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

Coming up on our program this morning...

A dramatic hostage-taking has reportedly come to an end in Taiwan.

It's been announced Chinese President Xi Jinping will be making a State Visit to the US in September.

A critical round of peace talks to try to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine is underway in Minsk.

In business... orders are already being taken for cars being sold through the Shanghai Free Trade Zone.

In Sports... Liaoning and Qingdao set for a semi-final showdown in the CBA playoffs.

In entertainment.... Chinese authorities planning a major investment in overseas cultural centers.

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 5 degrees Celsius.

Shanghai is cloudy with a high of 12 and a low of 5 degrees Celsius.

Chongqing, sunny to cloudy with a high of 18.

Elsewhere in Asia.

Islamabad, sunny, with a high of 31.

Kabul, cloudy with a high of 16.

Over to North America.

New York, snowy to windy with a high of 4 degree Celsius.

Washington, windy with a high of 5 degrees Celsius.

Honolulu, cloudy, with a high of 25.

Toronto, windy to cloudy with a high of minus 9.

Finally, in South America,

Buenos Aires will have shower, 35.

And Rio de Janeiro, sunny, with a high of 37 degrees Celsius.

 

 

Top News

 

 

Six inmates commits suicide after taking histage in Taiwan prison

 

Six inmates who had taken a warden and another correction officer hostage at a prison in southern Taiwan have reportedly committing suicide.

The two hostages are said to have escaped unharmed.

The prisoners, under the guise of needing medical care, managed to over-power their guards before taking them hostage.

They also managed to secure guns and ammunition from the prison armory.

It's being reported the six eventually turned the guns on themselves after a lengthy standoff.

No other casualties have been reported.

The six inmates involved had been serving long-term sentences for burglary, murder and drug crimes.

Authorities say the ring-leader, Cheng Li-te, was a member of a notorious mafia-type organization known as the Bamboo Union.

He was serving a 28-year sentence for murder.

Cheng, in-contact with a local media outlet during the hostage taking, said he and his group were prepared to die, and had been planning to escape for a long time.

They had been demanding safe passage out of the prison in Kaohsiung.

However, authorities in Taiwan refused to accede to their demands.

 

 

President Xi to Pay State Visit to U.S. in Sept.

 

It's been announced Xi Jinping's first state-visit to the United States as President is going to take place sometime in September.

US President Barack Obama has offered an official invitation to Xi Jinping to visit the US to, among other things, take part in activities leading upto the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations.

The two sides have already been making preparations, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi sitting down to hammer out agenda items with Deputy US Secretary of State Tony Blinken in Beijing this week.

"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."

Xi Jinping made an informal visit to the United States to meet privately with US President Barack Obama in California shortly after taking office.

 

 

China and the US to talk possible extradition treaty in August

 

Anti-corruption officials from China and the United States have announced plans for a meeting in August to talk about the possibility of creating an extradition treaty between the two countries.

The proposed talks are a follow-up from an anti-corruption commitment made by both Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama at the APEC meeting in Beijing in November.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying.

"China encourages all APEC economies to follow through on the Beijing Declaration on Fighting Corruption, enhance practical cooperation on the repatriation of corrupt officials, recovery and return of proceeds of corruption and other areas. It is necessary for both China and the United States to explore effective and new means to carry forward the current cooperation. We will keep in touch with the American side in this regard."

China currently has extradition treaties with 36 countries.

The lack of an extradition treaty between China and the United States, along with Canada and Australia, has made them attractive destinations for economic fugitives or corrupt officials fleeing China.

 

 

China's graft-busters hit more SOEs

 

Chinese discipline authorities say the first round of inspections this year are going to cover 26 centrally-administered state-owned enterprises.

The inspections themselves are set to begin after Spring Festival.

Chinese state-owned companies have been criticized for, among other things, the selling and buying of positions and forming cliques.

A previous round of inspections led to the dismissal of 70 different executives last year.

 

 

Four-way talks underway in Minsk as fighting rages in eastern Ukraine

 

The leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine has begun a new round of Ukranian peace talks in the Belarusian capital Minsk.

The Franco-German brokered talks are pressing for a lasting ceasefire between Ukrainian troops and rebel forces.

Key sticking points at the talks include drawing a line of division, the withdrawal of troops and heavy weapons, as well as securing the Ukrainian-Russian border and giving the regions in the east of Ukraine more autonomy.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says "noticeable progress" has already been made in advance of the peace talks.

However, he contends it's "unrealistic" for Kiev to demand full-control along its border with Russia.

"Without any doubt, if now, when fighting is continuing, there is a desire to put at the top the issue of reclaiming control by the Ukrainian authorities over the full length of the border between Ukraine and Russia, then in those parts that are controlled by the rebels they need to agree on it with the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics. I think it is obvious."

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is warning if no deal can be struck at this round of talks, the situation in eastern Ukraine could spin out of control.

"The entire world is waiting to see whether the situation moves toward de-escalation, weapons drawdown, ceasefire, and if there won't be any deaths. And if Minsk won't become this symbol, then this situation will explode. I'm convinced that it will spin out of control."

Fighting in eastern Ukraine has been intensifying.

The uptick in violence has prompted the US and some of its other NATO allies to suggest they may be considering passing along weapons to Ukranian authorities.

However, a number of countries in Europe, particularly Germany, have warned against such moves.

Moscow has also warned of consequences if NATO begins shuttling arms into Ukraine.

 

 

Obama send Congress request for authorization for the use of military force

 

Anchor:

US President Barack Obama sent a formal request to the US Congress for authorization for the use of military force in the fight against the Islamic State.

CRI's chief Washington correspondent Xiaohong has more.

Reporter:

In a letter to Congress, President Obama contends that if left unchecked, ISIL will pose a threat beyond the Middle East, including the United States.

But in making the symbolic request to Congress, Obama is also ruling out any large-scale ground combat operations involving US troops.

"The resolution we submitted today does not call for the deployment of U.S. ground combat forces to Iraq or Syria. It is not the authorization of another ground war like Afghanistan or Iraq."

The Obama administration has insisted that any ground combat operations should be left to local forces.

His proposal to Congress contains an operational limit of 3-years.

"I do not believe America's interests are served by endless war or by remaining on a perpetual war footing."

But in setting the timeline, he says the move shouldn't be viewed as timetable for completing the mission, but rather an opportunity for Congress to revisit the situation at the beginning of the next President's term.

The request is already creating political waves.

Republican House Speaker John Boehner has issued a statement, saying -quote- "any authorization for the use of military force must give military commanders the flexibility and authority they need to succeed and protect our people."

Boehner contends the request by Obama doesn't meet that standard.

If US lawmakers do approve the request, it would be the first time in 13 years Congress has authorized a President's use of force.

Lawmakers voted to give then-President George W. Bush the green light to invade Iraq in 2002.

 

 

300 migrants feared dead after boats sink: UNHCR

 

More than 300 migrants are feared dead after their flotilla was caught up in rough weather in the Mediterranean this week.

A group of boats set off from Libya on Saturday in an attempt to reach Italy's Lampedusa Island, which is located a few hundred kilometers off the northern coast of Libya.

However, it’s feared all four of the boats in the floatilla have gone down.

Carlotta Sami is with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees office in Italy.

"They confirmed what other survivors previously said, that there were 203 people with them that have disappeared. They have been swallowed by the sea, but in addition to that, they confirmed that there was a fourth dinghy, so we do not know about the fate of another hundred people."

Earlier this week, the Italian coast guard pulled more than 100 people out of the water.

However, 29 of them died of hypothermia in the 18 hours it took the coast guard to ferry them to Lampedusa.

 

 

British Labour Opposition Leader Alleges HSBC Bank over Tax Avoidance

 

Britain's opposition is using the latest scandal involving HSBC to score some political points in the run-up to the election in May.

Opposition leader Ed Miliband has used the latest Q&A session in Parliament to question Prime Minister David Cameron about the appointment of Stephen Green as a senior trade official in 2010.

Green had been the head of HSBC during the time the British banking giant is accused of helping its wealthy customers avoid millions of dollars in taxes.

Cameron has shrugged off any suggestion of impropriety.

"When I appointed Stephen Green every proper process was followed. I consulted the cabinet secretary, I consulted the director for propriety and ethics and of course the House of Lords appointments commission now looks at someone's individual tax affairs before giving them a peerage. I made the appointment, it was welcomed by Labour and three years later they were still holding meetings with him."

Green is no longer part of the British government.

A panel of British lawmakers is opening an inquiry into HSBC.

This follows revelations the bank helped thousands of its customers avoid taxes and shield assets in its Swiss operations.

 

 

Alleged killer of former Navy SEAL stands trial

 

A murder trial has begun in the US state of Texas for the man accused of killing the US Navy SEAL depicted in the movie "American Sniper".

Making his opening statements, Eddy Ray Routh's lawyer says his client was suffering from severe mental strain when he fatally shot Chris Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield.

But prosecutor contends Routh's history of mental illness shouldn't absolve him of being accountable for the deaths.

Kyle and his friend were killed at a shooting range in February 2013 while trying to help Routh recover from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

If convicted, Routh faces life in prison without parole.

The case has drawn intense interest, largely because of Kyle's memoir about being a Navy SEAL sniper who served four tours in Iraq.

The Oscar-nominated film "American Sniper," based on the book, has grossed nearly 300 million US dollars.

The case has also renewed discussion in the US about the mental struggle former members of the military face.

 

 

Families of Taiwan Air Crash Reject Compensation Offer

 

Families of the victims of last week's dramatic plane crash in Taipei have rejected compensation offer put forward by TransAsia Airlines.

The airline and the families met for around 3-hours on Wednesday to discuss the compensation.

Liu Zhongji is a representative of TransAsia Airways.

"We offered 13.5 million New Taiwan dollars to each victim's family. There is also another 1.2 million New Taiwan dollars being offered as a funeral allowance, on top of an additional 200-thousand New Taiwan dollar condolence payment. All together, the compensation we've offered is 14.9 million New Taiwan dollars. This is around 3 million yuan."

TransAsia made similar payouts to the families of passengers killed in another crash off the coast of Taiwan in July.

Despite the rejection of the offer, Liu Zhongji says the company is going to remain in-contact with the families.

"Apart from the destination of our direct routes to the mainland, we are also willing to send our people to the victims' hometown to offer help to their families. We're also going to help them get lawyers so that their rights can be fully guaranteed."

42 people were killed in the crash.

Initial indications are the plane lost power in one of its engines shortly after takeoff, clipping a bridge with its wing before coming down in the Keelong River.

Fifteen onboard did manage to survive.

The body of one of the passengers is still missing.

Meanwhile, 29 pilots from Transasia Airlines have been suspended for failing or missing safety tests.

The local aviation regulator in Taiwan ordered the tests after the crash.

 

 

0212car Car-transport Train Service for Spring Festival Available

 

Anchor:

Rail officials in Beijing have coined the term "car-carrying train service" to describe the program for this year's Spring Festival.

CRI's Yu Yang has more.

Reporter:

The now-described "car-carrying train service" is simply the transport of a person's vehicle to their preferred destination by train.

This allows vehicle owners to have their car available for them when they arrive during the Spring Festival holiday, rather than driving the vehicle there themselves.

Li Yuchun lives in Beijing.

He's sending his car ahead of him to Guangzhou.

"I once used motor carriers to transport my car. This is the first time I'll be sending it by train. It's faster. It takes less than a week. If I drive to Guangzhou by myself, it will be terribly tired."

Once Li Yuchun puts his vehicle on the train, it will arrive in Guangzhou 4-days later.

All he needs to pick it up is his ID card, his drivers license, his vehicle registration and the service contract.

For a small car like Li Yuchun's, a one-way package costs 3-thousand yuan from Beijing to Guangzhou.

It will cost him 56-hundred yuan to send his vehicle on a round-trip.

The price does not include his own travel costs to get to Guangzhou.

Zhu Dianping with the Beijing Railway Bureau says there are a number of routes being made available for this holiday.

"We've opened six routes for the Spring Festival. From Beijing, we can send your vehicle to Haikou, Guangzhou, Kunming, Fuzhou, Wenzhou and Harbin. The price is fixed based on the distance and other related services."

To ensure security, all goods loaded in a person's vehicle will have to undergo thorough checks.

Beijing Rail officials do caution that any items you wouldn't be allowed to take on a train yourself won't be allowed in your vehicle.

"Wine with an alcohol content lower than 36 percent is allowed. But only two bottles. For transport security, strong liquors and fragile articles are banned."

The service was first launched in October during the National Day holiday.

For CRI, I'm Yu Yang.

 

 

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. markets saw a sluggish day on Wednesday, as investors continue to watch for developments in negotiations between Greece and euro zone finance ministers.

Energy stocks were among the biggest decliners, as the price of oil continues to fall.

U.S. Crude oil dropped 2.4-percent to close at at around 48 U.S. dollars a barrel.

The Nasdaq got a lift following a 2.3 percent gain in Apple shares after investor Carl Icahn issued a letter saying the company should be traded at 216 U.S. dollars a share.

The letter comes as after Apple revealed it has a market cap of some 700 billion U.S. dollars.

Lions Gate shares rose 8 percent on news the entertainment company has entered into a stock agreement with affiliates of billionaire John Malone.

Pepsi shares finished up 2.5 percent after the soft drink maker reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit and announced share buyback plans.

At close,

Both the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 closed virtually unchanged.

While the Nasdaq ticked up close to a third of a percent.

European stocks declined before the meeting among Greece's Finance Minister and his euro-area counterparts in Brussels.

At the closing bell,

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

Germany's DAX ended flat.

And Finally France's CAC 40 dipped about one third of a percent.

 

 

Shanghai Allows 17 Dealers to Import Cars directly from Overseas

 

Anchor:

Orders for new vehicles are already being taken by the 17 car dealers who have been given approval to sell cars imported into the Shanghai Free Trade Zone.

These dealers are being allowed to sell vehicles under the so-called "parallel import scheme."

The program allows dealers to avoid purchasing their vehicles from 3rd-party import collectives, which are all controlled by the automakers themselves.

In theory, the new program should make the vehicles 10-percent cheaper to purchase.

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

 

 

China Eyes High-speed Rail Deals with 28 Nations

 

Chinese trainmaker CNR says it's in talks with 28 different countries, including the US, Russia and Brazil, on new high-speed rail projects.

The revelation comes amid suggestions from the central government that it wants to see high-speed rail be one of the cornerstones of Chinese overseas expansion.

The Chinese government is offering increasing financial support through its policy banks.

Li Wen is with the Export-Import Bank of China.

"By the end of January, Export and Import Bank provided financial support to 35 overseas railway construction projects and railway equipment export projects in loans up to $ 13 billion, supporting the railway construction projects with as long as 3,500 kilometres."

China's railway equipment exports accounted for 10 percent of the global market share last year.

Total exports of railway equipment hit 4 billion US dollars last year.

 

 

PBOC Expands SLF to Ease Liquidity

 

China's central bank has announced plans to expand its standing lending facility, or SLF.

This is a liquidity support tool which covers small and medium-sized banks across the country.

The SLF provides fixed-rate loans to the banks so they don't have to get cash injections from the inter-bank lending market.

In expanding the lending facility, the central bank says it hopes it will address liquidity fluctuations ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday and help stabilize the country's money market.

SLF was brought in by the central bank at the beginning of 2013 to meet liquidity needs from banks, especially before holidays.

 

 

Tianjin to Get Biggest JV Auto Investment

 

FAW-Volkswagen is boasting that a production base it plans to set up in Tianjin is going to be the biggest joint-venture investment the city's manufacturing sector.

The base, to be established in the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area, is said to be an investment of 2.5 billion U.S. dollars.

Construction is due to start this year.

It's expected to be operational by 2018.

China is Volkswagen's largest market worldwide.

 

 

Tesla Chief Ready to Sack Execs Overseas after Dismal China Sales

 

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk is reportedly going to fire some of his overseas executives in the wake of weak sales of the company's electric cars in China.

Tesla reportedly only sold 120 cars in China last month, well below the company's aggressive targets.

Two of the company's top China managers left Telsa last year.

It's being reported Musk has sent out an internal e-mail, warning its managers in China that their jobs may be on the line.

Tesla is planning to increase its annual production from a projected 50-thousand cars this year to 500-thousand by 2020, with the US and China as the company's two largest markets.

 

 

Headline News

 

 

Six inmates commit suicide after taking hostage in Taiwan prison

 

Six inmates who had taken a warden and another correction officer hostage at a prison in southern Taiwan have reportedly committing suicide.

The two hostages are said to have escaped unharmed.

The prisoners, under the guise of needing medical care, managed to over-power their guards before taking them hostage.

They also managed to secure guns and ammunition from the prison armory.

It's being reported the six eventually turned the guns on themselves after a lengthy standoff.

No other casualties have been reported.

 

 

China's graft-busters hit more SOEs

 

Chinese discipline authorities say the first round of inspections this year are going to cover 26 centrally-administered state-owned enterprises.

The inspections themselves are set to begin after Spring Festival.

Chinese state-owned companies have been criticized for, among other things, the selling and buying of positions and forming cliques.

A previous round of inspections led to the dismissal of 70 different executives last year.

 

 

China Confirms 100 H7N9 Human Cases

 

Chinese health authorities now say the number of H7N9 bird flu cases in humans in China has reached 100 this year.

The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention says Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangsu are among the most heavily infected areas.

The latest case has emerged in the city of Shantou in Guangdong.

That province has recorded 43 bird flu cases so far this winter.

Local officials say they are in the process of shutting down live poultry markets.

However, they say that process won't be complete until June.

 

 

Costa Concordia captain guilty of manslaughter

 

The captain of Italian cruise liner Costa Concordia has been found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Captain Francesco Schettino was at the helm when the ship when it hit rocks and sank off the Italian coast in 2012, killing 32 people.

He's been convicted of taking the ship too close to shore, on top of abandoning ship with passengers and crew still on board.

The ship was ripped open when it hit the shore, eventually capsizing, leaving 32 of the roughly 4-thousand people onboard trapped below.

 

 

Petrobras offshore rig explosion kills three

 

An explosion at an offshore oil and gas platform off the coast of Brazil has left at least 3 people dead.

Six others are listed as missing.

The fire caused by the explosion has been contained, and officials with Petrobras say the platform has been stabilized.

Brazil's state-run oil giant says no oil has leaked from the rig.

An explosion on British Petrolium's Deep Water Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 eventually led to the worst oil spill in US history.

 

 

Newspaper Picks

 

 

BEIJING NEWS

Headline

Water cut in dispute

Summary

Water supplies have reportedly been cut off for an entire county in Henan amid a dispute between the local government and a water company.

The local government is being accused of embezzling the subsidies provided in agreement for a sewage processing, leaving the company with no money to pay its workers and suppliers.

BEIJING TIMES

Headline

Forbidden city schedule

Summary

Authorities with the Palace Museum are going to shut down the tourist site on the afternoon of New Year's Eve, which is on the 18th.

The Forbidden City will also be shut down on Lunar New Year's morning.

Visitors are encouraged to book tickets in advance online.

BEIJING MORNING POST

Headline

China's most dangerous highways

Summary

The Ministry of Public Security has published a list of this country's 10-most dangerous highway sections.

The 80th to 90th kilometers on China National Highway 102, near the border between Tianjin and Hebei, tops the list.

GLOBAL TIMES

Headline

More cross-Strait offices

Summary

The State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office has announced plans to open two more economic and trade offices.

This is to coincide with the creation of a new Free Trade Zone in Xiamen, which is the hub of mainland trade with Taiwan.

SHANGHAI DAILY

Headline

Metro rats

Summary

Subway police in Shanghai say they've been getting around 60 tip-offs a day about violations on the city's subway network.

This comes after its official WeChat account was upgraded this year.

The account now allows passengers to tap in the line number, the carriage number, the direction the train is headed and the name of the next station to report violations, such as beggars.

 

 

Special Reports

 

 

Rising tourist market cries for better performance of China airlines: industry insiders

 

Anchor:

A new survey conducted by travel information firm Travelsky and English.China.com is suggesting expats planning to travel around China remain concerned about the quality of service on domestic airlines to the point where it may affect where they decide to travel.

CRI's Xu Fei has more.

Reporter:

Leading Chinese aviation and tourism information provider TravelSky used the analysis method of big data in this survey.

In the survey, several second-tiered Chinese cities, including Urumqi, Xiamen and Qingdao are among the most popular tourist destinations.

Many expats say they plan to travel around China during this holiday season.

"Harbin in this weather is very interesting, and I like Kashgar, very interesting, nice carpets, good food."

"This Chinese new year I'll travel around the south of China. I would like to go to Xiamen. I would like to go to Guilin and the area of Sichuan."

However, at the same time, the TravelSky survey is also suggesting the passenger satisfaction for domestic carriers remains not optimistic.

One of the most common complaints is the sometimes poor on-time performance.

Aviation expert Zhang Jing says the experience of air travel is one of the elements that will have a direct impact on tourists' decision process.

"Most of China's tourist cities are under heavy influence of seasonal factors, which means season will be the top consideration for foreign tourists. Besides, the on-time performance of carriers, on-flight service and ground transit will also have an impact on air travelers."

Apart from flight delays, passengers and industry insiders say on-plane service is another thing that Chinese carriers should pay extra attention.

Air Canada staff Kramer has this to say.

"I work for Air Canada, so I always choose Air Canada. A friend I work with also travels with Air China and other airlines. He says the service of Air Canada is above China's airline service."

Xia Xinghua is the vice director of China's Civil Aviation Administration.

"We encourage competition among carriers in order for them to improve safety and service standards to meet the diversified needs."

Industry insiders say with the demand of domestic air travel rising, China's airlines still have a lot of things to do to better explore the market.

Back anchor:

 

 

Sports

 

 

Basketball: Liaoning and Qingdao to Face off in CBA Semi-Finals After Wins

 

Liaoning beat Guangsha 120-112 through overtime and won the best-of-five series 3-0 on Wednesday, setting up a semifinal clash against Qingdao in the Chinese Basketball Association.

Qingdao closed up their series against Shanxi with a same 3-0 sweep after wining their second home match 108-96.

Liaoning lost their reputation as "the king of the fourth quarter" as they were taken into overtime, with the score and 103-103.

But He Tianju's two three-pointers in the beginning of the overtime secured Liaoning's berth in the semifinals.

Liaoning made it to their first semifinals in eight seasons, thanks also to CBA MVP Lester Hudson's triple double of a match-high 40 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists.

Liaoning's semifinal opponent will be Qingdao, who had snapped Liaoning's 17-game run in their first meet of the season.

The first match of Liaoning-Qingdao best-of-five series will be played in Qingdao.

Defending champions Beijing made it to the semifinals on Tuesday with a 3-0 tally against Jilin, while Guangdong are 2-1 up in their quarterfinal against Dongguan.

 

 

NBA Preview

 

Over in the NBA, 12 games are on schedule this morning:

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

Atlanta will face Boston;

San Antonio will battle Detroit;

Washington take on Toronto;

Sacramento hit the court against Milwaukee;

Golden State are away at Minnesota;

New Orleans host Indiana;

Memphis and Oklahoma City will mix it up;

Miami will face Cleveland;

Utah will meet Dallas;

The Los Angeles Lakers take on Portland;

and Houston are out west to face the L.A. Clippers.

 

 

Tennis: ATP and WTA Recap

 

Britain's Andy Murray beat qualifier Nicolas Mahut in straight sets at the World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam on Wednesday.

Murray did not face a single break point in the opening set as Mahut was outplayed from every part of the court.

Mahut claimed two games after Murray pushed to a comfy 5-0 lead. Murray finally closed out the match 6-3, 6-2 after one hour and 33 minutes on court.

"I started the match very well and the serve was working very well. Obviously, it's an important part of the game when you play indoors because conditions are very quick and if you serve well you can get a lot of free points there. So yeah, I served well in the first set and in the second set, both of us started to return better and started to put more pressure on each others' serves. Even though he didn't break me, he had chances throughout and me as well--so yeah, it was a good match."

He will face 24-year-old Canadian Vasek Pospisil in round two.

Earlier, Sergiy Stakhovsky became the first player to seal his spot in the quarter-finals by defeating sixth-seed Dominic Thiem 6-1, 6-3.

Italy's Andreas Seppi advanced to the second round with a hard-fought 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-3 over wild card Robin Haase - and will next play defending champion Tomas Berdych.

And fourth-seed Stan Wawrinka is through after beating Jesse Hut Gulang.

In Women's action over at the Diamond Games in Antwerp:

Sixth-seed Dominika Cibulkova downed Kateryna Bondarenko 6-1, 6-2;

Czech Karolina Pliskova beat Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 6-4, 7-6

and down at the Pattaya Open:

Top-seeded Chinese Peng Shuai lost to unranked Japanese Misaki Doi 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.

 

 

Football: Copa del Rey, EPL recap

 

Over to football;

In English Premiere League action:

Chelsea beat Everton 1-0;

Man City stomped Stoke 4-1;

Man U dumped Burnley 3-1;

and Southampton and West Ham went scoreless in their 0-0 tie.

Over in La Liga's Copa del Rey:

Barcelona wins its first leg against Villareal 3-1. Lionel Messi opened up scoring for Barca in the 41st minute, but Manu Trigueros equalized four minutes into the second half.

Barca answered back almost immediately with another goal to maintain their lead. A third goal in the 64th minute ensured Barcelona the victory.

And Atletic Bilbao vs Espanyol

 

 

Entertainment

 

 

Happy Chinese New Year 2015 celebrated globally

 

More than 800 programs of the "Happy Chinese New Year 2015" have been staged around the world so far.

The show has been performed in 320 cities in 118 countries and regions.

Activities of the Chinese New Year celebration began half a month ahead of the first day of the Lunar New Year, and will end after the Lantern Festival, lasting about a month.

By then, China will have joined hands with numerous governments, cultural organizations and enterprises, offering blessings and good wishes to people around the world.

As well as celebrating Chinese New Year on the mainland, China is taking its famous New Year's Gala television show to an international audience for the first time.

State broadcaster CCTV, which has broadcast the Spring Festival Gala on the eve of the Lunar New Year annually since 1984, will license the rights to foreign television stations for free.

 

 

China's investment in overseas cultural centers expands in 2015

 

The Chinese government plans to channel almost 60 million U.S. dollars to its overseas cultural centers in 2015.

According to the Ministry of Culture, it's an increase of 181 percent from 2014.

There were 20 China culture centers in operation by the end of last year. The first two were set up in Mauritius and Benin in 1988.

Yan Dongsheng, deputy director of the ministry's finance department, said centers in Brussels and Singapore are slated for opening later this year, and the government plans to have 50 centers across the globe by 2020.

The cultural centers host exhibitions, provide Chinese historical and social development information, and host courses in Chinese martial arts, music, language and cuisine.

 

 

Jackie Chan & John Cusack attend Dragon Blade premiere in Malaysia

 

Jackie Chan, John Cusack and Adrian Brody attended the premiere for their new movie "Dragon Blade" in Malaysia lastnight.

The action film is a tale of two great historical forces, the Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire, who square off in an epic battle in 206-220 AD.

At the premiere in Kuala Lumpur, Cusack talked about his love of movies from the Far East and working with one of Asia's biggest stars.

"For me I grew up loving Asian cinema, and grew up loving Mr. Jackie Chan and he sort of hates this but everybody sort of says 'Jackie Chan is so great. Jackie Chan is so great. It such an honor to work with Jackie Chan.' He hears that all the time but, it happens to be true."

Chan plays a commander who's framed and later enslaved while Cusack

plays a Roman soldier who escapes to China after rescuing the Prince.　

"Dragon Blade" was written and directed by Daniel Lee with a budget of 65 million U.S. dollars, making it one of the most expensive Chinese films ever made.

The movie is set for release in China on February 19.

 

 

Netflix accidently leaks "House of Cards" season 3

 

Fans of the U.S. drama "House of Cards" got a pleasant surprise after ten episodes from the highly anticipated season three, were accidentally released on Nextflix.

Shortly after word emerged on social media about the release, a search of Netflix's site showed the newer episodes had been pulled off.

The online movie streaming site swiftly rectified the issue and removed all the episodes.

Ten out of thirteen episodes were leaked.

Netflix responded with a statement that said, "due to a technical glitch some Frank Underwood fans got a sneak peak. He'll be back on Netflix on Feb. 27."