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

Coming up on the programme this evening:

China's first circuit court to hear Supreme Court cases has opened in Shenzhen.

Greece's new Prime Minister says his country will not default on its debts.

Last ditch talks between Japanese and Jordanian officials have been taking place to try to save the life of a pair of hostages being held by the Islamic State.

In business.... new analysis suggesting the downturn of China's property sector is likely to slow a bit this year.

In sports... Serena Williams blows her way into the Semi-Finals at the Australian Open.

In entertainment.... the last installment in The Hobbit series dominating the Chinese box office.

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

 

 

Weather

 

 

Beijing will be overcast tonight, with a low of minus 5. But the sunny spell continues in the Chinese capital with a high of 4 degrees tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Shanghai will see slight rains tonight, with a low of 3. The wet weather continues tomorrow with a high of 6.

Chongqing will also have slight rains tonight, 8 degrees the lowest, and those in Chongqing will have to carry their umbrella's tomorrow as it will be mostly raining, but it's a high of 9 degrees out there.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia

Islamabad, sunny tomorrow with a high of 24.

Kabul, cloudy at 6.

Over in Australia

Sydney, windy, high of 24.

Canberra, cloudy, 22.

Brisbane, cloudy, 29.

Finally, Perth will be cloudy with a high of 35.

 

 

Top News

 

 

The first circuit court of Supreme People's Court Unveils in Shenzhen

 

Anchor:

China's Supreme People's Court has unveiled its first circuit court in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

The details from CRI's Wang Mengzhen.

Reporter:

The president of China's Supreme People's Court, along with provincial officials in Guangdong, took part in a ceremony which has unveiled the nameplate of the court during the inauguration.

Nine presiding judges, along with four other officials selected by the Supreme Court, have been sworn-in to take part in cases in the court.

The new circuit court in Shenzhen will hear administrative, civil and commercial cases from the country's south, including Guangxi, Guangdong and Hainan.

It's designed to save litigants time and money, instead of being forced to travel to Beijing.

He Xiaorong is the director of the Supreme People's Court's Judicial Reform Office.

"All the judicial decisions, including judgments, adjudications and decisions, made by the circuit court are just as valid as the Supreme Court decisions in Beijing."

Presiding judges in the circuit courts will be rotated every two years in an attempt to avoid creating binding personal interests with local officials.

Liu Guixiang is the chief judge of the Shenzhen circuit court.

"Our principle is that presiding judges who hear the case will be fully responsible. As such, the court head and deputy heads will no longer review the case. Instead, the presiding judge needs to both hear and review the case."

Aside from hearing cases in Shenzhen, Liu Guixiang says the circuit court will also travel to Hainan and Guangxi to hear local cases.

"When we visit Hainan and Guangxi, we will borrow facilities from local courts and have public hearings there. On top of this, we will send out presiding judges and other staffers to hold receptions. This will represent the features of 'circuit court', which are meant to tackle the local people's disputes and make litigation more convenient."

A second circuit court is slated to open later this month in the city of Shenyang to cover China's northeast.

The No.2 Circuit court will be in charge of cases in Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning.

The creation of the circuit courts is part of the Chinese government's broader attempts to make the justice system more accountable and more trusted by the public.

For CRI, I am Wang Mengzhen.

 

 

Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Committee to be Held in Taipei

 

Another Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Committee meeting is set for tomorrow (Thursday) in Taipei.

The meetings this week are being done in advance of a meeting between the mainland's top Taiwan affairs official and his counterpart from Taiwan on the island of Kinmen next week.

Zhang Zhijun is due to meet with Taiwan's mainland affairs chief, Wang Yu-chi.

A year ago, Wang Yu-chi became one of the highest-ranking officials from Taiwan to visit the mainland since the two sides split in the civil war in the late 1940s.

Kinmen, located just a few kilometers off the mainland coast, was a war-time frontline area between the mainland and Taiwan in the 1950s and 1960s.

Administered by authorities on Taiwan, Kinmen is now a popular tourist spot.

 

 

New PM says Greece will not default

 

New Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says his country will not default on its debts.

Addressing his first cabinet meeting since being elected on Sunday, the head of the left-wing Syriza party does say he wants to negotiate with the country's creditors to re-tool Greece's 240 billion euro bailout package.

Syriza stormed into power in Sunday's vote in Greece amid promises to do-away with the austerity measures currently being imposed on the country.

However, the European Union is warning Tsipras' new government to stick to its creditor commitments.

Greece has been going through a series of budget cuts in return for the bailout it negotiated with the so-called troika of lenders - the European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank.

 

 

Secret talks held in Jordan to free IS hostages

 

Secret talks are being held in Jordan to try to secure the freedom of Japanese national Kenji Goto and a Jordanian pilot being threatened with death by the Islamic State.

The militants have issued a 24-hour ultimatum to bend to their demands, or see the two men beheaded.

In a video released Tuesday, the Islamic State warns Goto has "only 24 hours left to live."

At the same time, they say a Jordanian pilot captured after being shot down in December, has "even less" time.

The militants are demanding Jordanian authorities release an Iraqi woman being held on death row for her involvement in a militant attack in Jordan in 2005 which left 60 people dead.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has chaired an emergency cabinet meeting in the fallout from the new threat.

"This was an extremely despicable act and we feel strong indignation. We strongly condemn that. While this is a tough situation, our policy remains unchanged in seeking cooperation from the Jordanian government for the early release of Mr. Goto. "

Islamic State militants have already beheaded another Japanese hostage, 42-year-old Haruna Yukawa, after the Japanese government refused to pay a 200-million US dollar ransom.

 

 

European Union's Anti-terror Chief Call for Rehabilitate rather than Punish

 

The European Union's anti-terror chief is suggesting certain prisons have become "incubators of radicalization".

EU counter-terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove is calling on prison systems in countries to rehabilitate rather than punish, saying suspects need to be given a chance to re-integrate back into society.

"Those who have blood on their hands, where we have the evidence that they were with a terrorist organization, we have to bring them to court and convict them. And the rest, where we have suspicion but we don't know, let's monitor them discreetly."

Kerchove is also calling for the creation of "disengagement programmes" to deal with anyone who is lured to fight with the Jihadists.

 

 

Mexico Official says all 43 missing students dead

 

Mexico's attorney general says they now have concrete proof showing 43 college students who disappeared in the southern state of Guerrero in September are dead.

This is the first time Mexican authorities declared all of the students dead.

Jesus Karam says they're now working with evidence showing the students were murdered, and their bodies burned.

He says they've come to this conclusion after nearly 100 interviews, including members of the drug cartel who did the killing after the students were handed over to them by local police.

"These and many other elements retrieved during the investigation allowed us to generate a logical, reasonable analysis and conclude, without a doubt, that the teachers' college students were deprived of their freedom, killed, incinerated and thrown into the San Juan river, in that order. This is the historical truth of the facts."

However, many of the families of the students are still refusing to believe the government.

So far the remains of only one student have been identified.

The students disappeared while on their way to protest at a political rally being held by a local mayor in Guerrero.

The mayor and his wife are now facing charges they ordered local police to break up the planned demonstration before it began.

 

 

Blizzard pounds US North East, New York spared its brunt

 

Snow is still falling in parts of the US state of New England, where a blizzard continues to roll through.

The city of Boston is the worst hit, with some areas of the city buried under 3-feet of snow.

Storm-driven coastal flooding is adding to the problems, with low-lying towns south of Boston seeing flood damage.

The storm has also piled up snow on the neighboring states of Connecticut and Massachusetts.

However, most parts of New York City, which had been warned to brace for a massive storm, were mostly spared from the worst of the storm.

"This snow is crazy. We're okay because we thought we were going to wake up with no power maybe, possibly. So, you know, this is better than what we expected."

Officials in New York are coming under fire for being too dramatic in their concerns about the storm.

The New York City subway system was shut down for 10 hours in advance of the storm, the first time in the city's history the underground has been shut down because of a snow storm.

The US National Weather Service has since gone on-record admitting it over-estimated the power of the storm.

 

 

China and African Union sign a memorandum on infrastucture cooperations

 

China and the African Union have signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation on major infrastructure networks and the broader industrialization process in Africa.

The MOU covers high speed rail, aviation and highways construction.

Chinese deputy Foreign Minister Zhang Ming.

"China and Africa share traditional goodwill and the willingness to cooperate. Secondly, Africa is in the early stages of its rise, including its economic development, infrastructure construction and industrialization. This means Africa has large demand. China has a lot of experience and mature technologies in areas of high speed railways, highways, aviation and industrialization."

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma is the chair of the AU Commission.

"We think this memorandum of understanding is really the first agreement that we are signing on the basis of agenda 2063. And we are looking at it as a long-term project and we are looking at it as a project that could benefit both our peoples and it will accelerate our integration. So I'm very excited."

A number of projects connected to the new agreement have already been completed in countries including Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and Djibouti.

 

 

Chinese man pleads guilty to bus arson

 

A Chinese man pleaded guilty to setting a bus on fire in the city of Hangzhou in July which left 33 injured.

Bao Laixu says he set the bus on fire as an act of revenge against society, saying he wanted to end his own life because of relapse of tuberculosis.

The defendant himself suffered extensive burns in the fire, forcing him to have his feet amputated.

Bao is still in hospital, along with two other passengers on the bus.

His sentence has yet to be announced.

 

 

Guards penalized after prisoner uses app to blackmail women

 

14 people working at a provincial prison in Heilongjiang have been punished after a prisoner was able to use a smartphone to blackmail several women.

The governor and political commissar at Nehe prison in the city of Tsitsihar have been removed from their positions.

Prosecutors say three guards are also being looked-at for suspected negligence and abuse of power.

Security checks are being carried out at all provincial prisons in Heilongjiang, with the case exposing loopholes in prison management.

 

 

Palace Museum to Set Daily Maximum Tourist Number

 

Authorities in charge of the Forbidden City are considering setting a daily limit of 80-thousand visitors.

People in charge of the Palace Museum say the move is being made, in part, to protect the collections and the architecture.

But they also admit it's connected to concerns about stampedes, such as the one in Shanghai on New Year's Eve.

The restrictions to visitors to the Forbidden City are likely to be enacted later this year.

Authorities are also actively encouraging pre-booking and internet-booking to help control crowd numbers.

The Palace Museum is planning to offer 50-percent off the ticket price for internet-bookings during the off season, which runs from November 1 to March 31.

Over the past three years, the museum has entertained more than 15-million visitors, with the highest daily total reaching around 180-thousand.

 

 

Taiwan culls over 1.3 million birds to contain worst bird flu outbreak in a decade

 

An island-wide 4-day cull of chickens in Taiwan has come to an end.

Authorities in Taiwan have culled more than 1.3 million birds across the island in an attempt to stop the spread of the bird flu that has been sweeping across the island.

While the mass cull has put a strain on local farmers, local health authorities say the move will pay off in the long run.

"The ban on slaughtering poultry is, indeed, causing some inconvenience for the industry. But we're telling them that instead of storing up trouble for the future, it's better to suffer short-term pain for these four days."

Officials on the island say the current outbreak is the worst seen there in a decade.

 

 

China's IT industry vows to develop self-dependent software

 

The Chinese IT industry is asking the government for help to develop more self-dependent software.

The call has been made at an IT industry development conference here in Beijing.

Mei Hong with the Chinese Academy of Sciences contends China has always been big, but not strong, in the field of software.

"Speaking of the problem, the core question lies in the lack of basic and pivotal techonology. We should help enterprise have a clear understanding on demand, help the universities and research institutes foster talents and set up a sound independent system."

Yi Cundao with BES Software suggests one of the things the government should be looking at is providing more support for domestic companies from the market perspective.

"It is quite important for China to find out how to offer support in the market. Only by using domestic software in our native systems can we really begin to improve on what we're making. And when the government calls for improvements in Chinese software, it needs to be sure the systems being built can accommodate our domestically-produced software."

When it comes to supporting Chinese IT companies, the government has already been moving to include tax cuts and tax exemptions in a bid to create more home-grown innovation.

 

 

Biz Reports

 

 

Anchor:

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

Joining me on the desk is Poornima Weerasekara.

Reporter:

Mainland markets ended in negative territory, despite a brief rebound in the afternoon session led by securities and banking stocks.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped nearly one and a half percent.

The Shenzhen Component Index lost nearly 2 percent.

The securities sector rallied by nearly 2 percent in the afternoon session, but failed to hold onto the gains, ending the day down half a percent as a sector.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng, Singapore's Straits Times and the Japanese Nikkei all added one-fifth of a percent.

South Korea's KOSPI rose nearly half a percent;

And the Australian ASX 200 finished virtually flat.

 

 

China's Property Sales to See Narrower Decline

 

Moody's is forecasting the slowdown in property sales in China is going to ease up somewhat this year, but that property sales are still going to decline.

The ratings agency expects property sales to slump around 5-percent this year.

Property sales in China dropped 8-percent last year.

Moody's also says property prices will remain under pressure, with developers pushing incentives to boost sales.

Twenty-three major Chinese cities registered a more than 5-percent year-on-year decline in housing prices last year.

Policy changes, including fewer restrictions on home purchases, eased mortgage rules and an interest rate cut have been used to avoid a sharp slowdown in the sector.

It's estimated 9 out of 10 new homes currently on the market remain unsold.

 

 

Shanghai Banking Regulator tighten checks on lending to developers

 

Anchor:

Shanghai's banking regulator is ordering lenders in the city to run stress tests on credit for real estate development.

Governments in several cities, including Shanghai and Shenzhen, have been blocking the sale of properties linked to a number of developers, including Kaisa Group and state-owned China Overseas Land and Investment.

Those two developers are going through a credit crunch, with lenders refusing to extend more loans to them in the face of the sharp downturn in the property market.

As such, property developers have been attempting to sell assets to remain solvent, but are being blocked by officials in an attempt to protect their creditors.

For more on all this, the Beijing Hour's Shane Bigham spoke earlier with Ben Cavender, Principal at China Market Research based in Shanghai.

 

 

First Five-Star Hotel Announces Bankruptcy in China

 

The Cixi Landison Plaza Hotel in the eastern city of Ningbo has filed for bankruptcy.

It has become the first 5-star hotel in China to go under.

The Landison Plaza has debt worth around 450-million yuan, or some 70-million US dollars.

The hotel, which won an award just 2-years ago, was built with an initial investment of 260-million US dollars.

High-end hotels in China have seen a dramatic downturn in occupancy over the past couple of years amid the government's austerity drive among officials.

Zhao Huanyan is a Chinese hotel consultant.

"Five-star hotels are facing the fact that supply exceeded demand. So now all high-end hotels are trying to mark down their prices as a way to attract consumers. But what I feel they need to do is be more innovative and diversify their products and services. They should be upgrading their management and be promoting direct sales."

There are an estimated 850 5-star hotels currently operating in China.

 

 

LKS seeks huge loan deal

 

Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong Holdings and Hutchison Whampoa are reportedly looking for direct financing worth some 7 billion US dollars.

Hong Kong's richest man is hoping to use the money to complete the separation of his property assets into two separate companies.

Li Ka-shing is splitting up his property division into two separate entities.

He's hoping to secure the 7-billion dollar loan to do that sometime in March.

Li Ka-shing has reportedly approached upward of 40-banks in China, Japan and Europe for the money.

 

 

M&A activity reaches record high

 

New analysis shows mergers and acquisitions in China hit a record high last year, both in the number of deals and their total value.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers says most of the M&As have been in the real estate, technology, consumer and financial services sectors.

PwC says consolidation of various domestic industries as the economy becomes transformed is one of the key factors behind the increase in M&A's.

At the same time, the report says merger and acquisition activity is likely to be just as brisk this year, noting the reform of the State Owned Enterprise sector is going to lead to more consolidations.

The PriceWaterhouseCoopers report also says private companies will lead the outbound charge in mergers and acquisitions.

 

 

China's Car Ownership Hits Record 154 Million

 

New figures released by the government show a record of 17 million new cars were put on the road last year, an increase of some 20-percent.

There are now an estimated 154 million private vehicles on the road in China.

Personal vehicles now make up around 60-percent of all the vehicles on the road.

The Ministry of Public Security estimates there are 25 private cars on the road for every 100 households in the country.

Right now 8-cities in China have restrictions on car licensing.

A number of additional municipal governments are also considering limiting license plates to keep the number of vehicles on the road down.

 

 

Yahoo rallies as firm reveals plan to spin off remaining Alibaba stake

 

Yahoo has announced plans to spin off its remaining stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.

Observers are suggesting the move could save Yahoo 16-billion US dollars in taxes.

The company says its transferring its remaining 15-percent stake in Alibaba into a new unit called "SpinCo".

Shares of the new unit will then be distributed to current Yahoo shareholders.

Yahoo will retain its cash holdings from the deal, and the spin-off unit will not take on any new debt as part of the transaction.

The deal is expected to be finished by the fourth quarter after a lock-up agreement restricting a sale of the shares expires.

 

 

Apple profit hits record on iPhone sales

 

The latest quarterly results from Apple shows the company made some 18-billion US dollars in profits this past quarter on the back of iPhone6 sales.

Apple estimates it sold 74.5 million iPhones during the last 3-months of last year, well ahead of most analysts' expectations.

Analysts say the surge in sales is expected to be maintained for a while before it eases down.

Apple also says its highly anticipated wearable devices, including the Apple Watch, are expected to begin shipping in April.

 

 

LeTV Advances to Smartphone Industry

 

Chinese smart TV manufacturer LeTV has announced plans to enter the smartphone sector.

LeTV is planning to establish a subsidiary to deal specifically with smartphone research, development and manufacturing.

Feng Xing, a former vice-president of Lenovo, will take charge of the new business.

The company hasn't said when it's going to launch its first smartphone.

LeTV already deals with a broad spectrum of services, covering video streaming, entertainment, television production, smart terminals and e-commerce.

 

 

Headline News

 

 

The first circuit court of Supreme People's Court Unveils in Shenzhen

 

China's Supreme People's Court has unveiled its first circuit court in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

The new circuit court in Shenzhen will hear administrative, civil and commercial cases from the country's south, including Guangxi, Guangdong and Hainan.

It's designed to save litigants time and money, instead of being forced to travel to Beijing.

Aside from hearing cases in Shenzhen, the circuit court will also travel to Hainan and Guangxi to hear local cases.

A second circuit court is slated to open later this month in the city of Shenyang to cover China's northeast.

 

 

New PM says Greece will not default

 

New Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says his country will not default on its debts.

Addressing his first cabinet meeting since being elected on Sunday, the head of the left-wing Syriza party does say he wants to negotiate with the country's creditors to re-tool Greece's 240 billion euro bailout package.

Syriza stormed into power in Sunday's vote in Greece amid promises to do-away with the austerity measures currently being imposed on the country.

However, the European Union is warning Tsipras' new government to stick to its creditor commitments.

 

 

Five foreigners killed in Tripoli hotel attack

 

Officials say 10 people, including five foreigners, are confirmed dead following a Tuesday attack on a luxury hotel in the Libyan capital, Tripoli.

The attack, which included a car bombing, struck the Corinthia Hotel, a popular tourist hotel situated along the Mediterranean.

A senior US State Department official has confirmed the death of one American.

Few other details have been forthcoming at this point.

A group associating itself with the Islamic State has claimed credit for the attack,

 

 

Envoys of US, SKorea and Japan meet on NKorea nuclear issue

 

Envoys from the United States, South Korea and Japan have met in Tokyo for talks on North Korea.

They are expected to discuss ways to resume the six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions.

The meeting comes amid deterioration in US-DPRK relations after Washington imposed additional sanctions on Pyongyang earlier this month over the Sony Pictures cyber attack which it claims was carried out by North Korea.

North Korea has denied any involvement in the Sony hack.

 

 

Newspaper Picks

 

 

CHINA DAILY

"Shanghai couples urged to have more children"

Family planning officials in Shanghai have called on the city's residents to have more babies as an unexpectedly small percentage of couples have sought permission for a second child despite the relaxation of China's one-child policy.

A local official said 90 percent of the city's women of child-bearing age are allowed to have a second baby, but only 5 per cent have submitted applications.

The high cost of raising children and women's fear of an abrupt halt to their career development are said to be the major reasons behind the unusually small number of applications.

China amended its one-child policy in December 2013, allowing couples to have a second baby if either parent is an only child.

In many other cities such as Beijing and Guangzhou, couples qualified to have a second child are also far fewer than expected.

SINA ENGLISH

"Ratio of guide dogs to visually impaired in Beijing shockingly low"

A new report shows Beijing, a city home to more than 67-thousand blind people, has only 10 guide dogs and they are often unwelcome on public transportation.

A celebrity guide dog named Lucky made headlines when he led torchbearer Ping Yali, who suffers from partial blindness, at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games' opening ceremony.

Yet Lucky was refused entry to various Beijing subway lines or restaurants on many occasions, despite explanations from his owner.

Beijing will allow guide dogs to board subway lines starting from May 1. Visually impaired passengers will be able to take guide dogs into the subway if they provide a certificate of visual difficulty and a guide-dog license.

So far, there are about 3 to 4 million guide dogs in the world, but China only has less than 100 ones.

CHINA ECONOMIC NET

"China's SAIC Criticizes Alibaba Over Fake Goods"

China's largest business-to-consumer platform taobao.com has issued an open letter on its Weibo account, publicly accusing the State Administration for Industry and Commerce or Sairegulator of abusing their power and ruining the reputation of Taobao.

According to a recent survey commissioned by the SAIC, less than 40 percent of surveyed commodities sold on taobao.com were authentic.

In the letter, penned by an anonymous employee, Taobao questioned the poll's sampling method and its test standards, claiming that the regulator issued the survey results without giving the e-commerce giant a chance to appeal.

Regarding Taobao's challenge, SAIC issued an immediate response, stressing that all the activities they conducted was in line with the law.

Taobao plays a pioneering role in the e-commerce industry, which is transforming consumers' shopping habits. However, an increasing number of consumers are complaining about the fake goods sold online.

Taobao said it would like to cooperate with the SAIC to crack down on counterfeits.

--

BBC

"Australia launches scheme to tackle domestic violence"

Australia plans to set up a national scheme to address family violence and violence against women.

The aim is to establish uniform guidelines for prosecuting domestic violence cases across all states.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has urged the Council of Australian Governments, the peak inter-governmental forum, to reach agreement on a plan this year.

One Australian woman dies every week as a result of domestic violence, according to government statistics.

Mr. Abbott's announcement comes three days after a campaigner against domestic violence, Rosie Batty, whose son Luke was killed in public by his father last February while playing cricket.

Activists say Ms. Batty's ability to explain why so many women struggle to protect their children from violent partners helped make family violence a key campaign issue for all political parties in last November's Victoria state election.

 

 

Special Reports

 

 

Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan on Year of Friendly Exchanges

 

Anchor:

A series of events are set to take place this year to mark the China-Pakistan Year of Friendly Exchanges.

Activities promoting cultural exchanges among young people, the media and think tanks are being put together.

For more on the cross-promotion, CRI's Qian Shanming caught up with Sun Weidong, China's ambassador to Pakistan.

 

 

Sports

 

 

Tennis: Serena Williams one step closer to 19th Grand Slam title

 

In Tennis action:

Serena Williams has moved one step closer to her 19th Grand Slam title by beating Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 6-2 in 65 minutes to reach the semi-finals at the Australian Open.

The number one-ranked Williams displayed her immense power, reeling off heavy returns that included 58 winners compared to 38 from Cibulkova, last year's runner-up.

Williams offered these thoughts on her victory:

"I feel I played well. I felt I had to. I feel like when you're going up against a player like that who is confident on the court - she just had a few good matches - I knew that I needed to really play well or go home."

Williams played on Rod Laver Arena right after her older sister, Venus, lost her quarter-final to 19-year-old American Madison Keys.

Williams was asked if she would be hitting up her sister for some pointers ahead of the match:

"Oh, for sure I'll ask her. Also ask my coach, who has been steering me these last two weeks. I'm really excited to be in the semis."

The older Williams' defeat dashed hopes for the first Williams sisters semi-final at a Grand Slam in several years.

All five previous times Williams has advanced to the last four she has won the title at Melbourne Park.

 

 

Tennis: Wawrinka downs Nishikori at Aussie Open

 

Defending champion Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland has advanced to the semi-finals of the Australian Open with a straight-sets 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 victory over U.S. Open runner-up Kei Nishikori.

Wawrinka, who beat Rafael Nadal last year in the final for his first and only Grand Slam title, will play either top-seeded Novak Djokovic or Milos Raonic of Canada in the last four on Friday.

Wawrinka and Japan's Nishikori last met in the U.S. Open quarter-finals in 2014 when Nishikori won in five sets.

In the third-set tiebreaker in Melbourne, Wawrinka, the fourth seed, raced to a 4-0 and 6-1 lead before Nishikori saved five match points to level the score at six-all.

But Nishikori, who was seeded fifth, attempted a drop shot that didn't clear the net to set up another match point, which Wawrinka converted with an ace, his 20th of the contest.

1st seed Novak Djokovic has taken down 8th seed Milos Raonic, of Canada, 7-6, 6-4, 6-2.

 

 

Hearing Scheduled for Park Tae-hwan in doping case

 

World swimming governing body FINA has scheduled a hearing on South Korea's star swimmer Park Tae-hwan's doping case in a month.

The Korea Swimming Federation, or KSF, says FINA has informed it that it will hold the hearing in Lausanne, Switzerland on Feb. 27.

FINA has separately told Park's camp about the hearing.

South Korea revealed earlier this week that Park had tested positive for testosterone in July last year.

His Seoul-based agency Team GMP blamed the positive result on an injection given by a local hospital.

The KSF has said Park was tested ahead of the Asian Games, which opened in September, and was notified of the result last October.

TEAM GMP is seeking a legal action against the Seoul-based hospital, and state prosecutors have said Park received a shot of testosterone, a substance banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Prosecutors are considering indicting the doctor who administered the injection, surnamed Kim, on charges of professional negligence.

 

 

CBA: Liaoning to meet Shandong

 

It is a full slate of CBA action tonight:

Jilin Northeast will take on Tianjin;

Dongguan will face Zhejiang Chouzhou;

Qindao is on the road to face Xinjiang;

The Bayi Rockets will take on Guangdong Southern;

Zhejiang Guangsha will battle the Jiangsu Dragons;

Fujian and Shanxi will go head to head;

Jiangsu Tongxi is in the capital to face the Ducks;

The Shanghai Sharks will face the Sichuan Blue Whales;

Guangdong Foshan will take on Chongqing;

And top dogs Liaoning will meet Shandong.

All of those games tip off tonight at 8:00 pm Beijing time.

 

 

NBA: Chicago Bulls get 113-111 victory over Golden State

 

In NBA action:

Derrick Rose hit a step-back jumper with 7 seconds remaining in overtime, and the Chicago Bulls ended Golden State's franchise-record 19-game home winning streak with a thrilling 113-111 victory over the Warriors.

And up in Michigan:

LeBron James had 32 points to help the Cleveland Cavaliers to their seventh straight victory Tuesday night, 103-95 over the Detroit Pistons. Kyrie Irving matched his season high with 38 points in that game.

Other scores now on the books:

Toronto beat out the Indiana Pacers 104-91.

Milwaukee beat the Heat down in Miami, 109-102.

The Memphis Grizzlies took down the Dallas Mavericks 109-90.

And it was the Washington Wizards over the Los Angeles Lakers, 98-92.

 

 

Singapore Open is set to make its return to Asia's golf calendar in 2016.

 

Following a three-year hiatus, the Singapore Open is set to make its return to Asia's golf calendar next year.

Once the richest non-European Tour co-sanctioned tournament in Asia, the Singapore Open fell off the schedule after the withdrawal of British bank Barclays as title sponsor in 2012.

Asian Tour Chairman Kyi Hla Han:

"I think we've always had a great venue here with Sentosa Golf Club. It has been one of the players' favourite golf courses to come and play on, as you've seen before on the champions list, some great players have won this tournament. There is no doubt this tournament is going to get back to that stature as one of the premier events in Asia."

Featuring a pared down U.S. $1,000,000 purse, the Singapore Open will be co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Japan PGA Tour.

 

 

Entertainment

 

 

The Hobbit rules China's Box Office

 

Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is top of this week's China box office ratings.

In the week ending last Sunday, the film grossed nearly 320 million yuan, around 50 million US dollars.

The action fantasy, which wraps up Jackson's six-film franchise that started with The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring opened in Chinese theaters on Friday.

The Hobbit film was followed by Miss Granny, a co-production between China and South Korea with 77 million yuan. The romantic comedy which debuted on January 8, has so far brought a total box office earning of 327 million yuan.

Not far behind was "Seven's Son", a fantasy starring American actor Jeff Bridges and actress Julianne Moore, which earned some 60 million yuan. Its total box office stood at 164 million since the opening day of Jan. 16.

 

 

Taylor Swift's Twitter and Instagram accounts hacked

 

Taylor Swift's Twitter and Instagram accounts have been hacked.

One of the now deleted hacked tweets urged people to follow a Twitter account alleging to be associated with Lizard Squad, a hacking group that has claimed responsibility for several high-profile corporate hacks in the past year including the recent Malaysia Airlines hacking.

The star told fans yesterday after her account had been restored, that Twitter was locking her account and providing her with new passwords.

Swift is the owner of the fourth largest Twitter account with some 50 million followers making this breach one of the biggest in Twitter's history.

The hackers also threatened to leak nude photos of the singer. Swift lashed out at the hackers on Twitter telling them they had nothing to show.

 

 

Ghostbusters to make return with all female cast

 

Ghostbusters is making a return to theaters but this time there's a twist with an all-female cast.

Over the past couple of months there have been plenty of rumours about who will join the cast. But now Director Paul Feig has announced the four leads.

Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon are all currently in negotiation to be the four main leads.

Although these actresses are known for their work in comedy – McKinnon and Jones are currently on Saturday Night Live, Wiig is a former SNL member and McCarthy has done plenty of comedy, the director said he wants the film to be just as scary as it is funny.

Story details are unknown other than the fact that the film centers on the next generation of Ghostbusters who all happen to be female.

The film is set for release in July next year.

 

 

Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett to perform at this year's Grammy awards

 

Lady Gaga has revealed that she and Tony Bennett will perform at the Grammy Awards next month.

The star made the announcement on Twitter yesterday describing her excitement at performing at the awards show.

Gaga and Bennett's duet album Cheek to Cheek is nominated for best traditional pop vocal album. In that category they're up against Annie Lennox, Barry Manilow and Barbra Streisand.

Tony Bennett has taken away Grammy awards from this category 11 times.

Lady Gaga has won 5 Grammys in various categories since 2009 including Best Dance Recording and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

LL Cool J will host the awards show and other performers at the event include Madonna, Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith.

The ceremony will take place on February 8th.

 

 

Film rights for Mr Men and Little Miss characters secured by Fox Animation

 

The film rights for the Mr. Men and Little Miss characters have been secured by Fox Animation.

The Mr. Men and Little Miss books are iconic children's books by Roger Hargreaves. The series went on to feature 85 characters, with over 120 million copies sold with translations in 15 different languages.

Shawn Levy, who produced and directed the Night at the Museum films starring Ben Stiller will produce a movie however no director or writer has been announced as yet.

The books were previously turned into a Children's BBC TV animation between 1974 and 1985.