Welcome to the Beijing Hour; we are coming to you live from the Chinese capital.

Coming up on the programme this evening:

A forum involving China and South American and Caribbean countries has opened in Beijing.

Word of a possible sighting of the two suspects involved in the Paris terrorist attack, as condolences and condemnations continue to roll in.

The search for the black box of the missing AirAsia flight has been suspended because of adverse conditions.

In business.... a Hong Kong-listed Chinese property developer appears poised to miss yet another loan payment.

In sports... excitement is growing in LA on word Steven Gerrard has confirmed he's joining the Galaxy next season.

In entertainment.... we'll recap last night's People's Choice Awards.

But first, a check on what's happening weather wise...

 

 

Weather

 

 

Beijing will be clear tonight, with a low of minus 3. It will be sunny tomorrow, with a high of 7 degrees.　

Meanwhile Shanghai will be clear tonight, with a low of 2, tomorrow will see a sunny day, with a high of 11.

Chongqing will be overcast tonight, 6 degrees the lowest, tomorrow will also be overcast with a high of 10.

Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia

Islamabad, sunny day tomorrow with a high of 15.

Kabul, cloudy, 9.

Over in Australia

Sydney, cloudy, high of 31.

Canberra, slight rain, 28.

Brisbane, cloudy, 29.

Finally, Perth will be sunny with a high of 30.

 

 

Top News

 

 

China-CELAC Forum Opens, Cooperation Stressed

 

Anchor:

Chinese President Xi Jinping is promising stronger economic ties with 33 Latin American and Caribbean countries included in a group known as CELAC.

The pledge has been made at Thursday's opening ceremony of the first ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC forum in Beijing.

CRI's Yin Xiuqi has more.

Reporter:

President Xi Jinping says the sessions in Beijing will produce a new plan to chart the path of China-CELAC cooperation over the next five years.

The collaboration plan is expected to define key areas and specific measures of cooperation from 2015 to 2019.

The document is expected to cover a wide range of sectors, including political security, trade, investment, finance, energy, and people-to-people exchanges.

Xi Jinping, in delivering the opening speech to the China-CELAC session, says China wants to double two-way trade to 500 billion US dollars with the region over the next 10 years.

"Let's make this meeting a new starting point, seize the new opportunity of collective cooperation, and work toward a new phase of bilateral development between China and CELAC."

Trade between China and the region has grown from 10-billion dollars in 2000 to 257 billion in 2013.

This has been driven largely by Chinese demand for commodities such as crude oil and soybeans.

At the same time, Xi Jinping says the Chinese government wants to increase direct investment in the region to 250 billion dollars over the next five years.

CELAC groups all South American countries, as well as certain Caribbean states, plus Mexico.

The two-day meetings in Beijing have drawn dozens of high-ranking officials from CELAC nations, including the Presidents of Costa Rica, Ecuador, Venezuela, as well as the Prime Minister of the Bahamas.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa says the cooperation between China and CELAC countries should help push forward reforms in the current international order.

"The relation between China and our region should be based on mutual benefit and win-win cooperation as well as mutual respect so that we can together promote and reform international order. The current order is not only unjust but in many examples immoral. Some arbitrary organizations are not fair and have been used as political tools for a long period of time in the past."

Correa is on-record saying he wants to work with China on reforming the United Nations.

He also notes China has massive cash resources, while CELAC nations have a lot of natural and human resources China needs.

Ahead of the two-day session, Ecuador managed to secure more than 7.5-billion-dollar worth of lines-of-credit and loans from China.

Last summer, China extended a 20 billion dollar loan to the region for infrastructure development, on top of another 10-billion in preferential loans.

For CRI, I'm Yin Xiuqi.

Anchor:

For more on the ties between China and CELAC nations, CRI'S Qian Shanming spoke with Professor Enrique Peters, Coordinator of the Center for Chinese-Mexican Studies at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

 

 

Condolences roll in as hunt for Paris shooting suspects continues

 

Reports are suggesting the two suspects in the Paris terrorist attack on Wednesday may have been spotted.

Local media is quoting an employee of a gas station in northern France as saying he recognized the suspects while they were filling up their vehicle.

The same reports say the suspects are also heavily armed.

However, these reports have not been confirmed by authorities.

Arrest warrants have been officially issued for Said and Cherif Kouachi, who are both French nationals.

A 3rd suspect, an 18-year old, is under arrest after reportedly turning himself in.

French authorities have arrested seven people connected to Wednesday's attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

The death toll from the attack stands at 12.

The dead include eight journalists, the magazine's editor, and two police officers.

11 others were wounded in the deadly attack, four of them seriously.

The attack has left Paris and the rest of France in shock.

CRI's Wang Mengzhen has more.

Reporter:

The attack in Paris is the deadliest in the country in decades.

In a national televised speech on Wednesday, French President Francois Hollande has expressed his condolences to the victims and their families, calling them "heroes".

He's also urging the French people to remain united as the situation unfolds.

"Today, it is the entire Republic that was attacked. The Republic is the freedom of speech; the Republic is the culture, the creation, pluralism, democracy. This was the assassins' target. It is the ideal of peace and justice that France carries out everywhere on the international scene. And this message of peace and tolerance we also defend with our soldiers to fight against terrorism and fundamentalism."

More than 150-thousand people have gathered for vigils across France to mourn the victims.

Many of those at the vigils have been holding up signs reading "je suis Charlie," or "I am Charlie."

"We do that for the freedom of speech, we are mobilized, we raise our pens. We won't get down."

"We are not here because of hate against the Muslim religion but we are against obscurantism, stupidity, stupid people. This is an everyday fight that is going on for a very long time".

At the same time, international condemnation of the attack has been pouring in.

The Chinese government has issued a formal statement, saying China is deeply shocked and strongly condemns the attack.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei.

"We strongly condemn it as a terrorist attack. We mourn for the victims and express our sympathy to the bereaved families and to the injured. The Chinese side firmly opposes all forms of terrorism and supports the efforts made by the French side to safeguard its domestic security."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is urging the world to remain united behind peace.

"This horrific attack is meant to divide. We must not fall into that trap. This is a moment for solidarity. Around the world, we must stand strong for freedom of expression and tolerance and stand against the forces of division and hate."

US Secretary of State John Kerry has sent a message to the people of France, saying every American stands with them.

The Iranian government has also issued a condemnation of the attack in Paris, saying any act of terrorism against innocent people is an antithesis to Islamic teachings.

Despite that suggestion, it appears reprisals against Islamic targets in France are taking place, with numerous reports of Mosques being attacked across the country.

For CRI, I am Wang Mengzhen.

 

 

One dead, one in critical condition in separate Paris shooting

 

There's been another deadly shooting in Paris.

This time, a female police officer is dead and a city employee is in critical condition following the shooting in a Paris suburb this Thursday morning.

The suspect is still on the run.

Authorities say the suspect attacked the two officials with an automatic weapon.

The suspect, in his early 50's, is known to police and has spent time behind bars.

Officials are downplaying any possible link with Wednesday's deadly terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo.

 

 

Search for AirAsia jet's Black box halted due to Poor Visibility

 

The search for the critical black box of the downed AirAsia flight in the Java Sea has been temporarily suspended due to bad weather and poor visibility.

Divers have been making little progress in accessing the wreckage of the plane because of strong undersea currents.

The search has been focused on the location where a portion of the plane's tail was discovered on Wednesday.

Henry Bambang Soelistyo heads the Indonesian search teams.

"The process of searching a large part of the plane and the black boxes has been constrained by heavy underwater currents and visibility is less than one meter. The divers are now waiting on the ship until conditions get better. If the current conditions and visibility improves, the divers will be deployed to search and find the black boxes."

Finding the flight-data recorder will be critical in determining what caused the plane to crash on December 28th, leaving all 162 people on-board dead.

Initial indications are the flight may have gone down in bad weather, as the pilot had requested a change in altitude to avoid a weather system just before the AirAsia flight disappeared off radar while en route from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.

So far around 40 bodies have been recovered.

The rest of the victim's remains are believed to be trapped in the wreckage undersea.

 

 

Sony Pictures hackers 'got sloppy': FBI

 

FBI Director James Comey says investigators have fresh evidence pointing to North Korea being behind the Sony cyber-attack.

US federal investigators claim the hacker group, "Guardians of Peace", which claimed responsibility for the hack, posted material via servers used exclusively in North Korea.

Comey has made the revelation at a Cyber Security conference in New York.

"The 'Guardians of Peace' would send e-mails threatening Sony employees and would post online various statements explaining their work. In nearly every case they used proxy servers to disguise where they were coming from, in sending those e-mails and in sending and pasting and posting those statements. But several times they got sloppy, several times either because they forgot or they had a technical problem, they connected directly and we could see them. And we could see that the IP (Internet Protocol) addresses that were being used to post and to send the e-mails were coming from IPs that were exclusively used by the North Koreans. It was a mistake by them that we haven't told you about before that was a very clear indication of who's doing this. They would shut it off very quickly once they realized the mistake but not before we saw them and knew where it was coming from."

The North Korean government applauded the hack of Sony's system at the time.

However, it has consistently denied any involvement.

Sony's network was hit by hackers as company prepared to release "The Interview", a comedy about plans to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.

The Obama administration has since leveled new sanctions on North Korea in the wake of the cyber-attack.

 

 

Sri Lanka votes in crucial presidential election

 

Voting in Sri Lanka's closely fought Presidential election is drawing to a close.

Indications are that close to three-quarters of the15-million people eligible to vote turned out for the race against incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa and his former ally, Maithripala Sirisena.

Rajapaksa has been in office since 2005, and is seeking a third term.

Sirisena, the former Health Minister, defected from the ruling party just a couple of months ago.

Opinion polling heading into the vote has suggested it was too close to call.

Initial results may come later tonight.

The final results are due on Friday.

 

 

China nabs 680 suspects in "Fox Hunt" operation

 

Chinese authorities have detailed their now-concluded drive to repatriate suspected economic criminals from overseas.

The Ministry of Public Security says operation "Fox Hunt 2014" has repatriated 680 fugitives during the 6-month campaign.

Among them, 390 turned themselves in under a promise of a reduced sentence if convicted.

208 of them each is accused of economic crimes worth over 1.6 million US dollars.

Liu Dong, head of the campaign, says authorities logged a lot of travel time during the 6-month operation.

"Some of our operational teams had to go back and forth to African and South American countries within 3 or 4 days, since the local police can only detain suspects for no more than 24 hours. Our team had to get there in a day with all the paperwork done, including repatriation procedures, customs forms and flight bookings."

China currently has judicial assistance and extradition agreements with over 60 countries.

Authorities have been working to expand that list to eventually round-up more fugitives from abroad.

 

 

Death sentence upheld for roommate-poisoning postgrad in Shanghai

 

An appeals court in Shanghai has upheld the death sentence handed down to a post-graduate student who murdered his roommate with poison.

The Shanghai Higher People's Court has rejected the appeal of Lin Senhao.

Lin, a medical student at the time at Shanghai's prestigious Fudan University, poisoned his roommate by putting a deadly compound he stole from a lab at the school into the water dispenser in their dorm.

The roommate died of organ failure a few days after drinking the contaminated water.

In making his appeal, Lin Senhao argued he didn't intend to kill his roommate, saying it was supposed to be an "April Fool's Joke".

The case itself gained national attention, with many questioning the moral education of China's young people.

 

 

Biz Reports

 

 

Chinese markets closed lower this Thursday, led by the losses in the banking and securities sectors.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost nearly two and a half percent.

The Shenzhen Component Index ended down by over 1 percent.

Bucking the trend, nuclear power-related stocks led gains on reports the Chinese government is likely to break a key technological monopoly, after Chinese researchers made a technological breakthrough in controlling rod driving systems at a domestic nuclear power station.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng gained nearly three quarters of a percent.

Elsewhere in Asia,

The Japanese Nikkei closed up more than one and half percent in one of its best days in three weeks.

South Korea's KOSPI, up around 1 percent; Australia's ASX 200, up half a percent.

And finally in Singapore, the Straits Times Index rose one and a half percent.

 

 

Land Developer Kaisa's Woe Deepens

 

Chinese real estate developer Kaisa is poised to default on another line of credit tonight.

The Hong Kong-listed company has until midnight to pay a 26 million-dollar bond coupon.

But based on previous warnings from the company, it is widely expected the Kaisa won't be making the payment.

If it doesn't, Kaisa does have a 30-day grace period to resolve the issue.

But the grace period also gives its creditors opportunities to force the company to file for bankruptcy.

If Kaisa misses the payment, it will be the first dollar-denominated bond default by a Chinese property firm.

It will also be the second missed repayment for the company, after it failed to repay 51-million dollars to HSBC last week.

Kaisa holds a number of assets in Shenzhen which could be sold off.

But a court in Shenzhen has blocked the sale of the properties after several of Kaisa's mainland-based creditors applied to have the assets frozen.

 

 

Beijing Sets a Record Land Deal at 8.6 billion yuan

 

A new land sale record has been set in Beijing.

Municipal authorities have auctioned off a 150-thousand sqaure-meter plot for 8.6 billion yuan.

That's the equivalent of 38-thousand yuan, or some 62-hundred US dollars, per square meter

A consortium led by China Resources and Ping'an Insurance have aquired the plot in Fengtai District in an area around south fourth-ring-road.

The record sale comes on suggestions property developers may be banking on revival in Beijing's housing market this year.

The auction of the Fengtai plot has come on the heels of statement by the head of China Vanke, which is China's biggest property developer by market value.

The company CEO is being quoted as saying residential property prices could climb to as high as 60-thousand yuan per square meter this year in the capital.

 

 

Shanghai FTZ to Have 'Parallel Imported' Vehicles

 

Anchor:

Authorities in Shanghai are now allowing "parallel imported" vehicles into the city's Free Trade Zone.

The parallel import scheme means certain companies are allowed to import cars directly from abroad without the need to be authorized by any particular automaker.

Under the rules here in China, all imported cars must be brought in through a general distributor, which are often set up by the manufacturers themselves.

This gives car-makers virtual control over pricing.

Some imported vehicles in China have been selling for as much as 3-times the price they are being sold at abroad.

Complaints over price gouging prompted a series of anti-trust probes last year.

Observers are suggesting the new 'parallel' scheme should be able to reduce prices by as much as 20-percent.

However, questions remain about the after-sale service available for directly imported cars.

For more on the new scheme, the Beijing Hour's Shane Bigham spoke earlier with Cao Can, CRI's Financial Commentator.

 

 

China Urges Cities Expand Unemployment Benefits to Migrant Workers

 

The Ministry of Labor is calling on authorities in Chinese cities to back claims by migrant workers for unemployment benefits.

The Ministry has issued a statement, saying migrant workers should not be denied unemployment benefits, even if they don't have an urban Hukou.

A hukou is how people are classified in China's household registration system.

Under the current rules, only people with urban hukous are eligible for unemployment benefits in cities.

And only urban hukou's are counted in the country's unemployment stats.

There are around 300-million migrant workers in China.

The change in policy is meant to recognize the changing trends in China's broader demographics, with a growing number of migrant workers choosing to remain in cities, rather than returning to their hometowns.

 

 

Panasonic Plans to Move Production from China Back to Japan

 

Panasonic has announced plans to shift a majority of its home appliance manufacturing operations here in China back to Japan this spring.

The company says the move has been prompted by a drastic increase in labor costs in China, on top of a weaker yen at home, which make exports more favorable.

Panasonic has been a 35-year employer here in China.

The company employs thousands in both the Yangtze and Pearl River Delta regions.

 

 

Samsung Forecast 37 Profit Drop in 4Q Last Year

 

Samsung is forecasting a 37 percent decrease in profits through the fourth-quarter.

The firm's final fourth-quarter earnings are expected later this month.

Samsung admits it’s been struggling to keep up sales, particularly in China, as it loses market share to cheaper models from other handset vendors.

The downturn in Samsung profits comes just a couple of weeks after Chinese cellphone maker Xiaomi announced it's surpassed the South Korean giant in market share in China for the first time.

 

 

Headline News

 

 

China, CELAC to map out cooperation plan over next five years: Xi

 

The first-ever China-CELAC ministerial meeting has opened in Beijing.

China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States are working on mapping out a cooperation plan for the next five years.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has opened the meeting.

In delivering the opening speech, Xi Jinping says areas of cooperation should include a wide range of areas, from trade and security to people-to-people exchanges.

Senior leaders from 30 Latin American countries are attending the two-day meeting.

 

 

Condolences roll in as hunt for Paris shooting suspects continues

 

Reports out of northern France are suggesting the two suspects in the Paris terrorist attack on Wednesday may have been spotted.

However, these reports have not been confirmed by authorities.

Arrest warrants have been officially issued for Said and Cherif Kouachi, who are both French nationals.

A 3rd suspect, an 18-year old, is under arrest after reportedly turning himself in.

French authorities have arrested seven people connected to Wednesday's attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

The death toll from the attack stands at 12.

The dead include eight journalists, the magazine's editor, and two police officers.

11 others were wounded in the deadly attack, four of them seriously.

 

 

Nanjing party chief removed from post

 

The Party chief of Nanjing has been officially removed from his post.

Yang Weize is the latest so-called "tiger," or high-ranking party official, to be caught up in the CPC's anti-graft drive.

The allegations against him haven't been revealed, other than an accusation of "serious discipline and law violations."

He had been Party Chief of Nanjing since 2011.

The 54-year old's removal from office comes just a year after the former mayor of Nanjing, Ji Jianye, was removed from office.

He's set to face trial on bribery charges.

 

 

S. Korean prosecutors to deport pro-DPRK Korean American

 

Prosecutors in South Korea are demanding the deportation of a Korean-American woman for making sympathetic comments about North Korea

Prosecutors are calling on the South Korean Justice Ministry to kick Shin Eun-mi out of the country for positive comments she made about the North Korean government on a TV talk show in November.

Her comments angered conservative groups in South Korea, who then filed an official complaint.

Under South Korea's National Security Laws, any public support of the North Korean government is technically illegal.

Shin has since been banned from returning to her home in the United States for close to a month, and has been questioned by police three times.

If deported, she won't be eligible to return to South Korea for at least 5-years.

 

 

Australia's food poisoning affects 110 people

 

A Chinese restaurant in the Australian city of Brisbane has been shut down amid a case of mass food poisoning.

Well over 100 people have become ill after contracting salmonella.

Many of them have been hospitalized.

Local health authorities in Brisbane suspect the salmonella came from eggs used in a batter to make deep-fried ice cream.

 

 

Newspaper Picks

 

 

CHINA DAILY

The chaos behind learning a foreign language

A new survey shows that command of the Chinese language, it seems, remains a skill beyond the ability of most expats in China.

Seventy-three percent can understand only simple words in Chinese. Eighteen percent can comprehend what's being said most of the time, but they cannot reliably make themselves understood. Only 8 percent can speak simple Chinese.

The main barrier, it seems, is that Chinese is written in characters rather than an alphabet.

It is said, for example, that to comfortably make one's way through a Chinese newspaper, one has to be familiar with about 15-hundred characters. Beginner Chinese textbooks often set their goal at about 500 characters.

English, in contrast, is based on a 26-letter alphabet, and using that together with a few phonetic rules, one can plod his way through just about any piece of writing.

--

SHANGHAI DAILY

15-hundred trendy words, phrases added to Tibetan language

Nearly 15-hundred new words and phrases were given standardized Tibetan equivalents last year, the Tibetan language committee says.

Among the additions were popular online phrases such as "lightning marriage".

The term was changed from the Chinese "shan hun"(闪婚) to "dobdob nyatri" when written in standardized Tibetan.

According to a committee official, new phrases related to politics and the economy, such as "new normal" and "the Silk Road economic belt" were also translated into Tibetan.

Tibet began collecting and translating new words and phrases in 2002. As of the end of last year, more than 69-thousand had been released.

The program is designed to help standardize the Tibetan language and keep it moving forward in line with the times, while also promoting Tibetan culture.

--

THE GUARDIAN (U.K.)

Antibiotic Breakthrough Could Turn the Tables in Battle against Superbugs

Scientists have discovered a new class of antibiotic in the hunt for medicines to fight drug-resistant infections.

The antibiotic, called teixobactin, kills a wide range of drug-resistant bacteria, including MRSA and bugs that cause TB and a host of other life-threatening infections.

It could become a powerful weapon in the battle against antimicrobial resistance, because it kills microbes by blocking their capacity to build their cell walls, making it extremely difficult for bacteria to evolve resistance.

Though promising, researchers say years of more work lie ahead before the drug could be available. Human clinical trials could begin within two years to check its safety and efficiency, but more development would follow that.

At the moment the drug would have to be given as an injection, but an oral pill would be more attractive.

----

THE HUFFINGTON POST (U.S.)

Feelings of Guilt during Childhood Linked to Mental Illness

Excessive guilt is a known symptom of adult depression, but a new study finds that such feelings in childhood can predict future mental illness, including depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and bipolar disorder.

The link seems to center around the anterior insula -- a brain region involved in the regulation of perception, emotion and self-awareness that has also been linked to mood disorders, anxiety disorders and schizophrenia.

According to the researchers, children who displayed signs of pathological guilt had anterior insula with less volume, which is associated with depression, and were also more likely to become depressed.

The finding is the first to correlate childhood guilt with physical changes in the brain. But the cause is not yet known.

Still, the research highlights another potential tool for early detection of high-risk children, which can empower parents, educators and others to enact preventive measures.

 

 

Special Reports

 

 

Smiling faces convey messages of love and care

 

Anchor:

A photo portfolio displaying 63 smiling young faces has become a hit on the internet in China, launching the 69-year-old photographer into the limelight.

CRI's Luo Wen has her story.

Reporter:

Tu Lihua, a resident in the city of Wuhan took photos of the people she felt grateful to, as a return gift to say thank you.

She said the figures in the photos are those who offered their seats to her when she took public transport.

"People often offered seats to me when seeing an elderly passenger like me, but I always felt uncomfortable in such a case, asking myself why should they give their seats to me. After I got this handset, I thought of taking a picture of each of them as my gratitude, and there may be a chance to use them as commendation."

Tu started to take pictures of those tender-hearted young people with a smartphone, beginning in May 2014 and put them in a computer file.

In the beginning, not many people understood her intention and refused her request for a picture. But after explanation, people started to accept.

"Once there was a girl who didn't agree at first but after I showed her my pictures, she agreed then."

Tu cited a young woman that impressed her most.

"I told her that I wanted to take a picture of her. She was a little shy, but agreed. Then she said, 'Granny, you are fun, and I want to have a photo with you too."

She added that it's the first time that she took a selfie.

Tu said that if she has to go out, she tries to avoid rush hours in the morning and evening. She said that the young people live a busy life and would be tired after a day's work.

She said that there are more people who give their seats to her. The pictures only account for a small number of them.

After the pictures became popular on the internet, Tu would sometimes check the comments.

"Someone leaves a message saying that those in the pictures are all good-looking. Men are handsome and girls beautiful. Someone answered, 'That's right, the looks are usually reflections of the hearts'."

Tu said that she will continue to record those who help her as a way to show her gratitude.

For CRI, this is Luo Wen.

 

 

Sports

 

 

Reaction from President and Head Coach of LA Galaxy on Gerrard Signing

 

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is preparing to join LA Galaxy in July on an 18-month deal that has now been finalized.

LA Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena expressed his excitement over the new addition to their franchise.

"What makes him a great fit is simply, he's a very good footballer. He plays very similar to the style we've attempted to achieve over the last couple of years and I think he'll blend in beautifully with our team."

The 34-year-old Gerrard will now join a growing list of high-profile former Premier League players to cross the Atlantic in the latter stages of their careers, most notably David Beckham.

LA Galaxy President Chris Klein is also excited about the move.

"It's a big signing for our club and the response has been great. This was, first and foremost, this had to be a move into what he could provide to the team and how he could help us win. And once we got there it's been big, it's big news."

Former Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool striker Robbie Keane will be a team mate of Gerrard at the Galaxy while former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has signed for New York City FC, although he is still in England on loan at Manchester City.

Gerrard has spent his entire career at Liverpool, making nearly 700 appearances and winning the Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup.

 

 

CBA: Jonathan Gibson of Guangsha to miss remainder of the season due to injury

 

In off-court CBA news:

Jonathan Gibson of the Guangsha lions will miss the reminder of the season because of a broken foot. He will rehabilitate for the remainder of the season. Last season he tallied 32.2 points, 5.9 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game for Guangsha.

And it was a full slate of games played last night:

Liaoning has done it again, defeating Dongguan 124-117;

Tianjin downed Jiangsu 116-105;

Jilin Northeast beat Fujian 124-118;

Guangdong Southern took out Xinjiang, 111-94;

Shanghai Sharks nabbed a 107-97 win over Jiangsu Tongxi;

Bayi just can't catch a break. The Rockets lost 104-92 against Shanxi;

Zhejiang Guangsha beat the Sichuan Blue Whales 118-99;

Qingdao downed Shandong 108-91;

And the Beijing Ducks got the best of Guangdong Foshan 109-94.

 

 

NBA: Atlanta Hawks down Memphis 96-86

 

A full slate of games were played today in the NBA:

Jeff Teague and the Atlanta Hawks continue to use their newly discovered mastery of the Western Conference as their path to the top of the East.

Teague scored 25 points and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Memphis Grizzlies 96-86 earlier today.

The Hawks, who have won six straight overall, have a nine-game winning streak against Western Conference teams. Atlanta (27-8) has won 20 of 22 and has the best record in the Eastern Conference.

In other action:

The Charlotte Hornets took out the New Orleans Pelicans, 98-94.

Houston downed Cleveland, who again played without Lebron, 105-93.

The Milwaukee Bucks shamed the struggling Philadelphia 76ers, who move to 5-29 on the season with the Bucks 97-77 win.

The Washington Wizards took out the New York Knicks, 101-91. This 13th straight loss gives New York its longest in-season skid in the proud franchise's 69-year history.

Boston downed the Brooklyn Nets, 89-81.

The Utah Jazz pulled a surprise upset of the Chicago Bulls, 97-77.

Detroit downed Dallas 108-95.

Denver edged Orlando 93-90.

The Phoenix Suns took out the Minnesota Timberwolves 113-111.

Sacramento beat Oklahoma City 104-83.

Golden State bested Indiana 117-102.

And in the battle of Los Angeles teams, the Clippers got the better of the Lakers, 114-89.

 

 

Asian Cup: Australia to meet Kuwait in opening game of the Asian Cup tomorrow

 

Looking at some action to come in the Asian cup kicking off tomorrow:

As the host, the Australian team has bright prospects in front of their home fans in the opening game of Asian Cup meeting Kuwait tomorrow.

Although Australia suffered a three-game losing streak in 2014 World Cup, in Asia they still have advantages.

Australia's coach Ange Postecoglou recently named the 23-men squad with 16 players that featured in the 2014 World Cup finals, including the ever-dependable Tim Cahill and captain Mile Jedinak.

In the attacking line, veteran Cahill is always ready to score. Besides Cahill, Mark Bresciano, Robbie Kruse and Mathew Ryan are set to hit stride.

The average height of Australians' defense line is 1.85m and they are good at dealing with the ball in the air.

In comparison, most players of Kuwait are from their domestic leagues and there is a big gap between the two teams in terms of physiques, experience, team chemistry and personal ability.

 

 

Tennis: Bouchard beats Pennetta 6-3, 6-4.

 

In Tennis action, from the Hopman cup:

Following on from an impressive 2-1 win over the United States, Canada looked for a second successive victory at the 2015 Hopman Cup on Thursday when they faced Italy in a Group A tie.

Eugenie Bouchard duly gave Canada the upper hand when she beat Flavia Pennetta in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4 in the opening women's singles rubber.

World number six Bouchard edged ahead in the first set with a break of Pennetta's serve in the eighth game before serving it out in the next.

Pennetta - Bouchard's senior by 12 years - surrendered her serve again in the third game of the second set.

There was no way back for the Italian, who suffered her third defeat in as many singles matches at the tournament.

 

 

Entertainment

 

 

People's choice award takes place in Los Angeles

 

The People's Choice Awards took place last night in Los Angeles.

In the music category, Lady Antebellum stole the show with a performance of their new song Freestyle.

The band later went on to win the award for Best Country Group.

Ed Sheeran took two awards for Favorite Male Artist and Favorite Album.

There was a suprise as Maroon 5 took the Favorite Group award which was expected to go to boy band One Direction.

In the movie category, Maleficent took the award for Favorite Movie beating other titles such as 22 Jump Street and Guardians of the Galaxy.

And finally in the tv category, The Big Bang Theory picked up two awards beating Game of Thrones to the top spot in the Favorite TV show category. The show also won an award for Favorite Network TV Comedy.

 

 

CCTV hints at possible hosts for Spring Festival gala

 

China Central Television, also known as CCTV here, have speculated that Nigermaidi Zechman may be one of the hosts for this year's Spring Festival gala.

Clips of hosts including Lang Yongchun, Zhu Xun and Nigermaidi Zechman singing Can't Forget Tonight have appeared on CCTV 3's Sina Weibo account. This song has always been sung at the end of each Spring Festival Gala since it started.

Previous regulars at the gala have somewhat departed from CCTV including audience favourites Dong Qing and Li Sisi.

CCTV has broadcasted the Spring Festival Gala annually since 1984.

 

 

Meryl Streep talks about Golden Globe nomination at Into the Woods premiere.

 

Actress Meryl Streep has spoken out about her Golden Globes nomination while attending the premiere for new film Into the Woods.

She may have been nominated for dozens of awards in the past but the actress still finds it exciting.

"It feels very special. I have to pinch myself that this is my life."

The film, which meshes together a number of classic fairy tales, features an all-star cast, including Streep as The Witch, Johnny Depp as The Wolf and Anna Kendrick as Cinderella.

It's nominated for three Golden Globes including Best Picture (Comedy/Musical), Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Blunt and Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Streep.

The film was adapted from composer Stephen Sondheim's musical, which has had two Broadway runs and two West End runs since 1987.

 

 

French film maker to head jury at Beijing International Film Festival

 

French film maker Luc Besson will head the jury of the Tiantan awards at the upcoming Beijing International Film Festival.

Now in its fifth edition, the festival will run from April 16 to 23 in the Chinese capital.

Besson and his jury will select prize winners in ten categories.

The film maker's last film Lucy scored almost 45 million dollars at the Chinese box office.

He was previously head of the competition jury at the Shanghai International Film Festival in 2006.

 

 

US takes another crack at extraditing Polanski

 

The United States has taken another shot at trying to get their hands on filmmaker Roman Polanski.

This time, they've asked Polish authorities to extradite the 81-year old.

Polanski has been questioned by Polish prosecutors, but has been allowed to walk free.

Polish officials say the case is currently under review by a regional prosecutor.

If that office refuses to move on the case, Polanski will continue to be a free man.

The maker of such films as "Chinatown" and "The Piano" remains a fugitive in the US after fleeing the country in 1977 after pleading guilty to unlawful sex with a minor.

Polanski has systematically avoided travelling back to the US or any other country which might be willing to extradite him.

He was detained in Switzerland for months back in 2009, but eventually released.

The then-43 year old had sex with a 13-year old girl during a photo shoot at the home of actor Jack Nicholson.

The victim has since publically forgiven Polanski and has suggested authorities drop the case.

However, there are no statutes of limitation in his case, which means authorities in California are obligated to continue the hunt for him.

 

 

Universal announce new Bourne film to include Matt Daemon

 

Universal have announced that there will be another Bourne film and this time it will include Matt Daemon.

The film will mark the actor's return to the series as Jason Bourne after nearly a decade.

The actor sat out of 2012's Bourne Legacy which instead starred Jeremy Renner and performed relatively disappointingly at the box office.

Damon previously played the title character in Bourne Identity, Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum.

Plot details are currently unknown and there is no word on whether any of Damon's previous Bourne co-stars will be joining too.

The release is penned for next year.