The Beijing Hour
Evening Edition
Shane Bigham with you this Thursday, July 24th, 2014.
Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
Coming up on the programme this evening,
The black boxes from the plane that crashed in Taiwan have been recovered, but they are said to be damaged.
Officials in the Netherlands say it could be weeks or months before all the Dutch victims of the MH17 crash in Ukraine are returned home.
Meantime, EU leaders are debating more sanctions against Russia, blaming the country for the downing of that flight, killing all 298 people aboard.
In business, manufacturing activity in China has been recorded at its fastest pace in 18 months.
In sports, The Chinese squad has another game starting in a few minutes at the Sino-European Men's Basketball Championship in Harbin.
In entertainment, the Commonwealth Games are underway in Scottland.
Weather
We will starting from Hefei, the capital city of Anhui province today.
Affected by the Typhoon Matmo, the city will have moderate rain tonight with a low of 25 degree Celsius.
And tomorrow will see light rain with a high of 29.
Also affected by Matmo, Shanghai will see light rain tonight, with a low of 28, light rain tomorrow, with a high of 31.
And here in Beijing, it will be overcast tonight with a low of 24 degrees Celsius. cloudy tomorrow with a high of 32 degrees.
Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia
Islamabad, thunderstorms with a high of 30.
Kabul, sunny, 36.
Over in Australia
Sydney, cloudy, high of 22.
Canberra, overcast, 16.
Brisbane, sunny, 23.
And finally, Perth will be cloudy with a high of 21
Top News
48 killed in Taiwan plane crash
Anchor:
Both black boxes from the plane that crashed on western Taiwan's Penghu Island have been found.
So far 48 people have been confirmed dead, with 10 more injured.
TransAsia Airways Flight GE 222 crashed into residential buildings after a failed emergency landing at Magong Airport.
For the other information, CRI's Cao Yuwei joined me in the studio.
Reporter:
Thanks Shane.
As you have mentioned, both the black boxes of the crashed plane have been founded this afternoon.
However they are severely damaged.
And I just interviewed an official from the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines, he told me that since the black box was designed to survive from crash damage, the inside message should be kept well despite exterior damage.
However he also notes that the restoring process could take as long as one year.
Shane:
What do we know about the cause of the accident so far?
Reporter:
It is not immediately clear what led to the failed landing, but initial indications are pointing to bad weather, as typhoon Matmo was rolling through the area at the time of the crash.
And the civil aeronautics official from Taiwan has given a press conference this morning.
We have a soundbite from this official named Li Wan-Li.
"If the Typhoon is too strong, all flights would have been banned from taking off. When the wind speed is within a specific range, and the pilots are qualified, and the airport is not closed, whether to fly or land a flight depends on the pilot's training and experience."
Reporter:
While as he mentioned there are some kind of restrcitions on the landing under abnormal weather condition.
On this regard, I have earlier talked with Li Peng, a pilot with Beijing Capital Airlines.
"…"
Shane:
So what do we know about the weather condition at the time when the accident took place.
Reporter:
According to media report, there were heavy rains and wind at that time brought about by the typhoon Matmo.
A BBC report quoted an official as saying that the visibility at that time was 1,600 meters.
And it is reported that there were together nine flights travelled that route between 14:00 and 19:00 yesterday.
And Li Peng, the pilot with Beijing Capital Airlines, told me how does this message mean to the captain who is piloting the plane.
“…”
TransAsia Airways is Taiwan's first private airline, mainly focusing on the island's market and short trip overseas flights.
The flight itself was delayed by well over an hour before taking off from Kaohsiung because of poor weather conditions.
Chinese leader Xi Jingping has expressed condolences for the victims.
Shane:
Thanks Cao Yuwei.
Matmo likely to wreak havoc in north China
Typhoon Matmo is bringing wind and rain to parts of eastern China, on the heels of another typhoon that killed at least 56 people in southern China.
Matmo is traveling north, bringing thunderstorms and heavy rains in the central Anhui province.
He Lifu, chief forecaster with the National Meteorological Center, warns the country's northern regions to brace for the storm as it moves northwards.
"Rains caused by the storm in Northern China, like Shangdong and Liaoning provinces, are likely to be heavier than those seen in the southern regions. We must brace for torrential rains and flash floods in certain areas. We should also be vigilant as the storm may trigger landslides in mountainous areas and disrupt traffic in big cities."
Typhoon Matmo weakened to a tropical storm after making landfall in southeastern China on Wednesday.
It earlier dumped heavy rain on Taiwan, where it knocked out power to more than 30,000 homes.
Air Algerie plane reported missing after takeoff from Burkina Faso
A plane from Algeria's state-run airline, Air Algerie, is missing.
The official APS news agency reports that the tower at Ouagadougou Airport in Burkina Faso lost contact with flight AH5017 about 50 minutes after takeoff.
The airline has not released the number of people aboard the flight, but reports indicate the plane is an Airbus A320 and it had 110 passengers.
Weeks for bodies of MH17 victims to send home: Malaysian PM
The Malaysian Prime Minister says it will take weeks or months before the country is able to bring back the bodies of the Malaysian victims of the MH17 crash in Ukraine.
43 Malaysians, including 15 crew members, were among the 298 people onboard the flight that crashed last week. There were no survivors.
Najib Razak has expressed frustration that violence on the ground in eastern Ukraine has hampered investigators' efforts to collect evidence.
"Yes, I am angry and I want full access because it is unfortunately it is a war zone and you know a war zone, there are many constraints and not only having access but the safety of those people that must be, both sides must respect the safety of the people. So, it is not as straight forward as it sounds."
Earlier, the first group of bodies among the 193 Dutch victims of the crash arrived in the Netherlands.
They were met by members of the Dutch royal family, Prime Minister Mark Rutte and hundreds of the victims' relatives.
Dutch authorities will now examine the bodies.
At the same time, the plane's black boxes have arrived in Britain for analysis.
Investigators have found that the cockpit voice recorder has been damaged, but its memory is intact.
On the ground in eastern Ukraine where the airliner came down, European monitors and Malaysian experts have visited part of the crash site, saying they've found what appear to be "puncture marks" on parts of the fuselage.
Much of the debris remains unguarded across a wide stretch of farmland.
Meanwhile, fighting between Ukrainian government forces and rebels continues in Donetsk.
Fighting on Thursday has resulted in 16 deaths.
Ukraine's Defense Ministry says two military jets have been shot down by the rebels.
EU ambassadors to debate on further sanctions against Russia
European Union ambassadors are to debate proposals on restricting Russian access to Europe's capital markets and energy markets.
Ambassadors from the 28 EU nations are expected to agree to add the names of some Russian companies to the bloc's sanctions list.
The meeting comes after the US is weighing further sanctions on Russia over the situation in eastern Ukraine.
The German government has expressed support for EU decisions to introduce further sanctions.
But France has said it will go ahead with the delivery of the first of two new warships to Russia amid protests by the US and UK.
The ship is nearly completed and will be presented in October.
Several nations, including the US and the UK, have been accusing the Ukrainian rebels of shooting down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 with a weapons system provided by Russia.
Moscow has denied the accusation, saying it has not supplied the Ukrainian rebels with the Buk anti-aircraft missile system.
For more on this, we earlier spoke with Dr. Shen Dingli, professor of International Relations at Fudan University.
…
Back Anchor:
That was Dr. Shen Dingli, professor of International Relations at Fudan University.
Mutual Compromise Needed to End the Mideast Violence: Expert
The Israeli offensive into the Gaza Strip continues. So far, the conflict has claimed the lives of 718 Palestinians, most of them civilians.
Israel has lost 32 soldiers and 2 civilians.
US Secretary of State John Kerry has flown back to Cairo after meeting with Israeli leaders and the top UN official, Ban Ki-moon.
Kerry says some progress has been achieved in reaching a ceasefire but he hasn't elaborated on that statement.
Earlier a Hamas leader said no ceasefire deal should be reached unless the Israeli and Egyptian blockade of Gaza were lifted.
But he also says a humanitarian truce is needed to allow the injured to leave the region.
But an Israeli cabinet minister later responded that a pullout of troops from Gaza was not imminent and the offensive would continue, as would the hunt for any Palestinian cross-border tunnels under any humanitarian truce.
Earlier The United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution that 'condemns in the strongest terms' Israel's offensive in Gaza and has claimed that it would launch an international inquiry into alleged human rights violations.
For more on the situation in the region, CRI's Xu Qinduo spoke earlier with Professor Li Guofu, Senior Research Fellow with China Institute of International Studies.
…
Back Anchor:
That is Professor Li Guofu, Senior Research Fellow with China Institute of International Studies, speaking with CRI's Xu Qinduo
President Xi Wraps up Landmark Latin American Tour with Ties Enhanced
Anchor:
Chinese President Xi Jinping has wrapped up a visit in Latin America with a slate of cooperation deals signed with regional leaders.
During the nearly two-week-long trip, Xi Jinping paid state visits to Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and Cuba.
He also attended the sixth summit of the emerging-market bloc of BRICS nations, which groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
CRI reporter Yin Xiuqi takes a closer look at the president's recently-concluded trip.
Reporter:
The four-nation Latin American tour was the second of its kind to the region by President Xi Jinping since taking office in March 2013.
The trip included visits to regional economic heavyweights - Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, and Cuba, with which China has had a traditional friendship.
The BRICS summit was held in Brazil, with the five emerging economies pledging to shoulder more responsibility in stabilizing the global economy and safeguarding world peace.
Following the summit, the bloc announced plans to establish a 100-billion US dollar development bank by 2016.
World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim welcomed the move, saying it will benefit global poverty reduction.
"Any bank or any group of institutions that are trying to tackle the problem of infrastructural investment to fight poverty, we will welcome them, and we made it very clear to the Indian government and to all our partners from the BRICS countries that we welcome the initiative and that we will be very happy to provide technical assistance, our own knowledge."
Following talks between Xi Jinping and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, the two pledged to join hands in building a transcontinental railway that runs from the Peruvian Pacific coast to the Brazilian Atlantic coast.
And following Xi Jinping's visits to Argentina and Venezuela, China has upgraded its bilateral ties with Argentina and Venezuela to that of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
During the last leg of the president's trip, in Cuba, Xi Jinping and Cuban leader Raul Castro pledged long-term partnership and cooperation and signed deals in sectors such as finance, agriculture, oil, and health.
Dr. Yang Zhimin, Deputy Director of the Institute of Latin American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, described President Xi's visit as a landmark.
"Recently, the state secretary of the United States announced that the Monroe Doctrine has finished. That means that Latin American is no longer the backyard of the United States. In 2011 we saw the establishment of CELAC, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. It is a good platform for China to develop the all-hour cooperation with the whole region. I think China and Latin American relationship will enter a new period."
During his visit to the region, Xi Jinping also called for joint efforts with Latin American and Caribbean nations to foster a partnership featuring equality, mutual benefit, and common development.
For CRI, I'm Yin Xiuqi.
Biz Reports
Stocks
Anchor:
First off, a quick look at the business numbers across Asia.
Joining me in the studio, CRI's Ding Lulu.
Reporter:
Asian stocks rose broadly on Thursday, with China and Hong Kong posting strong gains while the markets elsewhere saw a relatively muted performance due to lingering concerns about the situation in Ukraine and the Middle East
Chinese shares closed higher on Thursday, buoyed by upbeat data that showed China's manufacturing sector may have expanded at the fastest pace in 18 months.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index is up 1.3 percent.
The Shenzhen Component Index moved up 1.7 percent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.7 percent.
Japan's Nikkei gave up 0.3 percent.
South Korea's KOSPI trimmed less than 0.1 percent.
Singapore's Straits Times Index added 0.4 percent.
Australia's ASX added 0.2 percent.
HSBC China data shows continually improving economy
HSBC's new survey shows that China's manufacturing activity grew at its fastest pace in 18 months in July.
HSBC's flash purchasing managers' index of the sector has risen to 52, up from 50.7 for June.
A reading above 50 shows expansion. July marks the second consecutive month in which HSBC's PMI has been above that level.
The improvement was broad-based with both new orders and new export orders expanding at a faster pace than in June, and sub-indices for employment and prices also improved.
China's official PMI for July will be released early next month.
China's tax revenue increases by 7.9 percent in first half of 2014
New data from the State Administration of Taxation shows that China's tax revenue reached 5.6 trillion yuan in the first half of 2014, increasing by 7.9 percent year-on-year,
Yang Yuanwei, director of the revenue planning and accounting department of the SAT, says the revenue growth rate is basically in accordance with the general trend of national economic development.
"The proportion of the taxes paid by the real estate and finance industries, compared to the rest of the tertiary sector, has been growing year by year, with growth speed also faster than the primary and secondary sectors. But the taxes from traditional services have not increased much, with growth speed far lower than that of the financial industry and other industries of the tertiary sector. Modern services have shown a high-speed growth trend after business taxes were converted into value-added taxes."
According to the SAT data, the taxes collected from the tertiary sector increased by 11.6 percent against the 4.2-percent growth of the secondary sector.
China reports sales of 200 mln smartphones in 1H
New data shows that consumption of information products and services in China surged 20 percent in the first half of 2014 compared to the same period in 2013.
The value of this sector reached 1.35 trillion yuan, or 220 billion dollars, in the January-June period.
Zhang Feng is the chief engineer at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
"Nearly 200 million smartphones were shipped between the start of January and the end of June. Mobile data traffic rose 52.1 percent year on year in the January-June period, while revenue generated on that rose 46.4 percent. More mobile internet applications are now serving financial, transportation and medical purposes rather than providing entertainment such as music and games."
During the period, e-commerce transactions expanded 26.7 percent year on year, while online sales grew by one third.
Regarding the booming 4G business in China, Zhang said China Telecom and China Unicom are experimenting with mixed-mode networks in 16 Chinese cities and more commercial 4G licenses can be expected.
Information products and services refers to IT hardware and software concerned with spreading information. Smartphones are a major part of this field.
Qualcomm launches US$150m fund for Chinese startups
The world's biggest mobile chip designer for 3G and 4G devices, Qualcomm, has announced an investment fund of 150 million dollars in China.
It will focus on local startup companies covering mobile technologies.
The tech company's new fund will cover the Internet, e-commerce, semiconductor, education and health sectors.
Qualcomm has already used the fund to invest in Cambridge Wowo, a mobile education start-up, and Boohee, a mobile health care company.
Qualcomm's chips are used in all Android phones including Samsung's Galaxy S5 and Xiaomi's Mi4.
China regulator determines Qualcomm has monopoly -state-run newspaper
The Securities Times newspaper says China's antitrust regulator has confirmed that Qualcomm, one of the world's biggest mobile chipmakers, has a monopoly.
The report says the National Development and Reform Commission is investigating Qualcomm's local subsidiary.
The NDRC said in February the U.S. chipmaker was suspected of overcharging and abusing its market position In wireless communication standards, allegations which could see it hit with record fines of more than $1 billion.
The Securities Times report did not say whether the regulator had determined that Qualcomm had abused its monopoly.
Under China's anti-monopoly law, the NDRC can impose fines of between 1 and 10 percent of a company's revenues for the previous year.
Japan's trade deficit stands at 8.1 bln USD in June
Japan's Finance Ministry says the country's trade deficit stood at 822 billion yen in June, that's around 8.1 billion U.S. dollars, recording the 24th consecutive month of red ink.
According to the ministry, exports declined 2 percent from a year earlier, while imports soared 8.4 percent in June.
For the first half of 2014, the world's third largest economy recorded the largest ever trade deficit in the period at about 7,600 billion yen or 75 billion dollars.
Meanwhile, Japan's imports surged 10 percent on the year to about 43,000 billion yen in the same period, boosted by a drastic increase in liquefied natural gas.
Facebook revenue
Facebook's fast-growing mobile advertising business has helped drive an over 60 percent increase in revenue during the second quarter, beating "the street" and sending its shares to a record-high.
The world's largest online social network says it is witnessing increased interest from both advertisers and from users.
Facebook says its mobile advertising revenues made up over 60-percent of its overall ad revenues through last quarter.
This is up significantly from the 20-percent seen through the same period last year.
Headline News
48 dead, 10 injured in Taiwan plane crash
48 people are dead following a plane crash last night in Taiwan.
A TransAsia Airways twin-engine turboprop plane hit a residential building while attempting to make a landing in bad weather.
There were 54 passengers and four crew members on board the flight from Kaohsiung to the Penghu Islands of Taiwan's west coast.
The 10 survivors are being treated for injuries, though the extent of those injuries is not known at this time.
The flight itself had been delayed by well over an hour from take-off from Kaohsiung because of weather conditions brought on by Typhoon Matmo, which crossed over the island last night.
20 school children killed in bus-train collision in S. India
At least 20 students and their school bus driver have been killed in a collision with a train in southern India.
The bus was struck at an unmanned crossing in the state of Telangana on Thursday.
Reports say the school bus driver rolled the vehicle over the tracks unaware of the approaching train.
Another 20 injured students have been rushed to a local hospital where the conditions of some are said to be serious.
60 prisoners killed in attack near Baghdad
Upwards of 60 Iraqi prisoners have been killed in an attack on a convoy transferring inmates near Baghdad.
Police sources say the bomb-and-gun attack on the convoy happened on Thursday morning.
After a roadside bomb exploded, gunmen showed up and shot prisoners. Eight policemen were wounded.
The police source says it's not clear who is responsible for the attack, nor is the motive.
Karzai meets China's special envoy to Afghanistan
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has met with visiting Chinese Special Envoy for Afghanistan affairs Sun Yuxi.
During the meeting, the Chinese diplomat assured Karzai of China's continued support for Afghanistan, saying China supports an Afghan-led peace and reconciliation process.
Karzai says China can play an important role in the peace process in Afghanistan.
A former Chinese ambassador to Afghanistan from 2002 to 2004, Sun has also served as Foreign Ministry spokesman, and as Chinese ambassador to India, Italy and Poland.
Plague quarantine lifted in NW China
The northwestern Chinese city of Yumen has lifted a nine-day quarantine in an area where a man died from plague.
None of the 151 people who had close contact with the victim has reported symptoms of the disease.
The 38-year-old victim died of plague last week.
He was said to have been in contact with a dead marmot before being infectd.
Medical experts were sent to the region during the quarantine to carry out disinfection procedures and rat extermination.
The experts say plague is currently in a communicable, "active" phase among the local rat population.
Newspaper Picks
China Daily
"Survey shows Chinese upset about food safety"
A poll released today shows that about 80 percent respondents are upset about the food safety situation in China.
Nearly 60 percent of participants say the stage of production and processing bears the highest potential food safety risk.
While a quarter of those polled say problems lie in the stage of raising plants and breeding livestock.
The survey conducted by a research company based in Beijing, and it polled more than 3,000 residents in 20 cities including the four first-tier cities — Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
The poll also showed that the higher the education respondents have received, the more enthusiastic they are about buying imported food.
China News Service
"5% of gold in China extracted from e-waste"
At least 5 percent of gold is extracted from electronic waste in China because of the booming underground e-trash industry.
A research found the amount of gold extracted from a ton of circuit boards is 40 to 800 times more than that from gold ore.
An e-trash collector surnamed Guo hires 30 people to collect e-waste. He said a ton of circuit boards can produce 300 grams of gold.
Guiyu, in South China's Guangdong province, is widely considered the world's e-waste capital.
An official with the town said at least one million tons of e-trash are recycled annually there.
No less than 15 tons of gold are produced every year, accounting for 1/20 of the country's total gold output.
Reuters
"Alcohol, energy drink mix tied to urge to drink: Study"
A new study from Australia says mixing alcohol and energy drinks increases the urge to drink more than drinking alcohol alone.
One researcher says the finding is not going to deter young people from drinking if they want to get drunk, but they need to be mindful that they may be unwittingly putting themselves at a greater risk of accidents and injuries, because they end up drinking more than they had intended.
The researcher also says people normally think of alcohol as a depressant, but it also has a stimulant effect, and it is this stimulant effect that is most strongly related to how much people like alcohol, and whether we want to keep drinking.
Energy drinks contain caffeine. Caffeine tends to bring out the stimulant effects of alcohol intoxication.
And it may be this that causes energy drinks to increase the desire to keep drinking alcohol.
Special Reports
Grow up in a Wallless Orphanage
Anchor:
A charity project named "The Orphanage without Gate and Wall" is bringing some ten parentless teens to an educational tour in Beijing.
CRI's Xiong Siqi has more on how the project has benefited these youngsters.
Reporter:
Reporter: The Orphanage without Gate and Wall project was first launched in Hubei in 2002, with an aim to help local children who lost both parents grow up and cultivate an optimistic outlook in them to deal with their loss properly.
You Xiongxin, a sophomore majored in accounting in Wuhan Vocational College of Software and Engineering, began to benefit from this project in 2010. She is among the ten youngsters who arrived in Beijing.
"In the past, we had no such opportunities as to tour around. The program enables us to go outside of the hometown and broaden our horizon."
Having lived with her grandparents, You Xiongxin's family has long been facing financial difficulties. It's already a big burden for the elderly to afford You schooling, let alone a trip outside their hometown.
According to Pan Zhaofei, a volunteer who began to work in the project in 2010, this Beijing tour would be the first-ever travel experience for You Xiongxin and nine other college students.
Pan also discloses among these youngsters, there are some who started to receive donations from this project as early as around six years old, an age for a Chinese child to enter primary school. Constant help would be provided since then with the evidence from a piece of record that describes their specific conditions.
"We began to pay a home visit to the aided students one by one in 2002 in an effort to well understand their situation. We've set up a record paper for each aided student to track down the details as they gradually grow up over the past a dozen of years. Based on their profile, we've given them help they need and arranged them to join different activities according to their respective characteristics."
The Orphanage without Gate and Wall Project was set up by the China Charity Federation and the China Children and Teenager's Fund. The Amway Charity Foundation in China has been a supporter of this project for 12 years.
Pan Zhaofei says according to the previous practices of his company, Amway China Corporation donations would usually come to an end upon students entering college. But this project is an exception.
"We continue to pay attention following their college graduation. For instance, they may confront some challenges in seeking a job. That way, we'll arrange lectures, letting tutors guide them to build their career. This way, our program helps them stand up, walk till they could walk stably on their own."
Together, more than 1.4 million yuan has been raised for the project in June of this year.
This means that more than 460 orphans like You Xiongxin have a brighter future through education, and are given the chance to fulfill their dreams.
FOr CRI, this is Xiong Siqi.
Sports
China due to take on Montenegro
In basketball,
Hosts China are up against Montenegro at the Sino-European Men's Basketball Championship in Harbin.
That match got underway a few minutes ago.
Last night, China edged Serbia 82-77.
Center Wang Zhelin scored 15 points to lead the Chinese squad to victory.
Liu Xiaoyu and Zhou Peng had 13 points apiece
In the NBA,
It is reported that the Houston Rockets has signed rookie forward Clint Capela.
Capela is the 25th overall pick in the first round in this year's NBA draft.
The Rockets considered keeping the Swiss native in Europe for another season with hopes of using his salary-cap space to try to sign free agent forward Chris Bosh.
But Bosh has re-signed with the Miami Heat.
Capela will be on the Rockets' roster next season.
In other action,
The Dallas Mavericks have voided the contract of Rashard Lewis, as the free agent forward needs surgery on his right knee.
Lewis was expected to back up Dirk Nowitzki at power forward.
Meanwhile, it's being reported the Mavericks are to sign point guard Jameer Nelson
Three matches of the 2014 Chinese FA Cup due to begin
There are three matches left tonight in the last 16 games of the 2014 Chinese FA Cup.
The main focus should be given to a match between Henan Jianye and Guangzhou Evergrand, which is set to kick off at 8 pm tonight.
In the upcoming quarter-finals,
Beijing Guo'an will face Shangdong Luneng.
Qingdao Zhongneng will face on Jiangsu Sainty.
Shanghai Shenhua will play the winner of the match between Suzhou Jinfu and Shanghai Shenxin.
Tottenham signs Vorm and Ben Davis from Swansea
Tottenham Hotspur has confirmed that it has signed Dutch international goalkeeper Michel Vorm and left-back Ben Davis from English Premier League rivals Swansea.
The 30-year-old Vorm is part of Netherlands' World Cup squad that finished third in Brazil.
But Vorm didn't have a chance to feature in any match.
The keeper has signed a four-year deal with Tottenham, while the 21-year-old promising side-back Davis has inked a five-year contract.
Van Gaal guides Man United to 7-0 Victory in Debut
At the Guinness International Champions Cup,
Real Madrid is training in California ahead of their Champions Cup opener against Inter Milan at 6 am on Sunday Beijing time.
Los Blancos have been busy in the transfer market adding World Cup winner Toni Kroos and tournament top scorer James Rodriguez to their ranks.
Teamate Gareth Bale talked about good the Colombian star is.
"Yeah, he is obviously. He has shown in the World Cup what a good player he is and yeah, I think when you come to the Real Madrid, you want to play with the best players. So hopefully he can produce what he did in the world cup as well. And yeah, I think if you are signing great players and it is always going to help the team. And yeah, hopefully we can win the Champions League again this year with him as well."
And with Rodriguez and Kroos joining the likes of Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo on the Real squad, football purists will be drooling at the potential of Carlo Ancelotti's starting eleven.
In other action,
Manchester United has opened its summer tour with a surprisingly polished win over the LA Galaxy from the MLS.
Dutch coach Louis Van Gaal has celebrated his debut with Man-U, watching Wayne Rooney score twice late in the first half of a 7-0 victory.
Van Gaal notably introduced some changes to the Manchester United playing strategy, saying he wants to play with two strikers instead of four.
"When I am introducing a new system then every good result helps and that is what I mean, that that helps with confidence in the new system. So, it's better to win 7-0 than to loose then the players shall doubt the system and now I don't have that problem."
It is the first official match for the 62-year-old Van Gaal to work as the manager of Man United after he replaced the sacked David Moyes two months ago.
Van Gaal led the Netherlands to a third-place finish at the 2014 World Cup.
The Commonwealth Games is underway in Glasgow
Around 6,000 athletes have gathered in Glasgow for the opening of the Commonwealth Games.
The athletes represent 71 Nations and territories and are set to participate in different 17 sports, beginning today.
There are a significant numbers of Olympic medalists taking part.
One of the biggest draws at the games will be six-time Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt of Jamaica.
The world record holder for the 100 and 200 meter races has confirmed he will take part in the sprint relay.
Bolt has been recovering from minor surgery and a hamstring injury.
The Jamaican says he is back in sub 10-second shape after training twice a day to get ready for the Commonwealth Games.
Events and races will continue at 13 venues across the city until the closing ceremony on August 3.
Entertainment
Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony
The Commonwealth Games 2014 began in Glasgow with a live opening ceremony, featuring a cast of over 2,000, and appearances from several famous Scottish singers.
A 40,000 strong crowd watched the ceremony, and millions more watched from their screens all around the world.
The Queen of England officially opened the games by reading her own message from inside the Commonwealth baton.
Thousands of athletes from 71 nations and territories took part, they entered the stadium after the live show.
The Queen spoke of the "shared ideals and ambitions" of the Commonwealth, then sent her best wishes to the athletes competing.
Stars including Rod Stewart, Susan Boyle and Ewan McGregor were amongst some of the performers on the night. And the finale of the show was a spectacular display of fireworks.
The closing ceremony will take place at Hampden Park on the south side of the city, which has been transformed into an athletics venue, on 3 August.
The Continent released in Chinese cinema
Chinese film "The Continent" is released in Chinese cinema today.
Directed by famous author Han Han, the film is a comedy-romance-adventure starring William Feng, Chen Bolin and actress Wang Luodan.
It tells the story of three childhood friends from the most eastern island in China who set foot on the continent for a reckless journey to rediscover themselves.
The trip is filled with laughter and tears, as the three friends meet an assortment of characters and learn from their experience on the road.
It's a journey that allows them to see themselves like never before and one that changes the course of their lives forever.
The films trailer was released online in May and has been viewed nearly five million times, creating a new record among Chinese movies – giving it high hopes of success in the Chinese box office.
Denzel Washington to receive Donstia Award
American actor Denzel Washington is to receive the prestigious Donostia Award at the 62nd San Sebastian film festival.
59 year old Washington will also open the festival on September 19th with his latest film "The Equalizer".
The award is an honorific award, first handed out to Gregory Peck in 1986.
Some previous winners of the Donostia include Lauren Bacall, Olive Stone and Michael Caine. The 2013 award was given to Carman Maura and Hugh Jackman.
This will not be Washington's first award, during his long career he has won two Golden Globes, an honorary BAFTA, as well as the Sundance Festival Tribute to Independent Vision Award – just to name a few.
The sun dance film festival is the most prestigious film festival in Spain, running from the 19th to the 27th of September this year.
New Elton John Film tells the story "From Birth to Rehab"
A new film about Sir Elton John will tell the story of the singer's life "from birth to rehab".
Lee Hall, who also wrote Billy Elliot, says his new bio pic about the flamboyant musician will be about all the trouble Sir Elton got into starting his career. He added that he had been given "incredible free rein" on the script.
Sir Elton has even admitted in the past to being a monster at the height of his addiction. He entered rehab in the 1990s, after which, his career was revived and he had two children with his partner David Furnish, via a surrogate mother.
The film will star Tom Hardy as Sir Elton, a different approach for Hardy as he is more known for his action roles in films, such as Bane in The Dark Night Rises.
Shooting for the all singing all dancing film will begin in late 2014.
That's it for this edition of the Beijing Hour - a quick recap of headlines before we go:
The black boxes from the plane that crashed in Taiwan have been recovered, but they are said to be damaged...
Officials in the Netherlands say it could be weeks or months before all the Dutch victims of the MH17 crash in Ukraine are returned home...
Meantime, EU leaders are debating more sanctions against Russia, blaming the country for the downing of that flight, killing all 298 people aboard...
In business, manufacturing activity in China |