China and South Korea repeat de-nuclearisation calls for the Korean Peninsula

WHILE

The UN peacekeeping mandate at Golan Heights has been extended.

And Ecuador are ending preferential trade rights with the US – saying they won’t be bullied over Edward Snowden.

Business

Financial regulators in America charge MF Global with misusing funds.

We’ll also have the sport and entertainment updates, as well as a special report on researchers around the globe trying to work on synthetic human organs.

 

 

Top News

 

 

Chinese, ROK presidents hold talks, pledge nuclear-free Korean Peninsula

 

The Chinese and South Korean governments have repeated their call for the Korean Peninsula to be denuclearised.

The statements come following a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Park Geun-hye here in Beijing.

"Both sides have agreed to seek a nuclear-free peninsula, maintain peace and stability and settle the dispute via dialogue. The situation on the Korean peninsula is changing in a positive direction. We hope relevant parties can seize the opportunity and make joint efforts to resume the six party talks. China supports the South and the North to improve relations and achieve peaceful unification."

Xi Jinping says the Chinese government is trying to coordinate a restart of the 6-party talks with North Korea.

While Park Geun-hye says South Korea remains committed to resolving the situation diplomatically.

At the same time, she also says China and South Korea have agreed to try and fast-track a new free-trade agreement.

"Both sides agree that we should work together to increase bilateral trade to 300 billion US dollars in 2015, and the bilateral trade cooperation can work as the engine for regional and world economic growth. We both believe the better development of Korea-Chinese trade needs a better framework, and the Free Trade Agreement between us is the right choice."

Two-way trade between the two countries hit 215 billion dollars last year.

Park is on her first state visit to China and is being accompanied by over 70 South Korean business leaders.

 

 

Philippines and U.S. Naval forces start joint drill near Huangyan Island

 

The navies of the US and Philippine have begun joint military exercises in the South China Sea.

It's being reported the US has sent a record number of ships to take part in the drill, which is taking place near the disputed Huangyan Island.

The Philippine military, is on-record saying the drill has nothing to do with last year's territorial disputes around the island.

But, one Chinese observer, Military Expert Yin Zhuo is suggesting the drills could create more tension.

"The drill is an unfriendly action. It is near Huangyan Island which is under Chinese control. We have border security personnel patrolling the area. The U.S and the Philippines carry out their drill at this place, implying that the U.S. will stand on the Philippines' side if any dispute arises. It is an act of deterrence."

The Chinese government has also responded to the drill, saying it hopes to see actions beneficial towards maintaining stability in the region, and not otherwise.

 

 

Rioters kill 24 in Xinjiang

 

Authorities in Xinjiang have released details about a deadly attack in the region this week.

Local officials in Shanshan County near the city of Turpan say a total of 24-people are dead, in what's being described as a terrorist attack.

The incident took place Wednesday morning.

Local police say rioters attacked local police stations, a government building and a construction site.

Police were eventually forced to shoot and kill 11 people.

4 of the rioters are in custody.

It remains unclear what sparked the unrest.

 

 

China dispatches security forces to join UN peacekeeping mission

 

The Chinese government will be sending almost 400-personnel including security forces to join the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali.

This is the first time China has sent security forces to join a UN peacekeeping mission.

Chinese defense ministry spokesperson Yang Yujun however says they are not combat troops.

"There are no combat troops in UN peacekeeping missions. UN peacekeepers are aimed at protecting peace, avoiding conflicts and monitoring ceasefire deals. They don't get themselves involved into military conflicts. The Chinese peacekeepers this time will mainly take the security responsibilities of the mission headquarters and campuses."

China has contributed some 22-thousand peacekeepers to UN missions since 1990.

Currently, there are some 16-hundred peacekeepers from China on duty around the world.

 

 

UN Security Council extends mandate of peacekeeping mission in Golan Heights

 

The UN Security Council has extended the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force in the Golan Heights for another 6-months.

The new resolution also increases the number of peacekeepers in the region to 12-hundred-50.

There are currently just over 900-UN peacekeepers from Austria, Fiji, India and the Philippines in the Golan Heights.

The kidnapping of UN peacekeepers and sporatic shelling in the Golan brought on by the civil war in Syria had left the UN mission in the region in question.

Austria has begun withdrawing its troops from the Golan.

The territory was annexed by Israel from Syria following the 6-day War in 1967.

 

 

Live call-in with CRI Australia reporter

 

Kevin Rudd has been sworn in as Australian Prime Minister after ousting Julia Gillard as leader of the Labor Party.

This is his second time as prime minister after he was overthrown by Gillard three years ago.

Rudd is expected to announce his cabinet lineup in the following days.

The leadership change comes ahead of an election set for September.

Opposition leader Tony Abbott has called on Rudd to clarify if the election would be brought forward.

Polls suggest Abbott's coalition is currently on course for a convincing win on September 14th.

Rudd said he would "identify a date for an election", suggesting he may not stick with the date set by Gillard.

Now for more on the latest devleopment on Australia politics, I have on the line, Wang Xiao, our correspondent in Australia who joins us live from Sydney.

1, What is the latest news (this noon's press conference)?

2, What is Kevin Rudd's policy agenda, what have you been hearing from the Autralia media

3, What's the mood towards the Labor party among Australian people now?

Back anchor:

Wang Xiao, our correspondent in Sydney.

 

 

Ecuador ends preferential trade rights with Washington

 

Ecuador are ending preferential trade rights with the US, saying they are being politically blackmailed over the future of the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Betty Tola, Ecuador's minister of political affairs, also says Snowden's passage to the capital Quito is far from confirmed.

"We ratify that the government of Ecuador has not authorised any form of safe passage or document that permits (former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward) Snowden's transfer to our country. Edward Snowden's request for asylum has been processed because the petitioner is not in Ecuadorean territory as the law requires."

Reportedly, there are divisions in the Ecuadorian government over offering Snowden asylum.

Leftists are said to see him as an anti-imperialist hero, while centrists fear diplomatic and economic damage to the small South American nation.

In recent weeks, US congress has threatened to drop the Andean Trade Preference Act if Ecuador does give asylum to Snowden.

The ATPA was due for renewal in July, but President Rafael Correa has now said his government is renouncing it completely.

 

 

Ramps up military presence in Africa while Obama conducts diplomatic tour

 

US President Barrack Obama is in the midst of an eight day tour of Africa, including stops in Senegal, Tanzania and South Africa.

Yesterday he visited the island of Goree off the coast of Dakar in Senegal.

He is going to visit South Africa today.

The US now has the most troops in Africa since its intervention in Somalia two decades ago.

This is reportedly aimed at countering the growing influence of Al Qaeda on African militant groups.

The majority are stationed at the major French military base in Djibouti, next to northern Somalia and Ethiopia.

It has been reported drone and air attacks against Islamist militant targets in Somalia are conducted from this position.

 

 

Egyptian army given power to arrest protesters as tensions rise.

 

The Egyptian army have been given the power to arrest citizens ahead of the mass protests scheduled this Sunday.

Among the protesters who have already gathered in Tahrir square ahead of the weekend, we hear from Mohamed Abdel-Aziz, spokesperson for the newly established June 30 Front.

"We are now a few days before a momentous day in the history of the Egyptian people, which is June 30, when people will pack all squares and streets in Egypt and its governorates and in front of the presidential palace to call on Mohammed Mursi to let go of power and for early presidential elections. Mursi had lost his legitimacy."

Security is being tightened and President Mohammed Morsi's supporters are also preparing for their own rival demonstrations.

Government opponents and supporters clashed on Wednesday, in fighting in Mansoura, which is North of Cairo.

Troops have been deployed in Cairo and other cities after two people were killed and 170 injured in the violence.

The Islamist president's political party represents the Muslim Brotherhood which came to power in June 2012.

Economic troubles and political unrest have marred Morsi's first year in office so far.

 

 

Authority confirms slight improvement in Mandela's condition

 

South African authorities say former president Nelson Mandela's health has improved overnight.

However, he still remains in critical condition.

South African presidential spokesperson Mac Maharaj.

"Clearly last night, the condition was such concerning the president's mind, but today there's a little bit of relief because the doctors are saying that overnight the condition has stabilised. It remains critical."

The comment comes after current President Jacob Zuma visited Mandela on Thursday, saying the 94-year-old is "much better" than earlier.

All-night prayers have been held outside his former home in Soweto.

The South African government says it's still moving forward with plans for a grand celebration to mark his 95th birthday, which falls on the 18th of July.

 

 

Biz Reports

 

 

Stock

 

Anchor:

First off, a check on the stock markets.

Join me on the desk, CRI's Primrose Riordan.

Reporter:

Chinese mainland shares closed higher after the morning trading.

The Shanghai composite index increased nearly 0.8 percent while the Shenzhen component index advanced 2.4 percent.

Elsewhere in the world,

U.S. stocks climbed for a third straight day on Thursday after comments from several Federal Reserve officials soothed concerns that the central bank would begin to reduce its stimulus efforts in the near future.

A separate report showed consumer spending rose 0.3 percent last month while incomes grew 0.5 percent, the largest gain since February. Pending home sales rose 6.7 percent to their highest since December 2006.

When the markets closed, the Dow rose 0.8 percent. The S&P 500 gained 0.6 percent and the Nasdaq added 0.8 percent.

Meanwhile, Canada's S&P/TSX added half a percent.

Over the Europe, European shares also ended higher in the wake of upbeat U.S. macro data.

Germany's DAX gained 0.6 percent.

France's CAC 40 rose 1 percent.

and Britain's FTSE 100 added 1.3 percent.

 

 

Doug Young on corporate news of the week

 

Anchor:

Let's check with some of the key events on the corporate front in China this week.

To that end, Paul James talked to Doug Young, associate professor at Fudan University and former China company news chief at Reuters.

(Q&A)

Back Anchor:

Doug Young, associate professor at Fudan University and former China company news chief at Reuters.

 

 

U.S. monetary policy to remain "data-dependent": Fed official

 

A senior official from the Federal Reserve says U.S. monetary policy will remain dependant on the developments of economic growth, unemployment and inflation.

The current large-scale bond purchasing program will also continue for some time.

Markets have been rattled after chairman Ben Bernanke last week indicated that the Fed would start scaling back its extraordinary support of the economy.

A recent survey shows a sharp rise in mortgage rates this week following that.

Fed officials are trying to calm investors by emphasising that bond purchases will not halt until the economy strengthens.

 

 

U.S. financial regulator charges MF global for misusing customer funds

 

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission or CFTC has charged MF Global and its former chief executive Jon Corzine for misuse of nearly one billion dollars of customer funds.

The CFTC has also settled charges with MF Global itself, with the firm agreeing to pay a 100-million-dollar penalty and all the funds it still owes to commodity customers.

With 41 billion dollars of assets, MF Global's 2011 collapse was the eighth-biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history.

 

 

US consumer spending rebounded in May

 

Official figures are showing that consumer spending in the US rebounded in May, rising by 0.3 percent and reversing the 0.3 percent fall in April.

The number of new claimants for unemployment benefits fell last week as well, while contracts to buy previously-owned homes were at a six-year high in May.

Other published data also suggests that the US economy is still on a growth path.

Analysts say the figures aren't spectacular, but they do show that the economy is heading in the right direction.

 

 

British gov't outlines 100 bln pounds infrastructure plan to stimulate growth

 

The British government has announced a 100 billion Pound infrastructure plan.

The money will be spent over the next 8-years in a bid to stimulate growth in the UK's weakly-expanding economy.

The British Treasury plans to spend 70 billion on transport, 20 billion on schools and 10 on housing, science and flood defence.

The long-term plans are designed to try to improve the infrastructure and kickstart economic growth.

Most of the spending doesn't take effect until after the next general election, which are in 2015.

 

 

EU leaders kick off jobs summit after budget compromise

 

EU leaders have begun a two-day summit designed to try and tackle unemployment.

The meeting comes on the heels of EU officials agreeing to both banking changes and their long-term budget.

Here's the French President Francois Hollande.

"There were two big decisions which were taken in the last hours -- the first on banking union, which will be extremely useful to protect savers and to avoid taxpayers paying for banking crises for which they are responsible. There was also an agreement on the budget, which will allow us to do more for youth employment. Finally there was an agreement to properly apply the growth pact. So when there's growth, youth employment and control of finance France is satisfied."

Following late-night talks in Luxembourg, finance ministers agreed on how to share the costs of future bank failures among investors and wealthy savers.

At the same time, negotiators for the European Parliament, the European Commission and EU member governments have also agreed on a deal for a 960 billion euro, 7-year budget for the bloc through to the year 2020.

The deal includes a provision which will allow the EU to quickly disburse billions of euros to help Europe's 5.6 million unemployed youth.

Unemployment among people under the age of 25 is over 40-percent in Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy.

 

 

US curbs Bangladesh trade privileges

 

The US has suspended trade privileges for Bangladesh because of the country's risky working conditions and labor violations in its garment industry.

Bangladesh's duty-free trade privileges – which were under the terms of a US programme to promote economic growth in developing countries – are gone for now.

Bangladesh is the fourth largest exporter of clothing to the U.S., behind China, Vietnam and Indonesia.

The decision comes amid the country facing mounting international pressure to improve working conditions, following April's deadly building collapse which killed over 11-hundred workers.

However, the U.S. decision isn't expected to affect clothing imports, because apparel isn't covered under the duty-free program.

 

 

A couple of ways to get in touch with us here at the Beijing Hour.

You can follow us on WEIBO

– it’s weibo.com/beijinghour

You can also email us on [email protected]

Do write in, we always love to hear your comments and feedback on the show.

You can also listen to our other shows throughout the rest of the day – live or as podcast by going on the English.cri.cn and then the Beijing Hour page on the Radio section.

 

 

Weather

 

 

Beijing will be cloudy today, with a high of 33.degree Celsius in the daytime, and the tonight will have thundershowers with a low of 24.

In Shanghai, it will see moderate rain today, 26 the high, and the rain will continue tonight, the low of 22 degrees Celsius.

Lhasa will be overcast in the daytime the temperature's at 21, and tonight will have moderate rain with a low of 10 degree Celsius.

Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia

Islamabad, sunny, 37.

Kabul, sunny, with a high of 34.

London, sunny,19.

Paris, sunny, 19.

Cairo, sunny, with a high of 34.

Monrovia, sunny, 28.

Nairobi,sunny, 25.

Johannesburg, sunny, with a high of 14.

 

 

News paper picks

 

 

CHINA DAILY

Headline

Better financial supervision necessary

Summary

Senior officials are calling on local governments here in China to tighten their belts and stop offering illegal tax cuts to investors amid slumping revenues this year.

Authorities say getting rid of illegal tax cuts and other illegal policies can also help restore fair competition in the market.

Local governments are still subsidizing companies and giving them favorable conditions that contravene national policies, despite the central government calling for a halt to these incentives years ago.

SHANGHAI DAILY

Headline

City to set standard for neon displays

Summary

A compulsory standard on the maximum degree of brightness allowed on LED screens at public venues will be implemented in September to control light pollution in Shanghai.

The standard will regulate permitted light and measuring methods, targeting both LED screens installed outdoors and indoors, based on their locations and sizes.

BEIJING NEWS

Headline

Illegal websites closed

Summary

31 websites have been shut down for not obtaining licenses for news coverage.

This comes amid the current campaign to purify the online environment.

Most of these websites were run under the name of individuals, and many had not been registered or offered fake registration information.

GLOBAL TIMES

Headline

Hotpot restaurants to get rated

Summary

Shanghai will introduce a rating system for hotpot restaurants this year to help customers better choose where to eat.

The rating system will address some of the practices that got several eateries in hot water, such as reusing cooking oil and serving pork and other meat under the pretext that it was lamb.

BEIJING TIMES

Headline

VIP cards to be discarded

Summary

The Supreme People's Court is calling on all court officials to ditch their membership cards for luxury clubs.

The idea is to try to reduce the likelihood of bribery.

The move comes on the heels of a similar request to members of the party's discliplinary commission last month.

XIAOXIANG MORNING POST

Headline

Increase in civil servants

Summary

New stats show there were close to 7.1-million government employees in China as of the end of last year.

The same study shows around 1.12 million candidates took the national civil service exam last year, meaning that one in every 53 examinees will successfully obtain a government post.

DONGGUAN TIMES

Headline

Teen to stand trial

Summary

Beijing police say they have finished investigating the case of Li Tianyi, and the prosecution will soon commence.

Li, the 17-year-old son of a famous Chinese military singer, allegedly participated in a gang rape.

Authorities say the case will not be open to the public since Li is not yet 18 years old.

GLOBAL TIMES

Headline

Lawyers seek answers over death of 2 girls

Summary

Five lawyers have filed an application to four government agencies in Nanjing.

They're looking for information about what role local officials played in the case that saw two children starved to death at home due to a lack of guardianship.

The two children's father is under arrest.

The mother, an unemployed drug addict, has disappeared.

SHANGHI DAILY

Headline

Chicken stores deny using glue

Summary

Deep-fried chicken chain stores in Shanghai are denying the use of glue in their chicken meat.

The denial comes following reports in Taiwan claiming a popular late-night snack has been infused with both "meat glue" and antibiotics, which can be potentially harmful to your health.

Transglutaminase is used to make stick chicken meat stick together to make fillets bigger.

 

 

Special reports

 

 

Lab Grown Organs amid Shortages

 

Anchor:

Researchers around the world are now working on trying to perfect the development of synthetic human organs.

CRI's Laiming explains.

Reporter:

The Red Cross Society of China has announced the country's first online volunteer organ-donor registry this month, amid a shortage of organs for transplant. But China is not the only country facing this difficulty; in the United States, chronic shortages have pushed scientists to tap into the body's own ability to regenerate itself.

Researchers at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina are trying to grow organs in a lab. Using a process called "decellularisation" on pig livers, the doctors strip the pig's cells off its liver but leave the underlying structure behind.

The hope is to seed the remaining structure with human liver cells to see if those cells will grow and multiply into a fully functioning human liver. PhD candidate Abritee Dhal at Wake Forest University explains their choice of test animal.

"Pigs, their size is closer to a human liver. So if we're able to decellularise and put human cells back in there, it could help with the shortage of organs."

The Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine is also trying to make kidneys with the use of a 3D printer. The "ink" that comes out of the printer is made of various cells and a gel-like material to help support them.

The ability to grow and implant complex organs like hearts, lungs, livers and kidneys in humans is still a long way off. But there has been some success so far in creating simpler, hollow body parts. For example, there are people living with custom-made, lab-grown blood vessels, windpipes and bladders in the US.

To engineer those, scientists can take cells from a patient's own bone marrow or a biopsy of the needed body part and grow those cells on a biodegradable, synthetic scaffold. The scaffold is produced by a 3D printer in the exact size and shape needed.

Director of the Institute Dr. Anthony Atala explains how the biodegradable scaffold works.

"Our preference is to use a patient's own cells, and the patient's own organ specific cells because those cells already know what to do. A windpipe cell already knows that it's a windpipe cell, and it's going to create a windpipe cell for that patient that will not be rejected or kicked out."

With luck, this may help end the waiting game for donor organs, which some patients unfortunately never receive.

For CRI, I'm Luo Laiming.

 

 

Sports

 

 

Li Na Reach Wimbledon Third Round

 

Anchor:

Chinese ace Li Na and other top players are through to the third round at Wimbledon.

However, this year's tournament is over for rising Chinese star Peng Shuai.

CRI's Tu Yun has more from the All-England Club.

Reporter:

Sixth seeded Li Na recovered from a second-set meltdown to clinch a 6-2, 1-6, 6-0 victory over Simona Halep of Romania.

"Welcome to the crazy women's tennis tour (smiling). End of the first set, she called official. I thought, Maybe she be retire or something. I was already like lose concentration on the court, you know. When one set all, Wake up, she okay, she kick your ass already in the second set. So you should ready for a final set."

However, 24th-seeded Peng Shuai wasn't able to fight her way back after losing the tiebreak in the first set to 71st-ranked Marina Erakovic.

"I think that tiebreak did affect my later performance. There were two points that I thought I played well at first, but eventually lost. Then I felt weak afterwards. "

Peng Shuai went down 7-6, 6-2.

The tournament saw most shocking day in recent memory on Wednesday, with men's defending champion Roger Federer and 3rd seeded Maria Sharapova among several stars bowing out of the event.

Those remaining on court are still trying to digest the surprise upsets.

Women's No. 1 Serena Williams.

"The first thing I do is I'm like, Okay, Serena, stay focused. This happened before. I don't know when. I want to say it was the US Open, though. A lot of players were losing. I was like, Okay, be on your toes and be ready for everything."

The defending champion is also through to the 3rd round after powering through France's Caroline Garcia 6-3, 6-2.

On the men's side, World No.1 Novak Djokovic, 7th-seeded Tomas Berdych and 8th-placed Argentinean Juan Martin Del Potro are all through.

Several matches had to be postponed due to rain.

For CRI, I'm Tu Yun at Wimbledon.

 

 

Anthony Bennett becomes first Canadian to be the top 1 pick in the NBA draft

 

The Cleveland Cavaliers have surprised nearly everyone by selecting UNLV - that's the University of Nevada's Anthony Bennett as the top draft pick.

Bennett is the first Canadian to be the no. 1 pick.

The 6-feet-7 freshman starred for Canada's junior national teams and was the Mountain West Conference player of the year.

Many had expected the Cavaliers to pick up one of the big men, either University of Kentucky's Nerlens Noel or Ukranian player Alex Len.

Len went to Phoenix at no. 5, but Noel fell out of the top five completely.

Orlando took shooting guard Victor Oladipo as their no. 2 pick. Washington got Georgetown star Otto Porter Jr. as their no. 3, And the Charlotte Bobcats chose Indiana center Cody Zeller as their no. 4.

This year's draft class did lack some starpower.

Many teams, including the Cavaliers, had discussed trading their top picks in favor of having a better choice next year.

 

 

British and Irish Lions get ready ahead of second test with Australia

 

In Rugby,

The British and Irish Lions have announced their starting lineup ahead of tomorrow's second test with Australia in Melbourne.

Ireland's Tommy Bowe will come in at right wing. Ben Youngs will replace Welsh scrum-half Mike Phillips, who was dropped from Saturday's squad entirely.

And Dan Lydiate will take over at blindside flank.

The line-up changes send a clear signal that Warren Gatland is setting his roster based on current form, not on reputation.

The Lions will be without Paul O'Connell, one of the team's strongest players, after he fractured his arm in the final minutes of the Brisbane game.

The touring squad won their first test over the Wallabies 23-21, and the next matchup promises to be just as competitive.

One more victory would be the Lions' first series win against Australia in 16 years.

 

 

Aaron Hernandez denied bail a second time

 

Former NFL player Aaron Hernandez's appeal for bail has been denied because of the possibility of him being a flight risk.

The former New England Patriots tight end was charged on Wednesday with the first-degree murder of Odin Lloyd on June 17.

The prosecution has not publicly disclosed what they believe to be Hernandez's motivation for the killing.

Lloyd's body was found in a park near Hernandez's home, and the victim's girlfriend was the sister of Hernandez's fiancee.

Some Boston media groups have reported that Hernandez is also being investigated in connection with a 2012 double-murder in Boston.

His attorney argued that he wasn't a flight risk because of all the media attention surrounding the case.

Judge Renee Dupuis however, cited the cold-blooded nature of the killing and the prosecution's strong circumstantial evidence as sufficient reason to deny Hernandez bail.

 

 

Entertainment

 

 

Upcoming JAY-Z and Beyonce collaboration confirmed!

 

It has been confirmed that Beyonce will feature on Jay Z's forth coming album.

(Jay Z clip)

Queen Bee will be collaborating with her husband on a track titled "Part II (On The Run)"

The song will be the latest in a string of delectable musical offerings from the super spouses.

Beyonce and Jay Z have previously gifted us with songs such as Beyonce's breakthrough solo hit "Crazy in Love" and, my personal favourite, "Upgrade U".

(Upgrade U clip)

As a truly modern mogul, the rapper revealed the news, alongside lyrics to the song, on his Samsung app.

To celebrate July 4th - the generous man that he is - Jay Z will be showering fans with a million free albums.

Too good to be true? Well, the giveaway is reserved for Samsung smartphone users.

The rest of us common folk will have to wait until the official release on July 7th to get our mitts on the record.

Fans can also expect appearances from Justin Timberlake and Frank Ocean on the forthcoming record.

 

 

New Order announce new EP

 

New Order have announced that they will release a new record before the year is out.

(New Order)

That was Blue Monday, the band's iconic 1983 breakthrough track and the best-selling 12 inch of all time.

The revelation was made by Gillian Gilbert who says that the band have a bunch of new material awaiting Bernard Sumner's lyrics before studio treatment.

However, the responsible parents that they are, band members are awaiting the return of kids to school in September before recording the EP.

New Order formed in 1980 out of the former members of Joy Division, after the death of lead singer Ian Curtis.

Throughout their time together the band have gone through various breaks and reformations.

Rumours have been circulating that former performer Johnny Marr may be making a reappearance in the lineup.

Fans will find out the truth to the matter when New Order headlines Transmission 005 at Jodrell Bank on July 7.

 

 

Bieber facing Assault and Battery Case

 

It seems that Justin Bieber just can't stay away from trouble these days.

The 19 year old megastar is being sued for assault and battery by a paparazzi photographer.

(Justin)

The paparazzo claims that Bieber became enraged after he couldn't maneuver his Mercedes through the crowd of paparazzi and jumped out of his car.

The teenager allegedly then punched and pushed the man before delivering a martial arts-style kick to his lower rib cage

The photographer also says that Bieber's then-girlfriend, superstar Selena Gomez, apologized to the victim for Bieber's actions.

The photographer is suing for an unspecified amount of damages.

The singer recently injured a photographer whilst driving away from a LA comedy club, though he was cleared of any wrong doing.

 

 

Badges of Fury fails to impress

 

Chinese action comedy "Badges of Fury" has opened to a slew of criticism.

(Badges)

The co-production between Beijing Enlight Pictures and Hong Kong Pictures International stars screen legend Jet Li.

Despite the star power, the film has been slammed by critics for its juvenile slap stick, lack luster fight sequences and unoriginal plot line.

The police action comedy comes from first time director Wong Tsz Ming and opened earlier this month.

Audiences have expressed wariness at the irrelevant overuse of wire-fu – where wires are used to assist kung fun sequences.

There have also been complaints of the lack of screen time given to Jet Li.

The reaction to the movie resonates with audience calls for more sophisticated original plotlines at last week's Shanghai Film Festival.

Could this spell the end of the Cop-film era for Chinese action genre? Only time will tell…

 

 

Jeanette Winterson to rewrite The Winter's Tale

 

Novelist Jeanette Winterson is to reimagine Shakespeare for the modern reader.

This is part of The Hogarth Shakespeare, a major project to be launched in 2016 to mark the 4th centenary of Shakespeare's death.

Winterson Pulitzer Prize winner Anne Tyler are the first authors to be commissioned for the books.

Winterson, author of Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, which took the Whitbread Prize in 1985, will be writing a "cover version" of The Winter's Tale.

The 53-year-old says that she is happy to write the cover version of The Winter's Tale, which the author says has served as a source of inspiration for years.

Hogarth, which is Random House's transatlantic incarnation, says that the planned cover versions will remain "true to the spirit of the original dramas' and "give the authors an exciting opportunity to reinvent these seminal works of English literature.'

The publishers say that they are in talks with other authors and announcements of further commissions can be expected soon.

The novels will be simultaneously released in print, digital and audio formats across the English speaking world.