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

Coming up on our program this morning...

A search is still underway for a dozen people missing following a deadly plane crash in Taiwan yesterday.

The Presidents of China and Argentina sit-down to talk infrastructure, among other things, as part of Christina Fernadez's current trip to China.

Jordan's King vowing an even stronger response in the wake of the murder of one of the country's pilots by the Islamic State.

In business. Reserve requirements for all Chinese banks are coming down today.

In Sports. Chinese golf ace Feng Shanshan set to miss another tournament to start off this year's fledgling LPGA season.

In entertainment.... a small British town enjoying a tourist boom following Jay Chou's wedding there last month.

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

 

 

Weather

 

 

Beijing will be sunny today with a high of 8, tonight clear with a low of minus 4 degrees Celsius.

Shanghai will be sunny with a high of 6, tonight cloudy with a low of 1 degrees Celsius.

Chongqing, overcast, with a high of 11 and a low of 5.

Elsewhere in Asia.

Islamabad, cloudy, with a high of 26.

Kabul sunny with a high of 12.

Over to North America.

New York will be snowy with a high of 1 degree Celsius.

Washington, windy to sunny with a high of 2 degrees.

Honolulu, cloudy, with a high of 27.

Toronto cloudy to overcast with a high of minus 11.

Finally, in South America,

Buenos Aires, sunny, 32.

And Rio de Janeiro will be rainy with a high of 31 degrees Celsius.

 

 

Top News

 

 

Rescue operation continues after a Taiwan plane crashes into river

 

Anchor:

Rescue and recovery operations are still underway after the crash of a passenger plane in Taipei yesterday.

So far, 31 people are confirmed dead, while 12 others remain missing.

CRI's Qizhi has the details.

Reporter:

Rescuers have been using a crane to hoist the wreckage of the TransAsia Airways plane from the Keelung River overnight.

Searchers are still scouring the river for the missing.

The flight, with 53 passengers and 5 crew onboard, went down around mid-day on Wednesday after clipping a bridge shortly after taking off from Taipei's Songshan Airport.

31 of those onboard were tourists from the mainland who were heading for Kinmen Island, which is a Taiwan-administered island lying just off the coast of the southeastern mainland city of Xiamen.

The mainland group was on trips organized by two travel agencies from Xiamen.

Liu Ruigang is working with one of the travel companies involved.

"We are now working in groups to handle information, receiving the relatives, dealing with their transportation applications and liaison work. We have informed all the relatives of what's happened."

Thirty-four relatives of the victims, along with officials with Xiamen's Tourism Bureau, are arriving in Taiwan today.

China's central leadership, including President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, have send condolences to the victims' families, and are promising to provide any help necessary.

Wednesday's crash is the 2nd involving a TransAsia flight in the past 7-months.

Back in July, another TransAsia flight crashed while trying to land during a storm on Penghu Island off the coast of Taiwan, killing 48 people.

TransAsia chief Chen Xide, while offering an apology and condolences to the victims of Wednesday's crash, insists his company's planes have a good safety record.

"TransAsia has been under thorough scrutiny on flight safety management by civil aviation authorities since mid last year. Our planes and their flight safety system follow strict regulations, so we also want to know what caused this latest crash, but I cannot make any speculation at the moment."

The plane's flight data recorders have been recovered.

A recorded conversation between the pilot and air traffic control has already been made public.

In it, the pilot is heard calling for a mayday, saying he had an engine flame-out.

Taiwan's civil aviation authorities have grounded all twenty-two ATR-72 aircraft currently in-operation on the island until safety checks are performed.

France, where the aircraft is designed and built, is also sending over investigators to help with the probe.

For CRI, this is Qizhi.

 

 

China, Argentina pledge to expand bilateral ties

 

The Presidents of China and Argentina are pledging stronger diplomatic ties.

The committment comes amid a visit to Beijing by Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez.

Fernandez has sat-down for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, with both leaders overseeing the signing of a dozen deals in areas including trade, space technology, nuclear energy and defense.

Chinese President Xi Jinping contends infrastructure construction is a key area of bilateral interest.

"Both sides are committed to strengthening our cooperation in various fields, especially our cooperation on basic infrastructure development, including the major projects like the Belgrano Cargas railway and Nestor Kirchner hydropower station. We also hope to promote the sound and stable development of bilateral trade."

For her part, Christina Fernandez says the infrastructure agreements are part of a broader-based strategy for her country's ties with China.

"We decided that this integration should take a qualitative step forward in an integration that will include investment in infrastructure, such as the decision to build and fund the Nestor Kirchner and Jorge Cepernic dams, as well as the Belgrano Cargas, which have been two key projects that have triggered this comprehensive and strategic alliance."

The Argentinian president is on a three-day visit to China.

 

 

Jordan's King vows 'harsh response' to IS following pilot's killing

 

Jordan's King Abdullah is vowing to strike back hard against the Islamic State, saying the grizzly murder of a Jordanian pilot at the hands of the militants "will not be in vain."

The King has held a crisis meeting with his security chiefs.

This, after cutting short a visit to the United States, following the release of a video showing the pilot being burned alive inside a metal cage.

In response, Jordanian authorities have since executed two al-Qaida convicts, including the would-be female suicide bomber which the Islamic State had been demanding in return for the safe release of the pilot.

Jordanian government spokesperson Mohammad Al-Momani insists the Islamic State can be defeated.

"We think with the cooperation between coalition members, we think with the well-being of the regional and international community, we think with the strength of our society, our military forces - yes, this evil can and should be defeated."

But at the same time, the Jordanian government is downplaying the possible use of Jordanian ground troops in the fight.

The horrific murder of the Jordanian pilot has drawn worldwide condemnation.

The Chinese government is calling for more international cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei.

"China opposes all forms of terrorism and killings committed by terrorists. We are advocating for the international community to enhance cooperation in accordance with the objectives and principles of the United Nations Charter and the accepted regulations on international relations. The world needs to face up to the threat from terrorism. China's goal is to safeguard global peace, security and stability."

But as anger continues to grow in Jordan, there are also voices calling on the Jordanian government to withdraw from the international coalition currently running bombing raids against the Islamic State.

Hammam Said is head of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan.

"Our message to the Jordanian government is to pull out from the international coalition, and we should have no involvement with a war led by America in the region."

Jordan is one of four Arab states taking part in the air strikes against Islamci State targets in Syria.

 

 

Heavy Casualties Reported in Eastern Ukraine after Heavey Shelling

 

Heavy casualties are being reported amid a new up-tick in fighting in eastern Ukraine.

"There were six or seven explosions. We were standing outside the nightclub, we fell on the ground, people were screaming, in fact it was very scary and horrible. Once the shelling stopped we ran towards this place to tend to the wounded and the killed."

Ukranian authorities contend rebel shelling has hit two hospitals and a kindergarten in the city of Donetsk, leaving upward of 10 dead.

Other reports say as many as 15 people have been killed in the renewed shelling through Wednesday.

A previous round of peace talks this past week in Minsk collapsed, with both the government and the rebels accusing one-another of an unwillingness to reach an agreement.

 

 

Investigation into Deadly New York Train Crash Begins

 

US federal investigators have begun searching for clues that might explain a deadly collision between a train and a SUV on Tuesday evening north of New York City which left 6-people dead.

Fifteen others are still in hospital after a commuter train slammed into an SUV, triggering an explosion and fire.

The National Transportation Safety Board is trying to figure how the driver of the vehicle became stuck in between the two crossing arms on the track.

Robert Sumwalt is the vice chair of the NTSB.

"We intend to find out not only what happened, but we want to find out why it happened, and our sole purpose for being here is to find out what happened so that we can offer recommendations to hopefully keep this from happening again and that's why we're here."

Officials have been using dental records to try to identify the badly-burned victims.

 

 

China Toughens Cyber Account Naming Control

 

The Cyberspace Administration of China is tightening the rules connected to account names.

Names and user profiles deemed to contain obscenities, references to violence or crime will be banned.

Xu Feng with the Administration contends they're moving to crack down on user handles and profiles which could be a front for illicit behavior.

"Some accounts pass themselves off as official government accounts or media accounts in an attempt to publish fake information. Some account names and images disseminate obscenity or sexually suggestive material, or even advertising sexual services. And some spread information related to violence, gambling and drug-use in the account descriptions."

Internet authorities are also forcing web-hosting companies to recruit staff to specifically deal with account registration information, such as names, images and descriptions.

Those found in violation of the new rules will be forced to either change their names, images or descriptions or be suspended or shut down.

The new rules will come into effect on March 1st.

 

 

Chinese Doctors Call for Healthy Lifestyle to Combat Cancer

 

Anchor:

A new set of calls are being issued by Chinese doctors for people to live healthier lifestyles amid the continued rise in cancer cases across the country.

CRI's Yin Xiuqi has more.

Reporter:

Figures from the World Health Organization show there were over 3 million cancer cases in China in 2012, comprising some 20 percent of the world's total.

Some 2.2 million cancer patients died that year, making up 25 percent of the global cancer death toll.

It's estimated that the world's largest population will have 4 million cancer cases in the next five years with 3 million people being killed by the disease.

Shen Lin, vice director of the Beijing Research Center for the Prevention of Cancer, notes that the cancer situation in China is connected with the country's changing dietary habits.

"In the past due to the lower living standards, there was high morbidity of esophageal, gastric and liver cancer with a low morbidity of colorectal cancer. Now with the transformation of our lifestyle, there has been a rapid rise of colorectal cancer cases and other types of cancers that are common in developed nations."

Chinese nutrition experts note that Chinese people have dramatically increased their consumption of meat and have decreased consumption of grain-based foods over the last three decades.

Ji Jiafu, Chief of the Beijing Cancer Hospital, says that besides the changing dietary patterns, people's overall unhealthy lifestyles play an important part in driving up China's cancer morbidity.

"Smoking, excessive drinking, obesity as well as unhealthy dietary structure and lack of physical exercises, all these are important factors leading to chronic and metabolic diseases, including tumors and cancer."

Figures from the World Health Organization show over half of all men in China are smokers; and more than four in five adolescents do not engage in sufficient physical activity.

Severe pollution of air and water in some parts of the country has also been blamed for the rising number of cancer cases.

Many doctors agree that a balanced diet, regular physical exercise, and a healthy living environment are crucial in the fight against cancer.

For CRI, I'm Yin Xiuqi.

 

 

Electric vehicles in China face flawed charging system

 

Anchor:

A growing number of electric vehicle owners in China are filing official complaints about the status of the thousands of newly-installed charging stations being set up across parts of China.

CRI's Yu Yang explains.

Reporter:

Yan Chuang owns an electric vehicle.

He is among a growing list of new-energy car owners who have been less-than-impressed with the electric-vehicle services being set-up along the Beijing-Shanghai expressway.

"Me and my friends were taking a trip, and we were very disappointed with the initial charging stations we used. But still, we hoped other stations along the highway would be better. However, we discovered the situation remains the same at the other two charging points along the expressway. The stations weren't working and there was no service staff available."

The Beijing-Shanghai highway became the first expressway in China to be outfitted with charging stations in mid-January.

However, the State Grid Corporation has since admitted that many of the charging points are still not in use, as the company is still trying to sort out the different payment standards across different cities.

And the complaints aren't only with the expressway.

"As a taxi driver, I have to charge my electric car three times a day, which means I can only drive for 70 to 80 kilometres each time before charging up. As such, I can't provide long-distance services for customers due to the limited charging points available in Beijing."

Flawed charging system is also affecting the profits of certain businesses.

A Beijing-based company called 'Electric Vehicle,' which provides electric cars for rent, has been losing money for over a year.

Chen Qingquan, an electric vehicle expert with the Chinese Academy of Engineering, admits the electric vehicle industry in China has still a long way to go.

"Three factors are necessary in building a better electric vehicle industry, namely good products, good infrastructure, and a good business model. Chinese companies need to take lessons from more established electric vehicles companies. There also needs to be more unified standards and new markets."

The Chinese government has several preferential policies in-place to get more people behind the wheel of electric vehicles, including subsidies for people who buy electric vehicles.

Authorities hope to have around 5-million electric cars on the road by 2020.

Overall new vehicle sales across China hit just under 20-million units through 2014.

By comparison, only around 120-thousand electric vehicles have been sold in China the past 4-years.

For CRI, I am Yu Yang.

 

 

Restaurants in Labor Shortage during Spring Festival

 

With Spring Festival fast-approaching, restaurants around the country are moving to try to retain their wait-staff amid the impending exodus of many of their permanent employees back home for the holiday.

"Every year we have a party for our workers to encourage them to stay with us. On top of this, we're offering salaries three times higher than usual, on top of what the labor laws require. We also provide them with bonuses as a way to pay them back for staying on during the holiday."

Aside from dolling out extra cash to keep their regular employees on, many restaurants are actively looking for university students to help keep enough staff on during the holiday.

Liu Ziqi is a university student currently on her winter holiday.

"The job is a good opportunity for me to work on my social skills. I can improve my communication skills and earn some pocket money, so I get best of both worlds."

Other restaurants are turning to technology to help fill the gaps, including robotic servers and point-of-sale machines at people's tables.

 

 

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 closed mixed amid generally upbeat earnings on Wednesday, as oil prices plummeted on record-high stockpiles after four-days of gains worth nearly 20 percent.

On the corporate front,

Sony has announced its net losses for last year are likely to be less-than originally forecast, as higher-than-expected sales have helped lift its quarterly profits.

The company's shares surged nearly 11 percent on that news.

Walt Disney's popular animated film Frozen has been heating up home entertainment and toy sales.

The company's shares soared 7.6 percent on the day.

At close,

The Dow Jones ticked up slightly.

The S&P 500 fell close to half of a percent.

The Nasdaq dipped about one fifth of a percent.

Meanwhile Europe's main stock markets wobbled on Wednesday as traders tracked Greece's efforts to renegotiate its vast international bailout deal and crude oil prices.

At the closing bell,

The UK's FTSE 100 trimmed a fraction of a percent.

Germany's DAX gained around one fifth of a percent.

And Finally France's CAC 40 rose about two fifths of a percent.

 

 

China Cuts Reserve Ratio by 50 Basis Points

 

Anchor:

China's central bank is lowering the reserve requirement ratio by 50 basis points today.

This represents the first across-the-board cut in the reserve requirements since May 2012.

On top of this, the central bank is cutting the reserve requirements for banks which focus more on lending to small and micro-sized enterprises, as well as the farming sector, by an additional 50-basis points.

China's major lenders currently need to hold 20 percent of their deposits in reserve.

The ratio for small and medium-sized banks is 16.5 percent.

The move comes just days after the purchasing managers' index, a main gauge of manufacturing activity, fell below 50 for the first time since October 2012.

For more on the move, we're now joined live by CRI's Financial Commentator Cao Can.

 

 

Fall of RMB exchange Rate is Normal, Providing Opportunity for Export: Experts

 

The value of the renminbi against the US dollar has seen a bit of a resurgence this week.

The Chinese currency has been trading against the upper-limit of the PBOC's daily reference rate since Monday, gaining 66-basis points against the US dollar.

But this is a bit of an aberration against a general downturn of the value of the renminbi the past couple of months.

Zong Liang is with the International Finance Institute with Bank of China.

"On the surface, we have seen a depreciation of the RMB. But in essence, it is the U.S. dollar that is appreciating. During this period, the U.S. Dollar Index has touched 90, up from 80. The rapid appreciation of the dollar, to some extent, will make a stable exchange rate appear as a depreciation."

Some have been suggesting this could be an opportunity for Chinese exporters, who have been struggling with growing labor costs.

However, most observers say the broader impact of the rise in the US dollar is going to be limited at best.

 

 

China to Reinforce Protection to Consumer Rights

 

The latest data shows China's market regulator processed more than 7.5-million appeals on behalf of consumers this past year, saving a total of around 1.5-billion yuan for individuals this past year.

Ma Zhengqi is the deputy chief of China's State Administration for Industry and Commerce.

"We have been working hard to implement national mandatory standards, as well as enhance supervision on online trading. We carried out a series of online and off-line quality sampling inspections, particularly in areas including in food, telecommunications, banking and insurance. We also launched a series of investigations into unfair contracts, and published a list of offenders."

This year, the Industry and Commerce department is going to focus on five sectors, including cellphones, cloths, toys, electric bicycles, wires and cable.

E-commerce companies are being warned they're going to come under the microscope in 2015.

At the same time, authorities are preparing to bring down new penalties for consumer rights violations to coincide with Consumer Rights' Day in China, which falls on March 15th.

 

 

Yum Says China Recovery Taking Longer than Expected

 

Yum Brands is warning its investors that it's taking longer-than-expected for its operations in China to recover from last year's food-safety scandal involving one of its supplyers.

The company's fourth-quarter sales in China came in down 16 percent through the end of last year.

This comes amid the 14-percent decline in Yum's overall China sales through the 3rd quarter.

Yum, which operates KFC and Pizza Hut in China, among other restaurants, has been taking a major hit after one of its meat suppliers was found repackaging expired meat.

 

 

Headline News

 

 

Rescue operation continues after a Taiwan plane crashes into river

 

Rescue and recovery operations are still underway after the crash of a passenger plane in Taipei yesterday.

So far, 31 people are confirmed dead, while 12 others remain missing, after a TransAsia flight crashed into the Keelung River shortly after take-off.

The search for the missing is still underway.

Among the 58 people onboard, 31 are mainland tourists.

China's central leadership, including President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, have send condolences to the victims' families, and are promising to provide any help necessary.

 

 

China cuts reserve ratio by 50 basis points

 

China's central bank is lowering the reserve requirement ratio for this country's banks by 50 basis points today.

This is the first across-the-board cut in the reserve requirements since May 2012.

On top of this, the central bank is cutting the reserve requirements for banks which focus more on lending to small and micro-sized enterprises, as well as the farming sector, by an additional 50-basis points.

The move comes just days after the purchasing managers' index, a main gauge of manufacturing activity, fell below 50 for the first time since October 2012.

 

 

China to Increase Retail Oil Prices on Feb 9

 

New estimates suggest Chinese authorities may raise retail fuel prices on Monday.

If global oil prices continue their rebound, this would mark the first price increase since July.

After bottoming out last month, global oil prices have begun to rebound, coming in at over 50-dollars a barrel this week, after hitting lows of around 45-dollars last month.

 

 

9/11's '20th hijacker' claims members of Saudi royal family were al-Qaida donors

 

The man dubbed the "20th 9/11 hijacker" is claiming members of the Saudi royal family helped fund the attacks.

Zacarias Moussaoui has made the claim as part of testimony he's given in a civil-suit currently underway between 9/11 victims and Saudi Arabia.

His statement has come to light in court-filings this week, which are in response to a Saudi bid to have the lawsuit thrown out.

Saudi authorities have been making several attempts to have the lawsuit dropped.

Moussaoui was arrested just weeks before the 9/11 attacks on immigrations charges.

He's currently serving life-in-prison without parole after pleading guilty to federal conspiracy charges in connection with the attacks.

 

 

New Ebola cases show first rise in 2015

 

The World Health Organization is reporting the number of new cases of Ebola has once-again started to rise in all three of West Africa's worst-hit countries through the last week of January.

This represents the first weekly increase of the year, and ends - what health officials had hoped - was an overall downturn in the number of new Ebola cases.

The WHO says Sierra Leone registered most of the 124 new cases seen at the end of January.

The virus has left close to 9-thousand dead since the current outbreak began a year ago.

 

 

Newspaper Picks

 

 

BEIJING NEWS

Headline

Courier firms hike holiday rates

Summary

A number of Chinese courier firms are planning to increase their delivery charges as they struggle withj staffing ahead of the Spring Festival.

SF Express says its delivery costs are going up between February 18th to the 24th because of the higher costs for labor and transportation.

Most courier firms quoted in the article say they expect normal operations to resume after February 24, but are warning some deliveries will still be delayed because of the holiday.

BEIJING TIMES

Headline

Chunyun officially underway

Summary

China's annual holiday travel rush officially began on Wednesday, with an expected 2.8 billion trips to be made during the 40-day Spring Festival holiday season.

Estimates are around 320-thousand people took trips through the four major train stations in Beijing on the first day of the travel rush.

BEIJING BUSINESS TODAY

Headline

GM research to be strengthened

Summary

A senior rural affairs official says the Chinese government should be doing more to support GM food research, noting this is a nation with a huge population to feed.

The suggestion comes amid plans by the authorities to launch a campaign to try to ease public fears about Genetically-modified food products.

Right now, only GM papaya and cotton are available for consumers in China.

CHINA DAILY

Headline

Authorities to keep tabs on Nanjing officials

Summary

A new government regulation says officials in Jiangsu's capital, Nanjing, are going to have to report their marital status, as well as the immigration status of their spouses and children.

Officials in the city are also going to have to give five days' notice before going abroad for personal reasons.

The regulation is also requiring officials to report securities and investments worth more than 100-thousand yuan, as well as real-estate holdings larger than 30 square meters.

SHANGHAI DAILY

Headline

Disneyland to open in Spring 2016

Summary

Disney's Chief Executive says its much-anticipated Shanghai Resort will open in the spring of 2016.

Major construction work is expected to be finished by the end of this year.

Shanghai Disneyland will feature two hotels, a theater, and a large retail, dining and entertainment complex, among other things.

GLOBALTIMES

Headline

Mainland delays Hong Kong TV shows

Summary

Chinese video website Youku has confirmed its received a notice from the State broadcasting regulator to pull down online streams of Hong Kong TV dramas for review.

The Hong Kong TV shows are the latest target of the State broadcasting regulator's new rule on managing online streams of non-mainland and overseas-produced TV shows.

Chinese fans will have to wait until the whole season ends before Youku will be able to put them up.

 

 

Special Reports

 

 

International Companies Active in Selling China Green Technologies

 

Anchor:

The ambassadors of Canada and Austria have taken part in a conference in Beijing in an attempt to try to promote low-carbon development, with both countries pushing their own models as something China might consider adopting.

CRI's Xu Fei has more.

Reporter:

The International Energy Conservation Environmental Protection Association, an international non-governmental organization specializing in sustainable development between the economy and environment, has convened its annual conference recently with an aim of disseminating low-carbon ideas all over the world.

The meeting was joined by foreign diplomats, who wish to share their countries' successful experiences in environmental protection.

And more importantly, they treat the meeting as a great platform on which they could introduce and also promote their advanced technologies to China. Guy Saint-Jacques, Canada's ambassador to China, is one of them.

"What we have been trying to do in terms of the bilateral cooperation is also to try to transfer the technology that we have developed in Canada. I had the discussions with NDRC to present the results of our first commercial coal fire plant that captures 90 percent of CO2. There's obviously a lot of interest. And we are trying in China to put together the utilities that have coal fire generation to work together with oil companies because the CO2 that could be extracted from the emissions could then be used to enhance the oil recovery in the conventional oil plants."

Irene Giner-Reichl, the Austrian ambassador to China, said at the meeting that she has noticed China's continued commitment to renewable energy investment after she read a 2014 report on world renewable energy.

China has increased its investments in renewable nearly every year for the past ten years, even in the face of a global decline in renewable energy investment.

With a clear picture in mind about China's demand in energy conservation, the Austrian ambassador introduced their success in green technology development.

"We have very good building codes in Austria favoring zero energy houses, which have become very popular. We have government subsidies for solar heating home systems and for retrofitting all the buildings for energy efficiency. And the Austrian companies, many of whom are also operating here in China, are world leaders in environmental technologies, hydropower, waste water treatment and many other urban technologies."

At the end, the ambassador also expressed she would be happy to follow up with interested parties.

Canada and Austria are neither the first nor the last nations that wish to boost green-tech sales to China as more and more international players realize the big chance of green economy as well as China's determination to be on the forefront of green technology.

China is now home to about 24 percent of the world's renewable power capacity, including an estimated 260 gigawatts of hydropower.

 

 

Sports

 

 

Golf: LPGA: Feng Shanshan Misses Second Game of Year, PGA: Charlie Sifford, 1st African-American Golfer, Dies

 

Taking a look at the world of golf:

The second tournament of the LPGA tour kicks off tonight in the Bahamas, but world no. 4 Chinese golfer Feng Shanshan will miss the event.

The golfer was also absent from the first tournament of the year in the U.S. state of Florida last week.

No word on what has caused Feng's absence in the two tournaments, but according to the LPGA website, the Chinese golfer is slated to appear at the Women's Australia Open, which tees off February 19th.

In men's action

On the European Tour, the Malaysia Open is just getting underway in Kuala Lumpur and the PGA Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego tonight.

And some sad news from golf stateside:

Charlie Sifford, the first African-American golfer who desegregated the PGA Tour in the early 1960s died Tuesday.

Inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2004, Sifford was the first to challenge the PGA's clause that made the sport for Caucasians-only, which the tour rescinded in 1961.

Sifford went on to win the Greater Hartford Open in 1967 and the Los Angeles Open in 1969. The golfer also won the 1975 Senior PGA Championships.

He died at the age of 92.

 

 

Basketball: NBA Preview

 

Switching over to basketball:

Eleven games on tap this morning in the National Basketball Association:

Tipping off at about 8 a.m., Beijing time;

The Detroit Pistons are on the road in Indiana to face the Pacers.

With Pacers small-forward Paul George out until at least next month, Indiana will have to rely on point-guard George Hill, as they try to turn things around against Detroit--to whom they've lost two straight this season.

Later today:

Washington will face Atlanta;

Denver take on Boston;

Brooklyn are away in Toronto;

Houston host Chicago;

The Los Angeles Lakers are out east against Milwaukee;

Miami hit the court against Minnesota;

Oklahoma and New Orleans will clash;

San Antonio will face Orlando;

Memphis will go against Utah;

and Golden State will tip off against Dallas.

 

 

Football: Global Recap

 

Over in football:

At the African Nations Cup:

Ivory Coast are in the finals after defeating the Democratic Republic of Congo 3-1.

Goals from Yaya Toure, Gervinho and Wilfried Kanon sent the Elephants through.

They will meet the winner of tomorrow's match between Ghana and hosts Equatorial Guinea for the continental title this coming weekend.

Liverpool defeated the Bolton Wanderers 2-1 in FA Cup action;

In the Coppa Italia, Napoli shut out Internazionale 1-0.

In accion de la liga, Real Madrid dumped Sevilla 2-1;

 

 

Rugby: Wales Readies for England in Six Nations Opener

 

Wales have recalled winger George North and hooker Richard Hibbard for the Six Nations opener against England in Cardiff on Friday.　　

Coach Warren Gatland named his team on Monday, 48 hours ahead of schedule and Captain Sam Warburton will win his 50th international cap.

　　

North starts instead of Liam Williams and Hibbard edges out Scott Baldwin, who played in the Welsh victory over South Africa in November.

Team Wales will have homefield advantage, but according to Howley, his players’ performance is what will matter most:

"Home advantage has been key and will be key on, on Friday night and I think we all talk about the 'cauldron', you know, how much support it can bring to Friday night's performance, but that stadium is only as good as the players' performance and the players in red, you know we have to perform to the best of our ability on Friday night."

　　

The Welsh backs will face the new English centre pairing of Jonathan Joseph and Luther Burrell, which Howley says Wales hope to take advantage of.

 

 

Cricket: S. Africa Addresses "Chokers" Tag Ahead of World Cup

 

As South Africa heads to the World Cup as one of the favorites to win the title, the feeling is all too familiar.

Few doubt the quality of the South Africa squad, but there are doubts that the Proteas can overcome its own World Cup history when it reaches crunch time.

South Africa has gone into each of the last four World Cups as a highly-rated contender; but has crashed out of every tournament.

The Proteas have been drawn in Group B along with India, Pakistan, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Ireland and the United Arab Emirates.

After completing their warm-up matches, they begin their campaign against Zimbabwe at Seddon Park in Hamilton on 15th February."

 

 

Entertainment

 

 

Town where Jay Chou wed gains international fame

 

The small British town where Chinese pop star Jay Chou recently wed has found international fame.

Chou married model Hannah Quinlivan in the northern town of Selby in January, now it's a must-see location for hundreds of Asian fans.

John Weetman, the vicar of Selby Abbey, said as soon as Chou's wedding went viral, he saw increased interest in the historical monument.

"The very next morning, Jay had already put out some information about what had happened, the afternoon before. And by about five-past-eight, we had a couple of Chinese visitors who turned up during our Sunday morning service, since then a steady stream."

The bride and groom exchanged vows in front of 50 of their closest friends and family, then continued celebrations at a nearby castle.

Chou, star of "The Green Hornet", had kept his romance with 21-year-old Quilivan under wraps, but was public about his desire to settle down.

He is one of the most popular stars to come out of China, his music and influence spills over to the rest of Asia.

 

 

Andy Lau to sing CCTV's Spring Festival Gala theme song

 

It's been confirmed that Chinese actor Andy Lau will perform the theme song to the upcoming CCTV Spring Festival Gala.

Lau, famous for his roles in movies like "Infernal Affairs" and "House of Flying Daggers", will sing "Journey to Home".

He spoke in a recent interview with CCTV.

"I wish everyone a smooth journey home and be happy in the new year. See you at the CCTV Spring Festival Gala."

The song tells the story of Chinese people migrating thousands of miles to reunite with their families.

Yang Lailai, executive director of the 2015 CCTV New Year Gala says the song is about the true meaning of home.

"One of the lyrics is 'Going home is happiness. Happiness is felt when you hug parents'. You can see it is a really warm song. What's more, all the lyrics were written by Andy Lau himself. So the song reflects his personal feelings and his understanding of what home means."

Lau is joining the line-up for the fourth time in his career, although this marks the first time he has performed at the gala in 10 years.

 

 

China's Heyi Unveils Six Picture Movie Slate

 

China's Heyi Pictures has unveiled it will co-produce a slate of six feature films.

The projects are in different stages of production, and commercial genres including comedy and romance.

Heyi was established last year as the stand alone movie production operation of Youku Tudou, one of China's biggest online video companies.

Most of the films are movie adaptations of original productions that have become popular on Youku Tudou's online platforms.

"Surprise" is an adaptation of a hit web comedy show, while "Gardenia Blossom" is an expansion of a song performed by TV host and actor He Jiong.

Youku Tudou says these productions have been viewed more than 6 billion times.

The company was a minority investor in recent hit "The Taking of the Tiger Mountain 3D" which grossed more than 131 million U.S. dollars.

 

 

'Shaun The Sheep' gets a movie makeover

 

Popular stop-motion Aardman character 'Shaun the Sheep' has moved onto the big screen.

He's starring in his very own film titled "Shaun The Sheep Movie."

The movie is written and directed by Richard Starzak and Mark Burton, with Shaun's creator.

Bringing Shaun's story to the silver screen was a long fight for Starzak.

"As time went on, as the characters developed, I thought of them more as a family, like the Farmer is the father, Bitzer and Shaun are siblings, that it had a lot of story potential to tell a bigger story. So I've been going on about it for a few years and I've finally got my way."

The animation sees Shaun and the members of his flock head to the big city in a bid to search for their missing farmer, they encounter trouble along the way.

The hugely-successful animated television show has been broadcast in 170 territories worldwide.

"Shaun The Sheep Movie" is released in the U.K. on the 6th February.