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

Coming up on our program this morning...

Fonterra apologizes for tainted milk powder scare

Turkey's former army chief sentenced to life in prison

Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant facing a new "emergency" as radioactive groundwater breaches it’s barriers.

Business

China lifts cap on life insurance interest rate

Sports

England retainsthe Ashes after the third test with Australia ends in a draw.

Entertainments

Hillary Clinton movies condemned by the Republicans

Plus

Special reports delves into China's booming film industry as the domestic movie business continues to expand.

First, let's check on what's happening on the weather front...  

 

 

Weather

 

 

Beijing will see thundershowers today, with a high of 30 degree Celsius in the daytime, and it will see thundershowers tonight with a low of 23.

In Shanghai, it will be sunny today, 39 the high, and it will be clear tonight, the low of 31 degrees Celsius.

Lhasa will have slight rain in the daytime the temperature's at 22, and tonight will have thundershowers with a low of 11 degree Celsius.

Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia

Islamabad, sunny, 33.

Kabul, sunny, with a high of 35.

And in North America

New York, sunny, with a high of 25 degrees.

Washington, overcast, highs of 27

Houston, overcast, 36.

Honolulu, sunny, 31.

Toronto, overcast, 23

Finally, on to South America,

Buenos Aires, sunny, 18.

And Rio de Janeiro will see moderate rain with highs of 23 degrees Celsius.

 

 

Top News

 

 

Fonterra apologizes for tainted milk powder scare

 

Anchor

New Zealand dairy firm Fonterra has apologized for its tainted milk powder scandal.

Batches of the whey protein from the dairy giant were allegedly found containing toxic bacteria.

Su Yi has more.

Reporter

Fonterra CEO Theo Spierings says Fonterra regrets any distress and anxiety that the scare may have caused.

"We deeply apologize to the people who have been affected by the issue, to guarantee to you that food safety and safety of the people of China but also around the world is our first and foremost interest. We totally understand that there is concern of parents and other consumers around the world. Parents have the right to know that infant nutrition and other dairy-related products are 100 percent safe."

He also says Fonterra is committed to China and is working with regulators to address the problem.

At the same time, the government of New Zealand is stepping into the fray, calling on the company to provide "absolute clarity on the situation."

New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key,

"When you've got a company that's our largest company, our largest brand, our largest exporter that is the flagship for New Zealand and your whole business is about food safety and food quality you think they'd take such a precautionary view to these things and say if it's testing for some reason in an odd way that it would just be discarded until they were absolutely sure that it's right."

Parents say they are worried as imports of milk powder from New Zealand are now banned in China.

"Domestic brands are no good, and now foreign brands are no good either. I have no idea how to choose. Domestic brands were exposed before, so we drunk imported milk powder. Now milk powder from New Zealand has been exposed, so when we go home we need to discuss it with the baby's mother and father again to see which milk powder we can choose."

"My baby has just been born, and we have been using this brand because we thought it was a good brand. I felt very angry when I saw the news yesterday, because this could really hurt my baby. As parents, we want our baby to be healthy, so I want to buy milk powder that we can trust. But now foreign products aren't any good either."

Fonterra is New Zealand's biggest exporter - it sells over 370-thousand tons of infant formula each year to China.

Around one-third of all the dairy imports here to China this year come from New Zealand.

For CRI, I'm Su Yi.

 

 

China warns against rush to set code of conduct in South China Sea

 

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is warning about rushing to set the code of conduct in the South China Sea.

The Foreign Minister's comments were made in Vietnam during his official visit to the country.

Wang Yi says China has agreed to work on the code with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

However, he says it is unrealistic to expect the deal to be worked out immediately.

He says any new code of conduct must be consensus-based, saying no individual countries should impose their will on others.

Wang Yi has met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Vietnamese General Secretary of the Communist Party Nguyen Phu Trong in Hanoi.

Both sides have reiterated their commitment to developing their relationship.

 

 

A Turkish court sentenced nearly 300 accused of plotting against the government

 

Turkey's former army chief has been sentenced to life in prison, after five years of trials, for plotting to overthrow Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's ruling government.

A Turkish court sentenced nearly 300 people, including a number of well known journalists and two serving parliamentarians for their part in the so-called Ergenekon plot.

At least 21 were acquitted, but for others jail terms ranged from life to dozens of years.

The group are alleged to have pursued extra-judicial killings and bombings in order to trigger a military coup against Erdogan's ruling government.

Bulent Arinc is a spokesperson from the Turkish government.

"But this is a fact of the judiciary system that none has any privilege to commit a crime. The court gave the best decision according to itself and we will see the upcoming phases.　We are not becoming happy or clapping as anyone is being arrested but there is a verdict and we must respect it."

The verdicts were met with strong protests outside of the court, even before they were announced.

Critics say the charges were aimed at taming the secularist establishment which has long dominated Turkey.

They also accuse the judiciary of being subject to political influence in hearing the case.

Erdogan himself has denied interfering in the legal process.

But he has criticised the prosecutors handling of the case including the length of time defendants were held in custody.

 

 

U.S. senators in Cairo over Egyptian political crisis

 

Diplomats are continuing their efforts to defuse the political tension in Egypt.

U.S. senator John McCain and Lindsey Graham are now in Cairo to hold talks with senior officials.

Their visit coincides with the trip of U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns.

Burns has met with top Egyptian leaders as well as a delegation from an Islamist alliance backing ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.

US and European diplomats have been meeting both government officials and supporters of Morsi in recent weeks, trying to calm the situation in the country which has sometimes been marred by violence.

For more on the situation in Egypt, particularly the international mediation attempts, CRI's Zheng Chenguang spoke with Professor Raymond Tanter, Adjunct Scholar at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Professor Emeritus of The University of Michigan.

 (qa with Tanter on Egypt)

That was Professor Raymond Tanter, Adjunct Scholar at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Professor Emeritus of The University of Michigan, speaking with CRI's Zheng Chenguang.

 

 

Fukushima faces fresh emergency

 

Japan's nuclear watchdog says the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is facing a new "emergency" as radioactive groundwater has likely breached the barriers meant to contain it.

The agency said the contaminated groundwater is now seeping into the sea, in an amount that exceedes legal limits of radioactive discharge.

Groundwater has been pumped into the crippled plant every day to cool the reactors ever since their devastation by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), has been criticised heavily for its lack of transparency over the recent leaks.

Masashi Goto is a retired Toshiba Corp nuclear engineer who worked on several Tepco plants.

"Tokyo Electric Power Company only makes the decisions with the data they have on hand. For example, regarding the accusation that the contamination is spreading and leaking into the sea, they say that there is no such concrete evidence so we cannot say for certain and it might not be the case. This is how they look at things."

Tepco has now reversed months of denials and finally admitted that tainted water is reaching the sea.

Tepco general manager Masayuki Ono said at a news conference last week that the situation was bleak.

 

 

World's First Lab-grown Burger Eaten in London Expected to Help Protect Environment

 

Anchor

The world's first lab-grown burger has been cooked and eaten in London.

Scientists hope the new technology can be a sustainable way of meeting growing demand for meat and protect the environment.

CRI's London correspondent Tu Yun has more.

Reporter:

The burger was grown by a research team led by Professor Mark Post of the Netherland's Maastricht University.

Austrian food critic Hanni Ruetzler tasted the 320,000-dollar lab-made product.

"I was expecting the texture to be more soft. I know there is no fat in it, so I didn't know how juicy it will be. But there is quite some intense taste. It's close to meat. It's not that juicy. The consistency is perfect, but I missed salt and pepper."

Scientists took stem cells from a dead cow and cultured them with nutrients and chemicals so that the cells could develop and multiply.

The cells then turned them into strips of muscle that were combined to make a patty before being cooked.

American food writer Josh Schonwald reflects on the artificial beef burger.

"The texture, the mouth feel has a feel like meat. The absence I feel is the fat. The bite feels like a conventional hamburger."

An independent study has found that lab-grown beef uses 45 percent less energy on average than farming cattle.

It also produces 96 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions and requires 99 percent less land.

Scientists are hoping the new technology can help create a sustainable way of meeting what they say is a growing demand for meat as well as helping protect the environment and animals.

But as the lab product still tastes different from natural beef, there are questions on how people may change their eating habit.

Professor Mark Post,

"That's really a matter of how you market it, which is not my specialty. The yuck factor maybe deconvoluted in a number of issues, one is this just towards any sort of lab or factory made product, which potentially you can do this in your kitchen, you can grow your own meat. You have to know eight weeks in advance when you want to eat. But if you are not afraid of that part of the technology, and of the put it into human hands, then you can do that, or any scale in between. So that comes with new technology."

Critics argue promoting a healthier life style of eating less meat would be an easier way to kill two birds with one stone.

For CRI, I'm Tu Yun in London.

 

 

Sri Lanka opens new China-built port

 

Sri Lankan authorities have opened the first phase of a 500 million U.S. dollars Chinese-built port.

The Colombo International Container Terminal is one of three planned for the Colombo Port.

The port is the first in the country to handle mega cargo ships.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. 　

"This Colombo south harbour which has been vested with the people today is one of the most important among the many such projects we have undertaken."　

The terminal was built by China Merchants Holdings International.

The company is operating it under a 35-year agreement with Port Authority of Sri Lanka.

 

 

First giant panda cub born in south China's Guangdong province

 

A giant panda has given birth in South China's Guangdong Province.

It is the first time the province becomes a native home to giant pandas.

The cub was born at the Chime Long Safari Park in Guangzhou City and is reportedly in good health.

Experts at the park had spent over a year helping the mother, eleven-year-old panda Mei Qing to get pregnant.

Huang Yan is a deputy research technician with the China Panda Preservation Research Centre.

"It's really difficult for giant pandas to give birth, as they act quite differently from each other. The success rate of artificial insemination is 50 percent at the most."

Experts say the newborn has a very low survival rate, with the first week after the birth being a critical time.

Keepers are working round the clock to take good care of the new born.

There are only five places in China where giant panda cubs have survived after birth: Southwest China's Sichuan, Southeast China's Fuzhou, Taipei, Beijing and Shanghai.

 

 

Biz Reports

 

 

Anchor

First off, a check on the stock market of North America and Europe.

Join me on the desk, CRI's Su Yi.

Reporter

The U.S. stocks closed mixed on Monday following record runs in the previous week.

The Nasdaq eked out small gains.

The U.S. non- manufacturing activity index for July came in positive.

However, the market was dampened by renewed worries about the central bank's exit from its quantitative easing.

Head of Dallas Fed said on Monday that the Fed is nearer to tapering its massive asset purchase programs following the July jobs data.

The Dow dropped 0.3 percent.

The S&P lost 0.2 percent.

The Nasdaq edged up 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, Canada's S&P/TSX gained 0.1 percent.

In Europe, European shares paused near two-month highs on Monday.

Disappointing results from global bank HSBC revived concerns about earnings from emerging markets and offset gains for domestic-oriented stocks such as Lloyds.

Germany's DAX lost 0.1 percent.

France's CAC 40 gained 0.1 percent and Britain's FTSE 100 was down 0.4 percent.

 

 

China lifts cap on life insurance interest rate

 

The 2.5 percent pre-determined interest rates attached to life insurance products here in China have been scrapped.

The move is the latest effort by central government to liberalize the country's interest rates.

The People's Bank of China has already loosened its grip on bank lending rates.

Under the new regulations, insurance companies can set their own rates to a maximum of 3.5-percent.

The rigid 2.5 percent cap left much of the insurance products on offer here in China much the same.

To prevent a policy-triggered price war in the insurance business, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission has also rolled out accompanying measures.

They include policies to boost old-age pension business and moves to support risk prevention.

For more on the issue, CRI's Paul James spoke earlier with Mark Huges, Executive Business Editor of China Daily.

(Q&A w mark)

Back Anchor

Mark Hughes,Executive Business Editor of China Daily,speaking with CRI's Paul James.

 

 

China's regulator vows better monitoring of capital flows

 

China's foreign exchange regulator has pledged to step up monitoring and analysis of cross-border capital flows.

The move is to guard against potential risks in the second half of the year.

China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or SAFE issued a statement after its mid-year conference.

The regulator vowed in the statement to continue pushing forward construction of the monitoring system and further enrich its policy options to prepare for possible scenarios.

The comments come as foreign exchange inflows to China have been slowing since May.

It's being reported China's total yuan funds outstanding for foreign exchange declined in June.

It marks the first drop since December last year.

The SAFE has denied any signs of active and sudden flight of foreign capital.

 

 

PBOC Vows to Continue Prudent Monetary Policy

 

The Central Bank here in China has decided to keep its prudent monetary policy into the second half of the year.

The People's Bank of China has issued the statement following a weekend symposium.

The PBOC says it will fine-tune the money supply volume at an appropriate time.

The central bank says more moves will be made to stabilize the monetary market and maintain moderate economic growth.

PBoC says the growth rate here in China is at a fair level.

At the same time, the PBOC says it will allocate more resources to support small and micro-sized enterprises in multiple financing channels, including tapping into the financial reserves.

Financial reserves normally refer to a country's gold and foreign currency reserves.

 

 

U.S. service sector growth speeds up in July

 

New stats show economic activity in U.S. non-manufacturing sector grew in July for the 43rd consecutive month.

A survey by the Institute for Supply Management also reports the non-manufacturing sector expanded at a quicker pace in July than June.

The Non-Manufacturing Index edged up to 56 last month from 52.2 in June.

The figure measures activity in the U.S. service sector.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion of the service sector.

The survey covers all sectors outside of manufacturing.

A total number of 16 industries reported growth last month including construction and retail trade.

Two other industries, including mining, reported contraction.

The Non-Manufacturing Index is a key indicator for the overall health of the economic recovery as the service sector absorbs about 90 percent the U.S. workforce.

 

 

Eurozone retail trade down by 0.5 pct in June

 

New data shows the volume of retail trade in the eurozone in June was down by 0.5 percent compared with May.

A decrease in the month on month rate of 0.3 percent is also being reported for the 27 members of the EU, excluding Croatia.

The country became the 28th EU country on July 1st, 2013.

The report says retail trade in June experienced 0.9 percent year-on-year decrease in eurozone while rose by 0.1 percent in the EU.

Among components of retail trade, "Food, drinks and tobacco" underwent a 0.6 percent increase both in the eurozone and the EU on a monthly base.

The non-food sector fell by 0.2 percent in the euro zone and remained stable in the EU.

 

 

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to buy the Washington Post

 

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has agreed to buy the Washington Post for $250 million.

The purchase includes its flagship daily and other print properties.

Head of Washington Post Donald E. Graham says the Post will be better served with another owner.

The Post has been owned by the Graham family for 80 years.

It is being reported Bezos has promised no radical change.

The transaction covers the Washington Post and other publishing businesses, including the Express newspaper.

 

 

China's Taobao to sell fund products in September

 

Taobao.com, China's leading online shopping platform, has reportedly delayed the sale of fund products until late September at the earliest.

The original date had been set for late August.

Approvals from supervision departments and system tests with fund companies are being cited as the reason for the postponement.

It's being reported fund companies who are fully prepared and actively participate in the testing will be the first to go online.

Companies may include Tianhong, Fullgoal and Guotai.

Yu'E Bao is China's first online investment fund aimed at individuals.

The number of buyers of Yu'E Bao, have exceeded 1 million since its trial launch in June.

 

 

BMW-Brilliance to recall over 140,000 cars

 

A joint venture between China and German luxury carmaker BMW is to recall more than 140 thousand cars in China.

The recall is reportedly due to defects in the steering systems.

BMW-Brilliance Automotive Ltd., a joint venture between Brilliance China Automotive and BMW is set to start the recall on September 23rd.

5-series cars manufactured between Aug. 24, 2009 and Aug. 31, 2012 are reported to be involved.

The company will offer free replacement of defective powerline plugs in the electric power steering system that may cause safety risks.

BMW-Brilliance is headquartered in Shenyang City of Liaoning Province, with a branch company in Beijing.

 

 

Headline News

 

 

Fonterra apologizes for tainted milk powder scare

 

New Zealand dairy firm Fonterra has apologized for its tainted milk powder scandal.

Batches of the whey protein from the dairy giant were allegedly found containing toxic bacteria.

Fonterra CEO Theo Spierings says Fonterra regrets any distress and anxiety that the scare may have caused.

He also says Fonterra is committed to China and is working with regulators to address the problem.

Fonterra is New Zealand's biggest exporter - it sells over 370-thousand tons of infant formula each year to China.

Around one-third of all the dairy imports here to China this year come from New Zealand.

 

 

China warns against rush to set code of conduct in South China Sea

 

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is warning about rushing to set the code of conduct in the South China Sea.

The Foreign Minister's comments were made in Vietnam during his official visit to the country.

Wang Yi says China has agreed to work on the code with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

However, he says it is unrealistic to expect the deal to be worked out immediately.

He says any new code of conduct must be consensus-based, saying no individual countries should impose their will on others.

Wang Yi has met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Vietnamese General Secretary of the Communist Party Nguyen Phu Trong in Hanoi.

Both sides have reiterated their commitment to developing their relationship.

 

 

Chinese gov't calls for efforts to handle heat

 

Chinese central government has issued a statement, asking local authorities in the south to make more efforts to control the damage brought on by the lingering heat wave and drought.

The State Council is asking local governments to make sure there is access to safe drinking water for residents and to sustain farming activities.

Government figures show 4.5 million people are now short of drinking water.

The heat wave in the east and the south is expected to last until the middle of this month.

 

 

China lifts cap on life insurance interest rate

 

The 2.5 percent pre-determined interest rates attached to life insurance products here in China have been scrapped.

The move is the latest effort by central government to liberalize the country's interest rates.

The People's Bank of China has already loosened its grip on bank lending rates.

Under the new regulations, insurance companies can set their own rates to a maximum of 3.5-percent.

The rigid 2.5 percent cap left much of the insurance products on offer here in China much the same.

 

 

Newspaper Picks

 

 

China Daily

China is getting fatter: survey

Most Chinese people aged 20 to 39 are becoming overweight and their athletic ability is declining, according to a national survey released on Monday.

Officials say the issue of weight and physical decline can be attributed partially to the lack of sports activities among young people.

Global Times

China endures worst heat wave in 140 years

China Central Meteorological Department is continuing to issue the second highest orange heat alert across the country.

It's the worst heat wave to hit China in 140 years, leaving dozens of people dead. In southern China, temperatures are expected to climb up to 39 degrees Celsius.

Shanghai Daily

Overseas summer camps gain popularity despite lax regulation

MORE parents are sending their children to overseas summer camps even though the market is unregulated and organizers can charge excessive fees.

A circular banning the organization of commercial overseas camps was issued by the government in 2012.

However, officials say it is hard to implement the circular and stamp out irregularities in the field.

The Beijing News

Parents with a baby under 3 years old are to be offered free training in Chinese medicine in their community health service center.

Parents will gain basic skills of massage for the health of the baby. The program will be funded by the government.

South China Metropolitan Daily

4 officials suspended in prostitution scandal probe

Four local court officials embroiled in accusations of soliciting prostitutes have been suspended from their positions and are under investigation, Shanghai disciplinary authorities announced.

An anonymous whistle-blower Thursday posted a video online and said these officials were in a nightclub with prostitutes on June 9.

Beijing Times

50% brittle bone patients not getting proper care

Almost half the number of patients diagnosed with brittle bone disease do not get medical treatment they need, according to a report released by the China-Dolls Center for Rare Disorders.

There are more than 100,000 patients across China born with the disease. However, few NGOs pay attention to this group, which was not covered by health care as well.

Oriental Morning Post

Villas on roof of mall waiting in the wings

Twenty-five villas illegally built on top of a shopping mall in Hengyang, Hunan province, have remained there for at least four years despite a demolition order from the city government.

The city government has now ruled that the villas can remain but must not be sold.

People Daily

Hong Kong Airlines stewardesses learn Wing Chun kung fu

The staff of Hong Kong Airlines began to learn Wing Chun kung fu, a traditional Chinese martial art for practical self defense.

Hong Kong Airlines say that training is aimed at cultivating staff's strong mind and improve their body quality.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Special Reports

 

 

China's film industry booming

 

Anchor

China's film industry has grown rapidly over the past decade and is set to become the world's largest movie market as companies focus on expanding their businesses, improving quality and tapping into the global market.

Li Dong has the details.

Reporter

There are now 15,500 movie screens across China and the golden age of China's film industry is bringing unprecedented opportunities and profits to Chinese film enterprises, investors, distributors and cinema owners.

Many large Chinese film groups are looking to expand their businesses throughout the supply chain.

Huayi Brothers Media Corporation is investing in the cinema market alongside film products, while Beijing-based theater chain New Film Association is planning to invest in film production and distribution.

Huang Qunfei is general manager of New Film Association.

"We want to expand our business into the upstream sections of the film industry, such as production and distribution. We also want to try out downstream activities such as ticketing and advertising to optimize our services and develop the enterprise."

Wang Changtian, CEO of Enlight Media, says that China's film industry was only truly marketized 10 years ago and that since private enterprises have begun investing in film products, the industry has grown by an average of 35 percent a year.

One week of box office takings in 2013 is worth more than that of a whole year only a decade ago; Wang Changtian says that with government support the film industry will continue to develop in the future.

"We are still far behind the United States in terms of box office takings. However, our market is growing quickly and the gap with the United States is quickly narrowing. With such a large potential market, I think China will be able to compete with the U.S. movie industry in certain areas."

Gao Jingdong is chairman of Shanghai Jimei Film.

"China will become the world's biggest film market in five or six years. We must be aware that this market needs high quality films, so we need to increase communication with international filmmakers and learn from each other to achieve better mutual development."

Zhang Zhao, CEO of Le Vision Pictures says that film is a global product and that China's film market should produce films aimed at the global market in addition to the Chinese market.

Zhang Zhao says China's domestic market may be very big, but the global market is even bigger. China needs to learn more about it and bring new value to it.

For CRI, I am Li Dong.

 

 

Sports

 

 

England formally retains Ashes after the third test ends in a draw

 

England has retained the Ashes after the third test with Australia ended in a draw.

The final day at Old Trafford was anticlimactic. It was Australia's final chance to push for a victory over England, but heavy rainfall forced an early end to the game .

The urn formally goes to England now, who leads the test series 2-0, with two more tests to go.

It was an understated moment of glory, but captain Alastair Cook said his team is ecstatic to have retained the Ashes for England all the same.

"You know, the first objective was to retain the Ashes and now we want to go on and win them. I think it showed in this Test match how competitive Australia are and we played very well at Lord's and you know, they played very well here, but we showed a lot of fighting character to get through this game and we need to up our levels a little bit at Durham

Australia showed a lot of grit in the third test, coming off their devastating defeat at Lords. Captain Michael Clarke is already thinking ahead to his goals for the remaining two tests.

"I think if we can level the series (we can) take a lot of confidence back to Australia and I'm confident that if we play the type of cricket we've played throughout the four days we've had here, we'll give it a real good shake, so yeah, we've got some work to do over the next couple of days, to make sure we're as well prepared as we were, leading in to this Test match, play with the same attitude, the same intent, and I'm confident we can have success."

This is England's third straight year to have secured the Ashes on home soil, following victories in 2005 and 2009.

 

 

Lin Dan stages a big comeback at the BWF World Championships

 

Let's go next to badminton, as the BWF World Champions are taking place in Guangzhou this week.

One of China's badminton kings, Lin Dan, officially returned to the court in the first round of the mens singles yesterday after taking a year off from competition.

It only took the reigning world champion 27 minutes to easily dispatch No. 58 Sattawat Pongnairat of the United States.

Lin entered the tournament as a wild card. Although he secured back-to-back Olympic golds in London, he had fallen to a no. 100 spot in the world rankings during his break from the sport.

One of Lin's biggest rivals, Lee Chong Wei from Malaysia, also effortlessly cruised through his first round yesterday, after dispatching Ireland's Scott Evans.

China's second seeded Chen Long quickly defeated Austria's Luka Wraber. But it was harder work for China's third seeded Du Pengyu, who took an hour and 25 minutes to seal a win over South Korea's Shon Wan Ho.

Today the women will take to the courts for the opening rounds of singles action. There will also be matches in the mens and mixed doubles division.

 

 

Alex Rodriguez has been suspended until the end of the 2014 season

 

New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez has been suspended without pay until the end of the 2014 season for violating the league's drug agreement.

MLB commissioner Bud Selig made the announcement yesterday. So far, it's the severest penalty handed down by the MLB after its full-scale investigation into the Biogenesis clinic.

A total of 18 players have been disciplined for their connections with the clinic and performance-enhancing drugs.

All-Stars Nelson Cruz, Jonny Peralta, and Everth Cabrera have each been banned for 50 games.

A-Rod's suspension covers 211 games, staring with one this Thursday.

Yankees outfielder Curtis Granderson said A-Rod has the support of the players association.

"But he's got full support of the union, always has and always will. Hopefully we're able to help and assist in any way possible and that's what the union's been doing up to this point."

The three-time MBP has until then to appeal, and if he does so, he will remain eligible to play until the appeal is sorted out.

 

 

Barcelona travels to Asia for a couple friendlies

 

Next in football,

Barcelona is in Thailand today for the first stop of the squad's two-leg visit to Asia.

The Spanish champions will play the Thai national team tomorrow, before heading to Kuala Lumpur to play a select Malaysian side on Saturday.

The rumors circulating around Cesc Fabregas and Manchester United's pursuit of the 26-year-old former Arsenal captain, are dispelled for the moment, as Fabregas is traveling with the squad

Barca defender Gerard Pique told reporters yesterday that his teammate had no desire to return to English football this summer.

If United do fail to sign Fabregas, it will be the second time David Moyes has unsuccessfully tried to snatch up a midfielder.

He has already been refused by Thiago Alcantara, the Spanish Under-21 international who decided to join German side Bayern Munich last month.

 

 

China narrowly beats Kazakhstan at the 27th Asian Men's Basketball Championship

 

In basketball,

The 27th Asian Men's Basketball Championship is underway in Manila.

Kazakhstan had China rattled, but Zhou Peng's 17 points – 12 of which were scored in the final quarter - helped the defending champions secure a 73-67 win over their opponents.

It was the Chinese team's first victory in Group F. They're now 1-2 and will take on India today.

Iran, Chinese Taipei and Qatar remain unbeaten after Monday's second round matches.

It's been a strong run so far for Iran. They're leading with 3-0 after demolishing India 102-58.

 

 

Entertainment

 

 

Hillary Clinton films condemned by Republicans

 

Republicans have called on two US TV networks to drop plans for programmes about former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, calling them unfair promotion.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus has also warned that Republicans could refuse to hold debates on the two networks.

The Democrat hasn't said if Hilary will run for president, though analysts say she would lead the early field.

Capitalising on her popularity, CNN has announced plans for a feature-length film about the former first lady with Academy Award-wining director Charles Ferguson.

It is scheduled to air in 2014.

 

 

Fargo TV show to star Billy Bob Thornton

 

The Coen Brothers are turning their Oscar-winning movie Fargo into a TV series, with long-term collaborator Billy Bob Thornton in the lead role.

(Fargo)

The 1996 film star Frances McDormand won an Oscar, while Joel and Ethan Coen took home the best original screenplay award.

The 10-part TV series, for US channel FX, will involve brand new characters and a new scenario.

FX network boss John Landgraf says that, although there is no cross-over with the original, the Fargo TV show would be "remarkably true to the film".

Filming will take place in Canada, and the drama is expected to be shown in the US next spring.

 

 

Singer apologizes for car plate misappropriation

 

Popular military singer Han Hong has issued a microblog post to apologize for driving an unlicensed Land Rover bearing the vehicle registration plate of another car.

She has also posted an apology letter, along with a receipt from her 5000 yuan (816 USD) fine, on the microblogging site Sino Weibo.

Han admitted that she used a license plate belonging to a different car because she had not yet received one for the new car.

Traffic police stopped her and she was taken to the police station where she was later fined 5000 yuan for car license plate misappropriation.

 

 

Bob Dylan portraits to be shown at UK gallery

 

The National Portrait Gallery in London is to host the first UK exhibition of portraits by Bob Dylan.

(Wind)

A series of 12 pastel works, a mix of real and fictitious characters, will be displayed in the museum from September.

The American singer, who is now aged 72, has been drawing and sketching since childhood.

But he has only exhibited his art publicly in the past few years.

The images from Bob Dylan: Face Value have not been shown anywhere before.

In 2008, The Halcyon Gallery in London featured Dylan's drawings and sketches from periods on the road between 1989 and 1992.

In June, the veteran singer was nominated for France's top distinction, the Legion d'Honneur.

He was also made an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

 

 

Mozart's teen work marks climax of Salzburg Festival

 

Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 3 marks the climax of the 2013 Salzburg Festival, in Austria.

(Violin)

77-year old classical music director Mehta, 65-year-old violinist Zukerman and the Vienna Philharmonic, performed Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 3.

The concerto was composed by a young Mozart in Salzburg, 1775 when he was just 19 years old.

Audiences crammed into the concert hall despite the scorching weather, even though this was already the second time the performance was staged during the weekend.

The 6-week long Salzburg Festival, first inaugurated in 1920, opened its new season on Friday, featuring operas, dramas and concerts.