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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
The Beijing Hour
Evening Edition
Thursday, August 22, 2013.
Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
Coming up on our program this evening.
Typhoon Trami has been downgraded to a tropical storm after making landfall this morning, while flooding has forced thousands from their homes in Heilongjiang.
New Zealand's foreign minister has arrived here in China to try to shore up ties amid concerns about dairy exports from his country.
The UN Security Council says it wants clarity in connection with an alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria.
In Business, new analysis is suggesting a sharp rebound in Chinese manufacturing this month.
In sports, the forthcoming US Open is going to be without one of its main compeditors on the women's draw.
In entertainment, Pixar's Monster's University is set to hit mainland theatres tomorrow.
Weather
Beijing will be overcast tonight with a low of 22 degrees Celsius. Tomorrow sunny with a high temperature of 32.
Meanwhile Shanghai will have showers tonight, with a low of 28, cloudy tomorrow, with a high of 34.
Lhasa will have showers tonight, 10 degrees the low, cloudy tomorrow with a high of 23.
Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia.
Islamabad, overcast, with a high of 33.
Kabul, sunny, 31.
Over in Australia
Sydney, overcast, highs of 19.
Canberra, rainy, 12.
Brisbane, sunny, 23.
And finally, Perth will be sunny with a high of 23.
Top News
Trami downgraded to tropical storm after landfall in China
The latest Typhoon to hit China is now rolling its way into Jiangxi.
Trami, which hit coastal Fujian this morning, has since been downgraded to a tropical storm as it makes its way further inland.
The storm hit just north of Putian in Fujian early this morning with winds of over 125-kilometers per hour.
However, Trami died down significantly in the prevailing hours as it moved inland.
So far no casualties have been reported.
Damage reports are so-far unavailable.
However, officials in Fujian did take significant precautions ahead of the storm, particularly in the wake of the damage caused by Typhoon Utor.
Utor hit southern China last week, leaving 70 dead and 18-others listed as missing.
Heilong river dike bursts, residents evacuated
A dyke burst along the Heilong River in northeast China, forcing an evacuation early this morning.
A 20-meter section of the dyke broke free along the community of Chaibaotun, forcing around 7-thousand people to flee to safety.
So far no casualties have been reported.
Heilongjiang has been seeing some of its worst flooding in decades.
The flooding has already wiped out around 85-hundred homes in the province.
Authorities in Heilongjiang say the Heilong River itself is going to continue to rise, and is putting some 140 villages along its shores at risk.
The river which divides China and Russia has seen its highest water levels ever recorded.
New Zealand-China ties remain strong through food safety issues: New Zealand FM
New Zealand's foreign minister is here in China to try to assure ties between the two countries.
Murray McCully has met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and State Councillor Yang Jiechi.
Food safety concerns have been one of the main talking points.
McCully has told reporters here in Beijing New Zealand dairy producer Fonterra has let every New Zealander down.
"When Fonterra failed to meet the expectations of their customers, they let themselves down, they let their customers down, but they also let down every New Zealander, because this is an export trade that is part of our international brand."
For his part, State Councillor Yang Jiechi says its the Chinese government's hope the New Zealand side will appropriately handle food safety issues to ensure Chinese consumers' interests.
Fonterra has come under heavy scrutiny after it was revealed some of its products shipped here to China could have contained a potentially deadly bacteria.
While no one has been sickened by any of Fonterra's products, the contamination scare has created a lot of media discussion here in China about the safety of milk products from abroad.
UNSC urges clarity on alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria
The UN Security Council says it needs "clarity" about the latest alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria.
The current president of the UN Security Council says "the situation has to be followed carefully."
Syrian rebel activists claim the Syrian government deployed chemical weapons in a hard-fought district in the suburbs of the capital Damascus, leaving over 11-hundred people dead.
Khaled Saleh is with the exiled Syrian National Coalition.
"As of now, as we speak now, we have 1188 people killed, of those over a hundred little children due to the use of chemical weapons. The regime at the same time is starting to push its ground forces to enter to these areas, the situation is extremely dire."
Khaled Saleh contends only the Syrian government is capable of using chemical weapons.
He's demanding U.N. inspectors be dispatched to the region.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is calling for a thorough and prompt investigation into the allegations.
The Syrian government is denying the allegation, calling the reports of a chemical weapon attack a "dirty" media war.
Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi.
"The military operation that is taking place on the ground is a successful one and our forces are making progress on all sides facing the armed groups. What has forced them to fabricate this was their knowing that it is the first day of the mission and this fabrication was prepared in advance."
In wake of the alleged killings, the US, Britain and France have all expressed grave concern and have formally requested the UN Security Council investigate the matter.
The alleged chemical weapons attack comes as UN inspectors tour other sites in Syria where alleged chemical weapons attacks have taken place.
Egypt arrests Muslim Brotherhood spokesperson
Egyptian police have arrested the spokesperson for the Muslim Brotherhood.
It's being reported Ahmed Aaref has been arrested in his father-in-law's apartment in the Nasr City district of Cairo.
The location of the arrest is near one of the sites where supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi had been staging their sit-in, which was eventually broken up by police earlier this month.
Aaref is being held in the same facility as Brotherhood top leader Mohamed Badie is being held.
The heavily guarded prison is also holding a number of other leading Brotherhood figures.
Meanwhile, the European Union has decided to suspend the export of weapons and other security items to Egypt in the wake of what's been taking place in the country.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
"Member states have agreed to suspend export licences to Egypt of any equipment used for internal repression, and to reassess their export licences covered by the EU common position."
The EU is maintaining its aid programs.
The EU is Egypt's biggest trading partner and a major source of aid, loans and tourists.
The EU and its member states last year pledged a combined 5 billion euros in loans and aid for Egypt.
Still in Egypt, a court in Cairo has ordered deposed former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak can be moved from prison.
However, it's being reported the 85-year old will be placed under house arrest, rather than being freed outright.
Mubarak is still awaiting a retrial in connection with the killing of protesters in 2011 which eventually led to his ouster.
However, all other charges against him have been dismissed.
DPRK agrees to hold family reunion contact in Panmunjom
North Korea has accepted working-level talks with South Korea about the potential restart of family reunions.
Red Cross delegates from both sides are set to sit down to discuss the possibility of holding family reunions again tomorrow at the Panmunjom truce village along the border.
North Korea had originally wanted the talks to be held at the Mount Kumgang resort.
However, South Korea rejected that notion, saying it doesn't want to link the potential reopening of that tourist facility to the issue of family reunions.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye has been pressing to have family reunions restarted for this year's Chuseok Festival, which falls on September 19th this year.
Family reunions have been suspended since 2010 after tensions on the Korean peninsula flared up.
The end of the fighting in the Korean War saw thousands of Korean families separated by the signing of the armistice which re-divided the peninsula after 3-years of fighting.
South Korean Businessmen visit Kaesong Industrial Complex after agreement to reopen
South Korean Business owners have been allowed to visit the Kaesong Industrial complex just over the border in North Korea.
Along with a collection of government officials, the business owners traveled across the border in order to inspect the facilities ahead of the potential restart of the complex.
Lee Suk-ja is the President of Mansun Corporation, which manufactures clothes at Kaesong.
He says he fears the 4-month shutdown of the complex has driven away investors and buyers.
"Even if the door is open, there is work being done in other countries. Thus, we are looking forward to next year. But even then there will be a lot of the work done in other countries as well. That is our biggest worry; whether buyers will return to Kaesong. That is the biggest problem."
North and South Korea reached an agreement earlier this month to restart work at the site.
However, an exact date for the facility to reopen hasn't been made public.
North Korea effectively shut down the facility amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula in April by withdrawing the 54-thousand North Koreans who work at the site.
Japan's nuclear envoy in Seoul to discuss denuk of the Korean peninsula
Japan's nuclear envoy Junichi Ihara has gone on record saying Tokyo wants to continue to working closely with Seoul towards the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
Japan's chief envoy to the six-party talks has made the comments while meeting with his South Korean counterpart in Seoul to discuss the potential of resuming talks with North Korea.
"We have already achieved lots of good cooperation and results, so I really want to continue to work with you so that we can finally attain the ultimate objective of denuclearization of the Korean peninsula."
The six-party talks, which involving the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, Russia and host China, collapsed in 2008 when the North walked out.
The United States is on-record saying any talks first have to involve action by the North to show it is serious about moving toward disarmament.
US soldier sentenced to 35 years in prison for leaking classified documents
The US soldier convicted of leaking secret government documents to Wikileaks has been sentenced to upto 35-years in prison.
25-year-old Bradley Manning will be eligible for parole in 8-years.
Manning was convicted in July of 20 charges, including espionage.
In a statement read out after the sentencing, Manning says he had acted "out of love of country".
In 2010, Manning turned over more than 700-thousand classified files, battlefield videos and diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks.
Lisa Windsor is a former US military lawyer.
"There's nothing glorified in what he did, releasing classified information just wantonly the way he did. That could have had a horrendous adverse effect on national security and could have cost service members' lives, and he really didn't consider that."
However, Manning was acquitted of the most serious charge, aiding the enemy, which carried the potential life in prison without parole.
Bus falls into ravine in Malaysia, killing 37
Authorities in Malaysia have confirmed that one Chinese national was onboard a tourist bus in Malaysia which plunged over a ravine, killing 37 people Wednesday.
The tourist bus plunged down a 60-meter ravine while on its way back from a popular tourist resort near the capital, Kuala Lumpur.
Most onboard the bus were Malaysians.
However, there was at least one Chinese national on the bus, the fate of whom remains unclear.
16 people did manage to survive the harrowing crash.
However, many of the survivors are said to be in critical condition.
The cause of the crash remains unclear, though it's believed the driver lost control while on his way down from Genting Highlands, which is a popular tourist resort and home to Malaysia's only casino.
Chinese tourists in the eyes of European tour guides
Anchor:
The growing number of recent media reports of inappropriate behavior by Chinese tourists abroad has been sparking widespread discussion about how Chinese tourists carry themselves overseas.
As such, we're going to bring you a series of reports on how foreign tour guides view Chinese tourists.
First, let's hear from some European tour guides.
CRI's Ding Lulu has more.
Reporter:
Photographs of Chinese tourists dipping their feet into the fountain water in front of the Louvre Museum have recently triggered debate among netizens.
Some people consider this as vulgar behavior, while others argue that some media are too critical of Chinese people and have overstated the impolite nature of their behavior.
Jean Louis is a member of staff at the Paris Tourist Office.
"It is quite common to see tourists putting their feet into the fountain at the Louvre, just because of the summer heat. Many French people like to play in the water of the fountains. Such behavior is usually tolerated unless tourists damage fountain equipment. I think most Chinese tourists in France have good manners and respect local customs."
Italy also boasts a profound history and culture, and is home to many famous museums. Each year it never fails to attract a large number of tourists to the country.
It has been noted that the behavior of most Chinese tourists has greatly improved there. They seldom spit or speak in loud voices in public.
It has also been observed that the uncivilized behaviors displayed by some Chinese tourists are due to lack of understanding of western culture and the artistic charm of the exhibits.
Magne, director of Musei Capitolini in Italy, the oldest museum in the world, puts forward his suggestions.
"I suggest that visitors do some homework before coming to the museum. For example, there are many brochures on our museum, and almost all museums have multilingual websites. By doing this, visitors can gain a better knowledge of the exhibits and museum rules before coming here."
Meng Xinjie is the product manager at Caesar International Travel Service in China.
"I have two suggestions for visitors to museums and galleries. One is to speak in low voices so as to avoid disturbing others. The other is that tourists behave in a constrained manner. In places such as the Louvre Museum, many ancient artifacts, sculptures and paintings are open to public, but visitors are not supposed to touch them. I hope that all Chinese tourists can pay attention to that."
Meng adds that in recent years the manners of Chinese tourists have greatly improved. However, compared to tourists from other countries, there is still room for improvement.
For CRI, I'm Ding Lulu.
Chinese buyers snap up 27 pct of new houses on London property market
New stats from a local real estate agency are suggesting Chinese buyers are responsible for 27-percent of all newly-built home purchases in central London last year.
The same stats also show that through the first half of this year, home buyers from the mainland have reportedly spent a total of 170 billion British pounds in real estate deals in the UK capital.
Ice Wang is the head of Winkworth Estate Agents' China desk.
"Some buy houses because their children have come to the country to study, some are planning to emigrate to the UK, while some simply purchase property for investment purposes as rents are high and home prices are rising steadily in London."
The analysis is also suggesting Asian buyers, from China in particular, have helped boost the local construction industry in London.
However, at the same time, they say Chinese interest in London's real estate sector has also been pushing up home prices.
Biz Reports
Asian Stock
Asian stocks came off early lows this Thursday after a surprise improvement in Chinese manufacturing helped cheer investors up after the minutes of the Federal Reserve's last meeting signaled the United States' central bank is on course to pare down its bond purchase program on schedule this year.
Here in China,
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended the day down 0.3-percent.
Shenzhen Component Index advanced 0.1 percent.
Deutsche Bank has lifted its forecast for China's economic growth in the second half to 7.7 percent from 7.6 percent after the latest HSBC PMI data, which we'll outline in just a few moments.
Coal and nonferrous sectors led Thursday's declines.
The printing and packaging sector, media and entertainment were among the biggest gainers.
Hong Kong stocks reversed recent losses to end higher on Thursday.
The Hang Seng rose 0.4 percent.
PetroChina, the nation's biggest oil refiner, increased 1 percent.
Sinopec, the biggest oil producer, edged up 0.5 percent.
Bucking the trend, developers lost ground, with SHK Properties falling 0.3 percent.
Cheung Kong Holding, a powerful HK-based developer controlled by billionaire Li Ka-shing, slid 0.7 percent.
However, most other regional markets cut their sharp early losses after the Chinese data, but still ended up in the red.
Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.4 percent.
South Korea's Kospi dropped 1 percent
Singapore's Straits Times closed down 0.6 percent.
and Australia's ASX 200 closed 0.5 percent lower.
HSBC August Flash China Manufacturing PMI 50.1, Four-Month High
Manufacturing activity here in China expanded to a four month high in August.
The HSBC Flash Purchasing Manufacturing Index has come out ahead of market expectations, registering at 50.1 on the back of improved new business output.
HSBC's revised PMI reading for July was at 47.7, which was an 11 month low.
Any reading below 50 indicates contraction.
The output subindex has hit a three-month high this month.
New orders have increased.
However, the new-export order subindex has fallen at a faster pace than the previous month.
The upbeat preliminary PMI figure this month, combined with the strong industrial output and export growth in July, is leading some to suggest China's economic downturn may have bottomed out in the second quarter.
China vets brokerages' computer systems after $3.8 billion buy error
Computer systems in more than 110 brokerages here in China are coming under government scrutiny after Everbright Securities' mass buy orders last week wreaked havoc on the Chinese stock market.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission has decided to expand its investigation into stock trading systems here in China.
The move comes after the securities regulator wrapped up a probe into a small Shanghai-based firm that created the high-frequency trading software used by Everbright.
The CSRC is trying to determine whether design flaws in the trading platform caused Everbright's trading glitch on August 16th.
Everbright claims a glitch in its software sent out buy orders worth some 23-billion yuan.
This sent the Shanghai stock exchange on a rollercoaster ride, with the index spiking over 5-percent in intra-day trading before the error was figured out.
The index then shot back down afterward, potentially costing investors millions of yuan.
Everbright shares have lost 17.6 percent since August 16th.
China Everbright Securities president resigns
Trading of China Everbright Securities was suspended this afternoon.
Trading will resume tomorrow morning.
This comes after the brokerage announced its replacing current president Xu Haoming with temporary president Yuan Changqing.
The company has also suspended the head of proprietary trading.
This comes in the wake of last week's trading glitch.
Private Capital Poised to Tap into Banking Sector
Anchor:
It's being reported a number of new banks may potentially be up for approvals to enter the impending start of private banking here in China.
On top of "Sunan" bank, which is being financed by retail giant Suning, there are a number of other candidates said to be up for approval.
They are said to include Shenyang Ruifeng Bank in Liaoning, Xi'an Great Wall Bank in Shaanxi, Guangdong Nanhua Bank and Shenzhen Dongyue Bank.
The Chinese authorities have been slowly working toward the establishment of privately-held banks for the better part of a year.
For more on this, CRI's Rebecca Hume spoke earlier with Cao Can, CRI's financial commentator.
…
That's Cao Can, CRI's financial commentator, speaking with CRI's Rebecca Hume.
Shanghai Considers Expansion of Free Trade Zone Pilot
Authorities in Shanghai are poised to widen the testing ground of its yet to operate Free Trade Zone.
The deputy mayor of Shanghai says the local regulatory agency is considering expanding the free trade zone into the Lingang area.
Lingang New City is located in the Pudong New Area.
It has already been receiving favorable policies from the local government.
The much-anticipated Shanghai Free Trade Zone is scheduled to start in October.
The state council has given its formal approval to the FTZ today.
Fed minutes provide no clear timing of stimulus tapering
Minutes of the U.S Federal Reserve's July policy meeting haven't provided a clear timing of how and when the Fed plans to taper its current stimulus program.
The Minutes appear to show top officials from the Fed remained divided on the timing of scaling back its bond-buying program.
A few members have emphasized the importance of evaluating additional information on the economy before deciding on any changes to the pace of the asset purchase program.
At the same time, a few others are suggesting it might soon be time to slow things down.
The Federal Open Market Committee is the Fed's policy setting arm.
Minutes for each regularly scheduled meeting of the Committee are usually made available after a three-week lag.
Investors are widely expecting the Fed will initiate its tapering as early as next month.
Euro zone private sector growth beats forecasts in July: PMIs
Business activity across the euro zone has picked up at a faster pace in July.
Markit's Flash Composite PMI has hit 51.7, making it the highest reading since June of 2011.
The PMI of the previous month was at 50.5.
Market expectations had been projecting the reading to come at 50.9 in July.
Meanwhile, growth returned to the 17-nation bloc's service sector.
The service's PMI has risen above the 50 mark for the first time this year, coming in at 51.
The reading was 49.8 in June.
Headline News
Trami downgraded to tropical storm after landfall in China
The latest Typhoon to hit China is now rolling its way into Jiangxi.
Trami, which hit coastal Fujian this morning, has since been downgraded to a tropical storm as it makes its way further inland.
The storm hit just north of Putian in Fujian early this morning with winds of over 125-kilometers per hour.
However, Trami died down significantly in the prevailing hours as it moved inland.
So far no casualties have been reported.
China slams McCain's remarks on Diaoyu Islands
The Chinese government is calling on a "relevant U.S. lawmaker" to stop making irresponsible remarks about the Diaoyu Islands.
The statement follows comments by U.S. Senator John McCain, who says China is violating Japan's fundamental right to the islands.
The Chinese foreign ministry says US lawmakers should avoid making regional situations more complicated.
Reports out of Japan are quoting John McCain as describing the Diaoyu islands as "Japanese territory."
He's also told reporters in Tokyo that nations feeling increasingly threatened by China's maritime presence "need to act in closer coordination with each other."
UNSC underlines need for "clarity" on alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria
The UN Security Council says it needs "clarity" about the latest alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria.
The current president of the UN Security Council says "the situation has to be followed carefully."
Syrian rebel activists claim the Syrian government deployed chemical weapons in a hard-fought district in the suburbs of the capital Damascus, leaving over 11-hundred people dead.
The Syrian government is denying the allegation.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is calling for a thorough and prompt investigation into the allegations.
The alleged chemical weapons attack comes as UN inspectors tour other sites in Syria where alleged chemical weapons attacks have taken place.
Mugabe sworn in for another five years as Zimbabwean president
Zimbabwe's veteran leader Robert Mugabe has been sworn in for another presidential term.
The 89-year old's swearing-in follows a court ruling on Tuesday affirming that Mugabe has been duly elected in the July 31 vote.
Mugabe's main rival, outgoing Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, had been claiming widespread vote rigging, despite the largely peaceful electoral process.
Thursday has been declared a national holiday in Zimbabwe.
China Everbright Securities president resigns
Trading of China Everbright Securities was suspended this afternoon.
Trading will resume tomorrow morning.
This comes after the brokerage announced its replacing current president Xu Haoming with temporary president Yuan Changqing.
The company has also suspended the head of proprietary trading.
This comes in the wake of last week's trading glitch.
Newspaper Picks
China Daily
"Universities encourage new students to go it alone"
With an eye to increasing college students' independence and improving their social skills, Chinese universities are encouraging freshmen to enroll by themselves without their parents' help.
It used to be quite a scene when families accompanied their children to college enrollment in China.
Vehicles packed with luggage usually filled campuses, while parents carrying bags would follow their children everywhere to help them handle procedures and get them settled in at dormitories.
However, it was a different scene at Tsinghua University on Wednesday, when more than 3,000 freshmen reported to school and finished all the procedures by themselves.
A yellow line drawn across the entrance of the school arena separated parents from their children, who entered the gym alone with their documentation.
Senior schoolmates helped new students transfer their baggage and explore the campus.
The move, launched by Tsinghua University last year, is expected to improve young Chinese people's self-reliance and independent spirit at a crucial stage of life.
Australia Network News
"Flu vaccine reduces heart attack risk, UNSW study finds"
An Australian study has found the flu vaccine can almost halve the chances of a heart attack for middle-aged people showing signs of heart disease.
Researchers found the link after examining more than 500 patients.
They said the flu vaccine reduces the risk of heart attack. It has a protective effect of (a) 45% reduction of the risk of heart attack.
Professor MacIntrye says the findings add weight to arguments that the flu vaccine should be recommended for people over the age of 50, who are generally at a higher risk of suffering a heart attack.
Professor Mcintyre says the vaccine is significantly underused by those aged 50 to 64, and there would be much higher rates if the jab was recommended for everyone.
AFP
"Canada uses drones to drive away geese"
Canada's capital has ordered drone strikes to rid a popular Ottawa beach of pesky geese that dirty the waters with fecal matter.
The hexacopter takes off every morning at dawn and chases away the waterfowl sullying the Ottawa River near Petrie Island park on the city's east side.
The city has tried using trained dogs, noise blasts, animal decoys and countless other means to try to shoo the geese away, but nothing worked. City staff a few years ago even tried spraying a foul-smelling chemical but the geese eventually got used to the smell.
Though majestic and beautiful birds, Canada geese drop a lot of dung that raises e-coli levels in the river, creating a health hazard for bathers. Last year, the Petrie Island beach had to be closed for 13 days.
Since deploying the drones in July, the number of geese in the area has dropped from hundreds to a few dozen, and the beach has not been shut once.
Special Reports
Additive problems in lime-preserved egg manufacturing process
Anchor:
A new round of food safety checks is underway here in China after reports emerged suggesting a number of egg-processing plants have been using potentially-toxic copper sulphate to help pickle lime-preserved duck eggs.
CRI's Li Dong has more details.
Reporter:
Generally, preserved eggs, a pungent appetizer usually served with pickled ginger or cooked in congee, become edible after duck eggs are preserved using an alkali, salt and clay mixture for some two months.
But with copper sulfate, the preservation stage will be halved. There are altogether more than 2,000 enterprises nationwide which produce thousand-year eggs.
This is a mature business, but Ma Meihu, deputy director of the Chinese Association of Animal Product Processing says the national standard for preserved eggs was created a long time ago and simply cannot keep up with today's market and technology.
"The current national standard was issued in 1988. That's more than 20 years ago. Plus, with the upgrading of the egg processing technique, it's necessary to make a new national standard to examine the manufacturing process."
Food grade copper sulphate can substitute lead oxide which is widely used in traditional preserved egg processing, creating lead frees final products. But some experts say the enterprises should use proved food grade additives rather than industrial grade additives, which pose uncertain risks.
Assistant researcher at the China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment Zhong Kai says examining only the final food products is not the best option for reducing the risks of food safety.
He adds that the focus of food inspections should be on the processing procedure rather than the final product.
"Inspection of the manufacturing process should be the core of food safety management. I agree with other experts when they claim that good food products are not the result of inspection processes but rather manufacturing. If all sections of the food manufacturing processes are under supervision, the risk to food safety will be minimal."
China has seen multiple food safety scandals in recent years.
Recent scandals involving adulterated mutton, lime-preserved eggs processed with copper sulphate, and ginger grown with highly toxic pesticides, have aggravated public concerns over food safety.
For CRI, I am Li Dong.
Sports
Tennis roundup
In tennis..
We start with some surprising news off the courts...
Russian Maria Sharapova has pulled out of the U.S. Open on Wednesday because of a right shoulder injury.
Sharapova has issued a statement on-line, saying despite her best efforts, she just couldn't recover in time from Wimbledon to take part in next week's event in Flushing Meadows.
Sharapova's departure from the tournament means Agnieszka Radwanksa will take over as the 3rd seed at the tournament.
All the other players behind her move up a spot, meaning Li Na will now be seeded 5th.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova becomes the tournament's 32nd and final seed.
Action is heating up in the qualifiers for the US Open.
China's Duan Yingying is through to the 2nd round after hammering 18-year old American Jan Abaza 6-1, 6-love.
She's now set to take on An-Sophie Mestach from Belgium in the 2nd qualifying round.
Zhang Shuai is also through in the women's singles qualifying.
The 24-year old from Tianjin rolled past France's Julie Coin 6-3, 6-2.
She's set to take on American Coco Vandeweghe in round 2 later on tonight.
Chan Yung-jan from Taiwan has made it through to round 2 as well, after getting past Ukranian Maria Zanevska 7-6, 6-4.
However, Zhang Saisai's US Open hopes are over.
She was ousted by Israeli Julia Glusko 6-3, 6-4.
In the Men's single's qualifying.
Wuhan native Wu Di is through to the next round after getting past France's Josselin Ouanna 7-5, 6-1.
He's set to take on Slovak Andrej Martin in round 2 later on this evening.
Zhang Ze's US Open is over.
He went down in a hard-fought 3-set match against Austria's Martin Fisher 6-3, 3-6, 7-6.
Tiger Woods backs out of pro-am ahead of Barclay's
In Golf,
This week's PGA stop is in New Jersey at The Barclays.
Ahead of the event at Liberty National, Tiger Woods pulled out of the pro-am, citing soreness in his back and neck.
Woods did walk the course during the pro-am, and did chip and putt.
However, he says he didn't want to push it ahead of the tournament, which gets underway later on this Thursday.
The Barclays includes the 123 top men's golfers in the PGA tour's point standings.
Meanwhile, the LPGA is making a stop in Canada at the CN Canadian Women's Open.
This year the event is being held in the northern Canadian city of Edmonton.
South Korean phenom Lydia Ko is the defending champion.
She stunned the women's golf world last year by winning the event in Vancouver as a 15-year old.
Day 2 of the latest test at The Ashes is underway
Day 2 of the fifth test of The Ashes cricket competition between England and Australia is underway at the Kensington Oval.
Currently Australia is at 307-4, and is averaging 89.5 per over.
England has yet to bat.
While England has already won this year's competition, the cricket world is watching to see if Australia can recover from its poor beginning to give the side a bit of momentum heading into their next test later on this year.
European Football roundup
In football action on the pitch...
From the European Champions League,
It was Arsenal out-classing Fenerbache on the road, blanking the Turkish club 3-nil.
Kieran Gibbs, Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud all scored in the 2nd half to help quiet the crowd in Istanbul.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
"Technical quality I think was very important tonight. The fact that we can go away and keep position of the ball. Certainly that was very, very important. And the quality of midfield, as you underline, the quality of our midfield was vital tonight."
The victory has also tamped down early-season anger from their fans, after The Gunners dropped their opening match last weekend in the English Premier League, 3-1 at home to Aston Villa.
In other Champions League action,
It was Greek side PAOK holding Shalke 04 to a 1-1 draw at home in Germany.
It was Legia Warsaw earning a 1-1 draw on the road against Steaua Bucharest.
It was Switzerland's FC Basel doubling up on Hungarian club Ludogorets 4-2.
And it was Austria Wien surprising Dyanamo Zagreb 2-nil in an impressive away win.
Meanwhile, in the Spanish Super Cup, it was Neymar scoring his first goal for Barcelona, helping his new clup to a 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid.
The 21-year-old Neymar joined the Spanish champions from Brazilian club Santos for 57 million euros in June, the eighth most expensive signing in football history.
At the same time, Lionel Messi left the game after the first half with a thigh injury.
The club says he left the game as a precaution after taking a knock in the back of his left leg.
Brazil head coach picks squad for friendlies with Australia and Portugal
In football...
Brazilian head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has announced his squad ahead of his team's upcoming friendlies with Australia and Portugal.
The head coach has left Ronaldinho and Kaka off the team.
"The change of game style of Neymar or of other athletes will always be observed and always followed by us the technical staff and the observations and contacts will continue to be done as usual."
World Cup veteran and right back Maicon is back in the squad alongside Chelsea midfielder Ramires.
Scolari has also picked goalkeeper Julio Cesar, even though the player hasn't participated in an official match since the Confederations Cup.
Brazil will face Australia on September 7th in Brasilia.
The team will then travel to Boston to face Portugal, three days later.
The last time Brazil played an international match, they lost 1-0 to Switzerland.
That result halted Brazil's six-match winning streak and ended their 11-match unbeaten run.
FIFA Secretary General hopes for changes in World Cup bid process
FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke says that he hopes to see changes in the World Cup bid process.
The comments are in response to a spate of challenges in organising next year's tournament in Brazil.
Valcke says he'd like to see congressional approval of the bid packages put forward by countries hoping to host the World Cup.
"I think that what we could add in the bid document is that the highest representation of the country should vote on the bid before the bid is submitted to FIFA. Meaning that, before a bid is coming to FIFA from Brazil, there could have been a vote and that's maybe what we have to push for the future at the Congress level. Without the necessity of a unanimous decision, but at least you have a majority supporting the bid."
The World Cup in Brazil has come under fire, with many protesters complaining that billions have been invested in state-of-the-art stadiums while basic public services like education and health care languish.
Entertainment
Monsters University comes to China
After enjoying animation box office records in Taiwan and Hong Kong, Monsters University will be hitting Chinese cinemas as of tomorrow!
Pixar and Disney's prequel to Monsters Inc will follow Sulley and Mike during their college adventures.
John Goodman and Billy Crystal return to their roles as the lovable scaremongers.
The pair are joined by screen legend Steve Buscemi as Randy and Joel Murray, as the founder of the Oozma Kappa fraternity.
Directed by master animator Dan Scanlon, the film has already grossed over 650 million US dollars world wide and is sure to repeat its success here.
The World's End premieres in LA
The stars of Edgar Wright's apocalyptic comedy "The World's End" lit up LA last night with the film's US premiere.
The film follows the wildly successful "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz" to round up Wright's trilogy of cross-genre projects.
"World's End" tells the story of high school friends whose 20 year reunion turns into a battle for the survival of humankind.
An epic pub crawl complete with lots of beer chugging forms the launch pad of the groups' adventures.
Co-writer, star and non-drinker Simon Pegg found filming the drinking scenes a peculiar experience.
"It was funny. It was kind of strange. We were drinking a very clever blend of water and burned sugar and cream soda -- which meant that we could drink a lot of it. It was just water, basically. But when you've got that amber glass in your hand, the Pavlovic thing happens. You think oh, I'm starting to get drunk."
Nick Frost, Peg's co-star in both "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz" also returns for the movie.
The pair are joined by Bond Girl Rosamund Pike, who feels lucky to feature in the final installment of the trilogy.
"I get to waltz in the final one and bask in all the admiration that's come because they've done fantastic work over ten years. So it feels like I'm a bit of a freeloader in some ways."
Like Wright's previous two films, "The World's End" has garnered warm praise for its quick wit.
The film will be in cinemas across the US from tomorrow.
MTV Video Music Awards preview
The build up is on for the MTV Video Music Awards, one of the biggest nights in the music industry calendar.
To add a cherry atop an already impressive line up, Drake has just been confirmed as one of the performers at the event.
The rapper will be joining Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus and Bruno Mars.
VMA royalty Kanye West will also be taking to with fresh material from his latest album "Yeezus".
Joining the star-encrusted list is Justin Timberlake, whose performance has garnered intense speculation.
The actor and singer is rumoured to be planning a special reunion performance with former band N*SYNC.
Fingers crossed on that one!
The MTV Video Music Awards will be setting New York City's Barclay Centre alight this Sunday evening local time.
One Direction's Zayn Malik gets engaged
Something to end many teenage dreams.
One Direction's Zayn Malik and Little Mix's Perrie Edwards have got engaged.
The news comes after Edwards was spotted wearing a ring at the world premiere of One Direction's documentary "This is Us" earlier in the week.
Edward's mother subsequently confirmed to the press that the two were engaged last Sunday, adding that she finds it "just fabulous".
Unfortunately this news might not be as welcome to Malik's legion of female admirers.
Malik and Edwards met on the 8th series of the UK Xfactor, which was won by Edward's girlband Little Mix.
Whilst their relationship has weathered many media storms, the two are reportedly "stronger than ever".
Malik recently got a tattoo of a cartoon picture of Edwards inked on his arm.
One Direction's film "This is Us" hits UK cinemas on 29th August.
Benedict Cumberbatch drops out of Crimson Peak
Benedict Cumberbatch has dropped out of Guillermo del Toro's upcoming horror flick, "Crimson Peak".
The "Sherlock" star was initially cast alongside Jessica Chastain and Charlie Hunnam in the Mexican director's project.
It has been confirmed that Cumberbatch has left although the reasons remain unknown.
The "Hell Boy" director has been very vocal about his desire to work with Cumberbatch to the press.
Del Toro recently told the press that he was very keen to get Cumberbatch on board for a new version of the horror classic "Frankenstein".
Whilst Cumberbatch may be leaving big shoes to fill, fans needn't fear.
The star can be seen playing Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in upcoming drama "The Fifth Estate".
The film will follow the tumultous relationship between Assange and colleague Daniel Domscheit-Berg, played by Daniel Bruhl.
"The Fifrth Estate" is set to premiere at the Toronto Film Festival next month.
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