新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 20:00 2015/01/16（在线收听）

Paul James with you on this Friday, January 16, 2015.

Welcome to the Beijing Hour; we are coming to you live from the Chinese capital.

Coming up on the programme this evening:

China's vice-minister of State Security has become the latest leading official to be put under investigation by the Party.

The search is still underway for over 20 people, including a number of foreign nationals, who have disappeared following a boat capsizing on the Yangtze River.

Belgium is on heightened alert following a raid which has left two suspected terror supects dead.

In business....Alibaba's taxi-hailing app secures hundreds-of-millions of dollars in new funding.

In sports... an Australian footballer turns down a lucrative offer from Chinese football club Shanghai Shenhua.

In entertainment.... we'll bring you reaction to the Oscar nominations.

But first, a check on what's happening weather wise...

 Weather

Beijing will be clear tonight, with a low of minus 7. It will be sunny tomorrow, with a high of 4 degrees.　

Meanwhile Shanghai will be cloudy tonight, with a low of 4, tomorrow will continue to be cloudy, with a high of 7.

Chongqing will be overcast tonight, 9 degrees the lowest, tomorrow will have slight rain with a high of 12.

Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia

Islamabad, sunny day tomorrow with a high of 23.

Kabul, partly cloudy, 12.

Over in Australia

Sydney, sunny, highs of 33.

Canberra, sunny, 27.

Brisbane, sunny, 37.

Finally, Perth will be sunny with a high of 36.

Top News

Vice state security minister under investigation

The CPC's discipline authorities have announced a vice-Minister of State Security is under investigation.

The Ministry of State Security is the prime intelligence organ in China.

A brief statement from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection was released earlier today, saying only that Ma Jian is under investigation for serious violations of discipline and law.

This is the stock statement used by authorities to announce that an official is under investigation for graft.

Chinese President Xi Jinping this week proclaimed the Party's year-long crackdown on graft is not going away.

Resue and Research Work Continues after Boat Sank in China's Yangtze River

The Chinese government has launched an investigation in the wake of the likely-drowning of 22 people, including 8 foreign nationals, in the Yangtze River.

A tug boat with 25-people onboard went down in the lower reaches of the Yangtze on Thursday night.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei.

"Authorities in Jiangsu Province launched an emergency mechanism immediately after the incident, deploying several boats for rescue and research. China will continue with the work and properly handle the aftermath of the incident."

Three people managed to survive.

Four Singaporeans, an Indonesian, a Malaysian , an Indian and a Japanese national are among the missing.

Wang Zhenkai, one of the survivors, is an interpreter for the missing Japanese man.

"I was half in the water, with the upper part of my body out of the water. Water flew into the cabin very fast. Within just 20 seconds, the cabin was fully flooded. I was holding a flashlight in my hand, I started to look for my Japanese guy. But I could not find him on the water."

The tug boat was conducting testing on the Fubei Channel near the city of Jingjiang when it went down.

Swift currents and bad weather are hampering the search for the missing.

Belgium on high alert after deadly anti-terror rail

Belgium is on high alert after a major anti-terror operation which has seen a pair of suspected Islamic militants killed.

Belgium's terror threat level had been raised to the second highest rating in the country.

Jewish schools across Belgium cancelled classes this Friday.

Witnesses say the two suspected militants were shot dead in the eastern Belgian town of Verviers after they opened fire on police.

"I heard gunfire, explosions, and in fact it proved to be serious. There has never been anything like it and it's a bit frightening. I have children, my wife was supposed to go out. Nothing is done so that we can de-radicalize and keep an eye out a bit more. I've lived in Verviers for 20 years, and it's been going downhill more and more over ten years."

Belgian authorities say both suspects had just returned from Syria.

Police in Brussels have also been conducting a series of sweeps in the fall-out from last week's attacks in Paris.

Meanwhile, in Germany, police in Berlin have taken two men into custody on suspicion they have been recruiting fighters and procuring equipment for the Islamic State.

The two have been arrested in a series of raids in the German capital involving some 250 police officers.

Authorities say the raids are part of a months-long investigation into a small group of extremists based in Berlin.

Train station reportedly evacuated amid bomb threat

In Paris, a train station has been re-opened after being shut down and evacuated earlier today because of a bomb threat.

Rail officials say the station was shut down for around an hour after someone discovered a suspicious package.

The bomb threat comes on the heels of the arrest of a dozen people overnight suspected of assisting the gunmen in last week's terror attacks in Paris.

Most of the arrests have been made in a region south of Paris, with those picked up accused of providing logistical support to the terror suspects.

Seventeen people were killed in a series of attacks around the French capital last week.

All three of the attackers were killed by police.

For more on the current terror situation in Europe, CRI's Poornima Weerasekara spoke earlier with Shen Dingli, Associate Dean of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai.

[Call-in w/0116 Shen Dingli]

Shen Dingli, associate Dean of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University, speaking with CRI's Poornima Weerasekara.

UK and US to stage 'cyber war games'

The UK and the US have announced plans to carry out "cyber war games".

The exercise will simulate cyber-attacks on each other to try to defend one-another from hackers.

This comes in the wake of the cyber-attacks on the US Central Command and Sony Pictures.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron.

"There is a broad agreement that we need to have the powers to, in extremis, intercept communications between terrorists, that is what America does today, it is what Britain does today, we share the intelligence and information between us, and this has saved countless lives, not just in Britain and America but in other countries as well."

The first exercise will be a staged attack on the Bank of England and Wall Street later this year.

Ukrainian parliament passes partial mobilization bill

The Ukrainian parliament has approved a presidential decree, calling up at least 50-thousand reservists as fighting in the country's restive eastern regions intensifies.

The bill has been endorsed by 268 lawmakers in the 450-seat assembly.

Olexander Turchinov, head of Ukraine's security services, claims the troops are needed, claiming there are over 50-thousand Russian soldiers situated on Ukraine's border.

Turchinov says they're acting under the possibility the Russian troops may launch a full-scale assault into Ukraine.

The call-up of the reservists comes amid a recent escalation of fighting in eastern Ukraine.

Separatist forces today are claiming they've gained control of the main airport in the Donestk region.

Colombia's FARC says ready to discuss bilateral ceasefire with gov't

Colombia's FARC rebels say they're prepared to sign a bilateral ceasefire with the government.

The announcement comes in response to a government call to speed up the negotiation process.

Talks between the Columbian government and the FARC rebel group are set to resume later this month.

The two sides have already reached partial agreements on a number of issues.

Repatriation of prisoners is set to be the main talking point of the forthcoming negotiations on January 26th.

Chinese economy "New Normal" to be introduced in this year's world economic forum

Chinese authorities have provided some hints as to what Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is going to be focused on during the forthcoming World Economic Forum meeting in Davos next week.

Chinese vice Foreign Minister Li Baodong says the Premier is headed to Switzerland to explain the new dynamic facing the Chinese economy.

"The premier is going to explain what we mean by the 'New Normal' at the meeting. He's going to explain China's economic situation to try to bolster the international community's confidence in the prospect of the Chinese economy and that of other emerging economies, as well as their understanding of Chinese reforms."

The so-called "new normal" is the term the Chinese government is using to describe the transition to a slower but more sustainable economic growth structure.

Li Baodong says the Chinese Premier is also due to meet with Swiss leaders on the sidelines of the Davos Forum.

"During Premier Li Keqiang's visit, both sides are going to reach important agreements in areas including finance, trade, science, food, medicine and culture. Both sides will nail down favorable policies within their Free Trade Agreement, and exchange ideas on various events to mark the 65th anniversary of bilateral ties. Both countries also hope to make breakthroughs in people-people exchanges."　

A free-trade agreement between China and Switzerland took effect in July.

This year's World Economic Forum in Davos is set to run from Wednesday until Saturday.

Interstate conflicts the biggest threat to global stability in 2015 :WEF

A new poll ahead of next week's Davos Forum is suggesting inter-state conflicts are going to be the biggest threat to global stability over the coming decade.

The survey of some 900 international observers is suggesting issues, such as the conflict in Ukraine and the rise of the Islamic State, as well as cyber-attacks, are going to be the biggest problem in the coming 10-years.

Espen Barth Eide is the Managing Director of the World Economic Forum.

"Well, we are living in an uncertain world, and we are seeing that trust between key governments unfortunately is going down. We are not getting better, but actually less good at solving problems together, and we see rising tensions in many parts of the world. And what we are suggesting is that we are seeing a return of strategic competition that does not have to lead to wars, but where key players are competing rather than cooperating. We think that's bad for all of us, because we think cooperation will make us all more prosperous and more safe."

Other major concerns highlighted in the survey include extreme weather, the spread of infectious diseases, climate change and youth unemployment.

The survey has been conducted to give talking-points to those set to attend this year's World Economic Forum in Switzerland this coming week.

Shanghai's Cancellations of Spring Festival Events Raise Controversy

Anchor:

Reaction has been mostly negative following a decision by municipal authorities in Shanghai to cancel a number of events in the city this year connected to the forthcoming Spring and Lantern festivals.

As CRI's Wang Mengzhen reports, the moves come in the wake of the deadly stampede on the Bund which left 36 people dead.

Reporter:

"It is a real shame. You can't simply cancel an event after the Shanghai Stampede. The Yuyuan Lantern Festival is a state-level intangible cultural heritage."

"In my opinion, the authorities need to strengthen controls and take precautions instead of cancelling all the events. Otherwise, why don't we all just stay home and never leave our houses."

The complaints and disappointment come amid a series of cancellations of Spring Festival and Lantern Festival events in Shanghai in the wake of the Bund Stampede on New Year's Eve which left 36 people dead and 49 others injured.

The events which authorities have cancelled include the famous 18-day Lantern Festival at Shanghai's Yuyuan Garden in Huangpu District.

That annual festival last year saw some 600-thousand people pack into the garden on the night of the Lantern Festival.

The move by the Municipal authorities in Shanghai has been generating a lot of complaints, not only from the average person in the city, but also within the academic community as well.

Zhu Lijia is with the public management department at the National Academy of Education Administration.

"What the government should be doing is reflecting on, and learning lessons from, its mistakes, rather than trying to escape its responsibilities. If the public is banned from doing anything for safety reasons, then our government will end up doing nothing. From the perspective of public management, we call it the inaction of government."

The move by the authorities in Shanghai is also generating critical attention in leading media outlets in China.

The China Daily has issued an editorial, describing the Shanghai government's reaction to the stampede "troubling", saying the cancellation of events such as the Yuyuan Garden festival points to a lack of confidence.

Guyi Garden, another popular tourist site in Shanghai, has also canceled its lantern festival event amid concerns over safety.

Police in Shanghai have still not said what they think caused the stampede on New Year's Eve.

For CRI, I am Wang Mengzhen.

China's Invention Patent Applications Number Tops in 2014

New stats show Chinese regulators accepted more than 900-thousand patent applications for inventions this past year.

This represents an increase of more than 10-percent year-on-year.

Shen Changyu is the director of the State Intellectual Property Office.

"There are around 500-thousand technology-based small businesses in our country. Their growth relies heavily on intellectual property rights, but their ability to protect themselves is comparatively poor. To deal with this, we've introduced new intellectual property protection policies designed especially to support small and micro-sized companies. "

The Chinese patent office expects to approve over a million invention applications this year.

Biz Reports

First, let's have a look at the numbers across the Asian markets this Friday evening.

Joining me on the desk is Poornima Weerasekara.

Reporter:

Chinese markets finished their last trading day of the week on a high note amid reports that China's New Silk Road Initiatives have been a hot topic in a number of Chinese provincial legislatures.

At the close, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose over 1 percent, led by five sectors where shares of a total of 17 companies jumped to their daily limit of 10 percent.

New energy cars and the nuclear power stocks also performed strongly, after Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged at a meeting to upgrade the competitiveness of China's nuclear power industry.

The Shenzhen Component Index also advanced, adding just under half-a-percent, tempered by a decline in property stocks.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng closed down 1 percent.

Elsewhere in Asia,

Both the Japanese Nikkei and South Korea's KOSPI fell nearly 1.5-percent.

In Australia, the ASX 200 dipped over half a percent.

And lastly in Singapore, the Straits Times Index closed down 1 percent.

FDI from Japan Decreases 40 Percent in 2014

The Ministry of Commerce says foreign direct investment into China increased only 1.7-percent this past year.

FDI from Japan decreased nearly 40 percent.

At the same time, investment from the United States decreased 20 percent.

ASEAN investment in China came in down nearly 25-percent.

The Commerce Ministry is on-record warning foreign investments are going to continue to shift away from China amid the steady rise in labor costs.

Central authorities have been implementing new policies to try to make it easier for foreign firms to invest in this country's service-sector and capital markets.

This is part of the government's broader move to try to re-align the Chinese economy toward a more consumer-driven model.

Central Bank Increases Cash Injection into Agriculture and Small Firms

China's central bank is moving to try to move more cash into the country's agriculture and small business sectors.

The PBOC has increased its lending quota for the sectors by over 8-billion US dollars.

Chinese lenders are going be obligated to use the money specifically for the agriculture and small business sectors if they apply for the financing from the central bank.

The move is part of the central bank's attempt to pump more money into system using targeted methods.

Previous moves by the Chinese government to stimulate the economy through spending have been broad-stroke approaches, which saw most banks choose only to lend to state-owned firms to ensure they'd be repaid.

This left many small businesses and farmers without access to capital.

Kuaidi Taxi Gains $600 mln Investment from Softbank

Anchor:

Alibaba's taxi-hailing app Kuaidi Taxi has managed to obtain 600-million US dollars in a new round of financing.

Softbank is putting up the majority of the cash.

The investment comes just a week after China's transport ministry banned car hailing apps from being used by unlicensed drivers in a bid to regulate the use of the popular apps.

For more on this, we are joined live on the line by Doug Young, associate professor at Fudan University and former China company news chief at Reuters.

Liaoning to Scrap Taxi Drivers' Royalties

Provincial authorities in Liaoning have put forward a plan to make taxis self-employed businesses.

A new draft has been released which is proposing the scrapping of the fees drivers have to pay to their companies.

This follows on the heels of wide-reaching taxi driver strikes across the province and other parts of China in recent weeks.

Chinese taxi drivers have taken part in the job action to protest the fees they have to pay to their companies, which can sometimes account for 70 percent of their daily revenue.

Under the new proposal, taxi companies in Liaoning are going to be limited to being the management for the drivers and maintaining the vehicles themselves.

It's expected the new rules, once in-place, will raise taxi-driver salaries by over 50-percent on average.

Shanghai Jin Jiang Hotels Acquires Louvre Hotels

Shanghai-based Jinjiang Hotels has paid 1.4 billion US dollars to acquire French-based Louvre Group, Europe's second largest hotel chain.

The one-off deal is being financed by bank loans.

Louvre Hotels has more than 11-hundred hotels in 46 countries.

It operates under 7 different brands.

Louvre pulled in profits of over 70-million dollars this past year.

Jinjiang's purchase of Louvre is the second major hotel deal by a Chinese hospitality firm in less than a year.

Last year, Hainan Group, parent company of Hainan Airlines, bought a 30-percent stake in a Spanish hotel chain.

State-owned China Overseas Land and Investment Faces Asset Freeze

Authorities in Shenzhen have blocked the sale of properties of another mainland-based real estate firm.

The sale of around 29-hundred apartments owned by state-owned developer China Overseas Land and Investment have been frozen at the request of the company's creditors.

The asset-freeze is the second in Shenzhen this month after the sale of a Kaisa property in the city was blocked by the courts.

A number of Chinese real estate firms are struggling with debt issues amid the current downturn of the Chinese housing market.

JD.com to Build 800 Logistics Centers in Rural Areas This Year

Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com is expanding its logistics operations.

The company has announced plans to set up around 800 logistics centers in western China this year.

This comes as more and more e-commerce firms try to tap the largely unserviced western regions of China.

Swiss Franc's Rallies Trigger Major Market Volatility

Switzerland's capital market is in the midst of its final trading day of the week following one of the most volatile days in the market's history.

The Swiss Market Index dropped close to 9-percent in Thursday trading following a move by the Swiss central bank to lift a cap on the trading of the Swiss Franc.

This shot up the value of the currency some 30-percent.

But it also saw a major sell-off on Swiss companies, including Swatch and Nestle, which both lost over 10-percent in Thursday trading.

Headline News

Vice state security minister under investigation

The CPC's discipline authorities have announced a vice-Minister of State Security is under investigation.

The Ministry of State Security is the prime intelligence organ in China.

A brief statement from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection was released earlier today, saying only that Ma Jian is under investigation for serious violations of discipline and law.

This is the stock statement used by authorities to announce that an official is under investigation for graft.

Chinese President Xi Jinping this week proclaimed the Party's year-long crackdown on graft is not going away.

Resue and Research Work Continues after Boat Sank in China's Yangtze River

The Chinese government has launched an investigation in the wake of the likely-drowning of 22 people, including 8 foreign nationals, in the Yangtze River.

A tug boat with 25-people onboard went down in the lower reaches of the Yangtze on Thursday night.

Three people managed to survive.

Four Singaporeans, an Indonesian, a Malaysian , an Indian and a Japanese national are among the missing.

The tug boat was conducting testing on the Fubei Channel near the city of Jingjiang when it went down.

Swift currents and bad weather are hampering the search for the missing.

Belgium raises alert level after raid on terror suspects

Belgium has raised its national terror threat alert level following a raid on suspected terror suspects.

The western European country is on its second highest alert following a raid in the town of Verviers which has seen two suspects killed and another taken into custody.

Belgian authorities say the suspects had been under surveillance since their return from Syria a week ago.

It's believed the suspects were about to launch an attack when the raid took place.

S. Korea, Japan to hold talks on "comfort women"

Senior diplomats from South Korea and Japan are set to hold talks in Tokyo on Monday to discuss the issue of "comfort women."

The meeting this coming week will be the 6th session since the two sides started talking about Japan's war-time sex slavery issue last year.

Japan's military enslaved thousands of women during their occupation of the Korean Penninsula and its subsequent invasion of China and other parts of Asia in World War II.

The issue is one of the key historical sticking points which have held up relations among Japan and its neighbors for years.

Japan's Okayama starts culling 200,000 chickens after bird flu confirmed

Japanese authorities have begun slaughtering some 200-thousand chickens at a farm in western Japan amid an outbreak of the Bird Flu.

Local authorities have already imposed a quarantine within a 3-kilometer radius of the farm.

This is the fourth avian influenza outbreak detected in Japan this winter.

Okayama is the fourth largest chicken egg producing prefecture in Japan, with around 10 million chickens.

Newspaper Picks

XINHUA

Xi's advice to youngsters on dealing with stress draws debate

Chinese President Xi Jinping has advised young people to avoid staying up late or becoming too stressed at work when meeting the country's county-level officials.

The advice has drawn heated response from Internet users on microblog Weibo after the anecdote and video were posted on People's Daily's official account.

In the video, Xi recalled the huge pressures county officials must bear, speaking from experience as a county Party chief early in his career.

The post has elicited more than 8-thosuand "thumbs-up" by microbloggers and attracted many comments.

User Linxiaojianxia endorsed Xi's advice saying it is true that "We should leave whatever is unfinished by midnight to the next day."

A microblogger "Mengxie" who expressed discontent with her own job, "No one wants to stay up late working, but it happens if you choose the wrong job."

--

CHINA DAILY

Panda center facing scrutiny

Questions have been raised about the Shaanxi Rare Wildlife Rescue and Breeding Research Center in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, which has been earning money by displaying rescued pandas - some of which later became sick and have since died.

It has been reported that the center saved eight seriously injured pandas in the wild and then put them on display in a cage at the center.

The report says that the pandas should be sent back to the wild after they have recovered and questioned whether the center is suitable for keeping wild animals.

Four of the rescued pandas have been diagnosed with distemper, a highly contagious virus, and two of them have since died.

It has been confirmed that the center kept 25 pandas before the epidemic, eight of which were rescued by the center from the wild after they were seriously injured.

--

THE WASHINGTON POST

Authorities investigate Maryland parents who let kids walk home alone

A Maryland couple that believes in "free-range parenting" said they are being investigated for child neglect after police picked up their children, ages 6 and 10, walking home alone from a park.

The children were returned to their home and police reportedly talked to the parents about the dangers of the world.

The parents said they would not let their son and daughter walk home alone if they didn't think they were ready.

Also, a local child protective agency reportedly followed up and forced the parents to sign a safety plan acknowledging that they would not let the kids go out unsupervised. The parents resisted at first, but the agency threatened that if they refused, the kids would be removed from the home. They later signed the plan.

The agency, which does not comment on current investigations, reportedly followed up and began an investigation, requesting to examine the house and even interviewing the children at school.

--

METRONEWS (Canada)

Stress is 'barrier to feeling empathy for strangers'

Stress is the reason why we find it hard to empathize with someone we do not know, researchers suggest.

In separate tests in mice and people, empathy towards strangers increased when stress hormones were blocked by a drug.

Playing a fun video game with a stranger was found to have a similar effect to the drug.

The Canadian and American research team published their findings in Current Biology.

Previous studies have shown that the ability to feel or share someone else's pain is not something unique to humans. Mice can feel empathy too.

But in both species, empathy is stronger between those that recognize each other and all but absent between those unfamiliar with each other.

Stress levels have also been shown to rise in both mice and people in the presence of strangers.

 Special Reports

Meet in Beijing Arts Festival to feature Canada in 2016

Anchor: It's been announced next year's "Meet in Beijing" Arts Festival is going to feature Canada as the guest country in 2016, with organizers saying the country's involvement should help diversify Beijing's art calendar with more Canadian elements.

CRI's Liu Xiangwei has the details.

Reporter:

From medical doctor Norman Bethune to standing comedian Mark Henry Rowswell, there are many household Canadian names in China. But beyond that, most Chinese may limit their imagination about Canada in merely maple leaves, cold weather and strong liquor.

2016 Meet in Beijing Arts Festival will feature Canada as its guest country, presenting a kaleidoscope of Canadian culture to Chinese people, and vice versa.

Zhang Yu, president of the China Arts and Entertainment Group, main organizer of the event.

"We'll cooperate with the three musical festivals in Canada, building a long-time exchange platform for Canadian and Chinese arts. We'll introduce the art of performance, exhibitions, movies and TV programs from Canada, and we'll also bring Chinese culture, especially cuisine culture to Canada."

Running throughout the month of May each year, the annual Meet in Beijing Arts Festival has a month-long programme of theatre, music and dance in China's capital. It has become a highlight in Beijing's art and culture circle, attracting millions of visitors each year.

This is not the first time the two countries have had cultural exchanges.

(Co-organized by the China Arts and Entertainment Group and the Canadian Fund for International Understanding through Culture, which both organizers for the 2016 Meet in Beijing. )

The Chinese Folk Culture Festival was held in Canada in 2014 bringing hundreds of Chinese folk artists to demonstrate China's intangible cultural heritage such as clay sculptures, paper-cutting and embroidery.

Nelly Ng, President of the Canadian Fund for International Understanding through Culture, is a Chinese-Canadian and full-time medical doctor. She says what inspired her to start working on the bilateral cultural exchanges was a trip back to China in the 1980s.

"It was in the 1980s when I first came back to China. I was shocked by the profound culture and history of this country. And I decided to introduce it to Canada, which is my second home. Canada is more than maple leaves. We have diverse cultures, too, such as modern arts, sculpture, ceramic, music, etc. Next year I believe Chinese people will have more chances to get a glimpse."

Although preparatory work is just beginning, several local music troupes in Canada including the famous Toronto Symphony Orchestra have already set dates for their appearance at the festival.

BACK ANCHOR:

CRI's Liu Xiangwei reporting.

  Sports

Asian Cup: Jordan Thrashes Palestine 5-1.

In the latest round of Asian cup action:

Jordan has thrashed Palestine, 5-1.

And Iraq are playing Japan (update score).

Australian Striker Tomi Juric rejects deal with Shanghai Shenhua

Australian striker Tomi Juric has rejected a lucrative three-year deal with Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua and will instead opt to move to a European club to continue his football career.

Juric looked destined to sign a deal worth 14 million U.S. dollars over three years with Shanghai Shenhua and allegedly had a verbal agreement with the club's president that he would sign by Thursday evening.

That followed successful discussions between his current club, Western Sydney, and Shanghai Shenhua, in which a 1.2 million dollar transfer fee was agreed.

However, after talking with Socceroos manager Ange Postecoglou, the 23-year-old has stalled on a move to China and will instead attempt to force through a transfer to a European club at the end of the current A-League season.

Juric scored just his second senior international goal in Australia's 4-0 victory over Oman at the Asian Cup on Tuesday.

He also scored the decisive goal in Western Sydney's historic Asian Champions League final victory over Saudi Arabian side Al- Hilal last year.

Tennis: Viktor Troicki to face Mikhail Kukushkin in Sydney International

Viktor Troicki will face Kazakhstan qualifier Mikhail Kukushkin in the final of the Sydney International.

The Serbian beat Luxembourg's Gilles Muller in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4.

Earlier Kukushkin had also secured a straight-sets victory when he beat Leonardo Mayer 6-4, 6-4.

The pair will play in Saturday's final ahead of the start of next week's Australian Open.

Tennis: Latest from Kooyong Classic

And in other tennis action, from the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne:

Fernando Verdasco, of Spain, beat Alexandr Dolgopolov, of Ukraine, 7-6, 7-3.

Tennis: Latest from the Hobart International

In tennis action, from the Hobart international in Canberra:

Heather Watson, Britain, beat 8th seeded Alison Riske, United States, 6-3, 7-5.

Golf: Webb Simpson tied with Paul Casey at 8-under 62.

In golf action, from the Sony open in Hawaii:

Webb Simpson has made his debut with a conventional putter at the Sony Open and might have wished he had used one sooner.

One year away from the new rule that outlaws anchored strokes, Simpson ditched his belly putter for a regular one for his 2015 debut and ran off eight birdies over his last 10 holes for an 8-under 62 that gave him a share of the lead with Paul Casey.

Camilo Villegas would have joined them at 62 except for failing to make birdie on the par-5 18th hole. He shot 29 on the front at Waialae before cooling slightly for a 63. Robert Streb also had a 63, the low score from the afternoon.

Rory Sabbatini had a 64, while Jason Day, Matt Kuchar were in the group at 65. Defending champion Jimmy Walker played in the afternoon and was in the large group at 66.

Golf: McIlroy shoots 5 under 67 at HSBC Golf Champs in Abu Dhabi

Rory McIlroy overcame a slow start to shoot a five-under 67 in the opening round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, three strokes behind leader Martyn Kaymer.

McIlroy, who finished second at the UAE capital's tournament in three of the past four years, ended the day level with playing partner Rickie Fowler who was making his Middle East debut.

They trail Kaymer (64), Belgium's Thomas Pieters (65) and five players on 66 including Briton Tyrrell Hatton and French duo Gregory Bourdy and Alexander Levy.

U.S. Open champion Kaymer - a three-time Abu Dhabi winner - was one the few late starters to thrive on a sweltering, blustery afternoon, sinking 10 birdies.

NBA: LeBron lifts Cavs over Lakers, 109-102.

It was a light schedule in the NBA today:

LeBron James scored 36 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers snapped their six-game losing streak with a 109-102 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night despite Kobe Bryant's 19 points and career-high 17 assists.

And over in Los Angeles:

O.J. Mayo scored 22 points, Brandon Knight had 20 points and six steals, and the Milwaukee Bucks routed New York 95-79 on Thursday night, extending the Knicks' franchise-record losing streak to 16.

And over in Houston:

James Harden scored 15 of his 31 points in the first quarter and the Rockets won 112-101 against the struggling Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Rockets led 40-18 after one and didn't trail again to bounce back after a loss to Orlando on Wednesday night that snapped a four-game winning streak.

Harden came just short of a triple-double with 10 assists and nine rebounds. Trevor Ariza added 17 points and four steals for Houston.

IOC announces 2024 bidding process

The International Olympic Committee has announced that the bid process for 2024 Olympic Games gets underway with new Invitation Phase.

It's the first bid process following the adoption of Olympic Agenda 2020 earlier last month in Monaco.

According to the IOC "strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement", interested National Olympic Committees and potential bid cities are invited to discuss their initial ideas with IOC before officially committing to a bid.

The countries having expressed their interest in hosting the 2024 Olympic Games are Germany, Italy and the United States.

Entertainment

Stars share their happiness at Oscar awards nominations

Stars at the Critics Choice Awards last night shared their happiness about their Oscar nominations.

The nominations for the Academy Awards were released earlier on in the day.

Reese Witherspoon is in the running for the Best Actress Academy Award for "Wild."　Witherspoon won the Oscar in 2006 for "Walk the Line."

"Well I'm so excited. This film from beginning to right to this moment has been my baby. It's my first movie I produced and I'm just so thrilled - not only to get these wonderful nominations, which will hopefully help more people see the film, but that the movie is doing so well."

"Boyhood" actress Patricia Arquette was also honored to receive her very first Oscar nomination after nearly three decades in the business. She's nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category.

"The Academy, it's like the cream of the crop, It's very difficult to become a member and they've all contributed so much to cinema. For them to recognize this movie, our work. I never imagined in a million years I would experience this, ever."

"Boyhood" received six Oscar nominations - Best Picture; Supporting Actor and Actress; Writing; Editing and Directing.

The Academy Awards will be held on Sunday 22 February at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

List showing Chinese female celebrities paychecks revealed

A list showing how much Chinese female celebrities are paid for their work in film and television has been revealed.

In the film sector, Hong Kong based actress Maggie Cheung topped the list with a paycheck of 20 million yuan per film. Cheung has not acted in films since 2010 and made a transition to the music industry in 2014.

On the small screen, actress Sun Li led with a paycheck of 870-thousand yuan per episode. Sun's stardom and pay skyrocketed after she played the role of Zhen Huan in the TV series The Legend of Zhen Huan in 2012.

Actresses Zhou Xun, Zhao Wei and Fan Bingbing all charged 30 million yuan as a whole for their participation in TV series.

Zhou's performance in her latest TV series, Red Sorghum, based on the novel of the same title by Chinese Nobel Laureate Mo Yan, was highly praised by the author himself for her immaculate grasp of the character's inner turmoil.

Brit awards nominations released

Stars of British music have gathered in London for the announcement of the 2015 Brit Awards nominees.

Leading the way this year is soul singer Sam Smith who has five nods.

The singer is up for best male, best album and best newcomer. He is closely followed by Ed Sheeran and George Ezra who each received four nominations.

In the best British group category, Coldplay will battle against mega boy band One Direction.

While the international group category features The Black Keys, Foo Fighters and First Aid Kit.

Last month, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift and Sam Smith were announced as the performers for the ceremony.

This year's ceremony will take place in London's 02 arena on 25th February.

Chinese Pop Singer Yao Beina has died

Chinese pop singer Yao Beina has died.

The star had been receiving emergency treatment for breast cancer.

The 33-year-old singer gained fame through her appearance on the Voice of China. She has many hit songs including the theme song for popular Chinese TV series – Legend of Zhen Huan.

Yao's doctor said she suffered multiple organ dysfunctions as the cancer had spread to her brain and lungs.

Yao's agent has revealed that before her death the singer had signed a cornea donation agreement.

Katy Perry denies paying for Super Bowl slot

Katy Perry has denied paying for her Super Bowl half time show slot.

Reports claimed that the NFL invited the management of Coldplay, Katy Perry and Rihanna to submit bids to play the show.

However Katy Perry has denied paying for her slot. In an interview, the star said she wouldn't mind if people saw her contract as there was nothing to hide.

The half time performance gives artists an enormous amount of exposure leading to high concert ticket sales and record sales.

Bruno Mars put tickets to his tour on sale the Monday after his 2014 performance. The star went on to gross 43 million dollars in tour revenue by the middle of last year.

The Super Bowl will take place on February 1st at Glendale, Arizona's University of Phoenix station.