| The Beijing Hour
Morning Edition
Today is Monday, April 13, 2015.
Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese Capital.
Coming up on our program this morning...
Forecasters are warning of potential flooding along the Yangtze River this year.
New stats show cancer rates here in China are likely to continue rising over the next 5-years.
Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton officially throws her hat into the ring for the Democratic nomination for President.
In Business... A-share investors are now able to open up multiple trading accounts.
In Sports... Lewis Hamilton takes this year's Shanghai F1.
In entertainment... "Fast and Furious 7" drawing huge numbers through its 2nd weekend.
Let's get into our top stories on this Monday morning...
Top News
Severe flood warning for Yangtze River
Chinese flood-control authorities are warning of possible heavy flooding in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River this year.
The China Meteorological Administration is warning rains in the middle reaches of the river area going to be 20-percent more than average.
At the same time, the upper reaches of the Yangtze River are also expecting the heaviest flooding in 20 years.
The flood season of the Yangtze River runs through the summer.
It normally ends in October.
Heavy flooding along the Yangtze River in 1998 left 18-hundred people dead.
China at war with caner as morbidity and mortality rates keep rising
Chinese medical experts are suggesting mortality rates for cancer are set to keep rising over the next 20-years.
A new survey by the National Central Cancer Registry shows about 3.3 million people were diagnosed with cancer in 2011.
Two-thirds of those diagnosed with the disease die from it in China.
The same survey shows that in over the past decade, the number of cancer cases and cancer-caused deaths have been rising significantly.
A forecast by the International Agency on Research for Cancer says without effective measures, the death toll in China will reach 3-million in the next 5-years.
Lung cancer remains the top killer, with 530-thousand dying every year.
Chen Wanqing is the vice director of the National Cancer Prevention and Control Research Office.
"As a whole, smoking is still the main cause. The smoking rates in China remain high. Air pollution is another contributor. The World Health Organization has listed air pollution as Group 1 carcinogen."
The same analysis also shows prostate cancer is also rising sharply.
Ma Jianhui is with the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.
"In recent years the cases of prostate cancer have increased greatly in China. An aging population is the main factor. But on top of this, as people live longer, they tend to have fattier diets. Fat is directly linked to prostate cancer."
Medical experts are calling for more early prevention.
Around 80-percent of lung cancer patients in Beijing are in the terminal stages.
In Europe and North America the fatality rates from lung cancer are around 50-percent.
Online Medical Diagnoses Not Allowed for Individuals in China
Chinese health regulators have issued a ban on hospitals providing online medical diagnosis.
Song Shuli is with the National Health and Family Planning Commission.
"Medical diagnoses should not be carried out on the Internet. Hospitals can offer online medical advice, but they should not make a diagnosis or give treatment"
Online medical diagnosis is becoming more common in China.
Song Shuli says the diagnosis is often provided by people without medical qualifications.
"Online medical services should only be provided by healthcare facilities. Hospitals and doctors should both be qualified for online diagnoses in a specific field. Facilities should strictly abide by the law and regulations during the process, and ensure patients' right to know information."
The Chinese government has created a pilot program allowing three Beijing-based hospitals to give online medical diagnosis to patients in 5 different regions of China.
Hillary Clinton finally announced her bid for 2016
Anchor
Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has officially dropped her hat into the ring for the Democratic nomination for President.
CRI's chief Washington correspondent Xiao Hong has more.
Ann
After several months of officially sitting on the fence, Hillary Clinton has finally made it public.
"I'm running for President. Americans have fought their way back from tough economic times but the deck is still stacked in favor of those at the top. Everyday Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion."
Her first campaign ad is targeting the middle class and the economy.
Polling suggests Hillary Clinton stands as the overwhelming favorite to replace Barack Obama.
She holds a significant lead over all her potential rivals.
The Republican bench so-far includes Senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul.
Rand Paul's latest campaign ad has taken aim at Clinton, calling her part of the broken Washington machine.
"Hillary Clinton represents the worst of the Washington machine. The arrogance of power, corruption and coverup, conflicts of interest and failed leadership with tragic consequences."
Clinton does come with some baggage.
She's consistently being dogged by her role as Secretary of State during the 2012 Benghazi attack.
Large foreign donations to the Clinton Foundation have also become an issue, as is her use of a non-State Department email account.
Clinton is set to begin her campaigning in Iowa.
Xiaohong, CRI, Washington DC.
Q&A with Dr. Kiracofe
For more on Hilary Clinton's presidential bid, we earlier spoke with Dr. Clifford A. Kiracofe, educator and former senior professional staff member of the US senate foreign relations committee.
Back Anchor
Dr. Clifford A. Kiracofe, educator and former senior professional staff member of the US senate foreign relations committee
Solar Impulse 2 to take off again, heading for Nanjing
The Solar Impulse-2 is expected to take off from Chongqing on Thursday to continue its around-the-world flight.
The plane is orginally scheduled to take off Tuesday but the weather caused the delay, again.
The solar-powered aircraft has spent the past two-weeks in Chongqing.
It's headed for Nanjing.
Solar Impulse-2 arrived in Chongqing on March 31st after flying in from the city of Mandalay in Myanmar.
The flight to Nanjing will be the sixth-leg of the Swiss-developed plane's quest to become the first aircraft to fly around the world powered only by the sun.
The single-seater aircraft, piloted by Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, is made from carbon fiber and has more than 17 thousand solar cells built into its wing.
For more on the story, we are now joined live by Elke Neumann, Media Relations Officer of the Round-The-World project, from Nanjing.
Q1: First of all, is seems the plane will stay in Chongqing for two more days amid the unpredictable weather. What's the latest?
Q2: I understand you're with an advance team in Nanjing, how are the preparations going and how are the pilots?
3: Tell us about your stay in Chongqing, it's longer than you expected, right? Was it only about the weather, or something else?
Q4: Let's talk about the journey itself. How did the idea first emerge and what message you are sending to the world with such an adventure?
That's Elke Neumann, Media Relations Officer of the Round-The-World project with Solar Impulse 2.
Turkey opens trial over Soma mining disaster
Dozens of suspects are going to stand trial later today connected to the mining disaster last year in the Turkish town of Soma.
301 miners were killed in the explosion.
45 people are set to stand trial.
8 former managers from the Soma Komur Corporation are included in the indictment.
Degirmen Gamze lost her husband in the disaster.
"For me compensation for the blood shed doesn't counts, what is important is in the trial that begins on Monday, we must win this trial, the guilty must pay for their mistakes."
One of the pits in the mine became engulfed in flames, trapping a team of some 800 miners working inside.
5-hundred managed to make it out alive.
Saudi Arabia dismisses Iranian calls to end air strikes
Saudi Arabia is calling out the Iranian government, telling it not to interfere in the conflict in Yemen.
The comments from Riyadh come on the heels of Tehran issuing a call to end the air strikes its been leading for the past 2-weeks.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has characterized the air strikes as a "crime and genocide."
Iranian president Hassan Rouhani is calling for a ceasefire and talks among the warring factions in Yemen.
However, the Saudi side says its strikes will continue.
Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal.
"We did not come to Yemen for our own ends. We came to Yemen to help the legitimate authority, which is the only one that is in a position to say what His Eminence Imam Khamenei said. Iran is not in charge of Yemen."
The Saudi-led coalition has conducted 12-hundred sorties since the beginning of their airstrikes.
Houthi forces, along with supporters of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, have gained virtual control of the country.
This has forced the ouster of current President Ab-rabbu Mansour Hadi.
Around 600 people have been killed since the conflict escalated over 2-weeks ago.
Iran must end 'aggression' for sanctions relief: Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Iran should have to end its "aggression in the region."
The comments have been made in response to a potential nuclear deal with the P5+1.
"In the last few days, Iran has shown again why it can't be trusted. Iran insists on removing all sanctions immediately and Iran refuses to allow effective inspections of all its suspect facilities. At the same time, Iran continues its unbridled aggression in the region and its worldwide terrorism in the world."
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has been calling for a full lifting of current sanctions.
As part of the interim agreement, Iran is going to be required to shut down parts of its nuclear programme and allow inspections of its nuclear facilities.
In exchange, the sanctions currently being imposed on Tehran will be lifted.
At the same time, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is calling on US law makers to avoid passing legislation which would threaten new sanctions on Iran.
"I think people need to hold their fire, let us negotiate without interference and be able to complete the job over the course of the next two and a half months."
Negotiators among the P5+1 grouping and Iran are now working on hashing out the technical details of the agreement.
This is supposed to be done by June 30th.
The only female vows to win the Sudan Election
A 71-year old woman has decided to contest the Presidential election in Sudan.
Fatima Abdul Mahmoud is the only woman running in the race for the top political position in the Sudan.
"Professor Fatima Abdul Mahmoud, presidential candidate 2015, my sign is the dove, I ran in these elections to prove that women have the right to high authority as president, that this was a successful experiment around the world."
Mahmoud is running at the lead candidate for the Democratic Socialist Union Party.
She's up against 15 competitors, including incumbent president Omar al-Bashir.
Polling is suggesting Bashir will win in a landslide.
Voting in Sudan gets underway later on this Monday.
Authorities admit loopholes in Tengger Desert pollution case
Provincial authorities in Gansu are conceding the provincial environmental protection department has loopholes in its supervision over the pollution of the Tengger Desert.
This follows reports the Ronghua Industry and Trade Company, a firm based in the city of Wuwei, illegally discharged over 83-thousand metric tons of untreated sewage into a pit in the desert.
The illegal dumping, which had been taking place since May, has contaminated some 18 hectares of land.
Liang Heping is a spokesperson with the Gansu government.
"Ronghua Company must take legal responsibility. The Party committee and government of Wuwei's Liangzhou district did not pay enough attention to the pollution and did not perform their duties accordingly. The provincial environmental protection department failed to conduct thorough inspection and supervision on high-risk companies. There are loopholes in their work. "
It's since been revealed the municipal authorities in Wuwei concealed the illegal waste dumping after they became aware of it.
The local environmental protection department is under investigation.
Ronghua Industry and Trade has since been shut down.
It's also been fined 3-million yuan.
Two of the company's mangers have also been detained.
The Tengger Desert stretches across Gansu, Ningxia and Inner Mongolia.
Chinese Environmental Authorities Order to Protect North China Wetland
The provincial government of Hebei is ramping up its efforts to try to protect the Baiyangdian Nature Reserve.
This follows criticism from China's central environmental authorities this past week.
The pollution noted in the report suggests there has been a significant amount of damage to the ecology of Baiyangdian.
Baiyangdian is northern China's largest freshwater wetland.
Illegal construction and fish farming, and upstream sewage problems are the main culprits.
Yang Wanli is the head of Baiyangdian Environmental Protection Office.
"All waste water after treatment must reach Grade-A standard. If it fails to do so, the enterprise is not allowed to resume operation and discharge its processed water into the lake. Such water can only be used for watering plants and spraying roads, or lotus plantation."
The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Hebei's provincial government have ordered the Baoding government to clean up the pollution by the end of June.
3,000 artificially-bred rare fish freed into China's Yangtze River
Anchor
3-thousand Chinese sturgeons have been released into the Yangtze River in the city of Yichang in Hubei in an attempt to try to increase stocks.
CRI's Qian Shanming has more.
Reporter
The 3,000 sturgeons were bred by the Chinese Sturgeons Research Institute. The institute has released more than five million of the fish into the wild.
It has implanted sonar marks into 61 selected sturgeons this year in order to trace and monitor their movements. The number of marked sturgeon was 18 last year.
Experts say they haven't detected natural reproduction of the species in the Yangtze River for two consecutive years, indicating the species are facing the danger of extinction.
Gao Yong, deputy head of the Chinese Sturgeons Research Institute:
"Actually only one year is very dangerous. The species should keep breeding naturally every year to keep the chain. If they could not breed for several generations, the group would fail to survive. In history, a lot of species tend to become extinct as a result of interval suspension of natural breeding."
Though the artificial breeding program started in 1983, the effectiveness is decreasing due to various factors. Affected by the changing environment, the ratio for female to male of the group reached as high as 10:1. Gao Yong said overfishing and water pollution are other factors that challenge the species.
"The Chinese sturgeon as well as other aquatic life in the Yangtze River are facing a very serious challenge, a threat together. At present, the ecological system of the Yangtze River is degrading seriously. The Baiji is extinct, the cowfish endangered and the Chinese sturgeon hasn't had natural reproduction for nearly two years. These illustrates that the ecological environment of the Yangtze River is very bad and this is the biggest problem faced by these species"
The young fish bred through the program would then undergo a month-long adaptation period in the wild before being released to the Yangtze River.
Believed to have lived at the same time as dinosaurs, the Chinese sturgeon, or "acipenser sinensis," has existed for more than 140 million years. The fish, nicknamed "aquatic panda," is a precious but endangered species native to China and has been placed under top-level state protection.
The number of the wild Chinese sturgeons has sharply declined to around 100 from thousands in the 1980s.
For CRI. I'm Qian Shanming.
Weather
Beijing will be sunny today with a high of 18 degrees Celsius.
Overnight temperatures should drop down to 5.
Shanghai will see rainy with a high of 15 and a low of 8.
In Chongqing, it will be cloudy during the daytime with a high of 24.
Overnight it will be clear with a low of 12.
Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,
Islamabad will be sunny with a high of 38.
Kabul will be sunny with a high of 26.
Over to North America,
New York will be cloudy with a high of 19 degrees.
Washington, cloudy with a high of 26 degrees.
Honolulu, showers, 28.
Toronto, Canada, will be windy with a high of 22 degrees.
Finally, on to South America,
Buenos Aires will be cloudy with a high of 31.
And Rio de Janeiro will be cloudy with a high of 28 degrees Celsius.
Headline news
Germanwings pilot cancels flight after bomb threat
A bomb threat has forced the cancellation of a Germanwings flight.
The flight from Bonn to Milan was supposed to take off last night.
The Airbus A320 had 126 passengers on board.
Bomb technicians have since determined the threat isn't real.
Severe flood warning for Yangtze River
Chinese flood-control authorities are warning of possible heavy flooding in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River this week.
The China Meteorological Administration is warning rains in the middle reaches of the river area going to be 20-percent more than average.
At the same time, the upper reaches of the Yangtze River are also expecting the heaviest flooding in 20 years.
The flood season of the Yangtze River runs through the summer.
It normally ends in October.
Heavy flooding along the Yangtze River in 1998 left 18-hundred people dead.
Chinese army applies stricter rules in recruiting CPC members
Chinese military forces are set to adopt stricter standards and procedures in recruiting Communist Party of China members.
The new regulations call for prudence in recruitment.
Regulations stress that political standards should be given top priority.
The new rules also suggest that recruitment should not be conducted in a haste.
China's Xinjiang sets up third prefecture-level city
The central government has approved the establishment of a third prefecture-level city in Xinjiang.
Turpan is being upgraded to a prefecture.
A grape-growing city, Turpan is home to around 640-thousand people.
The city is around 200-kilometers east of the regional capital, Urumqi.
Turpan becomes the 3rd prefecture-level city in Xinjiang after Urumqi and Karamay.
China to staff all ethnic minority areas with bilingual judges
The Supreme People's Court has announced that by 2020, all courts in China's ethnic minority areas will be staffed with judges capable of using both Han and local ethnic languages.
The Chinese top court and the State Ethnic Affairs Commission are training 15-hundred bilingual judges.
Authorities say that by the next 5-years, every court in China's ethnic areas will have 4 judges which can speak the local dialect.
China has 56 ethnic groups.
Under the Constitution, citizens of all ethnic groups have a statutory right to use their own ethnic language when dealing with the law.
Two dead, over 10 injured in E. China building facility collapse
Two workers are dead and a dozen others hurt after the collapse of tourist attraction in Jiangsu.
The collapse of the structure in the city of Taizhou happened yesterday afternoon.
One of the workers was killed instantly.
The other died in hospital.
Construction of the 10-meter high structure only began a week ago.
Biz reports
Market Preview
Anchor
First let's get a preview of what we can expect on the markets this week.
With earnings season underway, Wall Street is temporarily putting the U.S. Federal Reserve and macroeconomic policy on the back burner this coming week.
A slew of big banks, including JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, are due to report their first-quarter earnings this week.
Profits of companies on the S&P 500 are expected to be down close to 3-percent through the first quarter.
Investors will also be watching other firms, such as Netflix and General Electric, to see if corporate America more broadly outperforms the negative forecasts analysts have set for it.
Energy companies will likely be hit by the continued drop in oil prices.
A strong U.S. dollar is also expected to eat into the earnings of companies with international exposure.
A slew of economic data is scheduled for release this week too.
Reports include the producer price index, retail sales, small business optimism index, and business inventories, are due Tuesday.
Empire State manufacturing survey, industrial production, Atlanta Fed business inflation expectations, and the housing market index are out on Wednesday.
The Fed's Beige Book is also due on Wednesday.
And the consumer price index, consumer sentiment are due Friday.
Elsewhere,
Policy-makers from around the globe will gather in Washington, D.C. this week for the spring meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund.
Call-in with Mike China Approves Reforms to Three Policy Banks
The State Council has approved plans to reform the country's three policy banks.
The banks are the China Development Bank, the Export-Import Bank of China and the Agricultural Development Bank of China.
Changes to the policies include the CDB adapting to the international market for development-oriented financial models.
The China Exim Bank is also being tasked with a "going-out" strategy.
The Agricultural Development Bank of China has been told to maintain its policy-oriented business as a priority
For more on the reform of these three policy banks, we are joined on the line by Mike Bastin, Director of The China Business Centre based in London.
Talking points:
Q1: This is the first time that the China Development Bank is described as a "development financial institution “as opposed to simply a policy bank. What are the differences between the two concepts? Generally what different roles do policy banks play in economic growth compared with commercial banks?
Q2: Some observers say the reform of the policy banks will have limited impact on the capital market since they are listed companies. What's your take on that?
Q3: In terms of aiding China's "going-out “strategy, how can China Exim Bank work well with the AIIB and play its part in the "One Belt One Road “initiative?
Back anchor
Mike Bastin, Director of The China Business Centre based in London.
Investor can have up to 20 trading accounts starting today
Chinese securities regulators are allowing investors to open up to 20 trading accounts on the A-share market starting today.
This will allow investors to transfer their accounts to other brokerage firms.
Investors have only been allowed to have one trading account since 1998.
This should allow more competition among brokerage firms.
It comes at a time when the Chinese A-share market is hitting record highs.
The Shanghai Stock Exchange hit 4-thousand points, its highest level in nearly 7-years.
Interim Chief, AIIB to be lean, clean and green
The interim chief of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is describing the bank's objective as lean, clean and green.
Jin Liqun says lean is cost effective.
Clean as zero tolerance for corruption.
Green is the objective to promote the economy.
Jin Liqun also says the AIIB is not a political organization.
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has a mandate to provide financing for roads, railways, airports and other infrastructure projects in Asia.
More than 40 countries have applied to join the AIIB.
Dubai's court system seek ties with China
The courts in Dubai are reportedly in talks with the Chinese courts for a so-called 'mutual enforcement' of decisions within the zone.
Negotiations involve Dubai being a center for handling legal issues in Chinese business in the Middle East.
Dubai already has similar agreements with courts in Australia, Singapore, New York and Kenya.
Chinese trade through Dubai hit 47-billion US dollars last year.
CreditEase teams up with US partner
Chinese wealth-management firm CreditEase has inked an agreement with US-based Wellington Management.
The two companies are establishing a fund that will mainly invest in the IPOs of US companies.
CreditEase provide the capital for the fund.
Wellington will manage the investments.
Though CreditEase hasn't detailed the exact size of the fund, it says it will run into the "tens of millions of dollars".
Sports
Hamilton Strikes back by Chinese Grand Prix Victory
Anchor:
Starting things off with Formula One action from this weekend:
Mercedes speedster Lewis Hamiltom successfully defended his Chinese Grand Prix title after finishing first in Shanghai--his second win of the season.
But Hamilton's win has earned him the ire of teammate Nico Rossberg, adding more drama to an already controversial F1 season.
Our reporter Niu Honglin in Shanghai has more.
Reporter
Lewis Hamilton led from pole-to-pole and won the race using a tyre-saving strategy. The Englishman drove at a relatively conservative pace, despite his team sending radio messages telling him to increase his speed in the middle stages.
Teamate Nico Rosberg finished in second and later complained that the Englishman's unnecessarily slow pace left him no breathing room ahead of Sebastion Vettel.
"It's just now interesting to hear from you, Lewis, that you were just thinking about yourself with the pace in front, and necessarily that was compromising my race.Sebastian was very close to me and that opened up the opportunity for Sebastian to try that early pitstop to try and jump me."
Hamilton, on the other hand, batted away the criticism immediately.
"My job is not to… it's not my job to look after Nico's race. My job's to manage the car and bring the car home as healthy and as fast as possible - and that's what I did. I didn't do anything intentionally to slow any of the cars up. I just was focusing on myself. If Nico wanted to get by he could have tried but he didn't."
In spite of the tense post-race press conference, the weekend has been perfect for the world champion, collecting the pole, the fastest lap and the race victory.
The last two laps were finished under the safety car, meaning drivers were forbidden from passing each other. It was brought after one of the racecars broke down on the track.
Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari finished in third, with his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen just behind him.
This year's Chinese Grand Prix was held in warm sunshine in front of a large audience, indicating China's growing interest in Formula One.
For CRI, I'm Niu Honglin in Shanghai.
Basketball: NBA Recap
In hoops action from the National Basketball Association:
The Milwaukee Bucks secure a playoff berth after routing the Brooklyn Nets 96-73. They come in sixth in the East just a year after their 67-loss season.
And Boston are in the hunt for the seventh playoff spot after they won 117-78 over a Cleveland Cavaliers team that is resting its stars for the post-season.
But Boston's entry today hinges on the Indiana Pacers; if Indiana lose their game against Oklahoma City, Boston are in the playoffs and will meet a top-form Cavs team in the first round.
OKC also face an uphill battle for the eighth spot in the West, as the New Orleans Pelicans are in better standing to take the conference's final post-season berth.
But the Pelicans need to win today's game against the Houston Rockets.
Golf: Masters Final Round Update
Over in Golf, at the final round of the Masters at Augusta National:
21-year-old Jordan Spieth is leading, as he has all tournament
Football: Weekend Recap
In football action over the weekend--
First, from the Chinese Super League:
Leaders Beijing Guoan drew 1-1 against Shanghai SIPG on Sunday to stay atop the league. But the tie now puts SIPG in second place.
And Guangzhou Evergrande lept to third in the standings after demolishing Liaoning 6-1.
Over in the English Premiere League:
Manchester United downed bitter rivals Manchester City in the super derby 4-2 at Old Trafford, despite City opening scoring. The win puts Man U four points clear of Man City in the top three.
And Leaders Chelsea secured their seven-point lead atop the league after edging QPR 1-0, thanks to Cesc Fabregas' goal in the 88th minute.
And in accion de La Liga:
Barcelona's top spot in the league now remains vulnerable, after the catalans blew a two-point lead in their eventual 2-2 draw against Sevilla.
Barca is now just two points ahead of Real Madrid, who shut out Eibar 3-0.
Tennis: Angelique Kerber Wins Family Circle Cup
In tennis action down at the WTA Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina:
Fifth-seeded German Angelique Kerber downed hot-handed American Madison Keys 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 in teh tournament final.
Kerber rallied back in the third set from being down 4-1 to eventually take the match.
In doubles action:
"Swiss Miss" Martina Hingis and India's Sania Mirza claimed the women's doubles world number one ranking following their victory in the final over duo Casey Dellacqua and Darija Jurak down in Charleston.
The ranking makes Mirza the first Indian woman to reach the top spot in tennis, in either singles or doubles.
Hockey: Pittsburgh, Ottawa Through to Playoffs After Big Weekend Wins
Switching over to weekend action from the National Hockey League:
The Pittsburgh Penguins secured the East wildcard spot after blanking the Buffalo Sabres 2-0.
And Ottawa are the surprise entry into the post-season after downing the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1.
First round of NHL playoffs hit ice on Wednesday.
Entertainment
China Film Directors Guild Awards announced
"Black Coal, Thin Ice" has walked away the big winner from the China Film Directors Guild Awards.
The film has earned "Film of the Year," "Screenwriter of the Year" for Diao Yinan and "Actor of the Year" award for Liao Fan.
Gong Li took home the "Actress of the Year" award for her film "Coming Home".
Director Lou Ye has been awarded "Director of the Year" for his film "Blind Massage".
Director Lu Yang has taken home the 'youth director' prize for his action-romance "Brotherhood of Blades".
"Furious 7" Dominates both North America and Chinese box office
"Fast and Furious 7" has maintained its hold on the North America Box Office chart for the second weekend in a row.
The film generated 60.6-million US dollars.
This has pushed the film's total take in the US to a whopping 252.5-million US dollars.
"Furious 7" has also top the Chinese box office on its first day of release on Saturday, raking in around 68-million US dollars.
DreamWorks Animation's "Home" finished a distant second in the North American Box Office, generating 19-million US dollars worth of sales.
"The Longest Ride" has debuted with 13.5-million US dollars.
Eddie Redmayne may star in 'Harry Potter' spinoff movie
Eddie Redmayne, who just won the Oscar for playing Stephen Hawking in "The Theory of Everything," may play Newt Scamander in Warner Bros.' hotly anticipated "Harry Potter" spinoff "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them."
J.K. Rowling is making her screenwriting debut on the trilogy.
Redmayne recently wrapped Tom Hooper's "The Danish Girl" and has yet to receive an official offer.
Director David Yates is said to be considering a few other actors for the part but Redmayne is the frontrunner.
"Fantastic Beasts" is based on the Hogwarts textbook of the same name and follows the adventures of its author.
The first "Fantastic Beasts" movie is scheduled to arrive Nov. 18, 2016.
Lionsgate Sets Drama 'Luckiest Girl Alive' with Reese Witherspoon
Lionsgate Films has acquired the movie rights to the novel "Luckiest Girl Alive."
The movie is going to feature Reese Witherspoon and Bruna Papandrea.
Jessica Knoll's debut novel follows a 28-year-old New Yorker who appears to have a perfect life until a dark trauma from her past resurfaces.
No actress has been attached yet to "Luckiest Girl Alive."
Witherspoon and Papandrea were producers on "Gone Girl," "Wild" and the upcoming action-comedy "Hot Pursuit," which stars Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara.
Simon & Schuster will publish Luckiest Girl Alive on May 12th.
Weather
Beijing will be sunny today with a high of 18 degrees Celsius.
Overnight temperatures should drop down to 5.
Shanghai will see rainy with a high of 15 and a low of 8.
In Chongqing, it will be cloudy during the daytime with a high of 24.
Overnight it will be clear with a low of 12.
Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,
Islamabad will be sunny with a high of 38.
Kabul will be sunny with a high of 26.
Over to North America,
New York will be cloudy with a high of 19 degrees.
Washington, cloudy with a high of 26 degrees.
Honolulu, showers, 28.
Toronto, Canada, will be windy with a high of 22 degrees.
Finally, on to South America,
Buenos Aires will be cloudy with a high of 31.
And Rio de Janeiro will be cloudy with a high of 28 degrees Celsius.
That’s it for this edition of the Beijing Hour.
A quick look at the headlines before we go...
Forecasters are warning of potential flooding along the Yangtze River this year.
New stats show cancer rates here in China are likely to continue rising over the next 5-years.
Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton officially throws her hat into the ring for the Democratic nomination for President.
In Business... A-share investors are now able to open up multiple trading accounts.
On behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers, this is Paul James Beijing hoping you'll join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour to open a window to the world together. |