新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 20:00 2013/10/18

 
The Beijing Hour
 
Evening Edition
 
 
Rebecca Hume with you on this Friday, October 18th, 2013.
Welcome to the Beijing Hour coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
Coming up on our program this evening,
China's GDP rebounds in the third quarter.
Fire fighters in Australia continue to battle wildfires across New South Wales.
US government employees head back to work after the shutdown.
Business, China's yuan rises to record highs against the dollar.
Sports, Baseball, Boston Red Sox move within striking distance of the World Series.
Entertainments, 26th Tokyo International Film Festival gets underway with a star studded opener.
Plus Special reports goes to Taipei and takes a look at the latest high fashion at the In Style Exhibition.
 
 
Weather
 
 
Beijing will have showers tonight with a low of 9 degrees Celsius.　Tomorrow cloudy with a high temperature of 18.
Meanwhile Shanghai will be overcast tonight, with a low of 19, overcast sky continues tomorrow, with a high of 23.
Lhasa will be cloudy tonight, 5 degrees the low, remain cloudy tomorrow with a high of 17.
Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia
Islamabad, sunny with a high of 31.
Kabul, sunny, 26.
Over in Australia
Sydney, sunny, highs of 22.
Canberra, sunny, 24.
Brisbane, sunny, 26.
And finally, Perth will have rain with a high of 19.
 
 
Top News
 
 
China "strongly condemns" Yasukuni visits
 
The Chinese government has issued a statement, strongly condemning Japanese lawmakers' visits to the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine.
The comments come after some 160 Japanese lawmakers visited the shrine early Friday during its autumn festival.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying,
"The Japanese cabinet members openly visiting the Yasukuni Shrine is essentially an attempt to whitewash Japan's aggressive history of militarism and challenge the end result of the second world war, as well as the post-World War II international order. China resolutely opposes this. This morning China's Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin summoned the Japanese ambassador to China and had serious discussions. He expressed extreme dissatisfaction and strong condemnation to the Japanese side."
The shrine in Tokyo honors Japan's war dead, including 14 Class-A war criminals.
It is widely considered a symbol of Japan's past military expansion.
Spokesperson Hua Chunying:
"The Yasukuni issue is related to whether the Japanese government can face up to and make real introspection for its history of aggression and colonialization as well as whether it can respect the feelings of people in war-victim Asian countries, including China. It is an essentially principal issue around the political foundation between China and Japan."
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has sent an offering to the shrine under the title of "prime minister" but refrained from visiting.
 
 
China's third quarter GDP rebounds
 
Anchor:
China's gross domestic product growth has rebounded to 7.8 percent in the third quarter, up from 7.5 percent in the second quarter.
The figure is also above the government's full-year target of 7.5 percent.
CRI's Su Yi has more.
Reporter:
The National Bureau of Statistics says in the first nine months, the country's GDP totaled 38.6 trillion yuan, or 6.3 trillion US dollars.
The growth in the third quarter reached 7.8 percent, the highest in the first three quarters.
Sheng Laiyun, spokesman for the NBS, says it shows the quality of the country's economic growth in turning in a good direction.
"There are some positive changes happening in the structure. The quality of economic growth is turning in a good direction. At the same time, people's expectations are relatively stable. So I think that the fundamental state of the Chinese economy is developing in a good direction."
The figures also show growth in industrial output, fixed-asset investment and retail sales.
Retail sales, a key indicator of consumer spending, increased 12.9 percent from a year earlier.
After three decades of double-digital growth fuelled by exports and investments, Chinese authorities are now shifting the focus to spur domestic consumption amid slowing global demand.
This year, central authorities rolled out supportive polices for private investment to enter state-controlled sectors including railway construction, while opening up the financial sector for foreign investment.
In August, the country extended the value-added tax reform nationwide in an effort to reduce tax burden of small and medium seized companies.
It is estimated the reform will reduce tax burdens by about 120-billion yuan this year.
But at the same time, some analysts have expressed concerns about the fragility of the revival, especially after a surprise fall in China's export growth in September.
Sheng Laiyun says the structural problems still need some time to resolve.
"Of course, we also realize that the economic environment both abroad and domestically is still complicated, changeable and serious, and there exists many unstable factors. From the perspective of China's domestic economy, the long-term accumulative structural problems still need some time to resolve."
Sheng says in the next phase, the central government will continue to promote reform and opening-up to boost market vitality for long-term growth.
China has set a growth target of 7.5 percent for the year.
The International Monetary Fund is forecasting Chinese growth this year of 7.6 percent.
For CRI, I'm Su Yi.
 
 
China's economic rebalance: so far, so good?
 
For more on China's economy, we earlier spoke with Shen Hong, Shanghai bureau chief of the Wall Street Journal.
…
That was Shen Hong, Shanghai bureau chief of the Wall Street Journal.
 
 
Australia battles early wildfires, one killed
 
Fire fighters are continuing to battle almost 100-wildfires across Australia's New South Wales which has already left one person dead.
The blazes have also destroyed hundreds of houses and forced hundreds of residents to leave their homes.
"You do your best and it just kind of gets to the stage where you just realize that you can't do any more and you go. You take what you can and go. In my case, it was the dog."
Fire fighters say over two dozens fires are still going on out of control fuelled by high temperatures and strong winds.
"The fire activity that we were being reported was certainly extreme. Certainly we had flame heights in excess of 20 to 30m."
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot has made a visit to a town west of Sydney.
"Today is a much quieter day than yesterday, but this is a fire emergency which could go on for quite some time. There are hundreds of people who are grieving the loss of property. Tragically, there has been it seems one life lost further north, someone who was defending his house, we grieve for everyone impacted by these fires."
In 2009 wildfires killed 173 people and destroyed more than 2-thousand homes in Victoria State.
Wildfires are common in Australia but usually during the summer time, which begins in December.
 
 
South Korea president stresses importance of North's reform, openness
 
South Korean President Park Geun-hye is calling on North Korea to be more open for the sake of regional economic cooperation.
President Park made the comments at a Eurasia cooperation forum held in Seoul.
"Through the trust-building process on the Korean peninsula, and based on the progress of peace and security on the Korean peninsula and North Korea's nuclear issues, we will actively push ahead a triangular cooperation among Russia's Far Eastern area, China's three northeastern provinces, South-North Korea and Russia, and South-North Korea and China."
The South Korean President is also calling for the early realization of the so-called Silk Road Express, which links roads and railways from South Korea's southern port city of Busan to North Korea, China, Russia and Europe.
 
 
US government employees back to work, national landmarks reopen after the deal is reached
 
Anchor:
US Federal workers are back on the job and national parks and landmarks are reopening after Wednesday's agreement by US lawmakers to temporarily fund the government until January 15th and end the government shutdown.
CRI's Li Jing has more.
Report:
Hours after he signed a bill that ended the shutdown and averted default, U.S. President Barack Obama says the crisis has undermined the economy.
He also says the protracted political battle has hurt the United States' international standing, while accomplishing nothing.
"Understand that how business is done in this town has to change because we've all got a lot of work to do on behalf of the American people, and that includes the hard work of regaining their trust."
Obama is now calling on Congress to focus on other issues of domestic concern, including immigration reform, an agriculture and food stamp bill, and a lasting budget agreement in the coming months.
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of federal workers, the bulk of whom had been without a paycheque the last 16 days, have returned to work.
Mark Chrystal, who was furloughed from the Smithsonian during the shutdown, is pleading with lawmakers to keep federal workers on the job.
"Please keep us government workers working. We're here to serve the public. We enjoy what we're doing. We believe in what we're doing and we want to do a good job and we can't do it when we're furloughed."
The last-minute bill signed on Wednesday will fund the government through January 15th and extend the United States borrowing authority through February 7th.
The short-term deal means Americans face the possibility of another bitter budget fight and another government shutdown early next year if lawmakers can't come-up with a compromise ahead of time.
For CRI, this is Li Jing.
 
 
The Startup Ecosystem in a Startup City
 
Anchor:
A growing number of international firms are now setting their eyes on Israel as a location to expand into.
As CRI's Lucy Du reports, this is helping fuel a rush on start-up operations in Israel hoping to catch the attention of the larger, international firms.
Reporter:
The Rothschild Boulevard area, where the city of Tel Aviv was born, is now home to a concentration of mostly startups.
Ami Daniel, co-founder and CEO of a startup in this area, says the area is considered the Silicon Valley of Israel.
"We think that a company is more than just a building or room. You need to create something which is bigger than the people. And here we create a special vibe of spirituality, the character we want a company to have, creating a DNA, creating something which is more than code and sales and numbers on the spread sheet. A vision, a meaning, are something bigger."
Avner Warner, Director of Economic Affairs at Tel Aviv Global & Tourism, says entrepreneurship is the DNA of the city.
"(It's) a city that embraces people who take risk, embraces people who say they have a vision. It's considered a sign of respect to be an entrepreneur. In many countries failure is considered as negative thing, while in Israel, in Tel Aviv specifically, it's considered a sign that you're willing to take a risk and even if you fail, it's a question of how fast you gonna stand up again and try something else."
Authorities in Tel Aviv have turned part of a public library into a working space where entrepreneurs can develop their startups for a period of 4 months.
Avner Warner says it's a good solution for entrepreneurs who have a lack of money and experience in their early stages.
"Co-working space provides on the one hand a place to sit. They come here, they pay a cheap rent per month, and they get all the office facilities they need. And most importantly is that they have all the other standups sitting with them. So they are with people, they connect with them, and they become friends, and then they support each other, they help each other, and that raises the chances for them to succeed."
Many world-leading hi-tech companies are now looking toward Israel, and have been using mergers and acquisitions of Israeli start-ups to get a foot-hold in the country.
Israeli entrepreneur Yossi Vardi says the growing international attention can only help breed more innovation.
"We are very good in the first stage. We are good in coming with ideas, deploying them very quickly, not being afraid of failure… then most Israeli companies are facing difficulty because there is no local market, you need more finance in order to grow up, etc. This is where the international companies are coming."
Tel Aviv is now home to over 700 startups and hundreds of multinational high-tech companies and R&D centers.
For CRI, I'm Lucy Du.
 
 
Biz Reports
 
 
Stocks 
 
Asian equities climbed to a five-month high after China's economic growth quickened.
Chinese shares moved higher on Friday.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index went up a quarter of a percent, while the Shenzhen Component Index rose three quarters of a percent.
The growth pick-up gave only a slight boost to the stock market as investors remained cautious as to whether the current momentum can be sustained.
Software shares were robust today while Securities and media sectors also saw slight rebounds.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.1 percent.
Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's Nikkei ended slightly lower as investors refrained from active buying on caution over market overheating.
The Nikkei 225 closed down 0.2 percent.
South Korea's KOSPI added 0.6 percent.
Singapore's Straits Times Index was up 0.2 percent.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.7 percent.
 
 
Chinese Yuan on a Record-Setting Run
 
China's yuan has risen to a record high for a fourth consecutive day, amid broad weakness in the U.S. dollar.
The yuan has gained 0.4 percent against the dollar since last Friday, putting it on pace for its biggest weekly gain since May.
The yuan's recent gains look mostly driven by the dollar's weakness.
Traders and analysts say the yuan may retreat in the near term.
The dollar weakened against major currencies even after the U.S Congress passed legislation to break a political impasse over the country's debt ceiling that rattled financial markets.
This week's gains mean the yuan, also known as the renminbi, advanced 2.1-percent against the dollar this year, after rising 1-percent last year.
 
 
Corp News
 
Anchor:
Now let's check in with some of the key events on the corporate front in China this week.
CRI's Paul James spoke earlier with Doug Young, associate professor at Fudan University and former China company news chief at Reuters.
…
Bach Anchor:
Doug Young, associate professor at Fudan University and former China company news chief at Reuters.
 
 
China's business climate index rebounds in Q3
 
China's business climate index has rebounded slightly in the third quarter, indicating the country's macroeconomic outlook is improving.
The business climate index was 121.5 points for the third quarter, up 0.9 points from the previous quarter.
The figure continued to stay above 100 points, signalling that Chinese enterprises were still operating in an upbeat climate.
The index ranges from zero to 200 points, with a reading of more than 100 indicating a sound and optimistic climate.
 
 
Dalian Iron Ore Futures Debut as China Seeks Pricing Power
 
Iron ore futures for physical delivery has debuted on the Dalian Commodity Exchange today as China takes greater control of price setting in the biggest seaborne commodity trade after oil.
The contract for delivery in May closed at 977 yuan, or 160 dollars a metric ton, after opening at the bourse-set price of 950 yuan.
The exchange, the nation's third-largest by volume of futures, will use stockpiles of the steel-making feedstock at shipping terminals including Tianjin and Qingdao, as well as material held at some mills.
Dalian's futures backed by the raw material challenge index-based contracts settled financially by CME Group, Singapore Exchange and Intercontinental Exchange.
Overseas companies will be allowed to trade via units registered in China.
 
 
Lenovo will face obstacles in any BlackBerry deal: source
 
Reuters is reporting that Chinese computer maker Lenovo is facing regulatory obstacles if it bids for all of BlackBerry and will likely pursue just parts.
Reuters cited a source familiar with the matter.
Lenovo has already signed a non-disclosure deal to examine BlackBerry's books.
BlackBerry said in August it was exploring options that could include an outright sale.
The Canadian company has since been linked with a string of potential buyers from private equity firms to rival technology companies.
Reuters says BlackBerry is also in talks with Cisco Systems, Google and Germany's SAP AG among others, about selling some parts or all of the company.
 
 
Toyota to recall 885,000 vehicles
 
Toyota is recalling 885-thousand vehicles to fix a problem that could cause a water leakage from the air conditioning unit.
The company is claiming that water could leak into the airbag control module and cause a short circuit.
It is feared that in some cases airbags could become disabled or could inadvertently deploy.
Five models are reported to be affected by the recall including Camry, Avalon and Venza made in 2012-13.
Most of the cars will be recalled in North America.
 
 
Headline News
 
 
China "strongly condemns" Yasukuni visits
 
The Chinese government has issued a statement, strongly condemning Japanese lawmakers' visits to the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine.
The comments come after some 160 Japanese lawmakers visited the shrine early Friday during its autumn festival.
China's Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin has summoned the Japanese ambassador to lodge a solemn representation.
The shrine in Tokyo honors Japan's war dead, including 14 Class-A war criminals.
It is widely considered a symbol of Japan's past military expansion.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has sent an offering to the shrine under the title of "prime minister" but refrained from visiting.
 
 
China's Q3 GDP growth accelerates to 7.8 pct
 
China's economic growth picked up pace in the third quarter, the first rise in three quarters.
The National Bureau of Statistics says the third quarter GDP expanded 7.8 percent, up from 7.5 percent in the previous three months.
The latest expansion is the strongest since the fourth quarter of 2012 when the GDP rose 7.9 percent.
Other data released also showed a growth in industrial output, retail sales and fixed asset investment.
 
 
Australia battles early wildfires, one killed
 
Fire fighters are continuing to battle almost 100-wildfires across Australia's New South Wales which has already left one person dead.
The blazes have also destroyed hundreds of houses and forced hundreds of residents to leave their homes.
Fire fighters say over two dozens fires are still going on out of control fuelled by high temperatures and strong winds.
In 2009 wildfires killed 173 people and destroyed more than 2-thousand homes in Victoria State.
Wildfires are common in Australia but usually during the summer time, which begins in December.
 
 
Al-Qaida kills 15 soldiers in suicide bomb attack on Yemeni military base
 
At least 15 Yemeni soldiers have been killed in a suicide car bomb attack on a military base in the southern province of Abyan.
Dozens of others are said to be injured in the attack, believed to be launched by al-Qaida militants.
Officials say the militants also used heavy machine guns as they targeted the military base in Ahwar district.
 
 
Chinese man wanted by police for murder of seven
 
Police in northwest China's Ningxia region have offered a reward of 100-thousand yuan for the capture of a man suspected of murdering seven people.
24-year-old Ma Yongdong is suspected of killing his pregnant wife, his parents in-law, grandparents in-law, and two children earlier this week.
Local police circulated the warrant after receiving the report.
The suspect is believed to have argued with the victims before the killings.
 
 
Newspaper Picks
 
 
 China Daily
"China set to protect historic villages"
China is determined to make extra efforts to protect its traditional and historic villages, as a huge number of them have been demolished amid rapid urbanization.
An official with the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development says historic buildings should not be removed but instead put under careful protection.
The official was speaking at a news conference in Beijing on improving the rural environment and strengthening the protection and development of ancient villages.
China Daily
"Shuttle bus makes time fly for Beijing commuters"
A subscription bus service is gaining popularity with commuters in Beijing, especially private car owners.
The service gives commuters the chance to avoid crowded subway carriages and buses on work days, with higher fares than the regular bus service and a set timetable and destinations.
Commuters can subscribe to the service three days in advance. The fare for a distance of 20 km, for example, is 15 yuan ($2.50), while the same trip by taxi costs about 100 yuan.
Equipped with air conditioning and free Wi-Fi, the service ensures a seat for every commuter and can use exclusive bus lanes, reducing traveling time significantly for rush-hour commuters.
AFP
"Sleep helps brain stay fit by clearing waste"
Researchers have said major changes occur in the brain during sleep to flush out waste and ward off disease.
In lab experiments on mice, researchers observed how cellular waste was flushed out via the brain's blood vessels into the body's circulatory system and eventually the liver.
These waste products included amyloid beta, a protein that when accumulated is a driver of Alzheimer's disease.
In order to help remove the waste, cerebral spinal fluid is pumped through brain tissue.
The process is sped along during sleep because the brain's cells shrink by about 60 percent, allowing the fluid to move faster and more freely through the brain.
The whole operation takes place in what researchers call the glymphatic system, which appears to be nearly 10 times more active during sleep than while awake.
The Japan Times
"'No privacy worries' as Japan Tourism Authority tracks tourists via 'meta data'"
Dismissing privacy concerns, the Japan Tourism Authority is planning to use location data from cellphones to track tourists and discover popular spots in the interest of developing tourism resources.
Research using such data, known as "meta data," covering an estimated 700-thousand people will be conducted on a trial basis at Mount Fuji and seven other locations until March.
Mobile carriers will update GPS phone location data every five minutes for a map information service company, which will in turn produce movement charts for analysis.
 
 
Special Reports
 
 
Taipei In Style Unveils New Generation of Clothes by Liu Min#1602
 
Anchor:
High tech sports fabrics that can detect sweat loss along with deodorising yarn are on show in Taiwan. Also at the Taipei In Style Exhibition - the latest fashions from some of Taiwan's rising stars of the catwalk.　
Let's find out more with our reporter Liu Min.
Reporter:
Several up and coming fashion designers are showing their spring and summer 2014 collections at the 8th Taipei In Style Exhibition. The event is aimed at promoting Taiwan's fashion and textile industry.
A rising star of the show is Liu Chun Ting. His summer and spring collection for 2014 is called "Seeker". The collection is primarily white with lots of romantic laces and classic looks.
Liu is an established designer in Taiwan who hopes to push through the international barrier,
"Taiwan designers have to work together to break into the international fashion industry, and to bring our collections to show to the audience abroad, so that more and more people can see works by designers from Taiwan".
Apart from styles and fashions, the show also offers a glimpse into Taiwan's high-tech textile industry. Singtex, a Taiwanese company, has found a way to recycle coffee grounds and plastic bottles by turning them into odour absorbing and stretchy fabric.
Singtex uses coffee grounds with their odour absorbing quality, by mixing them with PET plastic, resulting in this unique yarn. Singtex is calling this yarn "S.Cafe". S.Cafe not only controls odours but it is also fast drying and UV protective.
Jason Chen, the President of Singtex, explains the thinking behind the yarn:
"When people drink water, they forget the bottle. When people drink coffee, they forget coffee grounds. So those is the results. Then we are thinking there are a lot of pellets, the micro pellets in the coffee grounds that's why they can absorb the odour. And you know, the PET (from the plastic bottle), can make a yarn. So both two together, they become the innovation, recycle, function fabric"
Singtex is already providing these green materials to companies like Timberland, North Face and Hugo Boss. The Taiwan Textile Research Institute has also come up with high-tech sports wear - a shirt that can tell you how much you have lost in sweat.
A tiny detector inside the shirt will measure the PH level of a person's sweat which can in turn indicate whether or not they sweat too much. The detector can be connected to either a smartphone or a computer and can be washed and re-used.
Lien Jung-shen, the Executive Vice-President of the Taiwan Textile Research Institute explains how it works.
"We put this detector inside the cloth to detect our body condition in real time. And then we send the data to our smartphone. So those who are wearing this cloth while exercising can check their own conditions and avoid any incidents".
Taipei In Style expects to welcome more than 25,000 visitors this month.
For CRI, I'm Liu Min.
 
 
Sports
 
 
Red Sox defeat Tigers to go within one game of reaching World Series
 
Beginning with Baseball,
AND the Boston Red Sox have moved within striking distance of reaching the World Series.
They edged out the Detroit Tigers 4-3 to take a three-two lead in the best-of-seven American League World Championship Series.
Detroit missed a golden opportunity to score early in the game and that was punished by the Red Sox who seized the lead with three runs at the beginning of the second innings.
Throughout the match the Tigers did all they could to fight back and came within a whisker of leveling the score, but Boston managed to hold out for the win.
Mike Napoli, the Red Sox who helped his side by hitting his second home-run of the series explained why he has been playing so well of late:
"I've been feeling good all series. I can't really put my finger on it, just going up there trying to give a tough at-bat every time. I got some pitches that I could handle."
The Red Sox's pitcher, Jon Lester spoke of how crucial Napoli has been for the team:
"He's obviously picked us up in big situations throughout the season. And tonight was another one of those situations, picking us up 1-0 right there off a pretty good pitcher. It's a big yard to go in that park, and he made this yard look small with that swing. It's been fun to be his teammate this year, and hopefully we can continue that in the future."
Game 6 will take place tomorrow with the Tigers' Max Scherzer facing the Red Sox's Clay Buchholz.
 
 
Basketball - Lakers take on Golden State Warriors in Shanghai - Livescore
 
In Basketball
The Lakers and Golden State Warriors have just begun their second global game matchup, at the Mercez-Benz Centre in Shanghai.
The Lakers fell to the Warriors 100-95 in their first game here in Beijing and ahead of this match Lakers center, Jordan Hill, said he really wants to even the score:
"Luckily it was a pre-season game, but we still want to go out there and compete, work hard and play hard, and definitely give us a chance to know what we need to work on before the regular season starts. But Golden States is a good team, you know, but we feel a really good team too. we just got to focus on our defense, on the defense side, we will be good."
 
 
 
Hedblom takes two shot lead on second day of Perth International
 
In Golf,
Peter Hedblom has taken a two shot lead after the second day of the Perth International.
The Swede is under pressure as he needs to win here in order to retain his European Tour Card.
After an impressive four-under-par round of 68 on the first day the 43-year-old continued on good form to card 69 on the second day to be seven under overall.
Englishman Ross Fisher rocketed into second place after carding 67 on day two, he sits just ahead of a chasing group of three golfers who all sit four under par at the half way point.
 
 
Golf Rory McIlroy two shots behind at Korean Open
 
Staying with golf
AND Rory McIlroy has moved to within two shots of the lead at the Korean Open which contained just six pars.
The world number six began badly carding three bogeys in a row in his opening nine, he managed to pull himself together later on making up for it with four birdies in seven holes.
The 24-year-old is searching for his first win in a disappointing season but is currently tied for fourth.
Korea's Soon-sang Hong is currently in the lead a stroke clear of the rest of the field.
 
 
England World Cup Qualification overshadowed by racism row
 
In football, or soccer for our American listeners,
England coach Roy Hodgson says he and his players are angry that their World Cup qualification has been overshadowed by claims of racism during the half time team talk.
England qualified for their fifth consecutive Cup in a tough group after defeating Poland two-nil on Tuesday.
HOWEVER, the spotlight quickly moved to a joke the England boss told during half time which told the story of an astronaut and a monkey on a NASA mission.
He was trying to explain to right-back Chris Smalling that he needed to feed the ball to a fellow black player Andros Townsend using the analogy.
He said the monkey does all the work and the astronaut just needs to "feed the monkey."
One of the players made an anonymous complaint about the joke, but Hodgson quickly apologised for any offence caused saying it had been taken out of context.
The English football association quickly backed the England manager saying he is "an honourable man, and of the "highest integrity" a position supported by anti-racism in sport campaigners, kick-it-out.
Andros Townsend later tweeted that he didn't know what all the fuss was about, "No offence was meant and none was taken!"
 
 
Entertainment
 
 
 Tokyo Film Fest; Tom Hanks, Sofia Coppola, Chinese Director Chen Kaige
 
Several Hollywood mega stars such as actor Tom Hanks and filmmaker Sofia Coppola attended the opening of the 26th Tokyo International Film Festival.
Hanks' new film Captain Phillips will be screened at the festival.
The film tells the true tale of the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama ship by Somali pirates.
Captain Phillips' director Paul Greengrass also attended the opening and had nothing but good things to say about Hanks' acting abilities.
"He's a legend, a great great actor and I think he's given one of his greatest performances. I really really do. I think he is absolutely outstanding and I think when people see this film here in Japan and throughout Asia, I think they are really going to love it."
Hanks reciprocated Greengrass' admiration.
"I did want to work with Paul Greengrass, you know he made two of the most important movies I've ever seen which was 'Bloody Sunday' and 'United 93' and when I had a first chance to meet him, all I did was say 'How did you do that?' 'How did you make those movies?' and then we got to do this together. We had a fabulous three hour meeting where I agreed that he was the guy I was in love with in order to make the film."
Sofia Coppola will be screening her newest film The Bling Ring starring actress Emma Watson of Harry Potter fame.
Like Captain Phillips, real events inspired Coppola to make the film.
"It was from a real news article and when I read the article I thought it was an interesting story and timely."
Chinese filmmaker Chen Kaige will preside over this year's festival jury, but says he is also looking forward to enjoying all the films from a director's viewpoint.
 
 
Hugh Jackman Promotes Wolverine in China
 
Aussie actor Hugh Jackman was in Beijing to promote and attend the Chinese premiere of his new film The Wolverine.
Jackman, who has been playing the Wolverine role for the past 13-years, has revealed he is unsure whether he'll continue after next year's X-Men Day's of Future Past.
The actor says he hasn't yet made that decision, but will have to in the near future.
The upcoming X-Men film will be Jackman's 7th time portraying the volatile mutant Wolverine.
Chinese actress Fan Bingbing will also appear in Days of Future Past as a mutant named Blink.
After working with her on the new film, Jackman says he believes she will be as big a star in the US as she is here in China.
The Wolverine opened in China yesterday.
 
 
Trailer for Wes Anderson's New Film Released
 
An official trailer for filmmaker and contemporary auteur Wes Anderson's newest film the Grand Budapest Hotel has been released.
The film looks like it will be Anderson's most ambitious project to date and features a ridiculous all-star cast including Ralph Fiennes, Tilda Swindon, Bill Murray, and Adrien Brody among several others.
The trailer features clips from the film in Anderson's classic weird, and distinct style of filmmaking and quirky dialogue.
The story follows an eccentric rake played by Fiennes and his trusted lobby boy played by Tony Revolon who is on the run from police after an ex-lover is found dead.
The Grand Budapest Hotel is scheduled to hit theaters sometime next year.
 
 
Recording of Grateful Dead Show Found
 
A recording of a famous live performance of classic American rock band The Grateful Dead has surfaced.
Any audio recording of the performance was thought to be lost to time, but apparently a quality copy has been found.
Fans of the band, known as Dead Heads, are in for a treat as Rhino Records has announced it will release a new album of the live show in its entirety.
The legendary performance took place in San Francisco, California at the Family Dog at the Great Highway on April 18th, 1970.
The 80-minute, 17-song show includes performances of classic songs like Friend of the Devil and also rare covers like Wake Up Little Susie.
75-hundred copies of the new album will be pressed to vinyl as well.
 
 
Psy Collaborates with Steven Tyler
 
South Korean pop sensation Psy has recorded a collaboration track with Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler.
The unlikely collaboration will appear on Psy's upcoming album.
Psy has revealed he used to cry as a teenager when he listened to the Aerosmith songs Crazy and Amazing calling the band role models for him.
He went on to tease fans they may expect to hear new music as early as next month.
 
 
A quick recap of headlines before we go.
China's GDP rebounds in the third quarter.
Fire fighters in Australia continue to battle wildfires across New South Wales.
US government employees head back to work after the shutdown.
Business，China's yuan rises to record highs against the dollar.