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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
The Beijing Hour
Evening Edition
Paul James with you this Tuesday, May 6, 2014.
Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
Coming up on the programme this evening...
China and the African Union are pledging to work more closely as part of a visit to AU headquarters by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
Another Chinese citizen has been kidnapped in eastern Malaysia by suspected Filipino militants.
The Chinese government is taking issue with new comments from Japan's Prime Minister, who is comparing the tensions between China and Japan to that of the UK and Germany ahead of World War I.
In business, an electric vehicle research group is being established here in Beijing.
In sports, Liverpool barely clinging to the top of the English Premiership following a draw with Crystal Palace.
In entertainment, actress Gong Li has been tapped to head the jury at this year's Shanghai International Film Festival.
Weather
Beijing will have thundershowers tonight with a low of 10 degrees Celsius. Sunny tomorrow with a high of 25 degrees.
Meanwhile Shanghai will be clear tonight, with a low of 15, cloudy tomorrow, with a high of 26.
Chongqing will be cloudy, 17 degrees the low, sunny tomorrow tomorrow with a high of 29.
Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia
Islamabad, thundershowers with a high of 35.
Kabul, sunny, 25.
Over in Australia
Sydney, sunny, high of 19.
Canberra, sunny, 16.
Brisbane, overcast, 24.
And finally, Perth will be rainy with a high of 21
Top News
China, AU to comprehensively deepen cooperation
Anchor:
China and the African Union have issued a new pledge to try to deepen their deepen cooperation in both development and international affairs.
This follows a visit to the AU's headquarters in Ethiopia by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
CRI's Jordan Lee has more.
Reporter:
The statement hails China-Africa cooperation as playing an important role in promoting the development of the two sides, and in the peace, stability and development of the world as a whole.
It says China will continue its support of the AU in advancing the African integration process, and upholding Africa's peace and security.
The AU pledges in the statement that it will play an active role in promoting China-Africa cooperation in all fields.
The both sides also call the international support for the development in the continent.
During his visit to the AU headquarters, the Chinese premier also gives a speech in which he expounded China's Africa policy.
" We are willing to communicate and share the experience and opportunities with African countries to pursue inclusive development. China is willing to share the advanced technologies it has developed with AU members. We are also willing to transfer some labor-intensive industries to Africa to improve employment here, which is beneficial for both China and African countries and also benefits people on both sides. China also sincerely supports the diversification partners here in Africa and hopes the international community increase its investment in Africa."
He proposes that China and Africa upgrade collaboration in industry, finance, poverty reduction, ecological protection, people-to-people exchanges, and peace and security.
With regard to industrial cooperation, he notes the rapid growth of bilateral trade over recent years and urges the two sides to bring the volume to 400 billion U.S. dollars by 2020.
The figure stood at just over 210 billion in 2013.
He's also suggested all of Africa's capitals should be connected by high-speed rail to help better-establish pan-African communication and development.
Li Keqiang says China is ready to work with Africa to try to make this a reality.
"China is ready to expand cooperation with Africa in building road, rail, telecommunications, power grid and other infrastructure so as to help the continent realize regional interconnection. China has decided to increase its loans for African countries by 10 billion dollars, which brings the total pledged amount to 30 billion dollars."
China has already funded Ethiopia's first expressway project and is building a light-rail transit system in Addis Ababa.
The 470 million US-dollar light rail system is scheduled to carry passengers next year on a trial basis.
Li Keqiang also notes that China will further support the poverty reduction effort in the region.
Ethiopia is the first leg of Li Keqiang's four-nation tour.
He will also visit Nigeria, Angola and Kenya.
FOr CRI, I am Jordan Lee.
Chinese citizen abducted by five armed men in Malaysia
Another Chinese national has been abducted from eastern Malaysia.
This time, a 34-year old man has been snatched by suspects believed to be from the southern Philippines.
Malaysian authorities say 5 armed suspects grabbed the man and fled just before 3am in Sabah.
The hostage, a fish-farm worker from Guizhou, had been working in Sabah for the last 3-years.
Police attempted to subdue the attackers, getting into a gunfight with them.
However, the attackers managed to make it into international waters with their hostage.
So far no ransom demands have been made public and no group has claimed responsibility.
The kidnapping from Sabah follows on the heels of a similar incident in early April which saw a graduate student from Shanghai and a Filipino woman kidnapped from a resort in Sabah.
The Abu Sayyaf militant group in the southern Philippines has been demanding over 11-million US dollars to secure her release.
Violent Attack Injures 6 at Guangzhou Railway Station
Six people have been hurt in another knife attack at a railway station here in China.
This time a lone man began hacking at people this Tuesday morning at the main railway station in the city of Guangzhou in Guangdong.
The suspect was later shot by police.
He's still alive and in custody.
The injured are being treated for non-life threatening injuries.
So far police have not provided any possible motive for the attack.
The stabbing comes on the heels of an attack on a train station in Xinjiang's capital Urumqi last week which saw two suspects run through crowds stabbing people randomly before they then blew themselves up.
That attack left 3 dead.
In early March, terrorists armed with knives attacked a train station in Yunnan's capital Kunming, leaving 29 dead and over 140 others injured.
China criticize Abe's wrong comments
The Chinese government is offering up its response to new comments from Japan's Prime Minister.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying.
"The Japanese government and leadership should face up to and reflect on its past history of aggression, and distance itself from militarism. This is an important political foundation for the re-establishment and development of better ties among Japan and its neighboring countries. We again urge Japan to learn from history and correct its wrongdoings with practical action in order to win the trust of its neighbors in Asia and the international community. This is the only correct way for Japan."
Speaking at a stop in Germany, Shinzo Abe says Japan's tensions with China are comparable to the relationship between Germany and the UK before the start of World War I, saying that while they had strong economic ties, it still wasn't enough to prevent the outbreak of war in 1914.
In making the comments, Shinzo Abe has also called for better military-to-military communication between China and Japan to avert any "misunderstandings" in connection with territorial disputes in the East China Sea.
Ukrainian military presence high amid tensions; roadblocks
Ukrainian government troops have been fighting pitched gun battles with a pro-Russia militias around the eastern city of Slovyansk.
The renewed clashes come as Ukrainian authorities try to bring both the southern port of Odessa and Slovyansk back under Kiev's control.
Arsen Avakov is Ukraine's Interior Minister.
"Now we are about one kilometre from the next checkpoint where a military clash is happening. This morning, an antiterrorist operation unit revealed an ambush of terrorists. They are using a heavy machine gun. They use heavy weapons to shoot, mortar and other machines."
It's being reported pro-Russian rebels have shot down a Ukrainian military helicopter near Slavyansk.
Meanwhile, in the eastern city of Donetsk, local miners have joined forces with the pro-Russian protesters.
The self-styled Donetsk People's Republic says it plans to hold a referendum on autonomy by this coming Sunday.
However, with less than a week remaining, little visible effort has been made to organize the vote.
ON the political front, Germany's Foreign Minister has presented a five-point plan to solve the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.
Frank Steinmeier is calling on Ukraine, Russia, the United States and the European Union to meet again in Geneva to solidify the actions called for during the first session.
The previous Geneva agreement has failed to bring the unrest in eastern Ukraine to an end.
U.S., Canadian paratroopers hold exercises in Poland
A hundred U.S. and Canadian paratroopers have conducted drills in Poland's Bledow desert as part of an expansion of US training exercises in Eastern Europe.
The expanded drills are meant to be a show of force and resolve toward Russia in the wake of the situation in Ukraine.
Lieutenant John Hong is with the United States' 173th Airborne Brigade.
"Today we conducted an airborne operation, paratroopers from Canada and United States. Today, we are here to conduct training with our Polish partners. We have been allies for the last 15 years. We are very excited to come here and train with them today".
While both the United States and NATO are expanding their training operations, both have made it clear they will not intervene militarily in Ukraine.
Sisi says army will not rule Egypt if he wins presidency
Egypt's ex-military chief and current presidential candidate says the military will not rule the country if he wins the upcoming presidential election.
Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has made the comment during his first extended television interview.
He says he will not involve the army in politics and if possible, the army's missions will be restricted to safeguarding and helping social development.
The 59-year-old also says he did not announce his candidacy until March in order to respect the rules set out by the country's elections committee.
"Silence was, in reality, necessary. The first reason being is that if I am going to represent for Egyptians the hope that they had been waiting for, or a future they could have hope in, then I had to take into consideration that what they see in me are all good things, and they should see me as a role model."
The first round in Egypt's presidential election is scheduled for May 26th and 27th.
Sisi faces only one challenger, leftist Hamdeen Sabahi.
The former general, who enjoys huge popularity in Egypt, is widely expected to win an outright majority in the first round.
Huge wildfire in Oklahoma burns seven square miles of land, destroying 30 buildings
Officials in the midwestern US state of Oklahoma are warning a wildfire there is going to burn for at least another two days.
The fire in the central part of the state has already killed one person and torched around 18-square kilometres of land.
The massive blaze has also destroyed over 30 buildings, including at least six homes.
Local fire chief Eric Harlow.
"Just be aware. Be ready to move if something happens. Hopefully, by Wednesday afternoon we'll get some moisture in here, the wind conditions will subside, we'll get a little cooler temperature and our fire conditions will decrease rapidly."
Forecasters say the fire danger is increasing, as the weather in the fire zone is expected to stay hot and windy.
Virtual network operator entering China's telecom market/Michael 1602
Anchor:
Telecom industry observers are suggesting more regulations are going to be needed to properly regulate free-market competition in the sector.
The suggestion comes as international telecom firm T-Mobile becomes the latest to company to become a so-called virtual network operator.
CRI's Li Dong has more.
Reporter:
A consumer in Hangzhou just opened her T-Mobile service at the counter. All the new T-Mobile numbers operating in Hangzhou start with 170.
"The discount offered is huge. The operator puts the same amount of fee as much as the deposit you put in your account and they will put the money in the account immediately. I like it."
The basic service package is 29.9 yuan per month for 80 megabytes of data and 80 minutes of voice calls. The most expensive package costs 399.9 yuan per month. It includes 3,500 megabytes of data and one-thousand minutes of voice calls.
T-Mobile says, currently, the services, which are bought wholesale from China Telecom, are restricted to Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, but they will expand to other parts of Zhejiang later.
Mobile Virtual Network Operators do not own telecommunications infrastructure, but provide services through network access they have leased from basic operators.
Zou Xueyong, secretary general of the Industry Association of the Mobile Virtual Network Operators, says the operators are expected to bring a "catfish effect" to the country's telecom industry, improving prices and services through competition.
"The virtual mobile operators can reverse consumers' passive status in choosing services. The data flow left on consumers' accounts at the end of each month won't be zeroed out when the next billing cycle starts. Consumers may have a better say in determine what services they want."
However, many industry insiders remain cautious. They say the virtual operators are not expected to bring about sweeping changes to the industry, which is dominated by three state-owned operators: China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom.
T-Mobile is one of 11 private companies that have received telecommunications service licenses in China. The companies include subsidiaries of e-commerce giant Alibaba,JD.com and retailers Suning and D.Phone. Suning and D.Phone started taking pre-orders on May 1.
For CRI, I am Li Dong.
Merging Network Platforms to Mobilize the Next 5 Billion
Anchor:
A Mobile Internet Conference has been held here in China, attracting some 15-thousand people.
More from CRI's Alexander Aucott.
Reporter:
As smartphone technology improves, more and more people are using them to surf the net instead of using a PC.
The number of mobile internet users has already surpassed 1 billion worldwide.
Wu Hequan, president of Internet Society of China, says the growth of mobile internet has been extremely fast in recent years.
"The yearly flow rate of mobile internet users in the world in 2013 is 81% more than that in 2012. And this increase rate will continue to remain at over 60% for the next few years. The monthly flow-rate increases rapidly as well."
However, there are still about 5 billion users in the world who only access the internet using home computers.
So the business opportunity in the mobile industry lies in converting those people into smartphone users.
Jeff Chen is the CEO of Maxthon Ltd., an internet browser company which has also developed its product on the smartphones. He says mobile internet, as its name suggests, has unique advantages compared with traditional internet.
However, mobile internet users have totally different using habits and needs. Based on his experience, Chen suggests that products on the mobile platform should be designed specially for smartphones.
"When we're waiting for the bus or taking the subway, we may only have 10 minutes to use the internet. So the products must go right to the heart of the matter, and be simple enough for users to understand and finish what they want to do immediately."
If the world's 5 billion traditional internet users suddenly go mobile, what impact will that have on the industry and home-computing habits?
Yuan Foyv, General Marketing Manager for Yixin, a wechat-like app developed by 163.com, doesn't think traditional internet service will be totally replaced.
"I think the two modes will exist at the same time. Mobile internet is what you use when you're moving. But when you're at home, with your family, you may need a bigger screen, you'll still choose the traditional internet."
Wu Hequan shares a similar view. He points that the trend of using internet should be a mixture on multi-platforms.
For CRI, this is Alexander Aucott .
Biz Reports
Asian stocks
Reporter:
Asian stocks traded mostly higher on Tuesday, with the Australian index rising after the country's central bank held interest rates steady at a record low of 2.5%.
Australian stocks also took a positive lead from the U.S. after Wall Street edged higher on Monday, helped by an upbeat reading on the U.S. non-manufacturing sector.
The ASX 200 closed up two fifths of a percent.
More broadly across Asia, the Chinese mainland was the other major market open in the region, with the Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Component both ending flat.
Singapore's Straits Times also barely changed.
The region's largest markets -- Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea -- closed for public holidays.
China Established First Electric Car Think-Tank
A think-tank has been set up here in Beijing to work on electric cars.
"The committee of 100 people for electric cars" is a non-governmental organization and will serve as a research academy.
Chen Qingtai is the think-tank's director.
"It's believed the wide use of plug-in electric cars could transform our energy consumption structure, reducing our dependence on oil, ease greenhouse gas emissions and consolidate energy security on a broader scale. In particular, I think electric cars can provide a fundamental solution to ease the severe smog in Beijing."
One major downfall for electric vehicles in Beijing right now is supplying them with power.
There are currently only 14 charging stations for electric cars in Beijing.
Most of them are in the suburbs outside Fifth Ring Road, and just a few are designed to accommodate privately owned cars.
A plan from the Beijing municipal government is to create over 250-stations and 42-thousand charging stalls by the end of next year.
Beijing to Unveil Plan for Establishing Social Credit System Shortly
Anchor:
A new draft plan for establishing a nationwide social credit system has been submitted to the State Council for review.
As part of the plan, an information platform will be set up to process personal and industrial credit information.
The platform will also deal with commercial registrations, as well as tax and pension information.
For more on this, CRI's Shane Bigham spoke earlier with Gao Shang, Analyst with GuanTong Futures.
…
Back Anchor:
Gao Shang, Analyst with GuanTong Futures, speaking with CRI's Shane Bigham.
Shanghai unifies urban and rural pension plans
Municipal authorities in Shanghai have unified the city's pension plans for rural and unemployed urban residents.
The new pension fund combines contributions from the individual and the government to create a 12-level pension program.
Individuals can choose to pay in anywhere from 500 to 33-hundred yuan annually.
The State Council earlier this year announced plans to unify the urban and rural pension systems as a way to narrow the urban-rural gap and to allow rural residents better access to social benefits.
Nokia launches $100m smart car fund
Nokia has established a 100 million US dollar fund to invest in vehicle technology.
The move comes just days after Nokia completed the sale of its handset unit to Microsoft.
Nokia has already been involved in mapping services.
It's looking for companies to invest in technology that not only connects vehicles to the internet, but to one-another as well.
Apple has also been looking into the smart car market.
At the same time, Google has announced that it is teaming up with several car manufacturers - including Audi, Honda and Hyundai - to integrate its Android operating system into their dashboards.
GE Bid for Alstom Power Unit Falls Short
France's President is raising concerns about GE's proposed 17-billion US dollar purchase of Alstom's power division.
Fran?ois Hollande is describing the proposal as "unsatisfactory," and says the French goverment has the power to secure a better deal.
Last week, GE put in a bid for Alstom's unit that manufactures turbines and other heavy machinery for power plants.
The division accounts for almost three-quarters of Alstom's annual revenues.
But while Alstom has fallen on hard times recently, it is still a major employer and industrial icon in France.
Alstom's board has already endorsed the GE offer.
Meanwhile, Siemens is reportedly preparing to make its own offer for Alstom's power division.
Amazon launches shopping via Twitter
Amazon has announced a partnership with Twitter that will allow its users to add products to their shopping carts by tweeting a special hashtag.
Users can reply to tweets containing a link to an Amazon product, and then go to the Amazon site later to complete the purchase.
The agreement comes as firms look for more ways to use social media platforms as tools to attract customers.
It also comes just days after Twitter reported a net loss of over 130-million US dollars for the first quarter.
Singapore and US reach tax evasion deal
The government of Singapore has agreed to share information with the US under a new law designed to try to prevent offshore tax evasion by American citizens.
The US Treasury Department says the new law will apply to US citizens who have more than 50-thousand US dollars in their personal accounts.
It will require financial firms to report information on US account-holders to tax authorities.
Firms that do not comply could be frozen out of US capital markets.
The new Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act will take effect on July 1st.
Singapore is one of Asia's biggest financial centers and is forecast to overtake Switzerland as the world's largest wealth management center.
Headline News
China, AU promise more cooperation
China and the African Union have issued a new pledge to try to deepen their deepen cooperation in both development and international affairs.
This follows a visit to the AU's headquarters in Ethiopia by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
The new statement hails China-Africa cooperation as playing an important role in promoting the development of the two sides.
It also says China will continue its support of the AU in advancing African integration.
The AU has promised it will play an active role in promoting China-Africa cooperation in all fields.
Violent Attack Injures 6 at Guangzhou Railway Station
Six people have been hurt in a knife attack at a railway station in South China.
A lone man began hacking at people this Tuesday morning at the main railway station in the city of Guangzhou in Guangdong.
The suspect was later shot by police.
He's still alive and in custody.
The injured are being treated for non-life threatening injuries.
So far police have not provided any possible motive for the attack.
China Issues first National Security Blue Book
The Chinese government has released its first National Security Blue Book.
The China National Security Research Report says, among other things, that terrorism here in China is taking on new characteristics.
The report also cites terrorism as one of the biggest threats to internal security.
It also notes it is very difficult for security personnel to curb terrorist attacks, as some involve international terrorists.
The Blue Book says there were 10 terrorist attacks which took place in China last year.
10 police killed in W. Afghan bomb attacks
Two separate bombings in the western part of Afghanistan has left 10 police officers dead.
In one bombing, three officers have been killed and two others wounded after their jeep struck a road-side bomb while on patrol.
One suspect is in custody in connection with that attack.
A similar attack in the province of Herat killed seven Afghan Border Police officers later on that evening.
Since the beginning of the so-called spring and summer fighting season in Afghanistan, the Taliban has been stepping up attacks on Afghan police personnel.
Philippine gov't condemns killing of broadcast journalist
The Philippine government is condemning the murder of a broadcast journalist in the country's restive southern region.
The radio station manager in the southern Philippine province of Tawi-Tawi was gunned down by someone on a motorcycle while he was on his way home.
So far authorities have not identified any suspects in the 35-year old's murder.
The National Union of Journalists in the Philippines says the murder now bring the number of journalists killed in the country to 27 since President Benigno Aquino III took office in 2010.
Newspaper Picks
Xinhua
"Anti-smoking ad"
China's TV channels at or above the provincial level as well as major video websites and portals will have a one-month "intense run" of an anti-smoking commercial in May.
Titled "Supporting the ban on public smoking for yourself and others," the ad is part of a month-long anti-smoking campaign.
According to the National Health and Family Planning Commission, running the advertisement aims to raise public awareness about the harm of tobacco and mobilize the entire society to voluntarily resist smoking.
China is home to 300 million smokers, accounting for nearly 30 percent of the world's smoking population.
At least 740 million non-smokers are subject to second-hand smoke.
China News Service
"New nanofiber mask can block 80% of particulates"
A mask with a nanofiber filter has been invented by a professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Leung Wallace Woon-fong spent nine years developing the multi-layer nanofiber filter, which also won awards at the Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions.
Made with several layers of nanofibers and non-wovens, the mask can resist 80 percent of particulates no less than 300 nanometers, compared with the 28 percent that traditional masks can obstruct.
As the filter material is lighter and thinner than traditional ones, adding one more layer of nanofilter can make the mask function as well as an N95 mask, but its breathability is much better.
Leung said that some other functions such as sterilization can be added to the mask, but he didn't reveal its functions, as a patent is being sought.
The Telegraph
"Coca-Cola to drop controversial ingredient"
Coca-Cola plans to remove a controversial ingredient from some of its drinks following an online petition.
Brominated vegetable oil, or BVO, is found in Coca-Cola fruit and sports drinks such as Fanta and Powerade that are sold in the US, Canada and Latin America.
It will be replaced after concerns that an element of the additive is also found in flame retardants.
BVO has been used as a stabiliser in fruit-flavoured drinks as it helps to prevent ingredients from separating.
Rival Pepsi removed the chemical from its Gatorade sports drink last year.
According to medical researchers at the Mayo Clinic in the US, excessive consumption of soft drinks containing BVO has been linked to negative health effects, including reports of memory loss and skin and nerve problems.
CTV News (Canada)
"Half of French, Italian men prefer to watch soccer without their partner: study"
A study finds men's wives and girlfriends will be off the hook during the FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
The study was conducted by Survey Lab for the French company Vente-privée.
The survey indicates that nearly half of French men and Italian men prefer to watch soccer without their female companion.
Having a spouse or girlfriend present can even ruin the experience of watching the game for 13 per cent of French men.
For their part, a number of women seem to be just fine with this: one third of French women wouldn't watch a soccer game with their husbands or boyfriends for anything.
At the same time, some European women admit to teasing the men in their lives and giving them a hard time when an important game is on.
Special Reports
NCPA launches opera in schoolbag project
Anchor:
The National Center for the Performing Arts has launched a new project titled "opera in a schoolbag" in an attempt to try to promote opera education among Chinese teenagers.
CRI's Liu Kun has more.
Reporter:
It's morning at Fengtai No.12 Middle School in southwest Beijing. Bai Yansong, a well-known host from China Central Television is introducing the opera classic, "Salome," to an audience of students.
His introduction is followed with a demonstration by opera artist Huang Hexiang.
Ding Xiaofeng, a student sitting in the audience, says the class has helped to satisfy students' artistic appetite.
"We don't have any other artistic activities besides the annual art festival where we embrace artistic expression. The opera lecture is a great opportunity for us to approach art."
The opera lecture is actually part of a project called "opera in a schoolbag," initiated by the National Center for the Performing Arts, or NCPA, in Beijing. Starting this May, the project will see 30 primary and secondary schools in Beijing launching optional courses on opera in conjunction with the NCPA.
To give students a comprehensive understanding of opera, four categories of courses are included in the project: courses on opera theory, discussion courses, opera workshops and opera recital courses.
Kang Ning from the marketing department of the NCPA is responsible for the project. She says the NCPA is considering expanding cooperation with other primary and secondary schools.
"We are planning to establish opera study groups among students so that they will be able to experience more on this art form."
Apart from carefully-tailored courses, the project also sends a star-studded team of teachers to campuses. Teams have included internationally famous tenor Dai Yuqiang, senior art educator Huang Xiaoman, and renowned art commentator Zhou Liming.
Li Jingjing, a soprano, is one of the teachers.
"I hope students who have taken the courses will get their horizons broadened and learn to accept things that are different from their own culture."
Authorities from the education bureau of Fengtai district confirms that, apart from the NCPA, local schools will also collaborate with art institutions like the Central Conservatory of Music and the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts to cultivate an appreciation for the arts among students.
BACK ANCHOR: CRI's Liu Kun.
Sports
Crystal Palace 3-3 draw with Liverpool in the English Premier League
In the English Premier League,
Crystal Palace managed to stage a comeback to hold title chasers Liverpool to a 3-3 draw.
Liverpool jumped out to a 3-nil lead, but conceded three goals in the final 12 minutes to only salvage a single point from the match.
Liverpool still leads the league by one point over second placed Manchester City.
But Liverpool only has one match left against Newcastle.
Manchester City now owns the advantage, as that squad has two games left against Aston Villa and West Ham United.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers.
"Obviously it was still in the hands of Manchester City so us winning tonight would have given them a bit of pressure in the Aston Villa game. But I think we got carried away and lose the defensive structure to our game and to concede the three goals at the end was hugely disappointing, having worked so hard to get 3-0 up."
Man City will be at home to Aston Villa Wednesday.
In soccer here in Asia, in the Japanese J-League,
Vegalta Sendai downed Vissel Kobe 4-3 today.
The loss is Kobe's first in eight matches and leaves them on 20 points in the J-League.
Vegalta Sendai remain in the relegation zone despite moving up to 12 points.
First round results at Madrid Open
In tennis,
First round action is underway at the Madrid Open.
Chinese ace Li Na has cruised to her first victory of the clay-court tournament, downing Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens 6-1, 7-6.
Li Na is now set to face compatriot Zheng Jie, who is through to round-2 after dumping Colombian Mariana Duque-Marino in round one.
Third seeded Agnieszka Radwanska is through to the 2nd round after ousting Canada's Eugenie Bouchard 7-6, 6-2.
On the men's side,
Colombia's Santiago Giraldo is through to round-2 after getting past veteran Australian Lleyton Hewitt in three sets 7-5, 4-6, 6-2.
Giraldo will meet France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round.
Rising Bulgarian star Grigor Dimitrov has also advanced following a straight sets win over Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta.
Dimitrov will face Romania's Marius Copil in the second round.
---
Prior to the night session, players on both the men's and women's sides held a moment's silence in memory of British player Elena Baltacha, who passed away on Sunday following a long battle with liver cancer.
Nicknamed Bally, Baltacha has been remembered with great fondness on the WTA tour.
Stacey Allaster is the chair and CEO of the Women's Tennis Association.
"The thing that I remember most about Bally (Elena Baltacha) was how much she loved the sport and how much she knew that she wanted to use her gifts for others. She would just light up when I would speak to her about her academy - that was her dream. Bally, if you are watching this tonight, we will keep your dream alive. We love you. God bless."
Baltacha was only 30-years old.
Washington Wizards beat the Indiana Pacers 102-96 in Game 1 of the EC semi finals
In the NBA,
The Washington Wizards have opened up their 2nd round playoff series with a win, dumping the Indiana Pacers 102-96 this morning to take a 1-0 series lead in their Eastern Conference semi final.
The Wizards' Bradely Beal scored 14 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter.
Trevor Ariza added 22 in the victory.
The victory this morning is the first 2nd round game Washington has won in 32 years.
Game 2 of the series is Wednesday in Indiana.
The LA Clippers have opened their second round series with a win.
Chris Paul poured in a career-high eight 3-pointers and scored 32 points to help the LA Clippers thump the Oklahoma City Thunder 122-105.
Russell Westbrook led the Thunder with 29 points.
He went 9-for-14 shooting, but had six turnovers and just four assists.
Game 2 is set Wednesday night in Oklahoma City.
There are another pair of Game-1's set for tomorrow morning.
The Brooklyn Nets, who upset the Toronto Raptors in the first round, will be in-tough as they take on Lebron James and the Miami Heat in their Eastern Conference semi-final opener.
And out West, San Antonio will play host to Portland in the first game of their series.
Penguins blank Rangers again, take 2-1 series lead
In NHL playoff action,
The Pittsburgh Penguins have used back-to-back shutouts to take a 2-1 series lead against the New York Rangers, downing the blue-shirts 2-nothing this morning.
The Penguins' Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 35 shots, one night after making 22 saves in a 3-nothing victory in Game 2.
This is the first time the Rangers have been shut out in consecutive playoff games since 1937.
The Los Angeles Kings have taken a 2-0 series lead over the Anaheim Ducks with a 3-1 win this morning in their Eastern Conference semi-final.
Marian Gaborik, Alec Martinez and Dwight King tallied for Los Angeles, while Jonathan Quick made 36 saves to earn the victory.
Patrick Maroon scored the only goal of the game for the Ducks.
The Kings have now won their last six playoff games after losing their first three.
Game 3 is set for Thursday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Selby beats O'Sullivan to win world championship
In snooker,
Mark Selby has beaten five-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan 18 frames to 14 to win the Snooker World Championship for the first time.
Selby staged an astonishing comeback to win 13 of the last 17 frames.
Selby, at one point, was down 3 frames to 8.
O'Sullivan, bidding for a third consecutive victory, saw Selby rally to 10-7 overnight and then win five of the six frames in the third session.
The win earns him a record 300-thousand pounds as the top prize.
It also vaults him back to the top of the world rankings.
Woods says recovery from back surgery going slowly
Tiger Woods has issued a new statement via his website, admitting his recovery from back surgery is going slowly.
He also says he's not sure when he'll be able to return to golf.
Woods underwent back surgery late in March, which forced him to miss the Masters for the first time.
The Players Championship will be the second tournament this year in which Woods has not been able to defend his title because of his back problems.
Woods also missed the Bay Hill Invitational a week before his surgery.
Though dominant when he's on-form, Woods has been hampered by injuries and personal problems the last few years.
Entertainment
Gong Li appointed film festival jury president
Chinese actress Gong Li has been named president of the jury for this year's Shanghai International Film Festival.
This is the first time a woman will head the jury in Shanghai.
Gong Li says she is "honored" to be chosen.
The actress says she hopes to try to find films that "touch people's heart."
Gong Li, who was once the president of the jury at both the Venice and Berlin International Film Festivals, also took the top prize in Venice.
This year's Shanghai International Film Festival is scheduled to run from June 14th to 22nd.
'Big Bang Theory' Will Stream Again in China, Expo Exec Predicts
The head of a forthcoming Film and TV Expo in Los Angeles says he's optimistic a number of popular American TV shows will find their way back to China.
Raymond Cheng, chief operating officer of the upcoming U.S. China Film & TV Industry Expo, says shows, including the popular CBS comedy "Big Bang Theory" will once-again be made available for streaming to Chinese audiences.
The hit comedy disappeared from streaming feeds last month.
Cheng says there's enough incentive for the show to return, as Chinese viewers want it, and Warner Bros. wants the Chinese audience.
The CBS sitcom, along with a handful of other American shows, disappeared from Sohu.com.
Its been suggested the show has been pulled off because its popularity has endangered the market share of domestic Chinese content.
Bryan Singer named in new sex abuse claim
A second lawsuit has been filed against "X-Men" director Bryan Singer and theatre producer Gary Goddard, accusing them sexually abusing a teenager.
An anonymous British man has filed the claim in California, alleging the pair sexually assaulted him when he was a minor.
Jeff Herman is the plaintiff's lawyer.
"The first thing that I'm going to share with you is a photograph that this boy, when he was 14 years old sent to Gary Goddard. This was one of the photos he sent where he said 'show me your body' so we can see, you know, help you in your career."
In the latest claim, the plaintiff alleges Goddard had sex with him when he was 16.
He also says he had sex with Bryan Singer at a Superman after-party in London when he was 17.
The plaintiff also accuses Singer of attempting to rape him.
This is the second lawsuit filed against Singer in connection with sexual molestation.
The suits come ahead of the May 23rd release of his film "X-Men: Days of Future Past," which is expected to be one of the year's top grossing movies.
Both Goddard and Singer have denied the claims against them.
The plaintiff's lawyer, Jeff Herman, also represents Michael Egan.
Egan became the first person to sue Singer, Goddard and two other entertainment executives over allegations they abused him as part of an underage sex ring in Hollywood.
In the wake of the suits, Singer will not participate in promotion for "X-Men: Days of Future Past."
Gia Coppola Proving her Worth with "Palo Alto"
Gia Coppola, granddaughter of Francis Ford Coppola, is showing off her directorial talent in the film "Palo Alto," which has premiered in Los Angeles.
The film is based on short stories written by actor James Franco.
Franco also stars in the film.
He plays a high school soccer coach who develops a romance with Emma Roberts, one of his students.
Franco says he treated Coppola like a student, despite her famous film petigree.
"Before we did the actual shoot, I had her do certain things that I have my graduate film students do. I asked her to do it, I gave her the book. I said just pick the stories you like, and just write what speaks to you in this book.And then once she had a fairly solid script, I had her shoot a test. ... It was like a rehearsal as a director. And then once she did that and I saw those 45 minutes and how good they were, I kind of just let her run with it. Because I knew that she would be able to do it."
The 27-year-old director says her own high school experience helped give her perspective.
"Palo Alto" is to open in a limited release to US audiences on Friday.
A quick recap of headlines before we go.
China and the African Union are pledging to work more closely as part of a visit to AU headquarters by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
Another Chinese citizen has been kidnapped in eastern Malaysia by suspected Filipino militants.
The Chinese government is taking issue with new comments from Japan's Prime Minister, who is comparing the tensions between China and Japan to that of the UK and Germany ahead of World War I.
In business, an electric vehicle research group is being established here in Beijing.
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