新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 08:00 2014/04/25

The Beijing Hour
 
Morning Edition

 
Shane Bigham with you on this Friday, April 25th, 2014.
Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
Coming up on our program this morning...
Denmark and China have inked 10 deals designed to boost bilateral ties, at the start of the Danish Queen's five-day state visit...
Chinese authorities have again rejected comments made by the US president in Japan over the Diaoyu Islands...
And the Russian military has launched a new round of drills near the country's border with Ukraine, as regional tension heats up...
In Business...gas and diesel prices in China are going up...
In sports...Golf! the European tour's China Open...
In entertainment...Ricky Martin will headline at the China Music Awards...
But first... lets get a check on the weather...
 
 
Weather
 
 
Beijing will be cloudy today with thunderstorm expected in the afternoon, a high of 24 degree Celsius.
Overnight temperatures should drop down to around 12.
Weather forecast for the weekend is agreeable, with two sunny days to come.
The temperature should climb to 28 in Sunday, the highest through the weekend.
Overnight lows are around 11 degrees.
Shanghai will be overcast with a high of 22 during the daytime.
In the night, it will see moderate rain. Temperatures should dip down to 16 degrees.
Chongqing will be rainy today with a high of 21.
Overnight lows are expected to be around 16.
Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia.
Islamabad will be sunny with a high of 32.
Kabul will be cloudy with afternoon thunderstorm, a high of 23.
Over to North America.
New York will expect some showers with a high of 14 degrees.
Washington will see moderate rain with a high of 20 degrees.
Honolulu, sunny, 28.
Toronto, Canada, will be rainy with a high of 8 degrees.
Finally, on to South America,
Buenos Aires will be sunny today with a high of 18.
And Rio de Janeiro will see light rain, a high of 23 degrees Celsius.
 
 
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Email: [email protected].
 
 
Top News
 
 
China and Denmark inked 10 deals to boost bilateral cooperation
 
Anchor:
China and Denmark have inked 10 agreements, elevating bilateral ties, following a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Danish Queen Margrethe II here in Beijing.
CRI's Yu Yang has more.
Reporter:
Queen Margrethe II's visit marks the Danish Queen's second China trip since 1979.
Based on Danish tradition, monarchs usually make only one official visit to a country.
Xi Jinping says the Queen's two visits book-end the historical reform and opening-up of China.
"1979 is a symbolic year. It marks the beginning of China's reform. Back then, you had already visited China and been to a number of cities. I heard from my mother that during your stay in Guangzhou, my parents met up with you. You are the first Western head of state to visit China after China's opening-up. Your visit has played an irreplaceable role in beefing up our bilateral ties. "
Queen Margrethe II says the tremendous transformation China has undergone inspired her to visit again.
"35 years is a very long time. And during all these years, I've heard my husband, both of my sons and many other people I know well telling me how much is happening in China. And now I have the chance to see it myself. It is really wonderful to see even though I've only been here for few hours, how much everything developed, how enormous Beijing has become. And it is impressive the city with its streaming traffic has changed all our recognition."
The two leaders witnessed the signing of ten cooperative deals covering sectors such as energy conservation and maritime technology.
Xi Jinping has suggested the two countries should enhance cooperation on a wider scale including trade, energy and people-to-people exchanges.
He also proposed the two sides make joint efforts to advance the relationship between China and Europe at-large.
China is Denmark's largest trading partner in Asia.
According to Eurostat, the total trade volume between Denmark and China reached nearly 10 billion U.S. dollars last year, up almost 7 percnet from 2012.
Queen Margrethe II's visit will last for five days, ending on Monday.
For CRI, I'm Yu Yang.
 
 
Non-governmental cooperation between China and Denmark
 
Anchor:
Ties between China and Denmark are in focus this week, with a state visit by Danish Queen Margrethe II. To that end, CRI's Li Dong caught up with an executive at a Danish pharmaceutical company which has been operating in China for around 20-years.
Reporter:
Novo Nordisk is a global healthcare company with some 90-years of innovation and leadership in diabetes care. Headquartered in Beijing, Novo Nordisk China has established a distribution network throughout the country, providing services to patients across the mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
At present, Novo Nordisk has around 48-hundred employees in China. Christian Kanstrup is the senior vice president of Novo Nordisk China. He says the Chinese government's healthcare policies over the past few years have not only benefited the Chinese people, but companies like Novo Nordisk.
"You have the focus chronic diseases from the government. The focus on improving the treatment of chronic diseases, increasing the awareness of chronic diseases, diabetes being a chronic disease that's of course something which has benefited us as well. Also a very notable thing is the focus on the primary care system in China, the focus on expanding the primary care system, expanding the hospitals in county and lower tier segments of pharmaceutical market. Diabetes being a treatment which naturally is treated in primary care setting, this has of course also benefited us as a company."
However, Kanstrup admits there are still a number of issues his company has to deal with here in China.For example, to get more clarity on rules and regulations.
"Of course it has been significant turbulence around in the pharmaceutical industry in general in China. It is a difficult environment to operate, because not all rules and regulations are equally clear. This is of course the natural state of the maturity of the pharmaceutical market. The European and American pharmaceutical market are more advanced with a lot of rules and clarity around but I do hope we can get more clarity on the rules, making it easier for us to operate in the Chinese pharmaceutical market."
Kanstrup also says Corporate Social Responsibility plays an important part in Novo Nordisk's development in China. He says Novo Nordisk is practicing a so-called "Triple Bottom Line" principle here in China, meaning financially responsible, socially responsible and environmentally responsible.
"We have several initiatives in place to support the social responsibility. One which is of significance is the education of physicians across China, in trying to increase awareness and ability to treat and diagnose diabetes. And also the general awareness among those people with diabetes and general public around diabetes. During the past 10 years, we have been educating more than half million doctors. We have been educating more than 2.5 million patients, so we have done significant efforts in increasing the understanding of diabetes in general and the ability of physicians to treat diabetes."
During Danish Queen Margrethe II's this stay to China, she will visit the Beijing headquarters of Novo Nordisk China on her tight schedule.
For CRI, I am Li Dong.
 
 
China repeats opposition to Obama's remark on disputed islands
 
The Chinese government has released a new statement, rejecting comments made by U.S. President Barack Obama regarding the Diaoyu Islands.
In a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Obama stated the US security arrangement with Japan covers the Diaoyu Islands.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Qin Gang.
"The so-called US-Japan security treaty is a product of the Cold War era and it cannot be aimed at a third party and ought not to harm China's territorial sovereignty. No matter what anyone says or does, it cannot change the basic reality that the Diaoyu Islands are China's inherent territory and cannot shake the resolve and determination of the Chinese government and people to protect our sovereignty and maritime rights."
While stressing the US will not take sides in the territorial disputes between China and Japan, Obama is also calling on Japan and China to tackle their disputes through dialogue.
The U.S. President also says the US-Japan alliance is not only the "foundation" of the United States' security in the Asia-Pacific region, but "for the region as a whole."
"We are looking at a whole range of issues that are challenging at this time including the threats posed by North Korea, the nuclearization that has been taking place in that country, but because of the strong cooperation between our countries, I am confident that we will continue to make progress in the future,"
Obama and Shinzo Abe have also agreed to continue talks on the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement.
Abe also says both sides have agreed to work together with South Korea and China to deal with issues connected to North Korea.
 
 
Russia starts military drills near Ukrainian border
 
Tensions between Russia and Ukraine are escalating as Russia starts military drills near the Ukrainian border.
The drills are conducted in response to operations by Ukrainian forces against pro-Russian activists.
Earlier, the Ukrainian government restarted a security operation to retake government buildings seized by the activists.
Five pro-Russian activists were killed as government forces closed in on the eastern city of Slaviansk.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
"An order to use weapons against civilians and citizens of your own country has been given. If this military machine is not stopped today, it will lead to greater numbers of dead and wounded. Planned exercises by NATO forces in Poland and the Baltic countries do not foster normalisation of the situation surrounding Ukraine, either. We are forced to react to such a development."
Meanwhile, Ukraine's foreign minister has blasted Russia's decision to start military drills.
Andriy Deshchytsia says his country will fight any invading troops.
"We are very much concerned with Russian decision to start this military exercise even closer to the Ukrainian border than it was planned earlier. It very much escalates the situation in this region. We will now fight with Russian troops, if needed, if they really invade Ukraine, to protect our territory."
Under an international accord signed in Geneva last week, all armed groups are supposed to disarm and vacate public offices.
 
 
Death toll rises to 171 in S.Korean ferry sinking disaster
 
The Chinese embassy in South Korea has confirmed another Chinese passenger's body has been recovered from the sunken ferry off the coast of South Korea.
The remains of two other Chinese nationals have already been recovered, while a fourth is still listed as missing.
The overall number of bodies pulled from the ferry now stands at 171.
131 others are still unaccounted for.
Around 40 family members of the victims have visited the office of the government-wide disaster response headquarters to protest the pace of the recovery efforts.
The families have set Thursday as a deadline to find information on those still missing.
Koh Myung-seok, spokesperson for the emergency task force, says poor visibility and strong currents are hampering the recovery efforts.
"Most of them, because of strong currents and limited sight, came back out in less than 10 minutes, and there was even a diver who returned back, taking pictures without having dived into the water. There has been no rescue achievement made by the volunteer divers."
Around 700 divers are searching the waters.
The operation was suspended for around six hours on Thursday afternoon because tidal currents were stronger than expected.
Meanwhile, investigations are continuing into what happened and who is to blame for the disaster.
A crew member says he and his colleges were ordered to abandon ship.
"I didn't think about evacuating. I didn't. However, the sinking continued, so I went down for the time being to check the situation before the ferry was completely overturned. There were no other ways to go."
But the crew member declined to reveal who gave them the order.
So far, 11 crew members have been arrested. Four of them, including the captain, are facing criminal charges.
Prosecutors are also questioning eight officials with the ferry company who are responsible for safety checks.
Rain is in the forecast for Saturday and currents are expected to be even stronger, likely affecting the search and recovery operation.
 
 
Malaysia to release MH370 report
 
The Malaysian government may release a report on the disappearance of flight MH370 as early as next week.
The country's prime minister has told reporters that an internal investigation team is currently examining the report, which has already been sent to the International Civil Aviation Organization and the UN body for global aviation.
So far, the report has not been made public.
Malaysian and Australian authorities are continuing to develop a long-term strategy for finding the missing plane, which disappeared early last month en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur with 239 people on board.
 
 
Parliamentarians urged to improve women's reproductive health service
 
Anchor:
Parliamentarians from over 100 countries are being urged to take action in improving women's reproductive health ahead of the 2015 deadline set out in the UN's Millennium Development Goals.
CRI's Chen Xuefei has more from a conference in Stockholm, Sweden.
Reporter:
Lawmakers attending the conference say among the UN Millennium Development Goals, targets toward women's reproductive health, gender equality and access to sexual health are still lagging behind.
Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin is the Executive Director of United Nations Population Fund.
"We say these girls, you are old enough to be married, you are old enough to have sex, you are old enough to have children, but you are not old enough to have access to contraception, you are not old enough to have access to comprehensive sexuality education, you are not old enough to control your own body, this simply doesn't make sense, we must not treat them as commodities, they are human beings."
Ostotimehin is calling on the parliamentarians at the conference to take action when it comes to funding projects, which will give women better access to sexual health programs.
Sweden's Parliamentary Speaker Per Westerberg is among those taking part in the meeting.
"I am concerned that young people are not being offered the opportunities to which they are entitled, such as education, information, healthcare – and decent opportunities to have a future. Many young people worldwide lack access to correct information, and the knowledge and means to protect themselves against both sexually-transmitted diseases including HIV and unintended pregnancies."
Hillevi Engstrom, Sweden's Minister for International Development Cooperation, adds the leading cause of death among girls aged 15 to 19 is complications from pregnancies and unsafe abortions. Engstrom is also suggesting better equality is needed.
"It is not acceptable that women work two-thirds of the total working hours, but only earn ten percent of the works' income, it is not acceptable that women make up half of the population, yet represents 30 percent of the world's poor, it is not acceptable that only one in five parliamentarians in the world is a woman. "
Engstrom suggests a separate standard is needed for gender equality. She's also calling for a clear commitment on women's economic empowerment, as well as better standards when it comes to issues such as literacy, violence against women and women in politics.
The three-day event is being organized by UN and the European Parliamentary Forum on Population and development, as well as the Swedish Parliament.
For CRI, this is Chen Xuefei in Stockholm.
 
 
Biz Reports
 
 
US stocks rose modestly in a choppy session on Thursday, lifted by a rally in Apple shares a day after the iPhone maker's strong results.
Tech shares got a lift from an 8% gain for Apple, the biggest U.S. company by stock-market value.
When the market closed, the Dow finished flat, the S&P 500 added 0.2 percent while the Nasdaq climbed half a percent.
The Dow's biggest advance came from Caterpillar, which rose nearly 2% after exceeding earnings and revenue estimates.
Limiting the Dow's advance were Verizon Communications and 3M whose shares fell after the companies' results missed expectations. Verizon dropped nearly 2 and a half percent while 3M fell 1 percent.
Investors digested mixed U.S. economic data.
Initial claims for jobless benefits rose 24,000 to 329,000 in the latest week, versus expectations of 315,000.
Separately, durable-goods orders in March increased 2.6% on the month, the biggest gain in four months, exceeding forecasts of a 2% rise.
European stock markets ended mildly higher on Thursday although gains were dented by tensions in Ukraine.
The UK's FTSE 100 gained 0.4 percent. France's CAC 40 picked up 0.6 percent and Germany's DAX ended the day almost 0.1 percent higher.
 
 
China raises retail oil prices
 
China's top economic planner says it is raising the per-tonne retail price of gasoline by 155 yuan and diesel by 145 yuan today. That's around 25 and 23 US dollars respectively.
The increase will see benchmark retail prices of gasoline go up by 0.11 yuan per liter and diesel increase by 0.12 yuan per liter.
The National Development and Reform Commission attributes the increase to rising international oil prices.
Under China's pricing regime, domestic fuel prices are adjusted when international crude costs reflect a change of more than 50 yuan per tonne for gasoline and diesel over a period of 10 working days.
 
 
China reports 33-bln-USD deficit in Q1 services trade
 
China registered a deficit of 33 billion U.S. dollars in international trade in services in the first quarter.
Data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange shows the nation's total revenues from services trade in the period stood at 53 billion dollars, while expenditures hit 86 billion dollars.
In March, the deficit stood at 10 billion dollars, with revenues and expenditures at 19 billion U.S. dollars and 29 billion U.S. dollars respectively.
Trade in services include areas such as transport, travel, telecommunications, construction and financial.
 
 
Corporate news of the week
 
Anchor:
Let's check out some of the key events on the corporate front in China this week.
Doug Young joins me on the line, associate professor at Fudan University and former China company news chief at Reuters.
Topic 1.
WH Group (formerly Shuanghui) is said to be considering cutting its $5.3 Billion Hong Kong IPO in half
Questions:
1. Why?
2. Why has it been difficult for WH Group's parent company, Smithfield, to attract investors?
Topic 2.
Perfect World (Nasdaq: PWRD) To Buy a stake in Shanda Games (Nasdaq: GAME)
1. What benefits will the tie-up between the two bring them?
2. Is the deal likely to cause any chain reaction in the online game industry in China?
Anchor:
Doug Young, associate professor at Fudan University and former China company news chief at Reuters.
 
 
PetroChina profits down 4.8 pct in Q1
 
Chinese oil giant PetroChina has reported a 4.8-percent year-on-year drop in net profits in the first quarter.
The largest oil and gas producer in China says its net profits in the first three months stood at 37 billion yuan, or 6 billion U.S. dollars.
The company attributed the decrease mainly to slumping crude oil prices and exchange losses from overseas operations.
PetroChina said last month it would cut capital spending for the second consecutive year in 2014 as it sought to boost shareholder returns in the midst of a massive corruption probe.
 
 
GM says facing multiple probes into recent recalls
 
American auto giant General Motors is facing five different government probes in connection with its recent recalls over defective ignition switches.
The faulty switches could turn off the engine, disabling the airbags and have been linked to at least 13 deaths.
GM has faced a series of investigations and lawsuits since February when it launched the massive recall.
This has already cost GM over 1 billion dollars.
The automaker reported earlier that first-quarter profits tumbled 88 percent due to the recall, and said expectations for the rest of the year must be trimmed.
As a result, net income was 125 million dollars, compared with 865 million in the same period last year.
Sales came in at nearly 37 and half billion dollars, up around half a million from last year.
It was GM's worst quarterly performance since a net loss posted after leaving bankruptcy protection in 2009.
 
 
Headline News
 
 
China, Denmark eye closer relationship
 
Chinese President Xi Jinping has held talks with visiting Danish Queen Margethe II.
The two leaders voiced their hope of elevating bilateral ties between their two countries.
This is the Danish Queen's second state visit to China. The last one happened in 1979.
Xi Jinping says China and Denmark's joint efforts, along with other countries, to transport Syria's chemical weapons to ensure their destruction has set a good example of cooperation in international affairs.
Xi Jinping and the Queen also witnessed the signing of a series of cooperative documents, involving maritime technology, energy conservation, and poverty elimination.
 
 
Putin Warns Ukraine of Operation against Own People
 
Russian President Vladimir Putin is calling Ukraine's anti-terror operations a serious crime and is warning Kiev of "consequences" if the country uses military force against its own people.
Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has ordered several military units to start military exercises near Ukraine's border.
The drills are conducted in response to operations by Ukrainian forces against pro-Russian activists.
Earlier, the Ukrainian government restarted a security operation to retake government buildings seized by the activists.
Five pro-Russian activists were killed in the operation.
Kiev has repeatedly blamed Moscow for inciting the unrest and splitting Ukraine, charges denied by Russia.
 
 
Death toll rises to 171 in S. Korean ferry sinking disaster
 
The Chinese embassy in South Korea has confirmed another Chinese passenger's body has been recovered from the sunken ferry off the coast of South Korea.
The remains of two other Chinese nationals have already been recovered, while a fourth is still listed as missing.
The overall number of bodies pulled from the ferry now stands at 171, with 131 others still unaccounted for.
Family members of some of the victims have set Thursday as a deadline to find information on those still missing.
An official with the emergency task force says poor visibility and strong currents are hampering the recovery efforts.
 
 
China Ratifies WIPO Audiovisual Treaty
 
China's top legislature has ratified the Beijing Treaty on audiovisual performances, a document overseen by the World Intellectual Property Organization, or WIPO.
Approved in June 2012 at a WIPO Diplomatic Conference in Beijing, the 30-article treaty is expected to strengthen the rights of film actors and other performers.
The Beijing Treaty is the first international treaty on intellectual property rights protection which is named after a Chinese city.
A total of 72 WIPO members have signed the Treaty so far, and it will enter force after ratification by 30 eligible parties.
 
 
Sina stripped of online publication license because of porn
 
Chinese internet giant Sina.com will be stripped of its online publication license because of pornography-related violations.
The move follows a government crackdown on online pornographic materials.
Investigators say 20 articles and 4 videos containing offensive material were found at Sina.com following a huge number of tips from the public.
Officials with the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television have decided to revoke the company's two crucial licenses on internet publication and audio and video dissemination.
Sina will also be hit with what officials characterize as "huge" fines.
Sina is a NASDAQ listed company.
Chinese officials twice punished the company last year for publishing materials deemed to be offensive.
 
 
Newspaper Picks
 
 
CHINA DAILY
Headline
Chinese provinces destroy 4 mln pirated publications
Summary
Chinese provinces and an autonomous region have destroyed more than four million pirated or illegal items.
This includes CDs and DVDs, software, and illegal newspapers and magazines. This happened in the provinces of Yunnan, Jilin, Guizhou, Gansu and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
SOUTH CHINA METROPOLITAN DAILY
Headline
New regulation to improve govt's handling of petitions
Summary
The regulation says central government departments will not accept petitioners' complaints if they are supposed to be handled by lower-level government bodies.
People are banned from bypassing their local authority to file complaints at the highest level, although mail and online petitioning in Beijing will continue unaffected.
The regulation is to be enacted on May 1.
BEIJING NEWS
Headline
Beijing courts start online judicial auction
Summary
Authorities say a villa and two apartments, seized by two Beijing courts, will go on sale online next month.
This makes the city's first judicial auction on a commercial website.
The online auction will begin at 10 a.m. on May 13.
SHANGHAI DAILY
Headline
1,000 more palliative care beds to be made available before year-end
Summary
A senior health official in Shanghai says the city government is planning to make an extra 1,000 beds available this year for people in need of palliative care toward the end of their lives, a senior health official said yesterday.
Shanghai is the first city in China to promote palliative care from a government level.
GLOBALTIMES
Headline
China to further develop village tourism
Summary
Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang says local township and village tourism in China will receive a boost in investment this year.
Wang says ten thousand villages will become tourism spots and 200-thousand households will be turned into farm stay accommodation.
Wang adds the Chinese tourism market is expected to exceed 2.5 trillion US dollars within five years.
BEIJING TIMES
Headline
Polluted water affects 300,000 in Central China
Summary
Local residents rushed to buy bottled water in Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei province on Thursday, after two tap water suppliers suspended production due to river contamination.
Tests showed the Wuhan section of the Hanjiang River, a major tributary of the Yangtze River, contained excessive amounts of ammonia-nitrogen.
 
 
Special Reports
 
 
Qoros finds its own way to debut to the world
 
Anchor:
A new vehicle from a Chinese joint-venture is stirring up a lot of discussion at this year's Beijing International Auto Show.
The details from CRI's Liu Min.
Reporter:
Most vehicles connected to China are often given little attention from Chinese consumers, given China's somewhat checkered history as an auto producer.
However, at this year's auto show, a new vehicle from a Chinese-Israeli joint venture, the Qoros 3 Hatch, has been creating a lot of buzz among both consumers and professional automotive observers.
A fashionable design, a five-star safety level and a reasonable price seem to be impressing a lot of people.
Stefano Villanti is the Executive Director of Sales, Marketing and Product Strategy at Qoros.
"This year to Beijing Auto Show, Qoros has brought the Qoros 3 Hatch. It is the second model. It is built on the same platform of the Qoros 3 sedan this year that is at my back here. It's got the same structure of the sedan that has won the Euro Car five stars in 2013. "
Founded in 2007, Qoros is a joint venture between Chery Automotive and investment group Israel Corp.
Guo Qian, CEO of Qoros, says one of the keys for getting his company's product in the forefront of Chinese consumers' minds is creating a model and brand that screams quality.
"Our company's original goal was to build a European standard car from the very beginning. We've got people from 26 countries. Stefano Villanti was among the first of several managers who abandoned their comfortable, high salary jobs in Europe to start the project with Qoros. They are all very excited to create something from scratch together. We did expect to have good recognition from auto show because we are confident that the product is good enough to compete with its peers."
Produced in an assembly plant in the suburbs of Suzhou, the Qoros 3 Sedan is the first of an all-new range of models being designed and engineered by an international team of experienced specialists.
The vehicle has been engineered to international quality and safety standards.
Qoros has also achieved maximum scores in both European and Chinese crash safety tests.
And unlike other Chinese automakers, Qoros took a different development path, producing its first vehicles for the international market, rather than trying to focus on the Chinese market.
As such, its supply chain and dealership network have developed on the international level.
But like most companies in the global automotive industry, the China market is one Qoros can't ignore.
The company now has more than 100 dealerships in this country's 2nd and 3rd tier cities.
Qoros is also planning to establish dealerships in Beijing and Shanghai.
For CRI and China.com, I'm Liu Min.
 
 
Sports
 
 
Sun Yang splits with long-time coach
 
The ban imposed on London Olympic champion Sun Yang was lifted yesterday, ahead of the National Championships next month.
Both the Chinese swimming national team and the Zhejiang College of Sports lifted Sun's ban from competition and endorsement.
Sun had been suspended from training, competition and commercial events after he was detained by police for driving without a license in November last year.
At the same time, the Zhejiang College of Sports announced that Zhu Zhigen, Sun's coach for over a decade, resigned due to health reasons.
Sun Yang and Zhu had a row last year after the 22-year-old reportedly defied Zhu's and went out with a girl during training.
Sun will now train under former Chinese head coach Zhang Yadong.
Zhang earlier coached former women's breaststroke Olympic champion Luo Xuejuan.
 
 
Benfica beats Juventus 2-1 in Europa League semi-final first leg
 
In European football news,
Portuguese champions Benfica now hold the upper hand after they beat Juventus 2-1 in the Europa league first leg semifinals in Lisbon.
Ezequiel Garay put Benfica ahead in the second minute before Carlos Tevez from Juventus scored the equalizer in the 72nd-minute.
But substitute Lima's winner six minutes from time ensures the Portuguese side will take a slender advantage to the Serie A leader in next week's return leg in Turin.
Benfica secured the Portuguese Liga title with two games to spare four days ago.
Juventus is pursuing its first continental trophy in 17 years.
The Serie A leaders lost in the Europa League final to Chelsea last year.
Meanwhile, the other semifinal match, which happens to be a Spanish La Liga derby, saw Sevilla beat Valencia 2-0 in their first leg.
 
 
Rafael Nadal through to the quarter finals at Barcelona Open
 
In tennis,
World number one Rafael Nadal is through to the quarterfinals of the Barcelona Open.
Nadal came out winning his third round match 6-3, 6-3 against Croatia's Ivan Dodig.
The quarterfinal match will be a rematch of last year's final, where Nadal beat fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro to take the title.
"I need to keep improving a little bit more but I'm happy at the way that I played today. I played a little bit better than yesterday. That's always positive and I know that coming up tomorrow I have a tough match against Almagro."
Almagro beat compatriot Fernando Verdasco in straight sets 6-3, 6-3.
Also through to the last eight is Croatian Marin Cilic, who will next face Japan's number one Kei Nishikori after the latter beat Kazakhstan's Andrey Golubev 6-0, 6-4.
Off the court, former world number one Novak Djokovic has announced on Twitter that his fiancee Jelena Ristic is now PREGNANT.
The two got engaged in September.
 
 
Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone denies bribery allegations
 
Powerful Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has rejected bribery accusations against him at the start of his trial in Germany.
He told a Munich court that he was blackmailed by a German banker who received a disputed 44-million-dollar payment.
The charges involve a large payment to banker Gerhard Gribkowsky, who is serving an eight-and-a-half year prison sentence for taking the money.
Ecclestone admitted through his lawyer Dr. Sven Thomas that he made the payment to Gribkowsky.
'It is undisputed that payments were made, it is now about giving plausible reasons why payments were made."
Ecclestone has stepped down temporarily as a director of F1's holding company pending the outcome of the trial, though he continues to manage the sport's commercial operations.
Ecclestone's trial is scheduled to last until 16th September.
The 83-year-old could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
 
 
Simon Dyson takes first round lead at European Tour's China Open
 
In golf,
Englishman Simon Dyson fired a five-under-par 67 to grab a share of the first round lead at the European Tour's China Open in Shenzhen.
Dyson returned to golf action after serving a two-month ban for cheating in December.
Dyson fired six birdies and a lone bogey in his round to end the day tied with big-hitting Spaniard Alvaro Quiros atop the leaderboard.
The 36-year-old has enjoyed previous success in China, winning the event in 2000 as well as the Hong Kong and Macau Opens.
But he was disqualified from last year's BMW Masters in Shanghai and hit with a fine for fixing a spike mark on the line of a putt.
Meanwhile, defending champion Brett Rumford of Australia was among six players tied for third.
World number three Henrik Stenson, who can jump ahead of Tiger Woods and take top spot in the rankings with a victory in China, suffered a fourth bogey of the day on the last hole for a 71.
 
 
Entertainment
 
 
Ricky Martin headlines at China Music Awards
 
(Ricky Martin)
The 18th annual China Music Awards in Macau have wrapped up. Latin Star Ricky Martin opened proceedings and was also named "Most Influential International Artist."
Other awards handed out went to South Korean boy-band EXO-M which picked up "Most Influential Asian Group"
David Tao, the singer from Taiwan collected the "Best Male Singer and "Most Talented Singer" awards.　
And also from Taiwan Cheer Chen collected the "Best Female Singer prize.
Another international star to attend was David Beckham who is a big fan of this part of the world:
"Hello everybody. I hope you're all having a great night.　It's a pleasure to be here, a pleasure to be back in Macau and obviously to be back in China.　I'm always welcomed with open arms.　It's a pleasure to give this award to someone who's a friend and an amazing artist.　So I'm looking forward to tonight."
The British sporting star presented the award for "Most Popular International Chinese Singer" to Coco Lee, who just happens to be a friend of his.
When asked what kind of music touches his heart Beckham replied…. The Spice Girls.
At the request of Lee, Beckham took a selfie with her on stage.
 
 
James Franco's reflections on the selfie
 
The Selfie - of course taking a picture of yourself with your phone - has become the buzz word of the moment.
Lots of people like taking them and posting them on social media, but they really get into their own when celebrities do it.
Of course the big boon for the art-form was the infamous Oscars selfie taken a couple of months ago, but one celeb who is particularly fond of them is James Franco.
The star of films such as "127 hours" and "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" has raised eyebrows by constantly posting self images from his bed, both alone and not.
He also got into a spot of bother recently when he was caught trying to pick up a Scottish teenage girl on Instagram. So what is his obsession with the medium?:
"One thing that I've observed is like the selfie - and I wrote something about it - it's a very intimate kind of perspective and it's more than a self-portrait.　It's like if you're holding it yourself it's almost like it's connected to you and it's almost like the space between you and the mirror when you look in the mirror and so if you put that intimate space out there it's kind of this new thing that we're all kind of getting used to."
The actor, author and director wrote in a New York Times essay last December titled "The Meanings Of The Selfie" that he has "become increasingly addicted to Instagram" and acknowledged that he has "been accused of posting too many of them."
 
 
Time Magazine top 100 influential people released
 
Time Magazine has issued its annual list of 100 most influential people with a host of celebrities in the line up.
American singer Beyonce graces the front cover after storming the charts with a surprise album release which received widespread acclaim at the end of last year.
A prominent feature of the issue are the writings of guest contributors as Radhika Jones, Time Magazine's deputy managing editor explains:
"With writers we're looking for a writer who maybe has known the subject for a long time. In the case of, for example, Robert Redford, who makes the list this year we got Harvey Weinstein to write about him. They've known each other for decades and they are both incredibly influential men in the film industry. To be able to show that connection through Harvey's piece and the respect and collegiality between them is something special. That's something we wanted to share with our readers."
Other names on the list from the world of showbiz included Kerry Washington, Matthew McConaughey, Benedict Cumberbatch, Miley Cyrus and Amy Adams.
 
 
That’s it for this edition of the Beijing Hour.
A quick recap of headlines before we go.
Denmark and China have inked 10 deals designed to boost bilateral ties, at the start of the Danish Queen's five-day state visit...
Chinese authorities have again rejected comments made by the US president in Japan over the Diaoyu Islands...
And the Russian military has launched a new round of drills near the country's border with Ukraine, as regional tension heats up...
In Business...gas and diesel prices in China are going up...
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.