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

Coming up on our program this morning...

Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in Belarus for the final leg of his current 3-nation tour.

Evacuations have been taking place in the northern Philippines, which has been hit by a Super Typhoon.

A ceremony is set to be held later today in Liberia to declare the country Ebola-free.

In Business.... the People's Bank of China cutting interest rates for the 3rd time since November.

In Sports.... Andy Murray stuns Nadal in the finals of the Madrid Masters.

In entertainment... this year's BAFTA awards have been dolled out in London.

Top NewsChina, Belarus vow to combine development strategies, boost partnershipChinese President Xi Jinping has met with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk.

Xi Jinping says the Chinese side wants to work on strategies to help the mutual development of both countries.

"We both have agreed to stick to the principle of respecting and treating each other as equal partners. We will firmly support each other when it comes to issues that concern our core interests."At the same time, Xi Jinping says a Chinese-backed industrial park being built near Minsk is going to help develop the Silk Road Economic Belt initiative.

"We would like to build the industrial park into an upgraded version of the bilateral pragmatic cooperation and an exemplary project of the Silk Road Economic Belt, injecting positive energy into the economic development of the whole Eurasian region."For his part, Alexander Lukashenko says the Silk Road economic Belt initiative has a lot of potential.

"Belarus has become a key nation in implementing the initiative. We think President Xi's proposal to build the Silk Road Economic Belt has global significance as it's a global economic project that will have a far-reaching impact on the development and stability of not only the Eurasian region but also the whole world."Xi Jinping has arrived in Belarus for a 3-day state visit.

Belarus is the last leg of his current 3-nation tour, which has also seen him making stops in Kazakhstan and Russia.

Industrial Park Highlight of Sino-Belarusian CoopAnchorChinese President Xi Jinping is now in Belarus, which is the last leg of his current 3-nation tour.

His time in the country is going to include a tour of a Chinese-backed industrial park being built just outside the Belarusian capital, Minsk.

CRI's Luo Wen has more.

ReporterSitting 25 kilometers from Belarus' capital, the park is nearly 100 square kilometers, located next to Minsk International Airport.

Construction of the park broke ground last year and the project is planned to be finished in three stages within 30 years.

Liu Xuesong, Commercial Counselor at the Chinese Embassy to Minsk, is upbeat about the future of the park.

"Located in such an important gateway between Europe and Asia, the industrial park has an unmatched geographical advantage. Meanwhile, with a convenient road network and advantages in SciTech and education, Belarus has been nicknamed the 'processing workshop' since the era of the Soviet Union. All of these ensure a bright prospect for the project."The park will focus on electronics, biomedicine, chemistry, engineering, and new materials, with the Commonwealth of Independent States and the European Union as its target markets.

It's expected to attract more than 200 high-tech and export-oriented enterprises from around the world and create about 120 thousand jobs.

The park's Deputy General Manager, Kirill Koroteev, says many favorable polices are awaiting the companies that are trying to register as "residents" of the tariff-free park.

"Many preferences have been established by a special Decree of the President. For example, in terms of taxation, companies will be exempt from all corporate taxes for 10 years from the date they register as a 'park resident,' and the effective tax rate will also be reduced by 50 percent for the next 10 years in the park."Koroteev added that the policies will also cover employees in the park as the rate of personal income tax for them is 30 percent lower than the country's average level. Also, foreign workers will be exempt from compulsory insurance contributions from their wages.

The park is scheduled to receive its first "residents" by the end of next year.

So far, enterprises from China, Russia, Czekh Republic and Germany have applied to enter the park.

ZTE Corporation, China's second largest maker of telecommunications equipment and mobile phones, is among the first companies filing an application.

The company's top representative in Belarus, Tang Luhao, says they are interested in the park's advantages and also its potential.

"The first reason we come here is China's Silk Road initiative that will financially benefit Belarus with preferential loans. It's a big opportunity for us to launch more cooperation with the Belarusian government. Meanwhile, the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan is a reason, too. Its favorable policies will make it easy to promote our products in the region, which has a population of over 200 million."Counselor Liu Xuesong reveals that more and more Chinese enterprises are showing interest in the Belarusian market as the two sides are working together to upgrade their cooperation.

"From the perspectives of politics, Belarus' industrial capacity, and its investment environment, the Sino-Belarusian cooperation will surely remain vigorous. The two sides have also agreed to upgrade the bilateral economic cooperation with the focus shifting from traditional trade to loans."Liu says he believes the park will also play an important role in boosting cooperation in service industries on both sides.

For CRI, I'm Luo WenTyphoon Noul crashes northern Philippines, Residents evacuatedTyphoon Noul has made landfall in the northern Philippines.

The category five storms is packing winds of up to 185-kilometers per hour near the centre.

It has made landfall about 400-kilometers north of the capital, Manila.

People living along the coastal areas have been evacuated, as storm surges of upto two metres are hitting the area.

"We weren't supposed to leave our home, but they came and told us to evacuate because we are living on the coastline and the waves might destroy our homes."The Super Typhoon is expected to trigger landslides and flash flooding in parts of the Cagayan Valley.

A number of flights out of the Philippines have been cancelled.

Forecasters are expecting the storm to make a turn to the east and track away from Taiwan over the next 24-hours.

World's biggest hurricane simulator aims to improve forecastsAnchorThe world's largest hurricane simulator is now operational in the US State of Florida.

Its hoped the new simulator will help predict how strong a tropical storm will get.

CRI's Xie Cheng has more.

ReporterThe 15 million US dollar wind and wave machine at the University of Miami resembles a giant aquarium, without the fish.

It's powered by a 17-hundred horsepower engine, which rolls the 38-thousand gallons of water it holds.

A fan attached to the machine then blows winds of 156-miles per hour to simulate a Category 5 Hurricane.

A model of a home is quickly drenched by crashing waves that resemble a real-life storm surge assaulting a coastal property.

Lead scientist Brian Haus says the tank's key component will be to improve hurricane intensity forecasting.

"It's important to study and to measure what's happening, where the ocean and atmosphere meet in hurricanes, because we have no data from the field. It's really hard to get out there and make these measurements in nature. So we can measure in the laboratory, so that can help scientists to better understand what's happening."Haus lived through both Hurricane Katrina and Wilma which both hit the US state of Louisiana.

That propelled him to find ways of better understanding the physics behind tropical storm strength, and how the warmth of the ocean can power a hurricane.

Researchers also hope to use the tank to explore how storms will damage homes and buildings along the US south coast.

For CRI, I'm Xie Cheng.

Overshooting Runway Accident Exposes Home-built Aircrafts ProblemsAnchorQuestions are being raised about the stability of the landing-gear of a Chinese-produced airplane.

This follows an incident in Fujian this weekend, which saw a Modern Ark jet skid off the runway after landing.

CRI's Niu Honglin has the details.

ReporterThe Joyair flight over-ran the runway at the airport in Fujian's capital, Fuzhou, leaving 7 people injured.

None of the injuries are life-threatening.

The inciden did force the closure of the airport for some 6-hours.

Zhang Xiaofeng with Joyair says they have already come up with a compensation plan.

"We'll compensate for the passengers loss of valuables. We've already confirmed the specific items with each passenger on board and will compensate them with the orignal value of every item listed. At the same time, we'll give each stranded passenger at the airport 1-thousand yuan for the delay of their flights."The aircraft in-question is a Modern Ark 60.

The MA60 is built by a subsidiary of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China.

It's currently operational in over 20 countries worldwide.

But since becoming operational in 2000, the MA60 has been involved in ten separate accidents.

Some have involved the landing gear of the plane.

Chinese aviation expert Wang Yanan says it's too early to say whether the incident in Fuzhou this weekend is connected to the landing gear.

"Landing gear problems have been behind a number of accidents involving the MA60. This accident may also be connected to a landing gear problem. However, we can't exclude the possibility of a tire-blowout. It's just a guess at this point. We'll have to wait and see the results of the investigation."At the same time, Wang Yanan says the producers of the MA60 may have to re-examine their designs.

"The producers of MA 60 have examined and improved the landing gear of the planes. Chinese aviation authorities have approved the changes which fixed the underlying problems of the landing gear. But I don't think they have dealt with the perception problems well enough. They need to show what they've done to fix the problems so that people can rest easily."For CRI, I'm Niu Honglin.

Countries Ground Airbus A400MBritain, Germany and Turkey have all announced they are temporarily grounding their Airbus A400M military transport planes.

The decision follows the crash of an Airbus A400M near the Seville airport in southern Spain during a test flight this weekend.

It's unclear at this point what may have led to the crash.

Only 2 of the 6 people onboard managed to survive.

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian says the French military will keep the planes in-service for the time being, but only for "top priority flights.""France as of today has 6 Airbus A400M and all six planes combined have been flown for 1700 mission hours. It's a high-quality, high-performance plane."Spanish investigators have retrieved the flight-data recorders from the downed plane.

The Spanish government is asking for patience as it conducts its investigation, suggesting the grounding of the planes may be premature.

The A400M are assembled in Seville.

Stranded Nepalese sherpas return homeThe last group of Nepalese sherpas stranded on Mount Qomolangma, also known as Mount Everest, have returned to Nepal from Lhasa, China's Tibet.

The 124 sherpas were among 470 climbers who were stranded on the world's highest peak when the 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Nepal just over two-weeks ago.

Avalanches caused by the quake left 19 people dead.

The Nepalese sherpas were helping climbers on the north side of the mountain at the time.

Chinese rescuers managed to help them to safety.

"I want to heartedly thank very much the Chinese government and the Himalaya expedition. Especially Mr Nyima Tsering, he is the founder of the Himalaya expedition. So I want to say thank you very much for save me, Chinese government, and China. Thank you very much."The quake has forced Chinese authorities to shut down this year's climbing season on Qomolangma.

Deputy Director of the Tibet Sports Bureau, Nyima Tsering, says the climbers who were stranded by the quake will be put at the top of the list if they want to try to make to the summit again.

"We have some favorable policies for them, both political and economic. In the next three years, these people will be given priority if they come to climb Mount Qomolangma again."The cancellation of this year's climbing season is the 2nd year in a row.

A deadly avalanche on the mountain last year left 16 Nepalese guides dead, which led to the sherpas cancelling the remainder of the climbing season.

African Leaders to attend Liberia's Ebola free declaration ceremonyAnchorA ceremony is set to be held in Liberia later on this Monday to help proclaim the country 'Ebola-Free."The event, to be attended by leaders from different African countries, comes some 5-weeks after the last new case of Ebola was reported in the country.

CRI's Zhao Jianfu has more.

ReporterForeign dignitaries who stood firm with the Liberian government and its people during the turmoil are expected to attend the ceremony on Monday.

The anti-Ebola campaign has marked a significant milestone as the World Health Organization declared that Liberia was free of the disease on Saturday.

WHO special representative for Ebola response Bruce Aylward expresses his faith in eliminating the deadly virus.

"One of the worst hit countries obviously was Liberia and just six months ago people were questioning could they ever get this under control. This proves yes they can and if it can be done in Liberia, it can also be done in Sierra Leone and Guinea."The announcement was received with happiness among the citizens and residents who suffered as a result of the world's worst Ebola outbreak in history.

According to WHO's official number, as of today some 11 thousand people have died from Ebola in Liberia, neighboring Guinea and Sierra Leone since the first outbreak began in December 2013.

Bruce Aylward lauded the anti-ebola efforts made by the international community, and he especially thanked China for playing a key role.

"These people are really impressive they are very good and they played a key role in this outbreak and I think what was wonderful about China's response was the breadth of it. It was materials, it was ebola treatment centers, it was medical experts, it was public health experts because you need all of that to beat Ebola and China was very generous in bringing all of that to this fight."China has continuously sent medical supplies and personnel to Liberia as well as other Ebola stricken regions.

Last year, China sent 1,600 aid workers to Africa and assisted with building an Ebola hospital in Liberia.

Since then, they've trained 3000 local medical workers and treated tens of thousands of patients.

Last month, China turned over a huge consignment of assorted medical supplies and equipment to Liberia as part of its humanitarian assistance valued at 5 million U.S. dollars.

For CRI, I'm Zhao Jianfu.

Libyan Detain 163 Egyptian Illegal MigrantsLibyan authorities are detaining 163 Egyptians caught trying to sneak into the country.

It's believed the group was trying to make their way into Libya to find passage from there into Europe.

The group is among thousands who have been making their way into Libya from other parts of Africa or the middle-east to try to secure passage into European territory.

Libya's coastline is just a few hundred kilometers from the southern Italian island of Lampedusa.

Mohammed al-Ghweil, Prime Minister of the Tripoli-based administration in Libya, is calling for more help from the international community to help stem the tide of would-be migrants using the country as a launching point for Europe.

"We invite the European Union and the international community, namely Italy and southern Europe, to help Libya, in particular the National Salvation Government in Tripoli. They must have direct contact with us to discuss ways of helping stem illegal immigration, and to provide us with boats... and assistance for those held in detention centers."The United Nations estimates around 18-hundred migrants have died already this year in the Mediterranean.

More than 5,000 Burundians flee to Rwanda in two daysRwanda is dealing with a massive influx of refugees from neighboring Burundi.

Rwandan authorities say more than 5-thousand people from Burundi have crossed over border through the weekend to escape the mounting tensions in the country.

"I heard there will be a war in Burundi. The Imbonerakure, the young members in power, also said if we didn't vote for the president, they would kill us. That's why, we decided to flee the country."Close to 4-thousand others have fled Burundi into the Democratic Republic of Congo since the beginning of May.

Mass demonstrations have been taking place in the country following a decision by incumbent President Pierre Nkurunziza to run for a third term in office.

At least 5 people are believed to have been killed on Sunday in the violence.

Burundi is still trying to recover from a civil war which ended a decade ago.

Macedonia says armed group eliminated after deadly clashesA mass police operation in Macedonia has left close to two-dozen people dead, including a number of police officers.

Ivo Kotevski with the Macedonian Interior Ministry says the raid itself targeted a known militant group in the country's north.

"The armed group which was hiding in several houses and threatened the security of the people of the Republic of Macedonia have been entirely neutralised and eliminated."The assault has left a total of 22 people dead, including 8 police officers.

Over 20 others are being held after surrendering.

Macedonian authorities say some of those killed were wearing insignias of the Kosovo Liberation Army.

Swiss Gunman Kills 4 and himselfFive people are dead following a mass shooting in Switzerland.

The presumed killer, a 36-year-old man separated from his wife and children, shot and killed his mother and father-in-law, as well as his brother-in-law and a neighbor before turning the gun on himself.

Bernhard Graser is with the local police in the community northwest of Zurich.

He says they are working under the assumption it is a case of domestic violence.

"We started the investigation and so far we know five people are dead. The background of this crime is probably some familiar relations, problems within the family, that is part of the investigation that is going on at the moment."Authorities say the 36-year old attacker had a history of violent behavior.

Poland's presidential election goes into second round: exit pollsExit polling is suggesting Poland's presidential elections are headed into a run-off.

Surveys are suggesting lead contender Andrzej Duda and incumbent Bronislaw Komorowski will face-off in a second round of voting scheduled for May 24th.

Duda is the candidate for the conservative Law and Justice party.

He's believed to have a slight lead over Komorowski, who represents Poland's Civic Platform party.

Voter turnout has been pegged at around 50-percent.

"I have voted for the current president, I think it is a good choice and a good candidacy.""For sure I have not voted for Komorowski, we have his leading up to here."Official results are due out on Tuesday.

While Poland is a Parliamentary democracy, the President does head the country's armed forces.

He also has a say in foreign policy and holds the power to veto legislation.

Komorowski has been president since 2010.

Fresh food prices rise faster in some emerging countriesAnchorNew research from a London-based think-tank is suggesting the rise in the prices of fresh fruits and vegetables over the past 20-years may be leading to the rise in obesity rates around the world.

CRI's Yu Yang has more.

ReporterEconomists with the Overseas Development Institute have collected information on food prices from cities in four emerging nations; namely Mexico, Brazil, South Korea and China.

The research itself has focused on four different food areas: staples, processed foods, fats and sugars, fruit and vegetables and meat and dairy.

The report notes fruit and vegetable prices have risen by over 90-percent between 1990 and 2012.

This represents a price increase higher than other any other food category.

The report also notes certain processed foods, such as ready meals, have dropped in price by up to 20-percent.

Overseas Development Institute lead researcher Steve Wiggins says its now becoming more expensive to eat healthy.

"The cost of fruit and vegetables has tended to rise more than the general price level, whereas the prices of some processed foods have tended to rise less than the general price level. So in effect it's becoming in those emerging economies, more costly to follow a healthy diet, than to follow a less healthy diet."The research report suggests processed food manufacturers are much more able to cut their costs through additives, which not only make the food less costly to produce, but also make them more appealing.

The ODI report also notes among the 4 countries surveyed, Mexico has seen the highest rise in obesity rates.

To try to counter this, Mexico launched a tax on junk food last year.

Here in China, while obesity rates aren't increasing as quickly as Mexico, a generational change in dietary habits is being observed.

Prices for fruits and vegetables in Beijing have doubled over the past 20-years.

Liu Jiuping, nutritionist and editor in chief of "Science and Life" magazine, says she believes this is making it easier for young people to simply choose an easier alternative to eating healthy.

" It is mostly young people, because they don't eat or cook at home, so, they have a tendency to eat at fast food shops, and eat high calorie food, and those will lead to obesity, especially if there is lack of exercise."The Chinese government has launched educational campaigns to try to get young people more active.

China's National Sports Administration spent more than 2 billion yuan in 2013 on campaigns to build health facilities in communities, as well as sponsoring public sporting events.

For CRI, this is Yu Yang.

WeatherBeijing will be cloudy today with a high of 20 degrees Celsius.

Overnight temperatures should drop down to 11.

Shanghai will see moderate rain with a high of 24 and a low of 16.

In Chongqing, it will be cloudy during the daytime with a high of 25 and lows of 17.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Kathmandu, thunderstorms, 26.

Islamabad will be partly cloudy with a high of 34.

Kabul will have rainy with a high of 18.

Over to North America,New York will be cloudy with a high of 27 degrees.

Washington, cloudy with a high of 29 degrees.

Honolulu, partly cloudy, 27.

Toronto will see showers with a high of 18 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,Buenos Aires will be cloudy with a high of 20.

And Rio de Janeiro will see thunderstorms with a high of 27 degrees Celsius.

Headline newsChina, Belarus vow to combine development strategies, boost partnershipChinese President Xi Jinping has met with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk, pledging to work on strategies to help the mutual development of both countries.

The President notes the two countries have agreed to firmly support each other when it comes to issues that concern their core interests.

At the same time, Xi Jinping says a Chinese-backed industrial park being built near Minsk is going to help develop the Silk Road Economic Belt initiative.

Lukashenko has pledged full support to the initiative, saying it has a lot of potential.

Xi Jinping is in Belarus for a 3-day state visit, after making stops in Kazakhstan and Russia.

Beijing airport runway repair to affect flightsAuthorities with the Beijing Capital International Airport have announced the central runway at the airport is going to be shut down for repair work for 5-days, starting on May 23rd.

This is forcing airlines which fly out of the airport to change their schedules.

As such, numerous flights are likely going to be re-directed to Tianjin or Shijiazhuang.

The runway itself, one of three at the Beijing airport, was last serviced in 1996.

Eight policemen, 14 gunmen killed in Macedonian operation against armed groupMacedonian authorities say 8 police officers and 14 gunmen have been killed in a raid on an armed group in the northern part of the country.

Authorities believe the group was planning attacks on state institutions and civilian targets.

Macedonian officials say some of the militants killed were wearing uniforms bearing the insignia of the Kosovo Liberation Army.

Nearly two-dozen members of the group who surrendered are currently being interrogated by police.

4 aftershocks jolt Nepal, 1 killedOne person has been killed after a series of aftershocks rattled Nepal on Sunday.

The 72-year-old victim died while running out of his home in the Kathmandu Valley.

More than 8-thousand people are confirmed dead following the massive 7.8-magnitude quake which hit Nepal on April 25th.

While seismic activity has eased since the original quake over 2-weeks ago, seismologists are warning Nepal is still going to be affected by aftershocks for the foreseeable future.

Saudi king to skip U.S.-Gulf summitSaudi King Salman is reportedly going to skip this week's summit between US President Barack Obama and leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

The Saudi embassy in Washington says Crown Prince Mohammad bin Naif will take the King's place at the meeting.

Naif is the new deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister.

Obama is scheduled to meet with GCC leaders at the White House on Wednesday.

The Gulf Cooperation Council includes Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Biz reportsAnchorFirst let's get a preview of what we can expect on the markets this week.

Here's CRI's Niu Honglin.

ReporterMarket observers in the US are anticipating shares may be poised to hit record growth this week.

The optimism follows Friday's release of April employment figures showing a rebound in job growth, with the US economy adding some 220-thousand jobs.

On the economic calendar this week, April retail sales are due out on Wednesday.

Producer price data is set for release on Thursday morning.

US industrial production figures are set to come out on Friday.

It remains unclear at this point if the economy is growing fast enough for the Federal Reserve to raise interests rates in June, as has been anticipated.

Over in Europe, UK shares and the British pound are expected to continue to rise following a victory by the ruling Conservatives in last week's parliamentary elections.

On the corporate front,A number of companies on the S&P 500 are due to report their quarterly earnings this week.

Among them, DISH Network will report later on this Monday.

GoDaddy and Zillow are due out on Tuesday.

Macy's and Cisco Systems are on-tap for Wednesday.

Kohl's and Nordstrom are scheduled to report their Q1 numbers on Thursday.

China Cut Interest Rates for the 3rd time in 2015AnchorChina's central bank is cutting interest rates by 25 basis points as of today.

One-year deposit rates are being slashed to 2.25 percent.

The one-year lending rate is being set at 5.1-percent.

It is the third rate cut by the central bank since November.

At the same time, the PBOC is also increasing the upper limit of the floating band for deposit rates to 1.5 times the benchmark.

This is up from 1.3 times the benchmark rate.

For more on the move, we're joined on the line by Mike Bastin, director of China Business Center based in London.

Talking points1.The latest round of cuts was announced on the heels of a set of newly released economic data. [April CPI grows 1.5 pct y-o-y; PPI drops 4.6 pct y-o-y; foreign trade volume dropped by 10.9 percent] What's the central bank is trying to achieve this time with the cuts?

2.The central bank reiterated on Friday that it will not resort to quantitative easing (QE) to inject liquidity into the market. What do you think of China's current stance on monetary policy?

3.What sectors in the stock markets do you think will benefit from the latest interest rate cuts?

Back Anchor:

Mike Bastin, director of the China Business Center based in London.

China April CPI grows 1.5 pct, slightly reboundNew stats show inflation here in China increased 1.5-percent year-on-year in April.

This is up slightly from March's 1.4-percent growth.

Stats from the National Bureau of Statistics shows food prices increased by 2.7-percent in April.

At the same time, the Producer Price Index, which is a measure of wholesale inflation, has decreased 4.6-percent in April.

Producer prices have been on the decline for over the last 3-years.

Foreign Trade Set to Pick up: the Ministry of CommerceThe Chinese Ministry of Commerce says it remains confident foreign trade will pick up in the second half of the year.

New stats show overall foreign trade through the first 4-months of this year has declined 7.6-percent.

Despite this, the Commerce Ministry says it believes changes in the overall export structure in China will create a rebound in foreign trade through the 2nd half of the year.

Right now, imports are down some 17-percent compared to last year.

Commerce officials say the decline in imports is mainly due to the falling prices of bulk commodities.

Exports are up 1.5-percent through the first 4-months.

China, Russia to cooperate in hydropowerThe China Three Gorges Corporation has signed an agreement with Russian hydropower company RusHydro to develop a joint hydropower project in Russia.

Plans are being worked on for a joint hydropower plant on the Bureya river in the Russian Far East.

Some of the electricty generated by the project is going to be directed toward China.

The agreement is among 32 different deals signed as part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Russia.

Among them is a 6-billion US dollars loan to help build a high-speed railway in Russia.

Alibaba owns nearly 10% stake in US retailer ZulilyAlibaba has purchased a 9-percent stake of US e-commerce site Zulily.

The acquisition has been disclosed in a securities filling.

It shows Alibaba has spent some 56 million US dollars on Zulily shares.

Zulily is a Seattle-based site that hosts "flash" sales of clothing for women and children.

Newspaper ad revenues see 15% drop in 2014A new report published by Tsinghua University is pointing to another decline in ad sale revenues among China's newspapers.

The analysis shows newspapers in China have seen a 15 percent decline in ad revenues through the whole of last year.

This would represent the 4th year in a row of declining revenues.

Media industry revenues overall in China surpassed one-trillion yuan last year for the first time.

The report says this is mostly due to the expansion of Internet-based media services.

Ad revenues through the Internet have now surpassed that of Television in China.

SportsAndy Murray Downs Rafael Nadal at Madrid Masters FinalStarting things off with tennis:

Britain's Andy Murray knocked off clay-court king Rafael Nadal for the first time on the surface to win the Madrid Masters title earlier this morning.

Murray commanded the court on his way to a 6-3, 6-2 win over the four-time champion.

Andy Murray on winning his second-straight clay-court tourney, after winning the Munich Open last week:

"To win a Masters series on clay for me is a step in the right direction. It's something I've never done before. So that's good progress there. To win against Rafa on clay in a final in Spain is an extremely difficult thing to do and I'm proud I've managed to do that."The match also marks Nadal's fourth-straight clay-court loss.

In women's action from Madrid:

Czech Petra Kvitova beat Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova handily to win the Madrid Open title.

Kvitova capped off an impressive performance that saw her overcome world no. 1 Serena Williams in the semi-finals.

NBA Playoff RecapIn hoops action from the National Basketball Association playoffs:

Chicago Bulls vs. Cleveland CavaliersAnd at 8:30 a.m., Beijing time,The Houston Rockets take on the Los Angeles Clippers for game three of their series. The Clips lead things 2-1.

CBA: Beijing Ducks Extend Marbury's Contract to 2017Some news from the Chinese Basketball Association:

The Beijing Ducks have extended their contract with star import and former NBA player Stephon Marbury to 2017.

Ducks coach Min Lulei says the extension means that Marbury will play with Beijing for two more seasons.

The 38-year-old Marbury, who signed a three-year contract with Beijing in 2013, led the team to their third CBA title this past season and was voted the CBA finals MVP.

F1: Nico Rosberg Beats Teammate Lewis Hamiton to Take Spanish GPIn Formula 1 action:

Nico Rosberg topped his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton to take the checkered flag at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.

Rosberg finished first 17.5 seconds clear of his title rival.

Speaking on the win, Rosberg says the weekend couldn't have gone better:

""It was the perfect weekend, it was great to be on pole and then to win the race like this. Very, very happy also thanks to the team the car has been awesome all weekend you know, perfect. So yeah, really great."Hamilton struggled to snatch second from Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, but still leads the rankings with 111 points to Rosberg's 91.

Football Weekend RecapOver in Football:

In the English Premiere League:

Leaders Chelsea and Liverpool evened things out 1-1, keeping the reds out of a top-four league finish.

Runners-up Manchester City knocked QPR into relegation with a 6-0 dismantling.

and Manchester United edged Crystal Palace 2-1.

Over in La Liga:

Barcelona pull further ahead with a 2-0 win over Real Sociedad.

The same can't be said of Real Madrid, who tied 2-2 with Valencia.

And in the Chinese Super League:

No. 3 Beijing Guo'an beat Changchun 2-1;Leaders Shanghai SIPG thrahsed city rivals Shanghai Shenhua 5-0;And second-place Guangzhou Evergrande trounced Shanghai Shenxin 6-1.

Badminton: Li Dan Leads Team China to 5-0 Win Over Germany at Sudirman CupOver in Badminton:

Badminton star Lin Dan helped team China win 5-0 over Germany at the BWF Sudirman Cup in Dongguan, Guangdong province, on Sunday.

"Super" Dan made it 2-0 for the defending champs after he beat Marc Zwiebler 21-11, 21-11 in single's action.

In women's singles action: Li Xuerui tied Karin Schnaase 17-all before taking game two 21-17 and game three 21-8.

China also took the men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed double's games to sweep their German opponents and advance.

Boxing: China's Dong Taishan Now 4-0 with Weekend Win, Canelo KO's KirklandIn Boxing:

China's seven-foot tall heavyweight Dong Taishan notched his fourth-straight professional win this weekend, beating American Jamal Woods by majority decision in Houston, Texas.

The fight was on the undercard of the night's bigger match between Saul "Canelo" Alvarez versus James Kirkland.

Canelo knocked Kirkland down twice before ending things in the third round with a nasty right right that dropped Kirckland for good.

Golf: George Coetzee Birdies 2nd Playoff Hole to Win Mauritius OpenIn golf--From the Mauritius Open:

George Coetzee beat Thorbjorn Olesen on the second playoff hole to win the Mauritius Open on Sunday..

Coetzee sunk three birdies at the par-five 18th hole - one at the end of the final round and two in the playoff - to clinch his third European Tour title.

Olesen also birdied the first playoff hole before being limited to par in the second.

Over in the PGA at the Players Championship in Florida:

(UPDATE)NHL Playoff PreviewIn the National Hockey League playoffs:

Going on right now:

The Washington Capitals are on ice against the New York Rangers for game six.

Washington sit one win away from advancing leading the series 3-2.

And later this morning:

The Anaheim Ducks will face the Calgary Flames.

The Ducks are up 3-1 and are one win away from a convincing series win.

Entertainment BAFTAS awards held in the UKThe 2015 BAFTA TV Awards was held in UK last night, at the Theatre Royal, in London.

TV hosts Ant and Dec picked up two prizes for their hit show "Saturday Night Takeaway."Sherlock Holmes won the Radio Times audience award, beating the likes of "The Great British Bake Off" and "The Game of Thrones."The shows star Benedict Cumberbatch missed out on a television Bafta for his portrayal of the master detective.

Instead the leading actor role went to Jason Watkins for his portrayal as the murder accused in ITV's drama the "Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies."Best actress went to Georgina Campbell for her role in "Murdered by My Boyfriend."The career of broadcaster and TV critic Clive James, who is seriously ill, was also celebrated at the event.

He was unable to make the ceremony, but he gave a moving prerecorded speech, and a short film was shown highlighting his career.

"I'm honored to receive this special award, and I only wish I can be with you, but I am with you in spirit. And I promise to keep my speech very short. There were scores of people who worked for my television outfits, BBC ITV and the watchmaker company. Many of them were women and a lot of them have done very well. I am very proud that women weren't held back."In the international category HBO's "True Detective" won the top prize.

Lifetime achievement awards were received by newscaster Jon Snow and screenwriter Jeff Pope.

The BAFTA is the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, an independent British charity that supports, develops and promotes the art forms of the moving image.

"Avengers: Age of Ultron" wins big in the foreign box office"Avengers: Age of Ultron" has smashed the foreign box office again over the weekend, taking an estimated $68.3 million.

Bringing its global total to just over $875 million.

With a China opening scheduled for tomorrow, the Disney Marvel release should easily pass $1 billion.

Beyond "Avengers: Age of Ultron," it was a quiet week at the foreign box office.

Universal's "Furious 7″ was a distant second, bringing in $19.6 million and pushing its total to almost $1.5 billion.

And Sony's "Chappie" took third place with $9.8 million. The science-fiction thriller has made $94.8 million since debuting in March.

JK Rowling thanks fans for supportHarry Potter author JK Rowling has thanked Twitter users for supporting her, after she became a target of online abuse in the wake of the general election in the UK.

She wrote that their comments reminded her of how big the world is and how many more decent people there are than not."She faced a flood of criticism on Twitter after it emerged she had donated ?1m to the campaign for a No vote in the Scottish independence referendum.

In 2008, she donated the same amount to the Labor party.

The author revealed she had been called "a traitor" for her political views, and had blocked some abusive Twitter users she believed had been supporters of the Scottish National Party.

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

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

Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in Belarus for the final leg of his current 3-nation tour.

Evacuations have been taking place in the northern Philippines, which has been hit by a Super Typhoon.

A ceremony is set to be held later today in Liberia to declare the country Ebola-free.

In Business.... the People's Bank of China cutting interest rates for the 3rd time since November.

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.