Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.

Coming up on our program this evening.

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi rejects the army's 48-hour ultimatum

Norway and India to reject Snowden's application for asylum

China Mobile set to lower its roaming fees

Business，Chairman of the China Ocean Shipping Group steps down.

Sports，Brazilian football star Kaka makes a visit to Beijing.

And the latest from Wimbledon.

Entertainments, Superman blockbuster ‘Man of Steel’ surpasses 500-million US dollars at the global box office.

Plus Special reports takes a look at the launch of China’s first ever carbon trading scheme.

 

 

Weather

 

 

Beijing will be clear tonight with a low of 23 degrees Celsius. Tomorrow sunny with a high temperature of 36.

Meanwhile Shanghai will be clear tonight, with a low of 28,　sunny tomorrow, with a high of 38.

Lhasa will have thundershowers tonight, 14 degrees the low, overcast tomorrow with a high of 26.

Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia

Islamabad, sunny, with a high of 39.

Kabul, sunny, 34.

Over in Australia

Sydney, sunny, highs of 19.

Canberra, overcast, 14.

Brisbane, sunny, 22.

And finally, Perth will have rain with a high of 16.

 

 

Top News

 

 

Morsi rebuffs army ultimatum

 

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has rejected the army's 48-hour ultimatum intended to put an end to the country's political unrest.

In a Presidential statement, Morsi says he will continue with his own plans for national reconciliation.

However, the head of the armed forces says if the people's demands are not met, the military would have to take responsibility for a plan for the future.

But General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi does say the army will not get involved in politics or government.

Meantime, Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr has reportedly submitted his resignation.

This comes a day after five other cabinet ministers announced their quitting.

On the ground, large protests continue, activist have already stormed and ransacked Cairo's Muslim Brotherhood headquarters.

The opposition movement had given Morsi until Tuesday afternoon to step down and call fresh presidential elections or else face a campaign of civil disobedience.

 

 

Norway says to reject Snowden's application for asylum

 

India and Norway have both turned down former U.S. spy Edward Snowden's asylum request.

Snowden has reportedly asked for political asylum in over 20 countries.

He is believed to have been staying in the transfer area of the Moscow airport for 8 days following his arrival from Hong Kong.

He is charged with leaking classified information about secret U.S. phone and Internet surveillance activity.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin says Snowden has given up his intention to ask for political asylum in Russia.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has also noted Russia will not extradite the 29-year-old whistleblower to the United States because he could face capital punishment there.

Russia has stressed it could approve Snowden's application only on condition he stops his anti-U.S. activity.

 

 

Russian rocket crashes in satellites launch

 

A Russian rocket has reportedly crashed shortly after blasting off from Kazakhstan.

The rocket was carrying three Glonass-M satellites.

It was reportedly seen changing its flight direction a few seconds after take-off, then falling and exploding over the space center.

Reports say specialists were immediately evacuated from launch pads, as a toxic cloud generated by rocket fuel appeared over the site.

Russia's federal space agency Roscosmos says an investigation commission has been set up to look into the accident.

 

 

Colombian rebel groups in unification talks

 

Colombia's largest armed rebel groups, the FARC and ELN, have met to strengthen their unification process.

In a statement, the FARC says "incidents which led to the distancing between the groups" have been overcome.

The FARC has also stressed the need for all rebel groups to be involved in the ongoing peace talks with the government.

The latest round of talks between the FARC and Colombian government kicked off in Havana yesterday and is expected to discuss whether the rebel group can enter politics.　

FARC leader Timoleon Jimenez.

"For this national constituents assembly to fulfil the objectives of peace and social justice for Colombians, it must include representative participation of the insurgency and the democratic participation of all sectors that make up the nation."

The ELN, Colombia's second largest group, is not part of the peace talks in Cuba.

The grouop has clashed with the FARC in the past, but has recently joined forces with the rebel group in armed operations against government targets in Colombia.

The FARC has been hammering out peace terms with government negotiators since November to bring an end to Latin America's longest-running insurgency that has killed more than 100-thousand people.

Colombian government wants a peace agreement signed by the end of this year.

 

 

Arizona wildfire rages on

 

The wildfire in the US state of Arizona that killed 19 firefighters over the weekend remains uncontained.

It has now grown into 13 square miles.

At least 50 homes have been destroyed and 2-hundred more are being threatened in the city of Yarnell, that's about 80 miles northwest of Phoenix.

At a memorial service, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer described the deaths in the firecrew as a "dark day".

The bodies of the men aged 21-43, have been brought to Phoenix for a post-mortem examination.

Dan Fraijo is Prescott Fire Chief:

"There aren't any other groups for us to put together, that was our only team, it's been there since the '90s. We haven't thought any further than dealing with the issues that have taken place and dealing with the grief that has taken place."

About 2-hundred additional firefighters have been brought in to tackle the blaze.

This brings the total force to about 4-hundred.

They include other hotshot teams sent from around the US.

The fire was believed to have been caused by lightening on Friday near the small mountain town of Yarnell.

In recent days, dozens of people across western US states have been treated for exhaustion and dehydration amid a heat wave.

Temperatures in some areas have hit 54 degree Celsius.

This is close to the world's all time high recorded 1-hundred years ago in California's Death Valley.

 

 

China Mobile lowers roaming fees again

 

Anchor:

Well there is good news in store for travellers here in China.

hina Mobile service provider has just announced it has slashed international roaming fees in another 62-countries and regions.

Xie Zhao has the details:

Reporter:

China Mobile has announced it will charge no more than 3-yuan per minute for all of its international roaming fees across 242-countries and regions it runs services in.

Xing Hongtao is deputy manager at the pricing management office of the marketing department in China Mobile.

He says the demand for roaming services has massively increased as more Chinese nationals travel overseas:

"First of all, the number of mainland residents' roaming overseas hit more than 83 million, up 18.4% from 2011. Secondly, the number of students studying abroad reached 1.55 million, up 8.39% year-on-year. Thirdly, the number of Chinese citizens working abroad has risen to 850 thousand, up 3.66 percent. Generally speaking, the whole international exchange has become closer."

However, a number of subscribers say they are perplexed about international roaming prices and the high fee.

Lu Wenchang is deputy manager in at China Mobile's marketing department.

He says overseas operators have put more emphasis on Chinese subscribers' needs:

"It has become a trend for global carriers' revenue to grow slowly. According to our statistics, the average revenue growth of global top ten carriers is only about 1.3%. With the internet expanding and carriers' cost surging, profit margins of the carriers have decreased. If we have some cheese, multiple carriers in different countries and regions would like to share the cheese."

Lu says a deal has been reached with carriers in other countries and regions to offer three categories of international roaming services.

This means when subscribers are abroad dialing back to the Chinese mainland or receiving international roaming calls, they will be charged one of the three prices.

They come in at just under 1-yuan, just under 2-yuan and just under 3-yuan per minute, depending on which area they are in.

For example, China Mobile clients in Singapore will now pay 0.99 yuan per minute to call the Chinese mainland.

At the same time, data traffic fees in 63-countries have been cut by 50-percent.

China Mobile has lowered international roaming fees for the ninth time since 2010.

The company says the cuts are aimed at maintaining high-end user loyalty amid increasingly intense domestic competition.

For CRI, this is Xie Zhao.

 

 

Report-College graduates job-hunt

 

Anchor:

This year's job-hunting season is getting underway and it is being dubbed" the toughest ever in history" for recent university graduates.

Around seven million students have graduated from higher education institutions this year, a record high for China.

However, this increase comes at a time when employers are cutting down on recruitment.

CRI's Zhou Heyang has more:

Reporter:

Starting from July 1st, an employment stimulation program targeting unemployed, fresh university graduates kicks off in full scale. It encourages graduates to get registered with the public recruitment service database which is upheld on a public community service platform. Here, graduates can also receive hiring information and employment instruction.

Wang Rong, Vice Division Chief at the Department of Human Resources and Social Security, says the program also provides financial aid to unemployed recent graduates from disadvantaged backgrounds.

"The standard amount of subsidy provided is 8 hundred to one thousand Yuan. Universities in all regions are distributing the fund to those who are going through such hardship."

The country's policy-makers have been urging for every measure to be taken to help China's new graduates gain employment, including creating more community-level jobs, recruiting for the military and promoting entrepreneurship.

But some companies, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises, are still complaining about how difficult it is to attract university graduates. Here a human resource manager for a small-sized private enterprise in Guangdong speaks on such difficulties.

"We need to hire lots of people, but we are finding it extremely difficult to find possible candidates. We are worried. See, I only received 2 resumes this morning."

Despite the fact that the starting salary in low- medium-sized enterprises can eventually offer salaries as high as the larger ones; however, graduates appear to show little interest. They don't seem to be willing to invest their time to grow with the company.

Another trend, if not problem, for graduates who can't find jobs is that they are prone to seek job opportunities in first-tier cities whereas more opportunities are actually to be found elsewhere. Ming Hong, Division Chief at the Department of Human Resources and Social Security explains:

"The eastern areas of the country are currently seeing a similar number of job vacancies as last year. There is little fluctuation in this regard, whereas the demand for workers in the middle and Western parts of the country is on a sharp rise."

The wage level in middle and Western China is not far behind that of the traditionally more economic prosperous Eastern regions at the moment. Conversely, living expenses and competition is often much lower than that in Eastern regions.

Experts say the toughest job-seeking season reflects the fact that the overall job market is shrinking this year.

For CRI, I'm Zhou Heyang.

 

 

China joins force with Laos, Myanmar and Thailand in Mekong anti-drug campaign

 

The Ministry of Public Security says Police from China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand have arrested over 2,500 suspects during a two-month anti-drug campaign in the Golden Triangle.

The region, which is located on the borders between China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, is a major drug trading route in southeast Asia.

During the campaign around 10-tonnes of drugs, a large number of firearms, and about 3.6 million U.S-dollars in cash was seized.

Police in the four countries have been working together through a law enforcement mechanism since March.

Liu Yuejin is director general of the Narcotics Control Bureau at the Public Security Ministry .

He says the mechanism has proven effective.

"We have become colleagues in the same office. They work together, share information, study cases and have discussions every day. This way messages can be delivered efficiently while actions from all sides can be coordinated in time. Emergencies would also be dealt with in a timely manner. This has greatly improved our efficiency."

He also notes that China will continue to carry out anti-drug campaigns in cooperation with other countries.

 

 

Biz Reports

 

Asian Stock

 

Chinese stocks rallied on Tuesday as nearly half of the A-share listed companies have issued growth forecast for the first half of the year.

Of the 939 companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses, over 450 companies forecast year-on-year profit growth.

When the market closed, The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.5 percent.

The Shenzhen Component Index was up 0.6 percent.

While in Hong Kong, The benchmark Hang Seng Index dipped 0.7 percent.

Elsewhere, Tokyo's Nikkei Stock Average climbed 1.8 percent to finish above 14,000 for the first time in five weeks as blue-chip exporters gained on a weaker yen.

South Korea's Kospi dropped slightly and closed flat.

Singapore's Strait Times Index gained 1 percent.

And finally the Australian share market has posted its strongest session in 20 months due to rising commodity prices and a falling Australian dollar.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rallied 2.6 percent.

 

 

Cosco chairman steps down

 

The chairman of China's state-owned China Ocean Shipping Group or Cosco, has stepped down.

63-year-old Wei Jiafu stepped citing his age as the reason.

Wei has been Cosco's chairman since 1998.

The reshuffle comes as the company's listed flagship China Cosco Holdings is struggling to return to profitability amid the global shipping downturn.

The shares of Cosco Holdings dropped over 90 percent this year compared with its highest point recorded in 2007.

Ma Zehua, the current general manager of the group will succeed Ma as president.

 

 

Home prices in China

 

Anchor:

New stats show home prices across China have continued to go up in June.

The China Index Academy report shows the average price of new residential properties across 100 cities climbed 0.7 percent from May.

The average price for a new home now stands at over 10-thousand-250 yuan per square meter.

This marks a 7.4 percent increase year-on-year.

The cities of Changshu in Jiangsu and Xiamen in Fujian both saw their new home prices rise over 3-percent last month.

For more on this, CRI's Paul James earlier spoke with Mark Hughes, Executive business editor of China Daily.

…

Back Anchor:

That was Paul James speaking with Mark Hughes, Executive business editor of China Daily.

 

 

China's farm produce prices retreat slightly

 

The prices of farm produce in 36 major Chinese cities have retreated slightly for a second week in a row after rising supplies.

The report released by the Ministry of Commerce says the wholesale prices of 18 kinds of vegetables went down 4.6 percent last week from a week earlier.

Meanwhile, the prices of eight aquatic products shed 0.4 percent and the cost of eggs dipped 0.1 percent week on week.

But the price of pork, the country's staple meat, gained 0.5 percent.

Food prices account for about one-third of prices evaluated in China's consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation.

China's CPI growth slowed to 2.1 percent in May.

 

 

China boosts financial support to small firms, rural areas

 

The People's Bank of China has announced a re-lending quota of 12-billion-yuan to boost financial support for small and micro-businesses.

PBOC requires funds from the quota be credited to small and micro-businesses, as well as the agricultural sector, rural areas and farmers.

So far, around 162-billion yuan has accumulated in the quota.

45-percent has gone to small and micro-businesses while 27-percent into rural areas.

PBOC says the re-lending tool plays a constructive role in increasing the availability of credit for small and micro-businesses and rural areas.

 

 

US manufacturing recovers slightly in June

 

US manufacturing expanded last month, rebounding from an unexpected contraction in May.

The Institute for Supply Management says its index of national factory activity rose to 50.9 from 49 in May.

The gauge for new orders rose to 51.9 from 48 while production jumped to 53.4.

The June rebound was stronger than the 50.5 reading previously forecasted, but analysts say a just above 50 reading indicates continuing weakness in the manufacturing sector.

Meanwhile, employment gave its lowest reading since 2009, falling to 48.7 in June.

These figures may feed into concerns about the strength of the U.S recovery.

Earlier, Federal Reserve said it would slow down its 85-billion dollars-a-month bond purchases if the economy continued to recover.

 

 

Australian Reserve Bank keeps cash rate on hold

 

The Reserve Bank of Australia has left the cash rate unchanged, holding steady at 2.75 percent.

The decision comes in line with expectations of analysts, who say the RBA is looking for less volatility in the Australian share market before adjusting the monetary policy.

The Australian dollar dropped after the announcement.

RBA governor Glenn Stevens says Australia's economy has been growing below trend recently but easier global financial conditions will contribute to stronger growth over time.

 

 

Greece resumes talks with international lenders over bailout

 

Greece and its international lenders have resumed talks to unlock 8.1 billion euros of a rescue loan after a two-week break.

It is being reported Greece has three days to reassure its lenders it can deliver on conditions attached to its international bailout to receive the next tranche of aid.

Athens missed a June deadline to place 12,500 state workers into a "mobility scheme", under which they are transferred or dismissed within a year.

International lenders including IMF might refuse to pay the full sum in one go and break it up into three monthly payments to pressure Athens to deliver on reforms.

The latest installment is one of the last big cash injections before the 240 billion euro bailout expires at the end of 2014.

 

 

Headline News

 

 

Norway says to reject Snowden's application for asylum

 

The Norwegian government says it will reject an asylum application by American whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Meanwhile, Russia says Snowden has given up his intention to ask for political asylum in the country.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has also noted Russia will not extradite the 29-year-old whistleblower to the United States because he could face capital punishment there.

Snowden has reportedly asked for political asylum in over 20 countries.

He is believed to have been staying in the transfer area of the Moscow airport for 8 days following his arrival from Hong Kong.

 

 

6.2-magnitude quake hits Aceh, Indonesia, injures dozens, damages houses

 

Dozens of people have been injured in an earthquake in the northern tip of Indonesia's Sumatra Island.

The 6.2-magnitude earthquake hit Aceh Province on Tuesday afternoon.

The epicenter of the earthquake was located some 180-kilometers southeast from the province's capital city of Banda Aceh at a depth of 10-kilometers.

Some housing has reportedly being damaged.

At present experts say there is no potential for a tsunami.

 

 

Millions affected by heavy rain in SW China

 

Storms and floods have so far left nine people dead and six others missing in Sichuan Province.

Torrential rains have battered the area since Saturday.

More than 3.2 million people across the province have been affected.

So far nearly 120-thousand people have been relocated.

With 57-thousand hectares of crops damaged and 3-and-a-half-thousand houses toppled.

Disaster relief supplies have been sent for those affected by the rain.

The rain is expected to continue until Friday.

In neighboring Chongqing, nearly 900-thousand people have been affected by the heavy rains.

 

 

Landslide in SW China kills 6

 

Six people have been killed in a landslide triggered by heavy rain in Yunnan Province.

The landslide hit in Fuyuan County in the city of Qujing this Tuesday morning.

Ten people in three dormitories of the Xinxin Coal Mine are reported to have been buried.

Six people were later found dead at the scene, while four injured have been taken to a local hospital.

 

 

Newspaper Picks

 

 

Xinhua

 "China launches anti-trust probe into baby formula"

China's top economic planner is conducting an anti-trust probe into several baby formula companies to investigate allegations of price fixing.

Several baby formula companies believed to have a monopoly in the Chinese market are being investigated.

Several baby formula manufacturers, including Biostime, MeadJohnson and Nestle, have been accused of violating anti-monopoly laws via high prices and limited market competition.

Companies that are found to have violated the law will be punished accordingly in order to protect the market and safeguard consumers' interests.

Global Times

 "500 ladies seek millionaires at hook-up event"

Over 500 single women participated in an upscale matchmaking event recently, all desperate to become wealthy housewives.

The event organizer, China Entrepreneurs' Club for Singles, claims to charge men an annual fee of 200-thousand yuan for the chance to meet a carefully selected and screened lineup of ladies.

While women are not charged a fee, the club claims to vet all potential matches through rigorous rounds of written tests and interviews, including an intelligence exam, psychological evaluation and a "life skill test".

Other hurdles include a shirt folding contest, a luggage packing challenge, a tarot card reading and a pulse-taking by a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner.

AFP

 "It's a bug's life: Microbes to inherit the Earth"

A study claims 2-billion years from now, an ever-hotter Sun will have cooked the Earth, leaving microbes confined to pockets of water in mountains or caves as the last survivors.

Researchers say as the Sun ages over the next billion years, it will become more luminous, cranking up the thermostat on the Earth.

Over the second billion years, the oceans will dry up completely, leaving extremophiles -- microbial life able to cope with intense ultra-violet radiation and raging heat from the Sun -- to inherit the planet.

 

 

Special Reports

 

 

Guizhou deal promises tourism dollars for minorities in Guizhou

 

Anchor

In the hope of sharing China's economic wealth, over two million people will be moved from their remote mountain homes to Guizhou's cities, part of the central government's vast urbanization plan.

But this week a rare deal was signed promising a way out of poverty for some of China's minority people without the urban jaunt.

CRI's Primrose has more.

Reporter

American NGO the Global Heritage Fund will partner with Chinese NGO You Cheng, the Guizhou local and provincial governments, UNESCO, and Peking and Beijing Universities to conserve two ancient minority villages while boosting local tourism jobs.

Quan Han Li the China Director of the Global Heritage fund spoke to us from on the ground in Guizhou. She says deals like this don't come easy.

"To be able to really execute things smoothly on the ground, you really need to have the local know how and relationships and trust developed over a long period of time. So I would not be able to do this 5 years ago because I don't think the foundation was there yet. Also I feel that dealing with cultural heritage there is a few organizations that are doing it, but it's not very developed or mature."

It's hoped restoring drum towers, covered bridges, and water-powered paper workshops will bring in the tourists dollars to both Dali and Heshui village.

Han Li again

"So one of the villages actually do a very ancient technique of papermaking which is to preserve the more agrarian lifestyle they work of the paper mill when they are not busy in the fields which is a supplement to their income."

Using ethnic minorities to generate tourism jobs is nothing new to the Guizhou provincial government.

Dr. Dan Wenhong is from Guizhou Normal University

"There are 17 ethnic minorities in Guizhou therefore the Guizhou government places great attention to the protection of cultural heritage."

But as the process can be controversial. Dr Dan Wenhong again.

"Culture from outside does effect minority culture, the question is how to protect local people while integrating them into a globalized world especially while incorporating environmental and ecological values."

Ethnic minority theme parks have sprung up in China's south, lurid affairs where the conservation and poverty alleviation value is sometimes unclear.

What's more using cultural heritage conservation to alleviate poverty is not always straightforward.

"Well on the community level they're not just monuments, they're towns, they're villages , they deal a lot with the social issues. And that's when I realized we are trying to solve social issues through conservation, which doesn't really make sense. What we really need is community involvement which is quite difficult to achieve."

Either way, the stakes are high. Many in the province are desperately poor and nearly half earn less than of 2300 yuan a year. They need answers fast. I'm Primrose Riordan for CRI.

For CRI, I'm Primrose.

 

 

Sports

 

 

Kaka in Beijing to promote friendly match

 

Brazilian football star Kaka is in Beijing to promote a friendly match between Chinese and Brazilian players.

The Real Madrid midfielder has come to China as the ambassador of cultrual exchange between China and Brazil.

When asked about Brazil's latest win at the Confederation Cup, the soccer superstar said he was proud:

"I felt happy for them. Brazil has long been a very competitive team and this time they approved their strength over the win. They've rivaled against Italy and beaten Spain, all those strongest teams. And they're young and energetic. I think now the door is open for every talent who want to join in the national team as what the coach Luiz Felip Scolari has stated at a recent press conference. It is a crucial moment for me as well and I'll try my best to participate in the World Cup hosted by Brazil."

The 're-match' of 2002 World Cup group stage, is scheduled for August 3rd at the National Stadium in Beijing.

Legendary stars including Pele, Zico, Carlos Alberto, Rmario and Bebeto are reportedly set to feature in the game.

Kaka is also scheduled to go to Guangxi and Shanghai.

 

 

Serena Williams ousted from Wimbledon by a game opponent and inevitability of Father Time

 

To Wimbledon and on this dramatic Monday, top seeded Serena Williams has been ousted by Sabine Lisicki of Germany 6-2, 1-6, 6-4.

The 23-year old officially ended the world number one's reign over the Wimbledon championships via a stunning 3-set victory in the fourth round.

Lisicki, currently ranked 23rd, has an impressive Wimbledon record.

She has reached the quarter-finals 3 times and finished fourth in 2011.

Meanwhile in men's tennis, world's number one Novak Djokovic defeated No.13 Tommy Hass 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 to advance to his 17th straight Grand Slam quarterfinal.

Tommy Hass on his loss:

"I knew the first set was sort of slipping out of my control, and I was already reaching the end of it trying to focus on the second and trying to mentally prepare myself for that one. If I maybe get the second set somehow. Then he played some great tennis to break me for the set. I thought the long rallies could have gone either way. But I wasn't really happy with the way I was trying to come forward."

For British fans, Andy Murray has beat Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 7-6, 6-1.

In other matches, Chinese sixth seed Li Na raced into the last eight with a 6-2, 6-0 demolition of Italian 11th seed Roberta Vinci.

American Sloane Stephens reached her second grand slam quarter-final, beating 19-year-old Monica Puig of Puerto Rico 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.

Britain's dreams of having their first female player in the Wimbledon quarter-finals for 29 years were shattered as Laura Robson was defeated by Estonia's Kaia Kanepi.

 

 

FIFA declares Confederations Cup a success despite street protests

 

FIFA has declared the Confederations Cup football tournament a great success though Brazilians have taken to the streets to protest against the game and next year's World Cup.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter.

"I'm sure that we will have a wonderful World Cup next year. But you can never avoid, when you have such a big event. Or if you have, next year, the World Cup, or if you have the Olympic Games here, you can never make everybody happy. And we try to make happy, the maximum number of people in a country by saying that football means to you not only the entertainment, but especially, emotions and hope."

Protesters are calling for more investment pouring into public services instead of concentrating on infrastructure spent for the World Cup and Olympic Games.

Meanwhile the country's retired soccer legend, Ronaldo says demonstrations are not targeting the World Cup.

"I want to say that speaking to people on the street, I believe that the Brazilian people are not against the World Cup, they are not against the Confederations Cup, they are against corruption, the division of wealth, against the way public health is managed, and the educational system."

Players have been saying the distances between host cities are too far and the temperature is so high.

FIFA had planned to unveil ticket prices for the World Cup today, but the announcement has been delayed until July 19th.

 

 

Third stage of Tour de France

 

Australia's Simon Gerrans has won the third stage of the Tour de France.

Gerrans edged out last years green jersey winner Peter Sagan of Slovakia, and Spain's Jose Joaquin Rojas came in the third at the 145-kilometre ride.

Gerrans' victory is his second in the Tour, with his previous stage win dating back to 2008.

It is the first win for an Australian in the race since Cadel Evans won the fourth stage en route to taking the yellow jersey in 2011.

Meanwhile, Belgium's Jan Bakelants, winner of the second stage, holds on to the overall race leader's yellow jersey.

The Tour is now set to return to the French mainland for a 25-kilometre "team time-trial" in Nice tomorrow.

 

 

Entertainment

 

 

Man of Steel Passes $500 Million Mark

 

Zack Snyder's Superman blockbuster Man of Steel has rocketed past the 500-million US dollar mark at the global box office.

The film which hasn't even been in theaters for a month has made over 249-million dollars in the US and 272-million internationally.

This puts Man of Steel second in line on the list of most successful films from 2013.

Iron Man 3 holds the title for top money maker of the year and 5th highest grossing film of all time after raking in 1.2-billion dollars.

Superman is also celebrating a 75th anniversary this year which is just a lovely little cherry on the top of a delicious cookies and cream ice cream cake.

A sequel has already been fast-tracked in Hollywood with Snyder set to return as director and David S Goyer on board once again as writer.

Actors Henry Cavill, and Amy Adams are expected to reprise their roles as Superman and Lois Lane.

 

 

Joss Whedon Promises More Female Superheroes

 

Avengers director Joss Whedon has promised fans to include more female superheroes in future Marvel movies.

Whedon rose to fame as the creator of one of television's most iconic female butt-kickers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Some fans have been disappointed by the lack of strong female superhero characters in the Marvel studio franchises.

Actress Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow character has been the only major female superhero from the studio.

Whedon went on to say he wants to make sure women are well-represented in film and not just window dressing.

He has also hinted he has actresses in mind for female superheroes currently in development for the big screen.

The sequel to Whedon's astronomically successful 2012 film the Avengers is due out summer 2015.

 

 

Wizard of Oz Celebrating 75th Anniversary

 

The trailer advertising the re-release of the original Wizard of Oz film has debuted.

Dorothy, the Tinman, the Cowardly Lion, and the Scarecrow will return to US screens in an IMAX 3D release in celebration of the film's 75th anniversary.

In 1939 the Wizard of Oz was regarded as a technological breakthrough as it was the first major motion picture to use Technicolor.

The film begins in black and white until Dorothy steps out of her house and finds herself in the literally colorful world of Oz.

The 75th anniversary comes hot on the heels of this year's other Oz film, director Sam Raimi's Oz the Great and Powerful.

In the film US actor James Franco plays a crooked salesman who accidentally stumbles into the magical world.

The classic Wizard of Oz follows the yellow brick road into theaters this September.

 

 

Nile Rodgers Won't Perform Get Lucky Without Daft Punk

 

Musician Nile Rodgers has revealed he vowed he would not perform electro duo Daft Punk's newest hit "Get Lucky" without them.

Rodgers co-wrote the song and performs guitar on the track, which went on to become the first single of 2013 to sell a million copies in the UK.

Rodgers' band Chic performed at the Glastonbury festival this past weekend and many fans speculated they would perform a cover of the song.

However, before the set Rodgers announced he wouldn't feel right performing the song if it was not with Daft Punk.

He says it was a decision he made on his own and he felt it would be wrong to perform it without them.

 

 

World of Warcraft Film Delayed

 

Fans of the hit online multiplayer game World of Warcraft may have to wait a little longer to see a film adaptation.

Though Duncan Jones, the director of creepy Moon film, has signed on to direct the project it looks like the film is experiencing production delays.

Shooting was supposed to begin in early 2014, however the massive scope of the project has filmmakers worried they may need more time to develop the story.

According to producers the rich videogame world of World of Warcraft defined by its complex relationships and intricate lore makes the project a difficult one to translate into a successful film.

As such production will be delayed until the filmmakers believe they have a film that will not only appeal to fans of the videogame, but can stand alone as a quality film as well.

The film was schedule for a 2015 release, but will now probably hit theaters in 2016.