening to music and playing games.
Besides the fundamental training, the crew members must also pass strict professional tasks.
Wang Zhonghui is the commander of a training submarine.
"We focus on how to win battles in times of information technologies. We conducted courses on nuclear reactor management, submarine operation, torpedo strikes and sonar disturbance under real marine warfare conditions."
Moreover, the training and drills are designed for and simulate actual combat, making submariners well prepared for real confrontations.
The drill ended when the fleet broke through air-to-sea strikes and underwater minefields to arrive at their target destination and launched the domestically-made torpedoes to hit a target ship.
The official debut of the fleet was in 2009, when the PLA navy celebrated the 60th anniversary of its founding with a spectacular parade that included warships from China and 14 other nations.
For CRI, I'm Wu Yanping.
 
 
Iran to negotiate with IAEA on new approaches, proposals
 
The latest round of negotiations between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency have taken place in Vienna.
Ahead of this latest round of negotiations, Iran's lead negotiator and the head of the IAEA have sat down for a discussion.
Iranian deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi is describing his sit-down with Yukio Amano as "useful and constructive."
Araqchi suggests new proposals are being put forward.
"It is time to take a new approach to resolve questions between Iran and the IAEA and look to the future for further cooperation in order to ensure the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme. And we hope that the agency can play a very constructive role to ensure that the world will remain peaceful."
The IAEA is trying to negotiate a framework to allow its inspectors access to nuclear sites in Iran.
At issue is the Parchin nuclear facility.
The IAEA has been trying for a number of years to gain access to the facility.
The Iranian side has been refusing access to IAEA inspectors to the Parchin site, arguing national security, given that Parchin is also a military installation.
Iran insists its nuclear programs are strictly for civilian use only.
 
 
Chemical inspectors complete verification at 21 sites in Syria: statement
 
Chemical weapons inspectors in Syria have completed their initial inspections of all available chemical weapons sites in the country.
Inspectors have gone through 21 of the 23 chemical weapons caches the Syrian government has identified around the country.
Inspectors from the Organizations for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons haven't been able to access the two remaining sites because of security concerns.
The OPCW says it's working to try to gain access to those sites as soon as possible.
As part of the deal reached earlier this year, the Syrian government has to shut down and dismantle all its chemical weapons production facilities by Friday.
The chemical weapons that have been produced in the country need to be destroyed by the middle of next year.
 
 
US to review its surveillance practices after spying allegations
 
Anchor
The White House says there may need to be additional constraints in U.S. surveillance practices.
This, after a series of embarrassing disclosures about the broad scope of its intelligence gathering.
CRI's Li Jing has more.
Report
European lawmakers are in Washington to try to get more information about the mass surveillance programs the U.S. National Security Agency is said to be involved with.
After meeting with U.S. intelligence officials, European Parliament members have emerged frustrated.
Elmar Brok is the chair of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee.
"I think confidence is damaged."
Anger towards the U.S. has been on the rise, as new revelations about American surveillance programs have emerged across several European countries, including Germany, Spain, France and Italy.
A Spanish newspaper, El Mundo, has published a document which shows the U.S. National Security Agency has intercepted more than 60 million phone calls in Spain in one month alone.
Spain's government has summoned the U.S. ambassador to discuss the allegations, warning it could break the climate of trust between the two countries if it proves true.
German magazine Der Spiegel has also printed allegations the U.S. embassy in Berlin is one of the headquarters used by the U.S. to monitor German communications - including those of Chancellor Angela Merkel.
German government spokesman Steffen Seibert says they are currently investigating the issue.
Still, he says the German side will work to keep the U.S.-German relationship in tact.
"The relationship between Germany and the United Sates is of great interest for both countries. Where trust is damaged it has to be rebuilt together with America. This is what the Chancellor wants to work towards."
White House spokesperson Jay Carney conceeds the U.S. is concerned about its relationships with its European allies, and says they're working to address those concerns through diplomatic channels.
He also suggests constraints may be needed in U.S. surveillance practices.
"At the same time, with new capabilities we recognize that there needs to be additional constraints on how we gather and use intelligence, and its in the context that this dynamic technology environment that the president has directed us to review our surveillance capability."
The Obama administration says the review is to be completed by year's end.
National Security Expert James Lewis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies says Europeans are looking both for answers and concessions from the US.
"The legitimacy we had, the credibility that we had a decade ago is a little tattered and that means the Europeans look at us in a different way. They're a little more hostile and that's what we have to get ahead of, that's what we have to deal with."
Meanwhile, the Chinese government is calling on the international community to speed up the formulation of guidelines for cyberspace under the lead of the UN.
The comments come on the heels of a new report in a Japanese newspaper this week which says the Japanese government turned down a request by the US National Security Agency to tap into its fibreoptic network in 2011.
The report suggests the NSA was hoping to use Japan's links to the fibreoptic network in east Asia to monitor communications coming out of the region, particularly China.
For CRI, this is Li Jing.
 
 
Drone strike kills Al-Shabaab commander in Somalia
 
Witnesses are reporting a drone strike has killed a senior al-Shabaab commander in southern Somalia.
The al-Shabaab commander, along with two other members of the militant group, were killed while driving in a vehicle.
The group was reportedly on its way to an al-Shabaab-controlled town when the strike took place.
It's believed the lead target in the strike is the mastermind behind a number of suicide attacks.
The reported drone strike is the latest in a series of attacks US forces have been carrying out against al-Shabaab targets.
The US has linked al-Shabaab with al-Qaeda.
 
 
Israel announces names of 26 Palestinian prisoners to be freed
 
The Israeli government has released the names of 26 long-serving Palestinian prisoners who are to be freed as part of a US-brokered deal.
Family members of the prisoners have been celebrating the news.
In Gaza and the West Bank, families have been welcoming the imminent reunions with rallies for their loved-ones.
"Thank God that I'm still alive, despite being in a wheelchair, so my son will be released and I will be able to hug him and spend time with him."
At the same time, hundreds of Israelis have launched demonstrations opposing the prisoner release.
"Tonight we are protesting here in front of the jail of the murderers to say to our government - 'do not release those murderers'. Symbolic -- we are now the guard people in order that they will not run away."
The release of the prisoners is still subject to court appeals from the families of the prisoner's Israeli victims.
The families have 48-hours to file those appeals.
The 26 Palestinians are the second batch of a total of 104 prisoners the Israeli government has agreed to release as part of a 4-stage agreement.
This agreement is the catalyst for the resumption of US-mediated peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, which resumed in July after a 3-year hiatus.
 
 
Storm wreaks havoc in southern UK
 
At least 5 people have been killed in UK after a major storm blew through northwestern Europe on Monday.
The so-called St. Jude storm brought hurricane-force winds to southern Britain, the Netherlands and parts of France.
It has knocked down trees, flooded low-lying areas and caused travel gridlock.
"It was actually the car alarm that really, we knew something was up. Came downstairs and I fought my way out through the front door because the tree was blocking our entrance. I managed to get out, went to see my neighbors. At that point I was told to get back in the house pretty darn quick because the rest of the tree came down."
Flood alerts are still in-place for many parts of southern England.
Hundreds of trees have been felled by the strong gusts.
The storm has also left over 200-thousand homes in the UK without power.
Hundreds of travellers have been left stranded at London's Heathrow airport, as dozens of flights and train trips have been cancelled.
The remainnce of the storm is still affecting certain parts of the UK.
 
 
Hurricane kills 6 in Germany
 
meanwhile the death toll in Germany from Monday's nasty northwestern European storm has reached six.
Two people have drowned after their boats capsized near Cologne.
A total of 4 others have been killed in Germany after were hit by falling trees.
There are widespread rail and air traffic disruptions in Germany.
Airports in Duesseldorf and Hamburg have canceled flights, stranding more than a thousand passengers.
 
 
Chinese Pianist Lang Lang Designated as Messenger of Peace
 
Anchor
Chinese pianist Lang Lang has been named a United Nations Messenger of Peace, with a special focus on global education.
CRI's Lucy Du explains.
Reporter
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in naming Lang Lang a UN Messenger of Peace, has praised the young pianist as "one of the most exciting and accomplished musicians of our time."
At the same time, Ban says Lang Lang's influence goes beyond the field of music.
"But he has also used his art and ability to inspire audiences to improve the lives of children everywhere around the world. For the past 10 years, Lang Lang has served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. We are thrilled that he has agreed to expand his work as a United Nations Messenger of Peace."
Ban Ki-moon says Lang Lang will focus on global education as a UN Messenger of Peace.
The Global Education First Initiative is one of Ban Ki-moon's biggest priorities.
His program focuses on three main goals: getting every child in school; improving the quality of learning; and fostering global citizenship.
"Music has the power to open hearts and minds. Through his playful spirit and profound talent, Lang Lang connects people, not only through his music, but also through his passion to build a better world through education. I know Lang Lang's message will strike a chord from symphony halls to school halls. "
For his part, Lang Lang says it is a great honor to receive the designation.
"In joining the 11 distinguished Messengers of Peace, I pledge to do my best as I travel around the world to bring awareness to Global Education First Initiative. Children and music are my passion. I hope to motivate children to have dreams."
As part of the ceremony, Lang Lang has given a live performance of Chopin's Waltz No. 1 to the throngs of reporters who showed up to attend the ceremony.
The United Nations Messengers of Peace are individuals who possess widely recognized talents in the fields of art, film, literature, music and sports.
Lang Lang joins the ranks of previously-annointed Messengers including primatologist Jane Goodall, musician Stevie Wonder, American-Chinese cellist Yo-Yo Ma and actor George Clooney, among others.
For CRI, I'm Lucy Du.
 
 
Biz Reports
 
 
Anchor
First off, a check on the stock market of North America and Europe.
Join me on the desk, CRI's Hu Jia.
Reporter
U.S. stocks were little changed Monday.
However, the S&P 500 eked out tiny gains to end at a new all- time high as investors braced for Apple's earnings results.
The S&P 500 edged up 0.13 percent.
The Nasdaq fell 0.1 percent.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched down slightly.
On the economic front, the U.S. pending Home Sales Index dropped 5.6 percent in September from the previous month, hitting its lowest level since December 2012.
Moreover, the Fed is scheduled to hold its October policy meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Most economists believe the central bank will maintain its current policy.
---
Over in Europe, after a string of three weekly gains, European stock markets pulled lower on Monday, with car makers posting some of the biggest losses.
Among country-specific indexes in Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index rose 0.1 percent.
Germany's DAX gave up 0.1 percent.
France's CAC 40 dropped 0.5 percent.
 
 
Apple earnings slip, but beat targets
 
Apple is reporting a small gain in sales, but has seen its earnings decline through the latest quarter.
Apple's net income has come in at 7.5-billion US dollars, or 8-dollars-26-cents per share, through the 3rd quarter.
This is down from the 8-dollars-67-cents it generated through the same quarter last year.
Shares of Apple have slipped more than 2.7-percent in after-hours trades following the report.
Apple is reporting it shipped 33.8-million iPhones through the third quarter.
The company moved just over 14-million iPads through the same period.
This has helped Apple earn some 9.9 billion US dollars.
The company also returned about 7.8 billion US dollars to shareholders during the quarter.
 
 
China's Think Tank Rolls out New Roadmap for Economic Reform
 
A detailed economic reform roadmap has been unveiled by the Chinese State Council.
As part of the plans to be discussed by the top leadership next month, regulatory bodies here in China may substantially cut their interference into business activities.
The new guidelines are suggesting the central authorities may start breaking up its industrial monopoly in the oil and gas sectors.
Authorities are also looking at reshuffling the telecom industry to try to encourage competition.
Pilot programs on the transfer of rural land plots may also be expanded.
The pricing of land may also become increasingly market-oriented.
The plan also says property taxes will be widened to curb rising home prices.
At the same time, the new plans to be discussed at next month's Central Committee plenary session also include a further opening up of this country's state-monopolized energy, telecom and banking sectors.
 
 
Call-in with Mark Hughes
 
Anchor
New stats released by the Authorities in Shanghai now show over 200 companies have registered to become part of the new Shanghai Free Trade Zone this month.
The Shanghai Administration for Industry and Commerce says of the companies which have registered, 188 of them are domestic firms.
The remaining 20 are foreign-funded firms.
Of the newly-registered operations, trade and investment companies make up 122 of them.
36 others are asset management firms.
For more on this, we're joined live on the line by Mark Hughes, he is the Executive Business Editor of China Daily.
Questions:
1, What is the zone's major impact on the China's economic reforms?
2, The FTZ's mission is to liberalize trade, ease rules for investment, streamline its administration and restructure its financial system in line with international standards.
Could you give us some examples to analyze its mission?
3, Some analysts are suggesting the FTZ will post a threat to Hong Kong. For example, some foreign investment will be lured away from Hong Kong.
How does Hongkong maintain its status quo?
Back Anchor:
Mark Hughes,Executive Business Editor of China Daily.
 
 
China's Banking Assets Rise 13.9 Percent YoY to CNY 143.92 Tn at September End
 
The Banking industry here in China has seen its total asset growth slow through September.
The China Banking Regulatory Commission is reporting total assets have increased by nearly 14 percent on an annualized basis, coming in at just under 144-trillion yuan.
However, the monthly growth rate is 0.6-percent lower compared to August.
The same report also shows total liabilities in the banking industry are up 13.6 percent year on year.
China's banking sector is on the hook for just over 134-trillion yuan.
Total assets of large commercial banks have increased 8.6 percent year on year to 62 trillion yuan, accounting for 43 percent of the entire Chinese banking sector.
 
 
China Everbright Bank's profit up 13.87 pct
 
China Everbright Bank is reporting its net profits through the first 9-months of this year have come in at 21.7-billion yuan.
This is up nearly 14-percent year-on-year.
Everbright's total assets have so far come in at just under 2.5-trillion yuan.
This is up around 8.6 percent year on year.
Everbright has seen its commission income increase more than 66-percent year on year through September, backed by strong performance in bank cards sales and financing.
 
 
U.S. Industrial Production Up 0.6% on Utilities
 
U.S. industrial output has improved in September on the back of utilities.
The US Federal Reserve is reporting industrial production has increased 0.6 percent from August.
The previous projection was only at 0.4 percent.
The gain in September has propelled US output back to its 2007 average for the first time since the recession.
Manufacturing, the largest component of industrial production, increased 0.1 percent in September.
This is a slowdown from August's increase of 0.5 percent.
Utility output rose 4.4 percent in September, following declines in the previous five months.
 
 
Toyota keeps top spot in global auto sales rankings, outselling GM, Volkswagen
 
A record annual profit has helped Toyota secure the distinction as the world's largest automaker.
The Japanese carmaker has sold around 7.4 million vehicles through September, outshining its main rivals, General Motors and Volkswagen.
GM sold 7.25 million vehicles during the same period.
Volkswagen has sold 7.03 million models.
It is expected Toyota will come out with an operating profit of some 24.7-billion US dollar for its fiscal year 2013.
Toyota will announce its latest quarterly results on November 6th.
The markets are expecting its profits for the quarter will roughly double what Toyota posted in the same period a year earlier.
In September, Toyota's monthly global vehicle sales rose 6.3 percent year on year to 832 thousands vehicles.
 
 
Headline News
 
 
South Africa vow upgraded relationship
 
The Chinese and South African governments have announced an upgrade to their comprehensive strategic partnership.
The move has been announced during the latest session of the China-South Africa Bi-National Commission being held here in Beijing.
The meeting has been co-chaired by Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao and South African Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe.
A number of documents connected to tourism and public administration have also been signed.
Motlanthe is in Beijing to attend the 2-day meeting, which began yesterday.
He's also met with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
 
 
China's Think Tank Rolls out New Roadmap for Economic Reform
 
A detailed economic reform roadmap has been unveiled by the Chinese State Council.
As part of the plans to be discussed by the top leadership next month, regulatory bodies here in China may substantially cut their interference into business activities.
The new guidelines are suggesting the central authorities may start breaking up its industrial monopoly in the oil and gas sectors.
Authorities are also looking at reshuffling the telecom industry to try to encourage competition.
Pilot programs on the transfer of rural land plots may also be expanded.
The pricing of land may also become increasingly market-oriented.
The plan also says property taxes will be widened to curb rising home prices.
At the same time, the new plans to be discussed at next month's Central Committee plenary session also include a further opening up of this country's state-monopolized energy, telecom and banking sectors.
 
 
Cholera outbreaks claims 74 lives in Nigeria: minister
 
Health authorities in Nigeria are trying to cope with a new outbreak of Cholera.
The water-borne disease has already left 74 people dead.
Close to 400 have been infected as part of the latest outbreak of the disease.
The Cholera outbreak has been hitting a number of different states in the central and northern parts of the country over the past few weeks.
Cholera is spread mostly by poor sanitation.
It attacks the victims intestinal tract, and can be fatal if left untreated.
 
 
Ellis Island reopens one year after Sandy floods
 
Historic Ellis Island in New York City has reopened to the public, a year after being submerged by Hurricane Sandy.
While the island itself is open to visitors, the Museum on the island is still closed to the public.
The museum, which commemorates immigration in the United States, will be closed until sometime in the spring.
Ellis Island, along with the nearby Statue of Liberty, was hammered when Hurricane Sandy slammed into New York and New Jersey last year on October 29th.
The superstorm floodied out much of the New York and New Jersey shoreline, along with parts of lower Manhatten.
Ellis Island was New York City's busiest immigration station, which saw some 12-million people migrate to the United States, mostly from impoverished parts of Europe, from 1892 to 1954.
It became part of the US National Parks service in 1965 as part of the Statue of Liberty site.
 
 
Newspaper Picks
 
 
SOUTH CHINA METROPOLITAN DAILY
Headline
Xiamen-Shenzhen railway line to open
Summary
Provincial officials in Guangdong have taken a test run on the Guangdong section of the Xiamen-Shenzhen railway line.
The line is expected to open later this year.
The exact opening depends on the results of the tests.
The line connects Guangzhou and the coastal city of Xiamen in neighboring Fujian.
BEIJING TIMES
Headline
More credit records available online
Summary
The People's Bank of China has added another 6 provinces into its online credit record service.
Users have to register online and go through five steps of identity verification before searching their credit records.
People can find whether they are behind on credit card bills or loans.
Their personal credit reports and scores are also available on the website.
XIAOXIANG MORNING POST
Headline
Flights delayed over false alarm
Summary
The report in the paper has discovered number of flights had to be delayed at the Huanghua Airport in Changsha on Sunday night after a suspicous phone call.
Airport administration received a phone call earlier that night claiming there were hazard substances on a number of flights.
Police now believe the call was a hoax.
BEIJING NEWS
Headline
Pollution alarm issued in Beijing
Summary
Beijing authorities have issued the first smog alarm for the city as part of its new air-quality warning system.
The blue alarm indicates heavy smog over the next 24 hours.
Outdoor work has to stop once the alarm reaches a red level, indicating heavy smog in the next three days.
SHANGHAI DAILY
Headline
Merger creates biggest media group
Summary
Shanghai's two leading media groups, the Jiefang Daily and Wenhui-Xinmin United Press Group, have merged.
The newly-established Shanghai United Media Group will oversee the publishing of the Jiefang Daily, the Wenhui Daily and the Xinmin Evening News, as well as the Shanghai Daily.
GLOBAL TIMES
Headline
Court accepts bomber's appeal
Summary
An appeals court in Beijing has agreed to hear Ji Zhongxing's appeal.
The wheelchair bound man was sentenced earlier this month to 6-years in jail for setting off explosives at terminal 3 at the airport earlier this year.
He was the only one seriously hurt in the blast.
CHINA DAILY
Headline
Women's congress opens
Summary
The 11th National Women's Congress has opened in Beijing.
The congress is expected to draw up a blueprint for the economic advancement of Chinese women in the next five years.
Stats shows that economic inequality between men and women has been growing over the past two decades.
 
 
Special Reports
 
 
China sees decreased international adoptions
 
Anchor
New stats show the number of international adoptions of Chinese children by families outside of China have been on a steady decline since peaking in 2004.
As CRI's Alexander Aucott reports, this comes despite a rise in both Chinese orpans and prospective adoptive parents overseas.
REPORTER
In the mid-1990's, Henri and his wife, who live in Lyon, France, decided they would like to adopt a child.
After careful consideration they decided to look in China.
"Well I chose China because I was attracted by that country at the time, and I still am by the way, but it's a little irrational because I suddenly saw a picture of a little China girl who had been adopted and I said, 'that's what I want to do."
Over the next few weeks, the couple investigated the procedure, firstly with the French social services, which took around nine months to give them the paperwork they needed, and then they approached Medecins du Monde.
"As my wife and I were rather old already at the time, more than 40-years-old, Medecins du Monde didn't want to deal with us saying we were too old. And then we argued, argued, argued and then they accepted only if we adopted a child who was more than three years old, and then as we were the only ones in this case it was quite short actually.After two months we received a file from the Chinese social services and it was Clara's, my elder daughter's file."
For Henri and his wife the proceedure was relatively straight-forward. He now has two daughters from China, aged 18 and 11, who are growing up in their adoptive country no different than a child who was born there.
According to UNICEF estimates, there are almost 18 million children worldwide who are living in orphanages or on the streets, so international adoptions are often seen as a useful way of dealing with the problem.
But China has now put the brakes on the number of infants going abroad by imposing more stringent rules.
New regulations brought in since 2007 restrict potential parents based on: their relationship status, age, sexuality, state of mental and physical health as well as their annual earnings and assets, which must be at 10,000 dollars and 80,000 dollars respectively.
Tighter restrictions have hugely contributed in far fewer children being adopted, but it is not without reason.
There have been cases in the past, where widespread international adoptions have led to some children being abducted to fuel the need for children abroad.
Also as recently as September, a Reuters investigation discovered that some children adopted from overseas to the USA were abandoned over the internet.
This case led to China's adoption agency making an official statement that it was "shocked and furious" that this was taking place.
Sarah Lee from the USA, who has also adopted two children from China says it's entirely necessary to have very strict regulations.
"You know you're dealing with a child so you know, it needs to be as stringent as it was.And so we really embraced that. Every once in a while you will hear of a foreign adoption, a country which doesn't do that and it's usually pretty corrupt and you really just want to protect the child at all costs."
For CRI, I'm Alexander Aucott.
 
 
Sports
 
 
McIlroy bests Woods on 18-hole Hainan exhibition
 
Yesterday on Hainan island,
Tiger woods and Rory McIlroy went head-to-head in an exhibition match, which was a repeat of their duel last year at Jinsha Lake.
This year the result was the same. McIlroy ended up beating Woods by a single stroke.
The Northern Irishman shot a six-under par round of 67 for the victory over the world's best player.
McILROY: "Yeah, I mean..."
WOODS: "He schooled me twice, yes!"
McILROY: "I don't know about that. I beat you by one shot, twice... You definitely schooled me this year, but no, it's good. It's always fun to play with Tiger at events like this and we have a lot of fun and it's great that we can bring these sorts of matches to places like China and across the world and hopefully we can do that in the future as well."
McIlroy's win means more than just bragging rights.
It gives him a confidence boost ahead of this week's WGC Champions event in Shanghai, a tournament he needs to perform well in if he wants to qualify for the European Tour's Race to Dubai.
 
 
New format for the Open Championship designed to include a more diverse field
 
The Open Championship announced a revision to its qualifying process in the form of a new international qualifying series.
Peter Dawson, the chief executive of the royal and ancient golf club, explained that the purpose of the new system is make the tournament more accessible for international golfers.
"The Open Championship, as well as being golf's oldest major, I'd also like to think is the most international, and the R&A is committed to making the Open available to golfers from all around the world. The Open qualifying series, coming in for 2014, is a new system and we think much improved. We will be holding 14 events in nine countries across five continents, ensuring that the Open is available to players from everywhere on the globe"
The new format will make 44 qualification places available to players at tournaments spread across the world.
 
 
Boston and St. Louis all square after game 4
 
In the MLB World Series play,
A pivotal game five is coming up later this morning between the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals.
The series is squared up at two a piece after the Red Sox pulled out a 4-2 win yesterday.
After watching game three slip away after a controversial obstruction call, Boston manager John Farrell said he had expected a proper rally from his team.
"We've seen it many times. Tonight's not the first. Granted the stage might be bigger, but this is very consistent with the way we've responded to a tough night the night before, and we came in today fully expecting a very good game to be put together - that's just who these guys are, and they've shown it many times over."
One noteworthy moment from game 4 came at the end when the Cardinal's rookie pinch-runner Kolten Wong got picked off at first base for the final out.
It was the first postseason game in history to end on a pickoff.
Game 5 will be played at Busch Stadium, home turf for the Cardinals.
In a repeat of the opening game's lineup, Boston's left-hander Jon Lester will go up against Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright.
 
 
Seahawks vs. Louis Rams game preview
 
Later on in the NFL,
The Seattle Seahawks will try to make their best start in franchise history a little better as Pete Carroll's club goes up against the St. Louis Rams later this morning.
The Rams will be missing their starting quarterback Sam Bradford, who is out with a torn ACL.
They'll turn to veteran backup Kellen Clemens, but that was apparently decided only after Brett Favre declined an offer to come back out of retirement.
The Seahawks have gone 14-2 against their NFC west-rivals since 2005, so confidence levels in Seattle are high.
 
 
German court rules that Hoffenheim's victory stands
 
In football,
A German football court ruled yesterday that Hoffenheim and Bayer Leverkusen will not replay the controversial Bundesliga match that featured what's being called the "phantom goal".
Hoffenheim appealed for a rematch after the referee awarded Luverkusen's Stefan Kiessling the game-winning point for a header that went into the goal through a hole in the side-netting.
The tribunal decided that the referee Felix Brych hadn't broken any rules with his decision. So Leverkusen's 2-1 victory will stand.
Hoffenheim still has the option of appealing to a higher football authority however.
----------------------------------
And one of South Korea's football greats Lee Young-pyo is retiring after a long and distinguished career.
The 36 year old is remembered for being a key player during South Korea's three consecutive World Cup appearances.
Lee is the third highest capped South Korean footballer with 127 international appearances.
 
 
Wins for Lopez and Rosol at Paris Masters
 
In mens tennis,
Eighteen of the world's top 20 players are in Paris for the season's final ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament.
The Czech Republic's Lukas Rosol upset local favorite Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4.
And Spain's Feliciano Lopez dispatched Australia's Bernard Tomic after a grueling three-set battle, 6-4, 6-7, 7-6.
A solid performance in Paris is critical for those top players who have not yet booked a place in next month's ATP Tour World Finals. Three spots are still up for grabs.
 
 
Myanmar's field hockey team has high aspirations for 27th SEA games
 
Myanmar is getting ready to host the 27th edition of the South East Asian Games in December.
Besides preparing its venues, the host country is readying its teams as well. One of the sports Myanmar expects to dominate in is mens field hockey, a sport that is being reinstated after being excluded from the past two games.
For the past four months, the team has been training under Coach Mohammad Akhlaq Ahmad, a former Olympian for Pakistan.
"Obviously we are going to win a bronze, but we are looking forward. We are looking for (a) silver and we are just keeping our training according to our plan. I hope we get best results, inshallah."
Myanmar's confidence was bolstered by a strong performance at a regional level tournament in Thailand.
Malaysia is favored to win gold, but Ahmad and his team think they can topple Singapore and Thailand to come in second.
 
 
Entertainment
 
 
Jay Z breaks silence over Barney's racial profiling scandal
 
(Jay Z)
Jay Z has broken his silence over the recent Barney's racial profiling scandal.
The 17 time Grammy winning rapper had been planning an exclusive partnership with the store for a luxury line called "A New York Holiday".
Last week, two African Americans filed lawsuits against the department store after they were allegedly racially profiled and detained by police after making expensive purchases at the store.
The incidents caused uproar in the African American community, whose calls for Jay Z to abandon the deal fell on a wall of silence.
The rapper was then widely criticised in the US media for turning his back on a community whose rights he had always claimed to propone.
Jay Z was thus pushed to break the silence, saying that he was awaiting for more solid facts to emerge before making a decision, adding that he prefers to not act on pure emotion.
Earlier this year, billionaire talk show host Oprah revealed that she was told that she could not afford an item that interested her by assistants at a luxury handbag shop in Switzerland.
 
 
Britney hits used to scare off Somali Pirates
 
(Baby)
The UK Royal Navy has been using Britney Spears songs as protection against Somali pirates.
The revelation comes from British merchant navy officer Rachel Owens, who told the Metro newspaper that the singer's early hits are ideal for the job.
The most effective proved to be "Hit Me Baby One More Time" and "Oops I Did it Again".
(Oops)
The British Royal Navy has 1 and a half thousand sailors and 14 war ships in operation in the east coast of Africa, which has seen nearly 200 pirate attacks in the past two years.
Owens says that the speakers can be aimed at pirates without disturbing the work of the navy crew, adding that the technique is so powerful that security can often avoid firing guns.
The claims have been confirmed by the Security Associatiion for the Maritime Industry, who agree that pirates are often desperate to avoid the pop attack at all costs.
 
 
ABC apologises for offensive comments
 
ABC, the network behind the Jimmy Kimmel show, has publically apologised for offensive content on the late night talk show.
Last week we reported that Kimmel's show featured a child saying that the solution to the recent government shut down and US debt problem would be to kill all the people in China.
The sketch caused outrage, prompting a White House petition condemning the racist nature of the jibe which attracted tens of thousands of signatures.
The network issued the public apology, insisting that they would "never purposefully broadcast" material offensive to the Chinese community and its objective is only ever to entertain.
ABC says that it also plans to edit the comment out of future airing of the show and remove it from all platforms.
The Jimmy Kimmel show is one of the major late night talk shows in America with a decade long run so far.
 
 
Angel Warrior premieres in Beijing
 
(Angel Warrior)
Chinese action film "Angel Warrior" premiered in Beijing yesterday.
The event was attended by stars Yu Nan and Collin Chou.
The film follows five city girls who embark upon a tropical get away only to find themselves face to face with local criminals after a trek into the jungle.
The urgency of their situation kicks the girls into action to get themselves back to safety.
Chou, who shot to fame as Seraph in the Matrix trilogy, says that he was attracted to the passion behind the script and the non-conventional storyline.
"Angel Warrior" hits screens around China this Friday, November the 1st.
 
 
 
That's all we have time for on the show as well.
Recapping our top headlines....
China and South Africa have agreed to increase their relationship status amid high-level meetings here in Beijing.
European officials are expression frustration as more revelations emerge about the United States' alleged spying programs.
Over 2-dozen Palestinians are set to be released from Israeli prisons in connection with the peace process.
In Business.... the Chinese State Council has rolled out a new set of plans for economic reforms.
On behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers, this is Paul James in Beijing, hoping you'll join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour to open a window to the world together!