新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 20:00 2014/07/23

The Beijing Hour
 
Evening Edition
 
 
Shane Bigham with you this Wednesday, July 23rd, 2014.
Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
Coming up on the programme this evening...
The Chinese president has promised friendship and cooperation with Cuba during his state visit to the caribean nation...
A flight carrying victims of the MH17 crash has left Ukraine for the Netherlands...
and violence continues unabated on the Gaza strip, even as the head of the UN tours the region calling for peace...
In business, five people have been detained related to the tainted meat scandal that has horrified many across China...
In sports, the final 16 at the Chinese FA Cup has begun...
In entertainment, a preview of the opening ceremony for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in China
 
 
Weather
 
 
Beijing will be cloudy tonight with a low of 23 degrees Celsius. It will be overcast tomorrow with a high of 33 degrees.　
Meanwhile Shanghai will see slight rain tonight, with a low of 28, also rainy tomorrow, with a high of 33.
Chongqing will shower tonight, 29 degrees the low, cloudy tomorrow with a high of 35.
Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia
Islamabad, mild to moderate rain with a high of 32.
Kabul, sunny, 36.
Over in Australia
Sydney, overcast, high of 18.
Canberra, mild to moderate rain, 13.
Brisbane, cloudy, 22.
And finally, Perth will be overcast with a high of 19.
 
 
Top News
 
 
China will be Cuba's good friend: Chinese President
 
Chinese President Xi Jinping has been decorated with Cuba's highest honour, the Jose Marti medal, during a meeting with Cuban leader Raul Castro.
Xi Jinping is on a state visit to the country, promising long-term friendship and cooperation.
"We are closely united by the same visions, ideals and goals. Today, China has started a deep integration in our reforms. Cuba is also finding itself in the process of updating its economic model. Both countries are facing historic missions of significance and difficulties. China is very confident about the future development between our country and Cuba."
Both sides have also agreed to boost trade and explore cooperation potential in healthcare and other service trades.
President Xi encourages Chinese enterprises to invest or open businesses in Cuba.
Castro agrees with Xi Jinping's remarks, saying Cuba is willing to promote trade and widen cooperation in mining, renewable energy, agriculture and biopharmacy.
Earlier, the Chinese President paid a visit to former Cuban leader Fidel Castro in Havana.
They have reportedly talked about bilateral ties and the international situation.
Cuba is the last leg of Xi Jinping's visit to Latin America,
His regional tour has seen him visit Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela.
 
 
Expert's view on China-Latin America ties
 
For more on the president's latest tour, I spoke earlier with Professor Jiang Shixue, Vice Director of Institute of Latin American Studies at Chinese Academy of Social Science.
(bjh/report/0723 QA with Jiangshixue)3'10
Back Anchor:
That is Professor Jiang Shixue, Vice Director of Institute of Latin American Studies at Chinese Academy of Social Science.
 
 
Bodies of MH14 victims to sent to Netherlands
 
The first plane carrying bodies of some of the victims of the Malaysia Airlines plane crash have left from eastern Ukraine.
The 200 bodies will be transported to the Netherlands for further examination.
At least 50 of those are expected to be placed on today's first flight.
Of the 298 who died in the crash, 193 were Dutch citizens.
Meanwhile, black boxes of flight MH17 have arrived in Britain for analysis.
Experts will download data from the recorders and try to find out what happened to the flight.
The data will then be sent to Dutch and Ukrainian investigators.
During a special parliamentary session in Malaysia, members of the parliament held a one minute silence to pay tribute to the victims on board MH17.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak:
"These honourable members of the parliament are here to firmly condemn in the strongest terms the inhumane, uncivilised, violent and irresponsible action of the parties believed to have shot down flight MH17, resulting in the loss of 298 lives."
Razak also maintains his stand that blame should not be apportioned pending an investigation.
However, the European Union has already announced more sanctions against Russia over the plane crash.
The additional sanctions include more visa bans and asset freezes on more officials.
The EU decision comes on the heels of the United States bringing down more sanctions on Russia last week connected to the situation in Ukraine.
 
 
Fire in Gaza Strip continues amid international push for ceasefire
 
Anchor:
International efforts for a ceasefire in Gaza continue, even as Israel and Hamas have shown no sign of backing off their offensives.
Following 15 days of violence, over 600 Palestinians have been killed.
On the Israeli side, 28 soldiers and two civilians are confirmed dead.
For more on the situation in Gaza, CRI's Cao Yuwei has more.
Reporter:
The number of casualties keeps climbing in the Gaza strip as the UN and the international community, including China, continue to push for a cease fire.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is now in Jerusalem to mediate the issue.
He is urging the two sides to stop fighting and return to talks to address root causes behind the violence.
"We have identified underlining issues that include an end to occupation and the daily humiliation and anger that comes with it. As I said yesterday, whatever the obstacles, Israelis and Palestinians share a common future. They need hope for a political progress and economic prosperity, a future of two states living side by side in peace and security. That is the vision of a two state solution."
But when meeting with Ban Ki-moon, Israeli President Shimon Peres says it is the country's obligation to protect itself and its civilians from attacks.
Peres describes the behaviour of Hamas militants as "criminal".
Chinese special envoy Wu Siku is in Cairo for talks with Arab League and Egyptian officials.
Wu says military force can not solve the conflict.
He says the resolution of the conflict should be found using peaceful dialogue.
"The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is also one of the core problems in the Middle East, should be resolved through peace talks. The sole way to solve the conflict is the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, based on the 1967 border and with East Jerusalem as its capital. Then peace can be achieved between Palestine and Israel."
Earlier, a Hamas rocket hit near Israel's main airport, Ben Gurion International, outside Tel Aviv.
Several airlines from America and the Europe have since cancelled flights to that airport.
Israel has now opened an additional airport in the south for international flights.
For CRI, this is Cao Yuwei.
 
 
Tourists evacuated as typhoon "Matmo" approaches E China island/xinhua
 
Typhoon Matmo has made landfall in east China's Fujian Province this afternoon.
Matmo is currently moving northwest, packing with a wind speed of up to 30 meters per second.
Matmo has brought about strong winds and heavy downpours to parts of Fujian.
Local media reports say nearly 160 thousand homes were out of power due to typhoon.
Nearly 15-hundred people have also been evacuated from an island in east China's Zhejiang Province.
Before Matmo, super typhoon Rammasun killed 46 people, leaving another 25 missing in southern China.
 
 
China launches campaign to nab overseas suspects
 
China's Ministry of Public Security has launched a campaign to apprehend suspects involved in economic crimes who have fled China.
The move is part of the government's broader anti-graft campaign.
Liu Dong is the deputy director of the Ministry's Economic Crime Department.
"The main targets of our overseas mission this time will include cracking down suspects involved in contract fraud, illegal fund-raising and deriliction of duty."
Official figures show that since 2008, more than 730 suspects involved in major economic crimes have been captured and brought back to China from 54 nations and regions.
Public Security officials haven't said how many suspects remain outstanding.
The campaign is going to run until the end of the year.
For more on the anti-graft campaign, we earlier sopke with Yao Shujie, Professor of Economics and Chinese Sustainable Development with the University of Nottingham.
Back Anchor:
That was Professor Yao Shujie of Economics and Chinese Sustainable Development with the University of Nottingham.
 
 
China releases anti-terror handbook
 
Anchor:
Chinese authorities have released a new anti-terrorism guidebook designed to try to help people protect themselves in the face of terrorism.
CRI's Tu Yun has more.
Reporter:
As the country's first anti-terrorism handbook designed for the public, the manual offers individuals advices on how to protect themselves during a terrorist attack.
It also includes instructions on how to identify possible terrorists.
An Weixing is the director of the anti-terrorism department of the Ministry of Public Security.
"Anti-terrorism efforts should combine the work of professional forces with that of the public. The manual could enhance people's awareness of terrorism and provide basic knowledge about what to do when facing terrorism."
The manual has been handed out to the general public in Beijing, Guangdong and Xinjiang, among other provinces and regions.
It comes amid a nationwide campaign to promote anti-terrorism efforts across the country.
Li Wei, an anti-terror expert, says such a move is important, given the increasing number of terror-attacks reported in the country.
"There are two types of terrorism that can result in mass-casualties. One involves cold weapons, like knives. This type includes the attack in Kunming railway station. Authorities were able to launch an emergency response within one minute in that case. The other kind of mass-casualty attack will involve inflammables and explosives, like arsons on buses. It is very difficult for authorities to respondly quickly in such a case, so help from the public can really aid the authorities in dealing with this kind of terrorism."
29 people were killed and 143 injured in a terrorist attack at Kunming Railway Station in March.
A market explosion in Xinjiang's capital, Urumqi, killed 39 people and injured 94 others in May.
Since then, Chinese police started a year-long nationwide anti-terror operation in May.
Police have stepped up armed patrols and security controls at crowded public places and tightened up management of explosives.
For CRI, I'm Tu Yun.
 
 
Biz Reports
 
 
Stocks
 
Anchor:
First off, a quick look at the closing numbers across Asia.
Joining me on the desk, CRI's Ding Lulu.
Reporter:
Asian stocks edged up on Wednesday as U.S. inflation data damped concerns interest-rate increases will be brought forward.
Chinese shares closed higher on Wednesday, with Coal miners and nonferrous metal producers leading the market up.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index inched up 0.1 percent.
The Shenzhen Component Index traded side ways.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.8 percent.
Japan's Nikkei trimmed 0.1 percent.
South Korea's KOSPI was flat.
Singapore's Straits Times Index added 0.7 percent.
Australis'a ASX gained 0.6 percent.
 
 
Five detained over China expired meat scandal
 
Anchor:
Shanghai police have detained five people in a probe into a company that allegedly supplied expired meat to fast food chains including McDonald's and KFC.
For more on the development of the country's latest food scandal, CRI's Ding Lulu has the story.
Reporter:
The Shanghai public security bereau says the five people from the Shanghai Husi Food include a quality manager.
According to the bureau and Shanghai's food and drug administration, Shanghai Husi produced over five-thousand crates of meat products, including McNuggets, pork patties and beef steaks using out-of-date or moldy materials.
Gu Zhenhua is the deputy director of Shanghai Food and Drug Administration.
"The company had specific regulations concerning out-of-date foods. They also had clear records about them. But the regulations and the records all go against China's food safety laws."
A new report suggests that some 43 percent of Chinese netizens commenting on the country's latest food safety scandal blame poor supervision.
Their anger is directed at officials. Most netizens complained about authorities failing to discover the violation in their daily inspections of Shanghai Husi and its clients.
The Husi products were sold to brands including McDonald's, KFC, Pizza Hut, Burger King, 7-Eleven and Dicos.
McDonald's in Japan had sourced about a fifth of its Chicken McNuggets from Shanghai Husi and has been forced to halt sales of the product.
Family Mart, one of Japan's largest convenience store chains, also had to withdraw products, including their Garlic Nugget and Popcorn Chicken, after it was discovered that the meat was from Husi Food.
Isamu Nakayama is the president of the Family Mart chain.
"I am deeply sorry for causing this trouble and worry to all those involved. We do not think that there is any problem with our operating structure but the very fact that this happened means that I think that additional checks should be put into place to help reassure consumers."
Chinese regulators suspended operations of Shanghai Husi Food earlier this week.
For CRI, I'm Ding Lulu.
For more on this, CRI's Paul James spoke with Benjamin Cavender, Principal of China Market Research Group.
Back to Anchor:
Benjamin Cavender, Principal of China Market Research in Shanghai.
 
 
Alibaba, banks launch online service to make loans to SMEs
 
Alibaba has partnered with seven banks in launching online loan services to small and medium-sized trade companies.
The banks in the partnership, including Bank of China, China Merchants Bank and China Construction Bank, will decide on their own whether to issue the loans, solely based on the companies' business performance data provided by Alibaba.
If a company completes three deals in six months with a trade volume of over 100,000 dollars, it can qualify for a loan of up to 10 million yuan, or 1.6 million dollars. The loan's size will be pegged to the company's performance.
Analysts believe the big data advocated by Internet companies has reshuffled the financial industry.
Alibaba says the interest rate is set at 12 percent annually.
 
 
China sees more capital inflows in H2
 
China's Foreign exchange regulator says the country may see more capital inflows through the rest of 2014 after experiencing some money flight in recent months.
Guan Tao is the head of the department of international payments at the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.
He says that China's rising foreign exchange reserves could stoke long-term inflationary pressures.
"The domestic economy is stabilizing, which helps boost market confidence, and the foreign trade situation has started improving, and the interest rate differential remains. These factors could lead to pressure on capital inflows."
He adds that the Renminbi exchange is now near equilibrium and two-way cross-border capital flows have become a new norm.
The yuan has shown some signs of stabilizing in recent weeks but is still down 2.3 percent so far this year.
 
 
Australia close to currency clearing deal with China
 
Australia is close to signing a deal with China that would allow the establishment of an official clearing bank for the renminbi.
Reserve Bank of Australia Deputy Governor Philip Lowe says the central bank is working with the People's Bank of China on a memorandum of understanding that would allow a clearing bank to be chosen "over (the) coming months".
Lowe says official clearing banks are afforded more direct access to China's onshore renminbi and foreign exchange markets than other offshore institutions.
China is Australia's single biggest export market with two-way trade flows of around 140 billion US dollars annually.
Right now, less than 1 percent of Australia's merchandise trade with China is invoiced in renminbi.
 
 
China to tackle 'fortress economies' in new super-region plan
 
Media reports suggest China is readying an assault on the "fortress economies" of local governments by creating a super region around Beijing.
The proposals are reported to be more aggressive than so far has been publicly revealed.
Reuters cited sources saying the plans, expected to be considered by Cabinet on Wednesday, will be the first time that standards for customs, tax, pollution and industry have been unified across local government areas.
Combining Beijing, Hebei province and Tianjin will create a region with a population of 110 million and an economy the size of Indonesia's.
 
 
Headline News
 
 
China will be Cuba's good friend: Chinese President
 
Chinese President Xi Jinping has been decorated with Cuba's highest honour, the Jose Marti medal, during a meeting with Cuban leader Raul Castro.
Xi Jinping is on a state visit to the country, promising long-term friendship and more cooperation.
Both sides have also agreed to boost trade and explore potential in healthcare and other service trades.
President Xi encourages Chinese enterprises to invest or open businesses in Cuba.
Castro agrees with Xi Jinping's remarks, saying Cuba is willing to promote trade and widen cooperation in mining, renewable energy, agriculture and biopharmacy.
Cuba is the last leg of Xi Jinping's visit to Latin America,
His regional tour has seen him visit Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela.
 
 
Black boxes of crashed Malaysian airliner in Britain
 
The black boxes from crashed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 have arrived in Britain for analysis.
Ukraine's government investigation commission made the annoucement today.
The black boxes were sent to Farnborough in Britain, where experts will read data stored in the recorders and try to find the exact cause of the tragedy.
MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine last Thursday, killing all 298 people aboard.
 
 
Palestinian death toll in Gaza mounts to 635
 
International efforts for a ceasefire in Gaza continue, even as Israel and Hamas have shown no sign of backing off their offensives.
Following 15 days of violence, over 600 Palestinians have been killed.
On the Israeli side, 28 soldiers and two civilians are confirmed dead.
After meeting with Israeli leaders in Jerusalem, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is calling for an inmmediate ceasefire and political talks.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is also in Israel to push for a truce.
Meanwhile the Chinese special envoy to the Middle East Wu Sike has met with leaders from the Arab league, and calling for Isreal and Hamas to accept an Egypt-backed ceasefire proposal.
 
 
Iraq to release candidates information for presidential election
 
Information on the candidates running in the Iraqi presidential election is scheduled to be published later today.
More than 100 candidates are vying for the presidency.
Lawmakers are preparing to choose the country's new leadership and build an inclusive government, amid sectarian rifts and an ongoing Islamist insurgency.
After being put off twice, the parliament last week elected its speaker.
And according to the Iraqi constitution, a new president should be chosen within a month of selecting the speaker.
 
 
Damascus welcomes appointment of new UN envoy to Syria
 
Syrian Foreign Ministry has issued a new statement, welcoming the appointment of a new UN envoy to the country.
Staffan de Mistura will replace Lakhdar Brahimi, who resigned the post in May.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry has welcomed the appointment, saying it accepts the appointment out of its conviction that a political solution requiring dialogue among Syrians is the sole way out of the crisis.
Syria has been gripped by deadly conflict since March 2011.
Over 160,000 people have reportedly been killed and millions displaced.
 
 
Newspaper Picks
 
 
China News Service
"Citizens' manual offers responses to terrorist attacks"
China's national counterterrorism office issued a citizens' anti-terrorism manual on Tuesday - the first of this kind - in Beijing, Shanghai and several other provinces.
The manual offers instructions on 42 topics such as "What to do after being abducted by terrorists" and "What to do if a gunfight breaks out in the subway".
It tells ordinary people how to protect themselves from terrorists.
One official of the Counterterrorism Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, said: "Distributing the manual for free is just a start. We will increase counterterrorism education and training programs throughout the country, so that we can build an anti-terrorism system that involves not only the experts, but the whole society."
Shanghai Daily
"Do more to remove government hindrance of education, expert say"
CHINA should further reduce government interference in higher education and give universities more autonomy in running themselves, an education expert said at a seminar on China's education reform.
Government interference on funding, appointment of university presidents, curriculum and evaluation systems have all been brought up in the seminar.
Experts said that these various interferences have caused an imbalance in educational resources and hindered independence of universities.
Higher education reform is urgent in China, one expert mentioned, as statistics show more and more Chinese high school students going abroad for undergraduate and graduate studies.
The Telegraph
"African elephants have the best smell in the animal kingdom"
Researchers have discovered that African Elephants have the largest number of genes dedicated to smell of any mammal.
Given the size of their trunks, and how important it is to their survival, it is probably unsurprising that an elephant's nose is not only the longest , but also the most effective.
Research has also shown that elephants have well-developed olfactory systems that include large olfactory bulbs and large olfactory areas in the brain.
The sense of smell is critical to all mammals, and they use it for sniffing out food, avoiding predators, finding mates and locating their offspring.
Some experts believe that humans have a far greater sense of smell than previously thought but daily showers and fridges, which mask bad odours, have stopped us noticing.
Asia One
"Hacking experts build device to protect cars from cyber attacks"
Experts say they have developed technology that would keep automobiles safe from cyber attacks.
At last summer's Def Con hacking conference in Las Vegas, the same two researchers, described ways to launch dangerous attacks, including manipulating the brakes of the moving cars.
They built a device, that listen to traffic in a car's network to understand how things are supposed to work. When an attack occurs, the device identifies traffic anomalies and blocks rogue activity.
The auto industry has beefed up efforts to identify and mitigate potential cybersecurity risks over the past few years.
"Cyber security is a global concern and it is a growing threat for all industries, including the automotive," said an auto engineer.
 
 
Special Reports
 
 
The 12th International Linguistics Olympiad
 
Anchor:
Beijing this week is hosting the International Linguistics Olympiad, one of the 12 international science Olympiads, for the first time since the annual event started twelve years ago. Over 160 contestants round the world have come to the Beijing Language and Culture University in the northwest of the city to compete to solve problems on diverse languages.
Wuyou was there to take a look.
reporter:
39 teams, representing 28 countries, including the US, Canada, Brasil, Russia, Spain, South Korea, Japan and so on are gathering in Beijing to test their minds against the world's toughest puzzles in language and linguistics.
Many of those young linguists have come to China for the first time and felt very excited to say hello in their own language.
According to the official website of the International Linguistics Olympiad, no prior knowledge of linguistics or languages is required for the competition: even the hardest problems require only your logical ability, patient work, and willingness to think around corners.
One of the Judges in this year's competition, Hugh Dotts from Ireland explains the rule.
A case in point would be the question topics from last year. In one of the tests, some words in Yidiny which is the language spoken by approx 150 people in the state of Queensland, Australia was provided, together with their English translation. Then the contestants are asked to translate a new Yidiny sentence into English based upon the above information.
Cao Qitong, a student from Nanjing Foreign Language School is with the Chinese team this year. He is quite confident on winning the competition.
Act. 40
The interest in linguistics is shared by other contestants. For Alexander Babiak, who is from Ithaca High School, in New York State in the US, the competiton in Beijng provides him a window to know more about China and its culture.
Dubbed the mini-United Nations, the Beijing Language and Culture University is known for its teaching in diverse foreign languess to students from home and abroad. Cao Zhiyun, Vice President of the University hopes the world's biggest competition in linguistics can help enhance the commmunication among the high school students around the world.
"I hope that after this event, more people in the world can have a better understanding of the knowledge of linguistics and more students can become interested in linguistics and later engage in teaching and research of this field. I also hope that this event will be a bridge of our friendship and communication, linking different cultures and ideas. "
The International Linguistics Olympiad,is aimed at raising the awareness of the diversity of world languages. This year's competion lasts until this Friday.
The exact number of the languages in the world can vary from 5000 to 7000, but the majority of these languages are not widely used and some are on the verge of extinction. Only more than 140 languages have a user base that exceeds one million.
For CRI, I'm Wuyou.
 
 
Sports
 
 
The last 16 of FA Cup have begun
 
The last 16 games of the 2014 Chinese FA Cup have begun.
Among today's games, the main focus should be given to two matches.
One match between Guizhou and Beijing is underway.
The other match, Guangzhou Fuli and Shangdong, starts at 8:00 pm.
On Thursday, Henan Jianye will take on Guangzhou Evergrande at 8:00 pm.
The winners will go to the last 8 at the FA Cup
 
 
China basketball team face Serbia tonight
 
The Chinese national basketball team is set to take on Serbia at the four-nation China-Europe tournament tonight.
The match started at 7:30 pm, in Harbin. In the first match between the two teams in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, China was edged by Serbia 95-93.
The Chinese squad is hoping to warm up for the Incheon Asian Games in September.
The team is going through a transitional period.
In the other two previous matches at the tournament, China downed Germany 72-69 and beat Montenegro 71-66.
 
 
Top High School Basketball Player Signs Contract with Guangdong Southern Tigers
 
Forced to wait a year to enter the NBA Draft, No. 1-ranked high school guard Emmanuel Mudiay has decided to play professionally in China instead of going to college.
Mudiay has signed a one-year, 1.2-million U.S. dollar contract with the Guangdong Southern Tigers.
Since the NBA instituted a rule in 2006 that players can only enter the draft if they are one year removed from high school, few top highschool prospects have opted to play professionally overseas.
The high school player will join Brandon Jennings as the lone high-profile prospects to bypass college and get paid during their mandatory post-high school year.
He's a strong guard at 6'5", 200 pounds, and he's expected to be the 3rd-ranked prospect in the 2015 NBA Draft.
 
 
James Rodriguez presented as Real Madrid player
 
Real Madrid has presented new signing James Rodriguez to thousands of fans at Bernabeu stadium.　　
The World Cup's Golden Boot winner with six goals, is Real's second major signing of the transfer window after Germany midfielder Toni Kroos joined from Bayern Munich.　　
James was emotional describing how he felt when he was walking onto the pitch at the stadium for the first time.
"There are no words, it was something unique and beautiful, something I have always dreamt about and I repeat, I desired this. It will not end with this, I dream of winning things and being here always, for many years, because it's a winning club and I'm also a winner."　
Rodriguez says he is looking forward to starting training and is hoping for a spot in the squad, but always respecting his team mates.
"I am prepared mentally and physically. I'm ready. All I need to do now is train. I'm anxious for it to be day one and begin training so I can get a position, obviously respecting all those stars I have beside me. My goal here is to win always, always. I don't like losing and I think this is an ideal club to win always, that's all."　　
Meanwhile, the arrival of Rodriguez could open the door for Angel Di Maria to leave Real.　　
Coach Carlo Ancelotti had wanted to keep him but the Argentine winger is believed to feel under-valued at the club.　
In other action,
English Premier League club Stoke City has signed Spanish striker Bojan Krkic from Barcelona.
The 23-year-old has inked a four-year contract with an undisclosed fee with Stoke, which finished ninth last season in the Premier League.
Bojan returned to Barcelona in 2013 after two lackluster seasons in Italy and spent the last season on loan with Dutch giants Ajax.
 
 
Alejandro Sabella is undecided about whether to stay as Argentina head coach
 
Alejandro Sabella still has offered no hint on his future with the Albiceleste at a special ceremony.
The manager is expected to make his decision by the end of the week.
His accomplishments, including leading Argentina to a World Cup final, have been recognized at the ceremony.
Sabella has spoken out against the criticism his captain Lionel Messi has received.
"I read a few things (in the media) where he was being criticised but I actually believe it is entirely the opposite. I believe that instead of criticizing his performance they should actually think of it as he was sacrificing for his team and that is something much greater. (Chelsea manager Jose) Mourinho has said the same thing."
Sabella lead his side to second place at the World Cup in Brazil, falling to Germany 1-0 in the final during extra time.
 
 
Entertainment
 
 
Chen Weiya to Choreograph 2014 Youth Olympic Games
 
Renowned director, Chen Weiya is to choreograph the opening ceremony of the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in China.
The ceremony, which will begin in Nanjing, Jiangsu province on August the 16th, will have less than a third of performers than the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Ceremony.
95 percent of the performers will be youths, and high tech lighting, projection and virtualization technology will be used in the ceremony, said Chen, who also directed the Beijing opening ceremony.
About 60 thousand people, including Chinese and foreign leaders, athletics and workers, will attend the opening ceremony for the games which will run through until August 28th.
 
 
4 Chinese Films in this years Toronto Film Festival so far
 
Four Chinese films are amongst the 59 galas and special presentations at this year's Toronto International Film Festival.
Organisers unveiled a small portion of the estimated 300-film line up at a recent press conference at downtown Toronto's TIFF Bell Lightbox.
Ning Hao's "Breakup Buddies" is set to make its world premier at the festival, while Zhang Yimou's "Coming Home", Peter Chan's "Dearest", and Wang Xiaoshuai's "Red Amnesia" will be making their North American debut.
The festival has been shining the spotlight on the Chinese film industry in recent years. TIFF's artistic director Cameron Bailey revealed he will be announcing a much more extensive list of Chinese films in the coming weeks.
The 49th Toronto International Film Festival will run from the 4th to the 14th of September this year.
 
 
Chinese scenic spot sues Hollywood blockbuster producers
 
A scenic area in Chongqing Municipality has sued producers of "Transformers: Age of Extinction" for failing to show its logo in the movie.
According to the Chongqing Wulong Karst Tourism Group, the Wulong Scenic Area has filed a lawsuit at Chongqing No.3 Intermediate People's Court, accusing Paramount Pictures Corporation and Beijing-based 1905 Internet Technology company, another of the film's producers, of violating the contract.
The court has accepted the suit.
The area asked Paramount Pictures to show the logo "China Wulong" in the blockbuster in all DVDs, TV and digital platforms, and demanded producers return 4.8 million yuan (about 770,000 U.S. dollars) of contract payment.
It also required producers to cover economic losses of four million yuan as the area closed for several days while shooting the film.
"Transformers: Age of Extinction," the fourth installment in the robot movie franchise, has taken more than 1.9 billion yuan since its debut on June 27.
 
 
Fight Club to be Published as Comic Book Series
 
A sequel to the film "Fight Club" is to be published as a comic book series.
Chuck Palahniuk, the author of the original novel, say's the sequel will be published in May 2015, continuing a decade after the first installment.
The story concludes with the unnamed narrator realizing his manipulative and aggressive companion, Tyler Durden, is his own alter-ego.
The original novel became a film staring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton in 1999.
The publisher, Dark Horse Comics, said Fight Club 2 would be set alternately in the past and the future, illustrated by Cameron Stewart.
Palahniuk says the approach will be more "cartoony" because it was better suited to the "density of the story and for its more absurdly comical moments.
 
 
That's it for this edition of the Beijing Hour - a quick recap of headlines before we go:
The Chinese president has promised friendship and cooperation with Cuba during his state visit to the caribean nation...
A flight carrying victims of the MH17 crash has Ukraine for the Netherlands...
and violence continues unabated on the Gaza strip, even as the head of the UN tours the region calling for peace...
In business, five people have been detained related to the tainted meat scandal that has horrified many across China...
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.