Evening Edition

 

 

Wednesday, July 31st, 2013.

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

Coming up on our program this evening.

A full-scale heat alert is now in place in several provinces across China, with at least 10 people dying in Shanghai alone.

Guangzhou has become the 3rd Chinese city to allow for 72-hour visa-free stays for tourists travelling through the country.

Voting is underway in Zimbabwe in the latest showdown between incumbent Robert Mugabe and chief rival Morgan Tsvangarai.

In Business, the central authorities have given the green-light to long-term deposit rate reforms.

In sports, Chinese swimmer Sun Yang looks for another gold metal at the World Championships in Barcelona.

In entertainment, plans have been unveiled for a new acrobatic show at the Bird's Nest in September.

 

 

Weather

 

 

Beijing will have moderate rain to heavy rain tonight with a low of 22 degrees Celsius. Tomorrow thundershowers with a high temperature of 28.　

Meanwhile Shanghai will be cloudy tonight, with a low of 30,　thundershowers tomorrow, with a high of 38.

Lhasa will have thundershowers tonight, 12 degrees the low, showers tomorrow with a high of 23.

Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia

Islamabad, thundershowers, with a high of 33.

Kabul, overcast, 37.

Over in Australia

Sydney, sunny, highs of 20.

Canberra, sunny, 15.

Brisbane, sunny, 23.

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

 

 

Top News

 

 

China launches the highest level emergency response to heat

 

Anchor:

China's national meteorological bureau has issued its highest level emergency response to the current heat wave gripping many parts of China.

The sizzling weather in Shanghai has so far claimed at least 10 lives.

CRI's Zhang Shuangfeng has more.

Reporter:

It's the first time this year the Meteorological Administration has issued a level-two emergency response, the highest of its kind.

It covers 9 provinces and municipalities in eastern and central China.

Summer heat wave has gripped China with temperatures over 35 degrees Celsius over the past week.

In the city of Turpan in Xinjiang, temperatures hit a record of 44.3-degrees, making it the country's hottest city.

Shanghai has recorded its hottest July in 140 years.

Wu Rui is the head of the city's meteorological bureau.

"There have been 24 high temperature days in July this year. It should be a new record since Shanghai had its own weather recording. Also, in July of this year Shanghai reached 40.6 degrees Celsius, its highest ever temperature. So the highest temperature in July also broke a record."

Two elderly people died from heatstroke in a local hospital over the weekend.

Local hospitals have also been inundated with a soaring number of people suffering from heat-related illnesses.

The heat in Shanghai has many people looking for different ways to beat-the-heat.

"It's impossible for people to live without an air-conditioner. Just going outside in this kind of temperate can roast people. So I always stay in the office with an air-conditioner. We came here to avoid the summer heat. It's much cooler in the water."

Continuous summer heat has also triggered severe drought in Hunan Province.

Half a million people in parts of the province are also finding it difficult to access drinking water due to the drought brought on by the heat.

Forecasters are warning temperatures will continue to climb in early August.

This has led to warnings of heatstroke and fires.

Authorities are also recommending people find ways to stay cool and limit their outdoor activities.

For CRI, this is Zhang Shuangfeng.

 

 

At least 11 injured in Hong Kong bus attack

 

At least 11 people are hurt after a knife attack on a company bus in Hong Kong this morning.

Authorities say the 60-year old suspect cut loose on his colleagues, attacking them with a cleaver.

It happened as the company bus with around 20-people on board was on its way to its job site in the Tuen Mun district of Hong Kong, which is in the far west of the Kowloon side of the city.

Authorities say the suspect has no previous record of mental illness.

Hui Chong Heng is the head of the Tuen Mun Regional Crime Unit.

"We don't know yet if he was targeting specific passengers or attacking randomly, it was an isolated incident."

The attacker was eventually restrained by others onboard the bus before police arrived.

The suspect was also injured in the mele.

 

 

Guangzhou to allow 72-hour visa-free visits

 

As of tomorrow, overseas travellers from 45 different countries will be eligible for 3-day visa-free stays in the city of Guangzhou.

Guangzhou is now the third Chinese city to allow visa-free stays, after Beijing and Shanghai.

The move is meant to bolster the local tourism industry.

Wen Qian is with GZL International Travel Service in Guangdong.

"We have arranged special tour lines for these tourists, which vary from a couple of hours to 72-hours long. The services include booking hotel, picking up in the airport and translation. The tour lines are in different themes such as sightseeing, tasting gourmet, recreation or business-orientation."

Tourists holding third country visas and plane tickets are allowed to apply for a transit without visa in Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai.

Over a thousand people have applied for the transit visa waiver in Shanghai since the program was launched at the beginning of this year.

 

 

Chinese companies ink proposal for emissions reduction

 

Anchor:

A number of large companies here in China have signed a proposal to help reduce carbon emissions as part of a major climate summit here in Beijing.

CRI's Su Yi has the details.

Reporter:

Representatives from 57 major companies including Dell China and Sinopec have signed the Proposal for Chinese Business Circles on Caring for Climate on the summit.

The six-point proposal is the first of its kind jointly drafted by major Chinese companies in addressing climate change issues.

Fu Chengyu is the Chairman of UN Global Compact Network China.

"China Enterprise Confederation, China Federation of Industrial Economics, China Association of Listed companies and companies attended the summit propose that, all domestic companies should promote sustainable development. We suggest the companies integrate measures designed for tackling climate change into their long-term strategic plan. Companies can set up their plans based on the principles of energy saving, emission reduction and eliminating outdated industrial capacity. "

The proposal also calls on the companies to track their pollutant emissions and boost research in low-carbon technology.

Among all enterprises, industrial companies are most critical to curb emissions, as the industry sector alone consumes over 70 percent of the country's energy.

As China's largest oil products provider, Sinopec announced during the summit that it would invest over 22 billion yuan over ther next three years to cut emissions and optimize products.

Ge Chenghui is chief of Sinopec's energy development and environmental protection department.

"The money will be spent on three sectors. First is to cap the amount of total pollutants and meet the emission standard set by authorities. We will spend over 10 billion yuan on 330 projects. The second is to improve our working conditions and the surrounding environment, including odor control and noise reduction. The third is to replace outdated technologies and products that could pose environmental hazards."

The company is also mulling whether to upgrade the quality of its oil products and provide cleaner gasoline that is up to national standard IV across the country by the end of this year.

Apart from the commitment made by companies, government authorities also plan to set up more carbon emission trading centers, in a bid to stimulate emission reduction via economic means.

Xie Zhenhua is Vice Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission.

"Employing market mechanism, we will speed up the carbon emission trading pilot projects in seven cities and provinces including Beijing and Shanghai. Shenzhen launched China's first pilot carbon emissions exchange on June 20th. It is expected that by the end of this year, we will see more exchanges in other cities. "

Gerog Kell is the executive director of UN Global Compact.

He says to cap emissions, apart from companies and government, all parts of the market need to play along.

"It sometimes takes time to involve all the suppliers upstream and downstream. And it is quite a process of transformation. Ultimately, as Mr. Fu also today smartly pointed out, the consumer and his own behavior, you know, when the car is efficient, it doesn't matter how clean the fuel is. If a car is totally inefficient, then many of the efforts made by energy companies don't yield the social benefits. So again, the argument, all parts of the players have to play along, all. "

The Chinese government is planning to cut its carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 40 to 45 percent in 2020 from 2005 levels.

For CRI, I'm Su Yi.

 

 

Israel and Palestine agree to meet within next two weeks

 

Anchor

US Secretary of State John Kerry says Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have agreed to hold another meeting within the next two weeks to kick off a new round of peace talks.

The negotiations are designed to try to achieve a final status agreement between the two sides.

CRI Washington chief correspondent Xiaohong has more.

Ann:

Secretary Kerry described the two-day-meeting between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators "constructive and positive", saying both sides have agreed to keep the momentum.

"The parties have agreed to remain engaged and sustained continuous and substantive negotiations on the core issues and they will meet within the next two weeks in either Israel or the Palestinian territories in order to begin the process of formal negotiation."

Secretary Kerry disclosed that both the Palestinians and Israelis have agreed to put all issues regarding the final status of Palestine on the table for discussion.

Among the thorniest issues include the border and settlement problems, the status of Jerusalem, as well as the rights of Palestinian refugees.

Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat says he is delighted all issues are on the table.

"Palestinians have suffered enough. It's time for the Palestinians to live in peace, freedom and dignity within their own independent sovereign state."

He says he believes the Palestinian people will benefit the most from asuccessful negotiation.

Israeli chief negotiator Tzipi Livni says the Washington meetings and the future ones will cause a spark of hope.

"It is our task to work together so that we can transform that spark of hope into something real and lasting."

In the next nine months, the two sides are going to hold secret talks to work out a final status agreement with one single objective: to end the decades-long conflict.

For CRI, I'm Xiaohong reporting from Washington.

 

 

Morsi supporters launch massive marches in Cairo

 

Massive demonstrations are taking place in different parts of the Egyptian capital in support of ousted President Mohamed Morsi.

Thousands of supporters waving Egyptian flags and pro-Morsi banners have marched towards the main military intelligence headquarters in Cairo.

The rally follows a two-hour meeting between chief European diplomat Catherine Ashton and Morsi on Tuesday.

Dina Zakareya speaks on behalf of the pro-Morsi Democratic Coalition for Legitimacy and Democracy.

"We have signs from Ashton's visit and one of them is that it is clear that the security solution that the revolutionaries are planning to use will not solve the problem."

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has also held a telephone conversation with Egypt's military chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Hagel has called for "restraint" by Egyptian security forces in dealing with ongoing protests.

Nearly 300 people been killed in spurratic violence since Morsi was ousted at the beginning of July.

 

 

Presidential vote begins in Zimbabwe

 

The polls have opened across Zimbabwe in the fierce contest between veteran President Robert Mugabe and his long-time rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

Some 6.4 million voters are eligible to cast ballots for more than 200 members of parliament and thousands of local councillors.

Many lining up to vote in the capital, Harare, say they're optimistic about how the vote will turn out.

"I would love to have a leader who would create jobs for us. Opportunities for better for us. To better our country."

Final results of the presidential vote will be announced within five days.

While there are a number of candidates vying for the presidential election, the main contenders are Mugabe and Tsvangari.

However, if neither gets over 50 percent in the first ballot, a run-off will be held on September 11th.

The 89-year old Mugabe is on-record saying he will give up his 33-year hold on power if he loses the election.

 

 

Military judge rules Manning of Wikileaks case not guilty of aiding enemy

 

Anchor

US Army private Bradley Manning, who leaked top-secret classified information to whistleblower website Wikileaks, has been convicted by a military court of espionage.

However, he's been acquitted of the top charge of aiding the enemy.

CRI's Marc Cavigli has more.

Reporter

The judge has found the 25-year-old guilty of 20 charges in total, including theft and computer fraud.

Manning admitted turning over hundreds of thousands of diplomatic cables and battle field reports to Wikileaks.

His lawyers say he leaked the information to Wikileaks to provoke debate and spark reform.

Elizabeth Goitein is the Co-director of Liberty and National Security Program at Brennan Centre for Justice.

"The issue there has really been, is it sufficient that he put information out there that he knew would get on to the internet. Is that sufficient to impute to him actual knowledge that this information would go to al Qaida?"

James Lewis, cyber-security analyst at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, says Manning's case should lead to some soul searching at the highest levels.

"You know, you have to feel a little sorry for Manning, because it's not clear that these people think two steps ahead. And so, he enjoyed it, he was a little manipulated there by some folks and I don't think he thought about the consequences."

Manning, who has already spent three years in custody, is facing a maximum sentence of over 1-hundred years.

His sentencing hearing is set to begin later this Wednesday.

For CRI, I'm Marc Cavigli.

 

 

Assange accuses Manning's conviction "short sighted"

 

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has issued a statement in connection with the conviction of US Army Private Bradley Manning.

Speaking from the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, Assange calls Manning's conviction "short sighted".

"This is the first ever espionage conviction against a whistleblower in the United States. It is a dangerous precedent and an example of national security extremism. It is a short-sighted judgment that cannot be tolerated and it must be reversed."

Assange is also facing the possibility of being extradited to the United States to face charges in connection with the diplomatic cables leaked via his website.

However, no formal charges have been laid against him in the US.

 

 

A college student get 4.1m for being abandoned in police cell for more than 4 days

 

A US college student has been awarded 4.1-million US dollars in damages after being abandoned in a prison cell for over 4-days without food and water.

25-year old Daniel Chong was left alone in a windowless Drug Enforcement Administration cell in San Diego being caught up in a drug raid last year.

Chong was never supposed to be charged in connection with the raid, but was forgotten in the cell by authorities while awaiting his release.

He says he was forced to drink his own urine to stay alive.

"I didn't just sit there quietly. I was kicking the door yelling. I even put some shoestrings, shoelaces through the crack of the door for visual signs. I didn't stay still, no, I was screaming."

After eventually being discovered, Chong was hospitalized for 5 days for dehydration, kidney failure, cramps and a perforated esophagus.

Chong's lawyer says it's still unclear how the situation happened, and says no one has been disciplined in connection with it.

In the wake of the incident, the US Justice Department is brining in new rules requiring daily checks of holding cells.

 

 

Biz Reports

 

 

Asian Stock

 

Chinese shares closed higher today after the central government vowed to maintain stable policies in the second half of the year.

When the market closed, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.2 percent.

The Shenzhen Component Index picked up 0.5 percent.

The property sector led the rise, increasing 1.5 percent.

Shares of China Vanke, the country's largest developer by market value, shot up 2.8 percent to 9.52 yuan per share.

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng fell 0.3 percent.

Elsewhere in Asia,

Japan's Nikkei lost 1.5 percent as investors cautiously unloaded shares ahead of the outcome of the U. S. Federal Open Market Committee meeting and U.S. economic data.

Meanwhile, South Korea's KOSPI also down 0.2 percent.

Singapore's Straits Times index lost 0.7 percent.

and finally Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained slightly.

 

 

Cabinet approves central bank's rate reform plan

 

It's being reported the State Council has approved a new reform plan by the central bank which proposes scrapping the 5-year deposit benchmark rate.

The move comes after the central bank scrapped the lower limit on bank lending rates earlier this month.

The latest move toward deposit rate liberalization is currently only limited to the five-year fixed savings accounts.

Five-year fixed deposits account for less than 0.3-percent of the total deposits at most banks.

However, the report in Caijing says the PBOC is planning to reduce more categories for benchmark deposit rates.

 

 

Money supply not behind home price rises -Central Bank official

 

A senior central bank official here in China is refuting any link between the new upswing in property prices and the bank's easy credit since the middle of last year.

Sheng Songcheng, head of statistics with the People's Bank of China, says unbalanced supply and demand has been causing home prices to rise in recent months, not the ample money supply.

Home prices here in China have been rising since the middle of last year when the central bank eased controls on commercial lending to real estate developers.

The central government has been struggling to try to rein in home prices, as strong demand for homes and the desire by local governments to raise money through land sales run counter to the attempts to cool the housing market.

 

 

Govt to cut capacity in cement, steel and shipbuilding sectors

 

The National Development and Reform Commission has announced new plans to reduce overcapacity in 5 more key sectors.

They include steel, cement, electrolytic aluminum, flat glass and shipbuilding.

The latest attempt to slash outdated operations will use technological standards as the main criteria in eliminating over-capacity.

Previous crackdowns on outdated companies have mothballed operations depending on how much production they were putting out.

This only encouraged many companies to ramp up their operations.

The new crackdown in the 5 sectors is meant to cut 20 percent of the current capacity.

This latest move comes only four days after the central government ordered a "first batch" crackdown on overcapacity in 19 different industries across the country.

 

 

Apple faces "worse than Foxcoon" worker abuse claims in China

 

More details are emerging about Apple's latest issues with workers rights.

New York-based China Labor Watch claims its has found at least 86 violations at one of Apple's main partners here in China, Pegatron.

China Labor Watch says its report is based on a four months' investigation and interviews with 200 workers outside their factories in Shanghai and Suzhou.

In addition to forced overtime without pay, Pagatron is also accused of using underaged workers under the guise of them being interns.

The factories are also accused of withholding employees' ID cards to try to ensure they continue working, even if they wanted to leave.

Both Pegatron and Apple say they've launched immediate investigations.

For more on the situation, the Beijing Hour's Rebecca Hume spoke earlier with Benjamin Cavender, Associate principal at China Market Research in Shanghai.

…

Benjamin Cavender, Associate principal at China Market Research in Shanghai, speaking with CRI's Rebecca Hume.

 

 

WeChat teams up with China Unicom

 

Chinese internet giant Tencent is teaming up with China Unicom to launch the nation's first SIM card customized for its WeChat users.

The customized SIM card will provide for more traffic volume and faster Internet access for WeChat users.

It is going to be available next week.

China Unicom will provide each subscriber with 500 megabytes of free volume a month for services running on WeChat.

This is the equivalent of around 8-thousand minutes of voice time.

Late last year, Chinese telecom carriers blamed Tencent for creating a lot of Internet traffic while being unwilling to share any of the profits.

WeChat boasts over 300 million users, with 70-million of them said to be from outside the mainland.

 

 

German TV maker Loewe teams up with China's Hisense

 

German high-end TV maker Loewe has struck a strategic partnership with China's Hisense.

Loewe says the partnership will give it long-term access to the latest TV panel technology and attractive markets in China.

Loewe, which is 28 percent-owned by Japan's Sharp, will also allow Hisense access to its distribution network in western Europe.

The German TV-maker is also promising to exclusive distribution rights to Hisense in the Austrian test market for its new Ultra-HD technology.

Despite the company's technological edge, Loewe's sales have slid to the point where the company is on the verge of going broke.

Earlier this month, Loewe filed for creditor protection after its losses almost tripled to 29 million euros last year.

 

 

Beijing sees decline in tourists

 

Municipal authorities here in Beijing are reporting a 14.3-percent decrease in tourists through the first 6-months of the year.

The Municipal Bureau of Stats says 2.14 million tourists visited Beijing in the first half.

The decline in tourism began last year, when the city drew in around 5 million tourists, down nearly 4-percent from 2011.

 

 

Headline News

 

 

China launches the highest level emergency response to heat

 

China's national meteorological bureau has issued its highest level emergency response to the current heatwave gripping many parts of China.

The sizzling weather in Shanghai has so far claimed at least 10 lives.

It's the first time this year the Meteorological Administration has issued a level-two emergency response, the highest of its kind.

Continuous summer heat has also triggered severe drought in Hunan Province.

Forecasters are warning temperatures will continue to climb in early August.

Authorities are also recommending people find ways to stay cool and limit their outdoor activities.

 

 

Cabinet approves central bank's rate reform plan

 

It's being reported the State Council has approved a new reform plan by the central bank which proposes scrapping the 5-year deposit benchmark rate.

The move comes after the central bank scrapped the lower limit on bank lending rates earlier this month.

The latest move toward deposit rate liberalization is currently only limited to the five-year fixed savings accounts.

Five-year fixed deposits account for less than 0.3-percent of the total deposits at most banks.

However, the report in Caijing says the PBOC is planning to reduce more categories for benchmark deposit rates.

 

 

China to start military recruitment

 

Chinese authorities are set to begin their annual military recruitment drive starting tomorrow.

This is the first time the recruitment season has been moved from October.

The recruitment drive will mainly target young people educated to levels above senior high school and vocational school.

The State Council and the Central Military Commission say highly educated candidates will be given priority.

College graduates or postgraduates under the age of 24 are also eligible to apply.

The two-month long recruitment drive will run until the end of September.

 

 

1,319 Afghan civilians killed in first half: UN mission

 

The UN mission in Afghanistan is reporting more than 13-hundred civilians have been killed through the first half of this year.

This is a 23-percent increase compared with the same period last year.

More than 27-hundred non-combatants were killed last year in Afghanistan.

The new UN report is blaming the Taliban and other anti-government elements for most of the deaths.

The mission is also reporting more than 25-hundred injuries during the first six months.

This is up 28-percent over the same period in 2012.

 

 

U.S. secretary of state to visit Pakistan

 

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is set to arrive in Islamabad later on this Wednesday for a three-day visit.

During his time in Pakistan, Kerry is due to meet Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan's leading National Security advisor.

The Pakistani government says it is hoping for strategic talks as part of Kerry's visit.

The Pakistani side also says its planning to raise the issue of U.S. drone strikes in the country's tribal regions.

 

 

Newspaper Picks

 

 

Shanghai Daily

"Cleaner fuel on the way for city motorists"

GAS stations across Shanghai will start selling cleaner fuel in December, the latest initiative by the city to reduce vehicle pollution.

The cleaner fuel will be available at two or three gas stations from September as a trial. It then goes sale citywide from December.

These standards cap sulfur content below 10 parts per million - compared with the current 50 ppm.

The local standard is similar to the European V automobile diesel standard and the Beijing standard V for automobile petrol.

Manganese content - a major exhaust pollutant that can harm the respiratory system - will be cut to 2 milliliters per liter in the new standard from the current 6 milliliters per liter permitted.

Fuel prices will stay almost the same.

Fox News

"Breastfeeding linked to child's intelligence later in life"

A new study has found skipping formula in favor of breast milk could affect a child's intelligence later in life.

US researchers discovered that for each additional month that a child was breastfed, through a year, their language score was .2 points higher – a statistically significant finding.

Then, at age 7, the same children's IQ were assessed. For this test, each additional month that a child was breastfed through a year was correlated with an increase in IQ score by a third of a point – another statistically significant discovery.

However, when children took tests about memory and learning capabilities, the difference between children who were breastfed and those who weren't was not significant.

US researchers gathered data from over 1,300 mothers and children in the United States, tracking everything from the mother's frequency of breastfeeding to other factors including the mother's intelligence, the mother and father's education levels, measures of the home environment, the mother's employment and the type of childcare the baby received.

The Telegraph

"We could resurrect woolly mammoths, says scientist behind Dolly the sheep"

According to the scientist who created Dolly the sheep, cells taken from frozen woolly mammoth carcasses might lead to the ancient beasts being resurrected.

Sir Ian Wilmut, whose team made Dolly the world's first cloned mammal in 1996, said while a mammoth is unlikely to be cloned in the same way as the sheep, modern technology could convert tissue cells into stem cells.

Sir Ian believes while unlikely at present, the development of some form of mammoth creature or hybrid might be possible in the longer term, the research of which could lead to major biological discoveries and advances.

The potential for resurrecting woolly mammoths has grown in recent years as a number of frozen bodies have been recovered from the Siberian permafrost.

The beasts lived on Earth in a period called the late Pleistocene, tens of thousands of years ago.

 

 

Special Reports

 

 

Foreign coaches say Chinese football needs better youth development

 

Anchor:

Football observers here in China are offering up a host of opinions about why the men's squad continues to struggle on the international scene.

CRI's Jordan Lee has more.

Reporter:

Recently, China's football team has been an object of scrutiny for all the wrong reasons.

Even China's second place finish in the East Asian Cup wasn't enough to placate fans.

Two years ago, Wei Di, then general secretary of the CFA, admitted some measure of defeat. He told FIFA.com, "we didn't work hard enough to develop football in the country."

But actually, the problem might be that China has worked too hard to be good at football.

According to some of the foreign coaches who are teaching football at a grassroots level in China, the key to strengthening domestic football is as simple as tweaking the way young players learn the sport.

Serge Mbousnoum has been coaching youth football teams in Beijing for several years.

The Cameroonian native says the main problem is that the mainstream method of coaching focuses too much on technical perfection, and fails to develop players with a natural instinct for the game.

"During the training the coaches don't let the players create, think by themselves//here they will stop the scrimmage all the time. You should do this, you should have done that."

Mbousnoum empathized that his young Chinese athletes have talent, athleticism, intelligence – all the ingredients necessary for great football players.

But they lack one essential quality: how to be a playmaker.

"For me, it should be like street soccer. Street football. Should let them think by themselves. When you let them create, think by themselves. They will find a way to find solutions. Football is not only the talent, it's also the heart."

Arie Haan, the former manager of China's 2003 and 2004 national teams, told Xinhua that Chinese football lacks identity, not talent.

One reason for this lack of identity is the absence of Chinese football stars.

The face of Chinese football is David Beckham. The English star was hired by the CFA to act as the official football ambassador back in March.

Wu Chao, a former assistant coach for China's under-16 womens team, says Beckham is not the ideal spokesperson for Chinese football, but there's also no Chinese player capable of the role.

I think his influence is only temporary, it can't last very long. Beckham is only helping Chinese football right now, because the national team doesn't have enough influence. The national level as a whole is not good, so there are no Chinese football stars."

The Chinese national team has sunk five places this year to a dismal 100th world ranking. Behind teams like Angola, Georgia, and New Caledonia.

For CRI, I'm Jordan Lee.

 

 

Sports

 

 

Katie Ledecky smashes world record at World Championships

 

Chinese eyes will be on swimmer Sun Yang tonight at the FINA world swimming championships in Barcelona, Spain.

Sun Yang is competing tonight in men's 800 metre freestyle competition, looking for his 2nd gold medal of the competition.

The 21-year old's main competition is going to be American Connor Jaeger, who bested Sun's time by a split second in the earlier heats.

Yesterday, a total of 6-finals were held in the pool in Barcelona.

France's Yannick Agnel claimed his second gold medal of the Championships with a clear victory in the men's 200 metres freestyle.

This gives the Frenchman Olympic-World Championship double in the event, after easily winning Gold in London last year.

Missy Franklin has also won her second gold of the championships.

The American cruised to an easy victory in the women's 100 metre backstroke in a time of 58.42 seconds.

"I am definitely taking one race at a time. I think that's the most important thing to do when you have such heavy schedule, because if you start thinking about every race you have becomes very overwhelming."

Franklin is trying to join fellow American Michael Phelps as the only other swimmer to claim eight gold medals at a major championship.

Elsewhere, it was Katie Ledecky breaking the world record in the women's 15-hundred freestyle for her second gold medal.

The 16-year-old American barely missed out on the world record in the 400 freestyle.

American Matt Grevers also took gold in the men's 100 metres backstroke.

And Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania took gold in the women's 100 metres breaststroke.

 

 

2nd round action underway at CITI tennis tournament

 

In tennis action...

Both the men's and women's draws are underway at the CITI Washington Open event this week in Washington, DC.

American Sam Querry is into the last-16 of the event, following a grueling 3-set victory over Uzbek Denis Istomen, edging past Istomen in a 3rd set tie-breaker.

Elsewhere, Canadian Milos Raonic and Australian Bernard Tomic are also into the quarter-finals.

On the women's side, top-seeded Angelique Kerber is into round 2 after crusing by Irina Falconi 6-2, 6-3.

 

 

Bayern Munich's club president has been charged with tax evasion.

 

Bayern Munich's club president has been charged with tax evasion.

Uli Hoeness is accused of not paying taxes on Swiss bank account in his name.

The 61-year old is a former Bayern Munich star, who also won three European Cups as well as a European Championship title with West Germany in 1972.

Hoeness' defense lawyers now have four weeks to respond to the charges.

 

 

Chelsea arrive in Washington DC ahead of their pre-season tour of the USA

 

Chelsea has arrived in the US for its four-match tour of the United States.

Included in the 25-man squad are Fernando Torres, Juan Mata, David Luiz and others.

Many in the squad are coming into the United States after having been given some extra time off, having played in this year's FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil earlier this summer.

Chelsea's first game on the US tour will be against Inter Milan in Indianapolis, Indiana on Thursday.

Jose Mourinho's side will also play matches in New York, Miami and Washington, DC.

Chelsea also took part in a 3-match tour of Asia earlier this year, winning all three matches.

The last was an 8-1 pounding of the Indonesian All-Stars in Jakarta.

 

 

NBA - Steve Nash has try-out with Inter Milan soccer team

 

Veteran NBA star Steve Nash has been trying his hand on the football pitch this week.

Nash is working out with Inter Milan this week before the club begins play in a tournament in the US next week.

Nash, whose father was a professional football player, is also an avid fan, and a part owner of the Vancouver Whitecaps in the Major League Soccer league in North American.

Aside from talking football, has also taken time to address this coming NBA season.

Nash says he believes Kobe Bryant is ahead of schedule in his recovery from Achilles' surgery.　

"Well I'm not much of a doctor, but if I know Kobe and a little psychology, I would imagine he'd be back in record time and be back to his old tricks. You know he's incredibly determined and when an obstacle is put in front of him or someone tells him he can't do something you know he's going to respond, but I have no doubt he'll be back and he'll be looking as good as ever."

Nash also says he's hopeful the Lakers will finally find the chemistry they lacked last season.

Nash, who also struggled with injuries last year, is expected to quarterback a new-Look LA team, which lost Dwight Howard to Houston, but also picked up new talent, including Chris Kaman, Nick Young and Wesley Johnson.

"Well I mean Kobe Bryant is going to be back I have no doubt. He's still one of the best players in the game. Pau Gasol is a tremendous player. We've got another group of guys that play with a lot of heart and toughness so maybe being the underdogs to a certain extent isn't the worst thing for us. We've got a lot of guys coming off injuries, we were kinda of counted out early so we'll quietly try to find ourselves and build an identity in training camp and see if we can surprise some people."

Nash was limited to 50 games in his first season with the Lakers last year because of leg injuries.

 

 

First NBA basket maker dies at 94

 

The first man to record points in the National Basketball Association has passed away.

Benjamin Schectman was 94.

Schectman will go down in basketball history as the first person to ever record points in the fledgling NBA on November 1st, 1946.

He scored two points with a two-handed lay-up for the New York Knicks against the Toronto Huskies in the NBA's first-ever game.

Schectman only played in the 1946-47 season, averaging just over 8-points and 2-assists per game for the Knicks.

 

 

Entertainment

 

 

Outdoor Acrobatic Show at Beijing's Bird Nest to start in September

 

Beijingers are in for a treat.

The city's iconic landmark the Bird's Nest will become the stage for a spectacular acrobatics show this Autumn.

The show will feature over 30 flying acrobats, each hoisted by 6 people who control the wires.

The organisers said that man power was more precise and safer than relying on computers.

And safety definitely needs to be water tight, as the artists will be rising up to 38 meters above ground level.

For many of the acrobats, it is their first time performing at such heights.

The performers all hail from the martial arts school in Henan which created the centre piece act of the Olympic Games opening ceremony back in 2008.

"Attraction" comes to Beijing from 12 September to 7 October.

 

 

"The Spectacular Now" premieres in Los Angeles

 

Shailene Woodley lit up the red carpet overnight at the LA premiere of her new film "The Spectacular Now".

The Golden Globe nominated actress stars in James Pondolt's coming of age drama alongside Miles Teller.

Written by those behind "500 Days of Summer", the film tells the story of a shy and awkward girl who falls for the college heartthrob.

The cast was awarded the Special Jury Prize for acting at this year's Sundance Festival.

"The Spectacular Now" is just the first in a string of Woodley movies poised to hit our screens in coming months.

Woodley joins Teller on screen again for the hotly awaited sci-fi epic "Divergent", an adaptation of the synonymous novel by Veronica Roth.

The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic version of Chicago and placed high physical demands on the young star.

Woodley proudly showed off her battle wounds at the LA premiere.

"I got two hernias on set from on-set injuries. I have a scar on my lip. I have a scar on my eyebrow. I have a little scar right here. (rubs chest) Scars on my knees. (Laughs) We got beat up."

The Divergent is currently in post production and slated for release in the spring of next year.

The hype surrounding the film has made Woodley one of the most in-demand young starlets in Hollywood.

However, the 21 year old is keen to keep a cool head.

"No I think it's something you can't really think about. It's just sort of like, I don't know. If you think about that...people are always like 'are you excited for what's to come?' Or 'do you have expectations for the future?' I think the second you start to create expectations for yourself you'll sort of go crazy."

"The Spectacular Now" arrives in US theatres on August 2nd.

 

 

Vanessa Hudgens in talks to join "Kitchen Sink"

 

Vanessa Hudgens is in talks to join the cast of new Robbie Pickering project "Kitchen Sink".

Penned by Oren Uziel, the man behind Men in Black 4, the plot follows a group of small town teens as they joins arms with vampires and zombies to battle against alien invaders.

If signed on, the "Spring Breakers" actress will co-star opposite "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" star Nicholas Braun.

Mackenzie Davis and Denis Leary round up the rest of the cast for the sci-fi romp.

The 24 year old actress is currently attached to Robert Rodriguez's upcoming action epic "Machete Kills".

 

 

New Arctic Monkey material leaks online

 

A track from the yet unreleased Arctic Monkeys album AM has leaked online.

Entitled "You Only Call Me When You're High", the track is the third to leak from the British band's fifth studio offering.

Produced by James Ford, the upcoming record will feature Bill Ryder-Jones, Pete Thomas and Queens of the Stone Age front man Josh Homme.

Homme, who lends his vocals to the new album, has applauded the record as being a really good modern dancefloor record.

AM is scheduled to hit record stores on 9th September.

 

 

Unheard Lana Del Rey track leaks online

 

For those of you who just can't get enough of her, a previously unheard Lana Del Rey track has just emerged online.

"Maha Maha" has Del Rey flirting with Bollywood inspired instrumentation.

The track was recorded back in 2010 with Princess Superstar, who unleashed the final version onto Youtube.

The leak follows the appearance of another track from the singer's earlier career before international fame.

The song, entitled "So Legit", had Del Rey taking hits at Lady Gaga, with whom she had once worked the Brooklyn live-music scene.

Instead of worrying about potential bad publicity from the bitter song, the starlet is more engrossed in her upcoming short film, "Tropico".

The 27 year old unveiled the poster for the collaboration with Anthony Mandler and Rick Rubin over the weekend.

The black and white B-movie inspired poster shows Del Rey playing with an albino snake.

However, Lana fans will have to hold on tight as the release date remains to be revealed.

 

 

Office Star Ricky Gervais on David Brent tour

 

UK-comedian Ricky Gervais has hinted he may take his famous The Office character David Brent on tour.

The comedian/actor recently announced he has had several offers from record companies to release an album as the embarrassingly awkward boss.

In the cancelled TV series The Office Brent is an egomaniacal office boss who fancies himself a best friend to everyone, a comedian, and a talented musician.

Gervais took to twitter asking fans what intimate venues would be appropriate for him to travel to and perform Brent's songs followed by a Q&A.

Sony and Universal have reportedly offered Gervais a 6-figure contract for a full studio album.

Gervais' series The Office which he created and starred in was the inspiration for the wildly successful US series of the same name.