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

Coming up on the program this evening...

The Chinese premier's visit to Latin America has raised expectations for trade and deeper cooperation...

The Queen's Speech to the UK parliament mentions Britain's desire for enhancing its relationship with China...

And there are reports that Russia's armed forces continue to mass near the border with Ukraine...

Business: Chinese A Shares are on track to go global...

In Sports: it will be the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. the Golden State Warriors in the NBA finals...

In Entertainment: Aamir Khan's new movie PK smashes the box office record for a Bollywood film in China...

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.

TopLi's Visit Raises Hope for Deeper CoopAnchor:

The Chinese Premier's just-concluded visit to Latin America has raised expectations for deeper and wider cooperation between the two sides.

Guo Yan has more.

Reporter:

At a business summit in Brasilia, Premier Li Keqiang put forward the "Three Times Three" model to further promote SINO-Latin American cooperation in production capacity and equipment manufacturing.

He also proposed priorities for the construction of three passages for logistics, electricity, and information, in a bid to achieve inter-connectivity on the continent.

Also during his stay in Brazil, Li witnessed the groundbreaking for the Belo Monte power transmission project.

It will be built by China's State Grid Corporation and the first of its kind overseas using China's ultra high voltage transmission technology.

Mauricio Tolmasquim is head of Brazil Energy Research Company, which commissioned the project.

He says Chinese capability is impressive.

"We only hope the project will be completed as scheduled. It's one of our main requirements for contractors. The State Grid is of great capability. We hope they can continue to bid for our projects in the future."Tolmasquim's company also designs guidelines for the development of Brazil's energy industry.

He believes bilateral cooperation in developing power transmission capacity, solar power, wind energy, and oil drilling will gain momentum.

Tolmasquim also expresses preference for Chinese firms.

"We are confident of Chinese technologies in the energy industry. It's important. And many Chinese enterprises have abundant funds, enabling them to invest abroad, while Brazil is in an urgent demand of investment that can't be met by domestic companies, so Chinese firms can take full advantage of their technologies and money."Tolmasquim adds that Brazil not only needs China's equipment, but also hopes more Chinese enterprises, especially Chinese wind turbine makers, set up plants in his country.

Premier Li Keqiang's trip came four months after President Xi Jinping pledged $250 billion in investment in Latin America over the next 10 years.

Highlights of the premier's visit also included an agreement on a joint feasibility study for a transcontinental railway and a multi-billion-U.S.-dollar currency swap pact with Chile.

Many local entrepreneurs expect the newly-reached agreements to create new points of growth on the continent, which has become an investment destination for China.

Bilateral trade between China and Latin America rose to over 260 billion U.S. dollars last year, compared with about 12 billion dollars in 2000.

China is Latin America's second-largest trading partner and third-largest investor, with direct investment there approaching 100 billion dollars by the end of last year.

For CRI, I'm Guo YanQueen's Speech Sets out Government's Agenda for UK's New Parliament SessionAnchor:

The 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.

Reporter:

The 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, South Korean Negotiators Hold Talks on North Korea's Nuclear IssueChief nuclear envoys from China and South Korea held talks on Thursday, seeking ways to resume long-stalled multilateral talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

China's top envoy to the six-party talks, Wu Dawei has met with his visiting South Korean counterpart, Hwang Joon-kook in Beijing.

The talk came a day after South Korea, the United States and Japan agreed in Seoul to step up pressure on North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambition, while keeping a diplomatic door open.

It's also reported Sung Kim, the chief U.S. envoy to the six-party talks, arrived in Beijing on Thursday for a separate meeting with Wu.

This week's diplomacy comes as North Korea has raised tensions in the region by claiming to have successfully test-launched a ballistic missile from a submarine and made significant progress in miniaturizing nuclear bombs.

The six-party talks, involving South Korea, North Korea, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan, have been dormant since late 2008.

China Refutes US Accusations over S. China SeaAuthorities in Beijing have again lashed out at US accusations over China's island reclamation projects in the South China Sea.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying accuses the US' of having "double standards" on the issue.

"I need to reiterate that China's projects on some islets and reefs in the South China Sea are proportional to the responsibility of a major country. The Chinese people can judge what they should do. Nobody else has the right to blame. I must note that the US has kept silent over some countries' illegitimate constructions on China's islands and reefs while criticizing China's lawful and normal projects within its sovereignty. The US either has double standards on this issue, or has some ulterior purposes."Hua's remarks come one day after US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter criticized China over the construction and vowed to enhance US military presence in the region.

Hua urges the US to stop provocations.

"What does the US want to see in Asia-Pacific? What role does the US want to play in the region? Will it serve the interests of the US if the world's growth engine plunges into turmoil? We hope the US can think it over, take a responsible attitude, stop all provocations and play a truly constructive role for regional stability."China has repeatedly promised the constructions in the area aim to facilitate service for marine search and rescue, disaster prevention and navigation safety.

Chinese naval fleet concludes visit to TurkeyTwo Chinese navy ships have wrapped up a four-day friendly visit to Turkey.

Jiang Guoping, commander of the fleet expresses his gratitude for Turkish people.

"In the past four days, the naval officers and soldiers have enjoyed the extraordinary landscape of Istanbul. We are happy to communicate with Turkish people and the trip helps us to understand each other better and promotes our friendship."Turkish general Ahmet Chuksh also says he expects more interactions between the naval forces of the two countries.

And He believes the trip helps build mutual understanding.

"The fleet has visited Turkey three years ago. And this is their second visit to Istanbul. We are very happy. I hope there will be more high-level exchanges between our navies and more achievements will be achieved."The Chinese fleet will visit a couple of other countries after leaving Turkey with the next stop being Croatia.

China calls for ending deliberate attacks against journalists in armed conflictChinese authorities are calling for the end of deliberate attacks on journalists and media workers in conflict zones.

Wang Min, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, made the appeal at a Security Council open debate on protection of journalists covering armed conflicts.

Wang said journalists should be protected under international humanitarian law, just like other civilians.

"It happened frequently in recent years that some journalists were killed by terrorist and extremist forces. The international society should attach great importance to that and strengthen the efforts to fight terrorism, to get rid of the soil that breed terrorism, to eliminate real threat that journalists face during report,"The Chinese representative says parties to conflict should shoulder responsibility for protecting journalists.

Wang also mentioned that the UN should strengthen its cooperation with regional and sub-regional organizations, taking advantage of the unique strength of them so as to form international synergies in protecting journalists in armed conflict.

At the open debate, the Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution, condemning abuses committed against journalists in conflict areas and calling upon all combatants in the zones to end such practices.

China as the Guest of Honor at 2015 BookExpo America, First in HistoryAnchor:

This year's BookExpo America is underway in New York, and China is the focus.

CRI's He Fei has more from New York.

Reporter:

The 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.

MERS cases rise in S. KoreaSouth Korea's tally of patients suffering from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome has risen to seven.

Authorities say one person who may have been infected as slipped away from voluntary home quarantine and taken a trip to China.

Yang Byung-kook, director of the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, breaks down the latest figure at a press conference.

"The tally of infected patients rose to seven, six among them caught the virus from the first confirmed case. There was no additional infection caused by secondary infected patients."The Health Ministry said the son of the second confirmed victim of the outbreak, who was himself being observed for possible infection, broke voluntary home quarantine and left South Korea for China.

"We confirmed on May 27 that a suspected patient of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) left for China on May 26. Under international health regulations, we notified the World Health Organization for the Western Pacific region and China's Health Ministry to take him in to be examined and treated."Yang added Chinese authorities are investigating the whereabouts of the suspected victim.

First identified in humans in 2012, MERS is caused by a coronavirus from the same family as the one that triggered China's deadly 2013 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.

There is no cure or vaccine.

FIFA scandal: Football sponsors threaten to pull out after world body marred by corruptionAnchor:

Key sponsors of international football like Coca Cola and Visa are threatening to pull their ads, plunging the future of the sport into chaos. Seven top FIFA officials were arrested earlier by Swiss police for allegedly taking millions of dollars in bribes.

But FIFA's controversial President Sepp Blatter is eyeing another term as the football governing body is poised to vote for a new president on Friday.

CRI's Poornima Weerasekara has detailsReporter:

Fifa's key sponsors, including Adidas, Coca-Cola, Sony and Gazprom are facing increasing calls to put pressure on the football governing body as corruption allegations have mounted.

Seven top FIFA officials were arrested in a dawn raid at a swanky hotel in Zurich on Wednesday. This group includes top executives like Jeffrey Webb, FIFA's Vice President.

The suspects face possible extradition to the United States.

The US Department of Justice has already issued a 47-count indictment charging 14 defendants with racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering.

The FBI wants to question the suspects over alleged bribes totaling more than 150 million US Dollars linked to commercial deals dating back to the 1990s. The allegations mainly focus on football tournaments in the United States and Latin America.

One of the top sponsors Coca-Cola says the World Cup had been "tarnished" by "lengthy controversy."Visa is threatening to "reassess its relationship" with the football governing body.

South Korean firm Hyundai Motor Company, the sole Asian Fifa partner for the 2018 World Cup to be held in Russia, says it is extremely concerned.

The bribery scandal could expand. A shadow has been cast over Nike's involvement with FIFA as investigators allege a leading sportswear company alone paid over 160 million dollars in bribes over 10 years to become the Brazil team's exclusive footwear and apparel supplier.

Argentine football legend Diego Maradona summed up the disgust felt by the players – both past and present – saying that corruption has become entrenched in the football governing body, like a cancer.

"The FIFA spokesperson said that they were the ones that called for the investigation. Liars, liars, it took them by surprise. You know I believe that they (FIFA) hate football, they hate transparency, enough with the business deals, enough lying to people and making a 'dinner show' to re-elect Sepp Blatter."But Despite the turmoil, FIFA is set to go ahead with Friday's vote for the presidency, in which current Fifa president Sepp Blatter is seeking a fifth term.

Blatter has been strongly rebuked by several members of FIFA, mainly the European football governing body Uefa.

UEFA is calling for Friday's vote to be postponed and has even threatened to boycott Friday's vote.

UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino says Friday's vote risks becoming a "farce.""UEFA shows this FIFA the red card. Today's 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."The crisis has cast doubts over Blatter's leadership of FIFA.

Many say Blatter's insistence on holding on to the top seat at FIFA will only exacerbate problems.

For CRI I'm Poornima WeerasekaraReport: Russia masses firepower toward Ukraine BorderThe latest report says Russia's army is massing heavy firepower toward the border with Ukraine.

Many of the vehicles have number plates and identifying marks removed.

The report claims it offers some of the clearest evidence to date of what appeared to be a concerted Russian military build-up in the area.

Finance ministers from G7 nations meetFinance officials from the Group of Seven nations gathered in German on Wednesday to discuss ways to strengthen the global economy.

U.S. officials are pressing countries that have strong finances, such as Germany, to invest more to stimulate their own economies.

They're urging European leaders to find a solution to Greece's financial problems.

They will also seek ways to cut off financing for extremist organizations such as the Islamic State group.

The Group of Seven, or G-7, includes: Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, and the United States.

US seeks business opportunities in CubaU.S. Senator Tom Udall says opposition to improving ties between America and Cuba is falling as the Democrat leads a U.S. delegation to Havana to explore expanding opportunities for trade and tourism.

Accompanying Udall are Republicans Raul Grijalva and John Larson as well as Democratic Senator Al Franken.

The interests sections in Washington and Havana could be upgraded to embassies, and ambassadors could be named in place of the current chiefs of mission.

WeatherBeijing will get showers tonight and a low of 21. It'll be overcast tomorrow with a high of 27.

Shanghai will see slight rain and a low of 21, then showers and a high of 24.

Chongqing will have moderate rain with a low of 19, overcast tomorrow and a high of 24.

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad, partly cloudy, 37,Kabul, showers, 26.

In Australia,Sydney will get rain with a high of 19,Brisbane, cloudy, 24,Perth will be partly cloudy with a high of 20 degrees Celsius.

Headline NewsBritish Queen's references to China in keynote speechQueen Elizabeth II has given a speech at the opening of the UK Parliament, and has spoken of the relationship between China and Britain.

The queen has expressed Britain's desire for an enhanced partnership with China.

Meanwhile, the queen also says the UK welcomes the upcoming visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan in October.

Xi Jinping is likely to be the first head of state to personally congratulate the queen on becoming the longest serving monarch in British history.

The president's visit is expected to create stronger and more stable links with Britain.

China Defends Construction Activities on Nansha IslandsChina has repeated its stand that the country's construction activities on the Nansha islands and reefs are lawful, refuting accusations the work is part of an agenda to increase China's maritime strength.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying says some countries are attempting to play up tensions in the region and hurt China's image, in order to cover up their own illegal occupations of Chinese territories.

Meanwhile, Hua is urging the U.S. to stop surveillance activities near the Nansha Islands.

The comments come after the United States declared it will continue surveillance activities around the islands and reefs in the South China Sea.

4 Chinese officials suspended for fatal rest home fire4 county officials have been suspended from their duties after a fire claimed 38 seniors at a rest home in Henan.

The officials are Tian Hanlin, deputy head of Lushan County, and Liu Dagang, head of the county's civil affairs bureau, as well as Liu's subordinate Wang Zhanwen and police officer Gao Feng.

The decisions were announced on Thursday.

The fire at the privately-owned rest home also injured six seniors.

China's safety watchdog says the preliminary investigation is pointing to the poor construction of the building, among other issues.

High tech helps "Fox Hunt 2015" net China's fugitivesThe successful use of high technology including Big Data and facial recognition software in China's "Fox Hunt 2015" operation has helped in the apprehension of fugitives who fled overseas.

Several fugitives have been arrested since last month.

Face recognition technology can help recognize identify a suspect even after the person has had cosmetic surgery.

China issued a list of its 100 most-wanted fugitive officials in April, and launched its "Sky Net" operation to capture overseas fugitives.

"Fox Hunt 2015" is under this operation.

Football's top sponsors pressure FIFA to clean upTop football sponsors Coca-Cola, Adidas, McDonald's and Visa have pressed FIFA to clean itself up due to the latest corruption scandal.

These sponsors say the scandal threatens efforts to market their products through the world's most popular sport.

They suggest FIFA need stronger ethical standards. This, after seven officials in Switzerland were arrested for bribery.

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

Biz ReportsAnchor:

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

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

Reporter:

Chinese stocks tumbled sharply on Thursday.

The plunge comes as a growing number of brokerages tightened requirements on margin financing.

It is an important engine behind a red-hot rally that has made Chinese equity markets the best performers in the world.

Zhou Lin, strategist at Huatai Securities, says the impact of the tightening on the market will be short-term as a lot of money is continuing to flow into the stock market.

The fall was also triggered by some profit-taking ahead of a new flood of initial public offerings (IPO) next week.

Some analysts estimate it could freeze up around 5 trillion yuan or more than 800 billion U.S. dollars of liquidity.

Financial shares and real estate stocks led the decline.

At close,The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dived 6.5 percent.

The Shenzhen Component Index dropped 6.2 percent.

Hong Kong stocks fell for a second day on Thursday, weighed on by the losses of the mainland stock market.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index lost 2.2 percent.

Elsewhere in Asia,Japanese stocks ended higher on the yen's further depreciation and upbeat U.S. and European markets' overnight performances.

The Nikkei edged up nearly 0.4 percent.

South Korea's Kospi ticked up 0.2 percent.

And finally, both Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index and Australia's ASX 200 finished 0.2 percent lower.

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, CRI's Paul James earlier spoke with CRI's financial commentator Cao Can.

China's Duzhe Publishing Group Seeks $81m in Shanghai ListingThe publisher of China's most popular magazine The Duzhe also known as Readers, is to be listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Duzhe Publishing & Media Corporation is looking to raise over 500 million yuan or 81 million U.S. dollars in the listing.

The money will be used to develop its magazine titles, digital publishing projects and book publishing operations.

The lead underwriter is China Dragon Securities, which like Duzhe is based in Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province.

The Duzhe is a bimonthly magazine and is known as the Chinese version of Reader's Digest.

Its sales revenue declined about nine percent between 2012 and 2014.

Despite the dropping sales, analysts are upbeat on its flotation prospects.

China, Kazakhstan Sign MOU on Customs CooperationChina and Kazakhstan have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on cooperation between the customs departments of the two countries.

The signing took place in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

The two sides will build a partnership between the customs department in Xi'an and the bureau of national income in Almaty Province.

They have also agreed to establish a free trade zone in the major cities along railways and to expand cooperation between enterprises in the two countries.

Kunio Mikuriya, secretary general of the World Customs Organization, says customs play a key role in the 'One Belt, One Road' initiative.

"Customs need to have people at the borders. Customs cooperation, customs to other government agencies cooperation and also customs-business partnership. So through this network of people, customs can play a role in connecting all the economies around the world, and eventually will revive the Silk Road nowadays."Representatives from nearly 70 countries and regions along the Silk Road Economic Belt and Maritime Silk Road are in Xi'an for a forum which focuses on connectivity and win-win development.

Investigation into Hanergy underway: HK regulatorsHong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission has announced that a formal investigation into the affairs of Hanergy Thin Film Power Group "has been active and is continuing."The commission says the statement was issued in accordance with the commission's disclosure policy given the public interest following reports denying such measures had been taken.

The commission adds that it will make no further comment about the investigation.

The announcement comes a week after shares of Hanergy Thin Film Power Group were halted after plunging 47 percent.

Prior to the announcement, Li Hejun, chairman of Hanergy Thin Film Power Group's parent company, denied claims that the company has overdue loans and is under investigation from regulators.

Filings with the Hong Kong stock exchange shows Li Hejun acquired about 54 million shares of the company through two purchases at an average price of 7.16 Hong Kong dollars on the day the stock crashed.

China to Achieve Minimum Wage Growth TargetChina is expected to achieve its minimum wage growth target of 13 percent for the five-year period ending this year.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security says nineteen regions in China increased the minimum wage at an average rate of 14.1 percent last year.

The growth pace is faster than the planned annual average growth rate, but slower than the previous three years.

Last year, Shanghai registered both the highest statutory minimum monthly wage of around 1,800 yuan or about 297 U.S. dollars and the highest minimum hourly rate of 17 yuan or about 2.7 U.S. dollars.

SportsGolden State Advance to NBA Finals with a 104-90 Victory over HoustonIn the NBA Playoffs,The Golden State Warriors advanced to the NBA Finals with a 104-90 victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday in Oakland.

Dwight Howard picked up his seventh technical foul of the postseason in the second quarter of the game, meaning he would have been suspended if the Rockets had forced a Game 6.

Stephen Curry had 26 points and eight rebounds for the Warriors.

The MVP was excited after the match.

"It was something that we've been waiting for and wanted to close out tonight. But you kind of take it for what it is because you have four more wins and you don't want to get too ahead of yourself. So, we're going to appreciate what we've done, because you got to be proud of winning the Western Conference. That was tough all year long and we're excited about the next step."With the victory, the Warriors advance to the league finals for the first time since 1975.

Golden State will play LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals starting on June 4.

Sevilla Win Record 4th Europa TitleIn football action,Spanish club Sevilla beat Ukrainian squad Dnipro 3-2 in the Europa League final to win a record fourth title on Wednesday.

Coach Unai Emery says he is thankful for the trophy.

"This is a very special moment. It's a moment that we have to live fully. I would like to thank Sevilla, the town of Sevilla, the fans, they've enjoyed this tournament so much - and we have felt the responsibility of making them happy by working hard. We have worked very, very hard."Sevilla is now the undisputed kings of the competition, having also won it twice in its former guise as the UEFA Cup in 2006 and 2007.

Sevilla also have moved ahead of Juventus, Liverpool and Inter Milan to stand alone with the most championships.　In off-pitch football news,Borussia Dortmund announced Wednesday Serbian international Neven Subotic inked a two-year contract extension.

The contract will keep the 26-year-old defender with the club until June 2018.

Subotic moved from Mainz to eight-time German champions Dortmund in 2008.

He made over 186 appearances since then and scored 15 goals.

China to Meet South Korea in the Finals (to update)In volleyball,Taking a look at action from the 2015 Asian Volleyball Championship in Tianjin:

Defending champions Thailand finished their journey at the tournament with a disappointing third place exit on Thursday.

They beat Chinese Taipei 3-0.

The victory gives Thailand a place in the Asian zone qualifiers for the Rio Olympics.

In the finals,China is playing powerhouse South Korea for the title.

This is the second meeting between China and South Korea at the tournament since 1981.

Zheng Jie Adanced in Mixed Doubles at French OpenIn tennis from the French Open,Chinese star Zheng Jie partnered with Fin Henri Kontine to defeat French wild card Clothilde de Bernardi and Maxime Hamou 6-2, 6-3 on Wednesday in a first round match of mixed doubles.

It is the first victory from a Chinese player at this year's French Open as Peng Shuai and three others were eliminated after the first round of women's singles.

China's Xu Yifan claimed a 5-7, 7-6, 6-4 victory alongside Zarina Diyas from Kazakhstan in women's doubles.

Zheng Saisai and her partner American Varvara Lepchenko won in straight sets 7-6, 7-5.

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.

The 23-year-old said she would accept the loss as it was.

"Maybe I had pressure, as well, but, you know, I feel more relaxed now than before the match. So this is a good point, because now I relax myself and I can smile, look forward to go to the next tournament. I have nothing to do now. Everything is lost here."It is Halep's second-straight loss to Lucic-Baroni, the first being at last year's US Open.

Wang Yihan, Chen Long Advance at the 2015 Australian Badminton OpenAction from the 2015 Australian Badminton Open in Sydney,World number 6 Wang Shixian reached the third round in women's singles on Thursday, beating Busanan Ong bum rung pan from Thailand 21-19, 8-21, 21-13.

Wang's compatriot Wang Yihan also advanced with a 21-13, 21-17 win.

On the men's side,World number one Chen Long beat Hu Yun from Hong Kong 21-11, 21-8 in 31 minutes.

And China's Wang Zhengming beat Brice Leverdez from France 21-17, 23-21.

Civil Aviation University of China into Semi-finals at CUBAIn basketball action from the China University Basketball Association,Civil Aviation University of China earned a place in the semi-finals on Thursday with a 95-79 victory over Shanxi University.

Sun Ruifeng scored a game-high 31 points and Gu Yuezhuo had six 3-pointers for the winning team.

Peking University also advanced, beating Central South University 79-63.

In other action,Zhejiang University is playing Taiyuan University of Technology.

And the game between Tsinghua University and Huaqiao University will kick off at 8 p.m., Beijing time.

EntertainmentAamir Khan's 'PK' shatters records in ChinaBollywood movie PK has broken the Chinese box office record for an Indian-made film.

The film was released on May 22nd. As of Thursday, it had grossed 42 million RMB at the Chinese box office.

'PK' has also turned out to be the highest grossing Indian film in Australia, New Zealand and Pakistan, and the highest grossing foreign language movie in North America in 2014.

'Star Wars' saga to screen in China in its entirety for first timeStar Wars is getting its first-ever screening of the complete saga in China ahead of the debut of the franchise's latest installment, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which opens worldwide on Dec. 18.

Chinese moviegoers will finally get to watch all six movies in the Star Wars saga on the big screen at the 18th edition of the Shanghai International Film Festival, according to organizers and Walt Disney Pictures.

The 18th edition of the SIFF will mark the first theatrical screening of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi in China.

Taylor Swift's 'Bad Blood' takes the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Hot 100Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" is now No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100, bumping Wiz Khalifa's "See You Again" from the top spot.

The Furious 7 anthem had previously held the title for six weeks.

Swift's star-powered video for the song debuted just over a week ago at the Billboard Music Awards, garnering 20.1 million views in the first 24 hours.

Following "Shake It Off" and "Blank Space," this is the third No. 1 off Swift's fifth studio album, 1989.

Earlier this week, Forbes placed Swift on its coveted Most Powerful Women list at No. 64.

She made the list for the very first time, and is the youngest honoree to be recognized in 2015, joining Hillary Clinton, Melinda Gates and many more on the list.

Jurassic World set for monstrous $100m openingDinosaur disaster movie Jurassic World looks set to be one of the year's biggest films at the box office after experts predicted a T-rex-sized opening of more than 100million US dollars next month.

The latest instalment in Steven Spielberg's blockbuster sci-fi saga about rampaging reptiles on a remote island theme park is due for release on 11 June in the UK and a day later in US cinemas.

It stars Guardians of the Galaxy's Chris Pratt opposite Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D'Onofrio and a brand-new CGI-generated "genetically modified" dinosaur known as Indominus Rex.

Spielberg's Jurassic Park was the highest-grossing film of all time between 1993 and 1997, when James Cameron's Titanic took the mantle.

A US opening in excess of 100million US dollars would put the new film, directed by Colin Trevorrow, on course to surpass its predecessor provided it also performs well in China.

WeatherBeijing will get showers tonight and a low of 21. It'll be overcast tomorrow with a high of 27.

Shanghai will see slight rain and a low of 21, then showers and a high of 24.

Chongqing will have moderate rain with a low of 19, overcast tomorrow and a high of 24.

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad, partly cloudy, 37,Kabul, showers, 26.

In Australia,Sydney will get rain with a high of 19,Brisbane, cloudy, 24,Perth will be partly cloudy with a high of 20 degrees Celsius.

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

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

The Chinese premier's visit to Latin America has raised expectations for trade and deeper cooperation...

The Queen's Speech to the UK parliament mentions Britain's desire for enhancing its relationship with China...

And there are reports that Russia's armed forces continue to mass near the border with Ukraine...

Business: Chinese A Shares are on track to go global...

On behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers, this is Shane Bigham in Beijing hoping you'll join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour to open a window to the world together...