The Beijing Hour
Evening Edition
Shane Bigham with you on this Thursday, March 27th, 2014.
Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
Coming up on our program this evening.
The search for missing flight MH370 has entered a new stage, even though direct evidence of a crash in the southern Indian Ocean has yet to be confirmed.
A slew of new deals and agreements has been signed during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to France.
And South Korea has hinted it may seek UN sanctions against North Korea over the latter's most recent missile test
In business, Chinese industrial profits rise on the strength of private enterprises.
In sports, Roger Federer has been knocked out of the Sony Open
In entertainment, the cast of the biblical epit Noah walks the red carpet in New York.
First... lets check the weather.
Weather
Beijing will be rainy tonight with a low of 13 degree Celsius. Cloudy tomorrow with a high of 21 degrees.
Meanwhile Shanghai will be overcast tonight, with a low of 13, rainy tomorrow, with a high of 20.
Chongqing will be overcast, 15 degrees the low, cloudy tomorrow with a high of 24.
Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia
Islamabad, rainy with a high of 19.
Kabul, cloudy, 16.
Over in Australia
Sydney, rainy, highs of 23.
Canberra, rainy, 22.
Brisbane, rainy, 26.
And finally, Perth will be cloudy with a high of 33.
Top News
No direct evidence shows plane crashed into sea: Chinese authority
Chinese authorities say the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight has entered its third stage, even though no direct evidence has been found showing the plane crashed into the sea.
China's Ministry of Transport says China has now dispatched 12 naval vessels, 8 helicopters and 3 military planes to the search area in the southern Indian Ocean.
The Ministry says navy vessels have already started extensive searching, but no direct evidence of the flight's fate has been recovered.
Li Yang, the Ministry's spokesperson, says the search will take a long time.
"So far, we have only identified suspicious objects. We haven't found any direct evidence showing the plane has crashed into the sea. It is expected that the search will take a relatively long period of time. Other than that, once we find the suspicious objects, we still need to verify that the plane has ended in the sea."
Meanwhile, China's special envoy to Kuala Lumpur, Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui, has visited a hotel hosting Chinese families of passengers on board the missing flight.
A handful of Chinese families have been staying in Kuala Lumpur to be closer to the center of the investigation.
Earlier, angry family members stormed into a press briefing room near Kuala Lumpur's international airport.
Today's search in the southern Indian Ocean has been suspended due to bad weather.
An international search team of 11 aircrafts and five ships had been heading to the area where numerous floating objects had earlier been spotted in French satellite pictures.
Eight planes reached the search area but later returned to Perth due to poor visibility and deteriorating weather conditions.
Australian officials say ships will try to continue the search.
Malaysia said it was sending a team to Perth to assist with the search operation.
The search area, which is located some 2,500 kilometers southwest of Perth, has some of the deepest and roughest waters in the world.
Meanwhile Thailand has reportedly found more floating objects during a satellite search for the missing plane.
Some 300 objects have been identified by Thailand's Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency.
The agency's head has told the AFP news agency that the objects ranged from two to 15 metres in size, scattered over an area about 2,700 kilometres southwest of Perth, Australia.
That's about 200 kilometres away from the current search area.
It is yet to be confirmed whether the objects are from the missing plane.
China and France sign multi-billion euro deals
China and France have signed multi-billion deals including a new 10-year Airbus accord as Chinese President Xi Jinping makes a state visit to France.
The Chinese President's visit comes during the 50th anniversary of China-France diplomatic ties and the 10th anniversary of the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership.
Xi Jinping says the two countries have agreed to further strengthen their communication and bilateral ties.
"China and France are two nations with global influence. we have decided to reinforce our cooperation substantially between the two countries in international affairs and to propose new ideas and solutions to establish a new international political order which is more just and equitable and a system of worldwide economic governance based on mutual advantages where everyone wins."
For his part, French President Francois Hollande says it is important to have such a partnership with China as the French economy begins to recover.
"At the moment when our economy is starting up again, at the moment when we are fighting against unemployment, at the moment when we must increase our competitiveness, at the moment when I'm launching the responsibility pact, it is very important that we demonstrate the value of our companies and France's potential, along with China, to have a partnership at this level."
About 50 commercial accords worth over 18 billion euros have been signed.
China also signed up to buy 70 new aircraft, including 27 Airbus A330s, and a new accord allowing Airbus to assemble A320 planes in Tianjin until 2025.
Aerospace products accounts for 29 percent of French exports to China.
France accounts for 1.2 percent of Chinese imports, and its foreign direct investment totaled 16.7 billion euros at the end of 2012.
Apart from boosting economic exchanges, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, former French Prime Minister, says the Chinese president's visit can help build a trusting relationship between the two countries.
"The principle of the visit is to establish peaceful, stable and trusting relationship between China and France. The world is dangerous, we have the same vision of our world. And in this context, it is very important that the Chinese president and French president speak to each other regularly, and build together a common strategy, so the principle of objective is pressed."
France is the 2nd leg of the Chinese President's current European trip, which will also see him make stops in Germany and Belgium.
Xi Jinping began his trip in the Netherlands.
Auto industry insight into PSA-DONGFENG deal
Among various cooperation deals finalized by Chinese Presdient Xi Jinping and his French counterpart, Francois Hollande, is a deal between the Chinese automaker Dongfeng and France's largest carmaker, PSA Peugeot Citroen.
Plans call for Dongfeng Motor Company, the French government, and the Peugeot family to each own equal 14 percent stakes in PSA Peugeot Citroen and to have equal voting rights.
The agreement allows Peugeot and Dongfeng to extend their existing Chinese joint venture to co-develop vehicles, ramp up production to grab a bigger share of the world's largest auto market, and export their cars around Asia.
For more on how the insiders in the French side evaluate this deal, CRI's special correspondent David Keyton earlier spoke with Francois Roudier, Director of Communications, French Auto Manufacters' Trade Association.
That is Francois Roudier, Director of Communications of the French Auto Manufacters' Trade Association, speaking with CRI's special correspondent David Keyton in Paris.
Obama visit Pope Francis after EU-US summit
US President Barack Obama has met with Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Obama flew to Italy for the third leg of his European tour after talks with EU leaders in the Neitherlands and Brussels.
The EU-US summit was dominated by discussion of the situation in Ukraine.
Obama and European Union leaders presented a unified front against Russia's annexation of Crimea.
They have voiced support for more sanctions toward Russia and a regular presence for NATO in eastern Europe.
"One thing that I have had suggested to the heads of states and governments that are NATO members is that we examine those plans to make sure they are updated that we do more to ensure that a regular NATO presence among some of these states that may feel vulnerable is executed. I think there are ways that we do that that can be accommodated by our existing assets."
Obama and European Union leaders also say they're moving to hasten the completion of a Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership that will remove trade barriers between the US and the EU.
The deal may help to speed the export of US shale gas into Europe, a region which is now heavily dependent on Moscow for energy.
Russia has already declared it will lift the price of natural gas exported to Ukraine by 50 percent, starting from May.
Ukraine has decided to raise gas prices by half.
Meanwhile the International Monetary Fund is reportedly close to an agreement with Ukraine on financial assistance.
The stand-by agreement would bring some 14 to 18 billion US dollars to Ukraine for the next 2 years to aid the country's ailing economy.
It comes after a 3-week visit by IMF officials in Kiev, but still needs to be approved by the full-board of the IMF.
S.Korea to seek response measures to DPRK's missile launches
South Korea is seeking response measures to North Korea's recent ballistic missile test, hinting it may ask the UN to consider sanctions against its neighbour.
The issue is to be discussed at the UN during a meeting at noon Thursday, New York time.
The North launched two Rodong missiles Wednesday morning. For the first time, the missiles were deployed from mobile launchers.
The missiles are capable of carrying nuclear warheads. They apparently landed in waters inside of Japan's air defense identification zone.
South Korea has expressed concern that the missile launch may actually be a prelude to another nuclear test by the North.
Egyptians welcome al-Sisi's run for presidency
Supporters of Egypt's military chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi have taken to the street to celebrate his decision to run for the presidency.
Supporters in Cairo danced and chanted al-Sisi's name.
"I am happy he is running. It is his right to be president and it is his right to be in charge of the nation. He worked hard for it. He moved Egypt to the right stage. We all support al-Sisi and God willing he will be successful."
The newly-minted candidate is expected to win the election easily, but it sounds like he is being careful not to take voters for granted.
"Never can anyone force Egyptians to vote for a president they do not want - those days are over. Therefore, I am before you humbly stating my intention to run for the presidency of the Arab Republic of Egypt."
The 59-year-old field marshal is required to resign as military chief and defense minister.
Based on Egypt's newly-established constitution, only civilians are eligible to run for president.
The government has yet to set a date for the vote.
Leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi, who came third in the 2012 election, is the only other candidate to have declared his intention to run.
If al Sisi is elected, it will mark a return to the tradition where Egypt was led by presidents from military backgrounds.
The pattern was only interrupted during Mohamed Morsi's one year in office.
Earlier, a protester was killed in clashes between Morsi's supporters and security forces.
Morsi's supporters staged demonstrations after the court handed out a mass death sentence to 529 Muslim Brotherhood supporters in the southern governorate of Minya.
Pakistan's top judge quits Musharraf treason case
One of the three judges involved in hearing the case against former military president Pervez Musharaff has quit.
This, after one of Musharaff's defense attorneys accused Justice Faisal Arab of being biased against his client.
The decision has temporarily halted the former leader's trial on high-treason charges.
The defense accusation is based on the fact that the judge once refused to swear an oath under a constitutional order issued by Musharaff in 2007 when he suspended the constitution.
That suspension is the very thing on which the treason charge against Musharaff is based.
Philippine military to ink deal on purchase of 12 fighter jets
The armed forces of the Philippines has announced a small deal to boost its air defenses, right now considered to be among the weakest in Southeast Asia.
The country will spend a little over 500-million US dollars on 12 fighter jets and 4 helicopters.
The FA-50 fighter jets will come from South Korea while the Bell 412 combat utility helicopters will come from Canada.
The purchase is said to be the most expensive initiative yet undertaken by the Philippines milistary under its current modernization program.
The number of missing in Washington mudslide drops to 90
The number of people still missing in Saturday's catastrophic mudslide in the US state of Washington has dropped to 90 from 176.
John Pennington is Snohomish County's emergency management director.
"Tonight we can report definitively that 90 people, nine zero are currently missing or unaccounted for. In addition to that we still have 35 people whose status is still unknown at this time."
The official death toll remains at 24, including eight bodies rescuers say they have located but have been unable to retrieve.
About 200 search personnel, many wearing rain gear and hard hats, combed through the disaster zone under cloudy skies.
The slide already ranks as one of the worst in US history.
Biz Reports
stocks
Asian markets were in a skittish mood on Thursday, after a soft finish on Wall Street and amid simmering tensions over Ukraine.
Chinese shares closed lower.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.8 percent.
The Shenzhen Component Index lost 1 percent
Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.2 percent.
The Banking giant HSBC, which accounts for the largest weighting of the Hang Seng Index, was flat.
China Mobile advanced 2.2 percent. China Unicom gained 1 percent.
ICBC, the world's largest bank by market value, shed 0.2 percent. Bank of China climbed 1.5 percent.
As for energy stocks, China's top refiner Sinopec gained 1.5 percent. PetroChina, the country's largest oil and gas producer, rose 0.7 percent.
Elsewhere in Asia,
Japan's Nikkei was up 1 percent. Gainers were led by retail, precision machinery and utility shares.
South Korea's KOSPI rose 0.7 percent. Samsung Electronics, which account for more than 20 percent of total market capitalization, surged 3.7 percent.
Singapore's Strait Times Index advanced 0.7 percent.
Finally, Australia's ASX200 shed 0.5 percent.
China's industrial profit up 9.4 pct
Official data shows Chinese industry saw profits rise 9.4 percent year on year in the first two months of 2014.
The National Bureau of Statistics says the total profits of industrial companies with annual revenue of more than 20 million yuan reached 779.3 billion yuan in the Jan-Feb period.
The growth rate is lower than that for the whole of 2013, which stood at 12.2 percent.
But it is notably higher than that of December, when profits rose only 6 percent year on year.
In the first two months, the performance of these firms is uneven.
The data shows state-owned and state-holding industrial enterprises have achieved total profits of 216.9 billion yuan, down by 0.2 percent year on year.
Profits of private firms rose the fastest at 16.4 percent to reach over 260 billion yuan in the first two months.
Upper house of Swiss parliament ratifies FTA with China
The upper house of the Swiss parliament has approved a free trade agreement with China.
The agreement was approved by the lower house, or the Swiss National Council, in December.
The FTA is the first free trade pact inked between China and a country in continental Europe.
It was signed in Beijing on July after nine rounds of negotiations over more than two years.
China is Switzerland's largest trading partner in Asia, while Switzerland is China's eighth-largest trading partner in Europe.
Bilateral trade reached 21.81 billion U.S. dollars in 2013.
The CDB and Barclays sign a new memorandum
Anchor
British bank Barclays and the China Development Bank have signed a new strategic memorandum.
The move is said to be part of CDB's broader goal of becoming a commercial lender.
China Development Bank became a shareholder in Barclays in 2007.
The two firms' existing cooperation has been focused mainly on staff training and banking opportunities within China.
For more on this, CRI's Paul James spoke earlier with Cao Can, CRI's Financial Commentator.
That was Cao Can, CRI's Financial Commentator.
Bank of America to pay 9.5 billion USD to settle mortgage allegation
Bank of America, the second-largest U.S. bank by assets, has agreed to pay about 9.5 billion U.S. dollars to settle all litigation over mortgage-backed securities sold to mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The settlement resolves around four lawsuits by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) filed against the bank and its affiliates Countrywide and Merrill Lynch.
The lawsuits allege the Bank of America group falsely represented that the loans complied with certain standards.
The bank says the deal covers 57.5 billion dollars of private-label residential mortgage-backed securities bought by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac between 2005 and 2007.
Bank of America says that the settlement will reduce the bank's pre-tax earnings in the first quarter by about 3.7 billion dollars.
In return, the FHFA's pending lawsuits against Bank of America and its affiliates will be dismissed.
Intel buys wearable technology firm Basis Science
US chipmaker Intel has stepped up its investment in wearable technology with the acquisition of Basis Science.
The start-up from San Francisco will be merged with Intel's New Devices Group.
Intel has not disclosed the value of the deal.
However, industry analysts say the deal is probably worth around 100 million US dollars.
Basis Science is known for its health-tracking device, the Basis band, which monitors a user's heart rate and calorie-burning, among other things.
The Basis band will continue to be sold and supported through existing channels.
Industry research is suggesting the value of the wearable technology market crossed the 4-billion US dollar threshold this past year, and is expected to more than double by 2018.
Lachlan Murdoch resigns as Ten chairman to take co-chairman role at News Corp
Lachlan Murdoch, the son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, has been appointed co-chairman of News Corp and 21st Century Fox.
The elder Murdoch made the announcement himself.
42-year-old Lachlan Murdoch returns to a leadership role at News Corp after resigning from a senior role at the company almost a decade ago.
On Wednesday, Lachlan Murdoch announced his decision to retire as Australia's Ten Network Chairman because of his new appointment.
There is speculation that Ten Network may be a potential takeover target for News Corp.
However, News Corp has declined to comment on whether it is interested in acquiring Ten.
Nissan recalling over one million vehicles for airbag issue
Nissan Motors is recalling over a million vehicles globally, mostly in the United States, to fix software.
A software defect could deactivate the front passenger airbag.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, says the car company has identified two accidents possibly linked to the problem.
The passenger airbag did not deploy in those crashes.
But a Nissan spokesman says his company can not *conclude* that the failure of the airbags is related to the software issue.
Headline News
No direct evidence shows plane crashed into sea: Chinese authority
Thailand has found more floating objects during a satellite search for the missing Malaysian Airline plane.
Some 300 objects have been identified by Thailand's Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency.
The objects ranged from two to 15 metres in size, scattered over an area about 2,700 kilometres southwest of Perth, Australia.
That's about 200 kilometres away from the current search area.
The international hunt for the missing plane has continued for the 19th day with no direct evidence that show the plane crashed into the sea has been found.
China's Foreign Ministry has released a new statement on Thursday, reiterating its calls for Malaysia to provide more information about the missing flight.
Meanwhile, China's special envoy to Kuala Lumpur, Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui, has visited a hotel hosting Chinese families of passengers on board the flight.
CPC invites public creativity to help corruption fight/xinhua
The disciplinary watchdog of the Communist Party of China is rallying the public to fight corruption and help build clean government.
Citizens are being invited to submit news photographs, non-commercial adverts and cartoons that illustrate corruption.
The theme is "corruption-free China" and the activity runs through the rest of the year.
Officials are promising rewards for excellent works.
The call is the latest in a string of efforts to get the public more involved in fighting corruption.
Previous moves include procedures for sending in tips about corruption, inviting disciplinary officials to conduct online interviews, and upgrading the online whistleblowing platform.
Remains of Chinese soldiers to be repatriated
The remains of more than 400 Chinese soldiers who died during the Korean War were transported to the Incheon International Airport on Thursday for their repatriation back to China.
Last year, South Korea and China agreed to transport the remains of the 437 Chinese soldiers back to China before Chinese Qingming Festival, which falls on April 5th this year.
The South Korean Defence Ministry said it is first time that the remains of Chinese soldiers' will be sent directly to China without going through North Korea.
Guangdong relaxes one-child policy
South China's Guangdong Province has relaxed its family planning policy by allowing couples to have a second baby if either parent is an only child.
A local official says fewer than 150,000 families are eligible to have a second child as a result of the policy change, and the change is not expected to make a significant difference to the population of the province.
Besides Guangdong, eight other provinces and municipalities have also changed their policies.
Knife-wielding man kills 6 in Beijing
Six people have been stabbed to death in a village in northern Beijing.
Police have detained a 34-year-old man who they say went on a rampage after a dispute over family property.
Several others have been injured in the incident in Beijing's suburban district of Huairou.
The man's family say the suspect has a history of mental illness.
Newspaper Picks
Chongqing Morning News
"Food, cosmetics top online shoppers' blacklist"
Online shopping is considered a smart way to save time and money, but when it comes to buying food and cosmetics, Chinese netizens think twice.
A netizen in Chongqing posted a question online asking what type of things people won't buy online. The topic attracted many netizens, who then listed five types of things they avoid shopping for on the Internet.
The first was food because netizens question the products' safety when purchased online. Cosmetics come in second because netizens think it is too difficult to identify whether a cosmetic product is genuine.
Also on the list are imported luxuries, furniture and gold.
However, some netizens still doubt whether they can really remove those things from their online shopping lists.
China Daily
"Internet phrases ban triggers heated debate"
Central China's Henan province has introduced a new regulation to restrict the use of Internet phrases in documents and text books, from which arises hot debates.
The regulation will take effect beginning April 1st. Web users have expressed conflicting opinions about the new rule.
According to a survey conducted by China National Radio, about 40 percent of netizens are in favor of the new regulation. They argue that Internet phrases are too much like slang to be used in formal contexts such as government documents and textbooks.
However, 40 percent of respondents disagree. They believe that if borrowed words can be accepted, so can Internet phrases.
Another 20 percent hold a neutral stand. They suggest that once the Internet phrases are contained in the dictionary and are standardized, they can be used in official documents.
Business News Daily
"Why Good Bosses Are Often Unhappy Bosses"
Everyone wants their boss to play fair, but new research suggests that while doing so might make employees happy, it's not always so great for the boss.
Researchers at Michigan State University found that carefully monitoring the fairness of workplace decisions wears down supervisors both mentally and emotionally.
According to the research, managers face a double-edged sword in maintaining structured, rule-bound fairness, known as procedural justice. Procedural justice fatigues managers mentally because it requires them to conform to particular fairness rules, such as suppressing personal biases and allowing subordinates to voice their concerns.
Knowing this type of burnout can occur, researchers said it's critical managers create situations in which they are better prepared to cope with fatigue, including getting sufficient sleep, taking short mental breaks during the workday, adhering to a healthy diet and detaching from work completely when outside of the office.
Medical news today
"Economic growth does not guarantee reduction in undernutrition, study finds"
A new study published in The Lancet Global Health found that the relationship between economic growth and the reduction of undernutrition in developing countries is not as close as previously believed.
Researchers analyzed data taken from 121 demographic and health surveys conducted across 36 low- and middle-income countries between 1990 and 2011.
The study reports that there is no link between economic growth and rates of undernutrition, and the researchers found that for a 5% increase in per-head GDP, there were very small associated reductions in the odds of children being stunted, underweight, or wasted.
Instead, other elements such as households circumstances, unequal distribution of wealth and lacking public investments may be contributing to the undernutrition persisting in developing countries.
Special Reports
2014 China International Clothing & Accessories Fair
Anchor:
The 22nd China International Clothing and Accessories Fair has raised its curtain in Beijing.
As the largest such event in Asia, the fair has become the barometer of fashion trends and a good platform for both domestic and foreign fashion brands to seek partnership.
Xiong Siqi finds out more.
At the New China International Exhibition Centre in Beijing, with an exhibition area of over 100 thousand square meters, the China International Clothing and Accessories Fair is staging over 1000 domestic and international fashion brands from more than 20 countries and regions who are bringing their latest and greatest designs to China. Wang Jiafeng is the Business Division manager of the Youngor Dresses Shareholding Company, which is a leading Chinese brand.
"We attend the CHIC almost every year. Until now we have taken part in this fair at least 20 years. Every time, we bring new designs. Over the past few years, our company has cooperated with famous designers from many countries, such as Japan, Italy and France."
Attracting the bulk of attention at the fair are not only domestic brands, but also the exhibition halls for foreign brands, such as French, Italian, South Korean and Japanese brands. And all their stands are delicately designed according to their distinctive features.
Serge Beccaria is the commission manager of Billtornade, a brand from Paris.
"This is the second time. We were here last year. We come back because CHIC is very important for French people and also for the brand that we present. We present everywhere in the world, such as Paris, London and New York. But we don't have any partners or any shops here in China, and in France we have lots of Chinese customers buying the brand, so we begin to build the brand in China."
Apparently, the first step for a foreign fashion brand entering the Chinese market is to find a perfect partner to help navigate the country's unique waters. At the annual CHIC, the participants can have the chance to get the latest information on upcoming trends, attend various forum and seminars, but also get their business targets achieved.
Among the 100 thousand visitors, many of them come here to learn and seek business partnerships. Mao Sanmao is a young Chinese fashion designer.
"I'm a fashion designer from Zhengzhou. I have a collection presented here this year. But at the same time, I come to learn, to have a look at designs from home and abroad. This morning when I toured around, I found two brands I like very much. We also talked and hoped to have further cooperation. So coming to CHIC, you can not only present yourself, but also communicate with other peers."
Over the past 21 years, the CHIC has proved itself as an international communication and exchange platform. This year, CHIC will continue to be a show window of new successful business stories and explore new values for its participants.
FOr CRI, I am Xiong Siqi.
Sports
Federer knocked out of Sony Open by Nishikori
In Tennis,
A shock result from the Sony Open in Miami.
Roger Federer has been knocked out of the competition by Kei Nishikori of Japan.
Nishikori rallied back twice from a break down in the second set to defeat the Swiss world number five…. 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.
The 20th ranked player in the world said he was feeling on good form:
"You know I was down a break and a lot of breaks actually in the second but I was returning well so that's helping today's match for sure and I don't know serving well, especially in the third set, that's why I was holding my serve easy. Playing everything well today."
He might have his work cut out for him in the next match however as he faces Serbia's Novak Djokovic who knocked out defending champion, Andy Murray to proceed to the final four.
Djokovic said keeping a cool head helped him to victory:
"The first set we went toe to toe in that twelfth game where he made a couple of unforced errors, you know, allowed met to win the set. Obviously after that I felt a relief, felt more comfortable on the court even though I was even and I was a break down in the second I still felt that I was mentally calm and believe that I could win straight and I think holding that composure helped me to prevail in the end."
This was the first meeting between the pair since Murray won the Wimbledon title last year, the defeat means that Murray will now slip to eighth in the world rankings next week… His lowest since 2008.
Real Madrid slide down La Liga rankings after rivals win games
A look at football and the Spanish top division.
Former League leaders Real Madrid have slipped down to third after they were defeated 2-1 by Sevilla, while their rivals Barcelona and Atletico Madrid both won their respective matches.
During their second loss of the week Real Madrid's Christiano Ronaldo opened the scoring with a deflected free kick in the 19th minute.
But Madrid went on to waste a host of opportunities and allowed fifth-in-the-league Sevilla to equalize and get past them.
Real Madrid defender Marcelo, appologised to the fans:
"We ask the Real Madrid supporters to forgive us for this result. It's now making it very hard for us, we have to keep fighting and as I say we have to ask for the fan's forgivness. There are a few games now and we have to take every one as if it were a final. We can't give up the fight because there are still so many games to go and we have to try and put Real Madrid where they should be."
Meanwhile Atletico Madrid now jump to the top spot in La Liga after defeating Grenada 1-0 While a point behind are Barcelona who defeated Celta Vigo three – nil.
China faces tough challenge after 2015 Asian Cup Draw
Alsoin football China's head coach Allain Perrin, his team faces a tough challenge after the 2015 Asian Cup was drawn yesterday.
"For a coach all the games are difficult, especially Uzbekistan. We don't really know this team. I know, because I was in Qatar and I played against Qatar and they are a strong team and I think the favourite of the group. This group, anyone can lose some points against anyone. It means it is very open and we have to fight and have a good start in this group to have a chance to go to the next round."
China is drawn in Group B, with three-time champions Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, and North Korea.
The host team Australia face a difficult lot after being grouped with 2002 World Cup semi-finalists South Korea.
Defending champions Japan were drawn into Group D along with 2007 Asian champion Iraq, Jordan and the Madives.
And Iran, the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain comprise group C.
Bahrain's head coach Anthony Hudson commented on being the underdog of that group.
"We will certainly come here and look to give a good account of ourselves. We want to come to do something here. So as I said, we are not afraid of anyone and we are familiar with the opposition. The pressure's not on us. It's on the bigger teams and these other guys, so we come here very positive and we;re excited about the draw."
The 2015 Asian Cup kicks off in Melbourne in January.
England face Sri Lanka in Twenty20 cricket
In cricket,
England and Sri Lanka face each other today at the World Twenty20 tournament in Bangladesh.
Sri Lanka sits at the top of Group One, and is looking to secure its place in the semi-finals..
One of the key players who needs to be in form for Sri Lanka to win is fast bowler Lasith Malinga, the fifth most prolific wicket taker in international T20 stats.
Sri Lankan captain Dinesh Chandimal said Malinga is pivotal to the squad's chances of success in Bangladesh.
"He is a really good bowler, especially he is the one key to success. We are successful in T20 format, he came in and bowled at the end and he got some good wickets for us. That's why we are successful. You know I can't also hit a six against him, I never did that. I'm only trying to hit some boundaries, it's never easy to hit a six for (against) him."
England really need a victory here after losing their opening match to New Zealand.
Elsewhere South Africa are taking on the Netherlands for their semi-final place.
Sebastian Vettel and Missy Franklin named Laureus Sportsman and Sportswoman of the year
Four time world champion Sebastian Vettel has been named Laureus Sportsman of the Year at a star studded ceremony hosted by Benedict Cumberbatch.
The German was presented his award in Kuala Lumpur ahead of this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix.
The 26-year-old beat Athletes Usain Bolt, Mo Farah, footballer Christiano Ronaldo, Basketball star LeBron James and tennis star Rafael Nadal to the prize.
Sportswoman of the Year was awarded to Missy Franklin, the 18-year-old four-time Olympic Champion was rewarded for her groundbreaking six world championship golds.
Entertainment
"Noah" cast celebrates film's opening in New York
The cast of "Noah" hit the red carpet in New York on Wednesday to celebrate the film's opening. The dark and unrelenting drama is directed by "Black Swan's" Darren Aronofsky and tells one of the best-known Old Testament tales with the director's trademark psychological torment.
Russell Crowe, who plays Noah in the film, says that he expected the film to receive some backlash but underestimated its intensity.
"We knew going in that there was going to be some criticism. But I didn't realize it was going to be so strident, you know. And it's kind of funny because there is a whole bunch of people that have gone on record now, you know, accusing the movie of things that are just not real."
Meanwhile, Emma Watson reflects on the difficulties of her role as Ila, the wife of Noah's eldest son.
"Darren did put me through my paces, he gave me some scenes that I hadn't ever seen before and gave me five minutes to look at them and I had to go through the scene, I actually had to cry in my audition as well, which is reasonably hard. But, I just really wanted the role."
The film also stars Jennifer Connelly as Noah's wife, Anthony Hopkins as Noah's grandfather and Douglas Booth as Noah's eldest son.
The film is set to be released in U.S. and Canadian theaters, as well as several other countries, on Friday, March 28.
Chris Evans done with acting after Captain America
Chris Evans has devastated his fans all around the world when he announced that he is done with acting after he finishes his Captain America role. Instead, what he really wants to do is pursue directing.
The 32-year-old actor says that he has known for some time that his dream is to direct movies, but time never really opens up for him when he is accepting acting roles. Evans will fulfill his six-film Marvel contract, which means he will be in at least three more "Captain America" or "The Avengers" movies in coming years, but he will no longer pursue acting gigs beyond that.
Evans did not rule out the possibility that he may someday change his mind and return to the silver screen as an actor but says, for now, he is firmly on the directing path.
"Captain America: The Winter Soldier" is Evans' third effort as the title's superhero and will open on April 4th in the United States.
Madonna to direct third film
Madonna will direct her third film, an adaptation of Rebecca Walker's debut novel, "Ade: A Love Story." The 55-year-old singer's two pervious films were WE and Firth and Wisdom.
Her newest project will tell the story of an American student who falls in love with a young Muslim man on an island off the coast of Kenya before the clash of cultures complicates the relationship. Author Walker will co-produce the film along with Bruce Cohen, who produced "Silver Linings Playbook" and "American Beauty."
Madonna and the producers are now looking for a screenwriter to adapt the book.
"Super Speaker" launches season two
Season two of the Chinese reality show "Super Speaker" has launched on Anhui Satellite TV.
The producers are seeking to invite Zhang Yimou and South Korean star Jun Ji-yun to join the filming process.
The program is similar to reality show Voice of China, where people of talent come on stage to compete against one another. But, as the title suggests, contestants on "Super Speaker" are competing against one another in their ability to give public speeches and respond to challenging questions.
That’s it for this edition of the Beijing Hour.
A quick recap of headlines before we go.
The search for missing flight MH370 has entered a new stage, even though direct evidence of a crash in the southern Indian Ocean has yet to be confirmed...
A slew of new deals and agreements has been signed during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to France...
And South Korea has hinted it may seek UN sanctions against North Korea over the latter's most recent missile test...
In business, Chinese industrial profits rise on the strength of private enterprises...
On behalf of the staff, this is Shane Bigham in Beijing hoping you join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour to open the window to the world together.
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