新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 08:00 2013/09/16

The Beijing Hour
 
Morning Edition
 

RH with you on this Monday, September 16th, 2013.
Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
Coming up on our program this morning...
The first China-Arab States Expo officially opens in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Reigion.
A deal is reached by the US and Russia on a framework to destroy Syria's chemical weapons.
Bavaria state elections get underway ahead of Germany's national vote.
Business
Laurence Summer withdraws his candidacy to be next U.S Federal Reserve chairman.
Sports
In Boxing Floyd Mayweather wins the light middle weight title in Las Vegas.
Entertainments
‘12 years a slave’ wins the top prize at the Toronto Film Festival
Plus
Special Reports takes a look at this year’s "Concepts cars" at the Frankfurt motor show in Germany.
First, let's check on what's happening on the weather front...
 
 
Weather
 
 
Beijing will be overcast today, with a high of 25 degree Celsius in the daytime, and it will see showers tonight with a low of 19.
In Shanghai, it will be sunny today, 31 the high, and it will be clear tonight, the low of 22 degrees Celsius.
Lhasa will be cloudy in the daytime the temperature's at 20, and tonight will be overcast with a low of 8 degree Celsius.
Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia
Islamabad, sunny, 30.
Kabul, sunny, with a high of 27.
And in North America
New York, overcast, with a high of 23 degrees.
Washington, overcast, highs of 25
Houston, thundershowers, 33.
Honolulu, moderate rain, 31.
Toronto, moderate rain, 18
Finally, on to South America,
Buenos Aires, moderate rain, 13.
And Rio de Janeiro will be sunny with highs of 32 degrees Celsius.
 
 
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TIMECHECK
 
 
Top News
 
 
First China-Arab States expo opens in Ningxia
 
Anchor
The First China-Arab States Expo has officially opened in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Reigion.
An upgraded version of the former China-Arab States Economic and Trade Forum, this expo aims to provide an even more effective shortcut for China-Arab cooperation.
CRI's XYee has more.
Reporter
With bilateral trade volume between China and the Arab states increasing at an annual rate of over 20 percent over the last decade, Arab nations are becoming significant partners to China.
In 2012, the trade volume between China and the Arab states surpassed 200 billion US dollars, making China the second biggest trade partner to the Arab nations.
Yu Zhengsheng, China's top political advisor, describes trade between the two sides as exceptional in his opening ceremony address.
act 1, Yu in Chinese
"China-Arab trade and economic cooperation has seen exceptional growth over the past three years. Such growth helped both China and the Arab nations to withstand the world financial crisis."
Since 2010, the China-Arab States Economic and Trade Forum has been held successfully for three consecutive years.
Delegates from 76 countries, regions and international organizations attended the forum, which also attracted more than 5,000 enterprises and over 30,000 exhibitors.
Li Jianhua, party secretary of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region said the forum and current expo provide an unparallelled platform to open Ningxia to the outside world.
act 2, Li in Chinese
"Through this platform, we have been eagerly seeking trade and investment opportunities with the Arab states and other countries and regions. This platform has hugely accelerated Ningxia's economic growth and social development."
In 2010, the State Council approved the establishment of Ningxia as an Inland Opening-up Economic Zone and its capital city Yinchuan as a comprehensive bounded zone.
The two pilot zones are part of China's efforts to develop its western regions.
China's vast west will not only boost the exports of Arab states, but also provide more opportunities for the capital-rich Arab states to diversify their investments.
Huda Hameed Sangoor from Bahrain came to expo looking for opportunities to set up her business with a local partner in Ningxia.
act 3, Sangoor
I hope to make a joint-venture between China and Bahrain. And i see a big opportunity. And as i said, i am from a society of businesswomen, we are very eager and hungry for businesses. So even if it's not for me, i will see what the opportunities are for my colleagues."
Interest for investment isn't limited to Arab enterprises setting up businesses in China.
Many Arab states also want China to lend its experience and capabilities to the industrilization of their own countries.
A great number of contracts in merchandise and service exports are expected to be signed at the end of this expo, which falls on Sept. 19th.
For CRI, I'm XYee.
 
 
FM says China welcomes Russia-U.S. deal on Syria
 
Anchor
Nations globally are welcoming the agreement reached between the US and Russia on a framework to secure and destroy Syria's chemical weapons.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has received the report of the UN fact-finding group on the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria.
UN spokesman Martin Nesirky says he will brief the UN Security Council on the findings on Monday morning.
CRI's Marc Cavigli has more.
Reporter
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov reached agreement over the weekend.
Under the plans, Syiran chemical weapons stockpile will need to be destroyed by mid-2014.
UN penalties could be imposed if the Bashar al-Assad government fails to comply.
At a news conference in Tehran, Valerie Amos, United Nation's humanitarian chief, highlighted their support for the agreement
"The agreement is one which will be taken to the Security Council as you know, we at the United Nations will do all we can to support the Security Council in the implementation of that agreement."
China has also welcomed the agreement, saying it is a peaceful solution to the stockpile issue.
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the comments while meeting with his French counterpart Laurent Fabius in Beijing.
"China welcomes the framework agreement reached between Russia and the US in Geneva on the issue of chemical weapons in Syria. We believe the framework agreement will ease the present situation whereby tenseness may be triggered at any moment in Syria, and also create new prospects for resolving the chemical weapon issue in Syria through peaceful means."
Fabius said the deal is significant progress and he called on all sides to accelerate the settlement process.
Meanwhile, French President Francois Hollande said a UN resolution on Syria could take place by the end of next week.
However, Hollande added the military option must remain on table to ensure constraint and room for negotiation.
Meantime, U.S Secretary of State John Kerry has sent a strong warning to Syria.
"The threat of force is real and the Assad regime and all those taking part need to understand that President Obama and the United States are committed to achieve this goal."
On Sunday, Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi urged all parties to play their roles under the United Nations umbrella to secure comprehensive ceasefire in Syria, and provide the best environment for access of the humanitarian and medical aids for the Syrian people.
For CRI, I'm Marc Cavigli.
 
 
Syrians comment on Russia-US deal on Assad's chemical weapons
 
Meanwhile, Syrians in Damascus have welcomed the agreement between the US and Russia.
Fadia Deeb, is head of the exterior relations committee in Syria's parliament.
He has called for a rapid political solution to Syria's civil war.
"The situation in Syria needs a political solution and all parties should rapidly initiate procedures to move forward towards a political solution, because instruments of violence or military measures could never lead to a political solution, but could destroy the entire region, which harms the interests of the region. I would hope all parties in this agreement are satisfied with this solution and are all moving towards (the) Geneva-2 (peace conference)."
Syrian Minister of National Reconciliation, Ali Haidar, says the deal is a victory for Syria.
The agreement to destroy Syria's chemical weapons also offers the potential for reviving international peace talks to end a civil war.
The 2-year war has claimed more than 100-thousand lives and created more than 2-million refugees.
 
 
State election gets underway in bellwether ballot for national vote next week
 
Bavaria state election gets underway this week ahead of Germany's national vote.
It gives German politicians their last test before next week's national vote, with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative allies hoping for a big win in the prosperous region.
It's hard to predict how the outcome in Bavaria might influence national election on September 22nd.
But state governor Horst Seehofer, leader of the Merkel-allied Christian Social Union, is riding high in the polls.
Experts say his party, which has led Bavaria since 1957, could win back an absolute majority in the state legislature which it lost five years ago.
Michael Steinwinter, is a resident of Schliersee, he says Bavaria will indicate the trend for the national poll.
"Within one week not much will change, they can't go back on their policy programmes. Promises have been made, we will have to see if they can be kept."
The centre-left Social Democrats of Merkel's challenger, Peer Steinbrueck, are traditionally weak in the state - even with an unusually strong Bavarian challenger, surveys show them gaining little ground.
National polls show Merkel's conservative bloc of her Christian Democratic Union and the Bavaria-only CSU leading the pack.
Merkel, who is favoured to win a third four-year term next week, has benefited from Germany's strong economy and low unemployment.
 
 
China's First Tourism Law Carry Out on 1 October
 
Anchor
China's first tourism law will come into effect on 1st October.
It aims to provide the maximum level of protection for the rights and interests of tourists.
However, with the clock ticking, prices of tours in big travel agencies are starting to rise.
But authorities say this price increase is a rational return.
CRI's Lucy Du has more.
Reporter
People that are interested in tours may have found great differences in tour fares before and after 1 October. The increase for international tours is 50%, while prices for domestic tours are up by between 20 to 30%. So does the rise have something to do with the enforcement of the new law? Li Lei is a deputy Director of the Policy and Legal Department of China National Tourism Administration or CNTA.
"Travel agencies attract tourists by offering prices lower than the actual costs of services, before taking them shopping in designated malls or providing traveling projects with extra charges. These profiteering strategies compensate their costs for what are generally known as 'Fare Free Tours'. Their twisted management style goes against the laws of a market economy and will also bring negative impacts and harm to tourists and a healthy market."
Li adds that the tourism law will ban Fare Free Tours, which causes price rises. However, it is a normal reflection of the elimination of 'hidden rules' in the tourism market and a rational return to standardized management.
The thing that worries Chinese tourists most is the hidden costs, such as from forced purchases and other extra charges. No effective places have been established for handling their complaints after they encounter such problems. Regarding this, Liu Xiaojun, Director of the Policy and Legal Department of CNTA says that their costs will become transparent with the enforcement of the new law.
"The old hidden and unfair costs will be brought from the underground to the ground, and the old illegal income will go public under legal management. Consumers will be able to see where their money goes. This is a rational return rather than a price rise."
Liu suggests tourists should spend their money wisely and not fall for tricky purchases or participate in traveling schemes with extra charges.
Jiang Tianbo is the Secretary General of the China Consumers Association.
"Tourists should be careful with low prices. Some people think 'the cheaper the better' and take prices as their criterion for tour choices. But there is no such thing as a free lunch. So tourists must be careful when signing contracts. Read carefully through every item and keep a rational mindset."
Staffers from the National Tourism Administration say that among the severe competition of total 26 thousand agencies around the country, price rises will also mean the loss of consumers. Most agencies will not try to make things worse.
They also stresses that they will investigate illegal conducts of lifting tour fares and foisting tourists.
For CRI, this is Lucy Du.
 
 
Trade Fair on Publications and Library Facilities Opens Sunday
 
Anchor
A trade fair aiming to establish a platform between publishers and libraries opened in Beijing over the weekend.
CRI's Xu Fei caught up with some of the event organisers.
Reporter
The trade fair, which is being held from Sunday to Tuesday, will exhibit more than 500-thousand publications, including the bestsellers from the years 2011 and 2012 as well as new books published in 2013.
Nearly 1,000 purchasers working in the library-related sector were invited to the event.
Liu Jianguo, a leader of the Publishers Association of China and one of the fair's organizers, explains the goal of the event.
"On the one hand, the event aims to find a platform for growth for publishers, while, on the other hand, a number of excellent books will be recommended to libraries, which will hopefully promote book reading among our citizens."
Liu's co-worker Li Baozhong predicts that people will prefer reading in libraries to purchasing books as a result of the availability of more public libraries.
So far, not all libraries are well-equipped enough to meet readers' needs. The trade fair also hopes to prevent situations that have taken place from reoccurring; Liu Jianguo explains.
"Some good books that were published at high costs but still offer decent discounts fail to be included in the catalog of books library plan to purchase. On the other hand, libraries tend to save their budget; this has resulted in the inflow of a batch of fake and substandard books and even pirated books in libraries."
Liu Jianguo says the book fair provides an authoritative book catalog for free, and stipulates discount bottom lines for retailers in a bid to prevent unfair competition.
The trade fair is also expected to pave a new path for Chinese books to become available overseas.
Sun Jie, a manager in charge of the Xinhua Book Store based in Vancouver, Canada, is now in Beijing for the trade fair.
She said the region where her bookstore is located is a multi-culture place, and half of the readers of her bookstore are Chinese immigrants.
For CRI, I'm Xu Fei.
 
 
Biz Reports
 
 
Let's get a preview of what's happening in the business world this week.
Here's CRI's Hu Jia.
Reporter
Months of anticipation will come to an end this week when the Federal Reserve finally says whether it will start to rein in its massive stimulus of the economy.
The Fed has telegraphed its intentions to pare back its monthly purchases of 85 billion US dollars in bonds at its two-day meeting that ends next Wednesday.
Investors will also look to quarterly results from FedEx, viewed as a proxy for economic activity, and software giant Oracle.
The market will also see data on August housing starts and existing home sales, and the monthly Philadelphia Fed business index.
Now shifting to emerging markets, South Korean business men will visit Kaesong industrial complex for the re-opening today.
Russia will report its industrial output figure.
On Tuesday, Turkey Central Bank will hold monetary policy meeting
And Prada will unveil its second quarter earnings.
On Wednesday, India's central bank will announce key interest rate decision and cash reserve ratio.
Thursday will see Russia release its foreign currency and gold reserves figure.
Finally on Friday, Argentina will report its second quarter current account reading.
 
 
Former Obama aide Summers withdraws from Fed chair consideration – WSJ
 
U.S President Barack Obama has accepted Lawrence Summers withdrawal of his candidacy in the running to be the Federal Reserves next chairman.
A former aide to President Obama, Summers was tipped to become the Fed's next chair.
He also once served as Treasury Secretary under President Bill Clinton.
Wall Street Journal is reporting Summer's words that he could not serve the interests of the country's central bank or its economic recovery.
 
 
Cyprus eyes investors, may not need full privatization-president
 
The President of Cyprus has announced the country only needs to partly privatize its state-owned enterprises to fulfill its international bailout conditions.
Meanwhile, Nicos Anastasiades has encouraged state-controlled firms in the country to convert into joint-stock companies and seek out strategic investors.
Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem praised Cyprus' efforts to overhaul its financial system.
"Progress has been made over the summer,a roadmap has been agreed for the gradual relaxation and eventual aborlishment of the administrative measures regarding capital flows. Policy implementation of course remains essential for the success of the program. We look forward to the implementation of the program of the anti-money laundering in action plan. And the 1.5 billion euros, this is the second disbursement will be disbursed by the ESM."
The country earlier reached a 13 billion US dollars bailout package by promising to sell some state assets in the country.
The country's telecom companies Cyta, the dominant electricity operator and seaport commercial activities have been identified as potential privatization targets.
It is believed the auction will bring in about 1.9 billion US dollars for the debt-laden country.
 
 
Portugal's economic progress under review
 
Portugal is now facing an audit from the troika, namely the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank on the health of its economy.
The latest review will determine whether the country receives its next installment of bailout funds.
Originally scheduled for July, the planned visit was delayed by a political crisis in the country.
Portugal received 102 billion US dollars two years ago and says it is on track to emerge from the rescue program by next year.
The country reported a 1.1 percent GDP growth over the last quarter.
 
 
Call-in China to press ahead housing endowment next year.
 
Anchor
China is to carry out reforms deep into the country's pension system by approving a pilot plan to encourage housing endowment insurance.
State Council specifies that operational methods will be released in about half a year.
Housing endowment is a reversed mortgage insurance allowing seniors to draw a pension until death, by mortgaging their properties to financial institutions.
The reforms come as China's population over the age of 60 will surpass 200 million in the coming year.
For more on the issue, we're joined live now by Mike Bastin, Visiting Professor at China's University of International Business and Economics.
Question:
1 Housing endowment is not a strange concept to Chinese people, as financial institutions in Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing initiated such policies about 2 year ago though with unpromising results.
What are the concerns here with this new reform, is it going to be risky if elderly people mortgage their properties?
Will this policy be improved on the ones we saw devleoped a few years ago?
2 Housing endowment is used as an option for pensioners in developed countries as Japan, US, Canada
Could China model itself on those countries' existing policies?
3 Could this housing endowment act as a strong support to China's traditional home-based care model, considering the limited amount of money available through pension payments and other issues such as shortage of nursing homes and other services?
Back Anchor
Mike Bastin, Visiting Professor at China's University of International Business and Economics.
 
 
China free-trade zone spurs hope for reform revival
 
The Shanghai Free Trade Zone which is due to launch this month is said to be propelling China's economic reform to another level.
Business leaders anticipate China will make its currency renminbi freely traded by registered companies in the zone.
Zhu Min, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund over the Summer Davos Forum emphases the importance of interest rate reform.
"It is very crucial for China to create the interest rate formation mechanism. After all interest rates are not the benchmark rate decided by the central bank. It has to go through the process of say from market-led short-term interest rate then to settle at a long-term rate reading. Thus it will guide or direct a rational expectation by companies and private investors over the rates. Without the formation mechanism, the reform on interest rates is impossible. Meanwhile, we need to establish deposit insurance system to protect the savers."
Media reports suggest regulators have approached HSBC, Standard Chartered and Bank of East Asia to set up entities in the zone.
The government is seeking to identify foreign banks to set up entities in the zone and carry out trade liberalization services covering 19 sectors.
In addition, internal sources reveal China's dominant online payment provider PayPal has to be invited to the zone in a bid to make the FTZ a center for international e-commerce transactions.
 
 
Headline News
 
 
UN chief receives report on Syria chemical weapons probe: spokesman
 
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has now received a report of the UN fact-finding group on the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria.
UN spokesman Martin Nesirky says he will brief the UN Security Council on the findings Monday morning.
Meanwhile, Syria's Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi has stressed his country's commitment to the Russian-U.S deal to ensure stripping Syria's chemical arsenal.
Al-Zoubi said Syria will commit itself to the deal once it is endorsed by the UN.
He added that his government has started preparing the weapons' count list.
 
 
16 dead in SW China road accident
 
Sixteen people, including 11 students, have been confirmed dead in a road accident in southwest China's Sichuan Province on Sunday.
Local authorities say the accident which happened in a village in Quxian County, was due to a passenger bus colliding with a heavy-duty truck.
The bus, which had 24 people aboard, plunged into a three-meter-deep riverbed.
Four, including a student, are in serious condition.
 
 
At least 48 dead after wave of insurgent attacks in Iraq
 
48-people have died following a wave of car bomb attacks across Iraq over the weekend.
Four separate bombs ripped through the towns of Hafriyah and Suwayrah, south of Baghdad on Sunday.
The attacks are part of a day of violence targeting Shiite-majority cities in the centre and south of the country.
The attacks continue a surge in bloodshed that has engulfed the country for months.
So far, no-one has claimed responsibility for the blasts, which targeted commercial areas and parking lots in seven cities.
In the past, such attacks have been carried out by al-Qaida's local branch, known as the Islamic State of Iraq, to undermine confidence in the Shiite-led government.
 
 
One dies in 2nd clash between Cambodian police, opposition protestors
 
A man has been found dead on a flyover in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penn, after clashes between police and opposition protestors.
The clashes took place at the flyover after protesters, rallying against July's election resutls, tried to break through police barricades.
Police fired tear gas to disperse the hundreds of protestors.
The cause of the man's death has yet to be identified.
 
 
Obama says he will not negotiate on raising U.S. debt ceiling
 
U.S. President Barack Obama says that he won't negotiate with his Republican rivals on raising the country's debt ceiling.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew told Congress last month the federal government will reach its debt ceiling of 16.7 trillion U.S. dollars by mid-October.
This means Congress needs to raise the government's borrowing authority.
However, Republican lawmakers insist an increase should be in line with spending cuts, threatening a government shutdown.
Democrats and Republicans are yet to agree on the government's budget plan for the 2014 fiscal yearm, which begins on October 1st.
 
 
Newspaper Picks
 
 
South China Metropolitan Daily
Stranded ship's passengers take the plane home
Summary:
Hundreds of Chinese tourists returned home via emergency flights after their cruise ship was stranded in South Korea following a legal dispute.
The ship, carrying more than 2-thousand passengers and crew, were being held following a court order which was issued in South Korea's Jeju province on Friday.
Beijing News
Beijing airport bomb suspect to stand trial
Summary:
Ji Zhongxing, a suspect who faces criminal charges for setting off a home-made explosive at the Beijing Capital International Airport will stand trial tomorrow.
The explosion severely injured Ji and slightly injured a police officer at the site.
Ji has been petitioning authorities over his lower limb paralysis, which was allegedly caused by a beating from several security officers in Dongguan, Guangdong Province.
Global Times
Detained journalist's lawyers want charges dropped
Summary:
Lawyers of a detained journalist say they hope local authorities in Pingdu, Shandong Province, will drop the charges.
Chen Baocheng, a journalist with Caixin Media, was arrested for illegally detaining a worker during his protest against forcible demolition in Jingouzi village.
Chen Qingsha, the villager whose home was demolished, was also arrested for the same allegation.
China Daily
More Chinese permanent residency permits issued
Summary:
A larger number of Chinese permanent residency permits were issued last year. More than half of those are family members who came for reunion and the rest are mostly professionals, executives and professors. Most are from the US, Japan, Canada, Australia and Germany, and mainly live in big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Guangzhou Daily
Guangdong sets up organ center system
Summary:
South China's Guangdong Province is establishing organ procurement organizations or OPOs and will publish the names of those organizations and their services by October.
80 medical personnel will receive training and become coordinators working at the new OPOs.
Information on organs collected by OPOs will be recorded in their system, and hospitals would be given priority in obtaining the organs.
Shanghai Daily
Seniors to get free anti-pneumonia shots
Summary:
Shanghai is offering free pneumonia vaccinations for residents who are 60 years of age or older in a public health program.
The vaccination is available at 251 neighborhood health centers and district-level hospitals.
Around 3 million people are expected to benefit from the program.
Beijing Times
Hong Kong bans shark fin at government events
Summary:
Hong Kong's government says it will stop serving shark fin at official functions, following years of lobbying by conservation groups.
The city is one of the world's biggest markets for shark fin.
Bluefin tuna will also fall under the ban.
 
 
Special Reports
 
 
The cars of tomorrow at Frankfurt Motor Show
 
Anchor
"Concepts cars" are hitting the floor at this year's Frankfurt motor show, showing off their outlandish features and futuristic designs.
Although many of the vehicles will never make it to the production line.
However, notable car brands, like Nissan, will not be deterred, displaying their vision of the future to the increasingly lucrative Chinese market.
CRI's Hu Jia has more.
Reporter
Among the 70 world premieres at this year's Frankfurt Auto Show, new cars powered by batteries or hybrid gas-electric systems with flaunting technology are the shiniest and hottest.
Japanese car manufacturer, Nissan, is launching its "Friend-Me" concept car, targeting the young Chinese urbanite: single, male and enjoys driving around at night with a car-full of friends.
Etienne Henry is the vice-president of product planning for Nissan.
"It is essentially targeted at the Chinese market in terms of size, proportion. This is a sedan, but this is a very modern sedan. That's what we wanted to investigate with Friend-Me."
Linking the car to the Internet, smart phones or GPS services is billed as a theme of the show.
Car manufacturers in the US and Europe are testing technology that will allow automobiles to communicate with each other and the surrounding infrastructure.
Mercedes calls it "car-to-x communication." The new technology will warn drivers when an overturned truck is near and issue alerts when you're heading into oncoming traffic well before you're in the thick of it.
2015 may be a more likely date to experience this tech firsthand, but Citroen has confirmed that its concept car, the Citroen Cactus, will be ready for production by next year.
Based on the Citroen C-line, the first version of Cactus will come with air capsules on the sides, front and rear to protect against scratching.
Frederic Duvernier is the designer of the Cactus.
"The main idea behind the design was to create a car with no worries, no stress, and a relaxed car: simple, practical, strong, protected, and very comfortable."
The Cactus utilizes Citrion's innovative "Hybrid Air" system, which uses the car's kinetic energy when decelerating to store compressed air into tanks. The stored air is then released as energy to spin the car's front wheels. Citrion says that this reduces fuel consumption during urban driving by up to 45 percent.
The Frankfurt Auto show runs through next Sunday.
 
 
Sports
 
 
Floyd Mayweather suffered dislocated elbow during boxing victory
 
Beginning with boxing, and Floyd Mayweather says he suffered a suspected dislocated elbow during his victory over Saul Alvarez this weekend.
But despite the injury, the five-weight world champion faught on to secure his WBC and WBA light-middleweight titles.
The 36-year-old now takes his unbeaten record to an impressive 45 fights.
Many believed his 23-year-old Mexican opponent, who was himself unbeaten in 42 fights, would pose more of a challenge, but most commentators saw it that the American dominated from the opening bell.
Floyd "Money" Mayweather, who pocketed a record 41.5 million dollars on the night, was shocked to see that one of the judges scored the round even.
"I thought it was a joke. I was kinda shocked, but I am not the judge. My job is go out there fight and leave the fight in the judges hands. I wanted to get the knockout, things happen. Actually, me and Canelo bumped arms I don't know what round, could have been fifth. We bumped arms, I kinda hurt my elbow so I stopped using my jab for a couple rounds. But then, me being a true champion, I had to continue to use my jab, and I came out victorious tonight."
 
 
Andy Murray help GB through to next round of Davis Cup
 
In Tennis, British Number One Andy Murray has helped his side get back into the Davis Cup World Group for the first time in five years.
Playing the tournament for the first time in two years, the Wimbledon and Olympic Champion saw off Croatia's Ivan Dodig and Umag Clay to contribute to Britain's three-one lead in the best-of-five play-off.
As well as winning his singles events, the world number three also joined with Colin Fleming to win the doubles rubber and has shown no signs of suffering from the back injury that had been plaguing him earlier.
 
 
Mo Farah misses out at Great North Run
 
Elsewhere though, Britain's other Olympic champions have found themselves pipped to the post this weekend.
Mo Farah was unable to chase down Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia in the Great North Run.
The 5,000 and 10,000 metre gold medalist created a dramatic finale, forcing a sprint for the last 400 metres of the half marathon, but he missed out by a second in the end.
Running legend Haile Gebrselassie finished third quite some distance from the winning pair, but his time of 1 hour 1 Minute and 41 seconds was still a world record for the over 40's.
 
 
Brownlees beaten in World Triathlon
 
Also pipped by a second Britain's Jonathan Brownlee was overtaken on the home straight by Javier Gomez of Spain to claim silver at the ITU world triathlon.
This is the Spaniard's third title.
Jonathan Brownlee won bronze at the London Olympic games... his brother who won gold last year was suffering from an ankle injury and finished well down the field.
 
 
Chris Horner wins Vuelta a Espana
 
In Cycling, Chris Horner has became the oldest ever winner of the Vuelta a Espana at the age of 41.
Riding with RadioShack, the American beat the Giro d'Italia winner Vincenzo Nibali by 37 seconds.
This victory is the most prestigious of Horner's career, and he says he hopes it goes down in history.
"Fantastic, it was a great Vuelta, it was an epic course, and I think the battles between the four of us at the top of the GC were, made for some spectacular racing and hopefully some spectacular moments that will live on in people's memories for a long time to come."
 
 
Cristiano Ronaldo signs new contract with Real Madrid
 
And finally the addition of Gareth Bale to his side seems to have not disturbed Cristiano Ronaldo at all.
The Real Madrid striker has agreed a new deal with the Spanish giants extending his contract to 2018.
The Portugese international also said that he wants to remain at the Bernabeu for the rest of his footballing career.
Spanish reports suggest the 28-year-old's new deal will see him earn an annual salary of 17 million euros.
 
 
Entertainment
 
 
12 Years A Slave Wins Toronto Film Festival
 
The film 12 Years A Slave depicting the true story of a free black man sold into slavery in 1840s Louisiana has taken the top prize at the Toronto International Film Festival.
(12 years clip)
The film, based on the 1853 memoir of Solomon Northup, took home the BlackBerry People's Choice award.
The award will likely increase buzz for the film at this year's Academy Awards as past winners like The King's Speech, Slumdog Millionaire, and Silver Linings Playbook went on to win Academy Awards.
The film was directed by UK director Steve McQueen and produced by US actor Brad Pitt's production company Plan B Entertainment.
Pitt was in attendance for the film's premiere and opened up about his relationship with director McQueen and how the film came to be.
"We were big fans of Steve McQueen from Hunger and we started talking to him about what he most wanted to do next and he asked the question, asked the question that no American asked, why aren't there more films about slavery? And that's what he wanted to do."
The runner-up film was Stephen Frear's Philomena, which stars UK legend Dame Judi Dench.
 
 
Disney Announces Star Wars Spin-offs to be "Origin" Films
 
(star wars theme)
Disney studios has announced its planned Star Wars spin-off films will be 'origin' movies.
When Disney acquired the rights to the Star Wars franchise earlier this year, they announced they'd consecutively release a major Star Wars film followed by a spin-off film that focused on one character.
It is believed the first spin-off film will focus on the backstory of Jedi Master Yoda.
Other characters believed to be the stars of their own future origin spin-offs include the bounty hunter Boba Fett, and charismatic Han Solo.
Other rumors coming from the Star Wars universe include the possible announcement Sherlock actor Benedict Cumberbatch has landed a role in Star Wars Episode VII.
Though the actor has remained elusive when questioned about the possible role, several sources suggest we can expect to see him in the film when it opens in 2015.
 
 
Oasis to Reunite for Reunion Shows?
 
UK badboy rocker brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher are reportedly in talks to stage an Oasis reunion for 2014.
(oasis clip)
The pair rose to prominence and international fame in the 1990s with their band Oasis, but broke up in 2009 following escalating spats and arguments.
The brothers have allegedly been approached by concert promoters to perform at two large gigs in celebration of the 20th anniversary of their breakout album Definitely, Maybe.
The proposed gigs would take place in the UK at Knebworth House, where the band made history in 1996 by breaking records for fastest selling tickets in British history.
The bad blood between the brothers is no secret. Each past performance practically guaranteed they would break out in a physical fight.
 
 
Rapper Kanye West to Face Charges, Possible Jail Time
 
US rapper Kanye West may be facing up to a year in prison, following his Los Angeles International Airport scuffle with a photographer in July.
(kanye clip)
The performer has been charged with battery and attempted grand theft, after shoving the photographer to the ground and attempting to rip the camera from the man's hands.
West is due in court next month, where he will plead guilty or not guilty to the charges.
Each charge carries a maximum of 6-months in prison.
It has been a tumultuous year for West's interaction with the paparazzi.
This latest scuffle is the 3rd escalated argument he has had with a photographer this year.
 
 
 
That's all we have time for on the show as well.
Recapping our top headlines....
The first China-Arab States Expo officially opens in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Reigion.
A deal is reached by the US and Russia on a framework to destroy Syria's chemical weapons.
Bavaria state elections get underway ahead of Germany's national vote.
Business
Laurence Summer withdraws his candidacy to be next U.S Federal Reserve chairman.
On behalf of the Beijing Hour team, I'm Rebecca Hume in Beijing, hoping you'll join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour to open a window to the world together!