新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 08:00 2014/05/09

The Beijing Hour
 
Morning Edition

Shane Bigham with you on this Friday, May 09th, 2014.
Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
Coming up on our program this morning...
African leaders are speaking highly of Premier Li Keqiang's four-nation visit to their continent...
The authorities in Kiev have proposed holding "round table" talks regarding Ukraine's ongoing crisis...
And government forces in Syria are once again in control of a city once referred to as the "capital of the revolt"
In Business...half of China's major real estate developers have reported lower revenues and profits...
In sports...a new plan to boost English football..
In entertainment...a new movie starring Jason Statham opens today in Chinese theatres..
But first... lets get a check on the weather...
 
 
Weather
 
 
Beijing will be overcast today with a high of 20 degree Celsius.
Overnight temperatures should drop down to around 14.
Shanghai will be overcast during the daytime with a high of 19.
Overnight, it will be clear with a low of 16.
In Chongqing, it will see showers with a high of 23.
Overnight lows are expected to be around 19.
Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia.
Islamabad will be cloudy with a high of 35.
Kabul will be cloudy with a high of 19.
Over to North America.
New York will see slight rain today with a high of 18 degrees.
Washington will be overcast with a high of 28 degrees.
Honolulu, slight rain, 28.
Toronto, Canada, will be overcast with a high of 24 degrees.
Finally, on to South America,
Buenos Aires will be cloudy with a high of 19.
And Rio de Janeiro will have moderate rain with a high of 25 degrees Celsius.
 
 
Top News
 
 
Chinese premier arrives in Angola for visit
 
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has arrived in Angola to continue his visit in Africa.
He says China is willing to enhance bilateral and strategic ties.
During his stay, Li Keqiang is scheduled to meet with the Angolan President and hold a seminar with Chinese companies and nationals.
Angola has become China's second largest trading partner in Africa.
In 2013, trade between the two countries reached 36 billion U.S. dollars. By the end of 2013, China's total investment in Angola had exceeded eight billion dollars.
Angola is the third stop of Premier Li's Africa tour, which has already taken him to Ethiopia and Nigeria. He will next travel to Kenya.
 
 
China to earmark over half of foreign aid for Africa: Premier Li
 
Anchor
During his stay in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, Premier Li Keqiang has pledged that China will earmark more than half of its foreign aid for Africa with no preconditions attached.
CRI's Jordan Lee has more.
Reporter
Premere Li Keqiang made the pledge at the World Economic Forum on Africa in the Nigerian capital.
He also hailded Africa as an important pole in world politics, a new pole in global economic growth and a colorful pole in human civilization.
Li Keqiang said that the development of Africa will make the world more democratic, stable, dynamic and colorful, and is conducive to world peace, development and progress.
The Chinese premier pledged that Beijing will help Africa develop the networks of high-speed railways, expressways and regional airports, saying infrastructure construction, transportation in particular, should be a priority in achieving inclusive growth.
He also pledged to strengthen China-Africa cooperation in green and low carbon development and make sure the Chinese enterprises operating in Africa fulfill their social responsibilities.
Li Keqiang stressed that cooperation between China and African countries is based on good faith and openness, saying his country is willing to share its advanced and applicable technologies and management expertise without reservation.
The premier also expressed his confidence to the audience that China continues to enjoy solid foundation for sustained economic growth despite recent slowdown.
He stressed that China will give more attention to the quality and efficiency of growth and make it more inclusive and sustainable.
For CRI, I am Jordan Lee.
 
 
Nigerian President pledges to find abducted schoolgirls
 
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has pledged to find the schoolgirls abducted by Islamist extremist group Boko Haram.
More than 200 were taken in a mass abduction last month, with several more girls taken in recent weeks.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum, Jonathan has thanked foreign nations, including China, for their assistances in the fight against terror.
"Of course the premier of China has been with us since yesterday for a state visit, and the government of China has promised to assist us and I believe that assistance will come almost immediately. The government of the United States of America, the United Kingdom and France have also spoken with me and have expressed their commitment to help us resolve this crisis in Nigeria. I believe that the kidnap of these girls will be the beginning of end of terror in Nigeria."
China has promised to supply useful information acquired by its satellites while the U.S is sending teams to Nigeria.
Earlier, Nigerian police offered a 300,000 dollars reward to anyone who could provide information leading to the rescue of the schoolgirls.
Boko Haram has been trying to root out Western influence by targeting schools and government buildings.
The group is reported to have killed 300 people earlier this week in the same area where the schoolgirls were abducted last month.
 
 
African Official Speaks Highly of Chinese Premier Li's Visit
 
Anchor:
Premier Li Keqiang's current visit to Africa is drawing praise from some leading African officials, and our reporter Wu You has spoke with one of them.
Reporter:
Erastus Mwencha, Deputy Chairperson of African Union Commission, highlighted the importance of Premier Li's visit for African countries and people.
"This high-level exchange of visits inspire confidence to our people, the people of Africa and people of China, and it is one that brings us closer, and one symbolizing the confidence of our two people to work together to tackle issues of poverty and bring about prosperity."
Erastus Mwencha also said that the African Union Conference Center, which was constructed with assistance from China, showcases the firm friendship between China and Africa, and China's consistent support of Africa.
"If it wasn't for China's growth, the economic crisis could be worse. So China has been the pillar for the global economy. And we Africa have benefited from it, especially from the strong demand. China has been consistent for a long time supported African, you know, the development, the infrastructure. "
China's efforts to help African nations maintain peace and security were highly praised by Erastus Mwencha. He said that China is not only helping to mediate the conflict, but also participating in the re-establishment of conflict regions. Africa expects China to offer more support for mediating the conflicts. And the Africa Union will continue to collaborate closely with China in maintaining regional peace and security in the future.
BACK ANCHOR:
CRI's Wu You reporting.
 
 
Kiev makes "round table" proposal
 
Ukrainian authorities have proposed to create a "round table " to resolve conflict in the country.
The idea calls for the involvement of political forces and civil groups from all regions, as well as help from international mediators.
Kiev has laid out three key conditions which it says must be fulfilled to solve the situation in the eastern part of the country.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Eugene Perebiynis.
"The pledge to solve the situation caused by Russian aggression against Ukraine requires the immediate fulfillment of three key conditions. They are the de-escalation of conflict, the introduction of a nationwide Ukrainian dialogue and the holding of the election on 25 May."
The pledge comes after pro-Russian protesters in eastern Ukraine decided to go ahead with Sunday's referendum on autonomy, despite a call from Russian President Vladimir Putin to delay it.
Despite the "round table" call, Ukrainian authorities have also said they will continue their "anti-terrorism " operation and do everything to stop the referendum.
Millions of ballots have been prepared for the referendum, amid escalating tensions in eastern cities.
On Thursday a group of 40 armed men attacked a border station in the Luhansk region but were repelled by security guards.
In the port city of Mariupol, city hall has changed hands between government forces and rebels.
 
 
Russia holds nationwide military training drill
 
Russia has held military training exercises across the country, before celebrations of the anniversary of its World War II victory.
Russian military authorities say the exercises are not connected to events in Ukraine.
The drill comes at the same time as a new military exercise between the United States and Estonia, as part of US efforts to reassure its NATO allies amid the crisis in Ukraine.
Also, a Pentagon spokesman has confirmed new military excercises in the Baltic region will take place over the next two months.
Russia has claimed that it has pulled back its troops from near the Ukrainian border but the US says there is no evidence of any actual troop movement.
Meanwhile officials in Russia have vowed to retaliate against new US and Canadian sanctions.
But leaders in Moscow have said they will not publicize the names of those who end up on the Russian blacklist.
A Russian foreign ministry spokesman says Moscow will not leave such unfriendly actions unanswered, refering to the new western sanctions.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has said the latest package of U.S. sanctions would negatively affect Russia's high-tech industry.
Standard & Poor's rating agency has downgraded Russia's long-term rating as well as ratings of a number of Russian companies amid the wave of sanctions imposed by the West against Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is to meet western leaders in France during his attendance of a World War II anniversary.
U.S.President Barack Obama and German Chancellor ANgela Merkel are also due to attend the event in June.
 
 
Syrian government retakes control of Old City of Homs
 
Anchor
Officials says the Old City of Homs will soon be "clear and free," as rebels are continuing evacuation after holding it for three years.
CRI's Alexander Aucott has more.
Reporter
Around 1,500 rebel fighters and their relatives have boarded buses and left the Old City since Wednesday.
They have moved to rebel-held territory outside the city under a deal between the insurgents and government troops.
Homs provincial governor Talal Barazis says efforts continue to completely free the city of arms.
"We continue the procedures we started yesterday and in the upcoming hours we will finish this issue completely and all neighbourhoods will be free of arms and fighters."
Government forces have now taken full control of the heart of Homs, but the evacuation will continue today to transfer another 280 fighters out of the city.
After the full evacuation, the entire city of Homs will be under government control except the al-Waer neighborhood, whose rebels have rejected calls to join the deal.
The city will be swept for explosives after the army moves in fully later today.
Homs, Syria's third largest city, was one of the first to sympathize with the anti-government movement in the country.
The country's president has in the past referred to Homs as the "capital" of the revolt.
Much of the province fell to the opposition in 2011, but government troops have regained control after besieging the Old City for two years.
Fully securing Homs is crucial for the government ahead of presidential elections in June, as the takeover connects the capital Damascus with central and northern regions.
The latest development follows a meeting in Washington, DC between U.S Secretary of State John Kerry and Syrian opposition leader Ahmad Jarba.
Kerry says the U.S. has demonstrated a growing partnership with the coalition.
The U.S also plans a 27 million dollar increase in non-lethal assistance to the opposition.
Syria's government forces now control most of the capital Damascus, while rebels control much of the desert in the north and east. The country's largest city, Aleppo, in the northwest, is contested.
Earlier, a rebel-claimed bombing in Aleppo leveled a hotel that government troops used as a military base.
The ongoing fighting has also hampered the removal of the remaining chemical weapons in the country.
Sigrid Kaag, the head of the UN mission charged with destroying Syria's chemical weapons, says the last 16 containers of chemical agents are in an area which is not accessible due to fighting.
"In terms of chemical weapons removal for onward destruction, including destruction in the country, we've reached significant progress 92 percent. However, there is concern, and that we have also expressed as a joint mission, that the remaining eight percent is currently inaccessible due to the security conditions in the country."
Kaag urges countries with influence on the armed groups in Syria to ensure unfettered access to remove the remaining chemicals.
More than 150,000 people have died in the three-year old Syrian conflict and about one third of the country's population has been displaced.
For CRI, I'm Alexander Aucott .
 
 
(BJH/Top/with sound bite)Former Thai PM Yingluck Shinawatra indicted over rice scheme charges
 
Thailand's former Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, has been indicted by the National Anti-Graft Commission on charges of dereliction of duty in a contentious rice subsidy program.
Commission member Vicha Mahakun says the body voted unanimously that there are enough grounds to indict her.
"(The NACC) has voted 7-0 that there are grounds that the defendant had intentionally used her authority against Article 178 of the Constitution and intentionally used her power against the law that could lead to her impeachment."
Yesterday's decision comes a day after the Constitutional Court ousted Yingluck and nine Cabinet members for abuse of power.
Yingluck faces an impeachment vote in the Senate. If found guilty, she would be barred from politics for five years.
As a flagship policy of Yingluck's administration, the rice subsidy programme helped her win the votes of millions of farmers.
However it accumulated losses of at least 4.4 billion US dollars and has been dogged by corruption allegations.
 
 
A bite of China II brings business opportunities and triggers discussion
 
Anchor
The second season of the popular food documentary "A Bite of China" is proving to be an economic gold mine for restaurants and producers who create the foods being documented in the show.
CRI's Li Dong has more.
Reporter
The second season of the TV series "A bite of China" is back with a bigger audience.
Figures show that some two million people used smart phones to trawl the web for food search at the time when the first episode was aired. More than three-thousand strips of Sichuan bacon and Beijing roast duck were sold at online store Tianmao.com around the same time.
The site's data shows that 3,400 bottles of honey produced in Linzhi county, Tibet autonomous region, were sold in seven days since the first episode was aired. Some 1,100 sales of Shannxi hand-made noodles were made within the two days.
Another big seller is Leishan fish sauce, which only comes from a remote town in Yunnan province. A thousand bags of Leishan fish sauce were sold in half a day. Cao Qiankun is a local resident who lives close to the small town.
"Usually we can have the fish sauce at our daily meal--it's so common. But after 'A Bite of China II' aired, we locals can't afford to eat it. Because so many people are ordering it via the internet, the price of the sauce goes up. We only make it once a year because of the season of the fish and other flavors."
"A Bite of China 2" has blended in a variety of filming and editing techniques. Each episode uses diverse methods to tell a story. Comprised of eight episodes, it covers the stories of more than 150 people and over 300 dishes, with each episode filmed by a different team.
But since the first episode was aired, some netizens have expressed a certain level of regret, saying that the series put too much emphasis on telling stories about emotions and the people's lives, rather than the food itself. Li Wen is one of them.
"It's kind of too much about sensibility and emotion. It will be too much if a documentary puts a lot of efforts on depicting people's lives and relations at a spiritual level. I prefer the focus still be on the food itself."
But Xiaole, another "a Bite of China" fan says, as a documentary, emotion is the soul of a success.
"As a documentary, it needs to have emotion, it makes audience feel attached to it, no matter what it's about. I remember recently, the elderly man, who is in the second series making noodles, passed away. Many people know this piece of news and feel sorry about it. This is an example of how a food documentary making people care about life."
Three episodes of a Bite of China II have aired since April. The show airs every Friday evening.
For CRI, I am Li Dong.
 
 
Biz Reports
 
 
Anchor
First off, a check on the closing numbers in North America and Europe.
Joining me on the desk, CRI's Jordan Lee.
Reporter
U.S. stocks mostly fell on Thursday with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closing lower, led by losses in the energy and utility sectors.
　　
The Nasdaq ended 0.4 lower for a third straight session, its longest losing streak since early April.
The S&P 500 lost 0.1 percent.
The Dow rose 0.2 percent.
On the corporate front, Twitter jumped 4.2 percent and Groupon gained 6.1 percent, each recording gains after huge losses in recent days.
Travel website Priceline Group fell 2.1 percent.
Tesla Motors shares fell 11.3 percent.
Over in Europe, the three major indices all edged up as the European Central Bank hinted that it may take some asset purchase action to combat low inflation in June.
At close, Britain's FTSE 100 picked up 0.6 percent.
Germany's DAX gained 0.9 percent.
and France's CAC 40 jumped 1.4 percent.
 
 
Half of listed real estate developers register falls in profit and revenue
 
A report by a property agency is now showing over half of China's listed real estate developers have seen a drop both in profit and revenue in the first quarter this year.
Centaline Property said among the 117 developers listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, 61 posted shrinking profits or even losses for the first three months.
Total net profits of the 117 developers stood at 1.5 billion US dollars for the first quarter, down 27 percent from the same period last year.
China Vanke, the country's largest real-estate developer by revenue, posted its first quarterly profit decline in 12 years.
The company, which is widely regarded as a barometer of the industry, also registered a whopping 32 percent fall in revenue.
 
 
More steel and cement plants to be shut down
 
China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology says it will shut down more steel and cement plants this year than originally planned.
The Ministry said it has decided to close an extra 1.7 million tons of annual steel capacity and 8.2 million tons of cement capacity.
The government had originally targeted termination of 27 million tons of steel and 42 million tons of cement.
China's crude steel output rose to a record high last year, but at the same time steel prices plummeted to record lows because of oversupply.
The government has been phasing out old and inefficient capacity in the steel and cement sectors since last year.
 
 
Call-in with Doug Young on corporate news of the week
 
Anchor
Let's check out some of the key events on the corporate front in China this week.
Joining me on the line, Doug Young, associate professor at Fudan University and former China company news chief at Reuters.
Story 1:
Central Bank has set a Deposit Reserve Requirement For Yu'ebao
Questions:
First of all, is this good news for Yu'ebao, that it is now required to deposite a substantial amount of its liquidity at the PBOC?
Does this give Yu'ebao official recognition on par with major Chinese banks?
Many people choose Yu'ebao because the rate of return is higher than what's offered by the banks. Will this move by the PBoC affect the company's ability to deliver those promised returns?
Will this move affect other internet banking tools like Tencent's Licaitong and Baidu's Baizhuan?
Story 2:
Ctrip.com reports falling profits in the first quarter
Questions:
1. What's the problem here, is it competition, as the company claims, or costly business expansion onto mobile platforms?
2. With the central government's frugality campaign, lots of upscale hotels have suffered, revenue tumbled 30 percent among five-star hotels last year. How did the frugality drive affect Ctrip?
3. What's your take on the online travel business' overall prospect, as we see hotels and travel destinations trying to woo these online travel planners?
Back Anchor:
Doug Young, associate professor at Fudan University and former China company news chief at Reuters.
 
 
Alibaba, ShopRunner plan to launch joint China service
 
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has struck a deal with US-based ShopRunner to help the company expand into China.
The deal will see ShopRunner start using Alibaba's domestic logistics infrastructure to launch its China service later this year.
After the deal, Alibaba will hold a 39 percent stake in ShopRunner.
Currently, Chinese consumers can get their products 10 days after ordering on the U.S. website, Dias.
But they will have to pay shipping costs from the U.S. market, which could wind up as high as 20 percent of the product price.
 
 
Bank of England maintains interest rates at 0.5 percent
 
Britain's central bank will keep its main interest rate unchanged at 0.5 percent.
The Bank of England decision is said to be in-line with market expectations.
The central bank cut interest rates to a record low of 0.5 percent in March 2009 in order to deal with global financial turmoil and the eurozone sovereign debt crisis.
The British economy has seen a robost recovery in recent months, but economists predict the central bank will not raise the benchmark interest rate in the near-term.
 
 
European Central Bank keeps record low interest rate unchanged
 
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank has also decided to keep its benchmark interest rate at a record low of a quarter of a percent.
Eurozone interest rates have been unchanged since November 2013.
The extremely low interest rate has helped to prolong the eurozone's low 0.7 percent inflation rate for months.
Persistently low inflation has prompted growing calls for the ECB to cut rates to head off deflationary risks.
ECB officials have repeatedly said the bank may soon act with an asset purchase programme, or quantitative easing.
But recent positive economic data across the eurozone has reduced the urgency to print more money.
 
 
Headline News
 
 
Chinese premier arrives in Angola for visit
 
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has arrived in Angola to continue his visit in Africa.
He says China is willing to enhance bilateral and strategic ties.
During his stay, Li Keqiang is scheduled to meet with the Angolan President and hold a seminar with Chinese companies and nationals.
Angola is the third stop of Premier Li's Africa tour, which has already taken him to Ethiopia and Nigeria. He will next travel to Kenya.
 
 
Kiev makes "round table" proposal
 
Authorities in Ukrainian have proposed holding "round table" talks to resolve the conflict in the country.
The idea calls for the involvement of political forces and civil groups from all regions, as well as help from international mediators.
Kiev has laid out three key conditions, which include the immediate de-escalation of the conflict, a nationwide dialogue on issues, and the upcoming elections scheduled for May 25th.
The pledge comes after pro-Russian protesters in eastern Ukraine decided to go ahead with Sunday's referendum on autonomy, despite a call from Russian President Vladimir Putin to delay it.
Despite the "round table" call, Ukrainian authorities have also said they will continue their "anti-terror " operation and do everything to stop the referendum.
 
 
Syrian government retakes control of Old City of Homs
 
Officials says the Old City of Homs will be "clear and free" soon, as rebels continue to evacuate the historic city after holding it for three years.
They have moved to rebel-held territory outside of Homs under a deal between the insurgents and government troops.
After the full evacuation, the entire city of Homs will be under government control except the al-Waer neighborhood, whose rebels have rejected calls to join the deal.
Homs, Syria's third largest city, was one of the first to sympathize with the anti-government movement in the country.
Fully securing Homs is crucial for the government ahead of presidential elections in June, as the takeover connects the capital Damascus with central and northern regions.
 
 
Former Thai PM Yingluck Shinawatra indicted over rice scheme charges
 
Thailand's former Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, has been indicted by the National Anti-Graft Commission on charges of dereliction of duty involving a contentious rice subsidy program.
The vote comes a day after the Constitutional Court ousted Yingluck and nine Cabinet members for abuse of power.
Yingluck faces an impeachment vote in the Senate. If found guilty, she would be barred from politics for five years.
As a flagship policy of Yingluck's administration, the rice subsidy programme helped her win the votes of millions of farmers.
However, the program accumulated losses of at least 4.4 billion US dollars and has been dogged by corruption allegations.
 
 
Strong 6.8-magnitude quake rattles Mexico City
 
A 6.4 magnitude earthquake has shaken Mexico City, rattling buildings and prompting office evacuations.
There are no immediate reports of damage.
The U.S. Geological Survey put the quake epicentre in the western Mexican state of Guerrero at a depth of 14.9 miles, or about 24 kilometres, just inland from the Pacific Coast.
No tsunami alert has been issued.
 
 
Newspaper Picks
 
 
SHANGHAI DAILY
Headline
70-year-old detained in secrets leak case
Summary
Beijing police say a 70-year-old woman, named Gao Yu, has been detained on suspicion of leaking highly confidential state secrets to foreign contacts.
Gao is a Beijing resident and former journalist.
Police detained her on April 24 and seized substantial evidence at her residence.
The case is under further investigation.
BEIJING MORNING POST
Headline
Anti-terrorism drill conducted
Summary
The Beijing police have conducted an anti-terrorism drill last night.
The drill involves SWAT teams, traffic control, and telecommunications, etc.
The Beijing police say the aim is to boost the emergency reaction and cooperation among different units.
NEW EXPRESS DAILY
Headline
68 antibiotic types found in surface water
Summary
According to a recent report, as many as 68 types of antibiotics have been detected in China's surface water, a consequence of the country's chronic overuse of the drugs.
The report is jointly finished by researchers from China's three prestigious universities including Tsinghua University.
It says China produces nearly 1,300 pharmaceutical and personal care products containing antibiotics per year.
The report warns that these residues can pose health risks even in low concentrations.
BEIJING NEWS
Headline
China removes price cap for low-cost medicines
Summary
China's top economic planner and regulator has announced that the retail price cap of low-cost medicines in China will be scrapped to revive dampened production caused by weak profits and ensure supply of essential drugs.
The move will allow producers to set prices according to their production costs, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
The NDRC has asked local authorities to release a list of low-cost medicines to the public by July 1 and strengthen monitoring over unreasonable price lifting.
BEIJING TIMES
Headline
Real estate registration bureau founded
Summary
China's land watchdog has set up a unified real estate registration bureau.
The Ministry of Land and Resources says the bureau would supervise registration of real estate nationwide, including housing, forests and grasslands.
The system is expected to be well established by 2016.
Experts believe a national system to track property ownership and sales transactions is a key step in combating corruption and paves the way for levying property taxes across the country.
CHINA DAILY
Headline
Middle, 'grass-roots' workers' wages rise
Summary
The monthly income of people working in middle or grass-roots positions in China's cities stood at 3,033 yuan, or roughly 530 US dollars, on average at the beginning of the year, up 16.5 percent year-on-year.
Ganji.com, an online platform for classified ads, and the Market Research and Media Center of Peking University have jointly published the result.
The survey was conducted in four weeks during January and February, and covered 36 cities and 270,000 respondents.
It shows the income is still far below the average wages being earned in first- and second-tier cities.
 
 
Special Reports
 
 
PIK on Water Safety
 
Anchor
Contaminated tap water is one of the worst nightmares of residents and city officials alike.
Early last month, tap water in China's northwestern city of Lanzhou was found to contain benzene at levels 20 times higher than permitted under national safety standards. The incident triggered a massive panic, with locals buying up nearly every available bottle of clean water.
With such a severe incident, many water safety experts around the world have been prompted to revisit measures designed to safeguard drinking water.
For more on this, CRI's Zheng Chenguang spoke to Jim Salzman, professor of Environmental Policy at Duke University in the United States.
(water)
BACK ANCHOR: Jim Salzman, professor of Environmental Policy at Duke University in the United States, speaking with CRI's Zheng Chenguang.
 
 
Sports
 
 
FA releases new plan to boost English football
 
Football fans make your preparations, because a whole lot of English premier league action is coming up this weekend in a choked-full 10 match final day of season. There's going to be blood sweat and tears, and I'm not even talking about the players.
The premier league title will be decided by the outcome of the Manchester City/West Ham match and the Liverpool/Newcastle match.
The title is Man City's if they can only finish the job against West Ham.
Arsenal will round out their season away at Norwich, and Manchester United is away at Southampton.
In other news,
The Football Association has released a strategy to boost English football. The proposals include a new tier for Premier League B teams, a ban on non-European Union players outside the top flight and a reduction in non-home-grown players in Premier League squads.
Some are concerned a B league would disrupt the tradition of the football league, but commission member and former English international Danny Mills said don't be afraid of change.
"It wasn't so long ago that division two and three was north and south. The conference came into it, the playoffs was quite revolutionary, the Premier League - how revolutionary was that at the time? And then changing the Premier League to 20 teams. Change happens. We have to accept it, you have to embrace change. Change happens every day. That's been one of the biggest problems since the beginning - changing people's opinions and tradition. If we do nothing it gets worse and we end up with an England team made up of Championship players."
The commission set a goal of increasing the number of English players in the Premier League to 45% by 2022, after witnessing a sharp decline in the percentage of homegrown talent represented in the top flight over the years.
 
 
Li Na and Serena Williams advance to quarterfinals at Madrid Open
 
In tennis,
China's Li Na is through to the quarterfinals at the Madrid Open after beating feisty American Sloane Stephens. Stephens bested the Australian Open champion in the first set, but Li powered through to win 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. She'll face Maria Sharapova in the next round.
And top ranked Serena Williams earned her 650th career victory and a spot in the quarters with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Carla Suarez Navarro.
Also through are Agnieszka Radwanska, Caroline Garcia, Simon Halep, Ana Ivanovic, and Petra Kvitova, who will face Williams.
On the mens side,
Seven seed Andy Murray struggled yesterday and was eliminated after losing to Santiago Giraldo: 6-3, 6-2. And Japan's Kei Nishikori advanced to the quarters after a win over Canada's Milos Raonic: 7-6, 7-6. That's 8 straight wins on clay for Nishikori.
Still to come in round 3 for the men, David Ferrer will face American John Isner.
 
 
Drivers look ahead to Spanish Grand Prix
 
This weekend in Formula One, drivers are in Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix.
Mercedes are currently dominating the standings, with Lewis Hamilton having taken the last three races.
On the flip side, four-time defending drivers champion Sebastian Vettel hasn't been himself and has struggled through the early stages of the season.
The German driver announced that Red Bull would change chassis for round five:
"I think we concluded after China, where we were quite a little bit behind, to change the chassis. So actually it's not a new chassis, it's an old one, that we used in testing in the Winter, and we have some experience with it, so.... yes, it's more a sanity check rather than a real problem with the other chassis, so it's just to, to try everything we can and basically reset and start again."
The race will take place Sunday at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
 
 
Durant and Westbrook lead Oklahoma to victory over Clippers
 
In NBA playoff action,
Yesterday Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 112 to 101 in game 2. Oklahoma's MVP Kevin Durant backed up his award with 32 points, 12 boards, and 9 assists.
Russell Westbrook was right with him with 31 points, 10 boards, and 10 assists. Durant said Westbrook was another MVP-caliber player.
"We both work extremely hard. And one thing about Russ (Russell Westbrook) is that he demands so much out of everybody. And he brings the level of the team up by just his intensity and just his effort. And, but it is fun playing with a guy like that, who loves the game so much, he wants to win so much and puts his body on the line for us every night. So, it's just a great chemistry we have and it's growing everyday."
This morning,
The Brooklyn Nets and Miami Heat are on the court right now in game 2 of their semifinal series.
The Heat have yet to lose a game in this year's playoffs.
And tipping off later at 9:30, the San Antonio Spurs will try to keep the momentum swinging when they take on the Portland Trail Blazers in game 2.
 
 
NHL morning game lineup
 
In the NHL,
The Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadins are on the ice right now for game 4 of their West coast conference second round series.
[SCORE]
The Canadiens lead the series 2-1 after taking game 3.
Later at 10, the Los Angeles Kings are looking for a 3-0 series lead over the Anaheim Ducks as they return to home ice in LA today.
Ever since LA's comeback from being down 3-0 against San Jose in round one, they have yet to drop a game, and a win today would be their seventh straight.
 
 
Entertainment
 
 
Redemption out in China today
 
For our listeners here in China there's a new Jason Stathom Movie out in the mainland today.
It's called Redemption / Hummingbird.
The gritty action drama stars Jason Statham as a damaged ex-special forces soldier who finds himself homeless and on the run following a military court martial.
After falling down and out he begins to work his way back up again by negotiating London's criminal underworld, but just as things are looking rosy he discovers his new fortune comes at a terrible cost.
 
 
Sellars and Berry awarded 2014 Polar Music Prize
 
Moving on but staying in Sweden,
Rock'n'roll pioneer Chuck Berry and theatre and opera director Peter Sellars, have been awarded the 2014 Polar Music Prize.
They will each receive one million Swedish Krona – around 155,000 US dollars - at a royal awards ceremony in Stokholm in August.
The annual prize - founded by the late Stikkan Anderson, who was the publisher, lyricist and manager of ABBA - awards two laureates in order to "celebrate music in all its various forms".　
ABBA of course shot to fame after winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974.
The Polar Music Prize award committee said Berry set the "parameters of rock music" one day in May 1955, when he recorded his debut single "Maybellene".
"Well I went up there with a 79 dollar recorder and played that, you know, because I'm not playing guitar in front of strangers and evidently he liked it because he told me to go back and get the band and come up and he'd consider a contract, a recording contract and we did all four of them in less than six hours, Maybellene had 36 takes by the way, I remember."
　　
Sellars, meanwhile, received the prize for being "a living definition of what the Polar Music Prize is all about: highlighting the music and presenting it in a new context."
He has depicted everything in his art from war and famine to religion and globalisation.
Among other things, he has turned Nixon's 1972 visit to China into opera.
 
 
Sanna Nielsen and Conchita Wurst big talking points ahead of Eurovision Song Contest 2014
 
As we speak the competitors in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest are singing their hearts out to make it through to Saturday's live finals.
　　
It's occurred to me that I've been banging on about this all week without actually playing any of the songs so let's hear a couple.
One of the most talked about acts this year is Austria's Conchita Wurst, the alter ego of Tom Neuwirth - a lady with a beard who's singing "Flight of the Phoenix"
As an artist he promotes tolerance and his motto is: "Be the best version of yourself rather than a bad copy of someone else!"
Eurovision, one of the world's longest-running television programmes, was started in the 1950s to help foster a spirit of unity after World War Two. It has expanded from an original seven countries to 37 this year, many from outside Europe, though only 26 qualify for the final.
Conchina Wurst may have been the most talked about act, but the favorite this year is Sanna Nielsen of Sweden with the song "Undo"
 
 
 
That’s it for this edition of the Beijing Hour.
A quick recap of headlines before we go.
African leaders are speaking highly of Premier Li Keqiang's four-nation visit to their continent...
The authorities in Kiev have proposed holding "round table" talks regarding Ukraine's ongoing crisis...
And government forces in Syria are once again in control of a city once referred to as the "capital of the revolt"
In Business...half of China's major real estate developers have reported lower revenues and profits...
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.