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

Coming up on our program this morning...

The second-half of this year's "lianghui" is set to begin this morning with the launch of the National People's Congress.

Judicial authorities have issued a new series of guidelines for dealing with cases involving domestic abuse.

Dozens are feared dead following an explosion in a mine along the front-lines of the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

In business... new plans are being drafted to promote the clean-air business in China.

In Sports... a solid night for Chinese clubs in the Asian Champions League.

In Entertainment... online condolences are swirling on the internet in China following the death of a beloved French children's writer.

First, let's check in with what's happening with the weather...

 

 

Weather

 

 

Beijing will be cloudy today with a high of 8 and a low of minus 3 degrees Celsius.

Shanghai will have sleet during the daytime with a high of 6.

It will see slight rain tonight with a low of 4.

Chongqing, slight rain with a high of 12 and a low of 9 degrees Celsius.

Elsewhere in Asia.

Islamabad will be cloudy today with a high of 28.

Kabul will have snow showers with a high of 7.

Over to North America,

New York will see snow today with a high of minus 2 degrees.

Washington, also snow with a high of 1 degrees.

Honolulu, rainy, 24.

Toronto, Canada, will see slight snow with a high of minus 8 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,

Buenos Aires will be sunny with a high of 28.

And Rio de Janeiro also sunny with a high of 32 degrees Celsius.

 

 

Top News

 

 

China's legislative session sets agenda

 

Anchor

The presidium, which runs the procedural workings of the National People's Congress, has been officially elected.

Delegates to this year's NPC have also adopted an agenda for the annual session.

CRI's Wang Wei has more.

Reporter

Fu Ying, spokesperson for the 3rd session of the 12th National People's Congress, says China will raise its defense budget by around 10 percent this year.

"China's defense budget rose by 12.2 percent last year. The specific number for this year is due to be known tomorrow. Now I can give you a rough idea. The recommended growth rate for national defense in the draft 2015 budget report is about 10 percent."

Fu points out that it is important to guarantee a safe environment so that Chinese people can live a peaceful life.

She also adds that China has successfully followed the road of peace and development and will continue to take that path.

Among the agenda items, Chinese legislators will review draft amendments to an overall "Legislation Law."

It regulates the process of creating national laws, government regulations, and local laws and defines legislative powers in the country

Fu Ying offered some details of the draft amendments.

"The powers delegated to localities mainly include making laws, rules and regulations on city management, city construction and environmental protection. The delegation of the law-making power will better motivate localities. In order to better protect human rights, there is an additional provision, which stimulates that in formulating any rules and regulations, the State Council departments and local governments shall not reduce or harm the rights of citizens and neither shall they add obligations to citizens without the legal basis at a next higher level."

It is the first time that draft revisions to the law have been discussed by NPC deputies at a full session of the national legislative body.

The spokeswoman also spoke about corruption, saying the country will continue to crack down on misconduct by officials.

"There is a saying that only by treating symptoms effectively can we wipe out the root cause completely. For the national legislators, what we need to do is to step up institutional legal mechanisms to fight corruption, trying to wipe out the root cause of corruption."

According to the spokeswoman, a total of 39 members of China's national legislature were stripped of their lawmaker status in the past two years.

Moreover, China has revised the Budget Law to better manage government revenues and spending so as to strengthen supervision on power.

China's annual NPC session is scheduled to open Thursday, where nearly 3-thouand national lawmakers will gather in Beijing.

For CRI, this is Wang Wei.

 

 

Xi Jinping stresses cross-Strait peaceful development

 

Anchor

Chinese President Xi Jinping has taken part in a panel discussion among members of the country's leading advisory body, telling members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference the broad-based development of the mainland is going to be the key to creating lasting ties across the Taiwan Strait.

CRI's Qi Zhi has more.

Reporter

Speaking among a group of CPPCC delegates, Chinese President Xi Jinping says peaceful development of cross-Strait ties is the best path toward progress on both the mainland and Taiwan.

The suggestion has been made to a group representing Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang, the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League and the All China Confederation of Taiwan Compatriots.

"As the old saying goes, without a solid foundation, the earth and mountain will tremble. We must adhere to the 1992 Consensus, which Chinese mainland has been regarding as the basis and precondition for conducting exchanges with authorities on Taiwan and its political parties."

The 1992 Consensus is an agreement between both sides across the Strait that they should adhere to the "one-China" principle.

Xi Jinping says this principle is what's keeping lines of communication open.

"The core of it is to acknowledge that the mainland and Taiwan belong to one and the same China. As long as they can hold on to this, there will be no communication obstacles between any Taiwan parties or organizations and the Chinese mainland."

At the same time, Xi Jinping says he believes the key factor deciding where the cross-Strait ties goes is the development and progress of the mainland.

He's also warned the group to be vigilant against those who would want to push for "Taiwan independence," saying separatist ideals threaten China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Taiwan's political fabric has been going through a number of changes in recent months.

The chair of the ruling Kuomintang, Ma Ying-jeou, stepped down as party leader after the KMT took a big hit in the local government elections on Taiwan.

The party won just 6 of the 22 mayoral elections.

The annual session of the CPPCC National Committee, which opened Tuesday, is scheduled to run for 10 days.

The second half of "lianghui," or the "two-sessions," the National People's Congress, opens later on this Thursday.

For CRI, I'm Qi Zhi.

 

 

China Focus: Guideline urges murder trials for fatal domestic abuse

 

Anchor

Chinese judicial authorities have issued a new edict which allows prosecutors to ask for a murder conviction in cases where deaths are involved in domestic violence.

The same judicial guidance is also allowing for lenience for victims of long-term abuse.

CRI's Niu Honglin has more.

Reporter

The guidelines state that the judicial system should respond to domestic violence promptly and effectively. It stresses intensified judicial intervention in cases of domestic violence, which in China is traditionally considered a private matter that should be kept within the family.

Yang Wanming is a senior judge with the supreme people's court.

"It is hard to discover the actual crime. As it happens within families, it is difficult for outsiders to know. And even the victims, their relatives, neighbors or friends do know about the abuse, under the influence of Chinese traditional ideas as "Domestic shame should not be made public," it is rare for them to report the case."

The guideline places responsibility for responding to a complaint of domestic violence with the department which first receives the report -- whether it's the police, prosecutors, or the courts -- either by opening a file or handing it over to other relevant departments.

The guideline, which is China's first comprehensive judicial document on domestic violence, was jointly released by the Supreme People's Court (SPC), the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Justice.

It also states those who abandon their babies or cause death by refusing to fulfill necessary child support obligations may also be charged with murder.

The document said that acts stopping ongoing violence in the family, as long as they are in line with the Criminal Law, can be justified as self-defense and exempted from criminal charges.

China's first bill against domestic violence is likely to have its first reading in August. Fu Ying, China's spokesperson with the national legislature, says a draft of this law has been published in order to solicit opinions from the public.

"If things go smoothly, we expect the law to take shape after two or three readings."

According to the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), nearly 25 percent of Chinese women have suffered domestic violence within their marriages.

A 2010 survey by the ACWF and the National Bureau of Statistics indicated that more than 30 percent of girls and 50 percent of boys had received "physical punishment" from their parents in the 12 months before the poll.

Meanwhile, more than 13 percent of Chinese elders have suffered abuse at the hands of family, according to a survey cited by China Central Television in November.

For Cri, I'm Niu Honglin

 

 

Calls put out for more public holidays

 

Public holidays are once-again a topic of discussion at this year's "lianghui", or "two sessions".

Proposals have been put forward to make days such as the Lantern Festival and Constitution Day as public holidays.

Advocates are suggesting making traditional festivals public holidays will help expand Chinese culture, particularly among the younger generation.

There are currently 7 official public holidays in China, with 11 off days in total.

They include New Year's Day, Spring Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day, Labor Day, the Dragon Boast Festival, Mid-Autumn Day and National Day.

 

 

Military Supplies on Detained Chinese Ship Legal

 

The Chinese government says it's working to help assist the crew of a Chinese vessel currently being detained in Columbia.

The ship was seized over the weekend in the port of Cartagena with cargo destined for Cuba.

Columbian authorities allege the Chinese ship is carrying illegal supplies.

The Chinese government is denying the allegation.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying.

"As far as I know, the ship was carrying ordinary military supplies from China to Cuba, and no sensitive items were involved. Relevant cooperation does not violate Chinese laws and regulations, nor China's international obligations."

The ship was detained on Saturday by Colombian authorities after gunpowder and other military materials were found during an inspection.

The captain of the vessel is currently being detained.

 

 

Rescue for Trapped Miners in Donetsk Underway

 

It's feared at least 30 miners are dead after an explosion at a coal mine in a rebel-held region of eastern Ukraine.

230 workers were underground when the explosion hit.

There are conflicting reports about the number of casualties.

Ukrainian officials in Kiev say one person is confirmed dead, while the fate of some 30 others trapped underground remains unknown.

However, other reports suggest Ukrainian rebels, who control the region where the mine is located, are suggesting the search for the missing be called off amid fears of another explosion, despite pleas from those on-the-ground.

"Dangerous, very dangerous. Nevertheless it is our job, it is our job. You should understand that we cannot leave them there, we should rescue them all, whatever it takes."

Kiev is suggesting the rebels lack the resources to deal with the disaster, and have attempted to get their own teams into the mine to help search for the missing.

However, Ukrainian authorities say their attempts to access the site have been denied by rebel forces.

The mine itself has a history of accidents.

Three separate incidents in 2007 alone left over 150 workers dead.

 

 

Boston Marathon bombing trial begins

 

The Boston Marathon bombing trial has begun.

The lawyer for 21-year old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has told the jury that her client committed the crime.

However, the defense is arguing the young man fell under the influence of his older brother.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the elder of the two, was killed in the manhunt which followed just days after the attack.

Prosecutors contend the pair, who emigrated to the United States a decade ago from the Russian Caucuses, were driven by anger over US wars in Muslim lands.

The bombing itself left three dead, including a Chinese national studying in Boston at the time.

Over 200-others were injured.

Liz Norden's two sons both lost legs in the bombing.

"They had burns over 50 percent of their bodies, their eyelashes were gone, their eyebrows were gone, their hair was gone, I mean, it was... they were lucky to live. I want the death penalty. That would be justice for me. For my boys, for myself, for how I feel what happened to my boys. That would be justice."

Tsarnaev and his brother are accused of placing two pressure cooker bombs at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon that exploded within 12 seconds of each other.

The 21-year-old has pleaded not guilty to all charges in a 30-count indictment.

 

 

Convicts Transferred to Indonesian Island for Execution

 

Final preparations are underway for the planned execution of two Australian nationals in Indonesia.

Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were the ringleaders of the so-called "Bali Nine" drug smuggling gang.

Indonesia's Attorney General says the firing squad is currently undergoing training for the executions, which include not only the two Australian men, but 7 other foreign nationals.

The mass executions are being delayed by a last-ditch appeal from a Filipino convict.

Indonesian Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo.

"Because the clemency has been rejected by president Joko Widodo, all processes have been completed, and the convicts are ready to be executed. But because there are convicts who filed a judicial review to the Supreme Court, we will see future developments."

Indonesian authorities plan to give 72-hours notice to the convicts before they're put to death.

The case involving the two Australian men has been dominating headlines, with the Australian government pushing feverishly to have the death sentences commuted.

However, all their appeals have been rejected.

 

 

Iran blasts Israeli PM's speech to US Congress

 

Iran's leadership is blasting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to the U.S. Congress this week, describing it as political theatre.

Speaking to US lawmakers, Netanyahu has warned against reaching a nuclear deal with Iran, saying it will eventually lead to Iran being able to create a nuclear weapon.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has since responded, saying that it's Israel which is creating the "greatest danger" in the region.

Iran's Parliamentary speaker, Ali Larijani, says Netanyahu's speech was merely a 'political show'.

"This entire ordeal was performed in the congress in the shape of a political show which shows that the congress of a great country claiming to be managers of the world has been hired by a fake regime. The person announcing this concern has been for years, sitting on more than 200 nuclear warheads for years and still makes such accusations and announces that Israel will even take military action against Iran on its own."

The speech itself has added increasing tension between the US and Israeli side, as Netanyahu was invited to speak before Congress by the Republican leadership, and not the White House.

Iran and the P5+1 have until the end of this month to reach a political settlement.

US and Iranian diplomats have wrapped up 3-days of nuclear talks in Switzerland this week.

 

 

Biz Reports

 

 

Stocks

 

Anchor

First, a quick look at the closing numbers across North America and Europe.

Joining me on the desk, Luo Wen.

Reporter

U.S. stocks fell for a second-straight day on Wednesday, as Wall Street digests the Federal Reserve's Beige Book amid mixed U.S. economic data.

The Fed's Beige book shows U.S. economic activity in different areas of the country continues to expand.

Despite this, health-care shares were the only group to advance, with Tenet Healthcare and HCA Holdings gaining close to 6-percent amid the Supreme Court challenge to the Obamacare insurance subsidies.

In corporate news,

American Eagle Outfitters added 7.7 percent to hit its highest level in more than a year after quarterly results and the company's first-quarter profit outlook exceeded analysts' forecasts.

Abercrombie & Fitch shares tumbled 16 percent to a six-year low after posting a fourth-quarter sales decline lower than analysts estimated.

At close,

The Dow Jones shed nearly 0.6 percent.

The S&P 500 fell 0.4 percent.

The Nasdaq dipped 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, European markets mostly gained on Wednesday, getting a late-session boost from lower oil prices and solid U.S. service-sector data.

The UK's FTSE 100 increased 0.4 percent.

Finally both Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 gained nearly one percent.

 

 

China's Financial Industry Receives 51.85 bln yuan in Net FDI in 2014

 

New data shows financial institutions in China received more than 8.4 billion US dollars worth of foreign direct investment last year.

This is almost double the amount invested the year before.

The same set of figures show outbound investment by Chinese financial firms dropped by 47-percent last year to 38 billion yuan.

 

 

China Promotes Greener Industry

 

Anchor

The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is preparing to release a new program meant to try to reduce pollution across the country.

Under the new plan, companies are expected to use around 4-million fewer tons of coal by the end of this year.

The Ministry says it expects to achieve this goal by helping companies with technological upgrades.

Two-thirds of the power produced in China is still driven by coal-fired technology, despite the rapid push by the government to create more clean-energy alternatives.

For more China's energy industry, we're now joined live by CRI's Financial Commentator Cao Can.

Questions:

Q1: Will the policy to cut coal produce and use be a hard impact on the Chinese economy? Is the cut reasonable enough to keep the economy growing at the same time preserve the environment?

Q2: Beijing and its neighboring regions often see heavy smog. Media reports say a mechanism to coordinate industrial resource use in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei will be built. How will this mechanism work in the region, and what will it do?

Q3: Shenhua Group, a leading state-owned mining and energy company in China, has been instructed to limit their coal sales and production. What will happen to the company next? What can they do to keep their vitality?

Back anchor:

Cao Can, CRI Financial Commentator.

 

 

Chinese Firms Lead M&A Deals

 

A report by financial analysis firm Mergermarket shows Chinese companies were involved in the most merger and acquisition activity in the Asia-Pacific in the second half of last year.

Chinese companies were involved in 781 merger and acquisition deals through the back-half of 2014 worth 167-billion US dollars.

The deals included several industry consolidations, particularly in the energy, mining and utilities sectors.

Chinese oil giant Sinopec's sale of its marketing arm for more than 17 billion U.S. dollars was the largest deal on the list.

 

 

Huawei and Intel Collaborate on Public Cloud Computing

 

Chinese telecom giant Huawei is now working with US chip giant Intel on cloud computing.

The two are working on a project to create new servers, a data center, software and cyber security for a global cloud-computing network.

Cloud computing allows users to access data and files through separate devices through the internet.

The advancement of Cloud technology is expected to create 40-thousand jobs in China this year.

Microsoft, Amazon and Alibaba are already invested in cloud computing here in China.

 

 

Hong Kong's Wharf Holdings Eyes Expansion on China's Mainland

 

Hong Kong conglomerate Wharf Holdings is looking to expand to the mainland this year.

This is the group behind Harbour City in Hong Kong.

Wharf holdings is now planning a series of projects on the mainland in the cities of Wuxi, Chongqing, Suzhou and Changsha.

The company has already cut-the-ribbon on the Chengdu International Finance Square last year.

That project is worth 2.5-billion US dollars.

 

 

Headline News

 

 

Xi stresses cross-Strait peaceful development

 

Chinese President Xi Jinping has issued a call for vigilance against Taiwan independence.

He's made the comments while sitting among a panel discussion with members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing.

In making the suggestion, Xi Jinping is also stressing the importance of the 1992 Consensus.

The cross-Strait agreement affirms an earlier pledge from both sides that there is only "one-China," and not a division between the mainland and Taiwan.

 

 

Leaders call for implementation of "Four Comprehensives"

 

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and other leaders involved in the annual political sessions here in Beijing are throwing their support behind the "Four Comprehensives" vision for China being adopted by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Li Keqiang's show of support has been made while sitting-in among delegates to this year's CPPCC sessions.

The "Four Comprehensives" is the political concept initiated by President Xi Jinping.

It's a blueprint for "comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society, comprehensively deepening reform, comprehensively advancing the rule of law, and comprehensively strictly governing the party."

 

 

1.2 tonnes of drugs seized in SW China

 

Police in Guangxi have busted a drug ring, seizing some 1.2 tonnes of narcotics.

10 people have been arrested in what's being described as the biggest drug bust of the year so far in Guangxi.

A pair of meth labs have also been taken down.

The bust is the culmination of an investigation which began back in August.

 

 

New Zealand spying on Pacific countries, says Snowden

 

New documents from NSA leaker Edward Snowden suggests New Zealand is spying on its neighbors and allies, including countries in the Pacific region.

Snowden says the countries New Zealand authorities have been spying on include the Solomon Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Tonga, Vanuatu, Nauru and Samoa.

Information collected is believed to have been shared with the United States, Canada, Britain and Australia as part of a multi-lateral pact the country's share.

The New Zealand government says it will not respond to claims made from documents put out by Snowden.

 

 

Cuba, EU discuss dialogue, cooperation in lead up to normalizing ties

 

Representatives from Cuba and the European Union have been sitting down for a series of talks this week.

The meetings this week are the third sessions held between the two sides since last April.

Ties between Cuba and the EU have been strained after Europe sided with the US in 1996 to restrict trade and diplomacy to the island-nation.

Cuba is the only Latin American country the whole of the European Union doesn't have any official collaboration with.

However, more than half of the EU's 28 member states have individual ties with Cuba.

 

 

U.S. Attorney General says Ferguson law enforcement officials biased against black communities

 

U.S. Justice Department has released a scathing 102-page report detailing, what it describes, as the extensive discrimination against the black community in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson by the city's Police Department.

The report has determined both the police force and the municipal courts have been inclined to "disproportionately harm" African-American residents.

It also suggests local authorities in Ferguson have been using law enforcement as a way to "generate revenue."

Ferguson, Missouri became the focal-point for racial unrest in the US last year after a white police officer gunned-down an unarmed black teenager.

The racial tensions exploded after a grand jury failed to indict the police officer.

 

 

Newspaper Picks

 

 

BEIJING NEWS

Headline

Lantern Festival warning

Summary

A heavy pollution night is expected across much of China as people celebrate Lantern Festival.

Authorities are calling for less fireworks this year for the celebration, which is the 15th day of the first lunar month.

BEIJING TIMES

Headline

Airline blacklist

Summary

China Eastern Airlines is joining other Chinese carriers in a call for authorities to create a blacklist for unruly passengers.

The call comes amid a series of incidents over the past few months.

In one case, a passenger opened the emergency exit door of a plane because he was upset about his flight being delayed.

BEIJING MORNING POST

Headline

Fire fatalities

Summary

Nine people are dead and 10-others hurt following a fire at an agricultural trade center in Yunnan.

The fire tore through three, two-storey buildings yesterday morning.

The cause of the blaze hasn't been made clear.

GLOBALTIMES

Headline

Good Samaritan awards

Summary

Chinese authorities have singled out 50 institutions and 50 individuals for its 'Lei Feng' award.

The 50 institutions, mainly public agencies, include the company in-charge of the Beijing Capital International Airport, State Grid's Fushun branch and a community in Lhasa in Tibet.

March 5th was made "Lei Feng Day" by late Chinese leader Mao Zedong to commemorate the soldier who has been held-up as a model of virtue following his untimely death in the 1960's.

SHANGHAI DAILY

Headline

Disney testing

Summary

The Shanghai municipal government has announced a number of tests are being prepared to help service Shanghai Disney.

This will include trial runs of the special subway Line 11, which has been established specifially to service the Disney Resort.

Shanghai Disney is due to open next Spring.

CHINA DAILY

Headline

Porpoise reserve

Summary

The Provincial Environmental Protection Bureau in Jiangsu is working on plans to create a nature reserve for the finless dolphin in Nanjing.

A special waterway is being created to try to prevent the highly-endangered animals from boat traffic.

The Yangtze River dolphin is one of the most endangered animals on the planet.

 

 

Special Reports

 

 

Prince William highlights wildlife conservation

 

Anchor

Britain's Prince William has wrapped up his tour of China, making his final stop at a wildlife reserve for elephants in Yunnan.

The details from CRI's Poornima Weerasekara.

Reporter

On the last day of his visit to China, Britain's Prince William was seen feeding carrots to 13-year-old Ran-ran, a baby elephant living in the Xishuangbanna nature reserve in Southwest China's Yunnan province.

Ran-ran was discovered in a jungle river in 2005 with a leg wound caused by a trap, possibly set by poachers, likely part of the illegal ivory trade.

Prince William commended the improvements made by China over the years to the protection of wildlife but said there was more work to be done.

"China can be a global leader in the fight against illegal wildlife trade and I greatly hope that the United Kingdom and China can partner with one another in this endeavour. If I may add one final heartfelt message, it is that ultimately ending demand for ivory is down to citizens across the world. No tradition or fashion is worth the extinction of an entire species."

He condemned the illicit ivory trade as a "vicious form of criminality" that "erodes the rule of law, fuels conflict and may even fund terrorism".

William also outlined three critical battlegrounds in the fight against illegal trade.

"An international cooperation is our strongest defense against them. With that in mind we must join forces on three critical battlegrounds. First, to help countries protect their vulnerable species for example through the elephant protection initiative. The second battleground is the need to crackdown on illegal trade itself. United for Wildlife has set up a task force of experts and representatives of the transport industry to recommend ways to prevent criminals smuggling wildlife by air, sea or land since all countries are vulnerable to this abuse of legitimate trade networks. And thirdly, a powerful blow we can strike against traffickers is reduce the demand for their products."

The visit to Yunnan province, a tropical region bordering Myanmar and Laos comes at a time when the local government has stepped up efforts to stop poaching and reduce the human-elephant conflict in the region.

The Prince also met with communities from the Dai ethnic group in Yunnan, who consider the elephant as a sacred animal. But this traditional harmonious relationship has eroded over the years as the number of elephant attacks on surrounding villages has increased over the years as their natural habitats have shrunk.

There are about 250 wild Asian elephants in China, all in Yunnan, according to the province's forestry administration.

Last week, China banned ivory imports for one year in the hope that it would help reduce the demand for African tusks and protect wild elephants globally.

But there is still no ban on the ivory trade within the country.

The prince arrived in Beijing on Sunday evening for his first visit to China. He met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and also visited Shanghai.

The prince's visit to China is the first by a senior British royal in nearly three decades, since Queen Elizabeth II visited the country in 1986.

For CRI, I'm Poornima Weerasekara

 

 

Sports

 

 

Asian Champions League action last night

 

Last night in Asian Champions League action.

Guangzhou Evergrande beat defending champions Western Sydney Warriors 3-2 thanks to a hat-trick from Brazilian forward Goulart Periera. It was a good start for coach Fabio Cannavaro after taking over from Marcello Lippi who resigned just a week ago.

In Beijing, the Beijing Guoan side beat Suwon Samsung 1-0 thanks to a goal by Dejan Damjanovic in the second half. The Suwon Samsung team were down to ten men due to Swedish striker Erton Fejzullahu being red carded in their previous match.

 

 

English Premier League results

 

In the English Premier League.

Liverpool have beaten Burnley 2-0 and moved back up to fifth place in the table.

Chelsea beat West Ham 1-0

Arsenal win against QPR 2-1

Manchester United beat Newcastle 1-0

Stoke grab a win against Everton 2-0.

Tottenham beat Swansea 3-2

And Manchester City have beaten Leicester 2-0

 

 

NBA preview

 

In the NBA this morning there's a big slate of games so here's the big ones to look out for.

Milwaukee Bucks take on the Golden State Warriors

Cleveland Cavaliers play the Toronto Raptors

Detroit Pistons take on the New Orleans Pelicans

Houston Rockets play the Memphis Grizzlies

Portland Trail Blazers play the Los Angeles Clippers

Sacramento Kings take on the San Antonio Spurs

 

 

Australia return to form after racking up highest ever World Cup total against Afghanistan

 

In Cricket World Cup action.

Australia racked up the highest ever World Cup total as they crushed Afghanistan by a tournament record margin.

Australian captain Michael Clarke welcomed his side's 275-run victory over Afghanistan as a return to form after the narrow World Cup defeat to co-hosts New Zealand.

David Warner's career-best 178 and middle order batsman Glenn Maxwell's 88 from a 39-ball blitz powered the four-time champions to 417 for six wickets.

Australian captain Michael Clarke.

"I think it's nice to turn our form around after New Zealand, especially with the bat, I thought the boys played really well to make 400, our highest World Cup score ever, that's very satisfying and really pleasing after the way we batted against New Zealand,"

After sharing the points with Bangladesh following a washout and going down narrowly to New Zealand, Australia rose to third in their pool.

Australia next play Sri Lanka on Sunday.

Pakistan kept up their push for a place in the quarter-finals with a routine 129-run victory over the United Arab Emirates. Ahmed Shehzad hit 93 and both Haris Sohail and captain Misbah-ul-Haq weighed in with half centuries as Pakistan ran up 339-6. The 1992 champions will almost certainly earn a place in the next round if they win their final two games against South Africa and the Irish.

Today Scotland take on Bangladesh and are hoping that they can claim a historic first World Cup victory. The team spent two days off from training after their heartbreaking defeat by Afghanistan where they were condemned to their eleventh successive defeat in the tournament dating back to their debut in 1999.

But it’s likely that Bangladesh will put up a fight as they are currently in contention to reach the quarter finals.

Play for that game has just started.

 

 

Michael Phelps Could Compete at World Championships After Being Banned

 

In swimming news.

Michael Phelps, the 18 time Olympic gold medalist may be allowed to compete at the World Championships after originally being banned.

The swimmer was given a six month competitive ban plus exclusion from the World Championships this July after being convicted of drink driving.

Phelps is to make his comeback when his suspension ends in April at the US Grand Prix.

He has already qualified for the American team for the World Championships in the 100m freestyle, 100m butterfly and 200m medley and could be included in three relay races.

Phelps was given a one-year suspended prison term and sentenced to 18 months of probation by the courts following a drink driving incident in September 2014.

 

 

Lewis Hamilton hopes his mercedes team will be more dominant this season

 

Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton is hoping his Mercedes team will be even more dominant this season.

The racing star also says he wants his rivals to give him more of a challenge.

"Even though we were at the front of the field the majority of the time, the leader of the pack and ahead of others, it was still a challenge within us to try and improve all the time. But we want to be better this year, we want to try and dominate even more."

Mercedes won both titles last year with Hamilton winning 11 races and is aiming for his third championship this year.

Hamilton who was fighting a bug in testing last week says he is fit and ready to race.

The first race of the season, the Australian Grand Prix takes place in Melbourne next weekend.

 

 

Rory McIlroy says Honda Classic Loss given him a kick

 

In golf news.

Rory McIlroy says he believes missing the cut at last week's Honda Classic has given him the kick he needs ahead of the WGC Cadillac Championship at Doral.

McIlroy failed to make the weekend on his 2015 PGA Tour debut at PGA national after posting scores of 73 and 74 in the opening two rounds.

At his pre-tournament press conference in Miami, the world number one said he was disappointed but the loss had given him clarity on what he needed to do on his game.

He will play in the Arnold Palmer Invitational in two weeks' time before attempting to complete the career grand slam with a victory in the Masters in April.

 

 

Entertainment

 

 

Author of Barbapapa dies in Paris

 

Wide-spread condolences are being shared across the internet in China following word of the death of French writer Talus Taylor.

It's been revealed Taylor, who wrote the popular Barbapapa series, died in Paris last month.

He was 82.

The Barbapapa series, originally written in French in the 1970's, was later translated into over 30 languages.

The books became a hit here in China after being translated into Chinese and published in 2010.

Talus Taylor's popularity among his young Chinese readers even prompted him to come to China for public appearances three years ago.

 

 

CCTV's Lantern Festival Gala to be held tonight

 

China Central Television is set to hold its annual Lantern Festival Gala tonight.

A scaled-down version of the Spring Festival Gala, the Lantern Festival show will feature a number of exclusive songs, dances and skits.

Chinese singer Zhang Jie, who rose to fame through a singing contest, is scheduled to peform his new song "Wife".

The dance performance of "four beauties," which didn't air during the Spring Festival Gala, is also slated to be peformed tonight.

Tonight's Lantern Festival Gala starts at 8pm.

 

 

Olly Murs' Career has 'Never Been Better'

 

British singer Olly Murs' new album has now sold over a million copies.

At the same time, Murs is planning to launch a new album next week in the US.

"I'm incredibly ambitious, so the album, 'Never Been Better,' I'm really chuffed with how it's done and really excited with how it is so far but I want it to continue throughout the whole year. I want to sell more albums, so that's the aim."

Murs was the runner-up in the U.K. version of "The X Factor" in 2009.

He's preparing to head back to England for a tour coming up at the end of this month.

 

 

Meryl Streep Premieres 'Into The Woods' in Tokyo

 

Actress Meryl Streep has turned out for the premier of her latest film, "Into The Woods," in Japan.

Directed by Rob Marshall, "Into The Woods" brings Stephen Sondheim's beloved stage show of the same name to the big screen.

Streep, while mostly known for her roles on film, is also a renowned stage performer.

"Most important for me was to serve the music. The music is so beautiful and it was difficult to sing, so I wanted to serve this great composer - Stephen Sondheim - to do honor to his music. Because, unlike any other incarnation of this piece, which was on stage, this would be on film forever and so we had to make sure we did it right."

"Into The Woods" features an all-star cast, including Streep as 'The Witch,' Johnny Depp as 'The Wolf,' Anna Kendrick as 'Cinderella,' James Corden as 'The Baker' and Emily Blunt as 'The Baker's wife.'

The film is set to be released next week.