The Beijing Hour
Morning Edition
Shane Bigham with you on this Monday, April 14th, 2014.
Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
Coming up on our program this morning...
Ukriane's government says it will launch a full-scale offensive against pro-Russian protesters in the country's east, giving them a Monday deadline to disarm..
The search for missing flight MH370 has been narrowed to a 13-hundred square kilometre patch of seabed, an area about the size of Los Angeles...
And Iran's leaders are criticizing a US decision to deny an entry visa to Iran's new UN ambassador..
In Business...China's central bank governor has again ruled out a new stimulus package for the economy...
In sports...two frontrunners have emerged in the final round at the Masters...
In entertainment...Captain America is still #1 at the box office
But first... lets get a check on the weather...
Weather
Beijing will have smog today, with a high of 20 degree Celsius.
Overnight temperatures should drop down to around 15.
Shanghai will be sunny during the daytime with a high of 21.
Overnight, it will be cloudy with a low of 12.
In Chongqing, showers continues with a high of 28.
Overnight lows are expected to be around 20.
Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia.
Islamabad will be overcast with a high of 29.
Kabul will be overcast with a high of 20.
Over to North America.
New York will be overcast today with a high of 21 degrees.
Washington will be overcast with a high of 26 degrees.
Honolulu, sunny, 28.
Toronto, Canada, will see moderate rain with a high of 20 degrees.
Finally, on to South America,
Buenos Aires will be sunny with a high of 19.
And Rio de Janeiro will see thundershowers with a high of 26 degrees Celsius.
Top News
Ukraine to launch full scale offensive against pro-Russian activists
Anchor
Ukraine's interim president says its army will launch a "full-scale" offensive against pro-Russian protesters in the country's east.
The comment comes after two people were killed during a gun battle between protesters and security forces over the weekend.
CRI's Cao Yuwei has more.
Reporter
In a televised national address, interim president Oleksander Turchinov stated that he will not allow Russia to repeat the Crimean scenario in Ukraine's eastern regions.
"We did everything to avoid human victims but we are ready to give an answer to all attempts at invasion, destabilisation and armed terrorist actions. The National Security and Defence Council has decided to launch a full-scale anti-terrorist operation involving the armed forces of Ukraine. We will not allow Russia to repeat the Crimean scenario in the eastern regions of the country."
He has also offered not to prosecute any militants who give up their weapons by early Monday.
A new wave of unrest erupted in the country's east over the weekend, after Pro-Russian activists seized several government buildings in a dozen cities.
Activists in three cities including Donetsk are demanding a referendum on autonomy and closer ties with Russia.
"I grew up in this town. It's our land. What's happening? We will decide our own fate and that of these lands. We're all together, we're all Russians."
Other locals say Ukriane's bad economic situation is contributing to the regional instability.
"My son is there now, on the barricades. No one asked him to go there. They collectively made a decision themselves. Salaries went down, diesel, gasoline, medicine, food got more expensive and people are not happy."
Eastern Ukraine has a large Russian-speaking population. Cities such as Donetsk have a large number of coal mines that depend on imports of Russian gas which has been heavily subsidized.
The UN Security Council is set to meet behind closed doors today to talk about rising tension in Ukraine.
NATO has urged Russia to de-escalate the crisis and pull back its troops from Ukraine's border.
The U.S. has said the seizure of the government buildings in eastern Ukraine had signs of Moscow's involvement.
Meanwhile, the Russian foreign ministry has called for an end to the use of the military against Ukrainian people and the start of a national dialogue for constitutional reform in the country.
Russia has long called for the federalization of Ukraine.
Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Crimean leaders signed a treaty to make the peninsula part of the Russian territory, following a referendum to split from Ukraine.
Kiev has rejected the referendum and Crimea's integration with Russia, calling it unconstitutional.
For CRI, I'm Cao Yuwei.
Malaysian authorities did not confirm reported co-pilot's call
Turning to the search effort for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370.
Malaysian defense minister and acting transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein has not confirmed whether the co-pilot of the missing Malaysian Airlines flight made a phonecall.
Hishammuddin's commented on media reports that the co-pilot tried to make a call as the plane was flying northwest of Malaysia's state of Penang.
"As far as I know, no. But like I said, that would be in the realm of the police, and the other international agencies. And when the time comes, that would be revealed. But I do not want to speculate on that at the moment, one, for the respect of the family members of the pilot and the co-pilot; and secondly, I don't want to disrupt the investigations that are being done now."
It was reported that the call was picked up by a local cellphone tower.
Meanwhile, the search for the missing plane continues with 12 aircraft and 14 ships.
Search officials say they are confident they know the approximate position of the plane's black box recorder.
So far, the search team has detected four pings consistent with the signals from black boxes.
Searchers now want to pinpoint the exact location of the source of the sounds before sending down a robotic submersible to look for wreckage.
The underwater search zone is currently a 1,300-square-kilometre patch of the seabed, about the size of Los Angeles.
Iran refutes US visa ban on Tehran's UN envoy
Iranian parliamentarians have criticised the United States for its decision to deny a visa to Iran's newly appointed ambassador to the United Nations.
The United States, which hosts the UN, says Iran's candidate, Hamid Abutalebi, is an unacceptable choice given his role in the seizure of the US embassy in Tehran in 1979.
US President Barack Obama has come under strong domestic pressure not to allow Abutalebi to enter the United States to take up his position in New York.
In response, Seyyed Hossein Naghavi Hosseini, a member of the Iranian parliament, says Iran must remain firm on its stance.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran mustn't retreat on this issue and must insist on its legal representative so that all nations, especially those who are members of the U.N. see that the Americans are creating problems for the independence of the envoys of member states in carrying out their missions."
Iranian officials have also accused the U.S. of abusing its position as a host of the international body.
Aboutalebi is alleged to have participated in a Muslim student group that held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days during the embassy takeover.
He has insisted that his involvement in the group was limited to translation and negotiation work.
US law allows Washington to bar U.N. diplomats who are considered national security threats.
But observers say Obama's potentially precedent-setting step could open the US to criticism that it is using its position as host nation to improperly exert political influence.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius meets Cuban President Raul Castro
For the first time in more than 30 years, a French foreign minister is visiting Cuba.
The visit comes as Cuba is seeking to attract more foreign investment and to improve ties with the European Union.
Laurent Fabius says he has met with President Raul Castro following a meeting with his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez.
"There's been some improvement recently, especially with relationships with Europe; there were some dark episodes during the 2000's, but I really have to say there were some improvements, for example tourist visas have been permitted. Very recently there was another step: foreign investment was allowed."
The European Union suspended cooperation with Cuba in 2003.
Dialogue was partly restored five years later.
In February, the EU's foreign ministers approved talks to negotiate a broad new political agreement with Cuba.
There are currently about 60 French companies present in Cuba.
Two front-runners emerge in Afghanistan's presidential election
Two clear front-runners have emerged in Afghanistan's presidential election, as the election commission has released partial results.
With 10 percent of the ballots counted, Abdullah Abdullah, who came in second in the 2009 election, has nearly 42 percent.
He is followed by former World Bank official Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai with over 37 percent.
In third place with nearly 10 percent of the vote is Zalmai Rassoul, who was considered a favorite of President Hamid Karzai.
Ahmad Sami is a Kabul resident.
"We just heard the results which were announced and we are very happy. We want a Muslim president. We have an Islamic government and we want a Muslim president."
The election commission also stresses that the figure are only partial results and the numbers will change.
Results so far suggest that none of the eight candidates are likely to get the outright majority needed to avoid a runoff.
Preliminary results are due to be out later this month.
Death toll from Chile forest fire rises to 16
A forest fire in Chile has now claimed 16 lives.
Since it began on Saturday in the hills around the port city of Valparaiso, 500 homes have been destroyed and 10-thousand people have had to evacuate neighborhoods.
Local officials say the fire is being driven by strong winds coming off the Pacific Ocean.
Chilean President Michele Bachelet visited the town on Sunday after declaring a state of emergency.
Part of the fire has been contained but authorities fear the flames will continue to spread if the wind picks up.
Five Detained after Fatal Hainan Bus Crash
Five people have been detained following a deadly bus accident in South China's Hainan Province killed eight students and wounded 32 others.
The principal of Xincai School and an investor in the private school are among those who've been arrested, along with the bus driver and an executive with the bus company.
The school didn't notify local authorities before organizing the outing.
There were 47 people on the bus when it overturned on Thursday in Chengmai County, where the school had organized an outing involving nearly 600 students and 14 buses.
Police say the road was wet and there is construction underway in the area where the accident happened.
The county government has already paid 100-thousand yuan, or some 16,000 U.S. dollars, to the families of each of those who've been killed.
Development is China's primary task: Premier Li
Premier Li Keqiang has once again stressed that China's primary task is development, and that maintaining steady growth is key to resolving problems.
The premier made the comments during an inspection tour in Hainan after attending the Bo'ao Forum for Asia.
He says China is under great pressure for completing the task of maintaining a steady growth, especially when facing complicated domestic and global environment.
He urges local authorities across the country to work out effective plans for advancing reforms, expanding domestic and international markets, and nurturing development.
The premier also stated that development must not come at the expense of the environment.
Late Controversial Painter's Exhibition Opens in Beijing
Anchor
Late Chinese painter Zhu Xinjian's works are now on display at the Today Art Museum in Beijing.
The exhibition, which includes calligraphies, paintings, sketches and manuscripts, serves as a review of the life and achievements of the artist, and espcially his final years in Beijing.
CRI's Xu Fei has more.
Reporter
Zhu Xinjian is a painter famous for creating the titular characters in the popular TV cartoon series Pipilu and Luxixi, an integral part of the childhoods of several generations of Chinese people.
The artist passed away in February during the preparation of this exhibition in Beijing. After contracting hemiplegia in 2008, whereupon he lost the ability to use his right hand as well as speak, he became a left-handed painter.
Chen Yan, Zhu's widow, is the exhibition's chief designer.
"He had been drawing with his left hand since falling ill in 2008. By 2013, his works looked quite good. Today, we are mainly displaying his left-handed works, including some paintings based on Jin Ping Mei, translated as The Golden Lotus, a Chinese naturalistic novel which he completed just last year. It was pretty difficult for him since he was still training to becoming a left-handed painter."
In addition to Zhu's first major exhibition following his departure, a memorial ceremony was also held simultaneously on Saturday afternoon during the exhibition's opening ceremony.
Zhu Xinjian began his teaching career in 1980 at the Nanjing Art Academy which he graduated from. Chen Yan recalls campus life from during the time she was her future husband's student.
"I was one of his students actually. Not just me, but my whole generation of art students were very influenced by his teaching. We surprisingly found that his painting style was so uniquely relaxed, which later had an obvious impact on our aesthetic values."
In addition to having designed the characters for the TV cartoon series Pipilu and Luxixi and children's film A Mouse Marriage, Zhu gained a reputation for his works of naked women with bound feet during the'85 New Wave art movement in China.
In fact, the unique style and erotic elements of women with bound feet in his paintings aroused much controversy at the time and were viewed as conflicting with ideological convention and even condemned as "sheer feudalistic rubbish."
Some of these controversial works, such as the painting of women in The Golden Lotus, are being displayed at this exhibition.
A university painting teacher surnamed Liu is a visitor to the exhibition's opening ceremony.
"I came to have a look out of my respect for his reputation. His paintings are based on our real lives. There are lots of painters' works that have aroused debate in China. In my eyes, his art is excellent with rich content and I'm interested in the things he tries to convey through his paintings."
The exhibition will run until April 22.
For CRI, I'm Xu Fei.
China Launches Crackdown on Online Porn
The Chinese government is renewing its campaign against the spread of pornography on the Internet.
The National Anti-Porn Agency announced the Cleaning the Web 2014 campaign on Sunday.
A circular released by the agency says thorough checks will be conducted examining websites, search engines, app stores, internet TV USB sticks, and set-top boxes.
The campaign will last until November.
All online texts, pictures, videos, and advertisements containing pornographic materials will be deleted.
The campaign is in response to the persistent spread of pornography online despite multiple previous campaigns.
Biz Reports
Anchor
Let's get a preview of what's set to take place in the business world this week.
Here's CRI's Cao Yuwei.
Reporter
Wall Street is beginning a four-day week on shaky ground following last week's selloff.
In the coming days more banks are scheduled to release their latest earnings including Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley.
Also on deck, among others, are Coca-Cola, General Electric and Google.
It is a holiday-shortened week on both sides of the Atlantic with markets in the US and several in Europe set to close on April 18 for Good Friday.
Last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average sank nearly two and a half percent, the Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped nearly 3 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite index shed over 3 percent.
On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is due to speak on monetary policy and the economic recovery.
The coming days will provide an update on the US real estate industry with the housing market index due on Tuesday.
Reports on retail sales and business inventories are due today.
The consumer price index is due Tuesday, followed by industrial production figures on Wednesday.
In Europe, the latest data on the euro-zone economy to be released in the coming days include reports on industrial production, consumer price index and the current account.
Over here in China, a Bloomberg report expected to show China's first-quarter economic growth will be released on Wednesday.
Call-in Central Bank governor rules out short-term stimulus
China's central bank governer has once again ruled out stimulus policies to boost the economy, though he says the economic situation may justify some modest "fine tuning."
Zhou Xiaochuan made the comment in South China's Hainan while attending the annual Bo'ao Forum for Asia.
It comes as the country's economic growth shows fresh signs of slowing down.
Last week, the national bureau of statistics reported that China's key inflation index was at a moderate 2.3 percent in the first quarter of the year.
That rate compares to the 2.6 percent in the same period of last year, and falls far short of the planned upper limit of 3.5 percent set by the government for this year.
Meanwhile, indicators also suggest that the country's manufacturing, industrial output, fixed asset investment and consumer goods sales all weakened to multi-year lows in the first two months.
With more on the economy's slowdown in the first quarter and the government's fiscal and monetary policies, we are joined on the line by Mike Bastin, Visiting Professor of China's University of Economics and Business.
1, All the indicators seem to point to much lower GDP growth, especially manufacturing which appears to have some deflationary pressure. What's causing this?
2, Both the Premier and the central bank governor have talked about moderate fine-tuning for China's economic policies, no need for anything profound. What do you think of this stance?
3, In terms of moderate fine tuning, do you expect more government spending, despite the ongoing austerity campaign, or will we see the central bank cut interest rates in the short term?
Back anchor
Mike Bastin, Visiting Professor of China's University of Economics and Business.
China, Australia to hasten FTA talks
China and Australia have expressed a desire to hasten negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement, hoping to strike a deal as soon as possible.
Chinese vice premier Wang Yang, while meeting Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, called on both governments to show flexibility in negotiations to make tangible progress at an early date.
Tony Abbott says he expects an agreement to be reached at the earliest possible opportunity.
Talks between Australia and China on the FTA have gone through 19 rounds since 2005.
If a deal is signed, it would be the first FTA between China and a major developed economy.
China is Australia's largest trade partner and export market, while Australia is the largest overseas investment destination country for Chinese enterprises.
First private company to sell SIM cards to users
Competition among Chinese mobile phone carriers is set to become fierce.
A private firm based in eastern China's Suzhou has become the first of 11 private companies to offer new mobile phone numbers to consumers.
Snail Games is offering consumers the country's first mobile phone numbers starting with 170.
The Snail SIM card, sold on its website, costs 399 yuan, or 65 US dollars, for unlimited half-year voice communications nationwide and 3 gigabytes of data traffic.
It's much cheaper to the existing plans offered by the three state-owned giants, China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom.
For instance, the country's biggest mobile operator China Mobile's lowest package plan costs almost 350 yuan for six-month period, with limited voice communications and data traffic.
China issued telecommunications service licenses to the 11 private firms at the end of last year as the government opened the sector to private capital.
ECB hints at further stimulus to combat low inflation
The European Central Bank (ECB) has said it will provide "further stimulus" to the eurozone economy if inflation in the bloc continues to remain low.
Mario Draghi, the bank's president, says a stronger euro would trigger a looser monetary policy.
Draghi hinted that Quantitative easing, the large-scale purchase of financial assets, may be needed.
Earlier this month the ECB kept interest rates steady, at a historic low of a quarter of a percent.
But Draghi said its members were unanimous in their willingness to begin QE if inflation stayed well below their 2% target.
IMF reforms hit a deadlock
A G20 official has said reforms to the International Monetary Fund have hit a deadlock due to the US delay.
Ministers from the Group of 20 leading economies and representatives for all IMF member nations met over the weekend to discuss how to overcome the dead end.
The package of reforms, which will transfer more voting power from developed economies to emerging markets at the IMF, is meeting strong opposition in both houses of the US congress.
After it was first proposed in 2010, negotiations have gone through many rounds.
In a final communique, G20 finance ministers and central bankers said they were "deeply disappointed" with the delay.
A declaration from global financial chiefs has said they would move forward without the US if it fails to ratify the changes by year-end.
But analysts say most of the proposed reforms could not be done without US approval, given the structure of decision making at the IMF.
Headline News
UN Security Council to meet on Ukraine
The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency closed-door meeting to discuss the rising tension in Ukraine.
Tension in the country increased over the weekend after the Ukrainian government gave pro-Russian demonstrators an ultimatum to disarm or face a "full-scale anti-terrorist operation."
A security officer and a pro-Russian demonstrator died on Sunday following a confrontation in eastern Ukraine, where demonstrators have seized police and security buildings.
Moscow reacted strongly following the deaths, with the country's foreign ministry saying it is "outrageous" that the Ukrainian government is using armed forces for quelling protests.
Russia has called for an end to the use of the military against the Ukrainian people and the start of a national dialogue for the sake of early and radical constitutional reform in Ukraine.
Malaysian authorities did not confirm reported co-pilot's call
There are reports that the co-pilot aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 tried to make a phonecall before the plane went missing.
The reports have not yet been confirmed, but they say a cell tower picked up a signal as the flight was northwest of Malaysia's state of Penang.
Malaysia's defense minister says he doesn't want to speculate on the information, saying it's up to police and international agencies involved in the search for the missing flight to confirm the details.
The search for the airplane continues today with 12 planes and 14 ships. Officials say they are confident they know the approximate position of the plane's flight recorders.
The underwater search zone is currently a 1,300-square-kilometre patch of the seabed, about the size of Los Angeles.
Syria to restore security, stability to major areas first: Assad
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says his administration will continue to strike terrorist hotspots after restoring security and stability to much of the country, following three years of civil war.
He made the comment to an official Syrian news agency.
The crisis in Syria appears to have reached a turning point following multiple victories by the Syrian army against rebel forces.
The army has had victories on several fronts, mainly in central and southern Syria.
The Syrian government has repeatedly said that the crisis is largely fueled by a foreign-backed conspiracy, accusing regional and Western countries of supporting the anti-Assad movement.
More than 150,000 people have been killed and millions displaced in Syria since the conflict started.
Kenya to recruit 10,000 police officers in 2014 to boost security
The Kenyan government has announced plans to recruit 10-thousand new police officers this year to tackle security challenges across the country.
The port city of Mombasa, the capital Nairobi, and northern parts of the country have suffered a series of grenade attacks since Kenya sent troops into Somalia to try to subdue Al-Shabaab insurgents it blames for a surge in violence and kidnappings.
Mexico road accident death toll rises to 36
The number of deaths following a road crash in eastern Mexico has risen to 36.
Local authorities say the crash happened Sunday morning around 4 o'clock when a passenger bus crashed into a trailer in the state of Veracruz.
The state's governor says the bus was on its way to Mexico City from a southeastern state.
The trailer it hit had been parked on the side of the road and its signal lights had not been turned on. The trailer caught fire after the crash.
Four survivors of the crash have been taken to a local hospital.
Newspaper Picks
SHANGHAI DAILY
Headline
15,000 GUNS SEIZED IN POLICE RAIDS
Summary
Guizhou police have broken up a gang that was manufacturing and selling weapons and confiscated about 15-thousand guns and 120-thousand controlled knives.
This is the largest such seizure ever in China.
Fifteen suspects have been arrested after a four-month investigation.
YANZHAO METROPOLITAN DAILY
Headline
Blasts blamed for toxic water contamination
Summary
Explosions years ago at a plant owned by oil giant China National Petroleum Corp may have been the cause of severe tap water contamination in Lanzhou, Northwest China's Gansu Province.
The blasts occurred in 1987 and 2002.
At least 34 tons of chemical residues were then absorbed into the ground.
GLOBAL TIMES
Headline
'Thousands' of protesters halt construction of South China city crematorium
Summary
Construction halted after 500 residents protested in the city of Huazhou, South China's Guangdong Province on Saturday.
"Thousands of people" took to the streets on Saturday demanding the crematorium be cancelled.
The Huazhou vice-mayor tried to "communicate" with protesters on Saturday but failed to satisfy their demands, and reportedly ended up hiding in a nearby bank.
THE BEIJING NEWS
Headline
Beijing to enjoy desalted water from the BoHai Sea
Summary
Local authorities in Hebei Province have approved a project that is set to deliver 1-million tons of desalted drinking water daily to Beijing.
Water from the BoHai Sea will be desalted in the city of Tangshan, and then carried to Beijing through pipelines.
The project is expected to start in 2019, providing one third of Beijing's drinking water.
GUANGZHOU DAILY
Headline
Frozen chicken feet from epidemic area smuggled to China
Summary
Local authorities in Guangxi have seized over 120 tons of stale frozen chicken feet and pork ears.
The frozen foods were smuggled from epidemic areas in Vietnam, and then sold to cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.
CHINA DAILY
Headline
Manned Moon Rover unveiled
Summary
China's space exploration agency has unveiled a four-wheeled lunar rove, sparking speculation about sending Chinese astronauts to the moon.
The vehicle was displayed at the 11th China Chongqing High-tech Fair.
The vehicle can carry two people and a heavy payload.
Special Reports
Making computer games reality - trend for real life escape games
Anchor
In today's Special Report, we take a look at the trend of real life "escape" games in China.
The game, known as takagism, grows out of a Japanese computer game where players must discover the way out of closed rooms.
CRI's Hu Jia tells us some Chinese businessmen have taken the game off computer screens and into the real world.
Reporter
The doors are locked and the clock is ticking.
A group of friends has only one hour to stop the doomsday plans of a mad scientist and find their way out in the process.
Takagism is proving to be a huge success in China.
Toby Chen is the co-owner of Omega Escape Room where the game is played.
Chen and his partners have employed a staff of a dozen engineers and designers to regularly come up with fresh puzzles.
"We play the games on the computer, we click the screen and find the elements or clues to solve the puzzles, but it's just all virtual stuff. And in 2012 we heard there is a TV show in Japan about room escape, but it's just for TV, not for real, not for a business, and from that time we are just wondering if we can create a real situation, a real circumstance".
One of the players, Hua Yang, says he enjoys the challenge he faces in the takagism.
"I think the game is unusual. And it is also fresh and new to me. The mental workout is hectic! Um? yeah, hectic, indeed! The moments when we solve the puzzles are most exciting for us. We enjoy the game a lot."
The players work together to brainstorm and try different solutions.
"The benefit of having a group of people together is that we can cooperate. On the other hand, the negative side is that players all have particular ways of thinking, and sometimes your own thoughts can be affected. But I think that's the fun part of the game. Players are reacting to each other and solving the puzzles together."
And that teamwork spirit is what Toby Chen values most from the game.
"I think in urban cities, just like in Beijing, the life can be very stressed. If they're working very hard, they try to find something like not only to entertain him or herself, but to find a way to communicate with others. To find something they can work together, they can solve together, and communicate in a way that they have a common purpose, they have a puzzle or a challenge to solve together. So this is not something they can actually achieve in urban cities".
But unfortunately for Yang and his friends, time is up.
The players are only able to solve the final riddle after receiving a bit of help from a staff member.
In a few minutes, the room will be cleaned up, reset, and ready for the next group trying to find their way to freedom.
For CRI, This is Hu Jia.
Sports
Watson and Speith neck-in-neck on back nine during final day at the Masters
In golf,
Two players are out front at the Masters, as the tournament is in the final holes on the final day.
Bubba Watson and Jordan Speith were tied heading into the final round down in Augusta Georgia, and remained neck and neck through the front nine.
These two are pretty good friends. Veteran Bubba Watson is one of the tour's few left-handed golfers, and won the green jacket in 2012.
20-year old Speith is one of the golf world's exciting new up-and-comers after he won the John Deere Classic at the age of 19, making him the fourth youngest PGA tour winner and first teenage winner since the Depression era.
[leaderboard update]
Earlier during round three, Gary Woodland matched the lowest score ever on the front nine with a 6-under par 30, but the American lost it at the infamous Amen Corner, with a bogey on the 11th and a double-bogey on the 12th.
Hull City and Arsenal to face each other in the FA Cup final
In football,
Hull City defeated Sheffield United 5-3 to advance to the FA Cup final yesterday.
They'll contend for the cup against Arsenal, who advanced after a penalty shootout win over Wigan in their semifinal match on Saturday.
At the end of extra time, the score was 1-1. Arsenal's stand-in goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski made two critical saves to secure the 4-2 shootout win.
"For sure you could sense within the crowd after we conceded the goal. It was a really stressful few minutes, we were trying really hard to come back into the game. After we managed to score the equaliser you could sense the relief and after the penalties you could see the crowd going crazy and wild. Hopefully that win will help us to bring the good results back."
Arsene Wenger's side has been struggling this season, and is at risk of being excluded from the UEFA Champions League after 16 straight years. They were bumped from fourth place by Everton last week.
In the weekend's English Premier League action,
West Bromwich and Tottenham Hotspurs drew 3-3. West Brom left dispirited, since they're in desperate need of the points sitting at 16th in the league table.
But Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood was also not pleased with his side's inability to scrape a win.
"We are disappointed we haven't come out of here with a win. There was no shouting, no screaming at half time - I just said to them 'you've let yourself down, individuals have let you down with poor, poor mistakes'. But they know, they don't have to be told, they are professional footballers, they know it."
Cardiff City left Southampton with a win, 1-0. Liverpool produced a big win over rivals Manchester City 3-2.
Brendan Rodger's side is next up against fellow title contenders Chelsea, who are just coming off a 1-0 victory over Swansea.
Also over the weekend in the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund stunned Bayern Munich with a 3-0 win.
Manny Pacquiao reclaims WBO welterweight title
Philipino boxer Manny Pacquiao claimed the WBO welterweight title after winning his rematch with Timothy Bradley by unanimous decision.
Bradley injured his calf in the first round, and said he couldn't find his balance after that.
Injuries happen, no excuses whatsoever. Manny is one of the best fighters in the world, I lost he was the better man tonight. All that means is I have to go back in the gym, and I have to get better. One defeat ain't going to stop me. I lost the fight today, but I havent lost the war.
Bradley amped up his aggression in the first round, as he went for a one-shot knockout to spare his leg.
"He got me in the first round, and I see a star, and I listened to my corner who said hands up, don't get careless and just box."
That victory was sweet vengeance for Pacquiao, who lost the title to Bradley back in 2012.
Atlanta secures final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference
In the NBA,
The season is also winding down.
Over the weekend, the Atlanta Hawks snagged the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference after a vital 98-85 win over the Miami Heat.
The Hawks won on the strength of their second half play, which was driven by an energy that the Heat couldn't quite match. Jeff Teague had 25 points for Atlanta, and Lou Williams scored 18 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter alone.
And Kelly Olynyk matched a career high 25 points when the Boston Celtics defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 111-99. Celtics fans are rejoicing that the team's 13 game road losing streak has finally been snapped.
This morning,
The Indiana Pacers are one win away from securing the Eastern Conference's top seed after a 102-97 win over Oklahoma City.
Toronto v. Detroit
Orlando v. Brooklyn
Chicago and New York just tipped off at 7:30.
NHL teams play final regular-season games today
In the NHL,
The Stanley Cup playoffs are just around the corner, as teams are closing out their regular season with a final lineup of games today.
There's a few games just wrapping up this morning.
Boston v. New Jersey
Carolina v. Philadelphia
Tampa Bay v. Washington
And the Metropolitan Division champion Pittsburgh Penguins are hosting the Ottawa Senators as we speak.
Over the weekend,
The Boston Bruins defeated the Buffalo Sabres 4-1, which means that they also ended the season with the Presidents' Trophy for the best record.
The Columbus Blue Jackets posted their eighth straight defeat of the Florida Panthers after winning 3-2.
Brian Gionta scored on a penalty shot in overtime to lift the Montreal Canadiens to a 1-0 victory over the New York Rangers. That win gives the Canadiens 100 points, and pole position for home ice advantage in their first round with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
In the first round of the playoffs, New York will be facing rivals Philadelphia, who just defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3.
Entertainment
The Grandmaster swept The 33rd HK Film Awards with 12 wins
The Grandmaster has swept 12 wins at the 33rd Hong Kong Film Awards, including best film, best director, best leading actress and best supporting actor.
The film has broken the record for most wins awarded to a single film at the Awards.
The previous record was nine wins, held by "Cold Wars" and "Comrades: Almost a Love Story".
It was Director Wong Kar Wai's third time winning best director at the Hong Kong Film Awards.
"The Hong Kong Film Awards have given a huge honor to 'The Grandmaster'. I'm happy for all my team, and the crew members and actors who won today, because they deserved. For the last three years, they really gave so much of themselves for the film."
Few were surprised when Zhang Ziyi won best actress.
This is the ninth award she has received for her role as Gong Er.
"The Grandmaster' has brought so much honor upon me. This trophy is my ninth award. There's a Chinese idiom 'To see the light at 99'. I think the Hong Kong Film Awards has given me a new starting line, to start from the beginning and keep working hard. Do a good job with every film and each character and hard work will eventually be paid off."
Unfortunately, The Grandmaster was unable to manage a clean sweep. Tony Leung lost the Best Actor to Nick Cheung for his role in the boxing film Unbeatable.
But considering how intensively Cheung trained for his role in that movie, maybe he deserved the award.
He took the boxing scenes so seriously that he broke the bones in his pinky finger.
Mad Men premieres season seven
(Mad Men trailer)
Mad Men has aired the first episode of its final season 7 "Time Zone" yesterday.
Show creator and writer Matthew Weiner has once again kicked off the season with a brilliant and memorable episode.
Season seven starts in January of 1969, as President Richard Nixon is inaugurated.
The season-seven premiere focuses mainly on Don and Megan, with Peggy, Pete, Roger and Joan all making their appearances.
The episode introduces new storylines, and a lot of the "loose ends" left by the season six finale are yet to be addressed.
The final season consists of 14 episodes, seven this spring and seven more starting in the spring of 2015.
Country star interprets soul classics for new covers album
One of country music's biggest voices, Martina McBride, is back singing new tunes.
McBride released a new album "Everlasting" last Tuesday, which features her interpretations of classic soul and R&B melodies.
McBride takes on songs made famous by artists like Elvis, Aretha Franklin, and Sam Cooke.
The singer explained how she put her own spin on classic songs like, "If You Don't Know Me By Now."
"And the way I interpreted it was the way I interpreted it and the band played it as they were listening to me interpret it. And it ended up really kinda being... Well, it's a sad song anyway. But about six weeks later I went and listened to some of the original versions. And I realized they are all really angry. Like they are really mad, you know. And the way I felt the song was more sad. So I think there is a different dynamic that we brought to that song, more from a female perspective maybe."
This isn't the first time that McBride has taken on cover songs.
Her album, "Timeless," was a collection of classic country songs and she regularly incorporates them into her live shows.
McBride said she never set out to remake the original versions of these songs, because she wanted the challenge of adding her own style.
Rio 2 weak to topple Captain America
The newly released Rio 2 couldn't topple Captain America: The Winter Soldier at the box office.
The 3D animated sequel grossed 39 million US dollars in its North America launch, while Captain America 2 raked in over 41 million US dollars.
Captain America 2 has earned a massive 476 million dollars worldwide, over 100 million more than the previous one.
Chinese movie-goers contributed 80 million dollars.
Rio 2 has earned more than 160 million globally.
The film began showing in select foreign markets late last month, but made its biggest push last weekend.
Rio 2 has brought back Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway as the voice leads, after the first debut three years ago.
That’s it for this edition of the Beijing Hour.
A quick recap of headlines before we go.
Ukriane's government says it will launch a full-scale offensive against pro-Russian protesters in the country's east, giving them a Monday deadline to disarm..
The search for missing flight MH370 has been narrowed to a 13-hundred square kilometer patch of seabed, an area about the size of Los Angeles...
And Iran's leaders are criticizing a US decision to deny an entry visa to Iran's new UN ambassador..
In Business...China's central bank governor has again ruled out a new stimulus package for the economy...
On behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers, this is Shane Bigham in Beijing hoping you'll join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour to open a window to the world together. |