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

Coming up on the program this evening...

Chinese premier Li Keqiang arrives in Brazil for the opening leg of his Latin American tour...

China unveiling a 10-year roadmap to boost the country's manufacturing sector...

And UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to visit the Kaesong industrial complex in North Korea...

Business: Alibaba founder Jack Ma defending his company's work to stamp out counterfeit goods...

In Sports: live updates from tonight's Chinese Super League action...

In Entertainment: a Chinese star says the country is the future of the filmmaking industry...

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, find us on WeChat by searching "beijinghour", or email us directly at [email protected]. You can also visit english.cri.cn for the latest news and information from China Radio International.

Top NewsChinese Premier arrives in BrazilChinese Premier Li Keqiang in now in Brazil for an official visit at the invitation of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.

Upon his arrival, Premier Li said that China places a great deal of value on Brazil's economic and social achievements, and is fully confident of the future of the bilateral relationship between China and Brazil.

He said he wishes to conduct candid exchanges with Brazilian leaders on further increasing mutual political trust, deepening practical cooperation and enhancing cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

He added that China and Latin America have made great strides in their relations, establishing a comprehensive partnership featuring equality, mutual benefit and common prosperity.

During his visit in Brazil, Premier Li will attend the closing ceremony of a bilateral business summit and also visit Chinese equipment manufacturing exhibitions in Rio de Janerio.

Brazil is the first stop of Li Keqiang's four-nation Latin America tour, which will also take him to Colombia, Peru and Chile.

China, Latin America Cooperation to Fully UpgradeAnchor:

Many observers have expressed high expectations for cooperation between China and Latin America.

As CRI's Xie Cheng reports, many even expect a full upgrade in bilateral trade that has been developing rapidly in many fields during recent years.

Reporter:

According to statistics from China's Customs last year, trade volume between China and Latin America has surpassed 260 billion U.S. dollars.

A Spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce Shen Danyang especially highlights the great successes achieved as a result of China's bilateral trade with Chile and Peru.

"China has signed bilateral free trade agreements with Chile and Peru, injecting great energy to bilateral trade and promoting the two countries' exports of untraditional products to China. The Sino-Chile free trade agreement has been implemented for a decade, and completed the period of tariff concession. The tariff consisting of 97% of the whole tax volume is canceled. The free trade agreement between China and Peru is also being implemented well, meaning a mutual benefit and win-win situation has been reached."Many experts have spoken highly of Premier Li Keqiang's current visit to Latin America, where he will witness the signing of a series of cooperation agreements concerning fields such as infrastructure, manufacture, agriculture, science, technology and communications.

Osvaldo Rosales, a UN official, says Premier Li's visit marks another step toward a new type of relationship between China with Latin America and the Caribbean.

He also urges Latin American nations to use this trip to define their specific projects and interests, not only to strengthen ties with China but also to improve the region's own competitiveness and develop inter-regional trade.

Xu Shicheng, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that Premier Li's visit will further promote a deepening of bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

"China's economy is growing slower; the requirement for Latin America's iron ore and oil is dropping. They have to improve the added value on their primary products before exporting. We'll cooperate with the region through industrial capacity in order to improve their manufacturing production level."He also mentions that infrastructure has been an important highlight of China and the region's bilateral cooperation, since it requires several different kinds of equipment and thus will further boost bilateral trade.

This comes as Premier Li is set to witness the signing of a document concerning a transcontinental South American railway liking the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean.

According to China's Ministry of Commerce, Chinese enterprises invested over 12 billion U.S. dollars directly to Latin America in 2014, consisting of 12.5% of China's whole direct investment value abroad.

Earlier this year, the two sides have set a target for bilateral trade volume to reach 500 billion U.S. dollars in the space of one decade.

For CRI, I'm Xie Cheng.

China Unveils 10-year Roadmap for ManufaturingAnchor:

China's cabinet has unveiled a national plan, dubbed "Made in China 2025," focusing on development and the upgrading of the manufacturing industry in the country.

This 10-year plan, along with another two, are designed to transform China into a leading manufacturing power by the year 2049, which will be the 100th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

CRI's XYee reports.

Reporter:

According to a notice issued Tuesday by the State Council, Premier Li Keqiang authorized the plan named "Made in China 2025", which is the roadmap for the future of the manufacturing sector in China.

The plan is based on a national research project jointly conducted by the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, that began in 2013.

Miao Wei, Minister of Industry and Information Technology says the 10-year action plan is designed to transform China from a manufacturing giant into a world manufacturing power. During the process, information technology will become a driving power for industrial upgrades.

"Industrialization and an emphasis on information in logistics will be deeply integrated to promote the development of the whole manufacturing industry, which was proposed at the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. This will be a task we must fulfill in implementing the Made-in-China 2025 Plan. It is also a new highland that we must conquer."Miao Wei added "Made in China 2025" is just the first step of a three-step strategy. According to another two plans that followed, China will reach a medium level among the world's best manufacturers by 2035 and rank near the top of the league table by 2045.

Although comparisons have often been made between China's 10-year plan and Germany's "Industry 4.0" that focuses on the development of fully-automated "smart" factories, Miao Wei said China and Germany are in different stages of development.

"Germany is developing from 3.0 to 4.0, while our Chinese industrial enterprises have to make up for the 2.0 to 3.0 and then step up to 4.0. So we are in different stages. Therefore, we must pay attention to China's actual conditions and Chinese enterprises' reality. This will help us choose a right path of development and embark upon a better, faster and healthier road of development."The plan defines ten key areas where breakthroughs should be made, including new information technology, digital controlled tools and robotics.

Miao Wei particularly stressed the importance of Internet technologies.

"The best and biggest opportunity lies in the application of Internet technology in manufacturing. It will become the biggest catalyst and engine to accelerate this round of development. It will promote the manufacturing from being electrification-based directly to being intelligence-based."For CRI, I'm XYee.

China denies memorandum on canal project with ThailandChina has denied reports that it's cooperating with Thailand on developing a canal.

The comments come after media reports are suggesting that China and Thailand have signed a memorandum on a canal project near Isthmus of Kra.

The reports add that ships from the Indian Ocean will be able to travel directly to the Pacific Ocean through the canal without crossing the Strait of Malacca once it's complete.

The Chinese Embassy in Thailand says that the country has so far neither participated in the project's research and cooperation nor made any comments.

China's Outbound Tourism Trend and Inbound Tourism DeficitA recent market report shows while the number of Chinese outbound tourists is increasing year-on-year, the country's inbound tourism is seeing a deficit.

The report was released ahead of the National Tourism Day here in China, which falls on Tuesday.

For more findings from this latest report, CRI's Zeng Liang spoke earlier with Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt.

He is the director of China Outbound Tourism Research Institute, the academy that behind the report.

Back Anchor:

That is Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt, director of Director of China Outbound Tourism Research Institute, speaking with CRI's Zeng Liang.

Charity featuring eye health in XinjiangAnchor:

A charity campaign is taking place in China's northwest Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region right now, designed to give special care and attention to the younger generation's eyesight.

CRI's Liu Xiangwei with the story.

reporter:

11-year-old Mai Di Nai is a Uighur girl. She just had an eye surgery in Urumqi, the capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region that allows her to see. Now, sitting in her bed with flowers and gifts around, she is eager to share her happiness.

"I am happy, very happy. I dreamed of seeing the brightness of the world. Now I can see it. It means I can now walk independently everywhere. Now I can even step downstairs all by myself. Before, I dared not take a step without others telling me it's OK."Born with eye disease, Mai Di Nai could only sense light, but couldn't see the actual world, until a few days ago.

As part of a charity campaign to protect children's eyesight initiated by automaker Jaguar and Land Rover, doctors and nurses went to Mai Di Nai's school and examined the eyes of all her schoolmates. Mai Di Nai was singled out for treatment first, and received surgery immediately.

The surgery was performed by Ke La La, chief of the local eye hospital. The 55-year-old veteran surgeon is now practicing more medical check-ups in a primary school in Turpan, four hours' drive from Urumqi.

"I'm looking at the ocular fundus and other areas to see whether there's any problem. If necessary, I'll suggest follow-up treatment."Ke La La spends ten months a year on trips covering a large part of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, from the northern mountainous area, to the southern desert, to carry out check-ups and operations for children living in the remote areas.

Among China's 300 million children, about 12 million are weak-sighted. In Xinjiang, the situation is especially serious. Frequent sandstorms bring threat to children's eye hygiene. Unhealthy living habits lead to a high rate of eye problems. In many cases, minor diseases are overlooked, which result in more serious ones developing, even the complete loss of eyesight. Lack of medical access makes it even harder to cure them.

Six million yuan, or about one million US dollars will be put into the campaign this year, to check up 30 thousand children in Xinjiang. Three thousand of them will be given high-quality glasses to remediate their refractive errors. 600 will get surgeries or equipment assistance that they need to regain their vision.

Zhou Bingyi is the Vice President of Public Relations and Corporate Communications of Jaguar and Land Rover China. She says the charity work is helpful in more ways than one.

"Through doing this charity work, we're not only giving help and care to others, but also refreshing our own spirit, learning our own lessons and feeling life in a different way."Last year, the program went to southwest China's Yunnan Province. In the future, similar projects will cover more remote areas such as Guizhou and Sichuan.

For CRI, this is Liu Xiangwei.

Yingluck denies all charges in rice scheme caseFormer Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has denied all charges in the first hearing of a controversial rice-pledging scheme case.

Yingluck appeared at the court this morning, with a number of people waiting outside to give her moral support.

She said she felt confident in her innocence.

"Yes, I'm feeling confident to present, so we hope that everything will be followed by due process and the rule of law. Thank you."Yingluck is accused of dereliction of duty that led to billions of dollars in lost tax revenue to the state.

The case was filed by the Office of the Attorney- General, and if found guilty, Yingluck could face a maximum jail term of 10 years.

The court approved the request of Yingluck's lawyers to submit a complete statement before July 3, and granted bail.

But Yingluck is not allowed to leave the country during the trial.

Ban Ki-moon to Visit Kaesong Industrial Complex in NKoreaUN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has announced that he will visit the Kaesong Industrial Complex in the border town of North Korea on Thursday.

"I want to announce that I'm going to visit the Kaesong Industrial Complex this Thursday, May 21st 2015. The Kaesong project is a win-win model for both Koreas. It symbolises a good aim to tap the advantage of South and North Korea in a complimentary manner. I hope my visit will provide a positive impetus to further develop it and expand to other areas."Ban made the announcement after attending the World Education Forum in South Korea's port city of Incheon.

The details on his visit are still under discussion.

It would be his first trip to the inter-Korean factory park since the UN chief took office in 2007.

He visited the city as South Korean foreign minister in 2006.

The top UN official is in South Korea for a five-day trip, which kicked off on Monday.

Reinforcement of rival forces in the Iraqi city of Ramadi ahead of planned operationIraqi government forces and police are joining Shi'ite militias in a bid to recapture the city of Ramadi from Islamic State fighters.

They are teaming up with around 3-thousand Shi'ite militia fighters who have arrived at a military base to the east of Ramadi.

More Islamic State fighters are said to be advancing in armored vehicles toward the base in an effort to hold the Shiite militia at bay.

The city fell into IS control over the weekend amid a heavy surge by the group.

The loss of the city, the provincial capital of the Anbar province, is considered as a major strategic blow to the Iraqi government's battle with the IS group.

Dozens killed at a landslide in ColombiaAt least 58 people have been killed and several others injured after a landslide crashed onto homes in the town of Salgar in northwest Colombia.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has arrived in the area and met with local officials and those involved in the search and rescue operations.

"We need to start a process of identifying people who are missing; we don't know how many people are missing. There are close to 166 people searching these missing people from various relief agencies, from the Red Cross, firefighters, from the civil defence forces of the police of course, and the military."Media outlets showed homes and streets covered in mud and debris in the town in a mountainous area close to the Colombian Andes.

Bodies of the victims are being brought to the local cemetery for identification.

Local residents were showing up to offer help in the relief efforts.

Meteorological officials predict that additional but less intense rain is expected over the next couple of days.

EU authorizes military operations to stem migrant waveThe European Union has approved plans for a naval operation to try to limit the flood of refugees from North Africa.

Military force has been authorized to target those attempting to smuggle people into European territory.

At the same time, the emergency meeting in Luxembourg has also approved an increase of search and rescue patrols in the Mediterranean.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini is also calling on Libyan authorities to do more to bring down the human trafficking rings.

"We are looking for partnership in this because there is a responsibility that the European Union can take, but there is first of all a responsibility that the Libyans themselves have to take on their territory, on their borders, be they land borders or sea borders. So we are looking for partnership. "An estimated 18-hundred people have died already this year attempting to sail from North Africa into European territory.

Warmer temperatures and more favorable sea conditions are believed to be spurring the massive influx of people attempting to make it into Europe as refugees.

WHO under Fire for Slow Response to Ebola EpidemicThe World Health Organization has announced the establishment of a new fund to deal with future pandemics.

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan says the ebola outbreak in West Africa has taught them a valuable lesson.

"With the support of Member States, I am establishing a $100 million dollar contingency fund, financed by flexible voluntary contributions, to ensure we have the necessary resources available to immediately mount an initial response."Wildlife wardens take to the skies to protect elephants 2'19Anchor:

Wildlife wardens in Africa are taking to the skies with the hope of protecting the elephant population.

It's hoped that the use of drones will help keep the elephant population away from harmful human contact.

CRI's Qian Shanming reports.

Reporter:

Soaring above Tanzania's Tarangire National Park, the drones, with their bee-like sound, are ushering the increasingly-threatened mammals away from human encroachment.

A growing number of elephants in Africa are being killed by poachers.

But at the same time, game wardens - who are charged with protecting the animals - are increasingly being forced to bring down the animals if they're found raiding crops or wandering into local communities.

Drone technology is being adopted as a new technique for protecting elephants in Africa's national parks and nature reserves.

Nadia De Souza from the group Biodiversity and Wildlife Solutions says initial trials of the drones appear to be working.

"So far they seem to be responding really well, I mean, all of the trials that we've done so far, they've moved away from the drones really quickly whether they were in the fields or whether they were just out of the crops, so it's been pretty positive so far but we still need a lot more data to collect and be certain of the statistics."However, Biologist David Olson says he believes it's only a matter of time before the elephants become accustomed to the drone's bee-like sound.

As such, park rangers are being trained to fly drones carrying chili powder - an efficient elephant deterrent.

"I think elephants are smart enough to know that at night when they're in the crops, feeding on water melons and corn that bees aren't swarming, I think pretty quickly they'll get used to it and that's why we are exploring the use of dropping very light covers of chili powder in the air to alert them."Rangers taking part in the trials say the unique solution appears to be effective in moving wild elephants in a pre-determined direction.

Technical expert Jonathan Konuche says the rangers are excited about the new technology.

"It is helping a lot and the rangers are very excited about this, it's a new technology and they think it's the safest and easiest way of handling or herding elephants away from crops."Tanzania's Mara Elephant Project, an elephant protection and conservation project, currently has 12 trained UAV pilots.

For CRI, I'm Qian Shanming.

WeatherBeijing will be clear tonight with a low of 17, tomorrow will be sunny with a high of 29.

Shanghai is cloudy tonight with a low of 19, tomorrow will still be cloudy, high of 27.

Chongqing will be cloudy tonight with a low of 21, also cloudy tomorrow with a high of 32.

Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia,Islamabad will be sunny tomorrow with a high of 37.

Kabul, sunny, 29.

Over in AustraliaSydney, overcast, high of 25,Brisbane also overcast,28,Finally Perth will be sunny with a high of 18 degrees Celsius.

Headline newsLi Keqiang to meet Brazilian leaders on bilateral cooperationChinese Premier Li Keqiang is now in Brazil for the first leg of his four-nation Latin American visit.

He is scheduled to hold talks with President Dilma Rousseff and lawmakers of the country to explore ways of strengthening cooperation in a wide range of areas including industry, infrastructure and education.

The tour is Li Keqiang's first trip to the continent as Premier which will also take him to Colombia, Peru and Chile.

"Made in China 2025" plan unveiledChina's State Council has unveiled a national plan, named "Made in China 2025".

The plan, authorized by Premier Li Keqiang, mainly focuses on promoting manufacturing.

It is the first 10-year action plan designed to transform China from a manufacturing giant into a world manufacturing power by 2049.

91 kids hospitalized for suspected food poisoning in SW ChinaNinety one children have been hospitalized after they had lunch at a private kindergarten and showed symptoms of food poisoning in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

The children reportedly suffered from a stomachache and vomiting after eating lunch on Monday.

They were immediately sent to hospital in the city for treatment.

All of them were in a stable condition.

As of Tuesday afternoon, 31 of them have been discharged from hospital.

Authorities are still investigating the cause.

Yingluck denies all charges in rice scheme case-updatedFormer Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has denied all charges in her first court hearing.

The court has approved the request by her lawyers to submit a complete statement before July 3, and granted bail.

But she is not allowed to leave the country during the trial.

Yingluck was accused of failing to stop corruption in the rice program and incurring up to 20 billion U.S. dollars in operational losses.

She faces 10 years in prison if found guilty.

Earthquake-stricken Nepal bans new house construction until mid-JulyThe Nepalese government has imposed a ban on the construction of new houses across the country.

Under the decision, all development committees in Nepal are required not to issue permits for the construction of new buildings until mid-July.

People who have started building their houses can go ahead with the construction, but they are only allowed to build two stories.

The massive earthquake on April 25 and aftershocks have claimed more than 8,600 people and left over 100-thousand others injured.

Nearly 760-thousand houses have been destroyed or damaged across the Himalayan country.

Biz ReportsStocksAnchor:

Turning now to our business news. Let’s have a look at the numbers from across the Asian markets to close out this Tuesday evening.

Joining me on the desk is CRI's Luo Bin.

Reporter:

Thank you Spencer.

Chinese shares ended higher on Tuesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index and the Shenzhen Component Index both soaring 3.1 percent.

Heavyweight stocks posted robust performances, with banks, securities, insurance and real estate taking the lead.

Huatai Securities company surged by its daily limit of 10 percent.

But shares related to the Internet, electronic information, and software were among the losers.

Market sentiment appears to have been boosted after China's State Council unveiled a "Made in China 2025" national plan to promote manufacturing over the next 10 years.

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index ended up two-fifths of a percent.

Elsewhere in Asia,The Japanese Nikkei advanced seven-tenths of a percent.

South Korea's Kospi ended added three-tenths of a percent.

Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index lost a quarter of a percent.

And finally, Australia's ASX 200 lost four-fifths of a percent.

Back to you Spencer.

Alibaba's Ma expresses 'regret' over counterfeits lawsuitAlibaba founder Jack Ma on Tuesday defended his company's stance against counterfeit goods and expressed regret for the recent allegations leveled against it.

Jack Ma said his company cooperates with brand owners to fight counterfeiting and has a large staff dedicated to this end.

"We express our regret at the fact that the company chose to sue us instead of seeking to work with us to jointly combat counterfeit goods."A lawsuit filed by France's Kering SA on Friday in a U.S. court accuses Alibaba of cooperating with and profiting from sales of counterfeit goods despite its pledges to help stamp out the trade.

Ma complained the lawsuit was "creating internal conflict" rather than cooperation to fight a "common enemy."Ma also said Alibaba was interested in investing in U.S. tech companies.

He confirmed that his firm is in talks with Apple Inc over an electronic payments system.

Jack Ma was in Seoul for a launching ceremony of Alibaba's first online country pavilion dubbed the "South Korea Pavilion."This provides Chinese consumers with one-stop shopping for Korean products, along with travel and cultural information.

China Gives Nod to $40 bn of Six Infrastructure ProjectsAnchor:

China's top economic regulator has approved the construction of six railways projected to cost some 250 billion yuan, around 41 billion U.S. dollars, in a move it hopes will help stabilize economic growth.

CRI's Tu Yun has more.

Reporter:

The National Development and Reform Commission said it had approved six railway projects, including four new high-speed lines in eastern provinces of Shandong and Jiangsu, and in northeastern province of Liaoning.

Luo Guosan, deputy director of the investment department of NDRC, says the move is an addition and adjustment to the country's major infrastructure construction plan.

"We will continuously improve the infrastructure construction according to the actual needs and bring some qualified projects into the plan. NDRC has been working with relevant government departments, local authorities and enterprises recently."According to NDRC, two urban rail transits in the cities of Chengdu and Nanning are also in the plan.

Statistics released by China Railway Corporation shows the company's fixed assets investment has reached 132 billion yuan, a 22% increase year-on-year.

Qu Hongbin, HSBC's Chief Economist for Greater China, says compared with property and industrial investments, infrastructure investment has a better performance in boosting the economy.

"In terms of investment, industrial investment continued to slow down due to a short of orders in a deflationary environment. Infrastructure is a highlight to support the economic growth."The economist reckons more money should be put into this sector.

"China should put more investment in its infrastructure to stabilize the economic growth. Only by this way the overall investment and economy can remain in a right pace."Last year, the NDRC approved projects worth 34 billion yuan for transportation infrastructure including railways, roads, airports and waterways.

For CRI, I'm Tu Yun.

China's yuan strengthens to 15-month high against USDAnchor:

The renminbi has hit its highest level in some 15 months against the U.S. dollar.

The rise in the value of the Chinese currency is due largely to the depreciation of the US dollar.

Currency traders have been avoiding the greenback amid lingering questions about when the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates.

The renminbi is currently trading at 6.11 to the US dollar.

For more on where currencies are headed, CRI's Paul James spoke with Gao Shang, analyst with Guantong Futures.

Back anchor:

That was Gao Shang, analyst with Guantong Futures, speaking with CRI's Paul James.

Overseas investors' rights protected in Shanghai-Hong Kong stock linkChina's securities regulator on Monday vowed to protect overseas investors' shareholding rights on the mainland in the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect.

Shares acquired by investors through the Northbound Trading Link are to be registered under Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company.

Meanwhile, investors are legally entitled to the rights and benefits of shares acquired through the Northbound Trading Link.

Overseas shareholders can also take legal action directly in courts on the mainland.

The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect was launched in November last year, allowing overseas investors to trade Shanghai shares via Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing.

Direct flights to link Nanjing, L.A.

Direct flights between Nanjing and Los Angeles will start operation on June 30.

Nanjing is the capital of east China's Jiangsu Province.

It will be the first direct flight linking the city with North America.

According to the airline company, the round trip flights will depart Nanjing on every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and return on the next day.

SportsAFC Champions League: Beijing Guo'an - Jeonbuk leg oneStarting things off with football action,Beijing Guo'an are visiting South Korea's Jeonbuk in leg 1 of their knockout games in the AFC Champions League.

Beijing made it into the last 16 as top of the group and only lost three goals. They are third on goal difference in the Chinese Super League.

The team is slowly recovering from an injury and fatigue plagued season, as they were missing some key players and are playing on three fronts.

The prospects for the return of team captain Xu Yunlong are very hopeful. With him in the backfield Beijing can be confident about their defense, which will be their tactic according to forward Yu Dabao.

"Our team is ready. It will be a tough game because we are playing away from home and Jeonbuk are strong. For us, we should focus on the defense in this away game."Beijing also had a confidence boost from their 2-0 victory over Liaoning Hongyun in the domestic league.

However Jeonbuk are no easy target. They had 14 goals from the group round and are top of South Korea's Super League.

Jeonbuk will be watching Beijing's Dejan Damjanovic and He Dacheng, who have both played for South Korean clubs.

West Brom Albion beat EPL champions Chelsea 3-0In the English Premier League,West Brom Albion downed the 10-man Chelsea 3-0.

Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho said it's difficult to keep playing on the top level, especially after they were spared the pressure by winning the league title with three games left.

West Brom coach Tony Pulis said Chelsea are still the best team nonetheless.

"It was a great performance, great result... I think on the night, obviously, we're very, very pleased. It's a great finish, we finished thirteenth in the table. I don't think anything should be taken away from the team we played. The team that we played have been by far the best team in England in the Premier League this year. They've won it by a country mile and they've been that much better than anyone else. So although we've won the game tonight, all the praise and everything else should go to Jose, his coaching staff, the people at Chelsea and the players."It was the league champions' worst defeat yet this season. It also ended their 16-game winning streak in the league.

Chinese company buys French Ligue 2 club SochauxSome off-field football action,Chinese electrical parts maker Ledus has officially acquired French Ligue 2 club Sochaux.

Sochaux signed a deal to sell all of the club's share to Ledus for seven million euros.

The Hong Kong listed Ledus had contacted the Sochaux's former owners Peugeot in February to propose a credible project.

The French side said the deal validated all terms from the proposal.

The buyer is expected to take control of the club next season.

Ledus chairman Li Wing-sang said he has no plans to alter the current structure of the French club.

Sochaux were founded by the Peugeot family in 1928. They were twice Ligue 1 champions and French Cup holders. They were relegated to the second division last year.

Carmaker Peugeot wanted to sell the club to concentrate on auto racing while Ledus wanted to use Sochaux to penetrate the European market.

Tampa Bay Lightning beat NY Rangers to tie seriesIn the National Hockey League playoffs,The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Rangers 6-2 to tie their series 1-1 in the Eastern Conference Final.

Tyler Johnson completed a hat trick to help Tampa Bay win.

Johnson thought the team responded very well and played a great game.

"Well, we definitely didn't want to go to Tampa down 2-0. That's always a tough thing to get back, especially against a great team like New York. But I think what we were mainly focused on was the fact that we worked so hard to get into this position and we didn't want to just squander it away. We felt like we played very well in Game 1. We definitely needed more. "The teams move on to Tampa for Game 3 on Thursday morning Beijing time.

Audi rules out Formula One entryGerman car maker Audi has announced it has no plans to join Formula One.

Audi Chief Executive Rupert Stadler ruled out an entry into Formula One after speculation of a partnership with former champions Red Bull.

The speculation as to whether Audi will enter Formula One increased after chairman of its owner Volkswagon Ferdinand Piech resigned last month.

Piech had been strongly against Formula One where top teams spend over 200 million dollars on annual budgets.

Audi is already competing in the Le Mans endurance race, the German Touring Car series and the Formula E championships for electric powered cars.

Former tennis doubles veteran sentenced to six years for rapeSome off-court tennis news,Former Grand Slam doubles champion Bob Hewitt has been sentenced to six years in prison for rape by a South African court in Pretoria.

Australian-born Hewitt, 75, was found guilty of assaulting three under-age girls during his time coaching children in South Africa in the 1980s and 1990s.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Velekhaya Mgobhozi said Hewitt was given a chance to appeal the sentence.

"The NPA welcomes the sentence and the conviction, however as I have indicated to you, the matter is adjourned until tomorrow, because the accused is going to be appealing the conviction of sentence, so it's going to be a full application, for a bail application tomorrow."Hewitt was active during the 1960s and 70s. He has nine Grand Slam doubles and six mixed doubles titles. He also won the Davis Cup with South Africa in 1974.

EntertainmentLi Bingbing says China is the future of filmChinese actress Li Bingbing may be well known in China but she's only just started to be recognizable to American audiences.

Her role in Transformers 4: Age of Extinction has helped her name become more recognizable overseas but the star says she doesn't feel like she needs to go to Hollywood since China is taking over the box office market.

"There's a shift in the global movie box office. China is a huge box office market. The world is changing and a lot of things are leaning towards this part of the world. If you're looking for more money then you have to go to China. It doesn't matter if we go or they come to us, for sure you will see more collaborations in the future. "Li Bingbing is currently at Cannes Film Festival as part of her duty as ambassador for L'Oreal.

Paris Hilton flouts no selfie rule at CannesThis year Cannes Film Festival's decision to ban selfies has seen a lot of heated debate however nobody appears to have told Paris Hilton.

The American socialite posed for a snap with a fan on the red carpet on Monday at the premiere of Pixar's latest movie 'Inside Out'.

Inside Out is a Pixar styled 'Inception' where the story is based in both reality and also in the mind. It partly takes place inside the head of an 11 year old girl where voices such as Joy, Sadness and Anger compete for the girl's emotions and memories.

The movie has been well received during the festival and is Disney Pixar's first release in two years.

Inside Out is showing out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival which draws to a close on May 24.

Beyoncé publicly backs Hillary Clinton's presidential campaignSinger Beyoncé has publicly backed Hillary Clinton's Presidential election campaign.

Last week Hilary posted a picture of Beyoncé publicly showing her support for Clinton's presidential campaign for next year's election.

The singer along with other musical stars including Sharon Osbourne and Meghan Trainor recently attended a fundraiser co-hosted by known Democrats supporter L.A Reid who is also the Chairman and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment's Epic Records in New York.

Beyoncé previously hosted fundraisers along with her husband Jay Z for President Barack Obama's presidential re-election bid in 2012. She has also appeared at both of Obama's presidential inaugurations at the White House.

Red Nose Day set to take place in the USRed Nose Day, a charity fundraising event is due to take place in the US on Thursday and Saturday Night Live cast member Jay Pharoah is ready to make people laugh for a good cause.

Pharoah helped M&M kick start their effort to contribute $1 million to the event by doing a five minute standup comedy show at the M&M store in Times Square last week. For every laugh he got he raised a dollar.

"It's the most laughs in five minutes that you can get and every time somebody laughs they'll give you a dollar. So I ended up making 12-hundred and 20 dollars there and that's pretty dollars and that's pretty cool."Red Nose Day is put together by the same people behind Comic Relief. Launched 27 years ago in Britain, it's the first time it will cross over to the US.

The three hour telethon this Thursday is set to star a number of actors, comedians and musicians including Coldplay, Jennifer Anniston, Julia Roberts and Anna Kendrick.

One Direction speak about future as a quartetOne Direction have spoken about their future going forward as a quartet at the Billboard Music Awards.

The band spoke to Billboard backstage at the awards and spoke about working on their upcoming album and also a fan campaign to get their song 'No Control' released as a single.

"The fans have their own little project. They want to do No Control and they want to do a fan based single and I think that is just a perfect example of just how unique and incredible and passionate our fans are. We say it all the time but we literally cannot thank those people enough. They're the reason we're here tonight and the reason we have a pretty great job.

The band are currently in the US working with producers and songwriters on their upcoming album and are heading out on tour again in July.

WeatherBeijing will be clear tonight with a low of 17, tomorrow will be sunny with a high of 29.

Shanghai is cloudy tonight with a low of 19, tomorrow will still be cloudy, high of 27.

Chongqing will be cloudy tonight with a low of 21, also cloudy tomorrow with a high of 32.

Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia,Islamabad will be sunny tomorrow with a high of 37.

Kabul, sunny, 29.

Over in AustraliaSydney, overcast, high of 25,Brisbane also overcast,28,Finally Perth will be sunny with a high of 18 degrees Celsius.

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

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

Chinese premier Li Keqiang arrives in Brazil for the opening leg of his Latin American tour...

China unveiling a 10-year roadmap to boost the country's manufacturing sector...

And UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to visit the Kaesong industrial complex in North Korea...

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...