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

Coming up on our program this evening...

The Chinese president's visit to the US has been confirmed. Xi Jinping will travel to Washington in September...

The Chinese leader has also told attendees at a Central Leading Group meeting that the integration of Bejing with Tianjin and Hebei is to move forward...

And the Whitehouse has confirmed the death of another American hostage at the hands of Islamic State militants...

In Business...Apple makes a huge investment to lower its corporate energy bill...

In Sports...quarterfinal action from the Chinese Basketball Association...

In Entertainment...Alibaba's entertainment division has indicated it would like to keep making movies with Jackie Chan...

First, a look at the weather.

 

 

Weather

 

 

Beijing will be clear tonight with a low of minus 4. It will be sunny tomorrow, with a high of 5 degrees.

Shanghai will be cloudy with a low of 4. Tomorrow will be cloudy with a high of 12.

Chongqing will be clear with a low of 6 degrees. Tomorrow will be sunny with a high of 18.

Elsewhere in Asia

Islamabad, sunny tomorrow with a high of 31.

Kabul, cloudy, 17.

In Australia

Sydney, thundershowers, a high of 29.

Canberra, thundershowers, 23.

Brisbane, showers, 30.

Perth will be cloudy with a high of 32 degrees Celsius.

 

 

Top News

 

 

Chinese President to Visit U.S. in Sept.

 

Chinese President Xi Jinping has held phone talks with his U.S. counterpart and has accepted Barack Obama's invitation to pay a state visit to the United States in September.

During the conversation, both sides agreed to make full preparations to ensure the success of the trip.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi:

"Just a short while ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping had a telephone conversation with US President Barack Obama. Both presidents affirmed again what we have achieved in 2014 and they had an extensive exchange of views on how to deepen strategic mutual trust between the two countries, how to promote practical cooperation, how to respect each other's concerns and properly address the differences we have."

Wang has already held talks with visiting US Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken here in Beijing.

 

 

Central Government to Further Shift Noncapital Functions out of Beijing

 

Central Government to Further Shift Non-essential Functions out of Beijing

Anchor:

China's central government has vowed to further the regional integration between Bijing, Tianjin, and Hebei.

Chinese President Xi Jinping made the announcement during the ninth meeting of the Central Leading Group on Financial and Economic Affairs, held on Tuesday.

CRI's Wang Wei has more.

Reporter:

President Xi has reiterated that transfering administrative functions from Beijing to neighboring areas and pushing forward the integration of the capital with Tianjin and Hebei is a huge project.

He says targets are needed in order to map out and accomplish this time-consuming task.

Experts say the president's statements show that the "urban disease" problems plaguing Beijing remain a huge challenge.

Professor Li Guoping is from the Capital Development Institute of Peking University.

"Since last February when President Xi came up with the proposal, Beijing has accelerated its paces in transferring industrial functions out. For example, some factories and automobile plants have been moved outside the city. However, this process takes a lot of time. The 'urban disease' issue is still serious, so this issue was raised again."

The key functions of Beijing are related to its strategic position as a national center of politics, culture, international exchange, and technology and innovation.

So-called "non-capital" functions usually include relatively low end economic sectors and public sectors that are not market-driven.

While shifting Beijing's non-capital functions to neighboring Tianjin and Hebei, it is critical to collaboratively develop the three regions.

Wang Kai is with China Academy of Urban Planning and Design.

"Except for political aspects, actually Beijing can achieve other functional targets like cultural or technological ones jointly with Tianjin and Hebei. For example, as a cultural center, Beijing is pressured with too many colleges and students. If more campuses need to be added, it is possible to locate them in the neighboring regions."

With the continuous process of integration, Tianjin and Hebei will become more attractive places to work and live.

This will provide population relief in the massive capital city.

Professor Li encourages people to look for opportunities outside Beijing.

"Generally speaking, big cities have more opportunities, but at the same time also have many talents. Now it is necessary for people to choose a place according to local industries which can supply more chances. People living in the capital now have so much pressure with high home prices. With convenient transportation and advanced information technology, the integration can supply many job opportunities in Tianjian and Hebei, so it is not necessary to stay in Beijing."

Beijing's popular zoo clothing wholesale market has been moving out of the capital since early this year.

The city's major steelmaker, Beijing Shougang Construction Group, moved its production unit to a neighboring area a few years ago.

For CRI, I'm Wang Wei.

 

 

China's Foreign Ministry urges Chinese tourists to behave

 

The Chinese Foreign Ministry is urging tourists to behave properly during holiday trips, especially those who chose to go abroad.

Huang Ping is with the consular department of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

"People should not behave willfully because they are rich, and they should not fear for nothing because of the ignorance. Chinese tourists should establish a good image. When traveling overseas, Chinese tourists should set up a basic legal consciousness, strictly follow local law, protect their rights rationally and should express their demands properly."

The number of Chinese outbound tourists during the week-long Spring Festival holiday has increased 30 percent this year from the same period last year. Inappropriate behavior is becoming a real embarrassment for China.

 

 

"Icebreakers" hold Chinese New Year Dinner 2015

 

Anchor

Economic specialists in Britain have expressed optimism for future cooperation with China during an annual dinner party in London where they welcomed the Year of the Sheep.

CRI's Niu Honglin has more.

Reporter

The 48 Group Club is an organization established more than 60 years ago. The initiators of the Group are hailed as the "Icebreakers" within British economic circles, devoted to pushing forward China-UK friendship.

The annual banquet ahead of the Chinese New Year has been held for decades, but attendance is way up this year.

Leading global economist Gerard Lyons, Chief Economic Advisor to the Mayor of London, says he believes more and more people are starting to realize the importance of a good China-UK trading relationship.

"And in terms of China, it is very important for Britain to have very strong, positive relation with China, and indeed for London to have strong positive relationship with China. So the UK is continuing to not only boost trade flows with China, but also trying to encourage more Chinese investment into the UK."

Britain, China's second biggest trading partner in the European Union, recorded a trade volume of more than 80 billion US dollars last year.

Compared with the relatively weak EU foreign trade status, Sino-British bilateral trade is considered a major success.

Lyons is paying close attention to the new draft of the foreign investment law recently issued in China, as well as the growing need for foreign investment in the British domestic market. He believes cooperation and coordination between China and the UK is a win-win situation. The advisor takes infrastructure construction as an example.

UK needs to develop its domestic infrastructure, first and for most building infrastructure, weather it's private of public or combination of public and private. Then in addition to that, if the money comes from overseas, than that's also to be welcome. So I think it's a positive development that China is keen to put money into the UK.

Stephen Perry is the Chairman of the 48 Group Club.

"China will develop the world in a way that we have not yet began to anticipate, that the opportunity for British companies to be within that is really very very attractive."

For CRI, I'm Niu Honglin

 

 

S.Korea 100-car pileup leaves 2 dead

 

Two people were killed and at least 42 were injured on Wednesday morning after a crash involving about 100 vehicles on a bridge near South Korea's Incheon International Airport.

7 Chinese people are among the injured.

Kim Moon-won is the head of the Incheon Jungbu Fire Station.

"We came to the scene after hearing that there were collisions due to thick fog. The starting point of the accident was 3.8 kilometres (2.3 miles) into the Yeongjong Bridge, and a fire broke out on that part of the bridge in the northbound lane. Overall, approximately 100 vehicles are tangled up. This is how we first processed the initial situation. The number of casualties is currently at 44. Two dead and 42 injured."

Eight of the people who were rescued were seriously hurt and the number of injured could increase.

A local police official says emergency workers have yet to reach all of the damaged cars.

Fire officials say the crash was likely aggravated by thick fog and icy road conditions.

However this hasn't been confirmed yet.

 

 

U.S. mourn over the death of ISIL hostage

 

Anchor:

The White House has confirmed the death of 26-year-old American aid worker Kayla Jean Mueller at the hands of the Islamic State.

News of her death comes as President Barack Obama prepares to send a formal request to Congress for the authorization to use military force against the militants

CRI's Washington chief correspondent Xiaohong has more.

Ann:

White House spokesperson Josh Earnest says the death of the 26-year-old American aid worker, who had been held since August of 2013, has been confirmed after careful review and analysis by the US intelligence community.

"Over the weekend, Kayla's parents received a private message from her ISIL captive with additional information about her death. And that information was shared with the intelligence community. They conducted a review and analysis and after that analysis was completed they concluded that Kayla has in fact died."

The Islamic State has attributed her death to the airstrikes carried out by the Jordanian air force, which have been increasing in retaliation for the murder of one of its pilots.

However, the White House says there is no evidence to back up that contention.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has issued a statement, saying -quote- "ISIL, and ISIL alone, is the reason Kayla is gone."

President Obama is vowing to find and bring to justice those responsible for her captivity and death.

The news of her death comes as Obama prepares to send text to Congress for a formal Authorization to Use Military Force against ISIL.

White House spokesperson Josh Earnest says the President is asking for Congressional support, even though the President holds the legal authority to conduct military operations against the Islamic State without the backing of Congress.

"But he does believe it would be a powerful symbol for the Congress to send to the American people, to our allies, even to our enemies that the United States of America is united behind the strategy the President has laid out to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL."

The request is expected to be put to Congress later on this Wednesday.

A U.S.-led coalition has already been active in the fight against the Islamic State, with over 2-thousand sorties being launched against militant targets in both Syria and Iraq.

Xiaohong, CRI, Washington DC.

 

 

G20 to Deepen Anti-terrorism Cooperation

 

G20 finance ministers and central bank leaders have vowed to deepen their cooperation in fighting terrorism.

The final communiqué released after the latest G20 gathering, held in Istanbul, says that the G20 nations will speed up efforts in the exchange of information and the freezing of terrorist assets.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan says that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has been established to determine how to fight terrorism.

The Turkish deputy prime minister and U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew have asserted a strong joint commitment to fight financial networks supporting the IS group.

 

 

Abbas grateful for Sweden's recognition of Palestinian State

 

Anchor:

Visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has met with Sweden's Prime Minister in Stockholm, the first trip to the country by Abbas since Sweden granted diplomatic recognition to a unified Palestinian State.

CRI's Chen Xuefei has more.

Ann:

Meeting with Swedish Prime Minster Stefan Lofven, Mahmoud Abbas has taken time to laud the Swedish government's decision to recognize a Palestinian state.

"We are grateful that Sweden recognize Palestine because this will drive the peace process, we cannot ignore that. At the same time, recognition from some other European countries are also important. "

Speaking to reporters at a joint news conference following their meeting, Mahmoud Abbas says they're still trying to work with Hamas toward eventual elections across all the Palestinian territories.

"You know we have constant talks or dialogus with Hamas in order to achieve two goals, the first is the government, the consensus government and we have formed the government, the second question is the parliamentary election, and presidential election, the only way to achieve our goals is to go to the democracy, what I mean is to go to elections, parliamentary elections and presidential elections if Hamas accepted, we will immediately go there. "

While Sweden officially recognizes a Palestinian state, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven's government still considers Hamas, which controls Gaza, a terrorist organization.

As such, Lofven conceeds this makes the politics of supporting a unified Palestinian state more challenging.

"The best to move forward in this is to support a good development. This is one of the reasons that we decided to recognize Palestine because we need to support the forces that want a pragmatic development without using violence, and this is why we underline the issue with Fatah that we want to be very clear that Israel's security is as important as Palestinian security. But what we want to do with the recognition, with the cooperation development we have is to support good forces so that everybody see that it is peace and security that is in the long run solution."

Sweden recognized a Palestinian state in October.

Mahmoud Abbas was in Sweden to help officially open a Palestinian Embassy in the country.

For CRI, this is Chen Xuefei reporting from Stockholm.

 

 

India's Common Man's Party Wins Victory in Delhi Assembly Election

 

India's Aam Aadmi Party, or Common Man's Party, has won a landslide victory in Delhi's state election.

It beats its rival, the Bhartiya Janata Party, with 67 seats in the assembly.

BJP is the party of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Aam Aadmi leader Arvind Kejriwal will be the new chief minister of Delhi.

"It is very scary, the majority which the Delhi people have given us. I request that all party workers not get arrogant."

Ekta is a supporter of Aam Aadmi.

"It's been great, actually, I was thinking that it has been 66 years since India has got independence. And this is the first time the common man, the ordinary man, will be sitting in Vidhan Sabha. So that's awesome, that's incredible."

Kejriwal has received much support for his anti-graft stance.

The new chief minister will be sworn into office on Feb. 15.

 

 

Biz Reports

 

 

Anchor:

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

Joining me on the desk is Niu Honglin.

Reporter:

Chinese stocks closed higher, continuing the winning streak for the third consecutive day.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose half a percent, while the Shenzhen Component Index gained 1.2 percent.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index dropped almost 1 percent.

Elsewhere in Asia,

The Japanese Nikkei dipped a third of a percent.

South Korea's KOSPI Composite Index gained half a percent.

Singapore's Straits Times index added nearly a third of a percent.

And finally, Australia's ASX 200 dropped half a percent.

 

 

Apple in big solar power deal, market cap closes over $700 billion

 

Apple is to buy about 850 million dollars worth of power from a new California solar farm to cut its energy bill.

After that announcement, Chief Executive Tim Cook said Apple's stock market value had closed above 700 billion U.S. dollar for the first time.

First Solar, based in Tempe, Arizona, manufactures solar panels and builds solar power plants, many of which it sells to power producers.

The First Solar plant, with the capacity to power the equivalent of 60-thousand homes, will be used to supply electricity for Apple's new campus in Silicon Valley and its other offices and stores in the state.

 

 

Second stock link 'realistic' in H2

 

Hong Kong Chief Executive CY Leung says a trading link between the Shenzhen and Hong Kong stock markets is likely to start in the second half of this year.

The link would follow the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect that started in November.

Hong Kong bourse head Charles Li confirmed the plan and says the launch of the connection is "realistic" and will offer HK investors with more choices.

He says the mutual market access program can be expanded to allow cross-border trading of equity derivatives, commodities and fixed income assets.

The Shenzhen-Hong Kong link will also boost the possibility for A-shares to be included into MSCI's widely traded emerging market index.

Li said securities regulators on both sides are planning to ease curbs on the link and to increase trading days to boost vitality.

 

 

Shanghai allows 17 dealers to import cars directly from overseas

 

Shanghai has disclosed the first 17 dealers in a pilot program for car imports in its Free Trade Zone.

Under the parallel imported scheme, dealers will be able to import makes and models that are also domestically manufactured in China.

These dealers will be able to sell vehicles imported from overseas directly to customers in China starting on Sunday.

Eight local dealers and nine from other provinces are on the list.

Some dealers have already started taking reservations. The parallel import automobile trade market, located in Shanghai Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, is likely to be officially opened on Sunday.

Dealers must have at least five years of experience trading cars, have posted profits during the past three consecutive years, and sold more than 400 million yuan worth of stock in the previous fiscal year.

The parallel import scheme will weaken automakers' controls on the pricing of imported cars and provide lower prices for Chinese buyers.

Analysts say parallel imported cars will be 10 to 20 percent cheaper.

 

 

Wanda Group Aggressively Expanding Overseas

 

Dalian Wanda continues to expand aggressively in overseas markets.

As reported on the Beijing Hour, the company and a group of investors is buying Swiss sports marketing firm Infront Sports & Media for $1.2bn.

Infront holds broadcasting rights to some of the world's biggest sporting events like the football World Cup.

Last month, the group bought a 20 percent stake in Spanish champion Atletico Madrid for $52 million. Wanda also spends $1 billion on Sydney commercial project.

For more on this, CRI's Zhao Yang spoke earlier with Einar Tangen, former chairman of the State of Wisconsin's International Trade Council.

 

 

China's Machinery Sector Continues to Grow in 2014

 

New data shows China's machinery sector continued to expand in 2014 but at a softer pace.

China Machinery Industry Federation says the slowdown is due to sluggish domestic demand and piling inventories.

The added- value of the sector increased 10 percent year on year, slightly down from 11 percent in 2013.

Chinese machinery enterprises posted combined revenues from main businesses at 22 trillion yuan, up 9.4 percent from a year ago, but still slower than the previous revenue growth.

Insider says the industry, still plagued by overcapacity, will likely continue to slow as it's confronted with weakening demand and fierce competition at home.

 

 

China's 2014 tourism revenue hits 3.38 trillion

 

China's National Tourism Administration has unveiled tourism revenue numbers in 2014.

The sector saw growth of 15 percent on revenue of 550 billion US dollars. There were 3.6 billion domestic trips, a gain of nearly 11 percent.

For the first time, more than 100 million Chinese tourists went abroad last year, up 20 percent from 2013.

Revenues from inbound tourism hit some 57 billion U.S. dollars, up 10 percent.

Analyst attributed the tourism growth to factors such as the global economic recovery, improved international airline capacity, and favorable tourism policies.

 

 

FAW-Volkswagen to launch biggest JV investment in Tianjin

 

A production base that FAW-Volkswagen plans to set up in Tianjin will be the biggest joint-venture investment in the northern port city's manufacturing sector.

The base in the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area will have an investment of 2.5 billion U.S. dollars.

 

 

Headline News

 

 

Chinese President to visit U.S. in Sept.

 

Chinese President Xi Jinping has held phone talks with his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama and accepted the latter's invitation to pay a state visit to the United States in September.

During the conversation, both sides agreed to make full preparations to ensure the success of the trip.

 

 

Australian PM extends Lunar New Year message

 

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has issued a message for the upcoming Chinese New Year, the Year of the Sheep, praising Chinese Australians for their contribution to the country.

Abbott says the Sheep "symbolizes success achieved through quiet fortitude", which illustrates the nature of Australia's Chinese community.

He also recalled the history of the first Chinese coming to Australia during the gold rush years.

Australia is known for its large-scale celebration of the Chinese Spring Festival, including the twilight parade in Sydney, which alone is expected to attract more than 100,000 visitors.

 

 

S.Korea 100-car pileup leaves 2 dead

 

Two people were killed and at least 42 were injured on Wednesday morning after a crash involving about 100 vehicles on a bridge near South Korea's Incheon International Airport.

7 Chinese people are among the injured.

Eight of the people who were rescued were seriously hurt and the number of injured could increase.

A local police official says emergency workers have yet to reach all of the damaged cars.

Fire officials say the crash was likely aggravated by thick fog and icy road conditions.

However this hasn't been confirmed yet.

 

 

Iran's Rouhani urges West to lift "inhuman sanctions"

 

Iran's President says the West should lift "inhuman and illegal sanctions" against Iran, as they are trying to reach a comprehensive nuclear deal with Tehran.

Hassan Rouhani made the pledge while addressing a large crowd in Tehran's Azadi square, who attended to celebrate the 36th anniversary of the Islamic revolution.

He said when the sanctions are abandoned, it will benefit Iran and the P5+1 group, including the United States, Great Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany.

 

 

China holds Maritime Silk Road seminar

 

A two-day international seminar on beefing up maritime trade infrastructure in Asia has opened in southeast China's Quanzhou City.

Over 280 academics and experts from 30 countries have been invited to discuss proposals to build a "21st Century Maritime Silk Road".

The event is themed "collectively building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and creating a community of common destiny".

It will involve three round table meetings, covering the topics of "the values and significance of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative", "working together for common development and prosperity" and "seizing fresh development opportunities and tapping new cooperation prospects".

In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed a modernization of the ancient Silk Road trading network to benefit Asia.

 

 

Newspaper Picks

 

 

SHANGHAI DAILY

"Most US firms in China say pollution impedes hiring"

A recent survey says most US firms in China have problems recruiting senior executives because of the country's chronic air pollution.

For the first time, a majority of respondents - 53 percent - to the American Chamber of Commerce survey said air quality issues had made it difficult for their organization to hire senior talent to work in the Asian economic giant.

The figure is up from 48 percent in 2014 and 34 percent in 2013.

The results were included in the 17th annual business climate survey by the AmCham China, which had responses from 477 of the organization's 1,012 company members.

China's cities are often hit by heavy pollution, blamed on coal-burning by power stations and industry, as well as vehicle use.

 

CHINA NEWS SERVICE

"China ill prepared for aging population"

A new research shows China's 1.3 billon population is facing the harsh reality of growing older before it gets richer, and whether or not the country is ready to meet the challenge is anything but optimistic.

China's old-age support ratio (the ratio of aged population to working-age population) is widening, but the market of goods and services for China's rapidly aging population, known as the "silver-haired economy," is not showing signs of taking shape.

Experts say many people will likely fall into poverty as they grow older, due to limited purchasing power and an insufficient social security net.

Despite improvements to the healthcare and pension systems, China still lags behind, and in the future there will be fewer taxpayers to support aged citizens.

China's old-age support ratio reached 5:1 before 2010, meaning that every five taxpayers supported one senior citizen, but by 2020 the ratio is expected to reach 2.5:1, possibly making China to be a "super-aging society".

 

SKY NEWS AUSTRALIA

"Study says fats diet advice unfounded"

It's been revealed diet advice which put generations of people off eating fatty foods like butter and cheese should never have been given.

The guidelines, which have been followed for the past 30 years, warned that fat consumption should be strictly limited to reduce the risk of heart disease and death.

But experts say this was not backed up by scientific evidence and the advice should never have been released.

It recommended reducing overall dietary fat consumption to 30% of total energy intake and saturated fat to 10%.

New research suggests the recommendations introduced in 1983 lacked any solid evidence and made saturated fat into a villain that resulted in other risks being ignored.

 

 

Special Reports

 

 

The National Ballet of Cuba coming to Beijing with Swan Lake

 

Anchor:

Cuba's National Ballet, treasured by the country along with its reputation for sugar and cigars, is currently on-tour in Asia. One of the top three ballet companies in the world, the Cuban dancers have a long-standing friendship with China. The Company will stop in Beijing around Spring Festival for a performance of the classic "Swan Lake."

CRI's Liu Xiangwei has details.

Reporter:

A witness of the long-lasting friendship between Cuba and China, Laura Alonso, the president of the National Ballet of Cuba, is familiar with the tune "The East is Red," a song that dominated a generation's memory during the 1960s.

The National Ballet of Cuba will arrive in Beijing in February, around the time of the Spring Festival. Alonso's production of Swan Lake will be featured. The traditional four chapters will be concentrated into three, plus an epilogue. Despite the original tragic plot, this version will have a happy ending where prince Siegfried defeats the evil sorcerer, and married princess Odette.

Laura Alonso says ballet dancers are like living museums. Every generation has its own interpretation of the classic works.

"Every age has its own version of ballet. Many variations could happen to the movements and customs. Each of them has its unique taste. We're responsible to showcase the feature of our time."

The National Ballet of Cuba first visited China back in 1961, led by Laura Alonso's mother, legendary ballerina Alicia Alonso. At that time Zhao Ruheng was still a green hand in the world of ballet. And now she's already become the artistic director of dance at the National Center for the Performing Arts. She recalled some details regarding the special care given by China's top leaders back then.

During a press conference in Beijing, Laura Alonso commented that her mother told her the coat was so heavy that she could barely move in it. But she also understood that it was a kind gesture from the dancers' Chinese hosts.

Partially blind since the age of 19, Alicia Alonso won the world's respect with her dedicate and talent. She not only extended her artistic life to some 70 years, but also single-handedly founded the National Ballet of Cuba in 1948, and made it one of the top three ballet companies in the world.

After three frequent visits to China in the 1960s and an absence of some 40 years, Alicia Alonso and her troupe returned to China in 2002 and 2004. Their current Asian tour covers more than 20 Chinese cities in 70 days. Unfortunately it's too arduous for 94-year-old Alicia to cope with, so she didn't come this time.

 

Back Anchor:

That is CRI's Liu Xiangwei reporting

 

 

Sports

 

 

Liaoning Look to Clean Sweep Guangsha for Semifinal Berth

 

Starting off with basketball,

The quarterfinals of the Chinese Basketball Association playoffs continue.

In action now, Liaoning is looking to take Guangsha with a 3-nothing sweep in their best-of-five series.

Liaoning came second in the regular season with a 33-5 record .

Over in Qingdao, the Eagles are also hoping to do away with their opponents, Shanxi, after three matches.

Qingdao are counting on their big center, Iranian Hamed Haddadi, for the clean sweep.

Haddadi provided 39 points and grabbed 13 rebounds on Monday to help Qingdao secure their 2-nothing lead.

Last night, the Beijing Ducks clinched their semifinal berth after sweeping Jilin 3-nothing, closing the series with a 137-95 victory.

The Guangdong Southern Tigers are also on track for a spot in the semifinals after beating Dongguan 114-97.

Guangdong now leads Dongguan 2-1.

 

 

Denver hands Lakers Fifth Straight Loss

 

Five NBA games have been completed today.

The L.A. Lakers have lost a fifth consecutive game, at home against the Denver Nuggets 106-96.

Carlos Boozer led the Lakers with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

The Nuggets got 32 points from Ty Lawson and snapped a six-game losing streak.

In other action,

James Harden scored 20 points in the 4th quarter and brought the Houston Rockets to a 127-118 victory on the road at Phoenix.

Harden led the Rockets with 40 points, 12 boards and 9 assists.

Elsewhere, Greg Monroe provided 23 points and added 12 boards as the Detroit Pistons handed Charlotte a third straight loss 106-78.

Paul Gasol's double double, 26 points and 16 rebounds, helped Chicago to fend off Sacramento 104-86.

Brooklyn lost a third straight game, on the road against Memphis 95-86.

 

 

Atlanta's Kyle Korver to Replace Wade in Sunday's All-Star

 

Off the court,

The NBA has announced that Atlanta's Kyle Korver will feature in the upcoming All-Star game, replacing Miami Heat's Dwayne Wade.

Korver will become the fourth Hawks player in this All-star game, after teammates Al Horford, Paul Millsap and Jeff Teague.

Atlanta had a very impressive run this season.

The team is currently leading the eastern conference with a 43-10 record.

Miami's Wade has been in the All-Star Game 11 times.

However, the Heat guard has to miss Sunday's All-Star Game due to a right hamstring strain.

Wade will also have to sit out Wednesday's match against LeBron James's Cleveland Cavaliers.

 

 

Andy Murray Opens Campaign at Rotterdam, Raonic, Berdych through to the 2nd Round

 

In tennis,

Top-seeded Australian Open runner-up Andy Murray will start his campaign at the World Indoor Tennis Championship against French qualifier Nicolas Mahut.

Around the same time, fourth-seeded former Aussie Open champ Stan Wawrinka will battle Dutch wild card Jesse Huta Galung.

The tournament is being held in the Netherlands.

Earlier, No. 2 seed Milos Raonic and reigning champion Tomas Berdych both advanced to the second round.

Canadian Raonic swatted 19 aces and overcame Russian qualifier Andrey Kuznetsov 6-7, 6-1, 7-5, while the third-seeded Berdych had the upper hand against German Tobias Kamke 6-1, 7-5.

Meanwhile, eighth-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon grounded Portuguese Joao Sousa 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 and unseeded Frenchman Gael Monfils dismissed compatriot Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-3, 6-2.

 

 

Li Na Nominated for Laureus Sportswoman of the Year

 

Also related to tennis,

Retired Chinese tennis ace Li Na has been nominated for this year's Laureus Sportswoman of the year.

Li is the only Chinese athlete to be nominated.

The two-time Grand Slam champion announced her retirement from the sport last year.

However, her achievement in the sport, particularly, being the only Asian player, male or female, to have ever become the world number 2 has left a hefty legacy in Asian sports.

Novak Djokovic, F1 driver Lewis Hamilton, golfer Rory Mcilroy and Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronald were nominated for the sportsman of the year award.

The finalists of the awards will be announced at a ceremony on April 15 in Shanghai.

 

 

Tom Brady Gives away MVP Prize to More Deserving Teammate

 

American football,

Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady has given away his MVP prize, a brand new truck, to teammate Malcolm Butler.

Brady, who clinched the Super Bowl MVP title for a third time, apparently thinks Butler deserves the prize more than he does.

Butler reveals how he got his hands on the keys to the red truck.

"We had a meeting and he was just like, congratulations on the big play and you're going to get the keys to that truck. And I was just like, thank you. Tom's a great guy for doing that. I couldn't have done it though without my teammates. So I mean, I'm just thankful for the truck."

The New England Patriots won this year's game after Brady engineered two touchdowns in the 4th quarter to beat the Seahawks 28-24.

However, New England didn't clinch the win until after Butler intercepted a critical pass at the goal line in the closing minute.

Brady was all praise for Butler's game sealing interception in the moments after the play was made.

"Unbelievable play by Malcolm. We didn't call a timeout and the clock was winding down and we realised, you know, this is basically it if we stopped them. I saw the interception and couldn't believe it. It was just an incredible play."

The Patriots are tied with Dallas and Pittsburgh for the most Super Bowl appearances with eight, and are the sixth franchise with at least four Super Bowl titles.

 

 

Entertainment

 

 

Yule Bao to consider further investment in Jackie Chan's future movies

 

Yule Bao, the fan-funding arm of China's e-commerce and entertainment giant Alibaba will consider investments in further movies by Jackie Chan.

Patrick Liu Chunning, head of Alibaba's digital entertainment operations said that Yule Bao will continue to work with Chan and his Sparkle Roll Culture and Media group.

Yule Bao is a crowd-funding like service which allows fans to back movies and TV shows while earning fixed rates of return. Among its other early investments last year was support for Ann Hui's The Golden Era.

Yule Bao is a minority investor in Jackie Chan's latest film Dragon Blade, the $65 million historical fantasy action film that is produced and stars the Kung-fu star along with John Cusack and Adrien Brody as co-stars and is expected to be one of the biggest movies during Chinese New Year.

Liu did not address the amount of future investment.

 

 

CCTV Signs Deal With iqiyi.com to Broadcast Spring Festival Gala Online

 

This year's China Central Television Spring Festival Gala is to be broadcast online via iqiyi.com

CCTV has signed an exclusive deal with the company to screen the entire New Year's Eve gala online. This is the first time that CCTV has signed an exclusive deal with another media organization.

The gala has long been an integral part of the Chinese New Year celebrations and the crew have been busy are adding the finishing touches to the show.

The show will be broadcast live from 8pm on February 18th and the new deal with iqiyi.com means that viewers across the globe can tune in to join the new year's celebrations.

Singer Andy Lau has confirmed that he will be performing the theme song to the show. The theme song tells the story of Chinese people migrating thousands of miles to reunite with their families.

CCTV's Spring Festival Gala is the longest running, most watched and biggest variety show in television history.

 

 

Jon Stewart to step down from The Daily Show later this year

 

Jon Stewart, the host of Comedy Central's The Daily Show will step down later this year.

Comedy Central confirmed that Stewart has decided to leave after 17 years on the show.

The comedian broke the news to his studio audience during Tuesday's Daily Show taping. Comedy Central released his big announcement online today.

"17 years is the longest I have ever in my life held a job by 16 years and five months. In my heart I know it is time for someone else to have that opportunity. It's been an absolute privilege The honour of my professional life and I thank you."

His departure comes just after the network lost another major comedy figure, Stephen Colbert who left to take over David Letterman's late night show on CBS.

The Daily Show has won 18 primetime Emmy Awards overall.

 

 

Grammy award winner Beck's album streams increase by over 2000 percent

 

Grammy award winner Beck has seen his album sales soar, after Kanye West's outburst at the Grammys.

Beck's album Morning Phase was a surprise winner of Album of the Year at the awards show on Sunday.

Kanye West went to interrupt the singer's acceptance speech, but then looked as if he decided against it. After the ceremony, West spoke about his disappointment that Beyoncé didn't win the award and even went on to say that Beck should give Beyonce his award.

By Monday evening, streams of Beck's album had risen by 2,169 percent, while plays of his back catalogue on Spotify alone had increased by 1,246 percent.

Beck laughed off the entire ordeal, saying he was still a big fan of both Kanye West and Beyoncé.