Evening Edition

 

Monday 29th July, 2013

Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital, I'm Ben Leung.

Coming up on our program this evening，

A weekend of violence in Cairo has left more than 70 people dead as EU's foreign chief visits the city.

A Chinese Peace Ark docks in the Pakistani port city of Karachi.

Baghdad is rocked by a wave of car bombs targeting the Shiite areas.

Business, A nationwide audit of local government debt is under way as initiated by the State Council.

Sports, We'll have news from the Concacaf cup final.

Entertainment, tonight features Chow Yun-Fat, Rupert Grint, Lady Gaga and diver Tom Daley.

Plus Special reports is on the mobile gaming exhibition.

 

 

Weather

 

 

Beijing will be cloudy tonight with a low of 24 degrees Celsius. Tomorrow sunny with a high temperature of 35.　

Meanwhile Shanghai will be cloudy tonight, with a low of 31,　cloudy tomorrow, with a high of 39.

Lhasa will be overcast tonight, 9 degrees the low, cloudy tomorrow with a high of 24.

Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia

Islamabad, thundershowers, with a high of 34.

Kabul, overcast, 37.

Over in Australia

Sydney, overcast, highs of 21.

Canberra, rain, 17.

Brisbane, overcast, 22.

And finally, Perth will be overcast with a high of 20.

 

 

Top News

 

 

Power supply restored in flood-hit region in NW China's Gansu

 

In northwest China's Gansu province, power has now been restored in over 60-thousand homes after rain-triggered floods and landslides.

Four rounds of downpours have lashed Tianshui City in recent days, leaving killing 7 with 15 people missing.

Gansu Electric Power Corporation sent out hundreds of repairmen to Tianshui to get power back on.

Wei Dong is an official with the corporation.

"We have given priority to schools, hospitals and settlements on power restoration."

Meanwhile, some 27-thousand households are still without power because power lines are down and roads leading to transformer stations blocked.

The latest downpours in Tianshui City came after the 6.6-magnitude earthquake that jolted the border between Minxian and Zhangxian counties in Gansu last week.

 

 

Australian FM: Australia is open to Chinese investment

 

Anchor:

Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr has said that Australia encourages Chinese investment and that China's urbanization provides a new set of opportunities for his home country.

He made the remarks today during a visit to Hong Kong.

CRI's Hong Kong correspondent Xu Weiyi has the details.

Reporter:

Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr is on a ten-day visit in China.

He delivered a speech on Australia's foreign policies and perspectives in Asia during a luncheon in Hong Kong on Monday.

Carr says that the reemergence of China to greatness is good for both China and Australia.

"We never sought, we never entertain the idea of containing China. We've always seen the reemergence to greatness of China a wonderful opportunity for Australia."

The new Australia Prime Minister Kevin Rudd recently said the Australian resource boom driven by the demand of Chinese cities is over.

But Bob Carr stressed that China is now providing a new set of opportunities for Australia.

"But the urbanization of China presents Australia with a different set of opportunities that have trading and services, that welcoming Chinese investment into Australia, opportunities for giving China not only resource security, which we've done up till now, but giving China food security."

The Australian Foreign Minister says Chinese investment can be found in Australian uranium mines, power systems of Australian cities, iron and ore, magnetite, coal mines, food processing and farms.

But in Australia's interest, they still courage China to keep buying from Australia.

He also reiterated that there is no limit on Chinese investment.

"None has been rejected in a hundreds of Chinese investment proposals made in Australia. There was not one that has been knocked back. Some has been conditions attached to them. But none has been rejected."

The Australian Foreign Minister is also scheduled to visit the provinces of Sichuan and Fujian as well as the Chongqing municipality.

He is expected to help Australia seize opportunities open up in China's fast-growing inland provinces, and raise Australia's profile in the emerging coastal provincial market.

For CRI, this is Xu Weiyi from Hong Kong.

 

 

Chinese naval hospital ship arrives in Pakistan to give medical services  

 

A Chinese naval hospital ship has arrived in Pakistan's port city of Karachi as part of an overseas voyage to provide medical services to local residents.

The "Peace Ark" ship is currently on a four-month overseas mission known as "Mission Harmony 2013."

The vessel has over 400 people onboard and about 100 of them are medical staff.

It was welcomed by Pakistan's military officials, Chinese diplomats and a group of local students in Karachi.

"I'm from Pakistani navy. Pakistan especially Karachi people are very happy to see the ship and hope for a bigger friendship with China."

"Well, I feel very good to welcome you, your ship. And furthermore it's very nice to meet you people. My fellow students, they (also) feel very good. They enjoy a lot."

During its one-week stay in Karachi, the ship's medical staff will give on-the-spot medical services to local residents at a military hospital.

Meanwhile, the Chinese medics and their Pakistani counterparts will jointly conduct operations on patients as a way of technical assistance in the field of military medicine.

Pakistan and China have enjoyed good relations in the past decades.

Analysts say the visit of the "Peace Ark" is another sign of a special bond between the two neighbors.

The "Peace Ark" first set off from eastern China's Zhoushan Islands in early June, embarking on its third overseas trip to 8 Asian countries and the Gulf of Aden.

The ship has just finished its operation in the Gulf of Aden, where it provided medical services to foreign escort fleets.

The "Peace Ark" will next visit India.

 

 

Zimbabwe Prime Minster Tsvangirai warns of potential unrest if vote is stolen

 

Onto Africa.

Zimbabwe's Prime Minster Morgan Tsvangirai says President Robert Mugabe will not be allowed to rig the election which are due to be held in 2 days' time.

Tsvangirai is set to challenge Mugabe in the upcoming polls this Wednesday for the presidential race whilst voters also cast their ballots for the Senate, national and local government elections.

The 89-year-old Robert Mugabe is looking to extend his 33-year old rule of the country with another 5-year term in office.

Tsvangirai says that unlike the last election back in 2008, Mugabe would be pressured to concede defeat.

He said the regional bloc, the Southern African Development Community, and the African Union would not allow Mugabe to steal the vote.

"I am sure that there is potential of unrest if people are not given the opportunity to vote and if the result does not reflect their national mood and national mandate."

Tsvangirai heads the Movement for Democratic Change Party and he's accused the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission of complicity in what it says are attempts by Mugabe's party to rig the election.

Tsvangirai said his party has yet to gain access to the voter register, with only 48 hours left before the polls open.

The MDC has also accused Mugabe's ruling party of post-election violence, which it blames for claiming the lives of over a hundred of its supporters.

However, Chinese businesses in Zimbabwe are reporting a generally calm situation ahead of Wednesday's election.

Han Bing is the commercial counselor with the Chinese embassy.

"In terms of the overall business environment, there's a lack of liquidity right now. the efficiency of government departments may slow down before and after the election, which will in a way affect Chinese businesses here. But in general economic activities are as usual."

A number of Chinese companies were looted or forced to close down their operations in the wake of the 2008 vote. Currently, there are around 50 companies invested by Chinese capital in Zimbabwe, with a total value of 1 billion US dollars.

 

 

Wave of car bombs kill at least 47 in Iraq

 

Dozens of car bombs have killed at least 47 people in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities.

The bombs targeted Shiite areas of the Iraqi capital and have wounded hundreds more.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attacks, and Iraq is witnessing its worst eruption of violence in 5 years.

More than 700 people have been killed this month so far.

This has raised fears that the latest bloodshed is bringing the country back to a full-blown civil conflict that peaked in 2006.

 

 

Spain crash driver was "careless"

 

The driver of train-crash which killed 79 people last week in Spain has reportedly said he was 'careless' as he drove around a bend.

Spanish police have provisionally charged Francisco Jose Garzon Amo with negligent homicide.

The accident at Santiago de Compostela has killed 79 people, injuring dozens more.

After hearing hours of testimony, a judge released Mr Garzon pending further investigations. He has surrendered his passport.

Investigators must now determine if Garzon failed to apply the brakes or whether it was a technical failure.

Spain's state-run train company Renfe has described him as an experienced driver who knew the route well.

Garzon has been released on bail but is to report to the authorities once a week.

More than 20 people are still in critical condition in hospital.

A large funeral Mass is due to take place today in the Galician city and will be attended by survivors, the Royal Family and the Prime Minister.

 

 

More than 1,000 inmates escape from Benghazi jail

 

The Libyan government is asking for help from the United Nations to establish how nearly 1200 prisoners managed to escape from the al-Kweifiya prison in the eastern city of Benghazi over the weekend.

The mass jailbreak came on the same day that protesters stormed the political party offices of the Muslim Brotherhood across the country after the assassination of a political activist.

It wasn't immediately clear if the jailbreak came as part of the demonstrations.

Here's Salah al-Marghan, Libyan Justice Minister.

"Hundreds of prisoners managed to escape. This prison held 1175 civilian prisoners - all of them escaped. 35 women also escaped as well as 120 military prisoners."

Inmates started a riot and set the prison alight after security forces opened fire on three detainees who had tried to escape.

Gunmen then quickly arrived at the prison after news of the riot spread, exchanging fire with the security forces before the jailbreak.

Prison officials say those who had escaped either faced or were convicted of serious charges.

However, some of the high-risk detainees charged or imprisoned for extremist ties had already been transferred to a more secure prison in the capital, Tripoli, before the prison break.

The city of Benghazi was the birthplace of the country's uprising against former leader Moammar Gadhafi's rule back in February 2011.

Its security situation is amongst the most precarious in post-revolution Libya.

 

 

China's Animation Industry Explores World Market

 

Anchor

China's animation industry is no longer relying solely upon the domestic market.

It now has a global perspective and a strong willingness to compete on the world stage.

Shen Chengcheng has the story.

Reporter:

15-year-old Sun Haoyin was a fan of Japanese animation in the past. But now, she is a fan of Chinese animated show Qinsmoon because of its exquisite artwork.

"I used to watch Japanese animation, but recently I attended the Comic and Games Expo in Shanghai for Qinsmoon. I enjoyed it very much. It has fantastic characters and an interesting story."

Unlike previous expos, in which foreign animation dominated the market, this year's event saw a great number of outstanding Chinese animated shows, including Qinsmoon and Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf.

Animation producer Yang Zhichao says animators are familiar with how to attract domestic fans, as stories related to Chinese history with beautiful artwork and vivid descriptions help to garner attention.

But when it comes to attracting the attention of foreign viewers, Chinese animators must carefully consider foreign consumers needs and conduct market analysis.

"When we promoted our products in the U.S., we asked the publisher whether we needed to alter our stories to suit American viewers. They said 'No' and told us traditional Chinese culture is what they expected to see, and they urged us to maintain the Chinese characteristics."

Yang Zhichao has managed to create a film with Chinese elements that suits the international market. Until now, the TV edition of Qinsmoon (Qin Shi Ming Yue has been released in more than 37 countries and regions, including the U.S., Canada, and Italy - earning sales revenues of more than one million dollars in overseas markets.

Promoting Chinese animation not only needs good production, but also solid foundations which can be realized through joint ventures with foreign expertise.

For example, Oriental DreamWorks was an important project signed during the China-US Economic and Trade Forum. It is by far the largest Chinese-foreign joint cultural project, gaining an initial investment of nearly 330 million US dollars.

Oriental DreamWorks aims to introduce Hollywood's leading animation production and technologies into China, creating successful stories and promoting Chinese culture to the world.

One of DreamWorks' most successful films is the well-known Kung Fu Panda. In 2015, Kong Fu Panda 3 will hit cinema screens. The film will be a joint investment and joint production of Oriental DreamWorks in China and DreamWorks in the US.

By 2017, Oriental DreamWorks will be able to devise and produce animated movies independently.

Vice President of Oriental DreamWorks Shuai Min elaborates on the advantages of such a partnership.

"Oriental DreamWorks stands for world-class production techniques. There is no export barrier for our products. Our methods of story narration and the birth of creative ideas follows international standards. Our production levels are of a high quality which even exceed that of the West."

But on average, the animation quality is not that satisfying.

Yu Jie, Operating Manager and Deputy General Manager of Shanghai ToonMax Media says that China is in dire need of well animated shows, and it is essential and imperative for the industry to improve its product quality.

"By the end of 2012, TV animation in China reached 220,000 minutes, ranked No.1 in the world. But we still lack something. We need competitive products; otherwise the products will be useless. It is extremely urgent that we enhance the quality of our animation products."

Yu Jie adds that some animation companies excel with regards to technology, but don't know much about creativity and marketing. Therefore, a creativity incubation mechanism is needed to discover good story ideas. A Chinese story with an international expression could help Chinese animators gain an advantage when bargaining with foreign counterparts.

BACK ANCHOR: That was Shen Chengcheng reporting.

 

 

Biz Reports

 

 

Asian Stock

 

Chinese shares closed lower for the fourth trading day on Monday, as investor sentiment remained fragile.

When the market closed, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index decreased 1.72 percent, from the previous close.

The Shenzhen Component Index down 2.23 percent.

News that the National Audit Office will start a nationwide audit of government debt sparked concerns about rising debt levels and weighed on financial shares.

The financial sector shed 2.81 percent.

Bucking the trend, the solar panel sector was strong, encouraged by reports that a price undertaking deal has been reached between the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and the European Commission.

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng 0.54 percent.

Elsewhere in Asia,

Japan's Nikkei closed 3.32 percent lower

Meanwhile, South Korea's KOSPI down 0.57 percent.

Singapore's Straits Times index picked up 0.03 percent.

and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.2 percent.

 

 

Forthcoming audit of government debt

 

The National Audit Office is to carry out a nationwide review of government debt here in China.

The move was requested by the State Council though no timetable for when the audit will take place has been announced.

This directive came about amid warnings about looming systematic risks in non-transparent local government debt.

Previous audits have shown that by the end of 2012, 36 local governments owned the liabilities of 3.85 trillion yuan - nearly 13 percent higher that at the end of 2010.

For more on the impact of this mounting government debt, we spoke with Mark Hughes, Executive business editor of China Daily.

.............

Back anchor: that's Mark Hughes, Executive business editor of China Daily.

 

 

Economic restructuring key to China's reform: JP Morgan

 

JP Morgan's Chief China Economist has stressed the importance of restructuring efforts when it comes to China's economic reform.

Zhu Haibin adds that efforts should be made to address structural imbalances and to support growth.

He says the government is also doing the right thing by using savings from curbs on administrative spending to make its fiscal policy more effective.

Regarding China's monetary policy, he noted that the central bank is seeking to activate existing credit stock by cutting down on speculative lending and directing funds.

 

 

China's land market picks up again

 

The latest data shows China's land market regained steam in the April-to-June period after a quiet first quarter.

According to a report published by the Ministry of Land and Resources, the Q2 composite index for China Land Index increased by 17.4 percent from the previous quarter, or 19 percent from the same period last year.

The increase is attributed to mounting investment in the property sector, which increased 91.4 percent quarter-on-quarter and 23.8 percent year-on-year.

It also marks a rebound from the first three months, when the figure witnessed a fall in major indices. That came as a result of a string of measures taken by the central government to cool the country's over-heated property market earlier this year.

Analysts say both supply and demand for land for real estate remained strong in the first half of year, and urged more efforts to mobilize existing land resources and to exploit vacant land.

 

 

Chinese investment in Vietnam grows up: official

 

A senior Chinese official has said that China's investment in Vietnam is growing while bilateral trade benefits people in both countries.

Acording to Xu Qisong, Economic and Commercial Counselor of the Chinese embassy in Vietnam, bilateral trade reached 18.9 billion US dollars from January to April this year - a 37 percent increase from the same period last year.

Meanwhile, direct investment from China to its neighbour has risen by 163 percent in the first four months on a year-on-year basis.

"China is one of the most important export market for Vietnam. For some Vietnamese products, such as computer and components, agricultural products, Chinese is the largest export market. While Chinese exports to Vietnam, for example some mechanical equipments, raw materials for textile and shoemaking are also needed in the country. So the bilateral trade is complementary."

The Counsellor also noted that more cooperation projects will be carried out between the two countries, and a cross-border economic zone is being discussed.

 

 

CSR to sell 18 trains to Kazakstan

 

Chinese train manufacturer CSR has announced a deal with the Kazakh government to sell 18 trains to China's western neighbour.

The trains are manufactured by CSR Ziyang Locomotive Co. Ltd., and will be delivered in November.

So far, the company has sold more than 100 trains to Kazakhstan dating back as far as 2008.

Headquartered in Beijing, CSR now manufactures railway locomotives, passenger trains, freight wagons, bullet trains and subway cars.

 

 

Apple issues safety reminder on chargers

 

APPLE has issued a safety reminder to its customers here, and advised them to buy authorized products in China.

The advices follow a recent incident in which a woman was electrocuted by a third-party charger whilst using her iPhone.

In a statement published on Apple's China website, customers are encouraged to only use chargers and power cables approved by the company.

It also offered customers a guide to identify authentic iPhone and iPad chargers.

An iPhone charger costs about 200 yuan, or around 32 US dollar, whilst an unauthorized charger may cost less than 20 yuan on Taobao, the country's biggest auction website.

 

 

Sohu profits up 72 percent in Q2

 

CHINA'S third-largest Internet portal owner and video site operator, Sohu Inc, said profits were up 72 percent in the second quarter with higher advertising revenue.

The company said in a statement that its profits were up went from 12.8 million a year ago to 22 million US dollars.

Online advertising revenue rose 49 percent annually to 146 million US dollar - that's 43 percent of total income.

Charles Zhang, Chairman and chief executive officer of the company, attributes the growth to the rising number of online video viewers.

According to China Internet Network Information Center, online video viewers in China have grown by 4.5 percent since the end of 2012, to 389 million.

 

 

Headline News

 

 

3 killed, 5 injured in S China knife attack

 

Three people have died and five others have been injured in a knife attack in the city of Shenzhen in Guangdong Province.

Reports say that a man was randomly attacking passersby with a knife in the city's Luohu District.

Police later detained the man and rushed those injured to the hospital.

The suspect, who injured himself during the attack, has also been sent to the hospital for treatment.

An initial investigation shows the 40-year-old suspect has a history of mental illness.

He allegedly left his apartment Monday morning while experiencing a mental disturbance before starting to attack passersby.

A further investigation into the attack is under way.

 

 

More than 700 Chinese officials investigated for breach of duty

 

More than 700 officials have been under investigation for breach of duty related to workplace accidents in the first half of the year.

In the first half, prosecutors started investigating 467 graft cases related to workplace accidents.

The three big cases included a coal mine explosion in northeast China's Jilin Province and a workshop explosion east China's Shandong Province.

The supreme procuratorate's involvement in the cases is part of government efforts to curb corruption and improve workplace safety through judicial means.

 

 

Egypt arrests two pro-Morsi party leaders

 

Egyptian police have arrested two leaders of an Islamist party affiliated with ousted president Mohamed Morsi.

Wasat Party leader Aboul-Ela Madi and his deputy Essam Sultan, were arrested in an apartment in Cairo's Moqattam district.

They were later transferred to Tora Prison, where ex-president Hosni Mubarak, his two sons are being detained.

Wasat Party is a moderate Islamist party and a strong defender of the Muslim Brotherhood group from which Morsi hails.

 

 

Cambodian ruling party claims "absolute majority seats" in polls

 

The Cambodian People's Party of longtime Prime Minister Hun Sen has claimed victory in Sunday's general elections.

The party said in a statement that the party has enough seats to prepare the government for the fifth legislature of the National Assembly.

The preliminary results show that the ruling party gained 68 seats and the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party got the remaining 55 seats in the elections.

The National Rescue Party has rejected the preliminary results , claiming "serious irregularities".

The official results from the National Election Committee are still unavailable.

 

 

China to conduct medical service survey

 

China's health authorities are set to conduct a survey about the country's medical service facilities in September.

The survey is intended to help the government learn about local medical service conditions, demand in the medical sector and the distribution of medical service resources.

The survey will be conducted from Sept. 1 to 25. It's expected to cover 300,000 people nationwide.

The survey is the fifth of its kind to be conducted since 1993.

 

 

Newspaper Picks

 

 

Shanghai Daily

"No plan for female-only carriages"

Shanghai has considered setting up female-only carriages but as of yet, there is no solid plan in place for their introduction.

The issue was tabled again in April when a few woman representatives proposed the idea ahead of the summer, when molestation cases rise.

Once again, the Metro operator put the discussion on the shelf saying its top priority is to increase capacity as demand continues to rise.

Some female passengers said this is just an excuse and were disappointed with the Metro operator's stance.

Gu Jun, a sociology professor with Shanghai University, said providing female-only carriages is a "higher level of request" that can only be considered after the network has sufficient capacity to meet demand.

Xinhua

"'Giant panda Channel' to hit Chinese Internet"

From August, Internet users around the world will be able to watch live round-the-clock broadcasts of giant pandas living in southwest China's Sichuan province.

According to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, twenty-eight high definition video cameras have been installed in the base to record the daily activities of more than 80 giant pandas living there.

Visitors to the "Giant panda channel," or ipanda.com, can choose from six feeds, including "garden for adult pandas," "kindergarten," "nursery for twins," "mother and child playground," "No.1 Villa" and "Featured," according to their own preference 24 hours every day.

The website started posting video clips on June 24 as a test and has since attracted nearly 15,000 Internet users to visit and leave comments.

The Telegraph

"Children sent to private tutors to prevent 'summer slide'"

Research shows more than a quarter of parents in Britain are hiring private tutors for their young children to prevent the traditional "summer slide" in academic ability.

Figures show that as many as 27 per cent of families plan to pay academic coaches to stop sons and daughters aged five to 11 going backwards over the long summer holiday.

Just days after millions of children broke up from school, it emerged that many other parents are investing in extra revision guides, literacy and numeracy phone apps and online courses to keep children's minds active.

The disclosure comes just weeks after the Education Secretary suggested that the traditional six-week summer holiday should be cut back because of concerns that pupils are lagging behind harder-working peers in the Far East.

According to the latest study, the cost of tutoring had become a barrier for some parents, with many being expected to pay up to ?40 for a 45-minute lesson.

AFP

"Earthquakes trigger undersea methane reservoirs: study"

A new study by German and Swiss scientists shows earthquakes can rip open sub-sea pockets of methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas.

Scientists say quake-caused methane should be added to the list of heat-trapping carbon emissions that affect the world's climate system, although the scale of this contribution remains unclear.

The evidence comes from cores of sediment drilled from the bed of the northern Arabian Sea during a research trip by marine scientists in 2007.

One of the cores has now been found to contain methane hydrates, only 1.6 metres (5.2 feet) below the sea floor.

Also uncovered were tell-tale signatures from water between sediment grains, and concentrations of a mineral called barite.

Together, these suggested that methane had surged up through the sea bed in recent decades.

 

 

Special Reports

 

 

China Mobile Game Market

 

Anchor:

China has recently seen a surge in popularity of mobile games among its 1.18 billion mobile phone users as analysts predict that the value of the country's mobile game market will hit 10 billion yuan by the end of 2013.

Li Dong has the details.

Reporter:

The number of PC game players once exceeded 100 million in China. However, with the advent of mobile devices, especially smartphones and tablets, more and more players have shifted to mobile games which, unlike computer games, can be played anywhere.

Shao Jie is a gaming fan. He used to spend four to five hours on gaming when he was at school. But since starting work full time, he has turned to mobile games on his smartphone to kill time during his daily commute on the subway.

"Computer games emphasize interaction between players, while mobile games are the opposite. When playing games on a mobile phone, a person is engaged in the game alone for most of the time. I think that's the most remarkable and significant difference between computer games and mobile games."

Mobile gaming fever has not just been confined to China. In Japan, mobile games have lured more and more mobile subscribers.

Hirabayashi Hisakazu is an analyst of Japan's game industry.

"The increasing popularization of smartphones plus a game's favorable reputation among players contributes to a game's great success. In addition, companies adopted the marketing mode of small profits but quick turnover and this successful mode will continue in the future."

The boom of the global mobile gaming industry and its huge market potential have also triggered a tide of business acquisitions. The first acquisition was sealed between Ourpalm Company, the first Chinese mobile gaming company listed in the domestic A-share market in May of 2012, and Dovo Technology Inc., a leading Chinese web game developer.

Following Ourpalm Company's acquisition, Datang Telecom Technology and Industry Group bought all the shares of Guangzhou Yaowan Entertainment Network Technology Company for 1.699 billion yuan. On July 20, Huayi Bros. Media Group announced their plan to buy a portion of the shares of Guangzhou Yinhan Technology Company, a well-known mobile game developer, for 2 billion yuan.

Song Wei, the general-secretary of the Global Mobile Game Confederation, spoke about the greater levels of investment in the mobile gaming industry.

"In the past, these mobile gaming companies hesitated to dive deep into the market as there were too many mobile Internet businesses then. However, seeing the growing popularity of mobile games nowadays, they think that the market is warming up so they start pouring money into it because none of them want to miss this opportunity."

Statistics revealed that the market value totaled 5.87 billion yuan in China in 2012.

Compared with the traditional personal computer game industry which took a decade to reach 10 billion yuan in terms of market value, it will only take one year for the mobile game sector to reach the same level. Therefore, 2013 is being dubbed by industrial insiders as "the year for mobile games".

For CRI, I am Li Dong.

 

 

Sports

 

 

World Aquatic Championships

 

Olympic gold medalist Sun Yang has cruised to victory in the men's 400 meters freestyle at the FINA World Championships in Barcelona.

He won the same event at last year's London Olympic Games.

Japan's Kosuke Hagino finished second for the silver medal, edging out American Connor Jaeger.

Sun Yang admits that he cried after winning the race.

"I didn't have the best training over the past two months. I admit that I am not as strong as I was at the London Olympics. I tried hard to compete. I adjusted my training in the final month leading up to the tournament. I thank my coach and all the people who supported me."

America's Katie Ledecky put in an equally impressive performance to win gold in the women's 400 meters freestyle.

The 16-year-old American became only the second woman in history to complete the race in less than four minutes.

Melanie Costa was second and became the first Spanish-born woman to win a medal at the long-course World Championships, while Lauren Boyle of New Zealand finished third.

America got the better of Australia in the women's 4x100 meters freestyle relay. while the Netherlands completed the podium places.

In the men's 4x100 meters relay, France finished in first place with the USA in second while Russia picked up the bronze medals.

Over to the diving events

China's Qiubo picked up gold in the 10m platform event and gained revenge over David Boudia, who beat him to first place in the same event at last year's London Olympics.

Overall, China managed to win nine of the ten diving events .

 

 

Post match reaction after USA wins Gold Cup

 

Over at the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the United States beat Panama 1-0 to win the final at Soldier Field in Chicago.

This gave the US a fifth victory in the competition - and first since 2005 when they also beat Panama on penalties.

USA Men's National Team Manager Jurgen Klinsmann

"You know, by far the best team of the tournament was the United States. We all know that there are different benchmarks out there. You know, the global game is played in South America and it's played in Europe and there are a lot of other benchmarks waiting for us but I think it's important that over the time you see progress from the players, from the group as itself, that they all kind of understand that it take a lot more to become really good."

58,000 fans watched the match in which Panama had just six shots with none on target.

The only goal came courtesy of American substitute Brek Shea who scores 42 seconds after coming onto the pitch in the 69th minute.

 

 

Real Madrid arrive in Los Angeles ahead of their tour of the United States

 

The Spanish La Liga side Real Madrid has touched down in Los Angeles, after beating Paris St. Germain 1-0 in a friendly match in Gothenburg.

'Los Blancos' are in the United States to take part in the Guinness International Champions Cup, an eight-team pre-season competition involving teams from Spain, Italy and England, plus LA Galaxy.

The tournament has begun with AC Milan of Italy beating Valencia on their home ground in Spain 2-1.

However, that will be the only game played outside of the United States.

As a result of Milan's victory in Spain, they will take on the winners of the match between Chelsea and Inter Milan in New York on August 4th.

Real Madrid kicks off their campaign against LA Galaxy at the University of Phoenix Stadium on August 1st.

After that, Real will come up against either Juventus or Everton.

 

 

Senior Open: Mark Wiebe beats Bernhard Langer in play-off

 

American Mark Wiebe has won the Senior Open at Royal Birkdale after overcoming German Bernhard Langer on the fifth play-off hole.

Both men wanted to finish the tournament on Sunday for scheduling reasons but after playing the 18th hole twice and the scores tied, play was halted in darkness for a Monday finish.

Upon resumption, Langer could not match the par four of the American and the win in Southport is a sixth career victory for Wiebe.

"You know it's unfortunate that somebody has to lose because I think we both tried real hard and played as good golf as we could. I just feel fortunate, I just absolutely love it here, absolutely."

America's Corey Pavin, Peter Senior of Australia and South Africa's David Frost tied for third at six under par.

 

 

Gee and Rachel Atherton top standings in UCI Mountain Bike World Cup

 

The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup event has concluded in Andorra.

Britain's Rachel Atherton bosses her opponents to maintain her lead at the top of the World Cup rankings for the downhill elite women.

In a gruelling course, she managed to finish 1.617 seconds ahead of fellow Brit Manon Carpenter.

Atherton now has 740 points in the standings, with her nearest rival Emmeline Ragot racking up 540.

Atherton's brother Gee couldn't make it a double win for the brother and sister duo but he did finish second.

However, Gee Atherton tops the male standings with 630 points.

That means British brother and sister Gee and Rachel Atherton sit at the top of the respective 'Elite' downhill standings.

France's Remi Thirion won the meeting, but the top three places are separated by less than two seconds.

Australia's Samuel Hill came third.

 

 

Entertainment

 

 

Chow Yun Fat's first Hong Kong film in over 30 years.

 

Chow Yun Fat is to star in his first Hong Kong made film in over 2 decades.

Production for the "God of Gambler: from Vegas to Macau" began over the weekend.

Chow will reprise his role as an inordinately talented gambler, which he first took up in the original film back in 1989.

The original director Wong Jing is back for this project.

Wong said at the film's press junket on Sunday that fans should expect a generous dose of comedy.

A contrast for Chow, who is often known more for his portrayal of the strong and silent type in Wuxia films.

The film also stars Hong Kong actor Nicholas Tse, an aspiring gambling protege whom Chow takes under his wings.

Chow, who worked in TVB in his earlier career alongside Tse's parents, joked that he was glad to finally work alongside his idol.

"From Vegas to Macau", which also stars Chapman To, Kimmy Tong and Jing Tian.

The family friendly movie is currently scheduled for release around next year's Spring Festival holidays.

 

 

Christian Bale reunite with Todd Haynes in new movie?

 

The magical pairing that produced Velvet Goldmine may happen again.

Christian Bale has been penciled in to take the starring role of Todd Haynes new film, Act of God.

The two last worked together on the 2007 Bob Dylan biopic, I'm Not There.

Before that, Haynes directed Bale in 1998s Velvet Goldmine, which depicts the glam rock scene in the 1970s.

The new drama is penned by Haynes and Emmy award winning writer Jon Raymond.

It tells the story of a man from Kansas who deals with the devastating aftermath of a tornado.

Despite the misleading synopsis, the film will be far from a disaster movie, focusing more on the political aspects of the event as opposed.

 

 

Harry Potter star to make Stage Debut

 

British actor Rupert Grint, who played Ron in the Harry Potter movies, is to make his West End stage debut.

The 24 year old would star alongside Ben Whishaw in a revival of Jez Butterworth's Mojo.

Daniel Mays and Downton Abbey's Brendan Coyle will be joining the cast.

Ian Rickson, who directed the orignal production, will be back on duty for this reboot

Set in a seedy 1950s Soho night club, then award winning black comedy first opened at London's Royal Court back in 1995.

Mojo was subsequently adapted for the big screen in 1998.

The play will begin previews at the Harold Pinter Theatre on 26 October.

 

 

Johnny Depp set to retire from acting?

 

US actor Johnny Depp has hinted he may not be too far away from retiring from acting.

The 50-year-old star recently revealed he feels a little overworked and would welcome a long respite.

Depp who is best known for his portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribean franchise pointed out he feels strange that over the course of a year he speaks more words that were written for him rather than his own words.

Depp has signed on to reprise his role as the Mad Hatter in a sequel to 2010's re-imagining of Alice in Wonderland and as the swashbuckler in the fifth installment to the Pirates franchise.

His latest film The Lone Ranger has been a major bomb at the box office though it hasn't seemed to have strained his relationship with Disney too badly.

 

 

Lady Gaga confirmes first single from upcoming album

 

Lady Gaga has confirmed her upcoming single as entitled "Applause".

The international superstar teased the song last week by releasing pictures of the single artwork being coloured on her own social network site, littlemonsters.com.

The singer took to Twitter to announce the news, with the single's cover emerging shortly after,.

The Lamsweerde and Matadin pantomime inspired photography for the single depicts the Gaga with smeared vibrant make up.

Gaga has been somewhat shy of the spot light over the past year due to health problems.

Artpop will be Gaga's forst studio album since 2011's smash hit Born this Way.

"Applause" is ready for preorder as of August 19th, with the album to follow on November 11th.

Fans can catch Gaga's debut performance "Applause" at this year's MTV Video Music Awards in New York.

 

 

Tom Daley lands first TV presenting role

 

Olympic diver Tom Daley has landed his first TV presenting role.

The 19 year old will be fronting Nickelodeon's Fruit Shoot Skills Awards.

Daley rose to fame at last year's London Olympics as the youngest competitor to participate in a final.

The wonder kid walked away with the Bronze medal and became something of a teen idol.

The diver will be hosting the children's awards at London's O2 Indigo Arena on Saturday, September 7th.

A panel of experts travelled across the country to find the UK's most skilled children for the TV network's annual event.

Winners will be decided by public online vote, which opens today.

The ceremony will be televised on the Nikolodeon channel on Sunday, 8th September at 5pm London time.