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Wednesday June 26th, 2013.
Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
Coming up on our program this evening.
Australia's former leader Kevin Rudd ousts Prime Minister Julia Gillard in leadership vote
Astronauts onboard China's Shenzhou-10 spacecraft land safely back on earth.
Four Chinese nationals killed in Papua New Guinea
Business, China’s Central bank injects liquidity to lenders
Sports, Chinese Li Na and Peng Shuai through to Wimbledons second Round
Entertainments, a sequel for the new Brad Pitt zombie adventure World War Z already in development.
Plus special reports takes a closer look at what lies ahead for the Chinese National Football team after losing yet another Head Coach.
Weather
Beijing will be cloudy tonight with a low of 22 degrees Celsius. Tomorrow also cloudy with a high temperature of 34.
Meanwhile Shanghai will have heavy rain tonight, with a low of 21, heavy rain continues tomorrow, with a high of 25.
Lhasa will have light rain tonight, 12 degrees the low, overcast tomorrow with a high of 21.
Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia
Islamabad, thundershowers, with a high of 40.
Kabul, sunny, 35.
Over in Australia
Sydney, rain, highs of 18.
Canberra, overcast, 16.
Brisbane, rain, 21.
And finally, Perth will be sunny with a high of 20.
Top News
Australia's former leader Rudd wins Labor caucus ballot
Australia's former leader Kevin Rudd has ousted Prime Minister Julia Gillard in a leadership vote of the ruling Labor party a few moments ago.
Rudd has won the Labor caucus ballot with 57 to 45 votes.
Rudd now will lead the party to take part in the federal elections scheduled this September.
Gillard had said she would retire if she lost the ballot.
Gillard called the vote in response to reports that supporters of rival Kevin Rudd have been gearing up to challenge her.
Both Gillard and Rudd say they hope tonight's vote can avoid what polls suggest will be a massive defeat for the ruling Labor Party in the upcoming election set for September.
Opinion polls suggest Tony Abbott's opposition coalition is currently on course for a convincing win on September 14th.
Australian PM being ousted
Now for more on the leadership vote earlier, we are now joined on the line by Joanna Heath, Canberra correspondent with the Australia Financial Review.
…
Back anchor: Joanna Heath, Canberra correspondent with the Australia Financial Review.
Success of China's Shenzhou-10 mission ushers in another phase of space program
Anchor
Three astronauts onboard China's Shenzhou-10 space capsule have just completed the country's longest manned space mission and returned to Earth safely.
The success of the mission marks yet another step towards the country's goal of building a permanently manned space station by the year 2020.
Su Yi has more.
Reporter:
The re-entry capsule of Shenzhou-10 landed safely in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Wednesday morning.
All three astronauts were in good physical condition.
"It is my second manned space mission. I'm very familiar with the place we have landed. It feels really good to be home again. I just want wish our country and the people prosperity. "
"I am very excited right now. Thanks everyone who have concerned and supported us."
"The space mission has fulfilled my dreams, one is traveling in space and another is to be a teacher. And this time I got to teach from the space. I wish all young people have their own dreams, those who have dreams will succeed."
While in orbit, the three astronauts completed two docking tests with the Tiangong-1 experimental space lab.
The astronauts also gave a special lecture to students on earth for the first time in China's space exploration.
Meantime, the Tiangong-1 space lab has been officially retired now.
It was first put into orbit in 2011, and has hosted to a total of 6-Chinese astronauts.
Originally developed as a training platform for the eventual-Chinese space station, it's now being put into a higher orbit.
Chinese vice premier Zhang Gaoli says the mission is a milestone.
"The success of the Shenzhou-10, Tiangong-1 mission indicates the perfection our space docking and rendezvous techniques. It marks a milestone success of the second phase of our manned space program."
Chinese aerospace officials say China is planning to launch Tiangong-2 space lab around 2015.
They say the core module of a space station will be put in orbit by 2018, before the completion of the space station by 2020.
For CRI, I'm Su Yi.
Four Chinese killed in Papua New Guinea: Chinese Embassy
Four Chinese citizens have been killed in a bread shop in Papua New Guinea's capital Port Moresby.
The victims include three men and one woman, all from Shanghai.
It is reported one of them was beheaded by the attackers.
Andy Bawa is a local superintendent.
"I'm now appealing to the communities in Koki, Badili, Talia, Gurobi, Wanigela and the nearby areas to assist police with the investigations, to apprehend the suspects. These suspects are very dangerous and are now out in the community and they pose threats and are of security concern to our community."
Chinese diplomats in the country say it is "a pure criminal case".
The southwestern Pacific Ocean country has had strong growth in mining and resource sector.
But the city of Port Moresby has long been plagued by violence and murder cases.
Chinese response to Japan's latest defense white paper
In its latest Defense White Paper, the Japanese government says it will further improve the capability of its self-defense forces by taking part in more joint exercises.
The white paper has cited concerns over Chinese ships' presence in waters near the Diaoyu Islands as the reason for that improvement.
In response, the Chinese government is urging Japan to reflect on its war crimes and pursue a peaceful development path.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying.
"Due to historical reasons, Japan's neighbors are watching closely the direction it's taking on military security. In recent year, Japan has been hyping the 'China threat theory', creating tensions and conflicts. Some Japanese politicians have been using this to promote the idea of strengthening national defense, and taking part in joint drills. All this are causing anxiety in the international community."
Japan's latest Defense White Paper has also pointed to an increase in China's defense budget, and in the transparency of China's military.
To that end, Hua Chunying says the development of China's national defense is to serve the purpose of safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity and does not pose a threat to any countries.
Obama, Karzai renew pledge on peace talks
U.S President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai have re-affirmed their support for holding talks with the Taliban.
Obama and Karzai agreed in a video conference that a peace process was the surest way to end the violence.
This renewed pledge on talks comes despite yesterday's attack by the Taliban in central Kabul.
Three Afghan security guards and 4-militants died in the assault on the Presidential palace and a CIA station.
President Karzai was reported to be inside the palace at the time, but the target was believed to be a nearby hotel, which houses the CIA station.
Tuesday's incident comes just days after the Taliban opened an office in Qatar's capital for starting peace talks.
The U.S also announced it would begin talks with the Taliban then bring in the Afghan side.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said his government would not take part in any peace talks unless the process was "Afghan led".
Obama announces climate change plan
Anchor
US President Barack Obama has laid out a comprehensive plan to curb climate change.
This includes limits on greenhouse gas emissions and an expansion of renewable energy projects.
Our Washington correspondent Xiaohong has the details.
REPORT:
In a highly anticipated speech at Georgetown University on Tuesday, Barack Obama has warned Americans of the deep and disastrous effects of climate change, urging them to take action before it's too late.
"It demands our attention now. This is my plan to meet, a plan to cut carbon pollution, a plan to protect our country from the impacts of climate change, and a plan to lead the world in a coordinated assort on a changing climate. This plan begins with cutting carbon pollution by changing the way we use energy: using less dirty energy, using more clean energy, wasting less energy throughout our economy."
The measures include limits on emissions from power plants and the doubling of renewable energy projects across the country.
Obama says by improving the country's carbon emission standards for power plants and increasing the efficiency of Federal buildings, the United States is expected to cut a total of three billion metric tons of carbon emissions by 2030.
At the same time, the Obama administration is also planning to double the number of clean energy projects across the country by 2020.
Obama is also promising the United States will be a global leader in curbing climate change through cooperation with other governments.
He's pointing to a recent agreement reached between the US and China to phase down the consumption and production of hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs.
Obama says his administration is also going to try to help the developing world move away from HFC consumption.
"And I'm directing my administration to launch negotiations toward global free trade in environmental goods and services, including clean energy technologies to help more countries skip pass the dirty phase of development and join a global low carbon economy."
Despite the grand vision, Obama's plan is likely to be met with resistance, as many of his Republican opponents, and even some within his own caucus, remain skeptical about global climate change.
As such, it's widely expected Obama is going to use his executive privilage as the US President to push through much of his plans, allowing him to bypass the divided congress.
Xiaohong, CRI, Washington.
Snowden still in Moscow airport
Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden is still in the transit area at Moscow airport.
However, Putin has rejected any notion of extraditing Snowden, saying they don't have an extradition treaty with the US.
Snowden disappeared from public view on Sunday after flying into Moscow from Hong Kong.
It's believed he's trying to gain transit to Ecuador to avoid extradition to the United States, where he's facing up to 30-years in prison for leaking secret government information.
Meantime, Venezuela now says it will consider an asylum application from Snowden.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
"We have not received an official request for political asylum. If he puts in a request-- it seems he has sent a request to Ecuador and President Correa is evaluating it-- we would also evaluate it because asylum is humanitarian protection."
Snowden has applied for asylum in Ecuador after the U.S revoked his passport.
He is believed to be supported by whistleblowing website Wikileaks, and is accompanied by some of its legal advisers.
Ecuador is already giving asylum at its London embassy to Wikileak founder Julian Assange.
China steps up international cooperation ahead of world anti-drug day
Today marks the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
To that end, Chinese anti-drugs officials say they're working to try to strengthen international cooperation to keep drugs from entering the country.
Around 70-percent of all drugs consumed here in China are being smuggled in from the so-called 'Golden Triangle' along the Mekong River delta.
But Chinese authorities are also warning of an increase in drug trafficking from Latin American countries.
Liu Yuejin is deputy director of the Public Security Ministry's anti-drug bureau.
"In recent years, we've increased cooperation with governments and police in countries such as Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. We've stepped up information sharing and also cooperated on the handling of some drug trafficking cases."
China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand have been conducting joint patrols on the Mekong River since 2011.
However, Liu Yuejin says there are still challenges when it comes to international cooperation on drug trafficking.
"Different countries have their own regulations, cooperation often has to go through complicated diplomatic and judicial process. This tend to cause delays in intelligence sharing in some cases."
The Chinese government has recently launched a cooperative mechanism with the BRICS countries to try to crack down on drug trafficking.
Biz Reports
Asian Stock
Chinese shares closed mixed on Wednesday after the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, said Tuesday evening that it has boosted liquidity support for some cautious financial institutions.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.4 percent.
The Shenzhen Component Index increased 1 percent.
In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng rose 2.4 percent.
Elsewhere in Asia,
Japan's benchmark Nikkei-225 lost 1 percent.
In South Korea, the benchmark KOSPI gained 0.2 percent.
In Singapore, the benchmark Straits Times edged up 0.5 percent.
Finally, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 up 1.6 percent.
Central bank inject liquidity to lenders
The People's Bank of China is set to inject liquidity into certain lenders, while also saying there will be further support to the larger banks if they face a fund-shortage in the future.
Hu Xiaolian is the Vice Governor of People's Bank of China.
"Generally speaking, the overall liquidity in the domestic banking system is abundant, and the provisions are at a high level. The central bank has already taken measures to stabilize the banking market, which fluctuated violently in the past several days. The interests of the monetary market started to fall."
This a reversal of the Central Bank's previous hard-line stance over the past couple of weeks, when it was pressing lenders to tighten up liquidity, despite the recent spike in inter-bank lending rates.
The Shanghai Interbank Offered Rate, or SHIBOR for example, hit an all-time high this past week.
For more on this, Paul James earlier spoke to Benjamin Cavender, Associate principal at China Market Research in Shanghai.
…
That was Benjamin Cavender, Associate principal at China Market Research in Shanghai.
China's iron ore stockpiles rise on soft transactions
Iron ore stockpiles at Chinese ports have been on the rise amid subdued demand.
Inventories of iron ore at 25 major Chinese ports came in at over 75 million tones this past week, marking a 0.7 percent week-on-week increase.
The price index for iron ore imports is also up around 1-percent.
The increase in prices comes as steel producer's rush to replenish their inventories.
Despite the rise in prices, the overall iron ore market hasn't seen a significant improvement in trading volumes.
China is the world's top iron ore consumer.
Global supervisors take tough line on bank leverage
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has published a guidelines that banks across the world must use to calculate their leverage ratio.
The ratio measures a bank's capital against all of its assets, such as loans and derivatives.
The Basel method will be viewed as another attempt to encourage banks to hold fewer derivatives - previously this alarmed regulators in the financial crisis.
Leaders from the top 20 economies announced in 2010 they would impose a leverage ratio of 3 percent which would be mandatory from 2018.
Insurer Direct Line to cut about 2,000 jobs
Britain's Direct Line Insurance Group says it plans to cut around 2-thousand positions in an effort to trim costs and boost profits.
Direct Line is Britain's biggest car insurer with around 15-thousand employees.
Since 2010, the company has been cutting costs and avoiding high-risk drivers to protect itself from stiff competition and new regulation in the British motor insurance market.
Direct Line said last year it was seeking to save 100-million pounds a year by the end of 2014.
Realty giant eyes China, acquires Singapore firm
Real Estate giants Cushman & Wakefield say they have agreed to acquire Singapore-based project management specialist company Project Solution Group.
Analysts say the deal will raise the company's presence in the China market.
In a statement the firm says the acquisition is part of its global strategy to strengthen operations in the Asia-Pacific region.
This latest acquisition follows C&W's announcement earlier this month that it had expanded its Greater China operations into Taiwan by opening its first office in Taipei.
Headline News
Australia's former leader Rudd wins Labor caucus ballot
Australia's former leader Kevin Rudd has ousted Prime Minister Julia Gillard in a leadership vote of the ruling Labor party a few moments ago.
Rudd has won the Labor caucus ballot with 57 to 45 votes.
Rudd now will lead the party to take part in the federal elections scheduled this September.
Gillard had said she would retire if she lost the ballot.
Gillard called the vote in response to reports that supporters of rival Kevin Rudd have been gearing up to challenge her.
Both Gillard and Rudd say they hope tonight's vote can avoid what polls suggest will be a massive defeat for the ruling Labor Party in the upcoming election set for September.
Opinion polls suggest Tony Abbott's opposition coalition is currently on course for a convincing win on September 14th.
Success of China's Shenzhou-10 mission ushers in another phase of space program
Three astronauts onboard China's Shenzhou-10 space capsule have just completed the country's longest manned space mission and returned to Earth safely.
The re-entry capsule of Shenzhou-10 landed safely in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Wednesday morning.
All three astronauts were in good physical condition.
While in orbit, the three astronauts completed two docking tests with the Tiangong-1 experimental space lab.
The astronauts also gave a special lecture to students on earth for the first time in China's space exploration.
The success of the mission marks yet another step towards the country's goal of building a permanently manned space station by the year 2020.
Four Chinese killed in Papua New Guinea: Chinese Embassy
Four Chinese citizens have been killed in a bread shop in Papua New Guinea's capital Port Moresby.
The victims include three men and one woman, all from Shanghai.
It is reported one of them was beheaded by the attackers.
Chinese diplomats in the country say it is "a pure criminal case".
The southwestern Pacific Ocean country has had strong growth in mining and resource sector.
But the city of Port Moresby has long been plagued by violence and murder cases.
US, Afghan leaders reaffirm renewed talks
U.S President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai have re-affirmed their support for holding talks with the Taliban.
Obama and Karzai agreed in a video conference that a peace process was the surest way to end the violence.
This renewed pledge on talks comes despite yesterday's attack by the Taliban in central Kabul.
Three Afghan security guards and 4-militants died in the assault on the Presidential palace and a CIA station.
Newspaper Picks
AFP
"Study shows tableware colour influences food flavour"
Researchers from the University of Oxford have found the color, size, weight and shape of eating utensils, cups and plates have a big influence on taste.
The team says "red" could be helpful for people who need to reduce their food intake, but should certainly not be used for those who are underweight.
In a series of experiments, the team also found food eaten from a knife tasted saltier than eaten with a spoon, fork or toothpick, and "more expensive" when eaten with lightweight plastic spoon.
Previous research has found yellow containers boost the perception of lemon flavor in soft drinks; beverages with cold colors, like blue, seem more thirst-quenching than warm colors like red; and pink drinks are perceived as more sugary.
Xinhua
"University presidential vacancy spurs concerns"
One of China's most prestigious universities - Zhejiang University - has been without a president for months.
The Ministry of Education believes they have found a suitable replacement, but alumni around the world have launched an internet campaign to protest the selection process for the presidency.
A former student says the university needs a president with a background in the school to carry on its cultural legacies.
Alumni associations from North America, France, Spain, Italy, and Japan soon echoed the statement.
China Daily
"Beijing may ban pets from public transportation"
A new bill seeks to ban animals from public transportation in Beijing as a preemptive measure against the possible spread of disease.
The bill has been posted online and is seeking public opinion.
The bill also requires rabies-vaccinated animals to wear a special tag that mark them from those that are not. Vaccinations can only be done at licensed clinics.
The Japan News
"'Solar sharing' spreading among Fukushima farmers"
Some farmers in Fukushima Prefecture are turning to "solar sharing," a process in which they can generate solar power on the same land where they grow crops and sell the power to utilities.
The farmers hope to sell enough power to help cover the losses they are suffering because of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Farmers can also use the money from sales of the generated electric power to improve their farmland.
However, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry demand a farmer's annual crop volume must not fall 20-percent or more.
Special Reports
Chinese FA sacks Jose Camacho
Anchor
A leading Chinese football observer is warning the sacking of Jose Camacho as the head coach of this country's national football squad is likely going to mean even more problems for the struggling Chinese side.
CRI's Marc Cavigli has more.
Reporter:
The arrival of Jose Camacho in August 2011 was met with much celebration here in China.
However, that celebration was less about new Spanish coach's arrival, but more about the disappointing departure of his predecessor, Gao Hongbo.
Ma Dexing is deputy editor in chief of Titan Sports, a flagship sports magazine here in China.
He explains the teams need for consistency:
"Since 2001 when China last qualified for the world Cup, the national squad has seen six coaches over 12 years, a consequence of bad performance but also a culprit of the national squad being so disorganized due to lack of an organizational consistency."
Much of this problem doesn't stop with Camacho, whose resume boasts nine La Liga titles and a quarterfinal berth in the 2002 World Cup.
Ma Dexing says the fact that Camacho did not bring a miracle to China does less to tarnish his own credentials than to expose problems that did not end when he took over:
"Our football association has yet to come up with a detailed planning as what kind of football we want to achieve and how do we go to get there. Firing coaches to appease the fans and hiring new coaches to rekindle that faint hope could only be the easiest thing to do."
Ma explains that changing coaches regularly costs money, 3-million euros in the case of Camacho, but it also comes at the hidden cost of letting the real problem remain ignored.
He added that the fact the Chinese Super League Club Guangzhou Evergrande, only just set up China's first ever Youth Academy in 2012, is an added embarrassment for the football association.
Ma believes although club managers and fans have been paying to keep the stadiums open, the national team can only stop bringing back humiliations once the FA does what needs to be done.
"Guangzhou Evergrande has been doing well. The management, the fans, the press have all helped to create that football spirit which makes football such a great thing. But the national team is a different story, rather than seeing itself merely as a watchdog, it should start thinking about how it can to help."
The Chinese FA has since issued an apology after sacking Camacho.
They claim to take the majority of responsibility for China's shameful defeat to Thailand in a friendly two weeks ago.
The FA further added it would start building a more organized national team from scratch.
For now it remains to be seen how this re-building will unfold.
For CRI, I'm Marc Cavigli.
Sports
Li Na, Peng Shuai Through to Wimbledon Second Round
Anchor:
Onto Tennis now and China's Li Na and Peng Shuai are among those through to the 2nd round at Wimbledon.
Our correspondent Tu Yun has more.
Reporter:
Sixth-seeded Li Na grabbed her first victory of the tournament in a little over one hour, easily rolling through Dutch competitor Michaella Krajicek 6-1, 6-1.
"I think today I played differently (from the last few matches) because I was daring to try some new things that I've been practising over the past couple of days. Yes that includes serve and volley."
Li Na will next face world number 32 Simona Halep of Romania.
Li Na lost to Halep in straight sets in the US Open two years ago in their first and only meeting.
Meanwhile, rising Chinese star Peng Shuai is through to round-2 after downing Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-3, 6-2.
Peng Shuai will next meet Marina Erakovic of New Zealand in the next round.
Zheng Jie, a 2008 Wimbledon semi-finalist, is out after going down to number 100-ranked Caroline Garcia in straight sets.
The French qualifier's victory puts her into a second-round collision with defending champion Serena Williams.
The five-time American champion is through to round two after powering past Mandy Minella of Luxemburg 6-1, 6-3.
"I feel like I was a little rusty for some reason today. I don't feel like I played my best. I felt really upset when I lost my serve in the second set. With that being said, I think Mandy played really well. I thought she was really mixing up her shots, mixing up her game. It wasn't an easy match for me. I'm a little excited I was able to play a tough match and to get through it."
Most other top players on the women's side are safely through to the second round, except for 10th-seeded Maria Kirilenko of Russia.
The Russian was upset by Britain's top female, Laura Robson 6-3, 6-4.
On the men's side, major seeds including Novak Djokovic and David Ferrer are also safely through.
For CRI, I'm Tu Yun at Wimbledon.
Federer takes on Sergiy Stakhovsky in the second round at Wimbledon
In upcoming action at Wimbledon.
third seeded Roger Federer takes on Sergiy Stak/hovsky of Ukraine in the second round.
Around the same time, French number one Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will meet Latvian Ernests Gulbis.
And British number one Andy Murray will play Lu Yen-Hsun of Chinese Taipei for a third round berth.
The second seed had one of the hardest defeats of his career when he had a shock defeat to Lu in the first round of the Beijing Olympics five years ago.
This time at Wimbledon, Lu beat British number two James Ward over four sets to set up the second round clash against Murray.
The 29-year-old Lu is a former world number 33 and Wimbledon quarter-finalist.
Over on the women's draw, Second seed Victoria Azarenka will open play against Italy's Flavia Pennetta.
While third seeded Maria Sharapova faces Portugal's Michelle Larcher de Briton for her third round ticket.
Beijing Guo'an hosts Luneng at the workers' stadium in 14th round
In football,
Seven games are now in action in the Chinese Super League.
Sixth-placed Liaoning Whowin are hosting cross-province rival Dalian Aerbin.
Twelfth seated Shanghai Shenhua are currently in Changchun, who are seated at the bottom of the 16-team-league.
Beijing Guo'an are currently heavy-lifting at home against second-placed Shandong Luneng.
Shandong leads Beijing 10 points from 13 rounds.
Elsewhere, Tianjin Teda are in Guangzhou against Fuli.
Guizhou Renhe are playing host against Hangzhou Greencity.
Last year's runner-up Jiangsu Sainty are entertaining Qingdao, while Shanghai Shenxin are trying to extend their lead over Wuhan Zhuo'er.
Earlier, defending champions Guangzhou Evergrande beat Shanghai SIPG 1-0 and had their claim on the league title only middle way through the season.
Guangzhou is now leading second placed Shangdong Luneng 9 points from 14 games.
Ancelotti takes Real reins
In European football, Real Madrid has appointed Italian Carlo Ancelotti as its new coach on a three-year contract.
The former Paris Saint-Germain manager will replace Jose Mourinho who left at the end of last season to join Chelsea.
Ancelotti had asked to leave PSG for Real after Mourinho's departure but the deal was reportedly held up until the French champion found a replacement.
PSG announced it had agreed a two-year deal with former France coach Laurent Blanc at the same time as Real made public its agreement with Ancelotti.
As part of the agreement, Real will pay PSG around 4-million euros in compensation for the year's contract Ancelotti still had left with the French club.
Ancelotti has helped PSG to win its first French Ligue 1 title in 19 years.
The club also reached the quarter-final of the Champions League, where they lost to Barcelona on the away goals rule.
NBA to play regular-season games in London, Mexico City
In basketball,
the NBA announced it had scheduled a couple of 2013-14 regular-season games in Mexico City and London.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are to play the San Antonio Spurs in Mexico City on December 4th while the Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets are scheduled for a January 16th match in London.
It is the first time the league has scheduled more than one regular-season game outside the United States and Canada in the same season.
The NBA earlier announced that pre-season games this year would be played in Brazil, China, England, the Philippines, Spain, Taiwan and Turkey.
Also in the NBA,
The Denver Nuggets have named Brian Shaw as head coach, to replace George Karl, who was fired this month, despite being named NBA Coach of the Year.
Shaw was an assistant the past two seasons with the Indiana Pacers, who reached the 2013 Eastern Conference finals, where they lost to eventual NBA champions Miami Heat.
Shaw was also an assistant coach for seven years with the Los Angeles Lakers, who won two NBA titles during that time.
Entertainment
Sequel to World War Z in Development
A sequel for the new Brad Pitt zombie adventure World War Z is already in development.
This announcement comes after the film's healthy opening weekend worldwide gross of 111-million US dollars.
Though the film failed to beat out the animated film Monster's University for the top spot in the US box office the opening was still strong enough to recoup well over half of its 190-million dollar production budget.
Paramount Studios initially planned on making a trilogy for the film adaptation of the popular book but put further sequels on hold after major production delays and script problems.
Now however with the strong opening they plan on developing at least one sequel with the possibility of more to follow.
Actor Brad Pitt is also celebrating the new film's gigantic opening as it is the biggest debut of the actor's career.
Henry Cavill Hope Justice League Film Does Not Happen Soon
Superman actor Henry Cavill had admitted he hopes a Justice League movie won't happen right away.
The Justice League is a group of superheroes including Superman, Batman, and Wonderwoman who assemble much like the Avengers.
However, Cavill points out the heroes in DC Comics' Justice League are almost god-like and that any story set in a real world environment would need to be crafted very carefully.
No definitive word yet on whether a Justice League film will even happen.
Though there are hints sprinkled throughout the new Man of Steel film including mentions of Bruce Wayne, and Supergirl whether an ensemble film will be made remains to be seen.
Man of Steel has so far pulled in 402-million US dollars worldwide.
Marvel and Disney Announce New Untitled Films
Marvel and Disney are teasing fans worldwide with the announcement of a new 2016 release date for an untitled film.
This new mystery film joins the announcement the studios made last week regarding 2 other untitled films appearing in 2016 and 2017.
Marvel is the studio responsible for mega-hit films such as the Avengers, Iron Man, and Thor franchises.
The studio plans to release two movies per year with Thor: The Dark World scheduled to hit theaters this winter following up Iron Man 3's earlier release.
For 2014, audiences will be treated to Captain America: The Winter Soldier in spring and space epic Guardians of the Galaxy featuring John C. Reilly and Lee Pace.
2015 will see the arrival of Joss Whedon's second Avengers film with Ant-Man appearing in the winter.
Following that will be the mystery films in 2016 and 2017.
Kanye West Tops Billboard Charts
Controversial rapper Kanye West is sitting pretty at the number 1 spot on the Billboard top 200 charts with the release of his new album Yeezus.
This is the fifth time the rapper has earned a number one album in America.
West recently became a father with Hollywood starlet Kim Kardashian who gave birth to a baby girl they have dubbed North.
Kardashian recently sent fake photos of the baby girl to a group of friends to see if any would try to sell the pics to the press.
Apparently one of them did.
Following Kanye West at number 2 is J Cole's 'Born Sinner' with Mac Miller's 'Watching Movies with the Sound Off' album claiming the third spot.
Justin Timberlake's 20/20 Experience is still in the top ten at number 8 after 13-weeks on the chart.
That’s it for this edition of the BJH,
A quick recap of the headlines BEFORE WE GO
Australia's former leader Kevin Rudd ousts Prime Minister Julia Gillard in leadership vote.
Astronauts onboard China's Shenzhou-10 spacecraft land safely back on earth.
Four Chinese nationals killed in Papua New Guinea.
Business, China’s Central bank injects liquidity to lenders.
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