新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 20:00 2015/12/04

 The Beijing HourEvening EditionSpencer Musick with you on this Friday December 4th 2015.

Welcome to the Beijing Hour, live from the Chinese capital...

Coming up on the program this evening...

Chinese President Xi Jinping calling on China and Africa to upgrade their relations to a higher level as he announces ten major programs to boost cooperation in the next three years...

Beijing announcing plans to test congestion fees on some of the city's roads...

And Police in Thailand saying they have received a warning from Russia on the potential for terrorist attacks...

In business... China's stock market set to launch a circuit breaker mechanism on the first day of next year...

In sports...still more FIFA officials indicted in the United States for corruption...

In entertainment.... China's box office sales this year hitting a record high...

Top NewsXi announces 10 major programs in coming three years in AfricaChinese President Xi Jinping has announced ten major programs to boost China-Africa cooperation in the coming three years and promised China will offer 60 billion U.S. dollars to ensure smooth implementation of the initiatives.

The programs cover the areas of industrialization, agricultural modernization, infrastructure, financial services, green development, among other sectors.

President Xi has also said China will provide 60 million US dollars to the African Union to bolster Africa's rapid response forces.

Xi Jinping is co-chairing the second summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation with South African President Jacob Zuma from Friday to Saturday in South Africa's Johannesburg.

He made a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the historic summit on China-Africa cooperation on Friday.

In his speech, the Chinese President has announced that China will provide 1 billion yuan of food aid to African countries hit by El Nino.

He says China will train 200,000 African technicians and invite 40,000 of them to study in China.

He praised Africa's rapid development as exciting and encouraging and added that the momentum of the continent's independence is irresistible.

He also proposed that the new type of China-Africa relations be upgraded to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

The Chinese president explained the fundamental reason behind the ever stronger China-Africa friendship is that the two sides have always treated each other on an equal footing, and pursued win-win cooperation for common development.

For more on this, earlier I had the chance to talk with He Wenping, Professor in African studies at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

China-Africa ties have practical significance, not to be demonized: US expertsAnalysts say Chinese President Xi Jinping's ongoing African tour has huge significance for both China and African nations.

Researcher at the Center for Global Development, Scott Morris, said the tour came at an important moment as investment flows have fallen off with the current economic slowdown in China.

"I think it is also an important moment in terms of China on the global stage as we anticipate their leadership in the G20 next year. They recognize that the global community's eyes are on them. So beyond the commercial relationships that we're seeing cemented here with new deals, I think there perhaps is a slightly different posture from the Chinese leadership when it comes to thinking about its own relationship strategically in the region."William Jones with the weekly newsmagazine Executive Intelligence Review pointed out that the growing China-Africa ties should be put into the context of Africa's ever increasing integration into the global economy.

"My attitude would be that if the United States or the European nations want to help Africa, they would be very happy to accept that help. Why don't they go and build some power plants? Why don't they go and build some highways or build some high-speed rail? You know, they could join that; China is not keeping them out of that."Following his state visits to Zimbabwe and South Africa, Chinese President Xi Jinping is now co-chairing a landmark summit under the framework of the Forum On China-Africa Cooperation, which lasts through Saturday in Johannesburg.

The Johannesburg meeting is the second summit of the 15-year-old FOCAC. It groups China, 50 African countries that have established diplomatic ties with China, and the Commission of the African Union.

China-Africa summit expected to explore new growth opportunities for both sidesObservers from both sides are voicing hopes that the summit in Johannesburg will help to boost economic and cultural ties between China and African countries.

CRI's Niu Honglin reports.

Zhou Yuxiao, former Chinese Ambassador to Zambia, says the summit is a channel to connect China's 13th Five Year Plan and Africa's Agenda 2063.

"To promote capacity cooperation, transferring high-quality surplus capacity to Africa, to accelerate industrialization and agricultural modernization in Africa will be one of the highlights of this summit."Despite slowing growth in both regions, China and Africa hope to boost their trade on the occasion of this summit.

Garth Strachan with South Africa's Department of Trade and Industry says China and Africa are now seeking a restructuring of their export profile.

"Somewhere in the region, 90 percent of the exports to the People's Republic of China are primary commodities and there is agreement in the relationship and the strategic partnership that we need to change that profile in the direction of the export of more value-added products."Debt levels among African countries is also a big area of concern. Some observers hope that China will provide relief for these countries.

Managing director of Emerging Markets & Africa, Martyn Davies, said Chinese policy banks have been the single largest lenders to African states.

"Many of these loans are underwritten by sovereign guarantees and many of these loans are also underwritten by commodities, i.e. high commodity prices. In light of recent, the last 12 months, recent collapse of commodities prices - oil, solid commodities, a lot of these maturity and the repayment of these debts clearly need to be pushed out."Besides capacity cooperation, cultural exchange is also expected to be among the topics during the summit.

Liu Hongwu, director of Institute of African Studies of Zhejiang Normal University, says China and Africa can strengthen their cooperation between think tanks and universities, learn more from each other's culture and work together to protect cultural heritages.

"All of these events are open to public. With more cultural exchanges, the relationship between China and Africa will be reinforced."The Johannesburg Summit is the second summit in the 15 years since the FOCAC' inception, and the first to be held in Africa.

Upon his arrival in Pretoria, President Xi Jinping has said the summit will serve as a milestone in pushing all-round development of China-Africa relations and promoting a more balanced, inclusive and sustainable development of the world.

For CRI, I'm Niu Honglin.

China, Japan restart ruling party talksThe ruling parties of China and Japan have met with each other for the first time in six years.

Senior members of the Communist Party of China and the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan gathered in Beijing on Thursday for the fifth meeting under an exchange that had earlier been suspended as tensions rose between the two sides.

An official with the National Committee of China's top advisory body told delegates at the opening ceremony that China and Japan should properly handle their disputes to tap potential for cooperation.

Relations have been strained by historical territorial disputes, particularly over the Diaoyu Islands.

138,867 officials punished in 3-year frugality campaignIt's been reported that over 138 thousand officials in China have been punished for violating austerity rules since the leadership launched a frugality campaign three years ago.

The number was released on Thursday by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of China's ruling party, the country's top anti-graft body.

According to the commission, seven provincial and ministerial level officials were among the punished.

Lavish weddings and funerals, spending public money on dining and traveling, and the giving and receiving of illicit gifts were included in the violations.

The commission says detailed data indicates a drastic increase of violations in 2015 concerning unauthorized spending compared to the previous year.

Beijing to Test Charging Road Congestion FeesThe Beijing Municipal Transport Commission said on Thursday it plans to test charging congestion fees on some of the city's roads.

Car emissions account for about one third of the city's sources of smog. The transport commission's spokesperson Rong Jun says the new fees aim to alleviate vehicle emissions.

"The new measure is not to simply collect the fees. We are approaching it with the aim of better environmental protection, to allow all of us to see more days with blue skies."Beijing has 5.6 million vehicles. Local authorities have previously implemented measures to restrict vehicle use.

Beijing experienced the worst smog of the year earlier this week, while 2 or 3 more periods of air pollution are forecasted for December.

The measure will add Beijing to a list of other places with such fees, such as London and Singapore.

Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei to Cooperate on Curbing PollutionLocal governments in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province have signed a cooperation framework concerning the control of pollution which has been seriously affecting the region.

The region will set up a joint coordination system to curb smog, and draft regulations on the control of environmental pollution affecting air, water and soil.

Zhao Jun, head of Hebei's environmental supervision bureau, says their next step is to launch a crackdown on pollution brought by burning coal, a major source for winter heating in the region.

"We'll mainly focus on whether the emission control facilities for coal burning industries are working properly, whether there is illegal discharge of pollutants, as well as whether there is fraud on the data and figures involved in monitoring."A unified standard on pollutant emissions will be set up, and the 3 regions will also jointly conduct monitoring and inspections as well as share information with each other.

Authorities from the 3 regions will also conduct operations once there's a pollution happening regardless of its seriousness.

This is different from previous joint operations which will only be conducted during cross-region, severe pollution.

Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province have been facing serious air pollution since 2013, and thick smog has covered the region over the last weekend.

That spell was regarded as the worst period of air pollution so far this year.

China Has the Most College Students in the World; ReportA new report has shown that China has the largest number of college students in the world, and also the second largest amount of higher education institutions.

There are currently nearly 36 million college students studying in over 28-hundered higher education institutions in China.

The figures came after the national education outline by China's education authorities was implemented some 5 years ago.

Wu Daguang, head of an evaluation team on higher education, outlines priority areas for the future.

"The cultivating of talents for innovation and entrepreneurship is under way, but is not balanced enough. The funds spent also vary from different institutions. The direction of involving such education in the whole process of cultivating talents has already formed, but there's still no unified mode for such cultivation. But taking innovation and entrepreneurship as a breakthrough point for improving the quality of talent has already become a key area of progress."The amount of students from poor areas admitted to key universities has also significantly increased.

Machu Picchu Put onto the Map by GoogleMachu Picchu is literally being put onto the map by Google.

Growing visitor numbers are threatening the archaeological site, but now modern technology is allowing tourists to view the ancient wonder from their armchairs, starting from this Friday.

CRI's Xie Cheng with more.

In 1911, Yale University history professor Hiram Bingham III found the "Lost City of the Incas," in Machu Picchu, Peru.

Although locals had been aware of the site in the Andes, it was Bingham's discovery that made it known to the world.

Now Google Street View is set to bring every terrace and summit of Machu Pichhu to a screen near you.

Google's Daniel Filip, the Engineering Manager of Google Street View, announced the good news.

"Today we are here to capture for the first time to capture a street view imagery of Machu Picchu and publish it on Google maps for the whole world to appreciate and be inspired to come to Machu Picchu and visit."Back at Google HQ in California, Deanna Yick, Street View Program Manager for Google Maps demonstrates the device.

"Everyone I think is familiar at this point with street view imagery and seeing this imagery of the cars from the road. But a lot of people would argue that the most interesting stuff is actually off the beaten path and once you get off the roads that is where the good stuff is. So that is what we are focused on bringing people to some of the most exciting, monumental, historic places around the world that they are interested to see and we want to be able to provide that seamless experience on Google Maps."The Incas built Machu Picchu atop an Andean peak some 24-hundered meters high, with a breathtaking view across the inhospitable abysses that surround it.

Some experts believe it was a refuge for one or more Inca rulers, others say that it was a religious sanctuary.

In the 1980s, visitors shunned Peru because of a raging guerrilla conflict that ended in 1999.

Its popularity has grown since then and over a century later the site receives an average of 4-thousand visitors a day.

Susana Pabon, General Manager for Google in Colombia and Peru, says that to provide information of remote places has always been Google map's main desire.

"Google is constantly working in innovation to be able to go into the most remote and important areas in the world, to be able to create what we call the perfect map, and that is the objective, to be able to create that perfect map, that is why we are going to areas like Machu Picchu, so people can see just with one click any part of the world and have access to places like this from their own computers"UNESCO inscribed the Inca stronghold on its World Heritage list in 1983, boosting the site's fame and making it eligible for international technical support.

The images released Thursday are the latest addition to the diverse collection of photos supplementing Google's widely used digital maps.

For CRI, I'm Xie Cheng.

16 killed in attack on night club in CairoLocal official says 16 people have been killed on Friday in an attack by unknown militants on a night club in the Egyptian capital Cairo.

Masked people on a motor bike opened fire and threw Molotov cocktails into a night club in Agoza district of southern Cairo.

At least three people were wounded.

All the victims were employees at the night club.

The security forces have been deployed to comb the crime scene.

Russia Warns Thailand of Possible Terrorist AttacksPolice in Thailand said on Friday they have received a warning from Russia on potential terrorist attacks.

A police spokesman confirmed the authenticity of a leaked police memo mentioning the warning. The warning says 10 Syrians who may be linked to the Islamic State militant group could carry out attacks on Russian and other targets in Thailand.

Thailand has seen few signs of IS activity. The group actively recruits volunteers from Malaysia and Indonesia.

Russian Citizens from Caucasus Fighting in IS: PutinRussian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed Russians from the Caucasus region are indeed fighting on the side of the Islamic State group in Syria.

"I have just seen the latest images from the place where our plane was shot down and where our comrade was killed – there are people from the Caucasus based there. Right there. They were the pilot's target. I saw the latest photographs that IS members made themselves and that were never posted. These are not photos from the Internet. The people in the images are from Russia."The comments came as he met Russian armed force servicemen active in Syria and presented them state awards.

Putin said in his speech that Russia's air campaign is intended to fend off a terror threat to the country posed by militant groups trained in Syria before returning home.

Earlier on Wednesday, the IS group released an unverified video showing a Russian-speaking man beheaded after confessing to spying for Russian intelligence.

Southern India Sees Relief in Heavy RainfallIndia's southern state of Tamil Nadu has experienced its heaviest rainfall in over a century. The floods have left more than 3 million people without basic services. More than five thousand houses are under water, stranding many on rooftops.

The rainfall paused on Friday, giving rescuers and relief workers a chance to gain some ground.

Director General of India's National Disaster Response Force O.P. Singh says rescue efforts have made progress.

"Power supply has been restored in areas where there is no water logging. The communication network has also improved, so much so that we have been able to communicate very easily with our officers and team leaders. There are several places which have dried up as the water levels have receded."Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to the state's capital Chennai. He blamed the disaster on climate change, in addition to pledging 150 million US dollars in relief packages. Tamil Nadu has a population of 70 million.

Southeast Asia Nations Gather to Tackle Irregular MigrationThailand's foreign minister on Friday called for joint regional efforts to address irregular migration in the Indian Ocean.

Don Pramudwinal made the comments as representatives of Southeast Asian countries have gathered in Bangkok to discuss the issue.

"A time for promises has passed. Now is the time for action. Therefore, it's my hope that today's discussion will result in concrete and goal-oriented actions that countries can start implementing, not in some distant future, but today and now."Tens of thousands of migrants make dangerous sea journeys each year across the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea. Most of them are from Myanmar and Bangladesh, escaping from poverty or political instability at home.

In May this year, Thailand's crackdown on human trafficking caused traffickers to abandon 4-thousand migrants at sea. Regional governments then repeatedly pushed the migrants away from their waters.

The Thai foreign minister said 900 of those migrants are currently in Thailand.

Denmark Rejects Adoption of EU Policing RulesDenmark on Thursday voted to reject further integration with the EU.

Denmark has enjoyed several exemptions from EU laws since the 1990's. However, the Danish government told voters the country needed to adopt 22 EU security acts to remain in the cross-border police agency Europol.

A higher-than-expected 72% of voters turned up to cast their ballots on Thursday. Nearly 47% of voters wanted to further integrate with the EU, while more than 53% opposed the measure.

Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, whose government backed the "Yes" campaign, says he does not consider Thursday's result a setback.

"I don't consider this as a step back, I mean the Danes refused to take a step forward you could say. And obviously I would have liked to see another outcome. As I have tried to explain to the Danish journalists it is still my feeling that the Danes are in favour of a cross-border cooperation between Danish police and police in other European countries and that this is actually the main question."The prime minister says he thinks the EU's current problems, including the refugee crisis, likely caused Danes to remain cautious about forming closer ties with the EU.

US Military to Open All Positions to WomenThe US military will open up all positions to women, including combat roles on the front lines.

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter made the announcement on Thursday.

"They'll be allowed to drive tanks, fire orders, lead infantry soldiers into combat. They'll be able to serve as Army rangers in green berets, Navy SEALS, Marine Corps infantry, Air Force parajumpers and everything else that was previously open only to men."The US Marine Corps had previously called for a partial exemption to the sweeping change, arguing mixed-gender combat unit are less effective as all male groups.

However, Carter made it clear that no exceptions or quotas will be granted to the new measure.

The US military currently employs more than 1.3 million active-duty personnel, nearly 16 percent of them women.

President Barack Obama welcomed the change.

His administration in 2013 asked for all combat roles to be open to women by 2016.

Headline NewsXi announces 10 major programs in coming three years in AfricaChinese President Xi Jinping has announced ten major programs to boost China-Africa cooperation in the coming three years and promised China will offer 60 billion U.S. dollars to ensure smooth implementation of the initiatives.

President Xi has also said China will provide 60 million US dollars to the African Union to bolster Africa's rapid response forces.

Xi Jinping is co-chairing the second summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation with South African President Jacob Zuma from Friday to Saturday in South Africa's Johannesburg.

He made a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the historic summit on China-Africa cooperation on Friday.

In his speech, the Chinese President has announced that China will provide 1 billion yuan of food aid to African countries hit by El Nino.

He says China will train 200,000 African technicians and invite 40,000 of them to study in China.

He also proposed that the new type of China-Africa relations to be upgraded to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

Chinese FM to attend ministerial conference of the Istanbul Process on AfghanistanChinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will attend the fifth ministerial conference of the Istanbul Process on Afghanistan scheduled in Islamabad from Dec. 8 to 10.

Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying says the foreign minister will push forward China's stance and policy on the Afghan issue and introduce China's efforts to help Afghanistan's peaceful reconstruction and national reconciliation.

Hua says China is ready to work with all sides to promote the Istanbul process to play a positive role in promoting peace and stability in Afghanistan and regional cooperation.

Inaugurated in 2011, the Istanbul Process is the only Afghanistan-related cooperation mechanism led by regional countries with an aim to promote peace and prosperity in Afghanistan.

The fourth conference was held in Beijing in October 2014.

800 million cubic meters south-north water delivered to BeijingThe south-to-north water diversion project is expected to deliver 880 million cubic meters of water to Beijing by the end of this year.

The water diversion project is designed to take water from China's longest river, the Yangtze,through eastern, middle and western routes to feed dry areas in the north.

The project now provides 70 percent of Beijing's water supply.

The water diversion project is the world's largest at an estimated cost of 500 billion yuan, around 82 billion U.S. dollars.

The middle route provides the primary flow to the capital. It begins at Danjiangkou Reservoir in central Hubei Province and runs across Henan and Hebei provinces before reaching Beijing and Tianjin.

Biz ReportsStocksTurning over to business news, starting with the closing market numbers in China.

Mainland markets closed in the negative territory on Friday, led by banking and insurance sectors.

But agriculture related shares grew in spite of losses on the two major bourses, as the sector sees more stimulus measures coming.

The Shanghai Composite Index ended its consecutive increases with a 1.7 percent loss.

The Shenzhen Component index also dropped some 1 percent.

The small-cap ChiNext Index declined 0.6 percent.

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Heng Seng Index lost 0.8 percent.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets fell following a global equity rout triggered by the European Central Bank's (ECB) announcement of new stimulus measures that were deemed too tepid by world markets.

Japanese benchmark Nikkei tumbled over 2 percent.

South Korea's KOSPI also ended 1 percent lower.

Singapore's Straits Times index decreased nearly 0.5 percent.

And finally, Australia's ASX/200 retreated by 1.4 percent.

China to launch stock circuit breaker in the coming yearChina's stock market will launch a circuit breaker mechanism on the first day of next year to curb wild swings in the stock market.

With approval from the country's securities regulator, the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges and China Financial Futures Exchange issued relevant regulations on the mechanism on Friday.

The three bourses collected public opinion on the mechanism in September, which would suspend trading temporarily in response to substantial rises or drops on the bourses.

China's securities regulator approves another 10 companies for IPOsChina's securities regulator has said that another 10 Chinese companies are ready for their initial public offerings.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission will determine the issuance dates later with the stock exchanges.

This batch of 10 listing candidates include Shenyang Toly Bread, Henan Thinker Automatic Equipment and Jiangxi Fushine Pharmaceutical.

The authority recently resumed IPOs after a short suspension during the summer when stocks markets saw massive tumbles.

Last Friday, the regulator said it will further simplify the IPO approval procedure.

The first 10 companies have started share sales this week.

Markets disappointed with ECB's new stimulus programOn Thursday, the ECB decided to lower the interest rate of its deposit facility by 10 basis points to minus 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the marginal lending facility will remain unchanged.

At the same time, the central bank is expected to extend the asset purchase program until the end of March 2017 from September 2016.

In addition, the ECB is set to include euro-denominated marketable debt instruments in the public sector purchase program in the list of assets.

After the ECB announced its decision, both U.S. and European stock markets ended in negative territory.

Most Asian markets also saw losses at close.

For more on the ECB's stimulus package, CRI's Lincoln Van der Westhuizen spoke earlier with Terrill Frantz, Assistant Professor of Management & Director of Global Development at Peking University.

RMB sees steady rise in useLatest stats show that the volume of cross-border renminbi receipts and payment reached nearly 9.6 trillion yuan or 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars during first ten months of this year.

That is a 20 percent year on year increase.

Yuan has become China's second largest cross-border payment currency, accounting for nearly 30 percent of the total volume of cross-border receipt and payments using domestic and foreign currencies.

Xing Yujing, monetary policy official at China's central bank, says the RMB is experiencing an ongoing and stable internationalization.

"The RMB has become an important currency in global foreign exchange transactions. Besides U.S. dollar, the interbank foreign exchange market in China has realized direct dealing between RMB and eight currencies including Australian dollar, pound, euro and Singapore dollar,"The People's Bank of China has established clearing arrangements in more than 20 countries and regions across the world.

It has also signed bilateral currency swap agreements with central banks or monetary authorities of 33 countries and regions, with the total volume exceeding 3.3 trillion yuan.

Earlier this week, the Chinese currency was admitted into the IMF benchmark basket, making another step on the road of its internationalization.

China, Thailand boost connection with railway and riceChina and Thailand have signed a framework deal to build a 900 kilometer railway line linking the Thai-Lao border and Bangkok.

Meanwhile, China will also buy 1 million tons of white and jasmine rice and 200 thousand tons of rubber from Thailand.

Delegates from the two countries attended a signing ceremony at the Thai capital.

China's grain trader COFCO will import the Thai rice as announced on its official website.

The agreements are part of the Maritime Silk Road initiative that is proposed by China aiming to establish cooperation in Southeast Asia.

They are also believed to help boost the sluggish growth rate of Southeast Asia's second-largest economy.

Power China loans Zimbabwe power plant 1.2 billion U.S. dollarsThe state-owned Power China has announced that it has signed an agreement to help rehabilitate and expand Zimbabwe's coal-fired Hwange power plant.

The 1.2 billion U.S. dollar deal is the biggest infrastructure project in Zimbabwe over the past 3 decades.

The deal was signed during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the country earlier this week.

The project will add 600 megawatts of power to its power supply.

The group is also responsible for the expansion of a hydropower plant in Kariba Lake in south Zimbabwe which has started construction last year.

The southern African nation rations power daily to consumers as it faces a severe lack of power supply.

SportsEight more plead guilty of corruption in ongoing FIFA investigationsFirst a look at the latest development of the ongoing investigations of the world's governing body of football FIFA.

US attorney general Loretta Lynch has confirmed that the eight more people indicted as part of the ongoing corruption scandal have pleaded guilty.

"I can report that eight additional defendants have agreed to plead guilty for their involvement in the corruption schemes that we have outlined. After the initial charges were filed in May, these defendants came forward and accepted responsibility for their criminal conduct."Those pleading guilty include officials who were indicted earlier this year and on Thursday.

The United States has also requested the extradition of former Honduran president and Honduras' national football federation president Rafael Callejas in connection with the corruption investigation.

The incumbent president of the Hondouran football federation Alfredo Hawit was among those arrested yesterday at a hotel raid in Zurich.

Former heads of football federations of Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru are also among the 16 officials charged.

President of the Brazilian Football Confederation Marco Polo Del Nero has requested to step down amid the FIFA turmoil that had spread to South America.

After the Zurich hotel raid, acting FIFA president Issa Hayatou denied his involvement in a 1.5 million US dollar bribe from Qatar's World Cup bid.

"I would not be here if I was corrupt, my dear friend. Can the (British) parliament prove that I have had a million and a half - I have never received one single dollar or euro from anybody for votes for the organisation for the world cup."Hayatou was a member of the International Olympic Committee which sanctioned him for a FIFA matter back in 2011. FIFA's then-ethics panel showed no interest.

Real Madrid argue Cheryshev ban not applicableElsewhere in football,Real Madrid have argued the ban for their player Denis Cheryshev not applicable as Cadiz's appeal pushed them to the edge of exit to the Copa Del Rey.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez says neither the team nor Cheryshev himself were informed of the player's ban.

"We consider that the sanction is not applicable, because the player was not personally notified, and even it that had been the case, which it isn't, as far as we are concerned it has been cancelled. To summarise, Real Madrid did not use a player in an unwarranted way."Russian international Cheryshev's ban dates back to last season when he picked up three yellow cards in the Copa Del Rey at Villarreal.

He started the game between Real Madrid and Cadiz and scored the first goal in Real's 3-1 win.

He was substituted in the second half as soon as Real realized the error.

CBA updateSome CBA action coming up tonight,Xinjiang and the Beijing Ducks meet again after their season-opening clash in October.

Xinjiang won that game 103-97.

This season's pacesetters Xinjiang are looking to improve their 11-1 record and beat Beijing again, this time on home court.

Both teams have lost their last game. Xinjiang suffered their only loss of the season by Fujian; Beijing were dealt a home defeat by Liaoning two days ago.

The teams are playing in the first quarter and it is 13-11 in favor of Xinjiang.

More games have gotten underway at the same time,Second-placed Guangdong facing Tongxi,Liaoning hosting Foshan,And the Zhejiang Lions playing the Bayi Rockets.

Some NBA results from this morning,Boston won their Global Game against Sacramento 114-97 in Mexico City,San Antonio crushed Memphis 103-83,And Portland upset Indiana 123-111.

Liang, Fu to meet in UK championship quarter-finalsIn snooker,The only two Chinese players will meet in the quarter-finals of the UK Championship.

Liang Wenbo saved a match point when 5-3 down on Tom Ford and didn't look back, winning 6-5 to reach the last eight and face Hong Kong's Marco Fu.

Fu had earlier knocked out Shawn Murphy in yesterday's session.

Other quarter-finalists include Neil Robertson, John Higgins, Matthew Selt and Martin Gould.

Victim satisfied with penalty for ice hockey playerNow a follow-up of the heaviest penalty in China's ice hockey history,The victim Huang Peng's father is satisfied with the penalty and has decided not to demand compensation and appeal.

Qiqihar's sports bureau where the sanctioned player and coach Lang Bingyu is registered says Lang had no intention of hurting Huang.

China's winter sports authorities yesterday announced a lifetime ban for Lang for attacking rival player Huang during the Chinese Ice Hockey League game between Qiqihar and Chengde last week.

Lang's coach Liu Wen has been banned from the league for a year and disqualified from his candidacy for coach of the national team.

Lang hit Huang in the face with a hockey stick. Huang lost three teeth and received 42 stitches on the cheek from the attack.

Golf action from Nedbank Challenge, Hero World ChallengeIn golf,Jaco van Zyl and Henrik Stenson are in the lead after the opening round of the Nedbank Challenge in Sun City, South Africa.

Both shot a round of 6-under 66 to lead by one shot.

South African van Zyl says he has had to overcome the nerves attached to his Nedbank debut to ensure some local representation on top of the leaderboard.

"Standing on the first tee I could feel my heart beating in my throat. That was pretty much the case for the first three holes. I settled in nicely after that and managed to keep the nerves intact and managed to scoop a good one out there."In more golf action,It is Paul Casey, Jimmy Walker and Zach Johnson sharing the lead at the 18-man Hero World Challenge, a tournament that benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation.

World number one Jordan Spieth sank a hole-in-one at the second hole to got action underway in style.

He carded an opening round of 5-under 67 to sit at joint second-place, one shot down on the leaders.

Bubba Watson, Adam Scott and Bill Haas all matched Spieth's score sheet.

EntertainmentChina's Box Office Sales Reach Benchmark 40 Bln YuanChina's box office sales this year have hit a record high by pulling in forty billion yuan, or some 6.3 billion US dollars, as of Thursday night.

According to official data released today, China's box office sales have enjoyed a growth rate of over 48 percent from the same period last year.

The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television says domestic films grossed 23.7 billion yuan, accounting for more than 59 percent of the total box office earnings.

This year's record-breaking live action comedy 'Monster Hunt', and hit animation 'Monkey King: Hero is Back' are among the six domestic films listed on the top 10 earners in the recording period.

Foreign productions that made the top 10 list included 'Furious 7', 'Avengers: Age of Ultron', 'Jurassic World' and 'Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation'.

According to the administration, there are some 6,200 urban cinemas with more than 30,000 screens across China.

'Legend of Miyue' Breaks Online Viewing RecordDirector Zheng Xiaolong's epic TV drama 'The Legend of Mi Yue' has smashed China's online viewing record, as its first two episodes attracted over 700 million hits, just 24 hours after its release.

Tencent Video says the first two episodes of the historic epic, and its related material including previews and outtakes, have achieved some 360 million hits on their opening day.

This, while LeTV secured 340 million hits over the same period.

Based on the life of ancient China's first female politician Mi Bazi, the TV drama is adapted from the namesake novel, which portrays the ups and downs of Mi Yue, who turns from being a simple girl into an iron-handed power behind the throne.

The star-studded cast includes Sun Li, Liu Tao and Huang Xuan.

Previously, award-winning director Zheng Xiaolong indicated, the TV drama has already attracted attention from overseas markets, and its overseas distributor is in discussions with at least a dozen companies, including California-based Netflix.

The 81-episode drama is now airing on Beijing Satellite TV and Shanghai-based Dragon TV. It also goes live on Tencent Video and LeTV.

Coldplay to Join Super Bowl Halftime ShowThe news that Coldplay is headlining the 2016 Super Bowl as the annual National Football League game's halftime-show performer has been confirmed.

"Hello, I'm Chris. I'm from Coldplay. We're so excited, honored, and thrilled to play in the halftime show. It's gonna be wonderful, and hope to see you there. "The British rock band, including Chris Martin, Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland and Will Champion, will give their Super Bowl debut show on February 7 at Levi's Stadium in California.

NFL official announced on Thursday that Coldplay's halftime set will be made up of hits, including hot tracks from the new album 'A Head Full of Dreams' such as 'Adventure of a Lifetime', which is set to due later today.

Meanwhile, Coldplay will appear in a series of behind-the-scenes videos on Pepsi.com, about the making of the halftime show, which will begin on January 11th.

Formed in 1996, Coldplay rose to worldwide fame with the release of single 'Yellow'.

Sold over 80 million records worldwide, the band has five MTV Video Music Awards and seven Grammy Awards under its belt.

Earlier this year, Katy Perry starred in the most-watched Super Bowl halftime show in history, with over 118 million viewers tuned in to see her performance.

Michael Buble to Return with Fifth Christmas TV SpecialThe multi-Grammy Award winning singer-actor Michael Buble will return with his fifth Christmas TV Special 'Michael Buble's Christmas in Hollywood'.

The show was filmed in a downtown Los Angeles theater in early November.

The 40-year-old star elaborates on his efforts in making this show.

"There's nothing stagnant on what I do on these shows. And the truth is: the production value, the show, the guests -- it has to be the best. I don't want to even do something like this if it isn't the best. If you notice that I drop out, or I don't have a sixth or seventh or ninth or 10th Christmas special, it's because I didn't feel like I could give the people what they deserved."A-list celebrities including Celine Dion, Blake Shelton, Kylie Jenner and William Shatner are among the special guests for the show.

'Michael Buble's Christmas in Hollywood' is set to start airing at 8 p.m Eastern Daylight Time on NBC from December 10th.

That's it for this edition of the Beijing Hour...

A quick look at the headlines before we go...

Chinese President Xi Jinping calling on China and Africa to upgrade their relations to a higher level as he announces ten major programs to boost cooperation in the next three years...

Beijing announcing plans to test congestion fees on some of the city's roads...

And Police in Thailand saying they have received a warning from Russia on the potential for terrorist attacks...

On behalf of all of us on the CRI news team, this is Spencer Musick in Beijing. Join us for the next edition of the Beijing Hour, to open a window to the world together...