And this is Bob Jones, Welcome to the Beijing Hour, live from the Chinese capital... Coming up on the program this evening...

Chinese President Xi Jinping is condemning the Islamic State amid word it has murdered a Chinese national.

Xi Jinping's speech this week to the CEO's at the APEC meeting being met with applause.

The new 100 kuai bank notes here in China appear to be going through some initial growing pains.

In business... Sina posting better-than-expected revenues through the 3rd quarter.

In sports... Djokovic, Berdych and Nishikori looking for a semi-final slot tonight at the ATP Finals in London.

In entertainment... the nominations are out for this year's Golden Horse film awards in Taiwan.

All of that is coming up in the next hour, but first, a reminder that there are several ways you can reach us here at the Beijing Hour.

You can follow our weibo account at weibo.com/beijinghour.

On WeChat: search "beijinghour"Email us directly at [email protected].

Visit crienglish.com for the latest news and information from China Radio International.

Top NewsPresident Xi strongly condemns IS for Chinese hostage deathThe Chinese government has confirmed a Chinese national has been murdered by the Islamic State.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has issued a new statement, strongly condemning the Islamic State, extending his condolences to the family of the victim.

In making the statement, Xi Jinping says terrorism is the public enemy of human being, and says China will resolutely crack down on any terrorist activity which challenges humanity.,Premier Li Keqiang has also condemned the murder of Fan Jinghui.

The 50-year old was taken hostage by the Islamic State earlier this year.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hong Lei says the Chinese government has been able to confirmed Fan was murdered on Wednesday.

"The Chinese government and people have been very concerned about Fan Jinghui's safety since he was kidnapped. Relevant departments of the Chinese government immediately activated an emergency response mechanism and made all-out efforts to rescue him. However, without any regard for human conscience, and moral baseline, the terrorist organisation cruelly killed Fan Jinghui. We strongly condemn this inhuman act."The confirmation of Fan Jinghui's death comes after the Islamic State included gruesome images of the bodies of his and a Norwegian man both kidnapped by the group earlier this year in Syria in the latest issue of its English language magazine 'Dabiq.'

Xi Jinping's APEC CEO summit address well -received by business leadersPresident Xi Jinping's keynote speech during the APEC CEO summit on Wednesday has been well-received by global business leaders.

Addressing the summit in the Filipino capital Manila, President Xi gave his strong support to regional economic integration and China's ongoing economic transition.

Mike Wilkes, CEO of the Australia-based Oceana Gold Corporation, says President Xi's remarks have given business leaders reassurance of China's economic growth.

"He's very optimistic about the future, which is good. And I think that President Xi Jinping has shown leadership in the economic development and opening up the country to foreign trade, which is quite positive for the world. I think what's impressive and important is the focus on improving the environmental management around the globe, and the commitment to sustainable development."In his speech, President Xi promised that Beijing will ease restrictions for foreign investors as one of the key financial reform measures.

At the same time, the Chinese President said the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will be officially established by the end this year, thanks to the country's "Belt and Road" Initiatives.

Stephen Sieh is the managing partner of Primeiro Partners based in the Philippines. He spoke highly of President Xi's message concerning AIIB.

" Yeah, he talked a little bit about AIIB, and I think that was encouraging. I think there is such a huge need for infrastructure financing for the region . I think with such a huge gap between the amount of infrastructure that is needed in all these countries, Philipines included, and the amount of investment available and financing that is available, I think that is all very key in helping us."Meanwhile, President Xi has also urged APEC members to push forward the process of setting up an Asia-Pacific Free Trade Area, also known as the FTAAP.

Building of ASEAN economic community full of challengesAnchor:

Observers awaiting the formal establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community by the end of this year are warning of difficult challenges ahead as it comes into being over the next few years, given the social and economic imbalances among the group.

CRI's Li Jianhua has more.

Reporter:

The completion of the ASEAN Economic Community as a whole is expected to be completed by 2020, with the ultimate goal of building an economic community, a political-security community, and a socio-cultural community.

Chief among those goals, the building of its economic community is expected to be finished by the end of this year.

However, Professor Yang Baoyun with Peking University says differences in terms of culture, religion and politics among ASEAN members poses a challenge to building both the political-security community and the socio-cultural community.

"The national conditions of the member states of ASEAN countries all differ from each other, especially in economic and social development. The difficulties its member states have are everywhere. How to set a standard which will meet the needs of all its member states is of vital importance to push forward ASEAN integration. And this is easier said than done. "In the meantime, Yang also says new laws should be put in-place to smooth the way for ASEAN integration.

Yang Baoyun says this should include an internal dispute resolution mechanism to avoid taking problems to international forums.

"If the regulations in joining the ASEAN Economic Community are not complete, there will be no way to settle the disputes among its member states. International arbitration is not recommended if they run into problems. They should try to work a way out to solve the issues themselves."Thailand's Deputy foreign minister Don Pramundwindai, says more people-to-people communication will play a pivotal role in the achievement of the three targets set by the ASEAN Economic Community.

"That is the most important challenge. Also it's about connectivity. In the ASEAN Community, we are talking about how we connect the ASEAN members together. But connectivity isn't about physical connectivity. But it connects all the pillars — connect people-to-people, infrastructure, or connection about trade and investment to a region. We also have a negative side of connectivity, like migration. So when we talk about connectivity, it not only includes the positive side, but also the negative side."ASEAN was established nearly 50-years ago as a political grouping of ten Southeast Asian nations.

It's since developed into a regional economic and trading power, and has been looking to expand its role in Asian affairs through the creation of the ASEAN Economic Community.

For CRI, this is Li Jianhua.

China to Launch Nationwide Carbon Emission Trading Market in 2017Anchor:

A Chinese official says a nationwide carbon emission trading market is expected to take shape in two years to fulfill the country's commitment to a low carbon future.

CRI's Yu Yang has details.

Reporter:

Briefing a news conference on Thursday, Xie Zhenhua, China's special representative on climate change, said the country is exploring emissions trading mechanisms.

"China now is piloting emission trading in seven provinces or municipalities, and the work is going well. All of them have started online trading, and their prices are stable, which you can see for details in the report. But the pilot program does not focus on the prices. Its purpose is to explore a market mechanism."Xie Zhenhua made the remarks as the country released a report on its fight against climate change over this past year.

The negotiator said there is a lot of work to do within the emission trading mechanism and law making is a priority for the time being.

"We are working on laws and regulations for emission trading. When we complete all the preparation work, we will move on to establish a unified national market."China began piloting carbon trading in 2011 and approved seven schemes in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Guangdong and Hubei.

Under the schemes, enterprises which produce more than their share of emissions are allowed to buy unused quotas on the market from those that cause less pollution.

According to the country's top economic planner, the NDRC, transactions of the seven pilots have totaled close to 1.2 billion yuan, involving gas emission quotas of over 40 million tonnes.

Xie Zhenhua said the nationwide carbon emissions trading market is expected to be launched at a faster pace following the smooth operation of the seven pilot schemes, while international cooperation is welcomed.

"Now there are many countries, like some local governments of America, the EU and some neighboring countries. They all want to cooperate with us to establish a unified emission trading market. So now we are having cooperation with other countries, exchanging experience with them."Xie Zhenhua also reiterated China's goals in its own "Intended Nationally Determined Contribution" to cut its carbon emissions per unit of GDP by 60-65 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, and increase non-fossil fuel sources in primary energy consumption to about 20 percent and peak its carbon emissions by the same date.

He also said the country wanted a legally binding agreement to be reached at the world climate summit in Paris that begins at the end of this month.

Also on Thursday, China issued its first state-level standards for the calculation of greenhouse gas emissions from major industries, like power generation and steel.

It's the latest step in the country to tackle climate change.

For CRI, this is Yu Yang.

For more on China's latest moves to tackle climate change, CRI's Wang Mengzhen earlier spoke with Li Zhichao from a Beijing-based NGO dedicated to combating climate change.

Back Anchor:

That was Li Zhichao from Beijing-based environmental organization speaking with CRI's Wang Mengzhen.

Taiwan to allow more mainland touristsTaiwan authorities are opening the door for more mainland group tours to the island over the next 3-months.

The revelation was made by the head of the Taiwan Strait Tourism Association while overseeing the opening of the Associaiton's new offices in the city of Fuzhou this week.

Starting on Saturday, Taiwan is going to allow 8-thousand people a day on mainland group tours to travel to the island.

This is up from the 5-thousand person-a-day limit currently in-place.

The Taiwan Strait Tourism Association says the quota increase will be in-place until mid-February, and has been established to meet the rising demand from the mainland side.

The increased quota does not affect people who travel as individual tourists.

Since authorities on Taiwan opened the doors to group tours in 2008 and individual tourists in 2011, there has been a massive rise in the number of people from both sides making cross-strait visits.

So far this year, more than 3.1 million tourists from the mainland have traveled to Taiwan, and nearly 4.1 million people from Taiwan have visited the mainland.

Complaints over New RMBAnchor:

Just a week into circulation, the new 100-yuan notes put out by China's Central Bank are going through some growing pains, with numerous complaints connected to retailers who are unwilling to accept the new bills.

CRI's Luo Wen explains.

Reporter:

A week ago, many banks in major Chinese cities saw long queues of people waiting to be first in line to receive the new banknotes.

Many of them gave the thumbs up to the new note's design that features a gold figure 100 in its middle.

But after a week of use, some people, especially retailers, have realized the design is not the only thing that's different about the new notes.

"Some customers of mine have started to use new notes for payments. But my money counter can't recognize the new money. It makes me more worried about fakes."Some customers also encountered problems when using the new money.

"Many sellers, especilly those old-aged, refuse to accept the new notes. They said it's difficult for them to recognize whether it's genuine or not."China's central bank, the PBOC, promised before the issue of the new note, that this latest version would be harder to counterfeit and easier for machines to read than earlier versions.

But in fact, only new money counters or those with upgraded systems can recognize the new notes.

Retailers are being urged to replace their old machines, but it's estimated that the process could take quite some time, with the cost for each replacement machine close to 1,000 yuan.

To ensure the smooth circulation of the new note, the PBOC vowed earlier this week to enhance supervision.

It also warned that nobody has the right to reject the new money.

Earlier, Shao Guowei, with the China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation, gave some tips for the public to identify fakes barehanded.

"It wouldn't take more than five seconds to identify the fake money. People can check the note with their bare eyes. Hold the note and face it vertically, the value numeral is golden and the security thread is pinkish red. If you turn it, both the value numeral and the security thread will turn green."The central bank has vowed to provide assistance during the replacement process.

The new features of the note have been published on its official website for people to learn the differences.

Local commercial banks have also been urged to help anyone having problems with the new notes.

This is the third 100-yuan edition of the fifth series of banknotes introduced in 1999.

The second edition was issued in 2005.

For CRI, I'm Luo Wen.

Beijing Tackles Excessive LED Screen AdvertisementsAnchor:

Beijing's commercial hub Xicheng district has recently launched an offensive against what it feels is an excessive numbers of LED advertisement screens on the streets, in a bid to remove eyesores from the cityscape.

CRI's Li Ningjing with more.

Reporter:

Xicheng District in Beijing is where the most traditional meets the very modern. It has courtyard houses standing across street against glass windowed high rises of the financial center. Business is robust in the region. However, an excessive number of LED advertisement screens have popped up unnoticeably over the past couple of years, which are often installed by individual businesses. What they advertise ranges from budget hotels rooms, herbal medicine to adult products. For the local residents, they have become eyesores.

Now the district has decided to take some action.

Zhao Yuliang, Deputy Director of a Law Enforcement Team under the Xicheng District Law Enforcement Bureau, is telling a business owner that the LED advertisement boards outside her store have to be taken down as they violated the city management regulations.

The car tyre store on Zhanlan Rd. installed two pieces of LED screens at the entrance, with the larger one ten meters long. While watching law enforcement team dismounting the LED screens, this business owner accepted the ruling.

"Other businesses have installed their LED advertisement screens on their own. It's common practice. We just followed suit. Now there's a regulation about it, I will abide by the law."According to city management officers, businesses who want to install LED screens outside their stores will have to file an application to local city management bureau. Upon approval, they can call the professional services to install them.

Zhao Yuliang, Deputy Director of a Law Enforcement Team under the Xicheng District Law Enforcement Bureau, explains that the illegally mounted LED screens can also pose danger to pedestrians.

"Beijing has very strong wind in Winter. If not properly fixed, the LED screens could fall off and hit passers-bys. Also, the wires could decay and cause fire."The offensive against LED screens in the Xicheng District started in May. Up until now, the Law Enforcement Bureau, along with Xicheng District Environment Bureau and Xicheng District Urban Management Commission have together removed over 3,000 illegally mounted LED screens.

Guo Yanbo from Xicheng District Urban Management Commission says they will take the action against illegal LED advertisement screens one step further.

"Next we'll continue our inspections and extend our campaign from major streets to far-off Hutongs."According to the regulation, repeat violators of the rule against LED advertisement screens will subject to 1,000 yuan's fine.

Hopefully, with eyesores removed, Beijing's cityscape will become more beautiful.

For CRI, I'm Li Ningjing.

Belgian PM announces new anti-terror measuresThe Belgian Prime Minister has announced a series of new anti-terror steps that his government plans to take following last week's deadly terror attacks in Paris.

Prime Minister Charles Michel is promising an additional 400 million euros will be earmarked for expanding the country's anti-terrorism operations.

"We want to act along four major lines. First, to eradicate messages of hate and calls to violence. Second, to concentrate efforts and our means on individuals who have been flagged as potentially dangerous. Third, to strengthen the security measures. And finally, to act on an international level."The government of Belgium is also planning to train and equip more anti-terror personnel.

Belgium's Prime Minister says he also wants to amend the constitution to extend the length of time terror suspects can be held by police without charges.

His announcement comes on the same day Belgian security forces launched six raids in Brussels in connection with last week's deadly assaults in Paris.

Its believed most of the attackers involved in last week's deadly assaults in Paris made it into France via Belgium.

That country is viewed by critics as the weak-link in Europe's fight against anti-terrorism, as it has provided the most fighters to Islamic State from Europe, per capita.

Belgium is home to a large population of French-speaking migrants from the Middle East and North Africa.

NYC 'not intimidated' by ISIS group videoThe Mayor of New York has said there is no "specific and credible threat" against the city, despite a newly released Islamic State video suggesting the city is a potential target of terrorist attacks.

Bill de Blasio, said there was no need to panic and that fully-equipped police officers have been assigned to deal with any terrorist threat.

"And just in this last week we've initiated the first wave of our new critical response command ,which will grow to 500-plus officers, specifically dedicated to anti-terrorism activities. These officers who have been assigned in the last months will be specifically trained, equipped, and armed to handle any terrorist threat."The six-minute Islamic State video clip shows a brief glimpse of Times Square, the Midtown Manhattan crossroads popular with tourists, and a suicide bomber holding what appears to be a trigger.

The Paris attacks on Friday have stirred memories in New York of September 11, 2001, when hijacked plane attacked and destroyed the World Trade Center's Twin Towers, killing more than 2,600 people.

Deal at Paris Summit Likely, But Hardly Perfect: UK EnvoyAnchor:

With less than 2-weeks before the UN Conference on Climate Change opens in Paris, the UK's Special Representative for Climate Change is suggesting the sessions in Paris are likely to foster a new global agreement.

However, he's also warning its an agreement which will require a significant amount of trust from everyone involved.

CRI's London Correspondent Duan Xuelian has more.

Reporter:

The mandate for the meetings in Paris is to draw up a legally-binding global climate change document, something the United Nations has been attempting to create over the past 20-years.

UK Special Representative on Climate Change, Sir David King, says this session in Paris appears to have the political momentum to get a legally-binding agreement signed, noting 163 of the 197 nations involved have already submitted their plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

"These 163 are over 90% of the world's economy and over 90% of the world's emissions so we really have all of the major players ready and willing to sign up to an agreement."Previous attempts to create a legally-binding global climate deal have hit dead-ends, with issues such as firm emission reduction targets and financing blocking attempts to get a deal done.

However, with China and the United States taking the lead this past year by setting out their emission reduction targets, many observers say this is a big step in overcoming the issues which prevented a deal from being signed in Copenhagen in 2009.

David King says the larger issue now will be ensuring countries around the world live up to the commitments they've made.

"The key issue, from our point of view, is reviewability. We must see that this set of nationally determined contributions is subject to being reviewed after five years through the United Nation's framework convention process."If a deal is signed in Paris, a commitment has already been made which will see 100 billion dollars a year flow from developed countries to the developing world by 2020.

King says this will go a long way toward helping poorer countries upgrade their energy production capabilities.

"It is going to become much easier for countries to reduce their emissions as technology rolls forward, alternative to fossil fuels are going to be much more attractive."As for the UK itself, Sir David King says the government is committed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% by 2050.

It's also being reported the UK will close its remaining coal-fired plants within the next 10 years.

"The next 30 years are absolutely critical in globally managing this enormous potential challenge to the survivability of our civilization going forward."Sir David King was the UK government's former chief scientific adviser, and has been the UK's Special Representative for Climate Change since 2013.

For CRI, this is Duan Xuelian in London.

Russia's ant--doping agency suspendedRussia's likelihood of being able to compete in next year's Olympics has been dealt another setback.

The World Anti-Doping Agency has suspended Russia's anti-doping agency for non-compliance with WADA's rules.

WADA President Craig Reedie says this means blood and urine samples from Russian athletes will now be tested by other national anti-doping organizations and WADA-accredited labs at Russia's expense.

"There was very clear evidence that the national anti doping agency was not compliant. The compliance system we have, as you may have heard, involves us actually speaking to our organisations before we declare them non-compliant. We asked for their evidence, the evidence we got didn't help us in any way, it was quite clear that they were non-compliant and they have been declared non-compliant today."Ukraine, Israel, Argentina, Bolivia and Andorra have also been deemed immediately non-compliant.

Though this won't impact these countries' ability to take part in international competitions, it will put their athletes under additional scrutiny, as their drug testing will be done by outside federations.

However, the situation for Russia is different, as it's track and field federation has already been suspended from international competition following the release of an anti-doping report earlier this month which has detailed a years-long, state-sponsored doping program for Russia's track and field athletes.

The ultimate decision on whether Russian athletes will be able to compete in Rio will be up to the International Olympic Committee and the IAAF, which has already suspended Russia's track and field federation from international competition.

Horrific crash claims 32 lives in S. AfricaA deadly traffic accident in South Africa has left at least 32-people dead.

A passenger bus and a car collided in the country's southeastern area, killing all but 4 people involved.

South African authorities haven't provided details of the accident, which took place early Thursday.

The deadly accident is the latest in an epidemic of fatal traffic accidents in South Africa.

An average of a thousand people are killed every month in South African traffic accidents, with poor road conditions and a basis lack of driving skills blamed for many of the deaths.

Its estimated traffic accidents in South Africa cost the country's over 20-billion US dollars in direct and indirect losses.

The South African government is vowing to reduce the number of fatal road accidents this year by 25-percent, and by 50-percent in the next 5-years.

WeatherBeijing will have sleet tonight with a low of 1, tomorrow will also have sleet with a high of 3.

Shanghai will have slight rain tonight with a low of 13, more rain tomorrow, high of 16.

Chongqing will be cloudy with a low of 15, tomorrow will be overcast, high of 21.

Lhasa will be clear with a low of minus 4, tomorrow will be sunny with a high of 14.

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad will be cloudy with a high of 25.

Kabul, overcast, 12.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney, sunny, high of 36,Brisbane,sunny,32,Perth, cloudy, 29,And finally Auckland, New Zealand will have slight rain with a high of 21 degrees Celsius.

Headline newsPresident Xi strongly condemns IS for Chinese hostage deathChinese President Xi Jinping has strongly condemned the Islamic State group for killing a Chinese national and has expressed his deep sympathy to the family of the victim.

He made the remarks on the sidelines of the APEC meeting in Manila, the capital city of the Philippines.

The President said terrorism was the public enemy of human beings; China firmly opposes terrorism of all forms and will resolutely crack down on any terrorist crime that challenges the bottom line of human civilization.

Premier Li Keqiang has also condemned the terrorist group for killing Chinese hostage Fan Jinghui.

Li added that China would strengthen protection of its citizens and organizations overseas.

China confirmed the death of Fan on Thursday, saying the criminals must be brought to justice.

It comes after the IS group included gruesome images of the bodies of a Chinese and a Norwegian man in the latest issue of its English language magazine 'Dabiq', saying they had both been executed.

China expects "ambitious, legal-binding deal" at Paris climate conferneceChina's chief climate negotiator Xie Zhenhua says the country is hoping that "a powerful, ambitious and legally binding deal" can be reached in Paris.

He stressed that the 2015 deal should reflect the principles of "common but differentiated responsibilities" and "respective capabilities."Xie urged developed countries to deliver what they have promised to help developing countries.

He also reiterated that China will accomplish its own goal to cut carbon emissions.

The Paris climate change conference, due to begin at the end of November, is the latest attempt by world leaders to reduce carbon emissions and save the globe from devastating natural disasters.

Chinese high-speed train passes speed test at 385 kphA Chinese high speed train has reached a speed of 385 kilometers per hour during a trial run, marking a major step towards being brought into full service.

The electric multiple unit or EMU was designed and manufactured by a Qingdao-based company.

China owns the independent intellectual property rights to the train which has a standard operating speed of 350 kilometers per hour.

The train underwent a speed test on Wednesday, through complicated conditions, such as bridges, tunnels, slopes and bends on the section of the railway connecting Datong and Xi'an, two major cities in north China.

It must still complete heavy-duty tests before it can be put into operation next year.

Myanmar's Suu Kyi says China ties deserve close attentionMyanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi has pledged to pay "special attention" to ties with China when her party takes office after its election triumph.

In an interview with China's Xinhua News Agency, Suu Kyi said ties with the country's neighbors were always "more delicate than those between countries far apart".

She pledged to pay special attention to relations between China and Myanmar, to make them "smooth, effective and clear".

Last week, Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party swept to victory in the country's first open general election in 25 years.

Biz ReportAsian StocksAnchor:

Time to check today's business news, starting with the closing numbers here in China.

Mainland markets advanced substantially on Thursday after dipping for two consecutive days as investors expected more favorable policies to support the oversupplied property sector.

More than 150 stocks rose by the 10-percent daily limit.

Furniture producers led the bullish performance with an average growth of 5.4 percent.

The rally came after Chinese leaders called for measures to reduce the inventory of unsold homes and stressed the importance of the property sector to the Chinese economy.

At the close, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1.4 percent.

The smaller Shenzhen index rose 2.7 percent.

The ChiNext Index of growth enterprises surged 4.1 percent.

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Heng Seng Index moved up 1.4 percent.

Elsewhere in Asia,Tokyo shares rose with market confidence boosted by expectations of a U.S. interest rate hike in December.

While the Bank of Japan's decision to maintain its current monetary policy had a limited effect on the market.

Gainers were led by warehousing, nonferrous metals and iron and steel issues.

The benchmark Nikkei added 1.1 percent.

South Korea's KOSPI closed 1.3 percent higher.

Singapore's Straights Times index advanced 1.2 percent.

And finally,Australia's ASX/200 edged up 2.1 percent.

Sina Posts Higher Revenue in Q3Chinese Internet firm Sina is reporting higher-than-expected quarterly revenues through the 3rd quarter of this year, mostly because of Weibo.

The company's net revenues have increased 14 percent year on year to around 226-million U.S. dollars.

Sina's online advertising revenues for the period have come in at around 193 million U.S. dollars.

This is up from the nearly 167 million U.S. dollars Sina made during the same period last year.

The growth in online advertising revenues has been supported by an increase of some 40.5 million U.S. dollars worth of Weibo advertising and marketing revenues.

Meanwhile, Sina Weibo Corporation's net revenues are up 48 percent year-on-year to around 124 million U.S. dollars.

China's central bank cuts SLF interest rates for local branchesChina's central bank says it will cut the interest rates of the Standing Lending Facility for its local branches.

Starting from this Friday, the interest rates of overnight and seven-day SLFs for local financial institutions will be reduced to 2.75 percent and 3.25 percent respectively.

SLF is one of the monetary policy instruments which the PBoC uses to inject cash into the market and to ease liquidity.

Asia Pacific Stock Exchange changes name to Sydney Stock ExchangeThe Asia Pacific Stock Exchange has changed its name to Sydney Stock Exchange Limited.

The Australian bourse says the new name reflects both the role of Sydney as a major financial center in Australia and the Asia Pacific region and the geographic home of the exchange.

Sydney Stock Exchange will be a member of the Asia Pacific Exchange Group - APX, as well as the Asia Pacific Finance Institute of Australia, and the Asia Pacific Equity Exchange.

The APX Group is a fully owned subsidiary of AIMS Financial Group.

The Asia Pacific Exchange, previously known as the Australian Pacific Exchange, was acquired by Chinese Australian George Wang's AIMS Financial Group after the collapse of the Austock Group in 2008.

It was relaunched last year.

China Europe International Exchange launched in FrankfurtA Sino-German joint venture named China Europe International Exchange has been launched in the German city of Frankfurt.

The venture kicks off the trading of Renminbi-denominated exchange traded funds.

The exchange offers ETFs based on Chinese mainland's underlying assets and a broad range of RMB-denominated bonds.

Two new RMB-denominated ETFs became available, namely the SSE 50 ETF and the Money Market ETF, issued by Commerzbank in partnership with Bank of China International and China Construction Bank International.

The SSE 50 ETF is the first in Europe tracking the SSE50 A-Share-Index, while the Money Market ETF is the only RMB money market ETF available in Europe.

Another new corporate RMB bond, issued by Bank of China Abu Dhabi is also being offered.

Chinese Tech Firms Race into Online Banking BusinessAnchor:

Chinese tech company Tencent's online finance arm WeBank is reportedly seeking to raise some one billion U.S. dollars to expand its financial services.

The Wall Street Journal reports that WeBank is in discussions with outside investors for funding that could value it around 5 billion U.S. dollars.

This, after Internet search provider Baidu announced a partnership with CITIC this week to set up an online bank.

The new bank, named Baixin Bank, is a direct sales bank providing online financial services.

It will be China's first venture between an Internet company and a traditional bank.

China's other two Internet giants Alibaba and Tencent have already started to explore the banking sector.

Tencent launched WeBank in January, and holds a 30 percent stake.

Alibaba owns 30 percent of MYbank, which opened in June, through Ant Financial.

For more on Chinese tech firms venturing into the online banking sector,CRI's Spencer Musick earlier spoke with Cao Can, CRI's financial commentator.

Back Anchor:

Cao Can, CRI's financial commentator, speaking with CRI's Spencer Musick.

Sports2nd-to-last slot in ATP semi-finals up for grabs tonight in LondonIn tennis,Roger Federer will be up against Japan's Kei Nishikori later tonight at ATP Tour Finals.

Federer has already progressed to the semi-finals of the season-ending tournament, while Nishikori will need a victory if he's going to have an outside shot at making the semi-finals.

----------------The other match tonight has Novak Djokovic against Tomas Berdych.

If Berdych has any chance of advancing, he needs to down Djokovic in straight-sets, and have Federer having first beat Nishikori.

-----------------On the other side of the bracket, it will be a battle on Friday between Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka to see who will advance to join Raphael Nadal in the semi-finals.

Wawrinka kept his shot at the semi-finals alive after downing David Ferrer in straight sets 7-5, 6-2 last night.

"Yeah, I'm really happy with the win. It wasn't easy at the beginning, I wasn't feeling great, playing well but I'm happy to turn that match, to start to play better. I think I started to be more tough with myself and tried to play more aggressive and at the end I was playing good tennis."Murray comes into the match after being dumped by Nadal last night, 6-4, 6-1.

-------------------------On the women's side,A number of Chinese women have been handed early exits from the WTA Challenger event taking place in Taipei.

Tianjin native Zhang Yuxuan went down to Russia's Evginya Rodina this afternoon in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.

And earlier it was 21-year old left-hander Wang Yafan going down to a Thai player in a 3-set affair.

Hong Kong's Zhang Ling put up a good fight against the tournament's top seed, Japan's Misaki Doi, but ended up going down to the world number-60 this evening 6-4, 6-4.

Tonight, its China's Liu Chang up against Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm, who - at 45-years old - is 20-years older than Liu.

Badminton: Wang Yihan through to next round of Hong Kong OpenIn badminton,A solid day for mainland shuttlers so far at the Hong Kong Open.

It was the world number-7 Wang Yihan advancing into the next round at the tournament over Hong Kong's Cheung Ngan-yi in straight sets this afternoon.

Wang has moved up one spot on the world rankings this week to 7th after her 4th place finish this past weekend at the China open in Fuzhou.

--On the men's single's side,It was Tian Houwei over a South Korean competitor in straight sets.

--Mixed doubles action has seen the 4th ranked duo of Xu Chen and Ma Jin get past an Indonesian pair in straight-sets.

World number-3 Liu Cheng and Bao Yixin are also through after dumping a duo from Norway.

--The marquis match of the evening in Hong Kong has last week's China Open winner, Malaysia's Lee Chong-Wei, taking on Germany's Mark Zweibler.

Golf: Davis Love III Picks Tiger Woods as One of His Vice-captainsIn golf,The first round of this year's finale of the European Tour season is underway in Dubai.

A total of 7 players in the 60-player field in Dubai have a chance at winning this year's Race to Dubai competition, which calculates points based on how the players finish at the tournaments they take part in .

Rory McIlroy comes into Dubai as the leader, followed closely by England's Danny Willet.

They're best positioned.

However, 5 other golfers in this week's field have a mathematical shot at winning the title as well, including England's Justin Rose, who sits in 3rd in the rankings.

"Well, obviously my chances are ... at least it's a do-able option. Obviously I've worked hard to get to this point where I feel like if I win the tournament, I'm going to be unlucky not to be lifting both trophies. So I feel like I have a great opportunity."Shane Lowry, Louis Oosthuizen, Branden Grace and Ahn Byeong-hun are the other players in Dubai with a mathematical shot at the title.

-----------On the women's side,The final tournament of the year in the LPGA season is set to get underway in just over an hour's time in Florida.

A couple of mainland golfers will be in the hunt to win the season-ending Tour Championships.

Rising star Lin Xiyu is among those with an early start to round-1, and will be teeing off in around an hour.

Compatriot Feng Shanshan, the world number-9, will start her first round in a few hours from now.

----This week's PGA stop gets underway later this evening at the RSM Classic on Sea Island, Georgia.

---In other golf news,Team USA Captain Davis Love III has announced who his vice-Captains are going to be for next year's Ryder Cup competition.

"The vice-captains I want to announce today are Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk and Tiger Woods. Two thing that excite me about these vice captains is , as I've said since the start of the task force and the news committee to a man they said we will do anything you ask us to do to make this Ryder Cup successful."This announcement comes as part of an agreement with Europe to expand to a maximum of five vice-captains.

The next Ryder Cup, which pits the best players in the US against the best in Europe, will be played at the end of September in the United States.

Basketball: Houston Rockets Fire Coach Kevin McHaleIn basketball,The Houston Rockets have managed to stay focused when it counted, getting past the Portland Trailblazers this morning 108-103 in overtime.

James Harden led the Rockets with 45-points in a game which came just hours after Rockets GM Daryl Morey announced the firing of the team's head coach.

"We relieved Kevin McHale of his head coaching duties. We hired J. B. Bickerstaff as the interim head coach. This was a very tough decision. I want to thank Kevin McHale, he did great things for the team and the city of Houston - made the Western Conference Finals. This was very tough."This was McHale's fifth season with the Rockets, who he helped coach to the Western Conference Finals last year, only to bow-out to the Golden State Warriors.

However, the Rockets were just 4-7 to start of this season.

In other action,Jeremy Lin struggled somewhat today coming off the bench, going 0-4 outside the arc. However, his 13-points did help lead his Charlotte Hornets over Brooklyn 116-111.

--Philadelphia remains winless on the season after getting hammered at home by Indiana 112-85.

--Orlando got past Minnesota 104-101 in overtime.

--It was Dallas over Boston 106-102.

--Oklahoma City edged New Orleans 110-103.

--Atlanta held off Sacramento 103-97.

--San Antonio cruised past Denver 109-98.

--It was Chicago over Phoenix 103-97.

--And Toronto has lost its 3rd in a row, going down to Utah 93-89.

----------------Hockey: Hamonic trade request confirmedIn the National Hockey League,Reports are suggesting the New York Islanders have been actively shopping defenseman Travis Hamonic for a trade.

Hockey insiders say they've confirmed the 25-year old requested a trade before the season to a team in western Canada to be closer to his family.

Hamonic, who is from a town just outside Winnipeg, is a top-two defenceman for the Islanders, and averages 23 minutes in ice time per game.

He signed a 7-year, 27-million dollar contract with the Islanders prior to the 2013-14 season.

On the ice, two of the teams Hamonic could be traded to were in action earlier this morning.

It was the Winnipeg Jets snapping a 6-game losing skid, downing the Vancouver Canucks 4-1.

The Canucks have now lost 4-in-a-row.

Only 2-other games in the NHL this morning,It was Chicago needing overtime to get past Edmonton 4-3.

Chicago rookie Artemi Panarin with a goal and 2 assists in the game.

--The other game had Detroit managing to keep Alex Ovechkin off the score-sheet once again, but it still wasn't enough, as the Capitals downed the Red Wings 2-1 in overtime.

The Capitals' Ovechkin, who hasn't scored in 4-games, needs just one more goal to surpass Detroit Red Wings great Sergei Fedorov as the all-time leading Russian goal scorer in the National Hockey league.

Entertainment"The Assassin" and "Thanatos, Drunk"to compete for Taipei Golden Horse Film FestivalTaiwan director Hou Hsiao-hsien's martial arts film, "The Assassin," and Chang Tso-chi's "Thanatos, Drunk" are the biggest hits vying for recognition in the major categories at the upcoming 52nd Golden Horse Awards.

The Assassin, leads the Golden Horse Awards with 11 nominations including Best Film, Best Director, best Actress for Shu Qi, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

"Thanatos, Drunk" is just behind with ten nominations including Best Film and Best Director, as well as all the acting categories except for Best Actress.

Hong Kong director Philip Yung's "Port of Call", meanwhile, received nine nominations including Best Actor for lead star Aaron Kwok.

While mainland Jia Zhangke's "Mountains May Depart" received seven, the highest number for a mainland movie competing in the upcoming awards.

The 52nd Golden Horse Awards will kick off this Saturday in Taipei.

Music by Dylan, Dead and more added to Grammy Hall of Fame for 2016"The Basement Tapes" by Bob Dylan and the Band, the Grateful Dead's "American Beauty" LP, and Fats Domino's debut song "The Fat Man" are just some of the latest additions to the 2016 Grammy Hall of Fame, announced Nov. 18 by the Recording Academy.

The 26 new titles added this year bring the list to 1,013 recordings.

The latest Hall Of Fame inductees also include the Andrews Sisters' "Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree ," Blondie's "Heart Of Glass," and Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful".

The complete list of 43 years of Hall of Fame recordings can be found on the Grammy website.

Recordings of all genres are eligible for the honor and must be at least 25 years old and - according to the Academy - should "exhibit qualitative or historical significance."Spanning more than 50 years, the 2016 Grammy Hall Of Fame entries form an outstanding collection, marked by both historical and cultural significance.

The Academy also said that the works had influenced and inspired both music creators and fans for generations and that it was proud to induct these latest recordings into its catalog of distinguished recordings.

Eagles of Death Metal enter Official Singles ChartEagles of Death Metal have entered the Official Singles Chart Update, following the Paris terrorist attacks.

The American rock band were performing at Le Bataclan theatre on Friday night when gunmen opened fire.

At least 89 people were killed during that attack, including the band's merchandise seller, Nick Alexander.

An online campaign was started trying to get the band's cover of Duran Duran's Save A Prayer into the Official Singles Chart following the tragedy.

It's now entered the charts at number 96.

More than 7,000 people joined the Facebook campaign, which says it is aiming to show "solidarity against terrorism and support for peace."Eagles of Death Metal have not as yet commented on the campaign.

Globe puts Shakespeare shorts on big screensShort movies of all 37 of Shakespeare's plays are to be specially filmed around the world, and then shown on giant screens in London next year, to mark the 400th anniversary of the great writer's death.

The mini-movies will be shot over the next six months, with noted Shakespearean actors reciting speeches from the plays in the locations where the plays are set.

So fans of 'the Bard' can expect to see Cleopatra in Egypt, Julius Caesar in the Roman Forum, and Hamlet at Elsinore in Denmark.

Each 10-minute film will then be screened along a two-mile stretch of the River Thames in London, on 23-24 April 2016.

The films will also include clips from the Globe Theatre's in-house productions with additional material shot at Shakespeare's birthplace at Stratford-upon-Avon.

China's Rock Icon Cui Jian to Release New Album 'Guang Dong'

Cui Jian, widely known as China's "Godfather of Rock", is set to release a new album next month, and announcing on Wednesday in Shanghai that he's joining Sony Music.

Cui Jian rose to fame in China with his 1986 performance of 'Nothing to My Name', setting off a nationwide rock craze.

The 54-year-old star says this new album is a break from his iconic style, will stress melody and include no rap.

Entitled 'Guang Dong', meaning 'movement of light', the upcoming album marks Cui Jian's music comeback, almost 10 years after his last release.

Cui Jian says he hopes this album "can make the audience forget bondage and rumpus".

The iconic rocker star will also team up with director Feng Xiaogang, to perform at the Mr.Six Concert held in Beijing this Saturday, which is in promotion of the namesake's movie.

WeatherBeijing will have sleet tonight with a low of 1, tomorrow will also have sleet with a high of 3.

Shanghai will have slight rain tonight with a low of 13, more rain tomorrow, high of 16.

Chongqing will be cloudy with a low of 15, tomorrow will be overcast, high of 21.

Lhasa will be clear with a low of minus 4, tomorrow will be sunny with a high of 14.

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad will be cloudy with a high of 25.

Kabul, overcast, 12.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney, sunny, high of 36,Brisbane,sunny,32,Perth, cloudy, 29,And finally Auckland, New Zealand will have slight rain with a high of 21 degrees Celsius.

That's it for this edition of the Beijing Hour...

A quick look at the headlines before we go...

Chinese President Xi Jinping is condemning the Islamic State amid word it has murdered a Chinese national.

Xi Jinping's speech this week to the CEO's at the APEC meeting being met with applause.

On behalf of co-host Bob Jones and the rest of the Beijing Hour team, this is Paul James hoping you'll join us for the next edition of the Beijing Hour, to open a window to the world together...