新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 08:00 2014/04/02

The Beijing Hour
 
Morning Edition

 
Shane Bigham with you on this Wednesday, April 02nd, 2014.
Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
Coming up on our program this morning...
Chinese President Xi Jinping has returned from what has been hailed as a very important four-nation visit to Europe...
An Australian search expert says the hunt for missing Malaysian flight MH370 has been the most challenging effort of its kind...
And the Chinese government has warned the US not to interfere in the dispute with the Philippines over Ren-ai Reef and the Nansha Islands...
In Business...average home prices across 100 Chinese cities continue to rise, though the pace has slowed down..
In sports...a couple of important tie games in European football...
In entertainment...the highest ratings ever for US TV show The Walking Dead...
But first... lets get a check on the weather...
 
 
Weather
 
 
Beijing will be overcast today, with a high of 22 degree Celsius.
Overnight temperatures should drop down to around 11.
Shanghai will be overcast during the daytime with a high of 18.
Overnight, it will see slight rain with a low of 12.
In Chongqing, the rain continues with a high of 19.
Overnight lows are expected to be around 15.
Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia.
Islamabad will see moderate rain with a high of 21.
Kabul will see periods of rain with a high of 13.
Over to North America.
New York will be cloudy today with a high of 14 degrees.
Washington will see periods of sunshine and a high of 18 degrees.
Honolulu, rainy, 28.
Toronto, Canada, will see some sunshine with a high of 9 degrees.
Finally, on to South America,
Buenos Aires will be cloudy with a high of 25.
And Rio de Janeiro will see moderate rain with a high of 26 degrees Celsius.
 
 
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Email: [email protected].
 
 
Top News
 
 
Xi concludes European trip
 
Chinese President Xi Jinping has closed his four-nation European trip with a speech at the College of Europe in Belgium, calling for greater friendship and cooperation between all sides.
He told European leaders that four "bridges" of peace, growth, reform, and progress of civilization need to be built between China and the European continent in order to forward the relationship.
President Xi says peace, multilateralism, and dialogue are needed instead of war, unilateralism, and confrontation.
He also gave the assembled leaders an update on the profound changes underway right now in China, adding that reforms in the country have entered what he calls "a deep-water zone."
The President also characterized the changes underway in China as being part of a process that will never stop.
Xi stated that China is on its own path and copying other political models or methods of development is not an option.
 
 
Call-in on the significance of President Xi's European tour
 
Chinese president Xi Jinping has returned from that extensive state visit to Western Europe.
The visit took him to the Netherlands, France, Germany, and Belgium.
Economic cooperation was a major driving force behind President Xi's visit, which saw many highly valuable business deals concluded.
Both Chinese and European leaders have also stressed the importance of international cooperation and praised the progress that each side has made in mutual relations over the course of recent history.
For more on the significance of the visit, CRI's Nathan Wakelin-King spoke to Dr Angela Stanzel, policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations based in Belgium.
Anchor:
That is Dr Angela Stanzel, policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, speaking with CRI's Nathan Wakelin-King
 
 
MH370 search most challenging ever: Australian search expert
 
Anchor:
An Australian search expert says the hunt for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight is the most challenging ever. So far, no trace of the plane has been found.
CRI's Tu Yun has more.
Reporter:
Australian maritime authorities say the search for flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean has ended for Tuesday with no significant developments.
Ten military aircraft and nine ships from seven countries have examined the search zone.
Chief of the newly established Joint Agency Coordination Center, ex-Australian defense chief Angus Houston, says the task to find the wreckage of the missing flight is the most challenging one he has ever seen.
"This could drag on for a long time. But I think at this stage, it's very important to pursue the leads - I'll call them leads - the evidence that is being presented to us. I think they give us a starting point. It's not the usual sort of starting point that we have, but we have a starting point and we need to pursue the search with vigour and we should continue to do that for some time to come."
Houston says the crucial job now is to find the debris of the missing plane and use advanced equipment to locate the black box.
The coordination center is also supposed to provide a single contact point for families and oversee communication with international agencies involved in the search.
Late in the day it had been reported that two Chinese ships retrieved a beacon. It is said the beacon may have been dropped by an aircraft involved in the search mission but further confirmation is needed.
Earlier in the day, Chinese authorities ordered a Chinese naval fleet heading for anti-piracy escort duty off Somalia to join the search.
The fleet, which is equipped with helicopters, has reached waters south of Australia's Christmas Island.
An Australian warship carrying a US device that detects signals from the plane's flight recorders has already left Perth for the search zone.
A British Royal Navy submarine has also arrived in the area to help with the search.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian government has released the full transcript of communications between the flight and ground controllers.
The authorities say the record reveals nothing abnormal.
The release comes after it was revealed that the last message received from the plane was "Goodnight Malaysian three-seven-zero", not the more casual "All right, good night" as had previously been reported.
Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein says the transcript has been shared with the families of the passengers and crew members aboard the plane.
He says a closed-door briefing for the families will be held later today.
Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak is also expected to arrive in Perth today to see the massive search first hand.
Steve Wang, one of the relatives of the missing, says many questions have yet to be answered.
"They haven't yet promised that they will be able to give us a convincing explaination everything, or even the issues with the satellite maps and the doubts we have related to technological issues. We have various other doubts, like why did they come jump to the conclusion they did about the fate of the flight so early? So we think that we might pay a little more care and attention to the news conference tomorrow."
154 of the passengers aboard the missing plane are Chinese.
The search is now in its fourth week.
For CRI, I'm Tu Yun.
 
 
U.S.should not take position on South China Sea dispute: FM spokesman
 
The Chinese government has issued a new warning to the United States to remain neutral when it comes to disputes in the South China Sea.
This, after the US State Department released a statement this week, appearing to support the Philippine government's move to take the dispute over Ren'ai Reef and the broader Nansha Islands to an international arbitration panel at The Hague.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hong Lei.
"The Philippine side is the provocateur and trouble maker. There's no doubt about it. We urge the U.S. to stick to its commitment and do more to contribute to regional peace and stability, rather than the opposite."
A statement from the US state department says "all countries should respect the right of any states to avail themselves of dispute resolution under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea."
The move by the Philippine side to take the dispute to international arbitration comes amid the growing rise in tensions between China and the Philippines over Ren'ai Reef this weekend, which saw a Philippine boat defy Chinese orders and land on the reef.
This is the spot where the Philippines grounded a World War II-era ship in 1999, in an attempt to try to lay claim to the Reef.
The Philippine side claims its stranded warship is a permanent installation.
The Chinese side has insisted that disputes in the South China Sea are not subject to international arbitration, as the region within the so-called 9-dash line is Chinese territory.
 
 
China highly concerned about Japan's changes in military policy
 
The Chinese government has released a new statement, saying it's paying great attention to Japan's easing of its weapons export restriction.
The statement follows a move by the Japanese government to relax its decades-old ban on military-related exports.
The move by Tokyo represents the first major change in Japan's defense export policy in nearly half a century.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei.
"Japan's change in its military policy is related to regional security and strategic stability, and is also related to Japan's future path. China is highly concerned by the move. We call on the Japanese authorities to learn from history and listen to the concerns of its neighbours, while at the same time pursuing peaceful development and making moves that are conducive to regional peace."
Observers are suggesting the move by the Japanese government is meant to expand its arms sales into Southeast Asia.
The new guidelines endorsed by the Japanese Cabinet are being viewed as part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push to revise the country's broader defense and security policies.
Abe is on-record saying Japan needs to play a larger role in international peacekeeping and defence.
Japanese observers widely expect the Abe administration to push for the elimination of Article-9 of the Japanese Constitution to allow for its military to engage in activities outside the current mandate of self-defense.
 
 
NATO suspends cooperation with Russia
 
NATO has ordered an end to civilian and military cooperation with Russia in favour of closer cooperation with Ukraine.
The announcement comes after foreign ministers from the 28-member alliance wrapped up their first day of talks in Belgium over the Crimea situation.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the alliance's chief, says meetings with Russia at the ministerial level will continue.
"So today we have, we are suspending all practical cooperation with Russia, military and civilian, in the NATO-Russia Council, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council and the Partnership for Peace. At the same time we keep our diplomatic lines of communication open and we are ready for ambassadorial or ministerial meetings in the NATO-Russia Council."
But Rasmussen says the cooperation with Russia on Afghanistan in areas such as training personnel will stay intact.
At a separate meeting, NATO and Ukraine have agreed to step up cooperation and to encourage defense reforms in Ukraine through training.
The Ukrainian parliament has already approved a bill to conduct joint military drills with NATO and EU partners.
Meanwhile, U.S Secretary of State John Kerry says the US will send more support to its NATO partners in central and eastern Europe to bolster their defenses.
Moscow has said cooperation between Russia and Ukraine will be largely dependent on Kiev's geopolitical choice.
 
 
Palestinians to resume bid to win further UN recognition
 
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has signed applications to 15 UN agencies and conventions in a bid to win further United Nations recognition.
Abbas says he is compelled to take the action as Israel has failed to carry out a promised release of veteran Palestinian prisoners.
"We have been promised nine times that the fourth batch of prisoners would be released. This afternoon was the latest promise that the Israeli government should have approved. This did not happen."
Abbas says he is still interested in negotiating a deal with Israel on the terms of Palestinian statehood.
The move comes after the United States failed to convince Israel to release the remaining 26 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.
Earlier, as part of the peace talks, Abbas agreed to suspend his UN bid, while Israel was to release 104 Palestinian prisoners in four stages.
However, Israel refused to release the final group of prisoners unless the Palestinians agreed to extend the ongoing peace talks which have been set to end later this month.
Shortly after the announcement, US Secretary of State John Kerry called off plans to meet Abbas in Ramallah.
Kerry just wrapped up talks with Israelis Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
 
 
7.1 million people signed healthcare plans
 
US healthcare reforms have reached a milestone as millions of people are now enrolled.
US President Barack Obama says 7.1 million Americans have signed up by Monday's midnight deadline for insurance plans sold on government-run exchanges.
"And despite several lost weeks because of problems with the website, 7.1 million Americans have now signed up for insurance plans through these marketplaces. 7.1 million!"
President Obama also says, in addition to the more than 7 million people on the exchanges, some 3 million young adults under the age of 26 were added to their parents' plans under the Affordable Care Act which took effect on Tuesday.
And millions more low-income people have been newly covered under the expanded Medicaid.
He denounced Republican attacks on the new system.
"The debate over repealing this law is over. The Affordable Care Act is here to stay."
 
 
Japan whaling ban welcomed in Australia and New Zealand
 
Both Australian and New Zealand officials are applauding a new UN court ruling which bans the Japanese government from whaling in the Antarctic.
The International Court of Justice has ruled that Japan's annual hunt is not really for scientific purposes, as Tokyo has claimed.
The Japanese side has since said it will abide by the new ruling.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully.
"The very optimistic feature here is that they've (Japan) made it very clear that they're going to abide by the decision and it appears that they're going to remain committed to the IWC membership as well."
Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd also says he's "delighted by the result."
In announcing it will abide by the ruling, the Japanese government also says it's "deeply disappointed" with the outcome of the case, but says it will remain a member of the International Whaling Commission.
This is a voluntary organization which has set quotas on so-called scientific whaling, which has allowed Japanese whaling ships to hunt down over 36-hundred Minke Whales since 2005.
While some scientific research is done on the whales, the vast majority of the meat is put to market in Japan.
Iceland and Norway, also members of the IWC, have simply chosen to ignore the Commission's quotas.
Australia launched the international court action against Japanese whaling in 2010 amid a growing number of conflicts among environmental activists and Japanese whaling ships in the waters south of Australia and New Zealand.
 
 
Biz Reports
 
 
The U.S. stock market ended sharply higher on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 closing at a record.
Investors bid up prices after mildly positive manufacturing data and better-than-expected car sales boosted confidence.
The S&P 500 ended the day at session highs, gaining 0.7%.
The Nasdaq finished the day up 1.6%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up half a percent.
U.S. manufacturing expanded in March at a slightly faster pace compared to the prior month.
Separately, the final Market PMI for the U.S. in March was unchanged at 55.5, down from 57.1 in February.
Car sales topped expectations; Ford rose 4.6%
In other financial markets, Asian markets closed mixed and European stocks closed broadly higher after purchasing-manager reports confirmed the euro zone remains on a path to economic recovery.
Adding to the positive tone were signs of a rebound in merger and acquisition activity.
Germany's DAX gained 0.5% and London's FTSE 100 added 0.8%.
In France, the CAC-40 rose 0.8%.
 
 
Home prices keep rising but at slower pace
 
New data shows home prices in China has kept rising, though at a slower pace.
The average price of new homes across 100 cities climbed over a third of a percent last month from February to 11,000 yuan per square meter.
This is the 22nd straight month on month increase.
In February, prices advanced more than half a percent, while in January the growth was nearly two thirds of a percent.
Dongguan in south China led last month's gainers with a two and a quarter of a percent increase.
In the 10 largest cities, the average price of a new home climbed some two thirds of a percent to 19,600 yuan per square meter.
Among the 10 cities, Shanghai overtook Beijing as the one which saw the biggest growth with a monthly gain of nearly 1 percent.
Year on year, the price of new residential properties in the 100 cities jumped 10 percent, extending strength for the 16th consecutive month.
 
 
Hangzhou seeks to create online FTZ
 
The city of Hangzhou has reportedly proposed an online version of Shanghai's free trade zone that facilitates cross-border e-commerce.
The host city of online shopping giant Alibaba Group says it is in negotiations with relevant ministries to create an online zone that is complementary in function to the landmark Shanghai FTZ.
Hangzhou's deputy mayor, Xie Shuangcheng, says the zone will focus on institutional innovation in the customs clearance of cross-border e-commerce deals.
Xie made the comments at a joint meeting attended by mayors of cities in the Yangtze River Delta region.
He says the zone will make breakthroughs in four areas, namely information sharing, financial services, intelligent logistics and e-commerce credit.
 
 
JD.com merges Tencent's e-commerce business
 
Anchor:
China's internet giant Tencent will take a 15 percent stake in the country's second-largest online retailer by market share JD.com.
That's according to a leaked merger plan between the two companies.
The agreement also says Beijing-based JD.com will acquire some online shopping platforms from Tencent, including wanggou.com, paipai.com and yixun.com.
Kate Kui, senior vice-president of JD.com, says in an internal e-mail that JD.com will prompt retailers to transfer from the online platform wanggou.com to JD's platform.
She says the online platform paipai.com is set to adjust its current business model and adopt a new strategy.
The two Internet firms established a strategic partnership in early March.
For more on this, we're joined live now by Benjamine Cavender, the Principal of China Market Research in Shanghai.
Questions:
1, As we know, Tencent's online platform is less popular. What does JD need to do to make this acquisition a success?
2, What does this deal mean for J.D's biggest rival, Alibaba?
3, The two top e-commerce giants are both testing the online-to-offline (O2O) waters.
The new business model offers traditional retailers more sales platforms and channels.
Alibaba announced plans to buy around 690 million U.S. dollars of shares in department store operator Intime Retail Group Co.
J.D also has planned to integrate online sales with 11,000 physical convenience stores.
What are the risks and rewards for these companies' online to offline efforts, and do either of them have an early advantage in this race?
Anchor:
Benjamine Cavender,the Principal of China Market Research in Shanghai.
 
 
Singapore's OCBC offers $4.95 billion for Wing Hang Bank in bet on China growth
 
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp or OCBC has offered to pay almost 5 billion US dollars for one of Hong Kong's last remaining family-owned banks, Wing Hang Bank.
OCBC says it will retain the name of Wing Hang, founded in 1937.
OCBC is offering 125 HK dollars a share to buy all the stock of Wing Hang.
The offer came after Singapore's second-biggest lender reached a deal with members of Wing Hang's founding Fung family to buy a nearly 45 percent stake in the bank.
OCBC also reached separate deals with other shareholders, increasing its stake to 50.66 percent.
Wing Hang, headquartered in Hong Kong, has branches in Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Macau.
If the deal goes through, there will be two family-owned banks left in Hong Kong - Bank of East Asia and Dah Sing Banking Group.
 
 
Solar provider ready for Wall Street IPO
 
Chinese panel maker and solar energy solution provider ET Solar is in talks with investment banks to raise 250 million US dollars through an initial public offering in the US.
ET Solar, based in Nanjing developed and completed a 130-megawatt solar plant last year, the most powerful of all the Chinese plants.
The company aims to raise that number to 300 megawatts this year.
ET Solar's revenue hit 500 million US dollars, and net profit reached 3 million US dollars in 2013.
37 percent of the company's revenue came from solar station development and that proportion is expected to expand to more than 50 percent this year.
90 percent of ET Solar's power plant projects are based in overseas markets.
It is cooperating with the UK's pension fund to build a 70 to 80 megawatts solar plant this year.
 
 
Headline News
 
 
President Xi Civilization, EU, Reform
 
Chinese President Xi Jinping has made a call for increased friendship and cooperation with Europe.
In a speech at the College of Europe in Belgium to close his four-nation trip to Europe, President Xi told the audience that "bridges" of peace, growth, reform, and progress of civilization need to be built between China and Europe.
European leaders listened as he said China and the EU both need peace, multilateralism and dialogue, instead of war, unilateralism and confrontation.
Xi Jinping also told those leaders about the profound changes that China is undergoing right now, adding that the country's reform has entered a deep-water zone.
He says the process driving China now is one that will never stop.
He also notes that Chinese history and the Chinese way of thinking are different, and it's simply not possible for China to copy other political systems or models of development.
The consequences of that, he warns, could be catastrophic.
Belgium is the last leg of Xi's four-nation Europe tour, which also took him to the Netherlands, France and Germany.
 
 
Japan Weapons Restrictions
 
The Chinese government continues to pay close attention to Japan's moves to ease weapons-export restrictions.
The Beijing side has released a new statement to inform Tokyo that the latter's latest moves are under scrutiny.
The statement follows the Japanese senate's approval of a bill relaxing the country's decades-old ban in military-related exports. It's the first change to Japan's defense export policy in nearly half a century.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei says the Japanese policy change impacts regional security, strategic stability, and Japan's future path.
He urges leaders in Tokyo to learn from history, respect the concerns of the country's neighbours, and pursue peaceful development.
 
 
NATO seeks closer cooperation with Ukraine
 
NATO has announced new measures to intensify cooperation with Ukraine, and suspend all practical civilian and military cooperation with Russia.
A statement from the organization states that NATO wants to help promote Ukraine's defense reforms.
Additional experts are to be sent to Kiev, adding to the two liaison officers already stationed there.
By cutting practical cooperation with Russia, NATO says political dialogue will have to continue only at the ambassadorial level.
NATO plans to review its relations with Russia in June.
 
 
Russia seeks deeper defense cooperation with Belarus after Ukraine crisis
 
Russia is seeking deeper defense industry cooperation with neighbouring Belarus, following the recent developments in Ukraine.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin confirmed this on Tuesday during talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
The Deputy PM called Ukraine "a very painful topic," adding that the groundwork being laid out on the Ukrainian side is akin to "cutting off your nose to spite your face."
President Lukashenko stated "we don't quite like the situation that is developing around us."
He added that means his country must be closer to Russia, and in any situation Belarus will side with Moscow.
 
 
Newspaper Picks
 
 
CHINA DAILY
Headline
State puts breaks on unruly taxis
Summary
Smoking, spitting and smelly food have been banned from China's taxis, and cab drivers who refuse customers because of the passenger's destination face discipline.
These are among the new taxi service operation standards published by the National Standardization Administration.
Taxi companies are also ordered to establish lost-and-found systems for the convenience of passengers.
SHANGHAI DAILY
Headline
New rules on tourist permits
Summary
The Shanghai Exit & Entry Administration Bureau has announced a series of measures to make it easier for people to arrange travel documents for Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, or apply for a passport.
The bureau says under the revised system, a single form will be used for all applications for such documents.
The processing time for permits has been cut to five days.
YANZHAO METROPOLITAN DAILY
Headline
High class, low price
Summary
Passengers can buy tickets for VIP, special first-class and first-class seats on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway line at a 20 to 30 percent discount from April 14 to June 26.
Passengers can enjoy the discount with the exceptions of Fridays, holidays and weekends.
BEIJING NEWS
Headline
NE China province bans natural forest logging
Summary
Heilongjiang Province in northeast China has banned commercial logging in its natural forests.
The Chief of the state forestry administration says excessive logging over long periods has sharply reduced forest resources and downgraded quality of state forests in the province.
The chief says that industries such as tourism and green agriculture should be developed as substitutes for logging.
BEIJING TIMES
Headline
Ministry orders respectful honoring of martyrs
Summary
China's Ministry of Civil Affairs is urging local governments to honor Chinese martyrs with well-organized activities, ahead of the country's annual Tomb-Sweeping Day on April 5.
A circular published by the ministry says public memorial activities to commemorate martyrs should be held on Tomb-Sweeping Days, National Days and other important anniversaries.
BEIJING MORNING POST
Headline
Illegal GM crops destroyed in Hainan
Summary
Hainan province has reportedly destroyed genetically modified corn and cotton crops being used in illegal trials.
The provincial agricultural department has confirmed that it has examined 107 crop samples, from which it identified and destroyed nine genetically modified corn and cotton crop trials.
GLOBALTIMES
Headline
Court awards 515,000 yuan to family of electrocuted worker
Summary
A hair salon owner has been ordered to pay over 500-thousand yuan in compensation to the family of a worker who was electrocuted while renovating the salon in Pudong New Area.
The court says the salon owner, surnamed Zhou, hired Jiang to lay the tile for the renovations.
One night Zhou discovered Jiang lying unconscious on the ground beneath an electric fan he had borrowed to help the worker stave off the summer heat.
Another man noticed that the fan had an electrical problem and unplugged it.
 
 
Special Reports
 
 
GM foods label
 
Anchor:
As the genetically modified food market continues to expand in China, the risks and rewards of GM foods are being widely discussed in this country.
CRI's Doris Wang has more on the actions other countries have taken when it comes to labeling GM foods.
Reporter:
Australia has one of the strictest regulations.
University of Melbourne professor Richard Roush says by requiring labels on products that use as little as one percent GM material, the Australian government may have deluded the public's opinion on GM foods.
"It has definitely increased concerns among consumers that if the government was required to label this, it implies that there is something to be concerned about. It implies that there's something dangerous or there's some special reason the GM foods are labeled. And many consumers interpreted in that way. It tends to attack the credibility of GM crops."
Despite the interest in the technology, the GM production of China's stable food, rice, is still strictly prohibited.
Roush says that passing the GM labeling regulation in China might have the same effect on consumers as it did in Australia.
He suggests that in addition to labeling genetically-modified products, government officials should also look at other foods that he believes are truly harmful to humans.
"There are artificial foods in our food supply that have been demonstrated to be unsafe for human health, yet, relatively little attention have been paid to them. It's transfats. We know that they're associated with heart disease. And in most areas, they get far less labeling attention than GM crops do which is quite striking how we've been misled about real human safety risks."
Philip McMaster is the founder of the World Sustainability Organization.
He believes that the labeling will allow people to make a more informed choice on what they are eating.
"I think labeling is extremely important because it's about informing people that here's a selection of products, this one and this one do not have GMO, this one does, you chose."
At China People's Political Consultative Conference in March, vice-minister of agriculture Niu Dun announced that China is working on an evaluation system for genetically modified food in order to assess its impact on the environment and human health. And because of public doubts about GM safety, Niu says strict labeling policies will also be implemented.
The Chinese government has yet to announce when the GM logos will be implemented. The industry is still in its infancy in China and only time will tell whether it will succeed in a nation of 1.3 billion consumers.
Anchor:
That is CRI's Doris Wang reporting.
 
 
Sports
 
 
Atletico draws Barcelona and Bayern draws Man U
 
Breaking European football news,
Two draws after the first-leg of quarter-final clashes in the European Champions League.
In Spain, Atletico Madrid now gains a second leg advantage after they drew Barcelona 1-1.
Diego got the visitors an all-important goal in the 56th minute before Neymar levelled for Barca in the 71th.
Atletico was making its first appearance in the Champions League last eight since 1997.
Four-time winners Barcelona will have to overcome this one-point deficit and win in Madrid to progress.
Over at Old Trafford, underdogs Manchester United held defending champions Bayern Munich to a 1-1 draw.
United captain Nemanja Vidic headed Wayne Rooney's corner just before the hour.
But Bastian Schweinsteiger's away goal gave Bayern the advantage ahead of the return leg in Munich next Wednesday.
There are two more quaterfinal matches coming up later tonight.
Chelsea is in Paris to face the French Ligue One champions Paris Saint Germain in their first leg draw.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.
"Maybe Paris as a club doesn't have over the last decade the same level of experience as Chelsea, but you go player-by-player and the picture is not like that, because Thiago and Alex and Motta, Maxwell, Ibra, Cavani, all of them, they have big experience in the competition."
Chelsea will be without Samuel Eto'o after the striker failed to recover from a hamstring strain.
Over in Madrid, Borussia Dortmund is looking to spring another champions league surprise over Real Madrid.
Dortmund knocked out nine-time European Cup winners Real at the semi-final stage last year.
 
 
Guizhou Renhe beat Ulsan Hyundai 3-1, Evergrande, Luneng in action later today
 
Over here in the Asian Champions League,
China's FA Cup holders Guizhou Renhe rallied from a goal down to beat South Korea's Ulsan Hyundai 3-1 last night.
The 2012 Asian Champions took the lead in the 34th minute.
However, the Koreans' lead lasted only five minutes as Guizhou's 24-year rising star Chen Zijie equalized the match.
Guizhou's Qu Bo took Guizhou in front before Chen Zijie's second goal of the night sealed the much needed victory.
The win saw Guizhou move up to four points, three behind group leaders Ulsan and two behind Western Sydney and Kawasaki Frontale.
And later today, reigning champions Guangzhou Evergrande will be in South Korea battling Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.
Jeonbuk will be looking for sweet revenge after they visited Guangzhou and went away with a humiliating 3-1 loss two weeks ago.
And Shandong Luneng will host another South Korean side Pohang Steelers.
Shandong drew the Steelers 2-2 in their first meeting.
 
 
Ding Junhui celebrates 27th birthday with a first round victory at China Open
 
In snooker,
World number four Ding Junhui has advanced to the second round of the China Open after easing past wildcard entry John Astley 5-1 in the first round.
Astley took the first frame, but an in-form Ding came from behind to claim the next five straight, sealing the victory on his 27th birthday.
Ding's second round opponent will be Thailand's Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, who whitewashed Englishman Ken Doherty earlier in the first round.
Meanwhile, English player Judd Tump started off his China Open campaign winning 5-1 against Northern Irishman Kurt Maflin.
Trump will meet fellow Englishman Peter Ebdon later today in their second round clash.
In other first round action, Hong Kong's Marco Fu dumped fellow Chinese Li Hang 5-3 to set up a second round meeting with Mark King.
Chinese rising star Yu Delu again snatched a win, upsetting Duane Jones of Wales.
Yu Delu last week shocked Ronnie O'Sullivan at the Players' Championship Grand Final.
Defending champion Neil Robertson and Mark Williams will face each other in the second round after each posted wins yesterday.
Shaun Murphy, world number one Mark Selby, and John Higgins were among the other first round winners.
 
 
Tiger Woods will miss the Masters
 
In golf, four-time Masters champion Tiger Woods has announced he will miss the Masters.
The world number-one golfer is missing next week's Major because he just underwent back surgery.
Woods says he needs rest after undergoing a successful procedure to deal with a pinched nerve.
The 38-year-old has been plagued by back problems since last year.
He failed to finish the Honda Classic in early March.
Then, back problems forced him out of contention at the Cadillac championship in Miami a week later. He finished in 25th.
He also missed the Arnold Palmer Invitational, a tournament he has won eight times.
Woods has not missed the golf season's first major, the Masters, since he made his debut as an amateur in 1995.
This year's tournament gets underway on April 10.
 
 
Entertainment
 
 
Rolling Stones to resume world tour
 
(Stones)
The Rolling Stones are to resume their world tour in May, the first dates since the death of Sir Mick Jagger's girlfriend L'Wren Scott last month.
The band cancelled seven dates in Australia and New Zealand after the fashion designer took her own life in New York on March 17.
Organisers say they are making "Every effort" to reschedule those gigs for October and November.
The Stones are now set to play 14 shows across Europe in May, June and July as part of their 14 On Fire tour, beginning in Oslo, Norway, on May 26.
 
 
Walking Dead gets highest ever audience for season finale
 
(The Walking Dead)
The Walking Dead, has attracted the biggest audience for a season finale in the US to date.
New figures show the closing episode of the Zombie TV thriller on Sunday averaged 15.7 million viewers.
In the coveted 18-49 age group it was the top rated show across all US TV programming.
The show follows a US deputy sheriff as he tries to survive flesh-eating zombies in a post-apocalyptic world.
The show, which began with an initial six episode run, has proved a huge hit for for AMC, who were also behind the critically acclaimed drug drama Breaking Bad.
 
 
Noah makes a splash in US box office
 
And now a look at the movie box office and there is one film that has the cash flooding in:
(Noah trailer)
Yes the Epic biblical film, Noah, starring Russell Crowe has had a tremendously strong opening weekend over in the US taking some 44 Million dollars, and a further 33 million elsewhere in the world.
On the face of it this was looking like a bad bet,
The atheist Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky refused to compromise his vision following test screenings or pander to viewers in the Bible belt.
It was hoped that this might draw in Evangelicals in the same way that Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ did, but the script does not even contain the word God within it.
AND also it has been banned in several Islamic countries for portraying a prophet.
BUT as the film's star, Russell Crowe, explains a certain amount of controversy was to be expected:
"In Muslim countries, the Koran states quite clearly that you shouldn't make any kind of representation of any of the prophets, and Noah is a prophet in Islam, so to say that we weren't expecting there would be some of that would be silly, because we were, you know. I think what we probably weren't expecting was the amount of criticism that was coming from a more mainstream sort of press, based on nothing but their own assumptions."
Noah is just one of a slew of religious movies released this year. "God's Not Dead" about a Christian college student who has his faith challenged by his Christian philosophy teacher, is also in the box-office top five this week.
Son of God had made 59.7 million dollars since opening last month.
Also towards the end of the year Ridley Scott is getting in on the action as he directing "Exodus: Gods and Kings", the Bible story about Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt.
 
 
That’s it for this edition of the Beijing Hour.
A quick recap of headlines before we go.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has returned from what has been hailed as a very important four-nation visit to Europe...
An Australian search expert says the hunt for missing Malaysian flight MH370 has been the most challenging effort of its kind...
And the Chinese government has warned the US not to interfere in the dispute with the Philippines over Ren-ai Reef and the Nansha Islands...
In Business...average home prices across 100 Chinese cities continue to rise, though the pace has slowed down..
On behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers, this is Shane Bigham in Beijing hoping you'll join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour to open a window to the world together.