Morning Edition

It's Spencer Musick with you on this Sunday, April 26th 2015.

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

Coming up on our program this morning...

The death toll from a devastating quake that hit Nepal climbs to nearly 1500...

And a 5.3-magnitude quake hits China's Tibet Autonomous Region...

The first suspect on a wanted list of 100 economic fugitives captured by Chinese authorities...

In our weekly sci-tech feature: China's 17th Beidou navigation satellite now functioning...

In Sports... Shanghai Shenxin end their 6 game losing streak in the Chinese super league...

In Entertainment... the Tribeca Film Festival hosting a special 40th Anniversary screening of Monty Python...

All of that coming up in just a moment, but first, just a reminder there are several ways to reach out to us here on the Beijing Hour.

You can follow us on our weibo account at weibo.com/beijinghour, or email us directly at [email protected].

Top News

Powerful earthquake strikes Nepal, death toll to reach 1500

Anchor:

The death toll from the series of quakes which struck Nepal now stands at 1,475, including at least 4 Chinese nationals.

The rescue operation is still underway.

Because the epicenter was so close to the Napalese capital, the death toll is expected to rise further.

For more details, CRI's Sophie Williams joins me in the studio now.

Sophie:

Thanks Spencer.

Hundreds and thousands of Nepalese have spent their night in open air after a powerful earthquake struck the country on Saturday.

In the capital city of Kathmandu, residents have been left homeless after the quake collapsed their houses and a series of aftershocks were reported.

"We are hearing rumours that other bigger earthquakes are expected to happen. We are sleeping here, so we can stay safe and quickly run to safety if needed."

"What if an earthquake comes again and we don't have the chance to run, we will be buried alive. Me and my family haven't gone back to the room since the earthquake (happened) this afternoon. We are too scared."

The Nepalese government has declared a state of emergency.

Rescue operations are still underway.

The 8.1-magnitude tremor jolted areas in central Nepal between the capital, Kathmandu and the city of Pokhara.

With Internet and cellphone communications disrupted and transportation infrastructure damaged, little information has been emerged from the epicenter.

Li Ji, a Chinese tourist in Pokhara, describes what she has experienced at the time of the quake.

"A lot of people rushed out to the road when we were driving a car to a mountain this morning. Our first reaction was a fire may have broken out. After being stopped by the crowd, we felt our car shaking dramatically and saw the surround buildings shaking and heard the glass itself making noise. The quake lasted about one and half minutes."

The quake also caused casualties in India, Bangladesh and China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

It also triggered avalanches in Mount Qomolangma, also known as the Mount Everest.

Chinese Everest climber Xue Wei tells about how his team survived from the avalanche.

"Rolling and crawling, we came back. We were scared. We rushed down from the mountain at the height of about 7000 meters. Blocks of cracked ice rolled down in our direction but suddenly turned right and fell into an ice crack. It was very dangerous. I am safe now at a camp at the height of 6500 meters.

A tourism official from Napal earlier said at least eight people were killed when an avalanche swept through a base camp.

Media reports suggest there may have been up to 1000 climbers in the mountain area at that time.

Many of them have still lost contact, including a group of 30 Chinese climbers.

Saturday's earthquake is said to be the most severe one on the continent over the past 8 decades.

Sun Shihong, a researcher with China Earth Quake Network Center, warns of further geological damage in the region.

"We think the quake movements are very active since Wenchuan earthquake in 2008 as the Qinghai Tibet plate has been affected by the Indian Plate. An 8.0- magnitude earth quake happened in Wenhcuan on May 12, 2008, and a 7.7 – magnitude earth quake jolted the border region between Iran and Pakistan on April 16, 2013. It's 8.1 magnitudes this time. All reached 8 magnitudes. That shows the region is in active quake phase and may last for a period. We should pay enough attention to that."

5.3-magnitude Quake Hits Tibet

A 5.3-magnitude earthquake has hit Nyalam County in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

The quake struck the county earlier this morning, following a massive quake that struck in neighboring Nepal.

Local authorities have confirmed 7 people were killed and four remain missing in Nyalam County.

Another 6 people have also been killed in Tibet due to the quake in Nepal.

Nyalam County is located on the China-Nepal border.

It is close to the epicenter of the devastating quake.

Aftershocks continue to rock the region.

A county official Li Dong gives a briefing on the disaster conditions.

"The quake has damaged more than 20 houses and cracked some 80 percent of the buildings. The major problem we are facing is the frequent landslides, which have happened more than 20 times in the earth-quake stricken area. This has led to traffic disruption in the region."

Local authorities are taking active rescue operations to ensure the safety of victims in the quake-hit region.

Li Dong introduces relief work already underway.

"We have moved victims to four temporary shelters. We set up tents for victims and delivered cotton quilts, clothes, medicine, food and bottled water to the region. But we are still short of drinking water, food, and especially daily supplies."

A total of 3,204 firefighters and 87 sniffer dogs are ready to go to the quake-hit region as reinforcements.

Aids pours into Nepal follows the quake

Following the powerful earthquake that struck Nepal on Saturday, condolences as well as aid are pouring into Nepal from the international community.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement earlier this morning, sending his condolences to the government of Nepal and to everyone affected.

Top Chinese leaders, including President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, have all sent their condolences and support to their counterparts in Nepal, and offered to provide whatever aid needed in the quake-affected country.

Meanwhile a Chinese rescue team is also on their way to join in search and rescue operations in Nepal.

India has also launched an emergency aid operation in Nepal earlier Sunday, with food delivery already having commenced.

Meanwhile, the United States on Saturday authorised an initial 1 million USD in aid to Nepal.

The United Kingdom, Pakistan, Germany, Spain, France, Isreal as well as European Union have all pledged to send aid.

Fears are growing of a humanitarian disaster in the impoverished nation of 28 million.

Kathmandu Airport Reopen on Sun Morning

Anchor:

Meanwhile, the Chinese embassy and airlines are busy trying to bring hundreds of Chinese tourists stranded in Nepal back to China.

CRI' Min Rui with more.

Reporter:

Nepal's Kathmandu capital's international airport has reopened on Sunday morning after Saturday's half-day shut down.

Commercial flights in and out of Kathmandu were canceled due to the 8.1- magnitude earthquake, which is said to be the worst tremor to hit Nepal in over 80 years.

The temporary shut-down has caused lots of Chinese tourists to be stranded in Kathmandu airport

Zhang Xuesong is the head of the Katmandu Office of Air China. He says, as of Saturday night, there are about 800 Chinese tourists stranded in the airport.

"There are about 100 Chinese stranded in the terminal building, and nearly 700 waiting at the airport's parking lot. The airlines are actively arranging flights now. We have a flight today and another tomorrow flying from Chengdu to take the stranded passengers. In the aspect of emergency accommodation, works went smoothly. We hope that Chinese passengers can be patient because of the difficult conditions here. We are trying our best to send them home as soon as possible."

The Chinese government is also making efforts to bring stranded passengers home.

Cheng Ji with the Chinese Embassy in Nepal says they are currently coordinating with major Chinese commercial airlines such as Southern Airlines, Eastern Airlines to return Chinese tourists home.

"The airlines are expected to send flights on Saturday night. We have arranged special staff at the airport to help the Chinese passengers return home. Affected by the strong quake, the facilities at the airport are damaged to certain extent. And Ground staff is also not enough. We are overcoming different difficulties to let all the stranded Chinese passengers return home tonight as early as possible."

Nepal is a popular tourist destination, receiving one million visitors worldwide every year.

China is the second largest tourist source to Nepal. More than 90-thousand travelers visited the country last year.

At the land border between Nepal and the Tibet autonomous region, more than 500 Chinese and foreign tourists have been resettled in tents by Chinese rescue team after being stranded in Camphorwood port.

The power of the tremors brought down several historic temples and towers in the ancient Old Kathmandu, including the capital's landmark centuries-old Dharara Tower.

For CRI, I'm Min Rui.

China nets first economic fugitive on 100-people wanted list

Anchor:

The first suspect on a recently released wanted list of 100 economic fugitives has been captured by Chinese authorities.

CRI's Yu Yang reports.

Reporter:

Dai Xuemin is the former manager of a trust and investment company based in Shanghai.

He is suspected of embezzling funds totaling 11 million yuan, or some 1.7 million U.S. dollars.

Dai fled China in August 2001.

The Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the top anti-graft body in the country, said that Dai was under detention on Saturday, after he returned China with a fake ID and a foreign passport.

He was netted under a joint operation involving multiple government departments from Shanghai, Jiangsu and Anhui.

Zhang Zhiyi is the deputy director from the anti-corruption bureau under the People's Procuratorate of Shanghai.

Zhang gives more details on the current hunt for economic fugitives.

"Special action plans are required. We are doing multiple tasks at the same time. On the one hand, we are continuing to collect information on suspects, and establish files specific to each case. On the other hand, we are making more efforts to try to persuade the fugitives to come back themselves with the help of their family. We are communicating and cooperating with multiple government departments for a joint operation. Consensus between departments has been achieved."

The move comes after the Interpol's Chinese office released a global wanted list of 100 Chinese nationals.

These 77 men and 23 women on the list are believed to be involved in economic crimes, and have fled the country already.

The list contains their names, suspected crimes as well as their possible destinations after fleeing China.

Gao Bo, a political researcher from the Chinese Academy of Social Science, warns that with the list being made public, it would be more difficult for economic fugitives to hide away.

"According to what has been made public, government departments have conducted thorough communication and coordination with relevant international organizations and law enforcement institutes of target countries. We have initial plans in place for cooperation in the next phases, and a basic idea of the moves of fugitives. "

The move is part of the "Sky Net", a campaign launched by the central authorities to repatriate corruption suspects.

Sky Net combines efforts on the part of the government, the Communist Party, the central bank and diplomatic services.

Those on the wanted list are said to be only a fraction of the target suspects.

For CRI, I'm Yu Yang.

Mudflows destroy homes, interior minister visits

Chileans voiced their ongoing concern over the recent activity of the Cabulco Volcano.

Lava spewed from the volcano and shot up into the air.

Mudflows of volcanic debris have destroyed homes in the town of Ensenada, which sits at the foot of the volcano.

Some roofs collapsed under the weight of ash.

Andres Reyes is one of the homeowners affected by the volcano.

"Here, there's nothing else to do, recover the little that we can and go on. And there are no more words. All that happened is in plain sight and this house is now worthless."

Volcanic mud, known as lahar, has flowed into the Rio Blanco and some nearby homes in Ensenada.

Most of the town's 1,500 residents have fled.

Authorities are urging the 2,000 people nearby to be prepared to evacuate at any moment.

While visiting Ensenada to meet with residents, Chile Interior Secretary Rodrigo Penailillo said there was still a "high risk" within the 20 kilometers of the restricted area.

"We are within 20 kilometers of the restricted area, and therefore, the area of risk. The risk is still high. And therefore, also, as we have to take mitigation measures for future rains or other weather, we also have to take steps to ensure that at any minute, when the military soldiers, police, have to evacuate the area, they are able to do so under all the necessary conditions."

The head of the National Mining and Geology Service has said that the volcano's eruptive process could last weeks and even months and warned that a third eruption was still possible.

UN chief calls for more investment to prevent Malaria

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on the international community for more investment in tested approaches to prevent Malaria.

Ban says that despite the improvement in prevention tools, there is still need to invest in getting wider access to tools and treatments for people to reduce infection and death from Malaria.

He calls for more investment in tried and tested approaches to malaria prevention and treatment, strengthening health systems in the world's poorest countries and development in new tools and approaches.

Ban made the appeal on the occasion to mark the World Malaria Day which fell on Saturday.

To address the disease, the national distribution of mosquito nets has started in C?te d'Ivoire, which is among the countries hardest-hit by malaria in the world.

Louis Vigneault-Dubois, spokesperson for Unicef in C?te d'Ivoire, says the country is trying to catch up in its fight against malaria.

"I think that the post-electoral crisis slowed down all development of public health. But I think that with this universal cover the mosquito nets we have made a step forward and we now have the means to protect the population because we know that malaria remains the illness that kills the most children in Ivory Coast."

Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected mosquitoes.

China and the Netherlands Join Hands in Cultural innovation Industries

Anchor:

China and the Netherlands have vowed to strengthen cooperation in cultural innovation at the just-concluded China-Netherlands Culture and Media Forum.

CRI's Guo Yan reports.

Reporter:

Government officials and representatives from culture-related industries in China and the Netherlands are gathering in Noordwijk –a coastal city in the Netherlands, to discuss development and innovation.

Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, well-known for his work "Rubber Duck", explains the great success behind the project.

"It is a very cute, yellow, nice eyes. It makes you smile. I think that's the great success behind the project is its art, its subject of happiness and connection to all the people in the world. Even if you have war, you lost someone or you're a child you're an older person. Everybody connects with it becomes happy."

The "Rubber Duck" has travelled to over 20 countries worldwide and has generated enormous profits for local tourism and retail industries wherever it travels.

Meanwhile, Huang Weiming, creator of "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf" - a hit cartoon series in China - has brought his works to the forum.

Huang expresses his wish to expand the cartoon series overseas.

"'Pleasant Goat' is widely-known in China. We plan to develop a series on education, hoping more people can fall in love with this funny way to learn. Moreover, we hope our products can go overseas and hope to cooperate with more good brands. "

Chen Xu, China's Ambassador to the Netherlands, says there is great potential for the two countries to cooperate in cultural innovation:

"'Voice of China' is the Chinese version of 'Voice of Holland'. Dutch designs such as 'Rubber Duck' and 'Miffiy' are popular in China; on the other hand, the Chinese tradition of Spring Festival is celebrated in the Netherlands. I believe that the two countries will enhance exchanges in culture and economy, and more stories of successful cooperation between the two countries will come."

Although geographically speaking the Netherlands is a small country it is a great cultural power.

Industries involved in cultural innovation have been defined as one of the top nine promising sectors in the country.

And the country has an ambitious plan to make itself the most creative economy in the world by 2020.

Cultural innovation industries are also flourishing in China.

Around 1 million people are engaged in activities related to those industries in Beijing alone.

For CRI, I'm Guo Yan.

We Are Afraid Nobody is Following: Ricardo Reyes

Anchor:

Tesla Motors, a leading electric car manufacturer, has brought its latest model S to the ongoing Auto show in Shanghai.

For more on this, CRI's Yunfeng earlier spoke with Ricardo Reyes, Vice President of Tesla, getting his insights into the development of electric cars and his views on the Chinese car market.

Back Anchor:

That was Ricardo Reyes, Vice President of Tesla, speaking with CRI's Yunfeng.

VW Group Chairman Ferdinand Piech resigns

Volkswagen on Saturday announced that Ferdinand Piech has stepped down as Chairman of the Supervisory Board and was stripped of all company mandates related to this position.

A statement published on the group's website says the resignation takes effect immediately.

Members of the Executive Committee determined that the mutual trust necessary for successful cooperation between the committee and its chair no longer existed.

Piech told German press in an interview about two weeks ago that he did not want CEO Martin Winterkorn to become the next chairman.

The statement came as a surprise to the leaders of the Volkswagen group.

Deputy Chairman Berthold Huber will act as interim chairman.

China to Present 3 Pavilions in Milan

The 2015 World Expo is slated to open on May 1st in Milan, Italy.

Prepartions for the debut of the Chinese Pavilion have entered their final stage.

Zhang Liang is in charge of the project.

He says the Chinese participants will mainly target a foreign audience and try to tell Chinese stories through the national Pavilion.

With the theme of "Land of Hope, Food for Life", the pavilion has been designed to evoke the look and texture of grain swaying in the wind.

weather

Beijing will be cloudy today with a high of 31 degrees Celsius.

Overnight it will continue to be cloudy and temperatures will drop to 17.

Shanghai will be sunny with a high of 27 and it will be cloudy tonight with a low of 17.

In Chongqing it will be cloudy in the daytime with a high of 27 and clear tonight with the lowest temperature of 19.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,

Kathmandu, in the strong earthquake hit Nepal, will have thundershowers today with a high of 21 degrees.

Islamabad will be sunny today with a high of 45.

Kabul will see some clouds with a high of 27.

Over to North America,

New York will be partly cloudy with a high of 17 degrees.

Washington will be cloudy with a high of 18 degrees.

Honolulu, showers, 28.

Toronto, Canada, will have some clouds with a high of 12 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,

Buenos Aires will be sunny with a high of 29.

And Rio de Janeiro will be partly cloudy with a high of 26 degrees Celsius.

Headline news

Powerful earthquake strikes Nepal, death toll to reach 1500

The death toll from the series of quakes which struck Nepal now stands at 1,475, including at least 4 Chinese nationals.

The rescue operation is still underway.

The 8.1-magnitude tremor jolted areas in central Nepal between the capital, Kathmandu and the city of Pokhara.

The quake also caused casualties in India, Bangladesh and China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

It also triggered avalanches in Mount Qomolangma, also known as the Mount Everest.

Saturday's earthquake is said to be the most severe one on the continent over the past 8 decades.

5.3-magnitude Quake Hits Tibet

A 5.3-magnitude earthquake has hit Nyalam County in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

The quake struck the county earlier this morning, following a massive quake that struck in neighboring Nepal.

Local authorities have confirmed 7 people were killed and four remain missing in Nyalam County.

Another 6 people have also been killed in Tibet due to the quake in Nepal.

Local authorities are taking active rescue operations to ensure the safety of victims in the quake-hit region.

Aids pours into Nepal follows the quake

Following the powerful earthquake that struck Nepal on Saturday, condolences as well as aid are pouring into Nepal from the international community.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement earlier this morning, sending his condolences to the government of Nepal and to everyone affected.

Top Chinese leaders, including President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, have all sent their condolences and support to their counterparts in Nepal, and offered to provide whatever aid needed in the quake-affected country.

Meanwhile a Chinese rescue team is also on their way to join in search and rescue operations in Nepal.

India has also launched an emergency aid operation in Nepal earlier Sunday, with food delivery already having commenced.

Meanwhile, the United States on Saturday authorized an initial 1 million USD in aid to Nepal.

The United Kingdom, Pakistan, Germany, Spain, France, Israel as well as European Union have all pledged to send aid.

Israeli security forces kill 2 Palestinian attackers

Israeli security forces have killed two knife-wielding Palestinian attackers in separate incidents in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem on Saturday.

In the West Bank city of Hebron, an Israeli border police patrol was said to have been attacked by a Palestinian.

One of the police officers sustained injuries to the head and chest.

The Palestinian, said to be around 20-years-old, was then shot dead.

The incident took place after a 17-year-old Palestinian attacked Israeli border police with a cleaver at a checkpoint in East Jerusalem and then fled the scene.

Ali Abu Ghannam was shot dead while being chased by the Israeli troops.

Sci&Tech

It's time for our weekly Science & Technology feature. China's 17th Beidou navigation satellite is functioning; A new public transit line in Beijing uses cheaper, quieter technology; and Google launches a new US wireless service.

Let's catch the details with CRI's Wenjie.

Reporter:

China announced a major success in its new-generation of satellites, part of the Beidou Navigation Satellite System, on Thursday.

The satellite is the 17th for the Beidou system. Its success marks the first step to expand from a regional to a global service.

It was sent into orbit on March 31.

As of Tuesday afternoon, navigation equipment on the satellite was functioning and its navigation signals were being received on Earth.

The new generation satellite has a number of improvements over the 16 previous ones in service, such as reduced weight and new functions like inter-satellite links.

Xiangli Bin is the chief commander for the new-generation BDS satellite program.

"Satellites of the Beidou system launched before have no link circuit between each other. However, this satellite, and satellites going to be launched in the future, will have link circuits. This will help to form a sky network, thus achieving autonomous navigation."

This is the first satellite that enables the Beidou system to expand its coverage beyond Asia-Pacific.

By 2020, China will launch around 30 satellites of this kind to complete a global navigation network.

China launched the first BDS satellite in 2000. In December 2012, it began providing positioning, navigation, timing and short message services to civilian users in China and parts of Asia-Pacific.

The system has been gradually introduced into transportation, weather forecasts, fishing, forestry and telecommunications sectors.

Currently there are four satellite navigation systems in the world: the US Global Positioning System and Russian GLONASS, as well as the European Galileo and Beidou, which are still being developed.

//////////////////////////

Construction has started on a cheaper and less noisy public transportation line in Beijing. The work began on Monday.

The "maglev" line, short for magnetic levitation, is a cutting-edge technology in rail transportation.

It will have a top speed of 80 km/h.

Chang Wensen, China's chief scientist for maglev technology, says lower noise is maglev's specialty.

"The most important characteristic of maglev trains is that little noise is produced. Our tests show the electromagnetic impact on your body will be just 64 decibel if you stand 10 meters away from the line."

64 decibel is comparable to regular human speech.

Chang adds the maglev train produces little in the way of electromagnetic radiation, even less than that of an electric shaver.

What's more, its cost is lower than that of a subway system. Li Jie is with maglev technology research center.

"Its construction cost is almost the same with light rail, much cheaper than subway."

The line will run 10 kilometers through two of Beijing's western districts, Mentougou and Shijingshan.

It is expected to become operational before the end of next year.

Shanghai, China's financial hub, is the only Chinese city that now operates a commercial maglev line.

The other two operational maglev lines are also in Asia - the Aichi High-Speed Transit Tobu Kyuryo Line in Japan and the Incheon Airport line in South Korea.

///////////////////////////////

Solar Impulse II, the fuel-free airplane, arrived in Nanjing in east China on Tuesday, completing the sixth leg of its round-the-world flight.

Pilot Betrand Piccard set down the plane after the 1,200 kilometer journey from Chongqing.

He says the first goal he set at the beginning of this year has been reached.

"We had three goals in the beginning of the year, we want the solar impulse to arrive the coast of Pacific in China, then to arrive in America, and then to be back in Abu Dhabi, finishing the entire circle. Today we have achieved the first goal."

That was only one of the small steps before the solar plane can finish an unprecedented flight around the globe.

The fuel-free plane has a wingspan of 72 meters. It carries more than 17,000 solar cells on its wings to power the craft.

Solar Impulse 2 will remain in Nanjing for approximately 10 days before the first possible date to cross the Pacific.

///////////////////////////

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has hosted its first global launch outside of China, introducing its feature-heavy Mi 4i model in India.

The new smartphone supports six Indian languages and is priced at 205 U.S. dollars.

Xiaomi's vice president of international operations, Hugo Barra, says the company considers India a key testing ground for its international expansion.

"India is already our company's second largest market in the world and we really want to make significant investment here. We want to build products that are made and designed for India and that is exactly what we just did today by launching our flagship product that is made and designed for India specifically."

The research on the processor used in the Mi 4i was led by a team in Bengaluru.

Barra adds that Xiaomi could make the phone locally once it sets up a manufacturing presence in India.

Xiaomi entered India in July last year through a tie-up with online retailer Flipkart.

It later partnered with a leading electronics retail chain with a pan-India presence to boost its sales.

///////////////////////////

Google has launched a new US wireless service– Project Fi.

The project's goal is to have users' phones switch seamlessly between WiFi and cellular networks, even mid-call.

Google said in a statement on Wednesday that the service will work only on the company's Nexus 6 phones, and will be hosted through Sprint and T-Mobile's networks.

Project Fi will automatically switch between the two networks and more than 1 million open, free wifi spots, depending on which signal is strongest.

///////////////////////////

The Hubble Space Telescope celebrated its 25th anniversary on Friday.

Launched on April the 24th 1990, Hubble has contributed a lot to humanity's major advances in astronomy.

Its observations have confirmed the existence of black holes... and it's helped to show that the expansion of the universe is accelerating.

Dr. Jennifer Wiseman is a senior scientist on the Hubble Space Telescope project:

"Hubble has changed the way humans look at the universe and our place in it. It shows us that the universe has been changing over time, that starts are an intrical part of producing the types of elements that we need for life, for planets - for our well being."

Though Hubble is in good condition for now, its successor is already being built.

The James Webb Telescope, a joint project between the US, Europe, and Canada will mainly detect infrared rather than visible light, and will pick up objects up to 100 times dimmer than those Hubble could see.

Dr. Mark Clampin works on the James Webb Telescope project:

"What James Webb is really going to be doing in the field of astrophysics, is looking for the very first galaxies that formed in the universe. We also, with this new infrared capability, can peer into these very dark clouds where stars are being born, and study how stars and planetary systems form and evolve in dark clouds."

The new telescope is scheduled to launch in 2018.

And that concludes this week's sci&tech report, I'm Wenjie, see you next week!

Sports

Chinese Super League recap

In football,

Shanghai Shenxin have finally ended their 6-game losing streak in the Chinese Super League with a 1-1 draw against Liaoning Hongyun.

Shanghai were bottom of the league without a single point.

Liaoning have not had a win in the last 5 games.

Liaoning first scored in stoppage time in the first half. Yang Shanping slotted in the ball after a free kick stirred chaos in the goal area.

Short into the second half, Shanghai's Wu Yizhen crossed to ball to Ze Eduardo, who made it 1-1 with a header.

In other action,

Shanghai Shenhua beat Hangzhou Greentown 2-0,

Chongqing Lifan downed Guizhou Renhe 1-0 to step out of the danger zone for degradation.

Ding beats Higgins 13-9, reaches quarterfinals

In Snooker,

World no. 3 Ding Junhui beat four-time winner John Higgins 13-9 to reach the quarterfinals of the World Championships in Sheffield.

Ding fought back from 1-5 down to make it 5-3 against Higgins in the first session.

He then took a 9-7 lead after the second session and secured the win in the third.

Ding will next face the winner of the match between Marco Fu and Judd Trump.

World Table Tennis Championships underway

The World Table Tennis Championships are underway in Suzhou in east China.

Over 500 players are taking part in this the most important ping pong event ahead of the Rio Olympic Games.

Six male and six female players from China will be competing for a spot in the Olympics.

Front runners will have a chance to qualify for Rio.

China have set eyes on gold medals of the men's singles, women's singles and women's doubles.

NBA preview

In the NBA playoffs,

The Chicago Bulls are playing the Milwaukee Bucks.

Holding a 3-0 series lead in their hands, Chicago's Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler will try to lead them to their first playoff sweep since 2007.

Milwaukee have a daunting task as no team has ever overturned a 3-0 deficit to win a series.

Two more games on deck this morning,

The Golden State Warriors take on the New Orleans Pelicans with the hope for a clean sweep.

New Orleans must recover and regroup after narrowly missing out on victory in the last quarter in game 3.

And the Portland Trail Blazers are back home against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Injuries have thinned Portland's inside presence. The team announced that Aaron Afflalo is probable for Game 3, while Chris Kaman remains questionable.

With Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph struggling to score in Game 2, the Grizzlies are relying on their guards to carry most of the weight.

MLB: Detroit take out Cleveland 4-1

In Major league baseball action today:

Detroit took out Cleveland 4-1.

The Mets took on the Yankees.

Oakland host the Astros.

It is Marlins at Nationals.

And Rays at Blue Jays.

Baltimore host the Boston Red Socks for their next game in the series there at Camden Yards.

It is Braves at Phillies.

St. Louis take on the Milwuakee Brewers.

And a highlight of the action later on this morning:

The Rockies play host to the San Francisco Giants to continue their series.

Tennis action from Barcelona, Sttutgart

In tennis,

Defending champion Kei Nishikori took out Martin Klizan of Slovakia to reach the final of the Barcelona Open.

It only took Nishikori 77 minutes to win in straight sets 6-1, 6-2 with accurate shots and changes of pace.

The Japanese player is looking for his ninth ATP World Tour title on a clay court where he has excelled.

Nishikori's rival in the final will be Pablo Andujar, who beat compatriot David Ferrer 7-6, 6-3 in the other semi-final.

Elsewhere, and in women's action,

World number five Caroline Wozniacki reached the Stuttgart Grand Prix final with a win against second seed Simona Halep 7-5, 5-7, 6-2.

It wasn't so easy for Wozniacki, as she rallied nearly three hours for the hard-earned victory.

Wozniacki will play Germany's Angelique Kerber in the final as she eyes her second title of the year.

McCoy bids farewell to horse racing

A.P. McCoy, the most successful jump jockey ever with 4,357 wins, ended his career with two third-place finishes at Sandown Park.

Forty-year-old McCoy failed to ride one final winner to mark the end of his peerless career. He finished third in his last competitive race.

McCoy had two final rides on Mr Mole and his last mount was called Box Office.

He couldn't help the tears as he had a very emotional moment on the back of Box Office amid the crowd's cheer.

McCoy said each final step towards retirement brought tons of emotion with it.

"Yes, probably since...the reality only really hit home, I would say, after the Grand National when I was leaving Aintree that night - to think that I wasn't going back to a meeting like that and such a prestigious race. And then when I left Cheltenham last Thursday, as I said earlier, my two valets were sat in the corner and they said it was going to be sad that I was never going to sit there again. That was tough. It was the one day in I don't know how many years that I drove myself racing and I did find it difficult at times driving home so...but I've been very lucky and very blessed to have had the life that I've led and what I would say to the young lads, in any sport or in the weighing room, is to enjoy every moment of it because it doesn't last as long as you'd like."

McCoy bowed out having won 20 consecutive jockeys' titles. He was given a guard of honour from fellow jockeys before collecting a trophy for champion jockey.

Entertainment

Tribeca Film Festival celebrates 40 years of Monty Python and the Holy Grail

The Tribeca Film Festival has hosted a special 40th Anniversary screening in New York for Monty Python and the Holy Grail and all of the surviving members attended.

John Cleese and fellow Brits Eric Idle, Michael Palin and Terry Jones along with American Terry Gilliam walked the red carpet before the showing.

Eric Idle spoke of the film's longevity.

"Well, I think it's got some classic things. It's about King Arthur. It's a quest. That's stuff everybody knows about, the knights, the quest. And I think it coincided with 'Dungeons and Dragons,' you know that lovely medieval game that people love,"

After getting a 13-episode deal with the BBC for their show, 'Monty Python's Flying Circus,' the troupe became an instant hit on British television. But their first feature film, 'And Now for Something Completely Different,' was a financial disaster.

With the help of rock bands like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and Genesis, Monty Python was able to raise money to do 'Holy Grail,' and it was an immediate success.

The Tribeca Film Festival closes today with a reunion of the cast of the Martin Scorsese gangster film, 'Goodfellas.'

1989 Louder than AC/DC and Pink Floyd

Taylor Swift's album 1989 is officially louder than AC/DC and Pink Floyd.

Ian Shepherd, a sound mastering engineer carried out a study comparing the volume of popular albums. According to the study, 1989 clocked in at a DR6 rating which makes it even louder than Metallica's 'The Black Album'.

1989 also registered as being louder than Radiohead's OK computer, Jack White's Lazaretto and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon.

Swift's 1989 sold nearly 1.3 million copies in its first week making it the biggest album release in 12 years. She also became the first artist to pull a hat-trick of three albums going platinum immediately. Her previous two albums, 2010's Speak Now and 2012's Red, also sold more than one million copies in their first weeks.

Justin Bieber settles with photographer

Justin Bieber has settled out of court with a photographer who claimed he was assaulted by the singer's bodyguard in 2013.

The settlement between Bieber and photographer Jeffrey Binion was confirmed following an incident outside a South Florida recording studio two years ago.

Billboard reports that the settlement was confirmed on Friday and the terms of the agreement are confidential.

Earlier this month, Bieber was reportedly thrown out of Coachella. A video surfaced online which allegedly showed the singer being put into a chokehold by security after he tried to gain admission to the Californian music festival during Drake's performance on April 12.

Christian Bale injury halts new film production

An injury to Christian Bale means fans will have to wait a little longer for his next movie.

Bale tore his anterior cruciate ligament while at home in Los Angeles. According to Variety, production on his forthcoming movie The Deep Blue Good-by has been pushed back while he recovers.

Filming on the movie had been due to start over the summer.

James Mangold is directing both The Deep Blue Good-by and Wolverine 3. He will now focus his attention on Wolverine and return to The Deep Blue Good-by after filming wraps up.

The film starring Christian Bale follows Travis McGee, a salvage consultant on the trail of stolen sapphires. Peter Dinklage and Rosamund Pike will also star in the film.

17 million tune in to watch Jenner interview

US Audiences turned out in big numbers for ABC's much anticipated two hour Bruce Jenner interview on 20/20 which drew the newsmagazine's highest ratings in more than 15 years.

It is estimated that Diane Sawyer's sitdown with the former Olympic decathlete turned reality star averaged 17 million viewers. This makes it the week's top rated programme and marks a four point increase from last week's ratings.

On social media, Jenner's interview was also a big hit as well. The special drew 972,000 tweets from 403,000 unique authors making it the most social Friday telecast of all time not including sporting events.

After the interview was screened, many celebrities including Lady Gaga, Elton John and Miley Cyrus took to twitter in support of Jenner who announced he identifies himself as a woman and is ready for the next chapter in his life.

weather

Beijing will be cloudy today with a high of 31 degrees Celsius.

Overnight it will continue to be cloudy and temperatures will drop to 17.

Shanghai will be sunny with a high of 27 and it will be cloudy tonight with a low of 17.

In Chongqing it will be cloudy in the daytime with a high of 27 and clear tonight with the lowest temperature of 19.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,

Kathmandu, in the strong earthquake hit Nepal, will have thundershowers today with a high of 21 degrees.

Islamabad will be sunny today with a high of 45.

Kabul will see some clouds with a high of 27.

Over to North America,

New York will be partly cloudy with a high of 17 degrees.

Washington will be cloudy with a high of 18 degrees.

Honolulu, showers, 28.

That’s it for this weekend edition of the Beijing Hour.

A quick look at the headlines before we go...

The death toll from a devastating quake that hit Nepal climbs to nearly 1500...

And a 5.3-magnitude quake hits China's Tibet Autonomous Region...

On behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers, this is 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.