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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
The Beijing Hour
Morning Edition
Paul James with you on this Tuesday, May 13, 2014.
Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
Coming up on our program this morning...
Pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine have declared independence following weekend referendums.
Exit polling in India shows the opposition may have earned enough seats to gain a parliamentary majority.
A national disaster prevention day has been observed here in China.
In Business... Russian officials are suggesting a new natural gas deal is close to being worked out with the Chinese government.
In sports... the battles are underway to see which teams will be lifted into the English Premiership this coming season.
In entertainment.... a new Chinese film is set to premier at this year's Cannes Film Festival.
But first... lets get a check on the weather...
Weather
Beijing will be sunny today with a high of 29 degree Celsius.
Overnight temperatures should drop down to around 17.
Shanghai will see showers during the daytime with a high of 26.
Overnight, it will be cloudy with a low of 17.
In Chongqing, it will have showers with a high of 23.
Overnight lows are expected to be around 19.
Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia.
Islamabad will see slight rain with a high of 28.
Kabul will be cloudy with a high of 15.
Over to North America.
New York will see slight rain today with a high of 21 degrees.
Washington will be overcast with a high of 32 degrees.
Honolulu, overcast, 27.
Toronto, Canada, will have slight rain with a high of 21 degrees.
Finally, on to South America,
Buenos Aires will be cloudy with a high of 20.
And Rio de Janeiro will be cloudy with a high of 25 degrees Celsius.
Top News
Donetsk and Luhansk regions declare independence
Pro-Russian activists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions have declared independence.
This follows self-declared referendums in the two regions on Sunday.
A celebration has been held outside the so-called Donetsk People's Republic administration building in the city of Donetsk.
Denis Pushilin is co-chair of the Donetsk People's Republic.
"Basing itself on the will of the people of the Donetsk People's Republic and seeking the restoration of historic justice asks the Russian Federation to consider the merger of the Donetsk People's Republic within the Russian Federation."
The Russian government says it will respect the choice of people in the region, and is calling for political dialogue.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
"Russia wishes the outcome of the referendum could be implemented through dialogue and non-violence ways between the representatives of Kiev, Donetsk, and Lugansk, to avoid another violent clash. Moscow is happy to push forward for the dialogue, including through OSCE."
Authorities in Kiev have condemned the unofficial referendum as "a farce."
Washington and its European allies also deem the vote illegal.
White House spokesperson Jay Carney.
"So, we do not recognize the results and you have seen the European Union and other leaders say the same. In addition, we're disappointed that the Russian government did not use its influence to forestall these referenda according to President Putin's call on May 7 for them to be postponed."
The Chinese government has released a statement, calling for the situation to be solved under the framework of law and order.
India exit polls shows BJP takes lead
Exit polls are suggesting the main opposition BJP may have won a parliamentary majority in India.
The polling is indicating BJP and its political allies have taken anywhere from 249 to 289 seats in the lower house of parliament.
272-seats are needed to secure a majority in the 543 seat lower house.
The ruling Congress-led Alliance is believed to have only secured 110 to 115 seats.
India's election commission says the five-week long election has seen the highest voter turnout.
Akshay Rout is the director general of India's Election Commission.
"The national voter's turnout in this election for this Lok Sabha general election 2014 is 66.38 percent, which is the highest ever in the history of Indian national elections."
The previous record was 64 percent set in 1984 after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Official results of the elections are due on Friday.
Thai acting PM dismisses threat of civil war
Thailand's caretaker Prime Minister is dismissing suggestions a civil war is breaking out in the country.
Niwatthamrong Bunsongphasian has made the comments after anti-government protesters withdrew from Bangkok's main park and relocated to a new base near Government House.
Pro-government "Red Shirts" relaunched demonstrations in Bangkok this past week after the dismissal of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and nine ministers.
"I don't think we'll have civil war. You know like earlier, we talked about, for six months now... If in the past, there might be coup or something happening, worse happening already. But this time it's already six months, and we can manage running the country along the way quite well."
The so-called Red Shirts are pledging to keep up their protests for as long as necessary to defend the administration.
Anti-government protesters are calling for the creation of a "people's council" to implement reforms.
Thailand's politically-powerful military says it is prepared to intervene to prevent violence from breaking out.
A new election is set for July.
UN chief calls for ceasefire in South Sudan
UN chief Ban Ki-moon is calling for an immediate end to the fighting in South Sudan.
The secretary-general has made the appeal while briefing the UN Security Council on the current situation in South Sudan.
"This is an entirely man made calamity and it needs the engagement of all actors to change course. I see five priorities. First, the fighting must end immediately. People need to be able to go back to their land to plant and tend their crops in peace."
Heavy fighting has been taking place around the city of Bentiu, despite the signing of a ceasefire just hours earlier.
The South Sudanese government and rebel forces are accusing one-another of instigating the fighting.
The government also says the elections scheduled for next year are going to be postponed for two or three years in order to bring about reconciliation first.
The Chinese government has also made comment on the situation.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying.
"We hope the two sides in South Sudan implement the ceasefire agreement and create favorable conditions for a comprehensive and proper solution to the conflict. China will continue to work with the regional bloc IGAD and related parties to help restore stability in South Sudan. "
South Sudan was plunged into violence after President Salva Kiir accused his former vice president, Riek Machar, of trying to oust him in a coup.
Thousands have been killed, and over a million have been displaced since the fighting broke out five months ago.
Boko Haram releases new video on abducted schoolgirls
Islamic extremist group Boko Haram has released a new video showing a group of abducted school girls in Nigeria.
It is the first video evidence of the girls since around 300 of them were kidnapped in northeast Nigeria a month ago.
The video shows about 130 of the girls wearing hijabs and reciting prayers in Arabic.
An armed man is also visible in the video.
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has issued a demand, calling on the Nigerian government to release the group's members currently being detained.
"I swear to the almighty God you will not see them again until you release our people that you captured."
He says the offer only applies to the children who have not converted to Islam.
Nigeria's Interior Minister has already rejected the offer, saying it's unacceptable for a terrorist group to set conditions.
The Nigerian government says its considering all options to secure the release of the schoolgirls.
Mike Omeri is the Director General of National Orientation Agency.
"All options are open, at the moment because all options are open, we are interacting with experts, military and intelligence experts from other parts of the world so these are parts of the options that are available to us and many more. If it is necessary that we use whatever kind of action to get our girls out of the captivity that they are in now we will do it."
Nigeria's government has already accepted an offer of help from China, the United States and Britain.
French President Francois Hollande is also offering to hold a summit in Pairs with Nigeria and its neighbors in a bid to deal with the Boko Haram abductions.
Taliban fighters storm govt building in Afghanistan
At least 8 people have been killed amid an assault by Taliban fighters on a government building in the city of Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan.
Three suicide bombers targeted the justice department building in the city.
Witnesses say security forces are engaged in an hours-long firefight with the attackers.
"Thee gunmen came and shot the police at the gate then entered to the justice department. The gun battle is still on going."
At the same time, nine police officers have been killed in an attack on a police checkpoint in Helmand province.
The Taliban has been stepping up its attacks ahead of the release of the final results of the country's Presidental election tomorrow.
One dead, dozens injured in bus blast in China
One person has been killed and dozens of other have been hospitalized following a fire on a bus in the city of Yibin in Sichuan.
The vivtim is believed to be the person who set the fire.
The motivation behind the arson is unclear.
There were around 50 passengers on the bus at the time.
Three of the victims are in critical condition.
Around 20 bystanders who assisted in the rescue have also been hospitalized.
60 detained in China after clash over incinerator plan
Police in Hangzhou are still holding 60 people after a violent protest broke out this weekend over plans to construct an incinerator in the city.
The protest broke on Saturday.
Around 40 people, including protestors and police officers, were injured in the unrest.
Protesters smashed and overturned police vehicles.
The local government is promising construction of the incinerator will not start without public support.
The sixth disaster prevention and reduction day
Anchor
National Disaster Prevention and Reduction day has been observed here in China.
A series of drills have been carried out nationwide to raise awareness of disaster prevention.
CRI's Li Dong has more details.
Reporter
To raise people's awareness on disaster prevention and self-rescue skills, China's National Commission for Disaster Reduction calls on governments and organizations to carry out drills from the past Saturday to this Friday.
A student at Beijing's Changping Second Middle School says she learned something practical from an emergency response drill on earthquakes.
"We can hide under the desk when an earthquake occurs, and leave the building when it's safe. Plus, I learned we should run against the flow of a landslide rather than follow it. I didn't know this before."
Shan Chunchang, deputy director of the expert committee for the National Commission for Disaster Reduction, says carrying out related drills is an effective way to popularize disaster prevention and reduction knowledge among the public.
"Drills are an effective way to improve people's ability to tackle disasters. Drills are advised to be promoted in factories, schools, government units and also rural areas."
Shan also emphasizes that central and local governments should design cities to better sustain disaster prevention and reduction, especially in the face of China's high-speed urbanization.
"The designs of our cities now are still focused on the ground, surface and instance effect, rather than the infrastructure underground and long-term design. Also, the government's disaster relief work still focuses on what needs be done after the disaster occurred, rather than preventing it. So during the urbanization process, more efforts are needed in the planning, design and quality of construction work in the cities."
Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics show that China's proportion of permanent urban residents stands at 53.7 percent. According to China's urbanization plan for 2014-2020, by 2020, China's ratio of permanent urban residents to total population should reach about 60 percent.
Thus, China's National Commission for Disaster Reduction calls on governments at all levels to better implement the disaster prevention and reduction work and perfect the emergency response contingency plan, in particular, the plans which are related to the new problems in the urbanization process, such as waterlogging in cities, as well as landslides, gas leaks and fires. Shan Chunchang says disaster in cities have new features.
"Disasters in cities usually cause sudden complications. They often trigger a series of reactions and the consequences may easily be magnified. The future disaster prevention and reduction work should be integrated with urbanization planning."
The Disaster Prevention and Reduction Day was set in 2009, after a devastating earthquake hit Sichuan and neighboring Gansu and Shaanxi provinces on May 12, 2008, leaving 87-thousand people either dead or missing.
For CRI, I am Li Dong.
IPCC is due to issue its fifth assessment report
Anchor
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is set to release its fifth assessment report.
The report says if the international community does not reduce greenhouse gas emissions, global temperatures will increase significantly.
CRI's Alex Aucott has more.
Reporter
It has taken more than 800 scientists from 70 countries to complete the assessment report in 6 years.
Zheng Guoguang, director of the China Meteorological Administration, takes us through the conclusions of the report.
"First, more observations have confirmed the fact of global warming. Second, causal relationship between human activities and global warming has been confirmed. Third, climate change has had a negative impact on ecosystems and human society. Fourth, global warming will be lasting. And fifth, future warming represents a risk to the economic development of humanity."
The report also says if we don't reduce our greenhouse gas emmissions, global temperatures will probably rise by 4 degrees from the start of the industrial revolution.
Lin Erda, one of the Chinese researchers who put together the report, says they've found that temperature change has influenced multiple sectors, including water resources, agriculture and human health.
"Storm surges have created risks to people's livelihoods in small island nations. Inland flooding has also influenced big cities. Droughts and floods are posing threats to food security, drinking water and rural life."
Noting the threat of climate change, the Chinese government is moving to try to transform its energy consumption in an attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emmissions.
Zheng Guoguang with the Meteorological Administration says one of the biggest challenges here in China is convincing local governments to reduce their use of fossil fuels.
"First, we should strengthen risk management and improve the slowdown of greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, we should take action to adjust our own lifestyles. Secondly, we need to change our assessment systems when it comes to large regional projects which may affect the climate. Third, we need to tackle greenhouse gas emmissions at a national level."
All the experts we talked to also agreed that tackling climate change has to be a global initative.
For CRI, This is Alex Aucott.
Biz Reports
Anchor
First off, a check on the closing numbers in North America and Europe.
Joining me on the desk, CRI's Alexander Aucott.
Reporter
U.S. markets closed up Monday, with the Dow hitting an all-time intraday high and the S&P 500 also notching a record close.
At the close, the Dow gained 0.7 percent.
The S&P 500 surged nearly one percent.
The Nasdaq also had its biggest day since January, jumping 1.8 percent.
On the corporate front, Biogen Idec shares have jumped 4.8 percent, while TripAdvisor shares climbed 5.8 percent.
Twitter gained nearly 6 percent after brokerage firm SunTrust raised its rating on Twitter's stock to "buy."
Over in Europe, though uncertainties surrounding Ukraine remain, major European indices were bolstered by strong corporate results in Italy.
Italian banks UniCredit and The Bank of Milan have reported earnings which beat analyists expecations.
At close,
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 gained 0.7 percent, hitting a 6-year high.
The UK's FTSE 100 picked up half a percent.
Germany's DAX gained nearly 1.3 percent.
And France's CAC 40 rose 0.4 percent.
Live call-in on China's new bank lending
Ancor:
New data shows new bank lending here in China has weakened in April.
The same stats also show capital supplies have picked up slightly through this past month.
Chinese banks made 775-billion yuan in new yuan loans in April.
This is down from the 1 trillion yuan loaned the previous month.
Meanwhile, the value of the renminbi has dipped to its lowest level in some 8-months after the Central Bank set the daily parity rate at 6.1625.
The yuan has fallen 2.8-percent against the U.S. dollar the start of this year.
For more on this, we are now joined live by Gao Shang, Analyst with GuanTong Futures.
Questions:
1. What does the drop in the renminbi mean? Should we be concerned about it?
2. What has been bringing down lending?
3. What can we expect from both the value of the renminbi and lending through the rest of the year?
Gao Shang, Analyst with GuanTong Futures.
China to buy more gas from Turkmenistan
The Chinese government has set a new target of of 65 billion cubic meters of natural gas imports from Turkmenistan by 2016.
The new figure has been set as part of Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov's state visit here to China.
The three pipelines currently deliever 55 billion cubic meters of gas from Turkmenistan to China every year.
Construction of a fourth pipeline is set to begin shortly.
Its expected to be operational by 2016.
Russia's deputy minister: Gazprom gas deal with China nearly ready
Russia's Deputy Energy Minister says a long-awaited deal for Gazprom to supply China with natural gas is close to completion.
Anatoly Yanovsky has made the comment a little more than a week before President Vladimir Putin is due to visit China.
Yanovsky says the contract is 98-percent ready.
Gazprom, Russia's main state-run gas producer, has been in talks with the Chinese government for over a decade.
The deal is likely to be signed as part of Putin's visit here to Beijing later this month.
PetroChina to sell pipeline business to accelerate mixed-ownership
PetroChina is planning to seperate its pipeline business from the core company.
The new company is to be financially independent from the parent company.
PetroChina's pipeline business is said to be worth around 13-billion U.S. dollars.
The move is meant to try to distribute the company's financing structure.
A timetable for the split has not been revealed.
Bank of China to list RMB bond on Luxembourg Stock Exchange
The Bank of China is planning to put its RMB "Schengen bond" on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.
The Bank of China's Luxembourg Branch says the launch of the Schengen bond will help facilitate the internationalization of the Renminbi.
240-million U.S. dollars’ worth of 3-year bonds are being listed.
The "Schengen bond" is named after the small village which borders of Luxembourg, France and Germany.
Business registration reform takes effect
The latest stats show business registration is up through last month.
The State Administration of Industry and Commerce says around 360-thousand companies were established in April.
This is an increase of nearly 20 percent compared to March.
The number of new firms has been in the rise since the Chinese government brought in business registration reforms in March.
The requirements for minimum capital requirements for certian types of businesses have been canceled.
Yearly inspections have also been eliminated.
There are just under 16-million registered companies in China.
Headline News
Donetsk and Luhansk regions declare independence
Pro-Russian activists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions have declared independence.
This follows self-declared referendums in the two regions on Sunday.
The Russian government says it will respect the choice of people in the region, and is calling for political dialogue.
Authorities in Kiev have condemned the unofficial referendum as "a farce."
Washington and its European allies also deem the vote illegal.
The Chinese government has released a statement, calling for the situation to be solved under the framework of law and order.
Thai acting PM dismisses threat of civil war
Thailand's caretaker Prime Minister is dismissing suggestions a civil war is breaking out in the country.
Niwatthamrong Bunsongphasian has made the comments after anti-government protesters withdrew from Bangkok's main park and relocated to a new base near Government House.
They are calling for the creation of a "people's council" to implement reforms.
Meanwhile pro-government "Red Shirts" have relaunched demonstrations in Bangkok this past week after the dismissal of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and nine ministers.
The so-called Red Shirts are pledging to keep up their protests for as long as necessary to defend the administration.
UN chief calls for ceasefire in South Sudan
UN chief Ban Ki-moon is calling for an immediate end to the fighting in South Sudan.
Heavy fighting has been taking place around the city of Bentiu, despite the signing of a ceasefire just hours earlier.
The South Sudanese government and rebel forces are accusing one-another of instigating the fighting.
The government also says the elections scheduled for next year are going to be postponed for two or three years in order to bring about reconciliation first.
The Chinese government has also made comment on the situation, urging to two sides to implement the ceasefire agreement and create favorable conditions for a proper solution to the conflict.
Boko Haram releases new video on abducted schoolgirls
Islamic extremist group Boko Haram has released a new video showing a group of abducted school girls in Nigeria.
It is the first video evidence of the girls since around 300 of them were kidnapped in northeast Nigeria a month ago.
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has issued a demand, calling on the Nigerian government to release the group's members currently being detained.
Nigeria's Interior Minister has already rejected the offer, saying it's unacceptable for a terrorist group to set conditions.
China to buy more gas from Turkmenistan
The Chinese government has set a new target of of 65 billion cubic meters of natural gas imports from Turkmenistan by 2016.
The new figure has been set as part of Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov's state visit here to China.
The three pipelines currently deliever 55 billion cubic meters of gas from Turkmenistan to China every year.
Construction of a fourth pipeline is set to begin shortly.
Its expected to be operational by 2016.
Newspaper Picks
THE BEIJING NEWS
HEADLINE
Students stabbed in Southwest China
SUMMERY
A man is being held by police after stabbing two students in their dormitory in Kunming yesterday.
The motivation behind the attack isn't clear, as the suspect is not a student at the university.
BEIJING TIMES
HEADLINE
Beijing pollution fines
SUMMERY
Babcock & Wilcox, a Beijing-based company, has been fined 300-thousand yuan for air pollution.
This represents the largest fine Beijing municipal authorities have issued in the last 30 years.
The fine is part of the municipal government's crackdown on industrial polluters.
BEIJING MORNING POST
HEADLINE
Radiation poisoning
SUMMERY
A construction worker is being treated after stealing, what turned out to be a radioactive, object while cleaning a workshop in Nanjing.
The worker says he snatched the radioactive material because he thought it was valuable.
So far no one else has been affected by radiation.
SOUTH CHINA METROPOLITAN DAILY
HEADLINE
Rains cut train services
SUMMERY
40 train trips between Guangzhou and Shenzhen had to be cancelled yesterday by a massive storm which has been pounding the Pearl River Delta.
The torrential rains submerged part of the tracks.
GLOBAL TIMES
HEADLINE
Shells in trunk are fakes
SUMMERY
Two naval artillery shells discovered in the trunk of a car by police in Shanghai have turned out to be artwork.
The cars owner says shells were just gifts from relatives, and claimes he had no idea what was inside them.
SHANGHAI DAILY
HEADLINE
Crackdown ahead of summit
SUMMERY
A local sweep is underway to shuffle criminals off the streets in Shanghai.
This comes as delegates from nearly 40 countries prepare to head to the city for a Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia next next week.
CHINA DAILY
HEADLINE
Petrol purchase restrictions
SUMMARY
As part of anti-terrorist measures, local authorities here in Beijing are requiring bulk purchasers of gasoline to provide identification, acquire permits from a local police station and use only approved containers.
Special Reports
Burned Calligraphy and Landscapes Ink Art Exhibition Opens in Beijing
Anchor
A Chinese ink art exhibition has opened here in Beijing.
CRI's Zhang Qizhi has more.
Reporter
A prominent figure in the development of modern Chinese ink art, 54-year-old Wang Tiande, has reinvented traditional Chinese script and painting through his innovative use of materials. Wang painted layers of Chinese characters and landscapes in ink onto paper or vellum, then accentuated certain elements by burning the material with cigarettes or incense.
His solo exhibition, which opened over the weekend at the Today Art Museum in Beijing, is titled "Kai Men," or "Open Door," as the artist interprets its meaning.
"As Chinese ink art becomes more widely admired nowadays, we should consider how to open a new door of exploring the possibility to better develop Chinese contemporary ink art. Meanwhile, I also hope my "Open Door" exhibition would be inspiring, as it shows my approach in combining ancient Chinese classical texts with modern art."
Wang's special "burnt" creativity exploration came from one of his experiences in 2002. Wang Tiande's cigarette butt accidentally fell onto a piece of paper and caused it to hollow out from the burning.
A new dimension of Chinese ink art has been unveiled since. While Wang Tiande continues to "burn" calligraphy and landscapes using incense as of 2012, the layout of his work has seen a new round of transformation.
Gao Peng, curator of the Today Art Museum, says that burned Chinese characters being placed on top of a layer of traditional calligraphy and landscape pieces creates an impressively distinctive spatial implication.
"His ink paintings are sort of destructive and many of his exhibited works represent his unique visual language.
The 'Open Door' exhibition will impress visitors with the overall spatial relationship his paintings try to present, as if the viewers are gradually led to a much broader area from a narrow door they enter."
In addition, the artist's calligraphy and landscape paintings, where incense sticks are used instead of brushes, evokes a vivid feel of historical and natural erosions.
For CRI, I'm Zhang Qizhi.
Sports
QPR beat Wigan 2-1 to make play-off final
In English Football,
Queens Park Rangers defeated Wigan 2-1 this morning to make it to the play off final against Derby County.
After an uneventful goalless draw in their opening match both sides brought their A-game to this match in London.
It was the visitors Wigan who were first to put a mark on the scoreboard, James Perch toeing in a soft cross from James McClean.
After this Rangers pushed hard but failed to level things up right up until the 73rd minute when they were given a penalty. Charlie Austin duly slotted it past the keeper to level the match at 1-1 a score line that remained until the end of normal time.
It was Austin again who came to the rescue in extra time, scoring seven minutes into the additional half hour and Wigan had no answer.
QPR will now face Derby County in the play-off final on May 24. The winner will join Leicester City and Burnley to go up to the Premiere League for next season.
Sport Huawei to sponsor Ghana in World Cup
The Chinese company Huawei Technologies has signed to become the official sponsor of Ghana's nation football team for the 2014 World Cup.
The multinational networking, telecommunications equipment and services company has signed a one year deal with the Ghana Football Association to partner the Black Stars.
The agreement is worth 100,000 US dollars in cash and products.
The Black Stars will be embarking on their third successive World Cup next month in Brazil.
The West African nation went out in heartbreaking fashion to Uruguay in the quarter finals of the last tournament.
The side missed a penalty awarded during extra time, and then went out in the subsequent penalty shoot out.
This year they've been drawn in a tough Group G. They'll play their first game against the United States and go on to face Germany and Portugal.
Sun Yang on top form as he returns to competition
Chinese swimming super star Sun Yang, has put in a slick performance at the Chinese National Swimming Champs.
The two time Olympic gold Medalist from London 2012 won the 200 metres freestyle in a time of 1 minute 46.04.
That was more than a second faster than Li Yunqi of Henan(1:47.74)who finished second, while the bronze went to Sun's teammate Mao Feilian (1:48.60).
Sun was banned from training, competition and commercial events by national team and Zhejiang College of Sports after being detained for driving without a license last November. The National Championships is his first appearance in competitive match after his ban was lifted.
Another of Sun's teammates, Xu Jiayu, also came into spotlight after setting a new national record with 52.34 seconds in men's 100m backstroke.
Dimitrov and Granollers through to next round of Internazionali BNL d'Italia
In Tennis,
Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov came from a set down to defeat Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France in the first round of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia tournament in Rome.
The match ended 4-6 6-3 6-4.
In another match between two Spaniards, Marcel Granollers comfortably beat the more experienced Feliciano Lopez 7-5 6-1 defeating his compatriot for the first time.
Some of the higher ranked players have a bye until the second round at the tournament.
Defending Wimbledon Champion, Andy Murray says he'll use this tournament to improve his form which has been very inconsistent in 2014.
" In some matches I have felt good and, the next day even, not felt great. The Australian Open went pretty well; I played fairly well there and had a good tournament over in Acapulco. I played some good tennis in Miami also, that is where I started to feel like I was getting back to where I wanted to be and this next month will - or the next six weeks really with the French Open and Wimbledon coming up - will give me a good idea of exactly where I am at."
Murray has yet to reach the final of an ATP event in 2014.
Second seed and world number two Novak Djokovic who missed last week's Madrid Open due to a wrist injury says he is fighting fit and ready to play in Rome. He's already won there twice in 2008 and 2011
NBA and NHL previews
There is pair of games this morning in both the NBA and NHL playoffs.
In the NBA,
The Brooklyn Nets are looking to even their best-of-7 Eastern Conference semi-final this morning at home to the Miami Heat.
The Heat lead that series 2-games-1.
Tip-off is at 8am.
--
Out West, the San Antonio Spurs will look to punch their ticket into the Western Conference finals this morning on the road in Portland.
The Spurs have a 3-nothing series lead over the Trail Blazers, and can finish them off with a win this morning, starting at 10:30am.
--
In the National Hockey League playoffs,
The Montreal Canadiens are hoping to stave off elimination at home to the Boston Bruins in Game-6 of their Eastern Conference semi-finals.
The puck has just dropped in that game.
The Bruins hold the 3-2 series advantage.
--
And out west, the Anaheim Ducks hope to keep their winning-streak alive as they play host to the LA Kings.
The Ducks have won two-straight after dropping the first two games of the series at home.
Face-off for Game-5 of that series is set for 10am.
Pistorious trial: Psychologist says paralympian has anxiety disorder
On day 30 of the Oscar Pistorious murder trial, a South African psychologist has told the Pretoria Highcourt that the Paralympic track star has anxiety disorder.
Merryl Vorster said the condition was brought on by the "traumatic assault" of having his lower legs amputated as a baby and further compounded by the divorce of his parents, as well as by his mother's death when he was 15-years-old.
Pistorius was born without fibulas in his lower legs, leading to amputation at the age of 11 months.
State prosecutor Gerrie Nel has said he intends to bring an application to have Pistorius mentally evaluated following the doctor's diagnosis.
Pistorius is accused of shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine's Day last year.
The athlete says he killed the 29-year-old model and law graduate after mistaking her for an intruder, but the state alleges that he shot her in a fit of rage after the couple had an argument.
Entertainment
"Gone with the Bullets" to debut on Cannes
Director/actor Jiang Wen's new film, "Gone with the Bullets" is going to premier at the Cannes Film Festival.
It will not be part of the competition.
The story is set in Shanghai in the 1920s.
Overseas Chinese nationals return to hold a beauty pagent to make money.
The film is due to hit Chinese cinemas on December 18th.
Fox amid changes
US TV channel Fox is planning to tweak its television line-up for the fall season.
The station is preparing to run a new Batman series called "Gotham".
At the same time, its also reducing the viewing hours for the struggling singing contest "American Idol".
"Idol" is going to be cut from the 50-hours a season its been running for the past 13-years down to around 27.
At the same time, "Glee," Fox's music drama, is going to end its run after the fall season.
Julio Iglesias named the most successful Latin artist of all time
(song)
Spanish singer and songwriter Julio Iglesias has been honored in London as the most successful Latin artist of all time.
Iglesias has been in the industry for some 455 years.
He's sold over 300 million records worldwide.
Despite his accomplishments, Iglesias remains humble.
"I don't want to say that I deserve it but I spend all my life in music. I spend, in a very easy way, you know because nothing, crazy work and when you receive an award, it represents so many things together for generations. It made me believe that I still have, like, I said in the press conference, and the air is not so thin so I can still breathe."
Iglesias has performed in 14 different languages, including his native Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese.
Iglesias represented Spain in the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest.
Video shows Jay Z attacked by his sister-in-law
New video footage has been released showing singer Jay Z being attacked by his sister-in-law in an elevator.
The video also shows Jay-Z's wife Beyonce standing aside and not stopping her younger sister.
The video on TMZ has been blowing up on the internet.
The Standard Hotel in New York is investigating how the video was leaked.
The Hotel is also promising to prosecute whoever leaked the recording.
The Standard Hotel was the venue for a post-gala party for the Met Gala benefit last week.
Rolf Harris stands trial over indecent assaults
Australian entertainer Rolf Harris is on trial in London, accused of molestation.
The 84-year old entertainer is being accused by a woman of systematic abuse since she was a teenager.
The woman, now in her 40's, claims Harris began abusing her when she was just 13.
Harris is the biggest name to go on trial since British police launched a major investigation following revelations late BBC host Jimmy Savile was a prolific pedophile.
That’s it for this edition of the Beijing Hour.
A quick recap of headlines before we go.
Pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine have declared independence following weekend referendums.
Exit polling in India shows the opposition may have earned enough seats to gain a parliamentary majority.
A national disaster prevention day has been observed here in China.
In Business... Russian officials are suggesting a new natural gas deal is close to being worked out with the Chinese government.
On behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers, this is Paul James in Beijing hoping you'll join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour to open a window to the world together.
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