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

Coming up on our program this morning...

China's lead prosecuting body has joined the investigation into this week's deadly nursing home fire in Henan which left dozens of seniors dead.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has wrapped up an inspection tour in Zhejiang, calling for more reforms to adapt to the "new normal."Football's governing body is reeling following the arrest of a group of high-ranking members of FIFA on corruption and bribery charges.

In Business.... China's central bank says the country will maintain a prudent monetary policy, with adjustments made when necessary..

In Sports.... FIFA still intending to go ahead with its Presidential election tomorrow, despite the arrests of some of its high-profile officials.

In entertainment... a record number of films have applied to be part of this year's Shanghai Film Festival.

Top NewsSupreme procuratorate looks into fatal rest home fireChina's top prosecutorial body has joined a central government team investigating this week's fatal fire in a nursing home in Henan which left 38 elderly people dead.

Prosecutors will be looking for any evidence of criminal activity involved in the deadly fire, including possible dereliction of duty or abuse of power.

China's safety watchdog says the preliminary investigation is pointing to the poor construction of the building itself, as well as lax safety management, as one of the reasons behind the high fatality rate at the nursing home in the city of Pingdingshan.

Poorly-designed fire exits and a slow emergency response by employees in the facility are also being probed.

It remains unclear at this point what exactly set the fire off in the first place.

Survivors say the fire, which broke out around 8 in the evening on Monday, moved very quickly through the nursing home.

A dozen people employed at the facility are being investigated in connection with the blaze.

President Xi stresses role of reform in "new normal"Chinese President Xi Jinping has wrapped-up a 3-day inspection tour in Zhejiang, suggesting the country needs to maintain a "strategic focus" as it adapts to the so-called "new normal."He says this has to include reforms which will create more higher-quality growth.

Xi Jinping was the Party chief in Zhejiang from 2002 to 2007.

Xi Jinping, who also heads the Central Military Commission, has also met with troops stationed in Zhejiang.

He's used that meeting to call on the PLA to eradicate corruption within its ranks.

China to further strengthen cooperation with Spain: PremierChinese Premier Li Keqiang has made a brief stop-over in Spain as part of his return to China following his 4-nation South American tour.

As part of his time in Madrid, Li Keqiang has met with the country's Deputy Prime Minister, calling for tighter Chinese ties with Spain.

The Chinese Premier has told Saenz de Santamaria he'd like to see the Spanish government provide more opportunities for Chinese companies in the country.

He says this could include the formation of a mutual investment treaty.

For his part, Santamaria has taken time to thank the Chinese government for actively promoting Chinese investments in Spain during its financial crisis a few years ago.

He says Spain is willing to further expand cooperation with China in the fields of infrastructure construction, energy and chemicals.

Football World Stunned by Corruption Probe into FIFAAnchorThe world's most popular sport has been plunged into turmoil, with 7 powerful officials with football's governing body FIFA being arrested on charges of corruption.

The details from CRI's Qi Zhi.

ReporterSwiss police have detained the seven FIFA officials at a Zurich hotel where they had been staying ahead of Friday's vote to choose the next FIFA president.

Among them are two FIFA vice-presidents who head football in the Americas.

The high-profile arrests are being viewed as an unprecedented blow against football's powerful governing body, which for years has been dogged by allegations of corruption, but always managed to escape relatively unscathed.

The arrests themselves have come at the request of US authorities, who are charging a total of nine FIFA officials and five business executives in connection with bribes said to be worth more than 150 million US dollars over a period of 24 years.

The charges also include racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies.

The seven arrested in Zurich now face extradition to the United States.

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch says a number of FIFA executives have used their positions to solicit bribes on repeated occasions.

"In short these individuals, through these organisations engaged in bribery to decide who would televise games, where the games would be held and who would run the organisation overseeing organised soccer worldwide, one of the most popular sports around the globe."Richard Weber heads the US Internal Revenue Service's criminal investigation division.

"As the best financial investigators in the world, IRS special agents exposed complex money laundering schemes, uncovered millions of dollars in untaxed income and discovered tens of millions of dollars hidden away in offshore accounts in countries like Hong Kong, the Cayman Islands and Switzerland. This really is the World Cup of fraud and today we are issuing FIFA a red card."The United States has taken jurisdiction of the case, in part, because it involves a former top American official at FIFA, Chuck Blazer, who, along with three others, have already pleaded guilty.

Blazer reportedly cut a deal with US investigators and aided in the investigation in exchange for lighter punishment.

Meanwhile, in a separate investigation, Swiss officials have raided FIFA's headquarters as part of a probe into the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar.

The vote in 2010 by FIFA which set the events in the two countries has been surrounded by widespread allegations of fraud.

Amid the new scandal, FIFA's ethics committee has provisionally suspended 11 of the suspects named in the US charges, including the seven held in Zurich.

For CRI, I'm Qi Zhi.

Texas 'Catastrophic Flooding' Causes Massive DamageContinuing rains in the US state of Texas are said to be hampering efforts to locate 11 people still missing amid massive flooding in the central part of Texas.

Hundreds of homes in the community of San Marcos have been damaged or destroyed after a local river began spilling its banks over the weekend.

Kenneth Bell, emergency management coordinator for San Marcos, is warning there may be even more flooding.

He's asking people in the community to remain on-guard.

"The isolated thunderstorms could cause immediate local flooding in your area. I can't stress it enough, we're to a point where we're missing 11 people, we don't need anymore."Numerous other communities in the area have also been hit with flooding, as has parts of the southeastern city of Houston.

Middle East Quartet confirms Blair to resign as its envoyThe Middle East Quartet has confirmed former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is quitting as its representative for the Middle East.

No official reason has been given for Blair's departure.

However, much of the speculation surrounds his limited mandate as a peace negotiator.

Blair has held the non-paid position for the past 8-years since his departure from Downing Street.

The Quartet is meant to facilitate a long-lasting peace agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

However, the Quartet had little formal involvement in the last round of would-be peace negotiations, which were launched primarily by the United States.

The Quartet itself includes the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia.

It was formally set up in 2002.

It last met as a group back in January in Brussels.

Queen's Speech Sets out Government's Agenda for UK's New Parliament SessionAnchorThe new session of the UK parliament has been opened, with the Throne Speech setting out the government's agenda for the next 12 months.

CRI's London Correspondent Duan Xuelian has more.

ReporterThe Throne Speech, or Queen's Speech as it's been known in the UK for the last 6-decades, is part of a tradition that dates back to the 16th century.

It's meant to put a Royal touch on the plans of the ruling government.

This year's speech has been penned by the Conservative government led by David Cameron, whose party won a surprise majority in the general election earlier this month.

This year's speech by Queen Elizabeth has laid-out an agenda focused mainly on economy stability for the coming 12-months.

"My government will continue with its long-term plan to provide economic stability and security at every stage of life. They will continue the work of bringing the public finances under control and reducing the deficit, so Britain lives within its means. Measures will be introduced to raise the productive potential of the economy and increase living standards."A total of 26 bills have been proposed in the speech, including legislation authorizing a referendum in the UK on whether or not to remain part of the European Union.

"My government will renegotiate the United Kingdom's relationship with the European Union and pursue reform of the European Union for the benefit of all member states. Alongside this, early legislation will be introduced to provide for an in-out referendum on membership of the European Union before the end of 2017."The Conservative government is also promising to devolve more power to local governments.

On the international front, the Queen's Speech has also laid out plans for the UK to advance its role in global affairs, with particular emphasis on strengthening ties with India and Russia.

Queen Elizabeth's Throne Speech has also made specific mention of Chinese President Xi Jinping's planned trip to the UK later on this year.

"My government looks forward to an enhanced partnership with India and China. Prince Philip and I look forward to our state visit to Germany next month and to our state visit to Malta in November, alongside the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. We also look forward to welcoming His Excellency the President of The People's Republic of China and Madame Peng on a state visit in October."The Conservative-led government has already been active in trying to develop a stronger relationship with China.

This has included making London one of the first renminbi exchange centers outside of China, on top of actively promoting more Chinese language learning in schools.

For CRI, I'm Duan Xuelian in LondonNew British Ambassador to China on Sino-UK RelationsAnchor:

For more on the UK's relationship with China, CRI's Liu Xiangwei caught up with the UK's new ambassador to China, Barbara Janet Woodward, to get her thoughts on both her new role in China, and on bilateral relations.

Back anchor:

That was Barbara Janet Woodward, the UK Ambassador to China, speaking with CRI's Liu Xiangwei.

China as the Guest of Honor at 2015 BookExpo America, First in HistoryAnchorThis year's BookExpo America is underway in New York, with a focus this time on China.

CRI's He Fei has more from New York.

ReporterThe opening day of this year's BookExpo America has seen thousands of readers line up to get their hands on the thousands of books on display.

"This is like one of the main places where I come to see books from foreign presses so I'm really excited to see some of those."Thousands of publishers from more than 80 different countries are gathered in New York for the annual event.

For the first time since its establishment in 1947, China has been invited as the Guest of Honor.

More than 500 professionals representing around 150 Chinese publishing companies have formed the largest international delegation to ever attend the event.

More than 10-thousand books are on display, of which, one-fifth have English versions.

Liu Cixin's fantasy "The Three-Body Problem" is one of them.

"I can see and feel the progress that China has made in introducing our culture to the world. From my prospective, I wouldn't have imagined my book would have been a good seller in the US market. But now, that is exactly what's happening."There are more than 20 well-known names from Chinese literature attending the event in New York, including writers Liu Zhenyun, Mai Jia, and Feng Tang.

They are scheduled to sit on a series of panels at this year's BookExpo.

Shirley Young is the Chair of US-China Cultural Institute.

She says the BEA is a great platform to help expose the world to Chinese culture.

"This is a very important initiative….If the objective is for the world to understand China better, we have to use these very large platforms so I think it's a very good investment on China's part to have become the guest of honor this time at the book fair."The Chinese delegation will take part in more than 50 events at this year's BookExpo America event.

One of the events includes the launch of a digital version of the Chinese President's book "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China."For CRI, I'm He Fei in New York.

19th China International Software Expo OpensAnchorAn International Software Expo has opened in Beijing.

This year's event is said to be focused mostly on intelligent manufacturing and internet security technology.

CRI's Xie Cheng has more:

ReporterMany of the latest achievements in China's software industry are on show at this year's event.

Most of them are expected to find wide applications as the country tries to implement the "Internet Plus", "China Manufacturing 2025" and the Silk Road strategies.

Yao Dan is from a Shanghai-based software developer.

"Our products can establish an efficient connection between 3,000 machines, a cloud-based management platform and a material consumption system, which will greatly help improve the productivity of a factory."China's software industry has seen a robust growth in recent years.

Last year, the industry registered revenue of nearly 4 trillion yuan, or about 650 billion US dollars, up more than 20 percent from 2013, while information-related services brought in over half of the total income in the industry.

Miao Wei, China's Minister of Industry and Information Technology, says the country will continue to boost the industry's development by encouraging innovation.

"We will strive to optimize the environment for the sector's development, streamline policies and standards, and compile guidelines for the development of the software and big-data industry in the 13th five-year period. We will also continue to boost innovation in the industry, encourage cooperation between software developers and enterprises in the manufacturing sector, and give more support to the improvement of internet security technologies."Chen Wei, head of the ministry's information services department, says the development of software technology will heavily influence the development of the world.

"Software and technology are playing a growing role in the manufacturing industry. Software-driven equipment has found wider application, resulting in the birth of "intelligent manufacturing." We can clearly see the decisive role of software in this trend and it's why we can say that software will decide how the future world looks like."The expo is the largest and the most influential international software show in China.

This year, it attracted more than 600 software companies from home and abroad.

10 seminars will be held during the expo, expected to attract more than 3,000 participants.

For CRI, I'm Xie Cheng.

Robot Chef Cooking up a Storm at CES in ShanghaiAnchorOne of the highlights of the Consumer Electronics Show this week in Shanghai has been a robotic chef.

Designed by a UK firm, the company behind the cooking robot says it could be in people's homes within the next 2-years.

CRI's Li Ningjing has more.

ReporterA robot is cooking up a feast at the Consumer Electronics Show in Shanghai. Its robotic hands have been pre-programmed to prepare a crab bisque. The robot handles the entire cooking process - although ingredients do have to be prepared and placed in a pre-designated spot for the robot to successfully follow the recipe.

This futuristic chef is the creation of Moley Robotics which is based in London, UK.

Moley's founder, Mark Oleynik, says that although the show robot was only showing off its crab bisque skills, they plan to have a cloud-based "iTunes style" content platform where more recipes can be uploaded and downloaded for ease of use.

"This is robotic kitchen which can cook any kind of dish and any kind of variation of dish. I hope one time without any limitation, so it means you can choose any kind of dish from any kind of chef in the world and take ingredients inside and cook everything automatically."The robot "learns" a recipe by a human chef first recording their movements with a motion capture process involving 3D cameras.

Recipes can then be accessed by any robotic kitchen owner through the shared content library, making dishes by world famous chefs available in your own kitchen.

The Moley Robotic kitchen also has plans to include a motion capture module in its commercial product with inbuilt 3D cameras so that people will be able to record their own recipes too.

"If you are regular customer you can just save it for yourself and make just sharing to everybody, so it's a flexible platform to exchange the content and the content is the script for the robot."So is it going to be easy for people to make the jump from a traditional kitchen to one augmented with robotic arms?

"From the installation it will be a plug and play device which potentially will be in six different blocks which can easily be put together and after that it make an automatic calibration system inside like any kind of printer do now, so you just plug in, put the cartridge, press the button making some automatic calibration process and that's it."Still in development to move to a fully-fledged consumer model, Moley is aiming the total cost of a robotic kitchen at around USD $15,000,or some 90,000 RMB Yuan.

Bobby Tang, an entrepreneur from California is already looking forward to the days with Robotic chefs.

"The price is a little bit steep, but over the long term if there was a chef cooking every night, that would far surpass the cost of hiring someone. Exactly the dishes that you want, it's quite unique."Moley hopes to roll out its consumer product in 2017 and is aiming to produce 100,000 units per year from then on.

For CRI, I'm Li Ningjing.

New Fossils Found Indicates New Humankind MemberScientists say they may have discovered new fossil evidence suggesting the existence of a previously unknown species of ancient human.

The fossils, including part of a jaw and teeth, have been discovered in Ethiopia.

Paleoanthropologist Yohannes Haile-Selassie says they're working under the assumption this species of human may have lived alongside the famous human ancestor "Lucy.""What we are announcing today is a new species of early human ancestor, which is about between 3.3 and 3.5 million years old. This is a species that we found from the Afar region of Ethiopia from a place called Woranzo Mille and we have been conducting research at this site for the last four years."The new species, Australopithecus deyiremeda, is said to have a combination of ape-like and human-like traits, as did Lucy's species, Australopithecus afarensis.

However, researchers say they believe the bone structures are sufficiently different to classify the new find as a separate species.

Scientists say it is possible the two species may have had different diets, meaning they didn't have to compete for the same resources.

Researchers have theorized that our species, Homo sapiens, who began appearing some 200-thousand years, could be the natural evolution of cross-breeding among different members of our genus.

Former legislator stands trial for sex businessA five-star hotel owner and former national legislator has been put on trial in Guangdong on prostitution-related charges.

Liang Yaohui, together with 46 of his employees, are accused of arranging prostitutes, including underage girls, in the Crown Prince Hotel in the city of Dongguan.

The hotel itself was shut down, along with numerous other hotels and entertainment venues in Dongguan, which were shut down back in February amid a wide-ranging crackdown on the sex-trade in the city.

Dongguan had long-held a reputation for prostitution, as the city is home to thousands of migrant workers in the garment manufacturing industry who sometimes attempt to make extra money through the sex-trade.

At the same time, a court in Henan has sentenced 28 people to prison for prostitution connected to a nightclub in the provincial capital, Zhengzhou.

Two of the nightclub managers have been given life in prison.

Investigators in that case say the nightclub employed more than 45-hundred women before it was raided and shut down in November of 2013.

WeatherBeijing will see thundershowers today with a high of 32 degrees Celsius.

Overnight temperatures should drop down to 21.

Shanghai will see showers with a high of 24 and a low of 21.

In Chongqing, it will have showers during the daytime with a high of 27 and lows of 20.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Kathmandu, slight rain, 32.

Islamabad will be overcast with a high of 38.

Kabul will have slight rain with a high of 20.

Over to North America,New York will have slight rain with a high of 18 degrees.

Washington, slight rain with a high of 24 degrees.

Honolulu, slight rain, 25.

Toronto will be cloudy with a high of 27 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,Buenos Aires will be cloudy with a high of 19.

And Rio de Janeiro will see slight rain with a high of 29 degrees Celsius.

Headline newsSupreme procuratorate looks into fatal rest home fireChina's top prosecutorial body has joined a central government team investigating this week's fatal fire in a nursing home in Henan which left 38 elderly people dead.

Prosecutors will be looking for any evidence of criminal activity involved in the deadly fire, including possible dereliction of duty or abuse of power.

China's safety watchdog says the preliminary probe is pointing to the poor construction of the building itself, as well as lax safety management, as one of the reasons behind the high fatality rate at the nursing home in the city of Pingdingshan.

Poorly-designed fire exits and a slow emergency response by employees in the facility are also being probed.

Lawyers present case for Fudan poisoner to escape death penaltyThe Supreme People's Court has heard an appeal to commute the death sentence handed down to a former Fudan University medical student who murdered his roommate.

Lin Senhao took a toxic chemical from a university lab and put it in their shared water dispenser in their dorm room in March of 2013.

Lin's roommate later died.

In his original trial, Lin argued he did not mean to kill his roommate, suggesting instead that he was trying to play a practical joke on him.

However, the courts, including an appeals courts in Shanghai, have rejected that argument, upholding the death sentence.

The Supreme People's Court is planning to deliver its judgment on the appeal at a later date.

German cabinet adopts revised data retention lawGerman authorities are moving to partially restore access to certain public information by law enforcement in the country.

Under the new draft by the country's cabinet, telecom operators in Germany will have to retain a certain amount of their customers data on-file for 10-weeks.

This will include IP addresses, phone connections and location-information for cell phones.

Email and conversation content will not be kept.

German law enforcement will only be able to access the data for serious cases, such as terrorism or murder.

Germany's constitutional court shot down a previous information retention law in 2010 as a breach of the German charter.

Santorum launches bid for White HouseFormer Pennsylvania governor Rick Santorum has officially thrown his hat back into the ring for the Republican nomination for President.

Santorum, whose campaign platform hinged on his devout Christianity, lost during the 2012 Republican primary to Mitt Romney.

Santorum is best known for his views opposing homosexuality and same-sex marriages.

He joins a growing list of would-be Republican candidates vying for the White House.

Biz reportsAnchorFirst, a quick check on the closing numbers across North America and Europe.

Our reporter Niu Honglin.

Reporter:

U.S. stocks bounced back with solid gains on Wednesday as investor sentiment was boosted by the progress made in the Greek debt crisis.

A big rally in tech stocks also pushed the Nasdaq to its third record close this year.

In corporate news, shares of Tiffany increased by some 10-percent, while shares in Michael Kors jumped 24 percent on the back of solid quarterly numbers from the retailers.

However, US retailers Fossil and Coach saw their shares decline on lower-than-expected results.

At the close,The Dow Jones added 0.7 percent.

The S&P 500 also gained 0.9 percent.

The Nasdaq surged 1.5 percent.

Over in Europe,European markets were bolstered by reports suggesting Greece is in the final stages of reaching a debt deal with its international creditors.

This comes on comments from Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who says he's optimistic that "a deal is imminent" after four months of negotiations.

As a result, Greece's benchmark Athex Composite index gained some 3.6%.

At close,The UK's FTSE 100 finished up 1.2 percent.

Germany's DAX rose 1.3 percent.

and France's CAC 40 gained 2 percent.

China central bank stays prudent towards monetary policyChina's central bank says the country will maintain a prudent monetary policy, with adjustments made when necessary.

The People's Bank of China's annual review for 2014 is warning of continued pricing volatility.

PBOC governor Zhou Xiaochuan says the central bank will pay close attention to systemic risks and defuse them in advance.

The annual review does say the PBOC still believes a 7-percent growth target for this year is achievable.

It also says it plans to expand the money supply in China by around 12 percent this year to try to meet that goal.

No Risk of Hard Landing in China: Former Fed Chief BernankeFormer US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has gone on-record saying he's "optimistic" China's economy will not experience a hard landing.

Speaking at seminar in Seoul, Bernanke has pointed to the Chinese government's recognition that the days of heavy capital investment, steel plants and exports to generate high GDP growth doesn't work anymore in China.

Meanwhile, Bernanke has also taken time to laud the new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, saying it will create an opportunity for more useful projects around the world.

When it comes to an interest rate hike in the US, Bernanke says it should be viewed as a positive sign for the world's largest economy.

However, Bernanke has stopped-short of issuing a prediction of when the Fed may raise interest rates.

Chinese A Shares on Track to Go GlobalAnchor:

Chinese authorities are taking another step toward opening up the capital markets to foreign investors.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange and China Financial Futures Exchange have agreed to set up a joint venture with Deutsche Boerse.

The new company, based in Germany, will be known as the "China Europe International Exchange."It will initially offer cash market products in the renminbi.

Its designed for investors outside China.

Shanghai Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse will each own 40-percent of the joint venture, which is expected to open toward the end of this year.

This comes on the heels of London's FTSE announcing plans to set-up a sub-index on its exchange which will include Chinese A-Shares.

For more on the move, we're joined on the line by CRI's financial commentator Cao Can.

Talking points:

Q1: Preparation work to include Chinese A shares in global benchmarks started two years ago. During this lengthy process, what issues need to be solved before the eventual inclusion of Chinese listed shares in international benchmarks? What benefits will the inclusion bring to listed companies and investors?

Q2: How attractive do you think the Chinese A shares is to foreign investors? What does the participation of foreign investors mean to Chinese investors?

Q3: How much foreign capital do you estimate the inclusion in FTSE's benchmarks will bring to the A shares market? Analysts say the approaching international capital will further boost the Chinese equity market, do you agree?

Back anchor:

Cao Can, CRI's financial commentator.

China's Industrial Profits Grow in AprilNew government data shows profits across the whole of China's industrial sector have grown by 2.6 percent year-on-year in April.

Industrial profits through this past month have hit around 78-billion U.S. dollars.

An increase in both production and sales, as well as a decline in operating costs, are being cited as the main reasons for the turn-around.

The increase reverses 0.4-percent decline in industrial profits through March.

Data includes companies with annual revenues of more than 20-million yuan.

Internet-based "MYBank" approved to openChinese regulators have given the green-light to the opening of Internet-based bank "Mybank" in Zhejiang.

"Mybank" is funded by a company set up by Alibaba founder Jack Ma.

It's the 2nd Internet bank to be opened after Tencent's "WeBank."It's also the 5th privately-funded bank to open in China.

"Mybank" will focus mostly on deposits below 200-thousand yuan in its investment portfolio.

It is also planning to keep its loans below 5 million yuan, which suggests its going to target small and micro-sized companies.

It has registered capital of 4-billion yuan, or around 650-million US dollars.

"Mybank" will have no physical branches.

Malaysia Airlines to lay off one-third staff for restructuringMalaysia Airlines has announced its cutting just under one-third of its employees.

The layoffs are going to affect around 6-thousand of the company's 20-thousand staffers.

The move is part of a broad-based restructuring plan Malaysia Airlines has been working on.

The state-backed carrier is also planning to cut unprofitable routes and sell off some of its assets.

Malaysia Airlines has already been delisted, and is currently controlled by Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund.

The airline had already been in financial trouble for years before the disappearance of flight MH370 and the shoot-down of another of its flights over Ukraine last year.

SportsUEFA Demands FIFA Elections Be PostponedKicking things off with more news from FIFA,UEFA is demanding that FIFA's presidential election on Friday be postponed in the wake of U.S. federal charges being filed against a number of FIFA execs.

FIFA still intends to go forward with the election, but UEFA general secretary, Gianni Infantino, says they should be postponed, with new elections held within the next six months.

Infantino also says that FIFA's woes are a clear sign that a change in leadership is needed:

"UEFA shows this FIFA the red card. These events are a disaster for FIFA and tarnish the image of football as a whole. UEFA is deeply shocked and saddened by them. These events show, once again, that corruption is deeply rooted in FIFA's culture. There is a need for the whole of FIFA to be "rebooted" and for a real reform to be carried out.

UEFA is also considering boycotting the FIFA congress ahead of the pending election.

UEFA's leadership has supported Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan in the FIFA ballot, scheduled for Friday, where FIFA president Sepp Blatter's strong support in Asia and Africa have him favored to win his fifth, four-year term.

Football: Guangzhou Advance in AFC Champions Leauge, Sevilla Win Record 4th Europa TitleIn on-pitch football action:

In the Asian Champions League:

Former champs Guangzhou Evergrande took a 2-0 win over Seongnam of South Korea to reach the quarter finals of teh tournament.

Guangzhou needed to overcome a 2-1 first leg deficit, and did so thanks to their striker, Ricardo Goulart.

The Brazilian notched the game's two goals, converting a penalty in the 21st and netting a header off a corner kick around the 60th minute.

In other action:

Spanish club Sevilla beat Ukrainian squad Dnipro 3-2 in the Europa League final to win a record fourth title.

In a back and fourth match, it was 2-2 after half-time.

But Colombian striker Carlos Bacca came up big for Sevilla, netting his second goal and the game winner in the 73rd to put his side up 3-2.

The Spanish club held on to win the final.

NBA Playoffs PreviewIn hoops action from the National Basketball Association playoffs:

At 9 a.m., Beijing time--The Houston Rockets head back to Warrior territory to face Golden State in game 5 of the Western Conference finals.

Rockets game up big in game four after trailing the Warriors 3-0 in the series. However, Houston are still one loss away from heading back home.

Lin Dan Sent Packing Earlier from the 2015 Australian Badminton OpenIn badminton action from the 2015 Australian Badminton Open:

Viktor Axelsen from Denmark earned an upset win over China's Lin Dan in three games on Wednesday night.

Second-seeded Lin opened the match with a win in the first game, but Axelsen fought back to dominate his veteran opponent in the second and third to oust Lin in one hour and 13 minutes.

China Beat Thailand 3-1, Will Meet South Korea in the FinalsTaking a look at action from the 2015 Asian Volleyball Championship in Tianjin:

China beat defending champions Thailand 3-1 in the semifinals Wednesday night.

Thailand took the first set 25-22 with their rapid style of play. In the second, China fought back from trailing 0-3 to eventually take it 21-17.

And that set the tone, as China would notch subsequent wins to oust the defending champs.

China are headed to the final, where they will meet South Korea, who downed Chinese Taipei 3-1 to advance.

That game begins at 7:30 p.m., Beijing time.

Tennis: Simona Halep Highest Seeded Player Ousted in French OpenIn tennis, from the French Open:

On the women's singles action:

Third-seeded Simona Halep became the highest seeded player to exit the French Open so far as last year's runner-up lost 7-5, 6-1 to Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in the second round.

It is Halep's second-straight loss to Lucic, the first being at last year's US Open.

All other top-seeds had better fates; No. 2 Russian Maria Sharapova downed compatriot Vitalia Diatchenko in straight sets.

Seventh-seed Ana Ivanovic came back to beat Japan's Misaki Doi 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Also through are ninth seeded Ekaterina Makarova, no. 11 Angelique Kerber and 13th seed, Lucie Safarova.

In men's singles action:

It was a good day for the home players, as every frenchman on court came out on top of their respective matches--including Nicolas Mahut, who beat 24th seeded Latvian Ernests Gulbis, and Benoit Paire, who downed no. 28 Italian Fabio Fognini.

Second-seed Roger Federer ousted Spain's Marcel Granollers 6-2, 7-6, 6-3.

No. 4 Tomas Berdych, fifth seed Kei Nishikori, No. 8 Stan Wawrinka are through as well.

NHL PreviewIn the National Hockey League playoffs:

Hitting the ice at 8 a.m., Beijing time--It's the Anaheim Ducks and the Chicago Blackhawks for game 6 of the Western Conference finals.

Ducks are leading that series 3-2.

EntertainmentShanghai Film Festival receives record number of filmsThe 18th Shanghai International Film Festival has received a record number of entries.

A total of 2,096 films from 108 countries and regions.

Fu Wenxia, an official with the festival's organizing committee, said the most outstanding films have been chosen to compete for the Golden Goblet Award and the Asian New Talent Award.

Films nominated for the Golden Goblet Award include "Sunstroke," a new production from famed Russian director Nikita Mikhalkov, well-known South Korean filmmaker Kang Je-kyu's "Salut D'amour" and Taiwan director Wang Tung's "Where the Wind Settles."More than 1,200 film screenings will be presented at 45 local cinemas including Shanghai Film Art Center and Wanda International Cinemas.

The festival will be held from June 13 to the 21, ticket sales will begin about one week ahead of the festival.

Jackie Chan launches Olympic music weekKung fu superstar Jackie Chan has joined officials in Beijing to launch the Olympic Music Week.

Chan lent his vocal chords to Beijing's bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics, and recorded a song called "Wake Up Winter" to support the campaign.

He was awarded with a certificate by Beijing governmental officials.

"It's a big honor and pleasure to participate in this and do something for the Winter Olympics bidding. If there is anything I can do, I will.""Wake Up Winter" helped soundtrack the visit of the International Olympic Committee when they visited the Chinese capital in March.

Beijing is trying to become the first city to host both the Winter and the Summer Olympics. The winner will be announced in July at the IOC session in Malaysia.

Chan was also involved in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, performing his track "We Are Ready" at the closing ceremony.

Broadway boasts record figures in 2014 - 2015New York's Broadway enjoyed its highest-grossing season in history, breaking box office and attendance records.

According to the Broadway league, in 2014-2015 takings hit $1.36 billion and audience attendance topped 13.1 million.

These huge figures were helped by musicals such as "The Lion King," which set a record for a show over one season, "Wicked" and "The Book of Mormon."A number of plays starring Hollywood A-listers, including Bradley Cooper and Hugh Jackman also helped drive audiences to Broadway.

Overall, 37 productions, including 10 new musical and five revivals opened during the season.

U2's tour manager found dead in HollywoodU2's longtime tour manager, Dennis Sheehan, was found dead in his hotel room in West Hollywood on Wednesday morning.

Paramedics were reportedly called to his room after he was found unresponsive in the early hours, shortly after, he was reportedly pronounced dead at the scene.

Sheehan moved into the behind-the-scenes music world in his late teens, putting in time at Arista in London and working with everyone from Led Zeppelin to Patti Smith.

Prior to the release of U2's War album in 1983, Sheehan joined forces with the band and worked with them ever since.

The British rock bands frontman Bono posted a statement on the band's website about Sheehan's death saying; "We've lost a family member, we're still taking it in. He wasn't just a legend in the music business, he was a legend in our band. He is irreplaceable."That’s it for this edition of the Beijing Hour.

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

China's lead prosecuting body has joined the investigation into this week's deadly nursing home fire in Henan which left dozens of seniors dead.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has wrapped up an inspection tour in Zhejiang, calling for more reforms to adapt to the "new normal."Football's governing body is reeling following the arrest of a group of high-ranking members of FIFA on corruption and bribery charges.

In Business.... new analysis by the PBOC warning of deflationary pressures in China.

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.