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

Coming up on our program this morning...

Police in France are looking for two brothers and a third man believed responsible for a massacre at a newspaper office in Paris...

Latin American and Caribean leaders are expressing hopes for deeper cooperation with China ahead of a forum starting in Beijing today...

The UN has accepted the Palestinian bid to join the International Criminal Court...

In business...foreign-made cars in the Shanghai free trade zone...

In Sports...an update from the Shenzhen Open tennis tournament...

In entertainment...a Chinese star helps the families of firefighters who died in Harbin...

First, let's check in with what's happening with the weather...

 

 

Weather

 

 

Beijing will be sunny today with a high of 6, clear tonight with a low of minus 3 degrees Celsius.

Shanghai will be sunny with a high of 8, clear tonight with a low of 2.

Chongqing will be rainy with a high of 10 and a low of 7.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia.

Islamabad, sunny with a high of 15.

Kabul, cloudy with a high of 9.

Over to North America.

New York, cloudy with a high of minus 5 degrees.

Washington, also cloudy with a high of minus 4 degrees.

Honolulu, overcast, 25.

Toronto, Canada, will be snowing with a high of minus 10 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,

Buenos Aires will be cloudy with a high of 30.

And Rio de Janeiro will be sunny with a high of 33 degrees Celsius.

 

Top News 

 

 

Massive Manhunt for Paris Newspaper Office Shooting Gunmen

 

Police are now searching for two brothers from the Paris region and a man from the northeastern region of Reims in connection to the deadly shooting at the office of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.

One of the brothers has reportedly been tried on terrorism charges.

Wednesday's shooting has so far let 12 dead, including eight journalists, the magazine's editor, and two policemen.

11 others were wounded, four of them seriously.

President Francois Hollande has called the attack a "cowardly murder" and has declared a day of national mourning.

"This shooting of extreme violence killed 12 people and injured several more. Greatly talented cartoonists, courageous journalists are dead. They left their mark on generations and generations of French through their influence, through their insolence, through their rare independence."

Hollande also noted that several terrorist attacks had been foiled in recent weeks in France.

Police say the heavily armed gunmen fled to northern Paris in a hijacked car after a firefight with police in the street following the shooting.

One witness says the gunmen, claiming to be with al-Qaida in Yemen, spoke fluent, unaccented French.

They were heard shouting "we have avenged the Prophet Muhammad" and "God is Great" in Arabic.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve says the security has been stepped up across Franec, with Paris placed the highest alert.

"I have asked the regional heads of police to take all the precaution measures needed at train stations and transport facilities, cultural institutions and a certain number of public institutions. We have increased the security deployment everywhere throughout the French territory with the mobilization of the national and local police, and of the military to ensure this protection."

Charlie Hebdo regularly satirizes religious and political figures and has sparked anger in the past among Muslims for publishing cartoons of the prophet Mohamed.

 

 

International Condemnation Pouring in against Paris Attack

 

Meanwhile, international condemnation has been pouring in against the attack in Paris.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the attack a "horrendous, unjustifiable, and cold-blooded crime."

"This horrific attack is meant to divide. We must not fall into that trap. This is a moment for solidarity. Around the world, we must stand strong for freedom of expression and tolerance and stand against forces of division and hate."

In Beijing, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman says China is deeply shocked by the attack and strongly condemns it.

US President Barack Obama has described the attack as cowardly and evil, and vowed to help France pursue the terrorists.

"Our counter-terrorism cooperation with France is excellent. We'll provide them with every bit of assistance that we can going forward."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron also joined world leaders in condemning Wednesday's attack.

Thousands of people gathered at Place de la Republique in Paris in a show of solidarity just hours after the attack, the deadliest one in decades.

Similar gatherings were seen in London and Berlin, and reports say more rallies are being planned in New York and Montreal.

French schools, consulates, and cultural centres in 20 Muslim countries were briefly closed, along with embassies, over fears of additional attacks.

Governments across Europe have expressed fear that fighters returning from Iraq or Syria could launch attacks in their home countries.

 

 

Latin American leaders express hopes to boost Sino-Latin American relations

 

Leaders from Latin America and Caribbean States have expressed hope that an upcoming forum on cooperation with China will take bilateral ties to a new level.

The first ministerial meeting of China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States Forum opens later on today in Beijing.

Equator President Rafael Correa says China's financial support to Latin America is a win-win measure.

"We all know that there are many profitable projects in Latin America, meaning we have the ability of paying back. But for countries under the developing stage like us, lack of funding is our bottleneck. China can provide those funds, meaning it's a win-win measure. Nations of the Community could make good use of the funds provided by China by implementing more feasible projects."

Cooperation between the two sides covers a broad range of fields including technology, education, infrastructure, finance, and investment.

Over the past decade, trade between China and Latin America has maintained a formidable annual growth rate of 30 percent and trade volume between the two sides increased 20 fold to more than 260 billion U.S. dollars.

Last July, during a China-CELAC forum in Brazil, Presdent Xi Jinping announced that China will provide a 10 billion U.S. dollars loan for nations in the Community of Latin American and Carribbean States.

A Chinese-Latin American cooperation fund of 5 billion U.S. dollars was also launched.

Costa Rica President Luis Guillermo Solis says that the establishment of the forum is a certain consequence of a new global situation and structure, and Latin American countries should further enhance cooperation with countries along the Pacific Ocean, including China.

Echoing this point, Dr. Ronnie Lins de Almeida with Brazilian think tank Getulio Vargas Foundation says the meeting carries far-reaching significance.

"The meeting is not only a key step in pushing forward the dialogue and cooperation between China and the Latin American and Caribbean countries, it also means to raise the voice of developing nations in global decision-making. This can only be done with the increasing high-level visits between the two sides and an enhanced South-South dialogue, based on the long-standing friendship between China and CELAC countries."

The forum is expected to conclude with the Beijing Declaration, a 2015-2019 China-CELAC Plan of Cooperation.

 

 

Chinese, Venezuelan presidents vow enhanced financing cooperation

 

Ahead of the China-CELAC Forum ministerial forum,

Chinese President Xi Jinping has sat down for talks with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Beijing, calling for pushing bilateral ties to a higher-level.

During their talks, the Chinese leader urged Venezuela to utilize Chinese financing and channel more funds to the areas of energy, mining, agriculture, and industry.

Financing agreements between the two country reportedly total more than 50-billion US dollars.

Xi Jinping also pledged support for Venezuela's efforts in restructuring its economy.

 

 

DPRK soldier dead after killing four Chinese

 

A runaway North Korean soldier who killed four Chinese citizens is now dead.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry says the soldier was injured as Chinese police arrested him following the killings, and treatment failed to save him.

The soldier reportedly killed four Chinese citizens last month during a robbery after he crossed the border into China in search of food.

China and North Korea are conducting a follow-up investigation.

 

 

(Palestine to join International Criminal Court in April: UN chief

 

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon has accepted the Palestinian request to join the International Criminal Court.

Its ICC admission will take place on April 1.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signed to join the ICC after UN Security Council rejected a draft resolution to end the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

The Palestinians have asked the ICC to investigate war crimes committed by Israel during the Gaza War since last July.

The nearly 2 month conflict led some 2,200 Palestinians killed.

This decision to join the ICC has already sparked retaliation from Israel which froze the transfer of more than $100 million in tax funds collected on behalf of the Palestinians.

The United States also opposed the move, calling it an obstacle to reaching a permanent peace agreement that would give the Palestinians an independent state.

 

 

Tail of crashed AirAsia flight QZ8501 found

 

Searchers have located the tail section of the AirAsia jet that crashed in the Java Sea.

The discovery is seen as a major breakthrough, as the tail is the part of the plane where the black box recorders are located.

Indonesia's search and rescue chief, Bambang Soelistyo has confirmed the discovery.

"I confirmed that this is part of the tail (QZ8501) with evidence of the images we see on the screen. There is clearly visible a tail section with the words of Papa Kilo Alpha X-ray (PKAX) written on it."

Information contained by the black boxes includes flight data and voice recordings from the cockpit. Those devices will be crucial in helping identify what caused the jetliner to crash two-Sundays ago.

Initial indications are the plane came down in bad weather, as the pilot had requested a change in altitude to avoid a weather system shortly before the flight disappeared from radar screens.

The AirAsia Airbus A320 went down on December 28th while enroute from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore with 162 people on board.

So far, 41 bodies have been recovered.

AirAsia has announced compensation amounting to 100 thousand US dollars per victim.

 

 

70,000 officials punished for violating anti-graft rules in 2014

 

Anchor:

China's top anti-graft body says the case of former Politburo member Zhou Yongkang has been officially handed over to judicial authorities for potential criminal prosecution.

It has also announced that over 70 thousand officials were punished in 2014 for violating anti-graft rules and over 500 corrupt officials who fled abroad have been brought back to face charges.

Luo Bin has more.

Reporter:

The announcements were made at a news conference where anti-graft officials outlined the work they've been doing their year-long campaign against corruption.

Deputy head of the Communist Party of China's discipline inspection commission, Huang Shuxian, named a number of senior officials that have been exposed in the anti-corruption drive, including former senior political advisor Ling Jihua.

"A total of 30 officials including Zhou Yongkang, Jiang Jiemin, Li Dongsheng, Li Chongxi, and Shen Weichen have been transferred to the judiciary authority. At present, Ling Jihua, Su Rong, Zhu Mingguo and others are under investigation."

Authorities also say the repatriation of over 500 corrupt officials from overseas has also resulted in the recovery of close to 450-million dollars in ill-gotten gains.

Since the anti-graft campaign started in 2012, China has conducted regular inspections across the country.

Seven top leaders of Shanxi province, one of the major coal producers in China, were put under investigated in 2014.

"In 2014, as part of our work, we investigated and prosecuted a wide-ranging corruption case in the coal-rich province of Shanxi. We have also pursued accountability in a sweeping election fraud case in Hunan. This investigation included punishing 467 local officials and handing over 69 of them to judicial officials for potential prosecution."

Given all the fruitful results and success stories publicized, Zhuang Deshui, deputy director of the Anti-corruption Research Center with Peking University, says China's crackdown of corruption is moving to a new stage.

"China's anti-graft move is in a tough situation. The more it is being pushed forward, the more resistance it will face from the interested groups and existing powers. We must break the limits of old patterns and ideas, and use the campaign as a chance to make a breakthrough in deepening reform and clear the way ahead."

He adds that the more important thing is to change the current power structure to a better one.

For CRI, I'm Luo Bin.

 

 

Hong Kong launches 2nd round of consulation on political reform

 

Anchor:

The Hong Kong government has launched its second round of consultations on the election method for choosing the city's new Chief Executive in 2017.

At the same time, the current Chief is pleading with Hong Kong lawmakers not to boycott the discussions.

CRI's Hong Kong correspondent Li Jing has more.

Report:

Hong Kong Chief Secretary Carrie Lam has kicked off the two-month consultation exercise in a Legislative Council speech.

She says the consultations are going to be based on the legal framework outlined in Hong Kong's Basic Law and how the National People's Congress interprets it.

"Following the discussions of the disputes over the constitutional developments this past year or so, as well as the unlawful 'Occupy Movement' which lasted for more than two months, we firmly believe that when we formulate the methods for selecting the Chief Executive by universal suffrage, we must uphold the principle of 'One Country, Two Systems' and act in strict accordance with the provisions of the Basic Law and the relevant Interpretation and Decisions of the NPC Standing Committee. These are solid constitutional principles."

Carrie Lam also says this new round of discussions is an opportunity for all lawmakers in Hong Kong to express their views.

"The Legislative Council has a vital constitutional role and responsibility in the constitutional development of Hong Kong. Regardless of their position on constitutional development, people of different political parties and camps should look forward to establishing a suitable system of universal suffrage in Hong Kong so that Hong Kong people can, through "one person, one vote", elect a Chief Executive to lead Hong Kong's future development."

A number of lawmakers walked out during Lam's speech in a symbolic protest.

But many others stayed to voice their support for the process, which involves the Hong Kong government inviting public input on four key areas.

They include how the nominating committee will be formed, the details of the nominating process itself, the voting process, as well as debate on smaller issues, such as the length of the nominating committee's term of office.

Under the current plans, two or three chief executive hopefuls will have to obtain the support of more than half of the 12-hundred member-strong nominating committee before being eligible to stand for election as Chief Executive.

That committee is made up of members of Hong Kong's business, professional, social and political circles.

Meanwhile, current Hong Kong Chief Executive CY Leung has delivered a statement.

In it, he says all views must be expressed in a lawful manner, and is urging all sectors of the community, including the entire Legislative Council, to take part in the process, despite their political differences.

A vote on the plan is expected sometime between April and June.

For CRI, this is Li Jing in Hong Kong.

 

 

Biz Reports

 

 

Stocks

Anchor:

First, a quick look at the closing numbers across North America and Europe.

Joining me on the desk, Luo Wen.

Reporter:

U.S. stocks jumped on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 rebounding from a five-session dive.

The rebound was fueled by better-than-expected U.S. private sector employment at the end of last year as well as minutes from the most recent Federal Reserve meeting, which reassured investors the bank was in no hurry to start raising interest rates.

Among the day's biggest gainers, J.C. Penney shares surged 20 percent after the retailer reported a 3.7 percent gain in same-store sales for the holiday season.

At close,

The Dow Jones and the Nasdaq increased around one and a fifth of a percent.

The S&P 500 added about one percent.

Over in Europe, shares also climbed on Wednesday after weak inflation figures for the eurozone suggested the currency bloc can expect more stimulus.

We will have more on that in just a minute.

At the closing bell,

UK's FTSE 100 edged up nearly one percent.

Germany's DAX gained half a percent.

And Finally France's CAC 40 rose close to three quarters of a percent.

 

 

Eurozone Slips into Deflation in December

 

As we mentioned in the stock numbers,

The latest EU figures show that the eurozone slipped into deflationary territory in December for the first time since the height of the financial crisis in 2009.

Consumer prices in the area fell 0.2 percent last month, dragged down mainly by lower energy costs due to plummeting oil prices.

Energy prices in December were 6.3% lower than a year earlier.

The European Central Bank aims to keep inflation just under 2 percent over the medium term.

The bank is widely expected to respond to the tip into deflation by launching a program of government bond buying with new money, also known as quantitative easing.

 

 

Shanghai FTZ to Have 'Parallel Imported' Vehicles

 

Anchor:

Authorities in Shanghai are now allowing "parallel imported" vehicles into the city's pilot Free Trade Zone.

The parallel import scheme means some companies can now import cars directly from abroad without the need to be authorized by any particular car-maker.

Currently, all imported cars must be brought in through a general distributor, which is often set up by the car manufacturers.

That gives car-makers absolute power over car pricing.

An industry survey conducted last year shows imported cars are selling in China at a price two to three times higher than what they are being sold abroad.

But high prices have prompted the country's top economic regulators to launch anti-trust probes into a number of foreign carmakers.

Analysts say the parallel scheme will see a price difference of 10 to 20 percent between that of the direct imported ones and those being sold by car-makers' own China dealers.

However, doubts remain with the after-sale services of those the directly imported cars.

For more on the scheme, we're now joined live with CRI Financial Commentator Cao Can.

Questions…

Back anchor: Cao Can,CRI Financial Commentator.

 

 

Tianjin to Invest $209 bln in Binhai New Area

 

Tianjin municipality is planning to invest one trillion yuan or over 200 billion U.S. dollars in the city's Binhai New Area.

The investment this year alone in the new industrial park will reach about 366 billion yuan.

The city aims to grow the total production value of the new industrial zone to 2 trillion yuan by 2020.

 

 

 

China to Roll out Draft of First E-commerce Law

 

It's been reported that China is set to complete the drafting of the country's first e-commerce law in the second half of this year.

Related organizations are said to be working on an outline for the new law, with the goal of completing that task by March.

China's booming online shopping market is faced with challenges in online transaction security, intellectual property rights protection, and the protection of consumers' rights.

The e-commerce law is going to play an important role in protecting consumers and creating a healthy market environment.

 

 

Site Set to be 'Alibaba' for Food Sector

 

Chinese popular chain restaurants will upgrade their unified e-commerce platform this year to help cut costs and improve food safety standards.

The platform ccjoin.com has a membership of 300 restaurants in 50 cities nationwide.

Their total procurement value is 12 billion yuan or nearly 2 billion U.S. dollars.

The unified business-to-business platform will help restaurant owners find quality suppliers and cut logistics and operations costs.

 

 

TCL to Buy Palm, Eyes High-end Market

 

Chinese consumer-electronics company TCL is set to purchase American smartphone brand Palm from Hewlett-Packard for an undisclosed amount.

TCL will revitalize Palm by launching a new device this year.

It will also use Palm to open up the premium handset market, a sector currently controlled by vendors such as Apple and Samsung.

 

 

Headline News

 

Massive Manhunt for Paris Newspaper Office Shooting Gunmen

 

Police are now searching for two brothers from the Paris region and a man from the northeastern region of Reims in connection to the deadly shooting at the office of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.

One of the brothers has reportedly been tried on terrorism charges.

The shooting has so far let 12 dead.

11 others were wounded, four of them seriously.

President Francois Hollande has called the attack a "cowardly murder" and has declared a day of national mourning.

Security has been stepped up across France in the wake of the attack, with Paris placed on the highest alert.

 

 

Yemen bomb blast kills dozens near Sanaa police academy

 

At least 37 people have been killed in a suicide bombing in Yemen's capital, Sana'a.

More than 60 others were injured in the blast outside a police academy.

Witnesses say a van full of explosives went off outside the front gate of the academy, where hundreds of would-be police officers had gathered to register to be students.

No group has claimed responsibility.

Yemenis authorities are blaming the Al-Qaeda group who carried similar attacks before.

 

 

Latin American leaders express hopes to boost Sino-Latin American relations

 

The first ministerial meeting of China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States Forum opens later on today in Beijing.

Heads of state and cabinet-level envoys from some 30 Latin American countries will attend the event, which is designed to boost cooperation between the Asian giant and the region.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to inaugurate the high- level event, together with leaders from Costa Rica, Ecuador,Bahamas and Venezuela.

The forum is expected to conclude with the Beijing Declaration, a 2015-2019 China-CELAC Plan of Cooperation.

 

 

Palestine to join International Criminal Court in April: UN chief

 

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon has accepted the Palestinian request to join the International Criminal Court.

Its ICC admission will take place on April 1.

The Palestinians have asked the ICC to investigate war crimes committed by Israel during the Gaza War since last July.

The nearly 2 month conflict led some 2,200 Palestinians killed.

This decision to join the ICC has already sparked retaliation from Israel which froze the transfer of more than $100 million in tax funds collected on behalf of the Palestinians.

The United States also opposed the move, calling it an obstacle to reaching a permanent peace agreement that would give the Palestinians an independent state.

 

 

Tail of crashed AirAsia flight QZ8501 found

 

Searchers have located the tail section of the AirAsia jet that crashed in the Java Sea.

The discovery is seen as a major breakthrough, as the tail is the part of the plane where the black box recorders are located.

The AirAsia Airbus A320 went down on December 28th while enroute from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore with 162 people on board.

So far, 41 bodies have been recovered.

AirAsia has announced compensation amounting to 100 thousand US dollars per victim.

 

 

Newspaper Picks

 

 

The Beijing News

Headline

Intercity bullet train debut

Summary

The Beijing railway authority will launch temporary bullet trains between the city and Yanjiao, a small town on the suburban fringe of the capital.

Many commuters working in the CBD area of Beijing live in Yanjiao and the fast trains will save a huge amount of time and energy for those workers.

The trains will be put into service on Jan. 12th .

Global Times

Headline

Local govt gets phone monitoring devices

Summary

A notice, originally posted on the website of a local economic and technological development zone, says security authorities in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province will spend nearly 150-thousand yuan on cell phone monitoring software.

The program is designed for unlocked Iphones and Android smart phones to monitor the saved call logs, messages, photos and other information.

The notice was removed from the website and the public security bureau refused to comment.

South China Morning Post

Headline

Woman busted smoking on the plane

Summary

A woman has been arrested for smoking in the toilet on a flight from Taipei to Hong Kong.

She was fined 1000 HK dollars by a local court in Hong Kong.

According to HK aviation security regulations, smoking is forbidden on flight for fear of the fire hazard.

China Daily

Headline

Tibet digitalizes ancient books

Summary

Tibet's ancient texts are being digitalized, in a bid to better protect them while making them globally accessible.

The Tibet Library says staff is working toward the complete digitalization of the Tibet Library catalog, which includes ancient books in Lhasa and other rare national ancient texts.

China has more than one million ancient Tibetan books, two-thirds of which are in Tibet.

Shanghai Daily

Headline

Visually impaired praise Metro staff for help

Summary

visually impaired Metro users have praised staff at a station along Shanghai Line 6 for accompanying them onto trains and organizing assistance at their destinations.

Some had rarely ventured out of their homes before and said the service has changed their lives.

 

 

Special Reports

 

 

2015 Goat Year Zodiac Design Competition Kicks off

 

Anchor:

A design competition has been opened by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and the Today Art Museum to create a zodiac design to mark the Year of the Goat, which starts on February 19th.

CRI's Xu Fei has more.

Reporter:

The Chinese Zodiac, or Sheng Xiao, is based on a twelve-year cycle, with each year in that cycle related to an animal sign. It is calculated according to the Chinese lunar calendar.

The year in which a person is born is represented by one of 12 animals in the zodiac: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

With the next year being the Year of the Goat, this design competition invites global artists and designers to bring their unique aesthetic to this old Chinese cultural entity.

Sun Bo, from the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture, says they hope to gain zodiac designs particularly from international artists.

"The involvement of international designers and zodiac-animal design lovers is important in promoting China's zodiac cultural tradition. International designers may interpret how a zodiac design should be made through their unique form of art. So, we sincerely hope more and more international designers and enthusiasts will join this design competition."

Emphasizing the jubilant nature of the coming Chinese New Year, the designs are expected to represent the contest's theme: "Happy Chinese New Year, Three Goats Bringing Bliss," while also integrating their own respective cultural backgrounds.

Sun Bo plans to extent the contest into an annual competition.

"We hope that zodiac designs are not only a concept from China's traditional culture, but represent what's fashionable and what's popular. Once it becomes popular, it will have considerable influence."

Once a zodiac design is officially announced, commodities like T-Shirts, posters and other artwork gift ideas, which are developed on the basis of this design, would soon become available on the market.

The zodiac competition's bigger goal is to sell merchandise using the winning design—something that Sun Bo acknowledges.

"The government is duty-bound in organizing cultural exchanges to spread its culture further. But a better approach for spreading culture is exerting the role of the market where commodities in cultural perspective could be traded. Hence, we are also considering making various types of cultural commodities on the basis of that design."

The winners will be announced on February 1st.

Back anchor:

CRI's Xu Fei reporting.

 

 

Sports

 

 

Tennis: Shenzhen, Brisbane, Hopson and Doha

 

Taking a look at tennis action;

First, in Women's action at the WTA Shenzhen Open yesterday:

Top-seed Simona Halep won her match in straight sets, as did eighth-seed Timea Bacsinsky.

In Doubles action, the Chinese duo of Liang Chen and Wang Yafan defeated top-seeded compatriot team Peng Shuai and Xu Yi-Fan.

Kicking things off today at noon, Beijing time,

China's Zheng Saisai will face fourth-seed Zarna Diyas,

Halep faces Serbian qualifier Aleksandra Krunic,

Second-seed Czech Petra Kvitova faces fellow countrywoman Tereza Smitkova.

In doubles action,

Liang Chen and Wang Yafan face Zheng Saisai and Poland's Magda Linette.

Over at the Brisbane International;

In women's singles competition,

Second-seed Ana Ivanovic swept Jarmila Gajdosova in straight sets;

And Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro defeated Maria Lucic-Baroni 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.

Today's action will see

Top-seed Maria Sharapova take on Navarro;

Ivanovic will face Estonia's Kaia Kanepi;

and Third-seed German Angelique Kerber face Ukraine's Elina Svitolina.

In men's action down in Brisbane:

Second-seed Japanese Kei Nishikori defeated American Steve Johnson in straight sets;

Fourth-seed Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov downed France's Jeremy Chardy 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.

Today;

Top-seed Roger Federer hits the court against Aussie John Millman.

And over at the Hopman Cup down in Brisbane;

Poland handed Great Britain a 2-1 defeat.

And France edged hosts Australia 2-1.

Looking at Men's action at the Qatar Open in Doha;

Top-seed Novak Djokovic beat Ukraine's Sergiy Stakhovsky in a 6-2, 6-1 straight-sets victory.

Michael Berrer, who ousted Rafael Nadal in first-round action, is out of the tournament after losing to Ivan Dodig.

Today,

Djokovic faces Croatia's Ivo Karlovic,

Tomas Berdych takes on sixth-seed Frenchman Richard Gasquet,

And Spain's David Ferrer plays against Germany's Justin Brown.

 

 

Basketball: CBA recap, NBA preview

 

Switching over to Basketball action,

Last night in the CBA:

Liaoning got it done once again, defeating Dongguan 124-117;

Tianjin Ronggang defeated Jiangsu 116-105;

Jilin Northeast beat Fujian 124-118;

Xinjiang went down to Guangdong Southern 111-94;

Shanghai Sharks swim away with a 107-97 win over Jiangsu Tong Xi;

Bayi hit a dud, losing 104-92 against Shanxi;

Zhejiang Guangsha beat the Sichuan Blue Whales 118-99;

Qingdao downed Shandong 108-91;

and Beijing got the W against Guangdong Foshan 109-94.

Over in the NBA; games kicking off at 8 a.m. Beijing time;

The Houston Rockets are away in Cleveland to take on the Cavaliers,

The Charlotte Hornets will host the New Orleans Pelicans,

The Bucks hit Philly to take on the 76ers,

The New York Knicks will face Washington.

 

 

 

Football: Liverpool Captain Steven Gerrard Signs with LA Galaxy

 

It's official; Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is heading stateside to join Major League Soccer powerhouse, the LA Galaxy.

Gerrard told the Liverpool Echo on Tuesday he would have agreed to continue his long Liverpool career had the club offered him a new contract.

Instead, the 34-year-old will now join a growing list of high-profile former Premier League players to cross the Atlantic in the latter stages of their careers, most notably David Beckham.

Former Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool striker Robbie Keane will be a teammate of Gerrard at the Galaxy, while former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has signed for New York City FC, although he is still in England on loan at Manchester City.

Former England captain Gerrard has spent his entire career at Liverpool, making nearly 700 appearances and winning the Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup.

 

 

Entertainment

 

 

Jackie Chan donates for firefighters killed in NE China blaze

 

Chinese Kung-fu movie star Jackie Chan has donated money to the families of firefighters killed in a recent warehouse blaze.

Chan gave over 80,000 US dollars after the tragedy in northeast China last Friday.

According to an official with the civil affairs department of Heilongjiang, the money was given to five families.

He added that the local government will also compensate them for their losses.

The five deceased firemen were buried in debris while trying to put out the fire in a warehouse at a ceramics market in Harbin, Heilongjiang's capital, last Friday.

After the tragedy, many people expressed their wish to donate to the families of these young men. The provincial civil affairs department has opened a donation account.

A memorial for the five men will be held later today.

 

 

Chinese films 'Skies' and 'Ducks' set for North America release

 

Chinese blockbusters "Triumph in the Skies" and "12 Golden Ducks" are to get North American releases.

The strongly anticipated movies will debut in the U.S. in February and March through specialty distributor Asia Releasing.

Directed by Wilson Yip, "Triumph in the Skies" is a big screen adaptation of a successful Hong Kong TV series of the same title, involving cockpit and cabin crew in a fictional airline.

The cast includes many renowned Chinese stars, including Louis Koo, Francis Ng and Amber Kuo.

It will be released on the second day of Chinese New Year, on February 20th.

Matt Chow's "12 Golden Ducks" is a comedy about male prostitutes, starring Sandra Ng and Louis Koo. The film will get its North American release on March 6th.

Asia Releasing expects to release upwards of 10 Asian movies in North America this year.

 

 

Chinese art festival in New York at Lunar New Year

 

A series of cultural events on the theme "Fantastic Art China" will be held in New York over the Chinese New Year celebrations.

The activities will be divided into four parts: "Public Art Show", "Innovative Art Show", "Light Show in the Empire State Building" and a "New Year Fireworks Show".

To create a carnival atmosphere in New York during the Chinese Spring Festival, these events will bring together the best minds of art to provide the audience with a real insight into Chinese culture.

"Fantastic Art China" has been held in New York four times. In 2014 there was wide coverage in 321 cities in over 112 countries and regions.

The shows will be held from February the 18th to the 24th, and held at iconic buildings across New York, including the American Museum of Natural History and No. 84 Wharf on the Hudson River.

 

 

Poland recieves U.S. request for Roman Polanski's extradition

 

Polish prosecutors plan to question filmmaker Roman Polanski after they received a request for his extradition to the United States.

The prosecutor-general's office wants to question him over a 1977 child sex crime conviction.

Polanski, who lives in France, has been spending time in the southern Polish city of Krakow, where he is planning to shoot a film.

The extradition request, which came from prosecutors in Los Angeles, will be passed on to the prosecutors' office in Krakow.