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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
The Beijing Hour
Evening Edition
Shane Bigham with you on this Monday, March 17th, 2014.
Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
Coming up on our program this evening.
The Crimean parliament has officially declared independence from Ukraine, following Sunday's referendum.
The Chinese and US presidents will hold their first face-to-face meeting of the year, on the sidelines of nuclear talks in the Netherlands later this month.
And the Chinese government has issued a statement calling on the two Koreas to keep the peace.
In business, as of today, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.
In sports, tennis results from the Paribas Open at Indian Wells.
In entertainment, The Monuments Men is coming to Chinese movie houses soon.
Weather
Beijing will be clear tonight with a low of 5 degrees Celsius. Sunny tomorrow with a high of 15 degrees.
Meanwhile Shanghai will be clear tonight, with a low of 13, Cloudy tomorrow, with a high of 24.
Chongqing will be cloudy, 16 degrees the low, overcast tomorrow with a high of 23.
Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia
Islamabad, rainy with a high of 23.
Kabul, sunny, 14.
Over in Australia
Sydney, overcast, highs of 28.
Canberra, sunny, 27.
Brisbane, overcast, 29.
And finally, Perth will be sunny with a high of 31.
Top News
Crimean authorities declare independence
The Crimean parliament has officially declared independence from Ukraine after a vast majority of voters in a referendum supported joining Russia.
Crimea's Supreme Council also formally sent application to Kremlin for joining the Russian Federation as a new republic
Official results released on Monday show more than 96 percent of Crimeans voted on Sunday to break away from Ukraine.
Head of the Crimean referendum commission, Mikhail Malyshev.
"The number of votes in the Crimean referendum in support of the first question of whether you are for joining Russia as a subject of the Russian Federation is comprised of 1,233,002 persons, which corresponds to 96.77 percent."
During the voting, residents of Kiev and western Ukraine appealed to keep the Crimea region in Ukraine and hoped a war between Russia and Ukraine won't break out.
"We came to pray for Ukraine, pray that war will not befall to us. We pray that please give peace to our nation."
"We support the integrity of Ukraine. I myself is the ethnic Russian, but I also feel grievous. I feel grievous for all what have happened so far. I'm very sad. I wish a war won't befall to us."
Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers held an emergency meeting on Monday in Kiev.
The parliament has approved the partial mobilization of 40 thousand border guards and interior troops.
Authorities in Kiev also reaffirmed that the referendum will not be recognized.
In response to the vote, EU diplomats have been meeting to finalise a list of officials from Russia and Crimea who will be targeted with sanctions.
EU has called off talks with Moscow on visa cooperation and a new investment pact last week.
It is also mulling whether to introduce travel bans and asset freezes, and threatens to move ahead with more far-reaching financial sanctions.
These could include an arms embargo, trade restrictions and targeted measures against Russian business and finance.
In a phone call with the US Presdient Barack Obama this morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the referendum was totally legal and Russia respect the outcome.
Putin is also on record saying that he was concerned about the aggravation of the situation in eastern and southeastern regions of Ukraine.
Despite different assessments of the situation in Crimea, Russia and the US agreed to continue searching for ways of assisting and stabilizing Ukraine.
Moscow on Saturday vetoed a UN Security Council draft resolution which calls on the result of the referendum to be ignored.
China abstained in the voting.
Liu Jieyi, Chinese permanent representative to the UN says China holds an objective and fair position on the Ukraine issue, and the vote on such resolution would only result in confrontation and further complicate the situation.
Callin on missing plane
The searching for the missing Malaysian flight MH370 has continued for over a week with no solid lead has been found.
Over the weekend, Malaysia's prime minister said the plane was deliberately steered off course and communication was intentionally disabled.
Authorities have refocused their investigation into 12 crew and 227 passengers on board.
And for more latest information from the Malaysian side, we have earlier spoke with Nadiah Abdul Aziz, a journalist based in Kuala Lumpur.
…
Back Anchor:
That is Nadiah Abdul Aziz, a journalist based in Kuala Lumpur.
Chinese, U.S. presidents to meet in Netherlands
China's Foreign Ministry has confirmed that President Xi Jinping is to attend the Nuclear Security Summit in the Netherlands later this month.
Li Baodong, deputy Foreign Minister of China.
"It is the first time that President Xi will attend the summit. During the meetings, President Xi Jinping will put forward China's stance on nuclear security and introduce the measures the Chinese government has taken to strenthen nuclear security. Also, he will highlight the achievements we have made, and dicuss with leaders from other countries about international cooepration in this field."
NSS meetings will occur on the 24th and 25th.
Xi Jinping is also expected to meet with his US counterpart, Barack Obama, on the sidelines of the meetings.
The two leaders will exchange views on the China-US relationship and other issues of concern.
The bilateral meeting will be the first between the two presidents this year.
Xi Jinping will also be visiting France, Germany, and Belgium during this trip, paying visits to the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the headquarters of the European Union.
China urges jointly maintaining peace on Korean peninsula
China's Foreign Ministry released a new statement on Monday, urging relevant sides to make efforts in reducing tension on the Korean penisula.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei makes the remark as media reports say the North Korea fired more missiles over the weekend.
Pyongyang reportedly fired 25 short-range missiles toward eastern waters on Sunday evening.
Hong Lei says China has noticed the reports, and asks for all parties concerned to jointly maintain peace and stability on the Korean peninsula.
China sending delegations to Iran nuclear talks in Vienna
Meanwhile the Foreign Ministry spokesman has confirmed that China is sending a delegation to attend the latest round of Iran nuclear talks in Vienna starting this Tuesday.
Hong Lei says the current interim agreement between Iran and six world powers continues and is proceeding smoothly.
However, Iran's foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said his country does not expect to cement a final deal in the coming round of nuclear talks with world powers.
"We don't expect to reach a deal in this round of talks. Nor was a deal on the agenda for this round of talks. We have agreed to discuss a number of issues in this round. One of the issues on agenda is the dimensions of Iran's peaceful nuclear programme, including enrichment and heavy water. We will also discuss international cooperation in the field of peaceful nuclear technology."
Iran capped uranium enrichment after a deal in November for a six-month period, in return for easing sanctions by the West.
That interim agreement is meant to lead to a final accord that minimises any potential Iranian nuclear weapons threat in return for a full lifting of sanctions.
Japan, DPRK consider resuming high-level talks
Japan and North Korea are looking into resuming high-level talks regarding Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs and the issue of Japanese citizens abducted decades ago.
The talks have been on hiatus for about a year.
Foreign Ministry officials from each country say the discussion could resume as early as this week, on the sidelines of a two-day meeting between the country's respective Red Cross societies.
The meetings are taking place in Shenyang in northeastern China.
The last round of formal meetings between the two countries came to an end in December of 2012, following a missile test by North Korea.
Suspected bomb found at subway station in Seoul
A suspected bomb has been reportedly found at a subway station in the capital, Seoul.
The object was placed by an unidentified old man next to chairs in front of a platform on the Gangnam-gu Office Station on the Bundang Line.
There are media outlets later reporting that the object is not explosive.
No official confirmation has come out yet.
A bomb disposal unit of the military was dispatched to the place after police received the report.
Ruling centre-right party declares victory in a parliamentary vote in Serbia
The Serbian Progressive Party have declared a landmark victory in the country's parliamentary election.
It has won 160 seats in the 250-seat parliament.
The Progressive's leader, Aleksandar Vucic, is expected to be chosen as prime minister.
At a press conference at Progressive Party headquarters, Vucic pledged to vigorously fight against corruption and crime, and revive the country's economy.
"I am sure that Serbia will continue its European path, convinced that Serbia will closely cooperate with all their friends in the world, with Russia, with America, with China and all the others."
The coalition partner in the current government, the Serbian Socialist Party, came in second in Sunday's election, with about 50 seats.
Outgoing Serbian prime minister and leader of the Socialist Party Ivica Dacic said his party is ready to talk with the Progressives.
Vucic announced earlier that the government will be most likely formed by May 1.
Thailand mulls revoking emergency decree
Thailand's government-run Centre for Maintaining Peace and Order has announced it will propose lifting the emergency decree imposed on Bangkok and provinces adjacent to the capital.
CMPO says it will ask cabinet to replace the decree with a less stringent Internal Security Act.
The decree was enacted near the end of January in response to ongoing anti-government protests.
It is due to expire on March 22nd.
The government has been under pressure to end the emergency decree from business groups that have suffered losses under the state of emergency.
Tension on the street has also been easing.
Sri Lanka army denies using chemical weapons
Sri Lanka's army is denying allegations it used chemical weapons during its lengthy conflict with Tamil Tiger rebels.
A new video aired on an Indian television channel showed a man clad in army uniform describing how chemical weapons were used against the rebels during the final stages of the war.
The army has dismissed the video as "another attempt by some parties to sensationalize baseless allegations."
Sri Lanka faces allegations of human rights abuses committed by the army during the war at the UN Human Rights Council, which is currently meeting in Geneva.
A British television channel had made public a video recently which alleges war crimes committed by the army. The army however denied the allegations.
IAEA Director General recommends release of treated radioactive water
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency is suggesting that Japan should consider releasing treated radioactive water from the Fukushima plant into the ocean.
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was striken during the tsunami and earthquake three years ago.
It now has hundreds of tanks holding radioactive water that's waiting to be treated to reduce its radioactivity.
Director General of the IAEA Yukiya Amano says constructing more and more holding tanks is not a sustainable option.
"This is not a long-term solution. In order to avoid potential difficulties, we recommend Japan to consider the option of releasing water after treating it properly, ensuring that it satisfies the Japanese standard after consulting with the stakeholders like the local community."
Fukushima plant operator Tokyo Electric Power said last month that it found 100 tonnes of contaminated water had leaked out of a storage tank
The Japanese public remains divided over nuclear power and communities in Fukushima prefecture are skeptical over possible water release.
Online advertising regulation
Anchor:
With concerns rising over the security of personal information transmitted online, industrial standards for internet advertising in China have just taken effect.
CRI's Li Dong has the details.
Reporter:
The standards created by the China Internet Association require that the collection, use, transfer and sharing of user information stick to mutual agreements and abide by laws and regulations.
Websites are required to make it clear to users when they are collecting and using information and notify users in a timely manner for privacy protection. Sensitive information can only be collected after the user agrees, according to the standards.
The association says that, unlike traditional advertising, online ads can target special groups of users based on their online behavior, which can be recorded and analyzed, which has evoked concerns over privacy.
Xiao Zhou often shops online. She says sometimes, she is surprised to see her search results on shopping portals pop up on other websites.
"Sometimes, I found the search result I just used pop out on another website. I think there's some link beneath these websites; they may steal your QQ or cell phone number, because using your personal information to register a 'whatever' account is common nowadays."
The industrial standard was made in a bid to protect consumers' privacy. But Xiao Zhou says people can't totally rely on an executive regulation to protect their privacy.
"Relying only on an executive order to protect your privacy is impossible. I think, in an internet era, you should raise your awareness of protecting your privacy. If you scan a QR code wherever you can, like buying beverages at a vending machine, just because it's convenient, just because it saves you one yuan, you are actually putting your personal privacy at risk."
According to the association, mainstream internet companies, advertising firms, and third-party corporations have also participated in creating the standards.
For CRI, I am Li Dong.
Biz Reports
Stocks
Asian stock markets were mixed on Monday as investors waited for the West's response to Crimea's vote to join Russia.
But Chinese shares rallied on urbanization expectations.
A plan to steer urbanization along a human-centered, environmentally friendly path from 2014 until 2020 has been unveiled.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 1 percent.
The Shenzhen Component Index gained 1.4 percent.
The ceramics industry was the biggest winner as urbanization boosts home renovation.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.3 percent.
Elsewhere in Asia,
Japan's Nikkei shed 0.4 percent on Monday, with the Nikkei index down for the fourth straight trading day.
South Korea's Kospi lost 0.8 percent.
Singapore's Strait Times Index rose 0.4 percent.
Finally, Australia's ASX200 shed 0.2 percent.
China, S.Korea start 10th FTA talks
China and South Korea have started the 10th round of negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement, or FTA, in Seoul.
According to the Chinese delegation, the new round of talks focuses on goods, services and investment trade, rules of origin, technical barriers to trade, intellectual property rights and other related issues.
The fresh round of negotiations is running through Friday.
South Korea and China completed the first stage in early September for the bilateral free trade pact, with a total of seven rounds of negotiations.
Seoul and Beijing tentatively agreed to abolish tariffs on 90 percent of all products during the first-stage talks and opened the door for raising the threshold during the second-phase negotiations.
China is South Korea's No. 1 trading partner, with Seoul's exports to Beijing accounting for a quarter of the total in 2012.
Yuan strengthens to 6.1321 against dollar
According to the China Foreign Exchange Trading System, the Chinese currency Renminbi went up 25 basis points to 6.1321 against the U.S. dollar on Monday.
In China's foreign exchange spot market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.
The central parity rate of the yuan against the U.S. dollar is based on a weighted average of prices before the opening of the market each business day.
China widened the yuan's daily trading band from the current 1 percent to 2 percent on Monday.
The People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, in a statement says the move is aimed at enhancing the floating flexibility of the Renminbi exchange rate, making capital allocation more efficient, facilitating economic restructuring and beefing up the decisive role of the market in allocating resources.
China has gradually raised its currency's daily trading limit, from 0.3 percent in 1994 to 0.5 percent in 2007 and 1 percent in 2012.
Alibaba to kick off IPO in U.S.
Anchor:
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has begun its initial public offering process in the United States.
Alibaba's IPO is expected to be one of the largest ever in New York.
The announcement came on Sunday after Alibaba decided on New York after ruling out Hong Kong and London for the IPO.
Alibaba is expected to raise about 15-billion US dollars in what is being touted as the highest profile listing since Facebook's 16-billion dollar listing in 2012.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting Alibaba could launch its IPO as soon as April, which could allow trading to begin by the third quarter.
For more on the Alibaba listing, CRI's Paul James spoke earlier with Mike Bastin, Visiting Professor of China's University of Economics and Business.
…
That was Mike Bastin, Visiting Professor of China's University of Economics and Business.
Vodafone agrees $10 billion deal to buy Spain's Ono
Vodafone Group Plc has agreed to buy Spain's largest cable operator Ono for 7.2 billion euros, or around 10 billion U.S. dollars, in the latest move by the British group to rebuild its European operations with a broadband offering.
Vodafone says the deal will enable it to offer a combination of mobile and fixed-line telephony, pay-TV, and broadband in one of its largest European markets, hit hard by fierce competition and the effects of a lengthy recession.
The deal for private equity-owned Ono is Vodafone's third purchase of a European fixed-broadband asset in two years, allowing it to offer an increasing range of services and offload some of its mobile traffic on to Ono's cable network.
The British group is rebuilding its core European networks with proceeds from the 130 billion U.S. dollars sale of its U.S. arm.
It says this will also save around 240 million euros, before integration costs, by the fourth full year after completion.
Toyota suspends India production as pay dispute drags
Toyota's Indian unit has temporarily closed its two plants.
Some workers in the plants have stopped production lines to protest a delay in salary hikes after 10 months of negotiations.
The factories near Bangalore are Toyota's only vehicle plants in the world's sixth-biggest auto market, where the Japanese manufacturer generates just a sliver of its global sales.
The closure raises the specter of labor unrest at Indian car plants in recent years, including a 2012 dispute at Suzuki Motor Corp unit Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MRTI.NS).
A riot left one person dead and over 100 injured, and resulted in a 250 million U.S. dollars month-long production loss.
Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), the world's biggest car maker's Indian unit, in a statement has said some workers over the past 25 days have disrupted business as management, the labor union and local government negotiate wages.
Toyota Motor spokesman Naoki Sumino in Tokyo said that closure will result in a daily production loss of 700 vehicles.
Sumino said TKM and the union will continue holding talks to resolve the issue.
Headline News
Crimean authorities declare independence
The Crimean parliament has officially declared independence from Ukraine after a vast majority of voters in a referendum supported joining Russia.
Official results released on Monday show more than 96 percent of Crimeans voted on Sunday to break away from Ukraine.
Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers held an emergency meeting on Monday in Kiev.
The parliament has approved the partial mobilization of 40 thousand border guards and interior troops.
Authorities in Kiev also reaffirmed that the referendum will not be recognized.
In response to the vote, EU diplomats have been meeting to finalise a list of officials from Russia and Crimea who will be targeted with sanctions.
Countries in search for missing MH370 increase to 26
26 countries are now involved in the search for the missing Malaysian flight MH370.
The Malaysian foreign ministry has sent diplomatic notes to all countries along the northern and southern corridors the plane might fly to and asked for assistance.
In addition to helping in the search, the countries have also been asked to evaluate radar and satellite data.
Over the weekend, Malaysia' prime minister said the plane was deliberately steered off course and communication was intentionally disabled.
Authorities have refocused their investigation into 12 crew and 227 passengers on board.
Chinese, U.S. presidents to meet in Netherlands
Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with his US counterpart, Barack Obama, on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit being held in the Netherlands later this month.
NSS meetings will occur on the 24th and 25th.
China's Foreign Ministry says the two leaders will exchange views on the China-US relationship and other issues of concern.
The bilateral meeting will be the first between the two presidents this year.
Xi Jinping will also be visiting France, Germany, and Belgium during this trip, paying visits to the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the headquarters of the European Union.
China urges jointly maintaining peace on Korean peninsula
China's Foreign Ministry released a new statement on Monday, urging relevant sides to make efforts in reducing tension on the Korean penisula.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei makes the remark as media reports say the North Korea fired more missiles over the weekend.
Pyongyang reportedly fired 25 short-range missiles toward eastern waters on Sunday evening.
Hong Lei says China has noticed the reports, and asks for all parties concerned to jointly maintain peace and stability on the Korean peninsula.
S.Korea to return remains of Chinese soldiers in late March
South Korea says it will return more than 400 sets of remains of Chinese volunteer soldiers killed in the Korean War later this month.
Officials from South Korea and China have held a service, placing the remains of 437 Chinese soldiers into coffins in the border city of Paju.
The remains will be brought home before the traditional Tomb-Sweeping Day in early April.
The plan was agreed to during South Korean President Park Guen-hye's visit to China late last year.
Newspaper Picks
China news service
"Shanghai to pilot clean-air system in new homes"
Shanghai real estate developers are testing a clean-air system to be installed in new residential buildings in order to meet citizens' demands for fresh air.
The system can improve indoor air quality by filtering PM 2.5 from new furniture and pollution caused by human activity. The waste from the filtration system would then would be blown outside.
When smog reaches severe levels, the clean-air system would lower PM 2.5 concentration inside homes by 50 percent in only one hour.
One system working 24 hours a day in a two-bedroom apartment would add only 620 yuan a year to the electricity bill.
With cleaning and maintenance fees, the average operating cost for one household would be an affordable 1,500 to 2,000 yuan each year.
China Daily
"Project halted as too many babies are abandoned at safe haven"
A pilot program of the safe haven for abandoned children in Guangzhou has been suspended.
It is the first of the 30 safe havens nationwide to stop accepting children.
The safe haven started operation on Jan 28 this year. It stopped accepting children after reaching its limit of hosting 262 children received from Jan 28 to March 16.
The safe haven has no plan to resume operations, but the local civil affairs administration says they will draft supporting policies and measures to help those who are poor and have disabled children.
Medical news daily
"Over 75% of people with the flu do not have symptoms"
A report by the University College London in the UK shows that over 75% of people who have the flu do not show any symptoms.
Dr. Andrew Hayward, who leads the research team, says UK's national surveillance systems only show the number of people who seek medical treatment for the flu. This only makes up a tiny portion of the total population who were infected with the flu virus.
Results of the study reveal that around 18% of the unvaccinated community were infected with the flu each winter season and during the 2009 pandemic. However, 77% of these infections did not show any symptoms.
The research also shows a more serious infection rate than earlier imagined and less than 20% of people with confirmed cases of flu visited a doctor.
Australia Network News
"Climate change's effect on crop yields worse than thought: study"
A new study indicates global warming will lead to heavier losses in global crop yields than previously believed.
Compiled by researchers from Australia, Colombia, the United States and the United Kingdom, the study shows wheat, corn and rice crop yields decline by around 5 per cent for every degree of warming. It also says yields decrease more rapidly in tropical environments than they do in temperate environments.
Co-author of the study, Mark Howden from the CSIRO, says the spike will happen sooner than previously expected. He urges the agriculture sector to take measures to avoid food shortages, such as changing management, varieties and location.
The study will be published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
Special Reports
Urban Gardening
Anchor:
A group here in Beijing has begun actively trying to promote the idea of urban gardening.
CRI's Doris Wang explains.
Reporter:
In the neighbourhood of Liulichang in downtown Beijing, a small crowd gathered around several planter boxes.
With a handful of dirt in one hand, Jonas Nakonz demonstrated how to make seed bombs while he shared his experience in urban farming.
"I am employed as a specialist for agriculture and urban farming. I'm responsible for agricultural auditing meaning, for instance, transforming land into more sustainable organic farm outside of the city. Within the city, we do rooftop gardens. We start to build up a commercial rooftop farming activity."
Planting flowers and vegetables in the crowded Hutongs and on the rooftops of apartments, Nakonz and his colleagues have started making Beijing a more environmentally-friendly place to live.
Annie Dillon studied urban farming in the United States and arrived in Beijing just three weeks ago.
"I have been interested in urban farming for a couple of years now. I took a course when I was in university that was about trying to figure out ways to revitalize and re-vegetate urban spaces. We actually did seed bombing in that course."
Both Nakonz and Dillon work at We Impact, a social enterprise whose goal is the development and promotion of Sustainable Lifestyles through knowledge, culture, and business.
According to Nakonz, urban gardening is a simple activity that everyone can do.
However, he says Beijing does present a few challenges for his hobby.
"I think the main challenge in Beijing doesn't come from the size or the population. Beijing has pretty rough climate with very cold winters and very hot summers. Technically, it's a bit more challenging than more temperate regions."
Nakonz says he still has hope that urban gardening will become more popular. He says he has already seen evidence of this around the city.
"The people living in the Hutongs – they used to do urban gardening for generations. You can still see it when you walk around. It's pretty impressive. But urban agriculture as a modern lifestyle is still in its very beginning."
Despite the difficulties they will face in popularizing urban gardening in China's capital city, Annie Dillon sees a lot of potential.
"Beijing is definitely challenging. It's dry. It's hard to find good soil in the city. It's obviously such a densely populated area. But I think the number of people and the size of the city also creates a lot of potential. There are such beautiful parks throughout the city. There's a lot of room to beautify the city."
Dillon says she will start her mission to beautify Beijing by growing plants on the rooftop of her own apartment.
Back Anchor:
That is CRI's Doris Wang reporting.
Sports
Djokovic and Pennetta claim singles titles at Indian Wells
In tennis,
Novak Djokovic and Flavia Pennetta are the victors at this year's BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.
On the men’s side,
The Serbian played a tense match against his old rival Roger Federer, who is a record three time winner at the Californian desert court.
He started badly losing his opening service game and then dropping the first set 6-3 to his Swiss opponent.
The 26-year-old hard-court specialist rallied in the second to claim a 6-3 victory in the second however and the third went down to the wire with a tie breaker going in favour of Djokovic 7-6.
At 32-years-old some had begun to think that Federer was beginning to run out of steam, but although he went away empty handed the 17-time singles grand slam winner showed he's still a force to be reckoned with:
"You know you put in a lot of hard work and walking away without a trophy and being a few points from victory is tough but it's how it is you know, I've been on that side many times, but I've also been on the winner's side more often so maybe that softens the blow a little bit but like you say if you see the angle from last year was difficult, especially this time around last year in Indian Wells that I'm able to turn it all around now and really playing nice tennis you know that's also what I said out on the court and I truly believe that I'm playing good tennis and then it's maybe sometimes a little easier to lose this way, because I really did believe I was playing good tennis, was a solid match you know, it was good also movement wise, my serve was around, you know it was overall a good performance, I'm actually very happy with the tournament."
Earlier the womens final saw Italy's Flavia Pennetta sweep aside Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 6-1.
The 20th seeded Italian had dispatched top ranked Li Na in the semifinals, and didn't seem to lose any of that momentum when she went up against Radwanska, who was struggling with a knee injury.
In men's doubles,
Top seeded American twins Bob and Mike Bryan defended their title at the Paribas Open defeating Australian-Brazilian duo Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares 6-4, 6-3.
In the women's event the mainland's Peng Shuai and Taiwan's Hsieh Su-Wei defeated the Zimbabwe and India duo Cara Black and Sania Mirza for the title.
Defending champions Guanzhou Evergrand top the Chinese Superleague table
In football starting here with the Chinese Superleague,
Defending champions Guangzhou Evergrande are off to a good start. They top the table once again with two wins from two games following their 4-1 victory over Harbin Yiteng at the weekend.
Beijing Guoan, who are also on six points, sit second. They won 1-0 against Dalian Aerbin on Saturday.
Shanghai East Asia FC currently sit third in the table. They drew their opening match playing against Liaoning Hongyun away, but completely destroyed Shanghai Shenxin in yesterday's derby. At first they conceded a goal after just 10 minutes but that seemed to only make them angry and they went on to score 5 times for the victory.
English Premiere League, Chelsea top the table while David Moyes fights for survival at Man U
Looking to the English Premiere League Chelsea sit top of the table although they lost 1-0 to Aston Villa yesterday.
Liverpool and Arsenal are both four points behind in second and third respectively, but they've played one less game than Chelsea.
Liverpool, who haven't won the league title since 1990 are looking their strongest for some time. They beat Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford.
The loss for Man U puts manager David Moyes in a perilous position after his side have now been trounced five times at home and slide down to seventh in the league. It now looks as though his only hope for survival will be if his side can secure a 3-0 win over Greek side Olympiakos on Wednesday.
Lional Messi breaks record as Barcelona's top scorer
AND over in SPAIN
Lionel Messi has became Barcelona's all-time leading scorer after his hat-trick helped Tata Martino's team to a 7-0 victory over Osasuna on Sunday.
Messi has now scored 371 goals, breaking the record set by Paulino Alcantara, who scored 369 goals in 357 appearances between 1912 and 1927.
It is the sixth consecutive season in which he has scored 30 goals.
Golf - John Senden claims Valspar Championship
In Golf John Senden made two late birdies to clinch the Valspar Championship by one shot.
The final round took place on the Copperhead Course of Innisbrook in Florida.
There was a three way tie going into a daunting three-hole closing stretch but the 43-year-old Australian held it together to perform some miraculous shots.
On the 16th hole, the toughest on the course, he chipped for a birdie from 70 feet, to give him a two shot lead over South Korean born Kevin Na.
Na made a 15-foot birdie putt on the 17th to get within one of Senden. But his pitching wedge on the 18th was too strong, and his lengthy birdie putt never had a chance. He closed with a 72 to finish alone in second place, one-shot back.
John Senden who entered the competition ranked 123 in the world had a smile from ear to ear as he lifted the trophy.
"I just loved the way the course flows amongst the trees and just the difficulty of the course. The scoring always stays under double figures here. And I think that if I could just stay in the moment, I knew that I'll swing it well enough."
Before the the Valspar Championship Senden had spent more than seven years without a victory, his last being at the Australian Open at the end of 2006.
Yu Darvish helps Texas Rangers to victory over Chicago ahead of MLB season
In Baseball Texas pitcher Yu Darvish helped the Rangers to a 14-8 victory over the Chicago White Sox ahead of the 2014 MLB season.
The 27-year-old Japanese right-hander was looking a little rusty but spent the afternoon working on his cut fastball and sinker.
From 84 pitches he struck out three batters and walked three, but despite the victory Darvish was still not 100 percent happy with his performance:
"Since I threw many cutters during the game, I feel a little bit off with my delivery so that's why I wanted to make sure that it was ok."
Yu Darvish, will open for the Rangers when they take on Philidelphia for their first season game on March 31.
Entertainment
"The Monuments Men" to hit Chinese screens soon
2014 German-American war film "The Monuments Men" is set to hit Chinese cinemas soon.
"The Monuments Men" is George Clooney's personal triumph, having directed, written, produced and starred in the film. Grant Heslov was Clooney's partner in writing and production while Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman and Cate Blanchett are among the big names on an impressive list of stars.
Based on the non-fiction book "The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History," the film tells the story of a group from the Allied forces responsible for rescuing famous works of art from Nazi thieves.
The film was released in the U.S on February 7 and will open in China on March 28th.
Dissatisfied "Veronica Mars" contributors to receive refund from Warner Bros.
Dissatisfied "Veronica Mars" contributors will be receiving refunds from the studio behind the film.
The recently premiered movie has made headlines for being the first fan-funded film. However, some contributors who helped bankroll the movie are not happy customers.
Contributors were supposed to have been provided codes for downloading the film via the Flixter website. Yet some of the film's backers have reported issues such as not receiving a code, problems signing up on the website, and challenges with the Flixter software. Some feel that they have been taken advantage of, after providing the momentum and basis for publicity as well as the initial capital for the film.
A Warner Bros. representative has confirmed that refunds will be provided to frustrated funders who seek it.
"Veronica Mars" the film is based on a canceled TV series by the same name. While the TV series had only a modest-sized audience, the film has already brought in over $1 million only four days after its limited release. Judging from popular film rating website Rotten Tomatoes, once fans finally do get to watch "Veronica Mars," they'll probably enjoy it. The film has received a whopping 97% audience rating.
US country stars perform at London's Country to Country festival
Some of the US's top country music acts played for 15,000 fans at London's Country to Country festival this past weekend. Among the big names present were the Dixie Chicks, Zac Brown Band, Brad Paisley, the Rascal Flatts and Martina McBride.
Zac Brown Band headlined the festival, playing a set that included covers of Metallica's "Enter Sandman" and Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic." The Dixie Chicks covered Miley Cyrus's global hit "Wrecking Ball."
While the Country to Country festival was completely sold out, album sales of country music in the UK made up only 2% of all albums sold in 2013. Triple Grammy winner Zac Brown, however, says that he sees country music in the UK music scene as being "at the beginning" and is in a stage that is all about gaining new fans.
This is the second year the music festival has taken place and will return to London and Dublin in 2015.
That’s it for this edition of the Beijing Hour.
A quick recap of headlines before we go.
The Crimean parliament has officially declared independence from Ukraine, following Sunday's referendum.
The Chinese and US presidents will hold their first face-to-face meeting of the year, on the sidelines of nuclear talks in the Netherlands later this month.
And the Chinese government has issed a statement calling on the two Koreas to keep the peace.
In business, as of today, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.
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