The Beijing Hour
Morning Edition
Paul James with you on this Friday, October 18th, 2013.
Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
Coming up on our program this morning...
Chinese President Xi Jinping is calling for more momentum in China's relationship with Australia amid a visit by the country's Governor-General.
A new conference to try to solve the civil war in Syria has been set for the middle of next month in Geneva.
The US government is warning Uganda is faces an imminent terrorist threat by Somali extremist group al-Shabaab.
In Business.... the Chinese Commerce ministry says it still expects to see export growth through the 4th quarter.
In sports... the LA Lakers and Golden State Warriors set to do battle once-again here in China tonight, this time in Shanghai.
In entertainment... Transformers director Michael Bay has been attacked while filming in Hong Kong.
First, let's check on what's happening on the weather front...
Weather
Beijing will be cloudy today, with a high of 18 degree Celsius in the daytime, and it will be overcast tonight with a low of 9
In Shanghai, it will be overcast today, 22 the high, and it will see slight rain tonight, the low of 18 degrees Celsius.
Lhasa will be cloudy in the daytime the temperature's at 17, and tonight will be cloudy with a low of 6 degree Celsius.
Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia
Islamabad, sunny, 29.
Kabul, sunny, with a high of 23.
And in North America
New York, overcast, with a high of 22 degrees.
Washington, moderate rain, highs of 24
Houston, overcast, 26.
Honolulu, overcast, 28.
Toronto, moderate rain, 14.
Finally, on to South America,
Buenos Aires, thundershowers, 26.
And Rio de Janeiro will have thundershowers with highs of 27 degrees Celsius.
Top News
Chinese president calls for new momentum in ties with Australia
Chinese President Xi Jinping is calling for new momentum to be injected in his country's bilateral ties with Australia.
Xi Jinping's comments have been made while meeting with Australian Governor-General Quentin Bryce.
He's told Bryce Australia and China need to work in the spirit of mutual understanding and accommodation.
Xi Jinping also says both sides need to show flexibility to facilitate the current bilateral free trade talks towards an eventual breakthrough.
For her part, Bryce also says the Australian side wants to expand its cooperation with China, particularly in the developing western regions of the country.
As part of her time here, Bryce is set to attend the Western China International Fair in Sichuan's capital, Chengdu.
The Australian Governor General's speech at Renmin University
Anchor
Austraian governor-general Quentin Bryce has given a speech to Chinese students at Renmin University here in Beijing.
CRI's Nathan Wakelin-King has more.
Reporter
During her talk to students, Ms Bryce mostly talked about cultural and educational ties.
She stressed the value of students from Australia and China studying in each others' countries, for the purposes of language and culture as well as vocational study.
"I hope that many of you in this room will consider coming to study in Australia, for what it can bring to you personally, and professionally, and what it can do to bring our countries further together. In a similar way, Australia is also encouraging our students to travel to Asia, to study, to gain experience, understanding and skills"
On her visit to Tianjin, she opened an exhibit of Indigenous Australian artwork, as part of her promotion of Australian culture in China.
She also talked about the promotion of equal opportunities for women in society, both in Australia and in China. Quentin Bryce is Australia's first female governor-general. During her long political career, she was constantly breaking new ground when it comes to women in political office in Australia, so issues of gender equality are important to her.
"it gets down to a pretty practical sort of issue, about flexibility at work, about equal opportunity at home, about breaking down stereotypes that still exist in your society, and in Australia."
A student at Renmin University, Dao Wei, said Ms Bryce, could be a good example for other women.
"It's very encouraging, because today I just noticed, not only the governor general, but also the ambassador, and also the lady from the military…they're just a very good living example to show."
For CRI, I'm Nathan Wakelin-King.
Foreign ministry on Laos plane crash which killed one Chinese and one Taiwanese person
So far only 11 bodies have been recovered from Wednesday's plane crash in southern Laos.
Two of the bodies recovered have been found downstream of the crash site along the Mekong River.
Laotian and Thai authorities are starting to suggest it might be difficult to recover all 49-victims.
They're also starting to hint they may not be able to recover significant portions of the aircraft for the subsequent investigation, noting the Mekong River is running very quickly right now, given that its the rainy season.
Crews are using a barge to try to recover the fuselage of the plane at the site of the crash.
Meanwhile, the Chinese government is calling on the Laotian authorities to pass along any information it gets about the crash and its victims as quickly as it can.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying.
"The Chinese Embassy in Laos verified relevant facts and identified the casualties with the Laos Foreign Ministry and the airline. And it urged Laos' side to enhance the rescue operations and speedily report the relevant information to China."
The Lao Airlines plane crashed on Wednesday afternoon after an aborted landing in the city of Pakse.
The flight from the capital, Vientiene, had 5 crew and 44 passangers, including on person from the mainland and one from Taiwan.
It's believed the plane was overtaken by a sudden gust of wind while trying to land.
The pilot was unable to recover, crashing the plane into the Mekong River about 2-kilometers from the airport.
UN elects 5 new Security Council members
The UN General Assembly has elected Nigeria, Chad, Saudi Arabia, Lithuania and Chile to the Security Council.
There were no contested races this year, so their respective elections had been assured.
It is the first time Chad, Saudi Arabia and Lithuania will serve on the UN's most powerful body.
Nigeria and Chile have already both been on the Security Council four times.
Chadian Foreign Minister Moussa Faki Mahamut has since met with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to discuss his country's situation.
"It's recognition of the effort to stabilize the country. It's also something we interpret as support and recognition of the important role Chad has played in the security of the country and notably in the African region."
The 15-member Council includes five permanent members with veto power - the US, Russia, China, Britain and France - and 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms.
The new Security Council members will assume their posts on January 1st.
The five are replacing Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Morocco, Pakistan and Togo.
UN chief to convene Geneva II conference for Syria
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced the so-called Geneva II conference for Syria will be held in mid-November.
The planned conference is a follow-up to a previous international meeting in Geneva which has called for an immediate end to the fighting and the establishment of a transitional government for Syria.
The UN's special representative for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, is heading to the region for consultations ahead of the conference.
One of the topics to be discussed is whether to invite Iran to the meeting.
UN worker released after 9-month captivity in Syria
A UN official kidnapped in Syria over 9-months ago has managed to escape.
Canadian Carl Campeau says he managed to free himself after his abductors forgot to lock a door.
Campeau was a legal advisor to the UN's Disengagement Observer Force.
He was snatched while working on the outskirts of Damascus in February.
It's believed he was taken by a militant wing of the forces fighting the Syrian government.
Campeau says his captors exerted a lot of mental pressure on him, telling him the United Nations is their enemy, the same as the Syrian government.
The Syrian government contends Campeau's kidnapping is proof the United Nations needs to be more even-handed in its position when it comes to the Syrian conflict.
US government employees back to work, national landmarks reopen after the deal is reached
Anchor
US Federal workers are back on the job and national parks and landmarks are reopening after Wednesday's agreement by US lawmakers to temporarily fund the government until January 15th and end the government shutdown.
CRI's Li Jing has more.
Report
Hours after he signed a bill that ended the shutdown and averted default, U.S. President Barack Obama says the crisis has undermined the economy.
He also says the protracted political battle has hurt the United States' international standing, while accomplishing nothing.
"Understand that how business is done in this town has to change because we've all got a lot of work to do on behalf of the American people, and that includes the hard work of regaining their trust."
Obama is now calling on Congress to focus on other issues of domestic concern, including immigration reform, an agriculture and food stamp bill, and a lasting budget agreement in the coming months.
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of federal workers, the bulk of whom had been without a paycheque the last 16 days, have returned to work.
Mark Chrystal, who was furloughed from the Smithsonian during the shutdown, is pleading with lawmakers to keep federal workers on the job.
"Please keep us government workers working. We're here to serve the public. We enjoy what we're doing. We believe in what we're doing and we want to do a good job and we can't do it when we're furloughed."
The last-minute bill signed on Wednesday will fund the government through January 15th and extend the United States borrowing authority through February 7th.
The short-term deal means Americans face the possibility of another bitter budget fight and another government shutdown early next year if lawmakers can't come-up with a compromise ahead of time.
For CRI, this is Li Jing.
U.S. warns Uganda of imminent terror attack
The US government is warning authorities in Uganda the country is facing an imminent threat of a terrorist attack by members of Somali militant group al-Shabaab.
The US side has told Ugandan authorities al-Shabaab is planning an attack similar to the Westgate Mall assault in neighboring Kenya.
However, the US side's intelligence doesn't include a specific time or location.
The US embassy in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, is warning its citizens there to be on-alert.
Somali-based al-Shabaab has continually warned Uganda it will face retribution for adding its forces to the African Union forces fighting the terrorist group in southern Somalia.
Al-Shabaab has attacked Uganda in the past.
A pair of massive suicide bombings in Kampala in July of 2010 left over 80-people dead.
Kenya's investigators recover body parts from Westgate mall
Forensic investigators in Kenya have recovered a number of body parts and three AK47 machine guns from the site of the Westgate Mall attack.
Authorities believe a human skull and other body parts recovered from the rumble belong to the four terrorists who were killed during the four-day siege in September.
Investigators have already identified one of the vehicles used by terrorists who stormed the shopping mall and went on the killing spree.
Kenyan authorities are currently holding over 40 suspects for interrogation in connection with the attack.
It's believed 5 men armed with guns and explosives stormed the upscale mall in Kenya's capital on September 21st.
The 4-day seige finally ended after the attackers were killed in a firey assault by security forces.
Over 70 people were killed in the attack, including 61 civilians.
The Startup Ecosystem in a Startup City
Anchor
A growing number of international firms are now setting their eyes on Israel as a location to expand into.
As CRI's Lucy Du reports, this is helping fuel a rush on start-up operations in Israel hoping to catch the attention of the larger, international firms.
Reporter
The Rothschild Boulevard area, where the city of Tel Aviv was born, is now home to a concentration of mostly startups.
Ami Daniel, co-founder and CEO of a startup in this area, says the area is considered the Silicon Valley of Israel.
"We think that a company is more than just a building or room. You need to create something which is bigger than the people. And here we create a special vibe of spirituality, the character we want a company to have, creating a DNA, creating something which is more than code and sales and numbers on the spread sheet. A vision, a meaning, are something bigger."
Avner Warner, Director of Economic Affairs at Tel Aviv Global & Tourism, says entrepreneurship is the DNA of the city.
"(It's) a city that embraces people who take risk, embraces people who say they have a vision. It's considered a sign of respect to be an entrepreneur. In many countries failure is considered as negative thing, while in Israel, in Tel Aviv specifically, it's considered a sign that you're willing to take a risk and even if you fail, it's a question of how fast you gonna stand up again and try something else."
Authorities in Tel Aviv have turned part of a public library into a working space where entrepreneurs can develop their startups for a period of 4 months.
Avner Warner says it's a good solution for entrepenurs who have a lack of money and experience in their early stages.
"Co-working space provides on the one hand a place to sit. They come here, they pay a cheap rent per month, and they get all the office facilities they need. And most importantly is that they have all the other stand-ups sitting with them. So they are with people, they connect with them, and they become friends, and then they support each other, they help each other, and that raises the chances for them to succeed."
Many world-leading hi-tech companies are now looking toward Israel, and have been using mergers and acquisitions of Israeli start-ups to get a foot-hold in the country.
Israeli entrepreneur Yossi Vardi says the growing international attention can only help breed more innovation.
"We are very good in the first stage. We are good in coming with ideas, deploying them very quickly, not being afraid of failure… then most Israeli companies are facing difficulty because there is no local market, you need more finance in order to grow up, etc. This is where the international companies are coming."
Tel Aviv is now home to over 700 startups and hundreds of multinational high-tech companies and R&D centers.
For CRI, I'm Lucy Du.
Forbes China's economy is transforming according the 2013 Forbes China Rich List
Anchor
The newest Forbes China Rich List includes dozens of new names from emerging light industries, a trend observers are suggesting reflects China's transforming economy.
CRI's Xie Zhao has more.
Reporter
Forbes magazine published its list, ranking the 400 richest people in China, with Beijing featuring the highest number of members at 58, followed by Shanghai with 37.
There are 87 newcomers. Renewable energy Entrepreneur Li Hejun at Beijing Hanergy Holding is the highest-ranking newcomer on this year's list.
Zhou Jiangong, editor-in-chief of Forbes' Chinese edition says this trend explains China's economy is transforming
"I think China's economy is transforming. If you conpare the new 87 and the 87 who fell of the list, you can see the newcomers are connected with consumption, Internet, mobile-internet, mobile terminals, health-care, pharmacy and culture media sectors. While the previous were related to steel, coal, clothes, shipbuilding sectors, which oversupplied and made serious pollution. Business models of those sectors are very old. They do not want to change, but the emerging industries have demonstrated innovation."
Meanwhile, the Internet sector has generated some of the biggest increase in fortunes on the list.
China's three kings of the Internet industry, Baidu CEO Robin Li, Tencent CEO Ma Huateng, and Alibaba chairman Jack Ma, are ranked No. 3, 5 and 8 respectively.
Zhou Jiangong says the Internet market is growing significantly.
"Obviously, the Internet sector has become a new economic growth point. At the same time, small-sized internet tycoons are emerging. The Internet is combining with traditional industries."
Not surprisingly, real estate mogul Wang Jianlin, chairman of Dalian Wanda Group, ascends to the No. 1 spot for the first time.
His net assets have risen dramatically up to 86 billion yuan due to a recovery in the real estate market in China.
Zhou Jiangong, says the real estate sector is also changing.
"Although the number of the billionaires in the real estate field on the list has declined, the real estate sector will still play an important role on the Forbes list for a period of time, as China is in the process of urbanization. But the sector is changing dramatically. For example, Wang Jianlin can still be called property developer,but he is changing his ways in the sector."
In September, Wang invested 50 billion yuan to launch a mini-Hollywood complex in Qingdao, east China.
This year, there are a record 168 billionaires on the list, compared to last year's total of 113.
The net assets of the top 100 are worth around 2 trillion yuan, up 44% from last year.
For CRI, I'm Xie Zhao.
Biz Reports
Anchor
First off, a check on the stock market of North America and Europe.
Join me on the desk, CRI's Hu Jia.
Reporter
The US stocks closed mostly higher Thursday.
The Dow was dragged lower by weak earnings reports from three of its blue-chip components.
IBM slumped after reporting third-quarter revenues below analyst expectations amid a sharp decline in hardware sales.
Goldman Sachs share price dropped after missing on revenue targes, but topping earnings expectations.
Meanwhile, another Dow component, UnitedHealth Group, dropped in value after matching forecasts on earnings but falling short of revenue expecations.
Matthew Cheslock is an analyst with Virtu Financial.
"Earnings season is right now. We haven't really seen them knock the cover off the ball as some people were saying. The financials are a little weak and they are generally a sector that will take the market a little higher. We saw Goldman Sachs out this morning and they had 20 percent less revenue than they did last quarter."
But the S&P 500 hit a fresh record, with many investors thinking damage done to the U.S. economy by the government shutdown will lead the Federal Reserve to keep its easy-money policies in place longer than it otherwise would have.
Alan Valdes is with Hilliard Lyons.
"China downgraded us last night so that happened, so you're seeing the whole world is very disappointed in us and I think Wall Street is disappointed in Washington and it has hurt our reputation no matter what happens.The only saving grace right now is that we're the only game in town. This is the only place to put your money and right now it's going to keep flowing in here. Remember we have Janice Yellin coming in here, probably going to be approved, she's a big believer in tapering so that's going to keep continuing."
In Economic news, initial claims for jobless benefits in the US last week fell to 358 thousand from the previous high of 373-thousand.
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's October index of manufacturing activity slipped less than expected to 19.8 from September's 22.3.
Economists had forecast a drop down to 15.
When the market closed,
The Dow was down less than 1 percent.
The S&P 500 rose 0.7 percent.
The Nasdaq advanced 0.6 percent.
In Canada, the S&P/TSX was up 0.6 percent as well.
European shares ended mixed.
Germany's DAX lost 0.4 percent, retreating from an all-time closing high reached on Wednesday.
France's CAC 40 index fell 0.1 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index gained 0.1 percent.
Stable trade growth seen in Q4
The Ministry of Commerce has issued a new assessment, suggesting trade here in China will see stable growth through the 4th quarter, despite the volatility seen over the past few months.
Commerce ministry spokesperson Shen Danyang.
"Exporters are still facing a severe and complicated external environment, but the government is confident that trade will maintain a stable development and see marginal growth in the next several months thanks to supportive policies and an improving domestic economy."
Chinese exports unexpectedly fell by 0.3 percent in September.
This came as a big surprise to the markets, which had been expecting Chinese exports to grow by around 6-percent this past month.
Foreign trade growth so far this year has hit 7.7-percent through the first 3-quarters.
The Chinese government has an 8-percent trade growth target for the full-year.
Call-in Corp News w Doug
Anchor
Let's check in with some of the key events on the corporate front in China this week.
Doug Young joins me on the line.
He's an associate professor at Fudan University and former China company news chief at Reuters.
[MIIT To Implement App Pre-Installation Regulations For Smartphones]
China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology or MIIT will begin to curb pre-installed smartphone apps next month to try to protect costumers' personal data.
The regulations were first released in April 2013.
Under the new rules, mobile terminal manufacturers will have to provide all preloaded software information to the MIIT for vetting.
The new regulations also prohibited any software which will collect or modify user information without the permission of the user.
1 At which points the handset over distributing process could be preloaded with software?
2 Will this rule accidentally drive up smart phone prices of some brands?
3 To what extend the new regulation is likely to redefine the relations ship between software developer and the smart phone makers?
[Yahoo Reduces Planned Stake Sales To Alibaba On Strong Outlook]
Yahoo has decided to bulk up its holdings of Alibaba.
The US Internet company will put less Alibaba's shares it owns on sale over the Chinese firm's upcoming IPO.
It is believed the volume has been cut down to 208 million from the 261.5 million maximum both agreed previously.
Yahoo owns nearly 524 million Alibaba share.
The new share sale plan means Yahoo will hold about 13 percent of Alibaba's shares after the IPO. It now holds about 24 percent of it.
1 What's your forecast on Alibaba's long-term growth as Yahoo obviously bulls on it?
2 How likely do you think the two sides could work out a cooperating mode after a long time disputes?
3 Do you see Yahoo and Alibaba to be strategic partners to each other in the future?
4 About the highly anticipated IPO of Alibaba which is reported to start next year, where do you think the firm will choose to list itself and what's been prohibiting the move?
Bach Anchor:
Doug Young, associate professor at Fudan University and former China company news chief at Reuters.
Shutdown could distort U.S. inflation data for months
New analysis is suggesting the US inflation figures could end up being distorted by the government shutdown well into next year.
Researchers at the Cleveland Federal Reserve says the biggest potential for errors will most likely occur in the October CPI calculation.
Government economists were unable to go out checking prices for the first half of the month because of the shutdown.
As such, analysts are worried the rush to catch up could lead to errors or result in information coming in incomplete.
Inflation in the US increased 1.5 percent through August.
This is well below the 2 to 2.5 percent range the Fed has set as an threshold for considering tapering off on its stimulus programs.
U.S. September Jobs Report Coming Out Tuesday
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics has confirmed it will release its September jobs report this coming Tuesday.
It also says the October jobs report will come out on November 8th.
Other key economic data is also set to be released following the re-opening of the US federal government.
September's consumer price report is due out on October 30th.
Investors have been in a US government data blackout since the start of October because of the government shut-down.
EU, Canada near trade pact after breaking impasse
The European Union and Canada are reportedly close to finalizing agreements on a multi-billion dollar trade deal.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso are due to meet in Brussels later on this Friday to conclude the talks, which began around 3-years ago.
The negotiations were breifly suspended at the beginning of this year over demands for greater access to one-anothers markets.
The finalization of the agreement will make it the first bilateral agreement between the EU and a member of the G7.
The EU-Canada pact will eliminate tariffs on almost all goods and services.
It will also set larger quotas for EU dairy exports and Canadian beef and pork exports.
The deal also makes it easier for EU automakers to export their vehicles to Canada.
Headline News
Chinese president calls for new momentum in ties with Australia
Chinese President Xi Jinping is calling for new momentum to be injected in his country's bilateral ties with Australia.
Xi Jinping's comments have been made while meeting with Australian Governor-General Quentin Bryce.
Stressing the importance of mutual understanding and accommodation, Xi Jinping also says both sides need to show flexibility to facilitate the current bilateral free trade talks towards an eventual breakthrough.
For her part, Bryce also says the Australian side wants to expand its cooperation with China, particularly in the developing western regions of the country.
Bryce has also met with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
She is also set to attend the Western China International Fair in Sichuan's capital, Chengdu.
China responds to Abe's Yasukuni Shrine offering
The Chinese government has issued a new statement, calling on the Japanese government to properly handle issues connected to the Yasukuni shrine.
The comments come after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made an offering to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.
The shrine honors Japan's war dead, but also includes 14 Class-A war criminals.
Visits to the shrine by Japanese officials are considered an insult to the countries Japan invaded during its Imperalist expansion campaign in the first half of the 20th century.
3 dead, 24 injured in Chinese building blast
Three people are dead and two-dozen others hurt after an explosion in Heilongjiang.
The blast ripped through an apartment building in the city of Jixi, which lies about 300-kilometers east of the provincial capital, Harbin.
Of the 24 others hurt in the blast, 16 are hospitalized.
The extent of their injuries hasn't been made clear.
Initial indications are a gas leak caused the explosion, which damaged several units within the apartment building.
UN chief to convene Geneva II conference for Syria
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced the so-called Geneva II conference for Syria will be held in mid-November.
The planned conference is a follow-up to a previous international meeting in Geneva which has called for an immediate end to the fighting and the establishment of a transitional government for Syria.
The UN's special representative for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, is heading to the region for consultations ahead of the conference.
Obama says repeated political brinkmanship brings unnecessary damage
U.S. President Barack Obama has issued a new statement, saying the political brinkmanship over the last few weeks leading upto the debt ceiling deadline has inflicted unnecessary damage to the economy.
Obama admits the authorities have yet to assess the full damage of the partial government shutdown and the political battle leading upto the debt ceiling.
However, he says most analysts believe it has slowed the country's growth.
The Pentagon already estimates the government shutdown cost it some 600-million US dollars in productivity.
Japan welcomes Caroline Kennedy as 1st female U.S. ambassador
The Japanese government says it's looking forward to welcoming the new high-profile US ambassador to the country.
The US Senate has confirmed the nomination of Caroline Kennedy as the new US ambassador to Japan.
The 55-year old is the daughter and last surviving member of the family of late US President John F. Kennedy.
Her appointment also makes her the first female US ambassador to Japan.
Newspaper Picks
BEIJING NEWS
Headline
Beijing to impose odd-even vehicle ban during heavy pollution
Summary
Authorities in Beijing have announced plans to limit vehicles to odd and even license plate numbers during serious air pollution that is expected to linger more than three days.
The city's environmental bureau will give 12-hours notice to the public prior to the traffic controls taking effect.
GUANGZHOU DAILY
Headline
Celebrity netizen arrested
Summary
A celebrity Chinese blogger known as Bianmin has been arrested in Yunnan for allegedly profitting by creating rumors online.
He has allegedly confessed to all the charges against him.
Under a judicial interpretation issued last month, people who post defamatory comments online in China can face up to three years in prison if their statements are widely reposted.
CHONGQING MORNING POST
Headline
Transformers to shoot in Wulong
Summary
Hollywood director Michael Bay has announced that part of his new Transformers film will be shot in Wulong, a famous scenic spot in Chongqing.
Some of the area will be closed to tourists at the end of this month for the filming.
SOUTH CHINA METROPOLITAN DAILY
Headline
Guangzhou publishes spending
Summary
41 government institutions in Guangzhou have released their spending reports from last year.
It is the most detailed and comprehensive release of financial information since authorities in Guangzhou started the practice in 2010.
CHINA DAILY
Headline
Ancient tomb crisis
Summary
The report in the paper is suggesting the frenzied real estate development across this country is posing a significant threat to a large number of ancient tombs.
Archeologists quoted in the article are accusing property developers of not taking proper assessments before construction, on top of not reporting archaeological discoveries to the authorities.
SHANGHAI DAILY
Headline
China's September FDI speeds up
Summary
Foreign direct investment growth here in China has increase by nearly 5-percent this past month.
It is believed the rise in the FDI is being driven by investments from Asian countries.
Authorities still expect full-year FDI to surpass last year's totals, despite the shakey global economy.
GLOBAL TIMES
Headline
Fund for school meals
Summary
The central government has released new figures, suggesting more than 80 billion yuan has been spent since 2011 to improve nutrition among rural students.
Money goes toward subsidies for student meals, construction of school canteens and grants for students from poverty-stricken families.
The release of the information coincides with World Food Day this week.
Special Reports
The bike makes a comeback in China
Anchor
For years here in China, the bicycle was thought of as nothing more than a means of transportation.
However, these days, a growing number of people here in China are turning to the bike for recreation.
CRI's Jordan Lee has more.
Reporter
Thirty years ago, if a man wanted to get married, the adage went that he should own a sewing machine, a radio, and a bike.
In the 1980's, bicycle production boomed and it became the vehicle of choice for low and middle-income families
But as more and more Chinese families were able to afford cars, the streets that once streamed with bikes became clogged with motor vehicles.
Cindy Young, a long-time American expat in Beijing, says she has witnessed the city's transformation from bike to car-dominated culture.
"There's been a big difference. I've seen a lot more people getting the motorbikes and electric bikes and opting to not ride bicycles. It used to be the sidewalks were jam-packed with bikes, and now there are a lot less."
But the old-fashioned bicycle is making something of a comeback, as more and more Chinese are turning to cycling as a hobby.
The interest in recreational biking is driven by the middle class. Now that they have their cars for transportation, the bicycle becomes attractive as a recreation or even a luxury item.
Li Zhiwu is one of China's new cycling fanatics.
Police had to hold Li back at the Tour of Beijing because he was so eager to cheer on his favorite cyclist Tony Martin of Omega Pharma-Quick.
"I am one of his big fans. I think he is incredibly talented, he's a champion, and his recent results have been especially good. A lot of Chinese cycling fans support him Besides, I just really love cycling."
Li joined a small cycling club three years ago, as a way to exercise and de-stress from the hectic Beijing life.
"We are just ordinary people. We all have jobs with stable income. We want to use our free time to have fun."
Beijing-based cyclist Shannon Bufton has noticed pronounced growth in the number of Chinese taking up the sport.
"I'm finding that many more people are riding out into the mountains in Beijing. These days when I go out into Beijing, I am counting about 100 to 150 cyclists coming up the other way. Maybe four years ago, I would have counted twenty."
Bufton co-founded Serk Cycling, a company that is promoting cycling culture in China.
Serk organizes major events like Beijing bike week, brings in cycling experts to teach workshops, and offers classes on things like how to build a bike wheel.
One of the main problems Chinese cyclists must deal with is polluted air, but cycling lovers are finding ways around the smog.
Serk for example organizes group road rides on days when the air quality is best.
Other groups simply take the time to travel outside the city limits, into the fresher mountain air.
It looks like China is poised for a new kind of bicycle era.
For CRI, I'm Jordan Lee.
Sports
Lakers and Warriors meet for second global game in China
In NBA news,
The Lakers and Golden State Warriors hit the practice courts yesterday ahead of their second global game matchup tonight in Shanghai.
The Lakers fell to the Warriors 100-95 in their first game here in Beijing. Lakers center Jordan Hill said the team isn't overly concerned with the preseason loss, but they do want to win the next one.
"Luckily it was a pre-season game, but we still want to go out there and compete, work hard and play hard, and definitely give us a chance to know what we need to work on before the regular season starts. But Golden States is a good team, you know, but we feel a really good team too. we just got to focus on our defense, on the defense side, we will be good."
Once again an injured Kobe Bryant will be coaching his teammates from the sidelines. But Lakers Nick Young said they are definitely missing Kobe on the court.
"We have just, from Kobe not being out there, we are all already practicing hard to prepare ourselves, but we still miss him, miss the man out there. We try our best to pick up the flag."
Tipoff is at 7:30 tonight in Shanghai's Mercedez-Benz Center.
Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers head into game 5 of the AL Championship series
In Major league baseball,
Boston has a chance to take back its series edge after dropping game 4 to Detroit 7-3 in their battle for the American League Championship.
Detroit tied the series up 2-2, thanks to big runs by Austin Jackson, Torii Hunter, and Miguel Cabrera.
Detroit manager Jim Leyland had shaken things up by moving Jackson out of the leadoff spot. But Boston took the opposite approach.
"We've maintained a constant approach with the lineup and not creating further uncertainty. And our guys have responded well to that. So I thought overall it was a very good offensive approach tonight."
And over in the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals lead the series 3-2 over the LA Dodgers.
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And in the NFL, one game on the schedule today.
The Seattle Seahawks are in Phoenix to face the Arizona Cardinals.
The cards are coming off a 32-20 loss last week to the San Francisco, in which the 49ers converted 4 turnovers into 16 points. Seattle on the other hand beat the Tennessee Titans 20-13.
If Arizona plans on being a contender in the NFC West race, then a win over the division leaders would be an important step.
That game gets underway at 8:25am.
Seri A's Roma and Napoli clash later tonight
In football,
Italy's Serie A's top two teams, Roma and Napoli, will face each other in the eighth round of matches later tonight.
Roma so far has a flawless start to their season, while Napoli has dropped just two points.
Napoli was the league's heftiest spender in the transfer market, dishing out 86 million euros during the close season. Roma was the second biggest spender.
Also in Serie A, Inter Milan will travel to Torino for their first match since Indonesian company International Sports Capital bought a majority stake in the club.
And over in Spain
Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas announced yesterday that he is considering leaving the club in the January window, unless he starts getting more playing time.
Casillas lost his starting position to Diego Lopez after he broke his hand last season. After recovering, he never regained back his place in the starting lineup and has only played on full game this season.
Jin Jeong and Peter Hedblom share lead at Perth International
On the European Tour,
South Korea's Jin Jeong and Sweden's Peter Hedblom top the leaderboard with 4-under 68 after day one at the Perth International .
Both leaders have something to prove. Jeong turned professional in 2011, and his best finish on the PGA tour of Australasia was fifth place New Zealand PGA Championship last year.
Hedblom needs to win this weekend in order to retain his tour card after a dry 2013 on the European Tour.
Rory McIlroy opened with a 70 at the Korean Open, which puts him three shots behind South Korea's Jang Ik-jae who leads with a 4 under 67.
Ernie Els struggled a bit with a bogey-bogey start at the Asian Tour's Macau Open. The South African fininshed the opening day even at par 71, which places him down in 22nd place.
And the LPGA is continuing to make its way through Asia. No. 2 Suzann Pettersen will be looking to defend her title this weekend at the tour's third stop at the Hanabank Championship in South Korea.
Entertainment
Michael Bay attacked in Hong Kong
(Transformers)
Hollywood director Michael Bay was attacked and slightly injured on the set of "Transformers 4" in Hong Kong on Thursday.
A Hong Kong police spokeswoman said two brothers surnamed Mak who own a shop near the film set approached Bay and demanded 100,000 Hong Kong dollars ($13,000).
Upon his refusal to pay, the brothers assaulted him and allegedly assaulted three police officers called to settle the incident.
The spokeswoman said Bay suffered a minor injury to his face but declined medical treatment.
A police woman involved in the matter say that the two men, aged 27 and 28, were arrested and face charges of blackmail, assault and assaulting police officers.
However, Paramount Pictures gave a somewhat different account of the incident.
It said in a statement that a man, allegedly under the influence of a narcotic substance, rushed onto the set wielding an air conditioning unit and swung it at Bay's head.
It said Bay ducked and wrestled the air conditioning unit away from the man.
"Transformers 4: Age of Extinction", starring Mark Wahlberg is partly set in Hong Kong and is scheduled for release next Spring.
Lion King becomes first $1 billion show on Broadway
(Lion King)
Disneys' Lion King is on track to become the first ever Broadway show to take $1 billion dollars.
This comes 16 years after The Lion King, based on the Disney film of the same name, debuted on Broadway in October 1997.
It has since gone on to gross over $5 billion in theatres around the world.
Adapted for the stage by director Julie Taymor, the Disney Theatrical production features a score by four time Grammy winner Hans Zimmer with original music from the film by Elton John and Tim Rice.
Since its debut, the musical has had phenomenon success, touring 21 cities around the world and seeing audience attendence rarely dipping below 80% - a tough feat for a theatrical production.
Dizzee Rascal premieres his latest video
Dizzee Rascal has premiered the music video to his lates song "Love This Town".
(Love)
The video shows Dizzee and his homies walking through London whilst cleaning up the town.
A nod is made to an incident of the 2011 London riots captured on CCTV, where youths mugged an injured victim.
Dizzee and his friends are seen giving items to an injured man.
The track is lifted from Dizzee's latest album The Fifth.
Having emerged from the pirate radio scene in his teens, Dizzee Rascal rocketted to fame with his Mercury winning debut Boy in Da Corner.
The universally acclaimed debut spawned game changing tracks like "Fix Up Look Sharp".
(Dizzee)
In the past decade Dizzee has broke the pop barriers, working with the likes of Snoop Dogg and Shakira.
Details of Breaking Bad spin off revealed
Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan has revealed actors Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul will likely make cameo appearances in the Breaking Bad spinoff show Better Call Saul.
(breaking bad clip)
Gilligan has also revealed Better Call Saul will be a one-hour comedy and retain Breaking Bad's unique visual style.
Gilligan hopes to shoot the new show with the same crew that worked on Breaking Bad.
Last month the television network AMC revealed sleazy Breaking Bad character Saul Goodman, played by actor and comedian Bob Odenkirk, would appear in his own show.
The new show will reportedly be a prequel and take place before the events of Breaking Bad.
It will tell the story of Odenkirk's schisty yet hilarious lawyer character giving audiences a better insight into what makes the man tick.
Better Call Saul is scheduled to air in the autumn of 2014.
That's all we have time for on the show as well.
Recapping our top headlines....
Chinese President Xi Jinping is calling for more momentum in China's relationship with Australia amid a visit by the country's Governor-General.
A new conference to try to solve the civil war in Syria has been set for the middle of next month in Geneva.
The US government is warning Uganda is faces an imminent terrorist threat by Somali extremist group al-Shabaab.
In Business.... despite recent volitility, the Chinese Commerce ministry says it still expects to see export growth through the 4th quarter.
On behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers, this is Paul James in Beijing, hoping you'll join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour to open a window to the world together!
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