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

Coming up on our program this evening,

At least 18 people killed in a landslide in Sichuan Province

Thousands of Morsi supporters take to the streets to demand his reinstatement.

China and the U.S begin this year’s key Strategic and Economic Dialogue.

Business, Chinese Internet giants Baidu and Sina enter the online payment market.

Sports, China grab three golds at the Kazan Universiade.

Entertainments, Taiwan superstar Jay Chou chats about new film ‘The Rooftop’.

Plus Special reports takes a look at how the San Francisco crash has sparked debate around summer camps overseas

 

 

Weather

 

 

Beijing will be overcast to cloudy with a low of 22 degrees Celsius. Tomorrow thundershowers with a high temperature of 28.

Meanwhile Shanghai will be clear tonight, with a low of 27,　sunny tomorrow, with a high of 35.

Lhasa will have light rain tonight, 14 degrees the low, showers tomorrow with a high of 24.

Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia

Islamabad, sunny, with a high of 36.

Kabul, sunny, 33.

Over in Australia

Sydney, overcast, highs of 20.

Canberra, overcast, 15.

Brisbane, overcast, 19.

And finally, Perth will be sunny with a high of 21.

 

 

Top News

 

 

At least 18 killed in landslide in Sichuan

 

At least 18 people have been killed in a massive landslide triggered by heavy rains in southwestern China's Sichuan province.

The landslide comes after three days of heavy rains that have led to flooding in the province.

Officials say search and rescue work are ongoing after the victim's bodies were retrieved at the site of the landslide in Zhongxing town of Dujiangyan.

Peng Ye is a reporter with Shanghai-based Dragon TV.

"We are now at the Zhongxing town. As you can see, the rain is now smaller. Since the weather has improved slightly, the rescue team returned to the site of landslide this morning. In the Sanxi village, at least 2 people including a tourist were killed in the landslide and another 21 are missing. Over 70 local residents have been evacuated. As of this morning, the local meteorological bureau in Chengdu has lifted the red alert for rainstorm. But heavy and torrential rains are forecasted for the mountainous areas."

Over 11 houses have been destroyed in the landslide with at least 100 people reported as missing across Sichuan.

Bridges have been closed and train services suspended in some parts of the province.

The rain also flooded the ruins of Beichuan county, which was ravaged by the 8.0 magnitude earthquake in 2008.

The early arrival of the rainy season has also caused havoc in other regions including Yunnan, Hebei and Xinjiang.

 

 

Passengers told to remain at seats after crash landing in US

 

U.S investigators say records show that passengers aboard the Asiana flight which crash landed last week in San Francisco were initially told not to evacuate.

Deborah Hersman, Chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, says the evacuation started 90-seconds after the Boeing 777 skidded to a halt on the runway.

"We talked about that in order to get certified, an aircraft manufacturer has to show that a fully loaded aircraft can be evacuated, fully evacuated within 90 seconds. What we saw here was that the first doors and slides weren't opened for about 90 seconds."

Hersman says the evacuation started only when a fire was spotted outside the plane.

At that point, two flight attendants were pinned by slides that inflated inside during the impact.

The agency also says that in the last two-and-a-half minutes of the flight, the plane was in multiple autopilot modes.

"We see multiple autopilot modes and we see multiple autothrottle modes. We need to understand what those modes were, if they were commanded by the pilots, if they were activated inadvertently, if the pilots understood what the modes were doing."

Two Chinese teenage girls were killed in the crash and other 180 were injured.

At least 30 passengers still remain in San Francisco hospitals.

Earlier, authorities say that one of the girls may be run over by an emergency vehicle, but it is still unknown whether the girl was killed by the vehicle.

 

 

Thousands of Morsi supporters take to the streets to demand his reinstatement

 

Thousands of supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi have marched in Cairo.

Protesters chanted anti-military slogans and held symbolic coffins, demanding Morsi return to power during a protest march on Wednesday evening.

"We are marching today to send a massage to the army, that we are marching towards Ittihadiya Palace peacefuly and we are not bloody people or terrorists. We are carrying coffins symbolically for the 85 Martyrs we had and for the more than 1500 injured so far."

The protest comes after the military backed government issued arrest warrants for Mohammed Badie, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and nine other senior figures.

They were charged with inciting Monday's violence in the capital, in which over 50 Brotherhood supporters were killed.

Leaders of the Brotherhood are believed to be taking refuge in eastern Cairo, but it is not clear if Badie also is there.

For more on the situation in Egypt, Marc Cavigli earlier spoke with CRI's special correspondent David Keyton in Cairo.

…

That was CRI's special correspondent David Keyton in Cairo.

 

 

Railway company blames engineer for Canadian train crash

 

The head of the railway company, whose runaway oil train crashed into a town in Canada, has blamed a train engineer for failing to set the brakes properly.

At least 20 people were killed and 30 are still missing after the train exploded.

Edward Burkhardt, is the CEO of Rail World, the railway's parent company.

"We know the hand breaks were applied properly on the locomotive, the fact that when the air breaks released on the locomotive that the train ran away would indicate that the hand breaks on the balance of the train were not properly applied."

Burkhardt says the engineer, who was in charge of driving the train, has been suspended.

Around 30 buildings were destroyed by the fireball from the explosion.

Some 2,000 residents were forced from their homes.

Local police are stilling searching the disaster site.

 

 

China, US begin key annual talks

 

Anchor

This year's edition of the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue is wrapping up its first day in Washington.

CRI's Washington correspondent Xiaohong has the details.

Ann:

Speaking at the opening session of the annual high-level talks between China and the United States, Chinese vice Premier Wang Yang says dialogue is an important tool to accelerate the development of society.

"We would like to have dialogues and listen to different voices, and would accept the correct ideas. In the process of globalization, we had benefited from having dialogues with various stakeholders including the United States. Those dialogues help to detect the problems that had hindered our development and therefore improved our work. However, China, like the United States, will never accept views, however presented, that undermine our basic system or national interests."

The Chinese vice Premier notes that just a month ago President Xi Jinping and President Barack Obama held their historical summit at Sunnylands, California and opened a new chapter in bilateral relations.

The talks are designed to try to put the consensus reached between the two leaders into concrete policies.

Wang Yang admits there are misunderstandings and disagreements between the two sides.

However, he says the disagreements can be controlled, noting China-U.S. cooperation is now a global issue.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden says he agrees.

"Mechanism like the Strategic and Economic Dialogue plays an important role in managing our complex relationship. If together we get it right, we can leave behind a much better future for our children, and for their children, and quite frankly, for the world."

Biden says U.S.-China relationship will remain both competitive and cooperative, saying both sides share a wide range of opinions.

The annual talks, now in their fifth year, involve senior officials including U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi.

Kerry says the talks allow the two countries to speak candidly about their differences to constructively manage them and increase understanding.

Jacob Lew says, as the world's two largest economies, too much is at stake for both the United States and China to let the differences come in the way of progress.

"Now, while we each must guide our economic futures by expanding the middle class of our nations, what we each do domestically matters enormously for the other. Yes, our economies are inter-connected. But what matters is ensuring that our economies are growing in a way that is balanced, beneficial, and mutually compatible."

As part of the two-day-sessions, senior officials from nearly two dozens of government agencies from both sides are expected to discuss a wide range of issues, including climate change, energy security and economics and trade.

For CRI, this is Xiaohong reporting from Washington.

 

 

More cities may implement restrictive policy on purchasing cars

 

Anchor:

New statistics are suggesting car sales and output in China have gained strong momentum in the first half of the year.

However, eight more cities are likely to announce restrictive policies on purchasing cars this year, which could see domestic car brands marginalized.

CRI's Xie Zhao has more.

According to statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, both China's car sales and output surpassed 10- million in the first six months of this year.

Sales grew by 12.3 percent year on year while output surged by 12.8 percent year on year.

Chen Shihua, is director at the Information Department of CAAM.

He says the growth of car sales and output is higher than expected.

"This year China's automobile sector had a good start. The growth of auto sales and output in the first quarter outpaced 10%. Although the growth of output in June is 9.3%, a little down, the growth is relatively stable in the overall first half of the year."

A report by CAAM and the Nielsen Market Research Company shows third and fourth-tiered cities are set to become the new engine for China's automobile market growth.

Young consumers, especially the post-80s and post-90s generations are expected to become the new purchasing force.

However, some insiders say they are not optimistic about the future of domestic cars due to new curbing policies on purchasing cars in some mega-cities.

According to statistics, domestic cars have been marginalized, with domestic car market shares having dropped by half in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Shi Jianhua, deputy secretary at CAAM, says the restrictive policy has pushed up the cost of buying cars.

"With the restrictive policy in place, such as in Beijing and Shanghai, consumers tend to buy large vehicles with powerful engines, as well as high-priced imported cars. Take Beijing for example, the average price of cars is up 88% after the policy. The market share of car with 1.6 liters engine and smaller than 1.6 liters has dropped by 17%. "

Shi Jianhua says eight more cities, including Tianjin, ShenZhen, Huangzhou, and Chengdu are likely to announce policies this year to curb the purchase of private cars.

The move is expected to have a significant impact on the development of domestic cars.

"If the eight cities implement the policy, local auto sales may drop by around 25, amounting to around 400-thousands cars. It will account for 2% of the auto output in the whole year. "　

Shi is advising the government to respect the market economy principle and take a cautious attitude about introducing new curbs.

For CRI, I'm Xie Zhao.

 

 

Biz Reports

 

 

Asian Stock

 

Chinese shares jumped to a three-week high following media reports stating that financing rules may be partially relaxed for real estate firms.

At market close, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index Jumped 3.2 percent.

The Shenzhen Component Index soared 4.2 percent.

The financial and cement sectors were among the strongest, with the sub-indices for the sectors surging 7 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively.

Over in Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng increased 2 percent.

Other Asian markets reacted positively on Ben Bernanke's comment that accommodative monetary policy would be needed for the foreseeable future.

Japan's Nikkei edged up 0.4 percent.

And South Korea's KOSPI jumped 2.9 percent.

In Singapore, the benchmark Straits Times index also ended up 1.9 percent.

Finally, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 picked up 1.3 percent.

 

 

Healthcare firm GlaxoSmithKline face China bribery probe

 

A number of senior executives from the Chinese division of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) are facing criminal investigation.

The Ministry of Public Security says police have questioned some suspects from the pharmaceutical maker and have obtained sufficient evidence.

The suspects are believed to have offered large bribes to government officials, hospitals and doctors in order to boost its sales in the country.

The British multi-national, which is the world's fourth biggest pharmaceutical maker is also being investigated for tax related violations.

That includes illegal cashing by falsely issuing exclusive value-added tax invoices and colluding with travel agencies to issue fake invoices.

Earlier in April, GSK was also probed by the UK authorities for improper practices in market competition.

Other leading pharmaceutical companies such as Eli Lilly, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson have all been previously investigated for illegal practices.

For more on the GSK probe and foreign pharmaceutical companies in China, we now cross live to Ben Cavender, Associate Principal at China Market Research.

…

Back anchor: Ben Cavender, Associate Principal at China Market Research.

 

 

Baidu and Sina enters online pay market

 

Chinese Internet giants Baidu and Sina have received online payment licenses from the People's Bank of China, PBOC.

According to China's central bank, both companies were granted a five-year permission to conduct Internet payment businesses.

Sina, which operates the twitter-like micro-blogging service Weibo, also got the nod to run a mobile phone payment business.

Alibaba's Alipay currently dominates the Chinese Internet payment market with a 46.3 percent share of the online payment market in the first quarter of 2013.

Tencent's Tenpay is second with 20.3 percent.

Alipay had a total of 800-million registered accounts by the end of April.

 

 

Markets Sigh in Relief on Bernanke Comments

 

US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has sparked a rally across financial markets after he said the FED was in no rush to take back its hefty monetary stimulus.

"We expect inflation to come back up, but if that is not the case, we have to say that that would be a good reason to remain accommodative and to try to achieve that objective."

Bernanke was speaking on the 100-year anniversary of the U.S central bank.

His comments had an immediate impact on asset prices that have fallen sharply on Fed tapering fears.

Gold prices jumped more than 2 percent to more than 12-hundred US Dollars, their highest level in more than two weeks.

Treasury yield fell to around 2.59 percent in Asia from around 2.67 percent in late New York trade.

The market also expects a firm opening for Wall Street shares, which were closed when Bernanke made his comments.

 

 

Yum earnings fall amid declining appetites

 

Yum Brands, owner of KFC and Pizza Hut restaurant chains, is reporting a drop in profits as a recent food safety scare continues to damage sales here in China.

Sales fell 20-percent during the period amid fears of a bird flu outbreak.

Fears over the flu were also coupled with allegations its suppliers were giving chickens un-approved levels of antibiotics.

The firm says it expects sales in the country to start rising by the fourth quarter.

China is a key market for Yum, generating more than half the company's revenue.

Yum has nearly 6-thousand stores here in China and the firm has said it remains on track to open at least 700 new units this year.

 

 

Bank of Japan sees modest recovery in economy

 

The Bank of Japan has said the country's economy is starting to recover modestly.

It is the first time in more than two years that the BoJ has described the world's third-largest economy as being on the path towards expansion.

The bank is to stick to its plan of pumping more than 606 billion US Dollars a year into the economy.

The BoJ attribute their positive outlook to resilience in domestic demand and the pick-up in overseas economies.

 

 

Headline News

 

 

Rainstorms leave 30 dead in China

 

Rainstorm-triggered natural disasters have left at least 30-people dead across China over the past four days.

Sichuan Province, one of the worst-hit regions, has recorded 18 deaths with more than 100 others missing.

More than 3.7 million residents across the country have been affected by the disasters.

212,000 residents have been relocated.

The rainstorms have also destroyed more than 8,400 houses, causing direct economic losses of nearly 8.6 billion yuan.

 

 

China investigates GSK executives for bribery, tax violations

 

A number of senior executives from multinational pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline are being investigated for suspected bribery and tax-related violations.

The suspects are believed to have offered large bribes to government officials, medical industry associations and foundations, hospitals and doctors to help expand the company's market and raise medicine prices.

GSK is also suspected of being involved in tax-related crime.

The Ministry of Public Security says the suspects have already confessed to the offenses.

It is believed the offenses involve a large number of people and significant amounts of money.

 

 

China-U.S. relations start with Asia-Pacific: senior Chinese official

 

Chinese President Xi Jinping's special envoy says promoting a new type of relations between China and the United States should start with the Asia-Pacific region.

At the fifth round of the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue, State Councilor Yang Jiechi said the U.S. and China share the most overlapping interests in the area.

Yang is also calling for efforts to settle disputes and differences through negotiations.

Beijing and Washington have been holding the high-level Dialogue annually since 2009.

 

 

First verdict on Delhi gangrape case deferred till July 25

 

A juvenile court in India has deferred the first verdict on the gangrape case of a young student till July 25th.

The Juvenile Justice Board is said to have finished the trial of the accused.

He is charged with rape, murder, destroying evidence, and other crimes, including kidnapping.

If convicted, he faces up to three years in a reform facility as he was below 18 years of age when he had participated in the gangrape.

Four other adult suspects may face the death penalty if convicted.

They have denied the charges.

The 23-year-old medical student was gangraped by six people on a moving bus in New Dehli last December. She later died despite medical efforts.

The main suspected committed suicide in a prison in New Dehli months ago.

 

 

Newspaper Picks

 

 

China Daily

 "Beijing has world's most delayed airport"

Beijing Capital International Airport ranked at the bottom in the on-time performance report with just 18.3-percent of commercial passenger flights leaving on schedule.

Shanghai Pudong International Airport reported the second worst departure record at 28.7-percent, among 35 major international airports.

Tokyo's Haneda maintained its top spot, with an on-time performance of 95-percent.

A flight is considered "on time" if it arrives or departs within 15-minutes after its scheduled take-off or landing time.

China Daily

 "Shanghai struggles with growth"

Shanghai will face persistent population pressure in the coming years due to rapid urbanization in the city.

Experts predict the city's population will rise to around 30-million by 2030 — nearly the population of Canada at present.

Ahead of World Population Day, experts say the city needs to further develop satellite towns and absorb more young migrant people to balance its aging population.

Shanghai's permanent resident population reached a record 23.8 million last year. This means that Shanghai boasts the largest population of any city in China, the most populous country in the world.

Experts say the relatively high salaries in the city, compared with other parts of the country, attract many migrants.

The Telegraph

" Look at smiley faces and become an optimist, scientists claim"

Scientists are claiming looking at smiling and angry faces and meditating for 20 minutes can transform your life and turn people from pessimists into optimists in seven weeks.

Researchers believe it is possible to teach yourself to have a more positive outlook and improve sleeping patterns by practicing simple exercises such as meditation and focusing on images of people smiling.

Studies of the brain show the right side of the brain is more active in people who are more negative and anxious.

But it is thought by simple exercises it is possible to change the way the brain works and have a brighter attitude to life.

India Express

 "Ditch cell phone to stay fit"

Glued to your cell phone? It may reduce your fitness and physical activity.

A new study has found high cell phone use is associated with poor fitness in college students.

Researchers from Kent State University in the US found despite the phone's mobility, high use contributed to a sedentary lifestyle for some subjects.

More than 300 college students from the Midwest were surveyed on their cell phone usage and activity level.

The researchers' results show students who spend large amounts of time on their cell phones - as much as 14 hours per day - were less fit than those who averaged a little more than 90 minutes of cell phone use daily.

The study is believed to be the first to assess the relationship between cell phone use and fitness level among any population.

 

 

Special Reports

 

 

San Francisco Air Crash Provokes Thinking on Summer Camp

 

Anchor:

Local education officials in China have suspended trips to overseas summer camps in the home city of the two teenage girls who died in the Asiana Airlines plane crash in San Francisco.

This decision has sparked hot debate on the frenzy surrounding Chinese summer camps in recent years.

CRI's Shen Ting takes a closer look.

Reporter:

Education authorities in China have announced that at least 70 Chinese students and teachers, out of the total 291 passengers on board the Asiana Airlines plane, were heading to summer camps.

The two fatal victims were students at Jiangshan Middle School in China's eastern Zhejiang Province. The tragedy has led many to believe that organizers of this summer camp bear partial responsibilities for the deaths since they choose cheap tickets offered by the Asiana Airlines.

Liu Xiaodan, a supervisor in charge of the projects related to Chinese going to study in Canada with Chivast Education International, is one of them.

"My first impression of the San Francisco plane crash is that the Chinese victims chose a cost-efficient trip and wouldn't have chosen Asiana Airlines if not for the sake of saving money. In fact, a cost-efficient trip would also present other risks relating to matters such as students' accommodation overseas and even transport, including the bus they would board there. Before the tour group leaves China, the students and their parents should have these potential risks, which I think are of vital importance, carefully explained to them."

Victims Wang Linjia, 16, and Ye Mengyuan, 17, were among a group of 34 students and teachers from Jiangshan Middle School en route to attend a two-week summer camp at the West Valley Christian School in the San Fernando Valley section of Los Angeles.

Following the incident, the education bureau of Zhejiang's Quzhou City, which also administers the smaller city of Jiangshan where the two girls studied, issued the order to suspend all summer camp trips and study tours.

Li Haidong, a professor with China Foreign Affairs University, believes that whether summer camp trips and study tours could realize its designed purpose depends on the quality of its organizers.

"If this travel-for-study program goes well, or the program's operator has adequate financial strength, the program can usually meet its expected target. Otherwise, the result wouldn't be satisfying."

For CRI, I'm Shen Ting

 

 

Sports

 

 

Updates on Kazan Universiade

 

China grabbed 3 gold medals at Kazan Universiade Wednesday, back to top 3 on the medal table, following the hosting country Russia and Japan.

Olympic Gold Medalist Huo Liang clinched the Men's 10 meter platform and Zheng Shuangxue took the Women's 3 meter springboard title.

And Zhang Yelinzi has won the Women's balance beam final.

Meanwhile China's soccer team was knocked out at the group stage by Russia 2:0

Jin Zhiyang, coach of the Chinese team said the young squad was not in their best shape as they were longing for a win too much.

Talking to reporters after the game, Jin said that "losing one match is not a big deal, what's more important for the country is the development of soccer among the youth."

"We need to build more pitches to provide children who like soccer with enough training places. we could also encourage more retired players to coach children at universities, middle schools and primary schools."

The 69-year-old was dubbed as "the godfather of Beijing soccer" for his success at Beijing Guo'an soccer club in the 1990s, and used to assist Serbian coach Bora Milutinovic as the Chinese national team for the 2002 World Cup.

 

 

Tony Martin wins stage 11 at the Tour de France

 

At the tour de France,

Germany's Tony Martin won the individual time trial at stage 11.

The pre-stage favorite finished the 33-kilometre mountainous course in just under 36 and a half minutes.

Though finished the second, it was still a victory for Chris Froome to extend his overall lead.

The British rider now leads Spain's Alejandro Valverde by 3 minutes and 25 seconds.

The Team Sky rider will be holding the yellow jersey to the 12th stage.

"I am really happy with second place and having extended my advantage on my other big GC rivals."

Sprinter Mark Cavendish had a bad experience during stage 11, after a spectator threw urine on him.

It was widely speculated that the incident was connected to his bump on stage 10 with Dutch rider Tom Veelers, who lost his balance and hit the ground.

Cavendish was cleared of any wrongdoing by the race commissaries.　

Up next, stage 12 will feature a flat 218-kilometer ride that will likely force a sprint finish.

 

 

First Ashes match day result

 

The second day for the first Ashes test match has begun at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.

Yesterday was an up-and-down day for both the two teams.

The Australians bowled out England for 215, only to be reduced to 75 for 4. They finished 140 runs behind England.

14 wickets fell the first day, the most since the 17 at Lord's in 2005.

 

 

United arrives in Bankok for pre-season tour

 

In football.

The Manchester United squad has arrived in Bangkok ahead of their pre-season friendly.

They will face against a Singha All Star XI at Rajamangala Stadium in the Thai capital on Saturday.　

Manchester United will also travel to Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and Sweden on their pre-season tour.

Wayne Rooney, who has been linked to a move away from Old Trafford, has traveled with United.　

His show-up seems as a proof of manager David Moyes' announcement, who told media that he had discussed with the striker for four times and Rooney is not for sale.

Clubs are now busy with transfers to form their best squads before the new season kicks off.

 

 

Draw for 2014 Fed Cup made

 

Two-time defending champions the Czech Republic will take on Spain in the first round of the 2014 Fed Cup, after draw for the competition has been made in Paris.

Italy and Russia were drawn away to the US and Australia respectively.

The World Group's first round line-up is completed by Slovakia with Germany, with all ties set to take place in February.

Group II wil see France take on Switzerland, Canada against Serbia, Sweden face Poland and Argentina battle Japan.

 

 

Torch to be ignited at seaside for China's National Games

 

The torch for the 12th Chinese National Games will be ignited at the seaside of Lvshun, Dalian on July 28.

The Games' organizers say the torch relay will start from the Olympic Stadium of Shenyang on August 10th and pass through 14 cities.

After 20 days, the torch will return to the stadium for the opening ceremony of the Games.

Organizers say the torch relay has been reduced from traveling around the country to only 14 cities, in an effort to cut budgets.

Meanwhile the total funding will also be reduced by nearly 80 percent to no more than 800 million yuan, or some 130 million US dollars

 

 

Entertainment

 

 

Jay Chou Talk About New Film

 

Taiwan superstar Jay Chou has opened up about his new film The Rooftop.

Not only did Chou star in the film, but it also marks his second directorial effort.

The actor/director spoke about how this role differs from roles he had in the past.

"I opened up more, so people could get the feeling that this character isn't the Jay Chou that most people are familiar with. I have more expressions now and am able to face the camera naturally. For this movie, I think I was able to open up and act more freely."

The movie includes musical aspects and tells the story of a group of poor youths who live and clash on the rooftops of the wealthy elite.

The Rooftop premieres worldwide today.

 

 

Cast of Newsroom Premieres New Season

 

The cast of HBO's hit drama The Newsroom has unveiled the show's second season.

The show follows the lives and goings-on of a newsteam made up of an ensemble cast including Jeff Daniels, Olivia Munn, and Sam Waterston.

The cast and crew celebrated the premiere of the second season at a party on the lot of Paramount studios in Hollywood.

Actor Jeff Daniels plays the anchor on the show and commented on the show's controversial topics.

"First of all, look: Art is supposed to push buttons. It is. It's supposed to and it does. We knew that when we were shooting it. We live in a divided country. We live with the left-of-left and right-of-right screaming and they're the only ones that are being heard. So here comes this show that takes some shots at the right-of-right and they don't like it. So -- bang! -- they hit the Twitter, they hit everything, and off they go."

The second season reportedly opens with a bang, but producers promise audiences will be enthralled throughout the whole season as they still hold a lot back.

Though the first batch of critical reviews for the new season have been largely negative the cast seems to be unfazed and stand behind their work.

 

 

Lauryn Hill in Prison

 

Musician Lauryn Hill is now behind bars serving a 3-month prison sentence for unpaid taxes.

Last year the ex-Fugee performer pleaded guilty to failing to pay around 1-million US dollars worth of taxes between 2005 and 2009.

The Grammy-winner claims she didn't pay because she withdrew from society at large following threats to her and her family.

However, a judge pointed out this is a criminal matter and Hill made no effort to pay her taxes.

Following her release the 38-year-old singer will be under an additional 3-months of home confinement and a year of parole supervision.

 

 

Morrissey Cancels South America Tour

 

Ex-Smiths frontman Morrissey has postponed his upcoming tour through South America due to a case of food poisoning.

The This Charming Man singer claims him and his entire backing band is suffering from severe food poisoning and will return to the UK to receive treatment from his personal physicians.

The 14-date tour isn't the first gig Morrissey has pulled out over the past year.

He cancelled dates earlier this year over both his health and his mother's health and also revealed he nearly died from complicated medical problems.

Meanwhile, Morrissey has received a 10-thousand pound check after winning a court case against English TV station Channel 4.

The network used a Smiths song without permission for a chef Gordon Ramsay Christmas special.

Upon receiving payment Morrissey donated the entire amount to the animal rights charity People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals also known as PETA.

 

 

Bieber Pees in a Bucket

 

Justin Bieber has topped himself in the appalling behavior category yet again after a video has surfaced of the superstar urinating into a restaurant's mop bucket.

In the cellphone video Bieber can be seen relieving himself into the yellow mop bucket which the restaurant uses to clean its floors.

During the video Bieber's friends can be heard egging him on as the urinating teenage singer laughs.

As the group leaves the eatery they begin to holler and Bieber throws some liquid onto a portrait of Bill Clinton while shouting a profanity directed at the ex-US president.

Bieber has blasted the entertainment media recently saying they take shots at him for no reason.

However, he has been at the center of a number of controversies for the past year.

Bieber is being investigated by police for reckless driving, and an assault charge and fell into hot water for abandoning his pet monkey in Germany after failing to produce proper documentation.

Bieber's manager claims the star will 'speak for himself' on his new album.