新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 20:00 2015/04/07（在线收听）

The Beijing Hour

Evening Edition

It's Spencer Musick with you on this Tuesday April 7th, 2015.

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

Coming up on our program this evening...

Firefighters have successfully stopped a blaze resulting from a blast at a chemical plant in Fujian...

Hong Kong taking steps to reinvigorate its struggling tourism sector...

Tourism in Kenya suffering due to the ongoing security concerns following the Al-Shebab attack there...

In Business: China's two stock indexes ending on a seven year high today...

In Sports: Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang officially announcing his retirement...

In Entertainment: Wolf Warrior sits atop the Chinese box office...

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

Weather

Beijing will be cloudy tonight with a low of 4, tomorrow will continue to be cloudy with a high of 14.

Shanghai will see slight rain tonight with a low of 6, it will be overcast tomorrow with a high of 13.

Chongqing will have slight rain tonight, 12 degrees the lowest, tomorrow, overcast with a high of 16.

Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia,

Islamabad will be sunny with a high of 36.

Kabul, also sunny, 22.

Over in Australia

Sydney, will be overcast with a high of 21,

Canberra, slight rain, 18,

Brisbane, sunny , 29,

Finally Perth will have slight rain with a high of 22 degrees Celsius.

Top News

Fire in Three Containers All Put out in China Chemical Plant Blast

Firefighters have put out fires in all the three containers after over seven hours' of intensifying efforts to tackle a blaze that followed a blast at a chemical plant in southeastern Fujian Province on Monday evening.

The blast was caused by fire at a xylene facility, this according to the results of an initial investigation revealed today.

Investigators say a xylene facility leaked oil and caught fire, which led to blasts and a fire at three nearby oil storage tanks on the Gulei Peninsula.

Health authorities say fourteen injured people have been treated in the hospital.

Zhang Yiteng, vice Mayor of Zhangzhou city says that no pollutants have been detected in nearby villages.

"No trace of pollutants has been detected in villages surrounding the plant, no waste water has been discharged externally after the incident, and the society remains calm and stable in general."

Shen Yongxiang, director of the Gulei economic development zone where the factory is located, says residents of the affected areas have all been evacuated.

"After the accident, there were still around 400 residents living in the area, and local authorities arranged the evacuation. Over 400 residents living within an 800-meter radius from the plant have all been brought to safety.　

This is the second accident within 20 months at the same plant, which produces paraxylene, an industrial chemical used for making fiber and plastics.

Former Nanjing mayor given 15-year jail term for bribery

Former Nanjing mayor Ji Jianye has been sentenced to 15-years in prison for taking bribes worth some 1.8 million US dollars.

The former mayor of the capital of Jiangsu plead guilty to all charges in his trial in January.

Ji Jianye was removed from his post and put under investigation for bribery in 2013.

He served as mayor of Nanjing from January 2010 until 2013.

He was also deputy party secretary for Nanjing.

Nanjing is also the first Chinese city to have two top officials sacked during the anti-corruption campaign.

Yang Weize, the former Party chief of Nanjing, was removed from his post for suspected serious party discipline and law violations and is now under investigation.

Hong Kong to introduce campaign to promote tourism

Anchor:

Hong Kong is considering a campaign in the summer to attract more visitors as tourism has experienced a slump in recent months.

CRI's Hong Kong correspondent Li Jing has the story.

Report:

Every year, thousands of mainland tourists flood into Hong Kong during the Qingming Festival holiday, but this year, the number of tourist groups has dropped by 20 percent compared with last year. And the number of tourist arrivals last month also saw a year-on-year 9 percent slump.

Joseph Tung, executive director of the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, says the city's tourism industry is experiencing its hardest time since the "SARS" pandemic in 2003.

"We haven't seen such sharp drop since SARS. I think there are two factors. On one hand, the currencies in neighboring countries are depreciating, while Hong Kong dollars are relatively strong. On the other hand, the protests against parallel goods traders and some impolite behavior towards visitors have left the impression that they are not welcome in Hong Kong. "

Official figures show that retail sales in January went down nearly 15 percent from a year ago, with sales of jewelry and watches plunging 21 percent.

A shop owner in the prime shopping area of Causeway Bay for the past decade says she feels the chill recently.

"It is not as busy and crowded as it used to be. The number of individual tourists is falling. The other countries are opening up to mainland people, so they go to other places rather than coming to Hong Kong."

As a result, the official organization overseeing tourism in the city, the Hong Kong Tourism Board, is planning to make campaigns together with restaurants and retail stores during the summer holiday, to attract tourists with discounts and other preferential policies.

President of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades Simon Wong hopes the government can work with tourism insiders to boost consumption.

"We have 24-thousand restaurants providing different kinds of food. It is important to have a common goal but we don't have enough resources to make it on our own. We had a successful lottery campaign in Hong Kong restaurants before, with the participation of lawmakers. "

Hong Kong Disneyland is actively promoting in Thailand and Philippines, and will fine tune its strategies in line with market demand.

Due to sluggish sales, rental rates in Causeway Bay, which was crowned as the highest rent street in the world back in 2012, has declined by 10 to 15 percent, and is expected to drop more if consumption does not pick up soon.

For CRI, this is Li Jing in Hong Kong.

Japan's foreign diplomatic Blue Book causes controversy

South Korea has denounced Japan's yearly diplomatic paper as "history-regressive," as the Japanese government repeated its territorial claims to Dokdo islets, called Takeshima in Japan.

South Korean Foreign Foreign Ministry Spokesman Noh Kwang-il .

"The Japanese government should keep in mind the remarks that German Prime Minister Merkel made, "Germany has an eternal responsibility to remember and convey its cruel act from past", and should ask themselves why Germany is being respected by the international community after the second world war."

The statement came after Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida submitted the paper, which said Dokdo is "an inherent part of Japanese territory" according to historical facts and international law.

In the paper, Japan reiterates its territorial claims and cites a Chinese vessel's entering into waters around China's Diaoyu Islands as an attempt to "unilaterally change the status quo" in the East China Sea.

In response, the Chinese side has repeated its insistence that it was in fact Japan's unilateral actions that unnecessarily stirred up tensions.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying.

"We would like to develop a strategic mutual beneficial relationship with Japan on the basis of the China-Japan four political documents, in the spirit of learning from history and facing up to the future. But in the meantime, we have stressed several times that Diaoyu Islands belong to China. China's resolution and determination to protect her territorial sovereignty will never be questioned. "

The diplomatic paper comes a day after the Education Ministry irked China and South Korea by unveiling the results of its regular review of textbooks for middle school students.

In those textbooks, Japan also claimed its sovereignty over each disputed set of islands.

Furthermore, when referring to the infamous Nanjing Massacre, instead of stating the fact that the Japanese army "killed many Chinese captives and civilians," textbooks were changed to say that captives and civilians were involved in "the tragedy."

US to boost Asian pivot: defense chief

Anchor:

The new United States Secratery of Defense says that his country considers its strategic pivot towards Asia and the Pacific crucial, as the US plans to significantly boost security investment in the Asian-Pacific region.

CRI's Luo Bin has the details.

Reporter:

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter has gone on-record saying the United States is planning to increase its security spending as part of its strategic rebalance towards Asia and the Pacific.

Carter made the revelation while on a speaking engagement in the US before heading to Japan and South Korea in his first Asian trip, which kicks off tomorrow.

He said the relationship between China and the US is complicated, but that his side is resisting so called "zero-sum" thinking.

"Some people would have you believe that China will displace America in the Asia-Pacific, or that its economic growth will somehow squeeze out opportunities for young people like you. But I reject the zero-sum thinking that China's gain is our lost because there's another scenario in which everyone wins, and it is a continuation of the decades of peace and stability anchored by a strong American role, in which all Asia-Pacific countries continue to rise and prosper, including China. This is the scenario we seek in the ongoing rebalance."

In his announcement on Monday, Carter said the United States is opening a new phase of its strategic pivot toward the Asia-Pacific region.

"So as secretary defense I am personally committed to oversee the next phase of our rebalance, which will deepen and diversify our engagement in the region."

He also specifically emphasized the importance of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, in the rebalance, which is expected to contribute more than 120 billion USD to the country's exports.

"But the TPP also makes strong strategic sense, and it is probably one of the most parts of the rebalance and that's why it has won such bipartisan support. In fact, you may not expect to hear this from the secretary of defense, but in terms of the rebalance in its broader sense, the TPP is as import to me as another aircraft carrier."

Carter's upcoming trip to Asia is the first of the two scheduled in April and May. A U.S. Defense Department statement said earlier that Carter's April trip would focus on strengthening and modernizing America's alliances in Northeast Asia.

For CRI, I'm Luo Bin.

Last group of Chinese nationals evacuated from Yemen

China has evacuated the last remaining Chinese nationals stranded in conflict-ridden Yemen.

A group of 38 Chinese evacuees have arrived in Djibouti on board a Chinese navy ship and they will travel onwards to China on a commercial flight later on today.

45 Sri Lankans evacuated from Yemen have also arrived in Djibouti aboard the same Chinese ship.

Meanwhile, another Chinese navy ship carrying 9 Chinese nationals and one Japanese evacuated from Yemen has arrived at Oman's Salalah port.

China has already evacuated hundreds of its nationals and citizens of other countries from Yemen in recent days.

Yemen is mired in a bloody conflict amid Saudi-led airstrikes on the Houthi militant group.

Q&A about campus attack in Kenya

The local service industry in Kenya is already starting to feel the pinch from last week's deadly attack on a university campus by al-Shabaab militants which left close to 150 people dead.

Hotels along Kenya's coast, as well as game park reserves, say they're already starting to see tourists cancel trips.

As a vital part of the national economy, Kenya's tourism industry has already been in a decline since 2013 when al-Shabaab militants stormed an upscale shopping mall in the capital Nairobi, leaving 67 people dead.

For more on this, earlier I spoke with Judah Kioko, a Public Defender at the Civic Enlightenment Center of Kenya.

Back anchor:

That was Judah Kioko, a Public Defender at the Civic Enlightenment Center of Kenya.

Iraq and Kurds Join Forces to Liberate Nineveh

Iraq's federal government and the Kurdish Regional Government say they will work together for the liberation of the northern Nineveh province, which the Islamic State group mostly controls.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has led an Iraqi delegation in a visit to the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq.

"Our visit to Irbil today is for cooperation and to coordinate a common plan for the liberation of the Nineveh people. We don't have any interest or benefit as a federal government, neither does the Kurdish Regional Government, to violate the land of Nineveh. We will cooperate to liberate Nineveh for the benefit of the Nineveh people."

Kurdish President Massoud Barzani, al-Abadi says Iraqi and Kurdish forces will cooperate in the fight against the Islamic State.

"We decided to form a common committee of military and security experts on both sides to see how we can participate and in what form. And after they submit their report we will take a decision."

Both leaders also have condemned violations of life, property and rights committed against Nineveh citizens.

The central Iraqi government and the Kurdish Regional Government both claim the oil-rich Nineveh province and its capital Mosul as their own territory.

Biz Reports

Anchor:

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

Joining me on the desk is CRI's Luo Bin

Reporter:

Chinese stocks rose on Tuesday after the three-day Tomb Sweeping Day holiday, sending the benchmark index to its highest level in seven years.

Combined turnover on the two bourses expanded to 1.41 trillion yuan, or some 231 billion U.S. dollars, marking the sixth consecutive day above the 1 trillion yuan level.

Financial and industrial companies led the rally. The high-speed rail sector expanded by 3 percent.

China's high speed rail manufacturers China North Railway (CNR) and China South Railway (CSR) rose by the daily limit of 10 percent, as their merger continues to progress.

A total of 146 stocks rose by 10 percent in the two bourses on Tuesday.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was up by two and half of a percent.

The Shenzhen Component Index gained two percent.

Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index rose nearly four fifths of a percent.

Elsewhere in Asia,

The Japanese Nikkei closed at a 2-week high, adding one and a quarter of a percent.

South Korea's KOSPI closed with a slight gain.

Singapore's Straits Times gained more than a third of a percent.

And finally, Australia's ASX 200 ended up by two fifths of a percent.

Back to you Spencer.

Call-in with Gao shang

For more on these stock numbers, we are joined live by Gao Shang, analyst with Guantong Futures.

Back anchor:

That was Gao Shang, analyst with Guantong Futures

Lock-up shares worth 68.3 bln yuan become tradable

Lock-up shares worth around 68.3 billion yuan, or some 11 billion U.S. dollars, will become tradable on China's stock market starting from today.

Approximately 1.35 billion shares from 14 companies will become tradable on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from today to Friday.

Under China's market rules, major shareholders of non-tradable stocks are subject to one or two years of lock-up before they are permitted to trade the shares.

BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd., a Beijing-based display device manufacturer, will see some 50 billion yuan of non-tradable shares unlocked on Wednesday, the largest volume to be released in this batch.

China's central bank makes cash injection

China's central bank has injected funds into the market through a reverse repurchase agreement designed to meet cash demand.

On Tuesday, the central bank pumped 20 billion yuan, or some 3.3 billion U.S. dollars, into the money market through a seven-day reverse repo.

The process sees the central bank purchase securities from individual banks with an agreement to resell them at a future date.

According to a statement on central bank's website, the seven-day reverse repo was priced to yield 3.45 percent.

The benchmark overnight Shanghai Interbank Offered Rate, which measures the cost at which Chinese banks lend to one other, shrank 2.8 percent on Tuesday's interbank market.

Un-authorized Online Lotteries Banned

China's Ministry of Finance has teamed with seven other ministries and government agencies in jointly announcing a plan to ban unauthorized online lottery sales.

The ministry pointed to 'rampant irregularities' in online lottery sales and said that organizations have been offering lottery services without official authorization.

Industry sources suggest there could be as many as 400 Internet companies reportedly involved in online lottery sales.

This generates more than 85 billion yuan (almost 14 billion US) in revenue, accounting for 22 percent of total national lottery sales.

The official notice has led to a complete halt in online lottery sales in China as Internet companies suspend activities awaiting further policy clarification.

Samsung Electronics' operating profit rebounds in Q1

Samsung Electronics saw its operating profit rebound in the first quarter of this year, shrugging off worries about faltering earnings.

According to the company's statement, in the first three months, preliminary figures for operating profit stood at some 5.4 billion U.S. dollars, up almost 12 percent from three months earlier.

The first-quarter figure also surpassed the market forecast.

Last year, Samsung's revenue was down by more than 10 percent.

Since late 2013, the company has seen profits sag due to heightened competition in the smartphone market that it had dominated for years.

Samsung has faced a double challenge from US rival Apple in the high-end smartphone market, and rising Chinese firms like Xiaomi in the mid- to low-end market.

The smartphone division's earnings are expected to rise sharply during the second quarter on the back of robust sales of the newly launched Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge.

Meanwhile, Samsung has won big orders to manufacture the main chip in Apple's next iPhone model.

Bloomberg reports that Samsung plans to make Apple's next generation A9 processor chips at its Giheung plant in South Korea.

Insiders say all these factors indicate that Samsung is likely to see a strong year.

Headline News

Fire in Three Containers All Put out in China Chemical Plant Blast

Firefighters have put out fires in all the three containers after over seven hours' of intensifying efforts to tackle a blaze that followed a blast at a chemical plant in southeastern Fujian Province on Monday evening.

Initial investigation shows the blast was caused by fire at a xylene facility.

Investigators say a xylene facility leaked oil and caught fire, which led to blasts and a fire at three nearby oil storage tanks on the Gulei Peninsula.

Health authorities say fourteen injured people have been treated in the hospital.

This is the second accident within 20 months at the same plant, which produces paraxylene, an industrial chemical used for making fiber and plastics.

UN demands access to Palestinian camp in Damascus

The United Nations is demanding humanitarian access to the Palestinian refugee camp in the Syrian capital Damascus currently being besieged by the Islamic State.

The UN says the humanitarian situation has deteriorated over the past week since the Islamic State took control of much of the camp.

One UN official is describing the situation for the 18-thousand refugees at the Yarmouk camp as "beyond inhumane".

Palestinian militiamen and members of the so-called Free Syrian Army have been desperately trying to hold back the Islamic State, which is said to control close to 90-percent of the camp.

Malaysia passes anti-terror bill

Malaysia has passed a controversial anti-terror bill following the detention of 17 suspected militants believed to be planning terror attacks in Kuala Lumpur.

The bill reintroduces indefinite detention without trial.

This stipulation had earlier been repealed in 2012.

Malaysian police say the 17 suspects detained on Sunday were planning to set up an Islamic State-like regime in Malaysia.

The suspects were said to be planning kidnappings and bank raids to fund terrorist activities.

A Police investigation has also uncovered that the group was planning to raid several army camps and police stations in order to acquire weapons.

Liu Xiang announces retirement

Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang has officially announced his retirement through his verified Weibo account.

The Olympic 110m hurdles gold medalist and former world record holder posted an article thanking the sport and all the people who supported him.

Liu says that he has come to the decision after contemplation and that he has no regrets.

Liu became China's first male Olympic champion in athletics when he won the 110m hurdles at the 2004 Summer Games.

He set the previous world record at 12.88 seconds in Switzerland in 2006.

Newspaper Picks

CHINA NEWS SERVICE

Ikea bans customers sleeping on display beds

It's reported that Ikea has introduced new rules that forbid store visitors from sleeping on showroom sofas and beds, but the rule is proving hard to enforce.

The world's largest furniture retailer introduced the rule because many customers, both adults and children, have been sleeping in stores, creating a scene and affecting the experience of other customers.

Some customers even take off their shoes and lie on the beds as if they were in their own homes.

Ikea encourages customers to sit or lie on beds for a short while to experience their quality, but many sleeping customers occupy the display pieces for too long, a staff member says.

The air-conditioned megastore in Beijing is known for attracting customers in summer who are looking to escape the heat.

--

CHINA DAILY

System targets Chinese tourists' behavior

A new measure has been introduced aimed at ending inappropriate behavior by Chinese tourists.

According to the China Tourism Administration, such behavior includes violating order on public transportation-including flights-damaging public facilities or historical relics, ignoring social customs at tourism destinations, and becoming involved with gambling or prostitution.

Records will be kept by provincial and national tourism authorities for up to two years, starting from the day the misbehavior was confirmed by tourism authorities.

If necessary, they will also be handed to public security, customs, frontier inspection, transportation and banking authorities. Tourists are allowed to appeal.

The move follows incidents involving Chinese tourists that triggered controversy.

During the three-day Tomb Sweeping holiday, three Chinese tourists were arrested in Japan for alleged sexual harassment.

--

YAHOO NEWS

Microsoft is making an effort to hire people with autism

Microsoft has announced that the company has a new pilot program to hire people with autism for full-time positions at its Redmond campus.

This pilot program will be run in partnership with Specialisterne, a Danish nonprofit that helps train people with autism for careers in IT.

SAP, one of the largest enterprise software companies in the world, has worked with Specialisterne in the past, in line with the German company's corporate goal of having one percent of its workforce be people with autism by 2020.

A senior official with the company says that this is the company's first step towards hiring more people with different disabilities, saying that Microsoft is a great environment for the differently abled to develop their skills and careers.

--

ABC NEWS (Australia)

South Korea's Passion for Watching Strangers Eat Goes Mainstream

During the last year or two, watching other people eat has made its way into mainstream TV programs in South Korea.

The trend started off with the TV series "Let's Eat," which is about three singles gathering to dine together.

About one-fifth of the 50-minute episode shows the three biting on food and chewing, the camera close-up on their mouths and the ends of their chopsticks.

The director of the show believes the culture, which considers eating as a communal activity, is the main reason behind Koreans' attractions to "eating" show.

The Korean word for "family" is "shik-gu," which also means "people who eat together." This word implies the weight put onto the act of eating in the Korean culture. Eating is one of the most intimate and essential part of one's life.

To Koreans, sharing food is a way of affiliating with others. Hence, in the modern era where this tradition is fading, watching others eat or conversing with them via the screen may be a small source of a comfort.

Special Reports

Journey to the Antarctica, are you ready?

Anchor:

A rapid influx in the number of Chinese people looking to travel to the Antarctic is generating calls for new rules and guidelines to be laid out to protect both the people who travel there, as well as the highly-sensitive ecosystem.

CRI's Yu Yang has more.

Reporter:

Ushuaia is the southernmost city in Argentina. As the jumping off point for Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, it welcomes over 100,000 visitors from all around the world every year.

According to the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, 3,328 Chinese nationals visited the Antarctic continent last year, a ten-time increase from a decade ago.

At the same time, the growing number of tourists flocking to Antarctica brings concerns about the fragile ecosystem there.

Valeria Dreiser is an analyst from Academy of Tierra del Fuego in Argentina. She said related institutions and travel agencies have developed strict rules to restrict tourists' behavior, in a bid to protect the environment of the continent.

"Tourists must wear clean rubber boots for all landings; they are not allowed to touch penguins or walk beyond the designated areas; they cannot walk alone; No one can leave his/her personal belongings on the continent, nor can he/she take anything away, including stones."

Besides man-made rules, nature also sets boundaries for tourists. They need to be ready for sea-sickness, dry weather and high levels of UV radiation.

Wang Li has just concluded her tour to the South Pole.

"Sea-sickness is sometimes unavoidable, especially when you travel across the strong gusty westerlies between 40 and 60 latitudes. I brought fresh ginger, anti-sick patches that I placed on the skin behind the ears, pills, refreshing oil, peppermint oil and almost anything else I can think of, but I still felt very uncomfortable."

Another torture for tourists is the unexpected dry weather. In fact, the Antarctic is the driest continent on Earth partly due to its scarce annual precipitation.

Furthermore, the level of UV radiation in Antarctica is very high because the sea, ice and snow reflect more sunlight.

"I wasn't aware of the two driest places in the world until I arrived in the South Pole. One is the Sahara desert, the other is Antarctica. The dryness there is beyond imagination. Be sure to take along sun lotion and moisturizer before the journey, and drink lots of water during the trip."

Last but not the least, the Antarctica tour comes with high levels of uncertainty. Everything is subject to weather and the state of the sea therefore the schedule could be changed at a moment's notice.

So if travelers want to take a close look at the South Pole, they need to be both patient and well-prepared.

For CRI, I'm Yu Yang.

Sports

Liu Xiang announces retirement

Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang has officially announced his retirement through his verified Weibo account.

The Olympic 110m hurdles gold medalist and former world record holder posted an article thanking the sport and all the people who supported him.

Liu says that he has come to the decision after contemplation and that he has no regrets.

The runner bid farewell to the track field and says he is looking forward to embarking on a new journey.

"Everyone has things that he wants to do. I just want to do things that are simple and practicle. It doesn't have to be big. After retirement I really want help people if it's within my capability. I want to be able to help young people with their athletic career."

Liu pulled out of the 2012 London Games with a blown Achilles tendon and never competed again.

According to Liu's team doctor, he is not fit for top races anymore.

Liu became China's first male Olympic champion in athletics when he won the 110m hurdles at the 2004 Summer Games.

He set the previous world record at 12.88 seconds in Switzerland in 2006.

AFC Champions League Live Update

In football,

The 4th round of group games of the AFC Champions League kicks off today.

There are seven games on deck tonight. Five of them are in progress as we speak.

First up, in Group H, FC Seoul take on Western Sydney Wanderers with 1-1.

In the same group, Guangzhou Evergrande challenge Kashima Antlers in Japan.

The two teams are currently top and bottom in Group H. Evergrande only need one victory to advance into the elimination round.

Kashima Antlers are looking for three straight wins to avoid elimination, while Guangzhou Evergrande are hoping to extend their previous three-game winning streak in the League and set a new record for points in the group round with a draw 1-1.

The other Chinese team competing tonight, Guangzhou Fuli, are up against Seongnam Ilwha Chunma.

It's going to be the game that decides whether Fuli can stay alive, with them standing at 3rd place with three points in Group F with nil draw.

In other actions,

Gamba Osaka vs Buriram United – 1-1 draw.

Al-Ahli vs Tractor Sazi – nil draw.

NBA: Brooklyn Nets beat Portland Trail Blazers 106-96

In the only NBA game on the schedule today, the Brooklyn Nets defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 106-96.

Brook Lopez of Brooklyn competed against and overshadowed his twin brother Robin with 32 points and nine rebounds.

The teams tied 6-6 in the first period.

Brooklyn opened up the lead in the second quarter with long distance shooting, which put them ahead by 14 points.

They kept the gap for the majority of the game, despite efforts from Portland's Damian Lillard, who scored 36 points for Portland; and Meyers Leonard, who cut the deficit to 8 points in the fourth quarter.

After the game, Brooklyn Nets are 7th in the eastern conference and the Portland Trail Blazers are forth in the west.

Duke beat Wisconsin to win NCAA title

In other basketball action,

Duke won the NCAA final 68-63 against Wisconsin to clinch the national championship.

It's their first title in 5 years.

With that Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski now has five titles under his belt, which puts him in second place alone behind UCLA's John Wooden.

Luis Figo bids for FIFA presidency

Luis Figo is in Cairo, Egypt to bid for the FIFA presidency.

Him and two other candidates are vying to unseat incumbent president Sepp Blatter, who is bidding for his fifth successive term.

FIFA vice-president Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein, Dutch FA president Michael van Praag and Figo are not expected to make much headway among the 54 African countries.

Figo still said that a lot of things can be improved at FIFA.

"The competition is always good I think to give some options to the federations and associations the possibility to choose more than one person and to hear much more proposals and ideas I think is always positive and I just hope I can convince most of the associations with my ideas and my manifesto cause I think it is the best for the organisation and the best for the future of football."

The candidates have already visited Asuncion and Vienna to canvas support. Next they will be in the Bahamas and Bahrain for the confederation congresses.

The result will be announced in Zurich on May 29.

Novak Djokovic apologizes to ball boy for outburst

Newly-crowned Miami Open champion Novak Djokovic has issued a public apology for having an outburst with a ball boy in the final between him and Andy Murray.

After losing the second set, a furious Djokovic vent his frustration by barking at his support camp and snatched a towel from the ball boy, startling him at the same time.

Djokovic received a warning for his manner towards his entourage but not the boy.

He regained his composure and sailed to victory with two more sets.

The world No.1 has taken to his facebook page to say sorry to the ball boy.

"Also I want to reflect on a bad moment that happened in the final against Andy when I lost the second set. I yelled to my camp and my box in frustration," "I saw the replay. Unfortunately a ball boy was in the middle of it and I really, really feel sorry and regret that he was there. There was absolutely no intention whatsoever to hurt him or scare him in any kind of way. I sincerely hope he forgives me. I really apologize."

Djokovic apologized to the boy's parents later in the video.

Sun Yang accepted by Suzhou University for post graduate degree

Olympic swimming champion Sun Yang has been preliminarily accepted by Suzhou University for a post-graduate degree.

Sun is now publicly listed as a student in the program for Science of Physical Culture and Sports on the University's website.

He will have to wait for the official approval from the education authorities and his own confirmation before he can be declared a student for the class of 2015.

If enrolled, Sun will have to earn at least 39 credits before he can get the degree.

Entertainment

Wolf Warrior tops this weekend's Chinese box office

Chinese war action film Wolf Warrior has topped this weekend's Chinese box office ratings with a strong opening of $32.5 million.

Kingsman: The Secret Service came in second place earning $30 million over the full week. Over the ten days since its release, the film has taken a total of $55 million.

Meanwhile local romantic comedy Let's Get Married opened in third place with a total of $22 million.

The top three pictures accounted for 82 percent of the top 10 films' combined box office.

Particularly disappointing was the opening of Outcast, the Chinese financed 3D period action adventure starring Nicholas Cage and Hayden Christiansen which opened in only ninth place, managing a total of $2.4 million including previews.

Game of Thrones creator teaming up with HBO on new project

George RR Martin, the writer of the Game of Thrones books is teaming up with HBO for a new series called Captain Cosmos.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the potential series takes place in 1949 and revolves around a daring young science fiction writer who spends his time crafting stories no one else would attempt to write.

The series is still in its early stages especially as the writer is currently busy finishing up The Winds of Winter, the sixth installment in the Game of Thrones series. The novel won't be out this year but fans can read the second chapter on Martin's website.

Meanwhile fans of his work can catch the start of the fifth series of Game of Thrones on HBO next week.

John Oliver scores interview with Edward Snowden

HBO comedian John Oliver has scored his biggest interview yet – an interview with whistleblower Edward Snowden.

The comedian surprised his viewers by revealing he had travelled to Russia to interview Edward Snowden, who leaked documents about the American government's mass surveillance programs to journalists in 2013.

The interview started on a lighter note asking Snowden about the things he missed from America.

But soon Oliver probed Snowden on why he released the information.

The interview took months to arrange and only a handful of journalists have been able to interview Snowden in person.

A source close to Snowden says John Oliver's interview request was granted because of his journalism.

Don McLean reveals secrets behind American Pie

Don McLean has finally revealed the secrets behind the lyrics to American Pie.

The lyrics are up for auction today at Christie's auction house in New York. In notes that accompany the lyrics, McLean describes the song as a morality song that charts the decline of the USA and its loss of innocence.

The draft up for auction at Christie's is 16 pages: 237 lines of manuscript and 26 lines of typed text, some of which did not make the final song. The auction house believes it could fetch $1.5 million.

McLean initially said he was selling the manuscript on a whim but in an interview with Christies, he said he wanted to influence young songwriters to think about every word in a song.

American Pie made number one in the US and is frequently cited as an important piece of cultural history.

Lady Antebellum to pay 7 fans mortgages

Country mega group Lady Antebellum are holding a competition which will see seven of their lucky fans have their mortgage payments paid off for a whole year.

Named the 7for7 sweepstakes, the band will award seven of their fans a backstage VIP concert experience and a rather significant break on their mortgage payments.

In a statement, Charles Kelly said that he hoped the band would help change some of their fans' lives in a real and tangible way.

This isn't the first time Lady Antebellum have given back to their fans. Their first 7for7 campaign granted wishes from fans across North America and ranged from visits to an American Girl store to an Army base.

The band have recently been nominated for 'Vocal Group of the Year' at the upcoming Academy of Country Music awards

Adam Levine admits to being terrified during stage invasion

Adam Levine, lead singer of Maroon 5 has admitted to being terrified when a fan jumped on stage during the band's recent show in Florida.

The front man was midway through performing when a screaming female fan wrapped her arms around his neck and tried to give him a hug. Video footage shows the star taken by surprise and trying to push her away.

When the singer realized that the girl was just an enthusiastic fan, he put his arm around her and waited until security could take her away.

Levine told the crowd later on in the evening that he found the girl's actions terrifying.

Many fans have criticized the woman for her actions and blamed people who stage invade for the reason why so many artists are unwilling to meet many of their fans.

That's it for this edition of the Beijing Hour. A quick recap of your headlines:

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Hong Kong taking steps to reinvigorate its struggling tourism sector...

On behalf of all the Beijing Hour staffers, Spencer Musick in Beijing hoping you'll join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour, to open a window to the world together.