新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 08:00 2014/04/07

The Beijing Hour
 
Morning Edition

 
 
Shane Bigham with you on this Monday, April 07th, 2014.
Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
Coming up on our program this morning...
Chinese and international search crews are chasing down a new lead in the hunt for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370...
The votes are now being counted in Afghanistan in the country's latest presidential election.
And it looks like work on the final draft of a nuclear deal between Iran and several world powers could begin as early as next month...
In Business...Weibo has unveiled the terms of its upcoming IPO...
In sports...another China Open championship for snooker ace Ding Junhui...
In entertainment...Captain America breaks a box office record
But first... lets get a check on the weather...
 
 
Weather
 
 
Beijing will be sunny today, with a high of 27 degree Celsius.
Overnight temperatures should drop down to around 10.
Shanghai will see slight rain during the daytime with a high of 19.
Overnight, it will be overcast with a low of 13.
In Chongqing will be cloudy with a high of 24.
Overnight temperatures should drop down to around 15.
Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia.
Islamabad will see moderate rain with a high of 24.
Kabul will be sunny with a high of 17.
Over to North America.
New York will be overcast today with a high of 11 degrees.
Washington will have moderate rain with a high of 13 degrees.
Honolulu, overcast, 28.
Toronto, Canada, will have moderate rain with a high of 10 degrees.
Finally, on to South America,
Buenos Aires will see thundershowers with a high of 26.
And Rio de Janeiro will be sunny with a high of 31 degrees Celsius.
 
 
Top News
 
 
Chinese and Australian vessels detect acoustic signals
 
Anchor
Naval vessels carrying deep-sea black box detectors are rushing to an area where Chinese and Australian ships detected acoustic signals, the latest lead in the hunt for missing flight MH370.
CRI's Alexander Aucott has more.
Reporter
Angus Houston, head of the Joint Agency Coordination Center, is urging caution when it comes to any details released regarding the missing Malaysia Airlines plane.
The comment comes as officials are trying to confirm whether the pulse signals picked up by ships in the southern Indian Ocean came from the missing flight.
"This is an important and encouraging lead, but one which I urge you continue to treat carefully. We are working in a very big ocean and within a very large search area and so far, since the aircraft went missing, we've had very few leads which allow us to narrow the search area."
On Friday, Chinese vessel Haixun 01 detected a signal at 37.5 kilohertz, the same frequency emitted by flight data recorders like the one aboard MH370.
The vessel detected the signal again for about 90 seconds on Saturday just 2km away from the original spot.
A number of floating objects have also been sighted on the surface some 90 kilometers from the detection area.
Later on Sunday, Australian navy vessel Ocean Shield detected a separate acoustic signal in its search location.
The signal was detected about 300 nautical miles away from where the Chinese crew picked up its signal.
Malaysian authorities say that the signals have not been verified as coming from the missing aircraft.
Azharuddin Abdul Rahman is Malaysia's civil aviation chief.
"They say that the frequency is 37.5. That is the frequency for such equipment, so we have to verify. We're not sure yet so there are few, one or two ships going there to verify and we have not got any information yet. Of course, we're going to hope for the best, but then everything needs to be confirmed, needs to be verified."
A British navy vessel, which is fitted with sophisticated sound locating equipment, has arrived in the area where the Chinese vessel picked up the pulse signal.
Australia's Ocean Shield is also expected to head to the area after investigating the sound it picked up on Sunday.
In parallel with the search, Malaysian authorities are also pressing ahead with an investigation into what happened to the ill-fated plane.
It is reported that investigators have now found that the jetliner curved north of western Indonesia before turning south toward the southern Indian Ocean.
The latest finding adds to the assumption that the plane was flown deliberately along a route designed to avoid radar detection.
But so far investigators have not ruled out possible causes of the plane's diversion, such as mechanical problems.
It remains unknown who the investigators think might have piloted the aircraft after it vanished from radar.
For CRI, I'm Alexander Aucott.
 
 
Vote counted as Afghanistan completes presidential election
 
Vote counting is currently underway in Afghanistan after millions of the country's citizens participated in a presidential election over the weekend.
Nearly 60 percent of the 12 million people eligible to vote turned out for Saturday's vote.
The bigger-than-expected turnout comes amid the Taliban's previous threat to disrupt the election.
Thijs (tice) Berman, the head of the European Union's election assessment team in Kabul has hailed the vote as a victory.
"I was impressed. I was moved personally as a democrat coming here on the invitation of the Afghan authorities to observe this elections, to make a assessment of it, to evaluate them, so I found it an impressive day and a victory against all those who wanted to mar these elections by violence."
Meanwhile, the Chinese Foreign Ministry says China hopes the election will be a new start for the country's unity and stability.
The UN Security Council also welcomed the election, urging all stakeholders in the country to respect electoral institutions.
Currently, the front-runners are former foreign ministers Abdullah Abdullah and Zalmai Rassoul, as well as Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, an academic and former World Bank official.
Incumbent President Hamid Karzai is constitutionally prevented from seeking a third term.
If any candidate does not receive 50 percent plus one in this round of voting, then the polls will go to a second round between the top two candidates.
The preliminary results are expected to be out later this month and the final result will be announced in mid-May.
 
 
Live call-in Afghan elections
 
For more on the Afghan elections, we are now joined on the line with Jia Xiudong, a senior research fellow with China Institute of International Studies.
1. The election has now completed, and Afghan leader has hailed the election and turnout as a success. What do you think about the election? Which candidate do you think is likely to win?
2. Earlier, the Afghan government tried to start talks with the Taliban, but dozens of people were killed in the violence during the election. What challenges will the new president face when dealing with the Taliban?
3. Earlier, Karzai refused to sign a deal to allow thousands of US soldiers to remain after NATO withdraws troops at the end of this year. Is the new leadership likely to change the government's policy towards the U.S?
Back Anchor:
That was Jia Xiudong, a senior research fellow with China Institute of International Studies.
 
 
Iran, powers likely to draft final nuclear deal next month: official
 
Iran and several world powers could begin drafting a final nuclear agreement as early as next months.
Iranian Deputy foreign minister Abbas Araqchi made the remarks followed a three-day nuclear experts meeting, which concluded in Vienna over the weekend.
Araqchi has also indicated that the Arak heavy water plant and Iran's uranium enrichment activities will be among the topics during the next round of bargaining.
Nuclear experts from Iran and the P5+1 group, namely Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States plus Germany attended the meeting.
Western powers have been demanding Iran significantly scale-back its nuclear program, while Iran is demanding sanctions relief.
 
 
Netanyahu says Palestinians have "much to lose" by acting unilaterally
 
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country will react with "unilateral" measures against recent steps by the Palestinian government to approach the United Nations.
"The Palestinians' threats to approach the UN will not affect us. The Palestinians have much to lose by taking unilateral steps. They will only achieve a state through a direct negotiation, not by empty declarations or unilateral measures. These will only push further away a peace agreement. Unilateral steps on their part will be answered by unilateral steps from our side. We are willing to continue with the talks but not at any cost."
The Palestinians announced that they would seek greater international recognition by signing up to 15 UN treaties and conventions.
The move came as a response to Israel's refusal to release a group of Palestinian prisoners, as promised.
Following that, Israel's chief negotiator in the peace talks with the Palestinians said the talks are in crisis but must continue.
The US government openly expressed its frustration at the lack of progress being made in its mediated negotiations.
US Secretary of State John Kerry has urged the two parties to compromise and make a decision.
The current Middle East peace talks began last summer with an end-of-April target for a deal to be reached.
 
 
Peace Efforts in Spite of Tension
 
Anchor
Despite continuous tension between Israel and its neighbors, ordinary Israelis are striving towards attaining peace in the region.
CRI's XYee has more.
Reporter
In the Western Galilee Medical Center - Nahariya, a hospital 6 miles from the northern border of Israel, a Syrian patient describes what happened to his 3-year-old twin children during the Syrian civil war.
"Their mother wanted to take them to the shelter, when they were bombarded by cluster bombs, causing the death of my son, while my daughter was injured in the head. I was in the field hospital for medical treatment, when I heard the voice of my little girl. I went to see what happened. I saw my daughter crying with her brain detached from her body..."
The girl was sent to the Nahariya hospital in February with her father and survived after being treated for about one month. The father says he appreciates the hospital for the excellent quality of treatment which they would never have been able to receive elsewhere.
Since March last year, the hospital has treated over 200 patients from Syria. About one third of them are women and children.
Dr. Tsvi Sheleg, Assistant Director-General of the hospital, says it's their mission to save the lives of all their patients regardless of background.
"We don't care where he's from, what he's done, where he's going. He's a patient, he's wounded, he needs help. Everyone does what they do, to the best that they can. These are citizens of our neighbor's that they don't like us that much. But once they come here, and we look into their eyes, and we help them, we aid them, we cure them, we are willing to be there for them not just medicalwise."
Although the hospital staff describe their efforts as merely a "a drop in the ocean", pediatrician Yoav Hoffman says the treatments here have somehow changed the attitudes of the Syrian patients towards Israelis.
"First they were frightened. They thought that we would harm them and that we would torture them. Then in a few days they understood what we are doing, and they cried when they went out. We brought them some clothes. One child we took her to the sea, and she didn't want to leave."
In Kibbutz Sasa, an Israeli collective community located a mile from the Lebanese border facing potential rocket attacks, Edna and Yehuda Calo Livne are trying to build bridges between people of different cultural backgrounds. The couple founded a multi-culture theatre, and co-work with Jews, Muslims, Christians and Druze people.
"We can make something that brings them closer. I think if we can live and cooperate together in all the area, there's no reason that we'll not do that in the future between us and Lebanon, and between us and Syria."
And by performing in both Israel and abroad, the youngsters from the theatre, Jews and Arabs are together sending the message of peace.
For CRI, I'm XYee.
 
 
The US announced to deploy two more destroyers to Japan by 2017
 
The US Defense Secretary has announced that the United States will deploy two additional ballistic missile defense destroyers to Japan by 2017.
Chuck Hagel says it's part of an effort to bolster Japan's protection from the threat of North Korean missiles.
"In response to Pyongyang's pattern of provocative and destabilizing actions, including recent missile launches in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, I can announce today that the United States is planning to forward-deploy two additional AEGIS ballistic missile defense ships to Japan by 2017."
He made the announcement after a meeting with his Japanese counterpart Itsunori Onodera.
Last week, North Korea accused the US of being "hell-bent on regime change" and warned that any actions displaying that intention will be viewed as a "red line" that will result in countermeasures.
The two additional ships will bring the number of US ballistic missile defense warships in Japan to seven, and it continues US efforts to increase its focus on the Asia Pacific region.
Hagel is on a 10-day trip across the region, and just spent three days in Hawaii meeting with Southeast Asian defense ministers.
Japan is his second stop, where he says he wants to assure Japanese leaders that the US is strongly committed to protecting their country's security.
 
 
Biz Reports
 
 
Reporter
After their worst week in several years, high-flying stocks in the US that defied gravity throughout 2013 look like they're in for more punishment.
Familiar names such as Netflix, Facebook and Tesla Motors, along with a number of biotechnology and cloud-computing stocks, have been pummeled in the last month.
Expectations for earnings have come down for the first quarter, but investors are hoping for an improved outlook for most of the S&P 500.
That may cause the rotation away from hyper-growth to steady growth to continue.
Earnings season begins this week with reports from Bed Bath & Beyond, Wells Fargo and JP Morgan Chase.
First-quarter S&P 500 companies' earnings are projected to have increased just 1.2 percent from a year ago.
The forecast is down sharply from the start of the year, when growth was estimated at 6.5 percent.
Elsewhere, the week is punctuated by UK's February's official figures for the manufacturing sector tomorrow and construction on Friday.
While UK manufacturing output is believed to have grown slightly, construction may have fallen back after the floods boosted activity in February.
The latest UK trade figures will be published on Wednesday, as will the minutes of the last Federal Reserve meeting.
Questions about Marks & Spencer's strategy are likely to intensify this week when the retailer reports another fall in clothing sales.
M&S is due to update on trading for the three months to the end of March on Thursday.
On Friday we'll expect UK's construction output for February.
Meanwhile, IMF and the World Bank Spring will hold their annual spring meeting.
 
 
Weibo unveils estimated IPO terms
 
Social-media service Weibo, known as "the Twitter of China," has unveiled estimated terms for an initial public offering in the United States.
It has set an IPO price range between 17 and 19 US dollars.
Weibo estimates it will receive net proceeds from the IPO, as well as a concurrent private placement from e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, of about 377 million dollars.
Weibo intends to use the proceeds to enhance its brand recognition, retain talented employees by providing equity incentives and obtain additional capital.
It also intends to use about 250 million US dollars to repay loans to its owner Sina.
Weibo's revenue nearly doubled last year to 188 million US dollars, but the company still lost 38 million.
In terms of users, Weibo is about half the size of Twitter.
 
 
House of Fraser Bought Out By Chinese Conglomerate
 
Anchor
A Chinese conglomerate has reached an agreement to purchase nearly 90 percent of Britain's iconic retailer House of Fraser.
Nanjing-based Sanpower, one of China's largest privately-owned business conglomerate, will spend around 740 million US dollars.
Reports suggest Sanpower is planning to inject between 116- and 133-million dollars into House of Fraser to finance a wide-ranging store revamp and website improvements.
It may also take the department store into China by opening new stores or rebranding existing sites as House of Fraser.
Sanpower is run by Yuan Yafei, whose empire spreads across finance, property, IT and now employs 30 thousand people. The company has assets worth nearly 8 billion US dollars.
House of Fraser, which has 61 locations, generates nearly 2 billion US dollars in revenue per year and employs 7 thousand 3 hundred people.
For more on this, we're joined live now by Mike Bastin, Visiting Professor of China's University of Economics and Business.
Questions
--French retailer Galeries Lafayette had long been engaged in a takeover attempt of Fraser, and failed. Why sell to Sanpower instead?
--What does this deal do for Fraser, in terms of its business development here in China? Where do you think will be the test area for Sanpower and Fraser to collaborate, online shopping perhaps?
--How will the deal influence HoF's plan to get listed by the end of this year?
--Sanpower has made a series of merger & acquisition moves recently. Will this continue? What's their end game?
--The deal is the latest in a string of high-profile British companies and assets to be puchased by Chinese firms. (Previous acquisitioins include China's Geely buying Manganese Bronze, and Wanda acquiring Sunseeker,a luxury yacht firm, etc.) What in particular in the UK has been attracting Chinese investors? Do you see such a trend may continue?
Back Anchor:
Mike Bastin, Visiting Professor of China's University of Economics and Business.
 
 
SriLankan Airlines commences direct flights to China
 
SriLankan Airlines will commence direct flights between Beijing, Shanghai and Sri Lanka this week after years of preparations.
Those heading for the Maldives will reach their destination with just one stop at either of the international airports in Sri Lanka.
SriLankan Airlines previously flew to China via Bangkok, with tourists heading for the Maldives filling many seats.
An Airbus A330-200 will fly Colombo to Beijing on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
Colombo-Shanghai will be scheduled on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
 
 
Headline News
 
 
Chinese and Australian vessels detect acoustic signals
 
Naval vessels carrying deep-sea black box detectors are rushing to an area where Chinese and Australian ships detected acoustic signals, the latest lead in the hunt for missing flight MH370.
But officials say they can't confirm that the signals that have been detected come from the flight recorders that were aboard the missing flight.
On Friday, Chinese vessel Haixun 01 detected a signal at 37.5 kilohertz, the same frequency emitted by flight data recorders like the one aboard MH370.
The vessel detected the signal again for about 90 seconds on Saturday just 2km away from the original spot.
Later on Sunday, Australian navy vessel Ocean Shield detected a separate acoustic signal in its search location.
The signal was detected about 300 nautical miles away from the one picked up by the Chinese crew.
 
 
Vote counted as Afghanistan completes presidential election
 
The votes are being counted following this weekend's presidential election in Afghanistan.
Officials say voter turnout was at about 60-percent. The higher-than-expected rate comes despite threats from the Taliban to disrupt the election.
The head of the European Union's election assessment team in Kabul has hailed the vote as a victory for the Afghan people and their government.
There are three front-runners in the race, including two former Afghan foreign ministers and a former official from the World Bank.
If one of them gets 50-percent of the vote plus one, the election is over.
A second round of voting between the top two finishers will be held if there is no first-round winner.
Preliminary results are expected to be out later this month and the final result will be announced in mid-May.
 
 
Hungary polls close, incumbent Fidesz party expected to win
 
Exit polls indicate victory for Hungary's incumbent conservative government led by the Fidesz Party, and its small ally the Christian Democrats.
Polls closed at 7pm on Sunday local time.
The exit poll found 48 percent support for the current government, while 27 percent have voted for the leading opposition group, a left-wing coalition.
Hungry's far-right Jobbik Party received support from 18 percent of voters, while the green LMP received 6 percent.
 
 
Iran, powers likely to draft final nuclear deal next month: official
 
Work could begin as early as next month on the final draft of a nuclear agreement between Iran and several world powers.
The news has been confirmed by an Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister who is involved in the negotiations.
The official commented following three days of meetings involving nuclear experts that concluded over the weekend in Vienna.
Iran has been in negotiations with the P5+1 group over its nuclear program for several months.
The other nations are China, the United States, Britain, France, and Russia. The "plus 1" is Germany.
Iran wants western powers to ease sanctions while the other nations want Iran to curb its nuclear program.
 
 
Blaze kills 10 at nursing home in Chile
 
A fire at a nursing home in Chile has killed ten people, including nine residents.
The nursing home is located some 870 kilometers south of the Chilean capital, Santiago.
Police say neighbors were able to rescue three people, but all others, including a caretaker, died in the blaze because the nursing home had locked patients inside their rooms.
Most of the twelve patients at the nursing home lived with disabilities and mental illnesses.
The cause of the blaze is under investigation.
 
 
Newspaper Picks
 
 
CHINA DAILY
Headline
China tightens water security for Boao Forum for Asia
Summary
A marine surveillance ship is heading to Boao, South China's Hainan province, where the annual Forum is to be held starting Tuesday.
A fleet of six marine surveillance ships will monitor maritime traffic safety, investigate maritime accidents, detect pollution, and carry out other missions during the four-day forum.
BEIJING MORNING POST
Headline
DNA tests for CPV remains returned to China
Summary
Officials say DNA will be collected from the remains of Chinese soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War.
A database will identify the dead and DNA tests will be available on request from relatives of the soldiers.
The remains of 437 Chinese People's Volunteer soldiers were brought from the Republic of Korea to China last week to rest in a "martyrs' park" in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province.
GLOBALTIMES
Headline
Beijing construction site cameras to monitor pollution
Summary
Beijing has required all its urban construction sites to install cameras by the end of June to assess how contractors' practices add to the capital's smog problem.
The municipal commission of housing and urban-rural development will punish companies that use unqualified trucks to carry earth or allow outdoor construction to continue on heavily polluted days.
BEIJING NEWS
Headline
Building that collapsed reported unsafe in December
Summary
A building that collapsed in Fenghua, Zhejiang province this past Friday was registered as "unsafe" in December but no remedial measures were taken.
Local media says residents had reported cracks in a wall, and some windows and doors could not be closed properly because of twisted frames.
Local authorities say residents in the remaining section and buildings nearby have been evacuated.
BEIJING TIMES
Headline
Supervision of abandoned infants strengthened
Summary
China's health watchdog has released a regulation on the safety of newborns, which orders placing new-borns without guardians under proper care.
The rules order medical institutions to consult with the mothers or other guardians to confirm the deaths of infants, and stipulates the remains should not be treated as medical waste.
SHANGHAI DAILY
Headline
City trial for international curriculum
Summary
A total of 21 local high schools have been chosen for a trial of international curriculum following a study by the Shanghai Education Commission.
Students who want to learn international curriculum need to sit for a pre-admission exam held by the school.
The SEC says students must attend the city's unified entrance exam for high schools as well.
GUANGZHOU DAILY
Headline
Heavy rainfalls to hit South China
Summary
The National Meteorological Center says rainfall will hit South China over the coming two days with the provinces of Guangxi and Guangdong to see strong rainstorms.
The center is warning authorities in regions south of the Yangtze River and some parts in South China to guard against possible floods, landslides, mud-rock flows and waterlogging.
 
 
Special Reports
 
 
Campaign to curb rising obesity in China
 
Anchor
As China's economy has expanded over the last two decades, so have the waistlines of its people.
In response, the Chinese government is leading a caimpaign to curb rising obesity in China.
CRI's Jordan Lee has more.
Reporter
Statistics from the China Centre for Disease Control and Prevention show that in 2010, 130 million people over the age of 18 were obese.
It is estimated that there are about 170 million obese adults in China today, which is 12% of the total population.
31-year old Wang Xin is 5.7 feet tall and weighs over 150 kilograms.
He has joined a weight loss camp in Beijing because he started to feel that his weight was threatening his health.
"Some friends of mine like me are getting cerebral thrombosis and hemorrhages only in their mid-thirties. This makes me realise that it's quite easy for overweight guys like us to get these diseases. That's why I'm here to reduce my weight."
Yang Tao is the founder of the weight loss camp.
He said since the camp opened 5 years ago, the number of participants has been increasing 30% year on year.
He also pinpointed unhealthy eating habits as one of the main causes of the rise in obesity.
"Living conditions are better. People are eating better food than before. However people are not selective enough in front of food. They are stuffing all kinds of delicious food into their mouths and have become fond of eating. This has tremendously increased the burden on our bodies. "
For an individual, obesity can cause health problems and even psychological pressure.
A rising obesity rate is also problematic for society in general.
Professor Wang Wenjuan is a researcher specializing in obesity at China Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
She warns that increases in obesity-related illness poses a threat to China in the future:
"If we don't start controlling the trend, the costs of obesity in the fields of public health, medical service and labour supply will be unaffordable for China. Now the impact has already been quite serious."
To tackle the issue, the government spent over 2 billion yuan (330 million US$) last year on a campaign to curb the rising obesity rate.
The projects are financed by the National Sports Administration.
The government's target is to get the obesity rate at or below 12% by the year 2015.
For CRI, I'm Jordan Lee
 
 
Sports
 
 
Ding beats Robertson to win 2014 China Open
 
In snooker,
Chinese snooker ace Ding Junhui has clinched his second title at the China Open, defeating world No.1 Neil Robertson 10-5 here in Beijing.
Ding has now tied snooker legend Stephen Hendry's five ranking-title record during a single season.
Ding took a comfortable lead during the first half. However, he suffered a tough time in the second.
Robertson and Ding halved the first four victories during the second half, giving Ding the champion point after the 13th frame.
Robertson saved one championship point with a 74-9 win in frame 14, before Ding finally secured the victory with 66 points in a row.
Ding won his first gold medal here in 2005 after beating Stephen Hendry.
 
 
Sri Lanka lifts maiden World T20 title
 
Sri Lanka has collected its first World T20 title following three attempts.
Batting first, India set a modest total of 132 runs for four wickets in their 20 overs at Bangladesh's Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
Sri Lanka, which was desperate for the glory, chased down the target in 17.5 overs losing four wickets.
Kumar Sangakkara smacked 52 runs off just 35 balls to guide Sri Lanka to a six-wicket victory over India.
"It's amazing. It's a feeling that I can't explain. It's the first time that I've been a part of a side that's won a World Cup. We've been disappointed four times before. It's hard to describe it exactly what you feel but you feel very humbled I think at the end because you realise how difficult it is to get here, how much support you need, not just from your team mates; you need it from your family, from your fans (and) all the support staff. You can never do anything alone. You might be the best batsman in the world or the best bowler in the world you need a lot of support and I think we are very grateful for that and moments like this I think you have got to think back and reflect and really be thankful for that because without that you wouldn't be here and have the opportunity to do this. So, it's been an amazing journey and walking away, it's time and walk away like this is even better."
Sri Lanka finally managed to break the jinx of losing the finals of global events.
The team had gone down in the decider of the 50-over World Cup in 2007 and 2011 and T20 World Cup in 2009 and 2012.
 
 
Hamilton wins Bahrain F1 Grand Prix
 
Over in the Formula One race.
Lewis Hamilton has claimed the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix. He won the race on Sunday after a duel with Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg.
The win was the Briton's second in a row, the 24th of his career.
Hamilton made the better start from second place on the grid and led into the first corner.
However, he was never able to shake off Rosberg.
"Nico drove fantastically well. It was so fair but so hard to keep him behind me."
Hamilton won by a little over 1 seconds and described the race as the hardest since his 2007 debut season.
Rosberg, winner of the season-opener in Australia, stayed top of the overall standings with 61 points to Hamilton's 50 after three races.
"I strongly dislike coming second to Lewis, but it was definitely the most exciting race I have ever done in my entire career."
So far, Mercedes has won all three races in 2014.
 
 
Norway wins gold in World men's Curling Championship
 
Norway has won the gold medal in the 2014 World men's Curling Championship with an overwhelming 8-3 win over Sweden on Sunday.
Norway got off to a great start scoring a point in each of the first two ends and two points in the third.
Another point in the fourth end had Norway leading 5-0 going into the fifth.
Defending champion Sweden earned two points in the seventh end.
But that wasn't good enough to take down the dominant Norway side.
In the eighth end, Norway answered with two points and concluded the match.
It is Norway's first world champion following nine recent attempts.
Earlier in the day, Switzerland beat Sochi Winter Olympic champion Canada 7-5 to claim the bronze medal.
This is the first time that Canada didn't medal in the world championship in 13 years.
 
 
Gruelling Marathon des Sables gets underway in Morocco
 
The 29th edition of the Marathon des Sables is now underway in Morocco.
More than 1,000 extreme sport enthusiasts have taken part in the running.
Sunday's first leg was a 34km run, including 12km of sand land, a rocky plateau and a 3km of large dunes.
Winner of the race back in 2012, Moroccan Rachid El Morabity won the leg in 3 h04'56'', twelve seconds ahead of compatriot and reigning champion, Mohamad Ahansal.
In the women's race, French runner Laurence Klein, triple winner of the event and the pre-event favorite, took the lead from the outset.
The grueling six stage race is due to finish next Saturday.
 
 
Entertainment
 
 
Captain America breaks April box-office record
 
(Captain America)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier has opened to a record-breaking weekend.
The superhero sequel made 96.2 million dollars in North America and an early worldwide total of over 303 million.
The 3D action film, starring Chris Evans in the lead role, is the top April opening of all time. It follows the story of Captain America who is struggling to adjust to modern life after spending decades entombed in ice since the Second World War.
He continues to work for the government intelligence agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D. but begins to be suspicious of them, meanwhile he encounters an old foe from the Soviet Era known as the Winter Soldier.
This film was released in China on Friday (April 4)
 
 
Five-year-old bypasses Microsoft Xbox security
 
Start you off today in entertainment with a couple of gaming stories…
First of all, A five-year-old boy in the US has managed to outsmart Microsoft by finding a "backdoor" into his father's Xbox live account, bypassing the password.
Kristoffer von Hassel found that when he pressed the space bar several times he could log in without the normal procedure.
Kristoffer's father, who works in internet security, was so proud that he made a video and sent it to Microsoft.
The American tech giant was very impressed and quickly fixed the bug. They also recently put Kristoffer's name on the Xbox website, listing him as a "security researcher."
It is reportedly not the first time he has outsmarted technology. At a year old he figured out how to unlock his dad's phone by holding down the 'Home' button.
 
 
World's largest tetris game played in Philadelphia
 
(Tetris)
Hundreds of nostalgic gamers got their chance to play the world's largest game of Tetris this weekend.
The game was set up on the side of the 29-storey Cira Centre in Philadelphia in the USA.
The center is covered with hundreds of LED lights on its glass fa?ade, which normally displays colorful geometric patterns at night, but organizers decided to put it to better use.
The game kicks off the city-wide Philly Tech Week, as well as marking the Tetris' 30th birthday.
Tetris was invented by Russian computer programmer Alexey Pajitnov in 1984, and became a global hit soon after when it was offered on Nintendo's original Game Boy.
 
 
 
That’s it for this edition of the Beijing Hour.
A quick recap of headlines before we go.
Chinese and international search crews are chasing down a new lead in the hunt for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370...
The votes are now being counted in Afghanistan in the country's latest presidential election.
And it looks like work on the final draft of a nuclear deal between Iran and several world powers could begin as early as next month...
In Business...Weibo has unveiled the terms of its upcoming IPO...
On behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers, this is Shane Bigham in Beijing hoping you'll join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour to open a window to the world together.