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

Coming up on our program this morning...

Central authorities and Hong Kong's regional government express regret over the failure of a political reform package for the southern Chinese city...

Torrential rains and flooding continue to be a problem in central and southern China...

Authorities in Thailand have confirmed that country's first case of the MERS virus...

In Business...Chinese banks are buyers of foreign currency... recording a surplus for the first time in nine months...

In Sports...Guangzhou Evergrande learns its quarterfinal opponent in the AFC Champions League...

In entertainment...Action Movie Week at the Shanghai Film Festival...

Top NewsHK LegCo Vetoes Universal Suffrage MotionAnchorHong Kong's legislative council has vetoed the motion proposing universal suffrage in 2017, meaning the next Chief Executive will not be selected under a "one-person, one-vote" system.

Instead, the fifth chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will be selected by an election committee, just like before.

China's central government, along with leaders in Hong Kong and ordinary citizens in the city, have voiced disappointment over the result.

CRI's Hong Kong correspondent Li Jing has the story.

Reporter28 lawmakers of the legislative council voted against the motion on Thursday afternoon. It failed to achieve the two-thirds majority in the 70-member chamber needed for approval.

Hong Kong Chief Executive CY Leung says he is disappointed because the LegCo members who voted against the plan did so against the wishes of the majority of Hong Kong's citizens.

"Universal suffrage for the chief executive election has now been blocked. Universal suffrage to elect all members of Legco has also become uncertain. I, the government and millions of Hong Kong people are naturally disappointed."In the past 20 months, the central government, the Hong Kong government, and people from all walks of life have made great efforts to reach a consensus on Hong Kong's constitutional development.

Chief Secretary for Administration Carrie Lam, who headed the government's task force on political reform, has slammed a handful of lawmakers for making the dream of 5 million voters fail.

"Right now, I feel sorry and disappointed as the reform plan will not be passed. I don't know when the democratic development in Hong Kong will restart. For the past 20 months, we have done everything we could. I believe that many citizens along the task force will be depressed as our rights to vote have been deprived. "Leaders of local groups supporting universal suffrage are calling on citizens not to vote for lawmakers who vetoed the reform plan.

"It is a dark day for democracy. But please remember, although Hong Kong failed today, it will not be a loser forever. They vetoed the reform plan and blocked the way for democracy to move forward. But I can tell you that the democracy of Hong Kong will arrive. The next LegCo election will be held in 2016, we will see who will win support from voters, either the supporters of the reform plan or the opponents. "In Beijing, China's top legislature has issued a statement, criticizing a small number of Hong Kong lawmakers for reducing the city's democratic development to a standstill.

The National People's Congress Standing Committee has stressed that its decision on Hong Kong's electoral reforms will remain in force in the future.

The Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council has also issued a statement, saying the veto at the Hong Kong LegCo ran counter to the mainstream opinion of Hong Kong society and is not an outcome the central government is willing to see.

The statement also voices support for the Hong Kong SAR government and the chief executive CY Leung.

Leung says it's time for the community to move on.

"In the coming two years, the Hong Kong government will focus the efforts on various economic development and livelihood issues. The civil service will continue to serve the public with devotion and professionalism. I sincerely hope that from now on the community can close differences and work together for the common good of Hong Kong."For CRI, this is Li Jing in Hong Kong.

Heavy Rains Continue to Hit Central and Southern ChinaHeavy rains have been battering the central and southern regions of China over the past few weeks.

The downpours in central China's Hubei Province have killed five people, and left four missing,Roads, houses, power and water conservation facilities have been damaged.

In Chongqing Municipality, five people have been killed and more than 220 thousand others affected by the torrential rain since Monday.

Yang Kun with the National Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters warns of the risk of heavy flooding along the Yangtze River in the coming weeks.

"The main streams in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake, have witnessed higher water levels this year. According to weather reports, the water level in Poyang Lake will continue to rise, and is already approaching the alert level of 19 meters. The Xin River and the Lechang River, the main sources of water for Poyang Lake, are already above alert levels."Local flood control headquarters are also calling on cities and counties near the Yangtze River to prepare for potential floods.

Search for missing underway after cargo ship capsizes on YangtzeRescuers have been searching for two people, missing after a cargo ship capsized on the Yangtze River in the eastern city of Nanjing.

Authorities are also bracing for potential environmental problems as the ship was carrying 280 tons of liquid alkali.

Environmental officials have been monitoring the water at the site, but have so far detected no abnormalities.

The cargo ship itself has been towed to a shipyard in Nanjing.

National maritime oil pollution compensation system establishedChina's transport authorities have established the country's first national compensation system to fully protect the rights of those who suffer injury or losses because of an oil spill.

So far, payment of 160 million yuan involving 14 spills incidents is expected to be paid by the foundation.

Under the system, victims like seafood farmers, for example, can get proper and adequate compensation.

Currently, ship owners take only limited responsibility when it comes to compensation for maritime oil pollution.

Li Qingping with China's Maritime Safety Administration further explains.

"It's a protection system complementing the current insurance mechanism. At the same time, it can support our country's legal system in dealing with pollution and damages due to ships' oil spills."In recent years, the risk of oil spill incidents has been rising with the country's growing oil shipments and increasingly larger oil tankers.

China to Punish Violent Crimes in Doctor-patient Disputes: SPCAnchorChina's Supreme People's Court has issued a statement saying people who assault medical workers will be severely punished.

The statement comes amid several recent violent crimes against medical staff, which have aroused wide public discussions about the doctor-patient relations in China.

CRI's Niu Honglin has more.

ReporterFrustration, misunderstanding and dissatisfaction are the characteristics of doctor-patient relations in China, often resulting in violence.

A 54-year-old radiotherapy doctor at a hospital in Guangxi was attacked on Tuesday morning. A patient poured gasoline on him in a hospital lift and lit it.

Chen Huaidai, a stuff nurse who was on the scene, helped Dr. Qin right after the attack.

Act 1 Chen female in Chinese"There was fire all over him. I saw him rolling on the floor, taking off his burning clothes. He told me it was his old patient who lit him on fire. He was whispering, looked very weak, already."Dr. Qin is currently in intensive care, with burns to over a third of his body. Doctors say if he survives the attack, the burns will definitely disfigure him.

Local police say the suspect, surnamed Wang, had received treatment in Qin's department three years ago after being diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer.

This case is hardly an isolated incident in Chinese hospitals.

Only two weeks ago, Liu Feng, an Otolaryngology attendant at a hospital in Shanxi province was hit by a patient after stopping the patient from cutting in line.

Liu was diagnosed with a severe rupture to his eyeball.

While doctors are fretting over troubled relationship with patients, the patients have grievances of their own, having long complained about the difficulty of seeing doctors and obtaining proper treatment.

Deng Liqiang, a lawyer with the Chinese Medical Association, says one of the underlying reasons is uneven distribution of medical resources.

Act 3 Deng, male in Chinese"Patients flood into big hospitals where doctors are always busy. Meanwhile, community hospitals remain highly available but are barely recognized by patients. The overcrowding in big hospitals inevitably slashes consultation times and mars doctor-patient communication, resulting in patients feeling unsatisfied and creating problem-prone medical relationships."The dissatisfaction has fueled resentment on both sides. In 2014, more than 110,000 medical disputes were reported across the country.

Zhang Xiaodong, with Beijing Cancer Hospital & School of Oncology, Peking University, says patients should have "reasonable expectations" for doctors.

Act 4 Zhang, female in Chinese"Patients have very high expectations and they do not accept the fact that there are complications after treatment. It creates a huge problem. Actually, we do not have adequate public education concerning many kinds of diseases."In a survey published last month, 13 percent of the over 12,000 doctors polled said they had been physically assaulted by patients in the last year, with nearly 60 percent having been verbally abused.

Sixty percent of doctors reported low job satisfaction, and 64 percent did not want their children to become doctors.

For CRI, I'm Niu Honglin.

China's UN Peacekeeping force to step up efforts to protect civiliansAnchorA series of special courses are taking place this week in Beijing, with around 3-dozen Chinese personnel undergoing special training on how to protect civilians in a war zone.

CRI's Poornima Weerasekara caught up with some of the people training Chinese peacekeepers for United Nations missions abroad.

ReporterThis year marks the 25th anniversary since China started contributing peacekeepers to United Nations peacekeeping missions across the globe.

Over the past decade, there has been a dramatic surge in the number of Chinese peacekeepers going abroad, with over 2-thouand troops, police officers and military observers deployed in ten different peacekeeping operations in North and sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and Cyprus.

China is currently the largest contributor of peacekeeping troops among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

China's contributions to UN peacekeeping forces have been primarily engineers and medical staff building infrastructure and providing healthcare, rather than engaging in military activities.

However, Chinese authorities want to expand the scope of their on-the-ground operations to better protect civilians.

A new training program, launched in collaboration with the United Nations Women's Program, is giving a group of Chinese peacekeepers a chance to sharpen their skills on mitigating sexual violence, child protection and their understanding of the UN guidelines on the protection of civilians.

Zhou Zhe, Director of China's Peacekeeping Centre with the Ministry of Defense says protecting people in conflict zones is very challenging.

"In some situations, militants or combatants may hide their weapons and don civilian attire and hide in civilian areas. If we inadvertently protect such people, there is a risk that we might also get pulled into the conflict,".

Cai Hui is a senior instructor at the peacekeeping center who has served on three-separate UN peacekeeping missions in the Democratic republic of Congo.

He says peacekeepers under the UN flag are often tasked with various duties.

"Our mission was to construct the damaged bridges and the roads in Congo. Also some quick impact projects – we helped to restore the airfields and helipads One important task was also to help the locals to build some IDP camps because many of them are displaced, they have no place to go. So that is our priority task."The number of fatal attacks on UN peacekeepers has been rising in recent years.

Cai Hui says UN peacekeepers often find themselves in the middle of war-zones.

"Actually, there are a lot of attacks and ambushes not only against the civilians but also against peacekeepers. In 2012, when M23 occupied the city of Gouma, there were riots or chaos all around the country. At that time I was on a trip to Boonia. When I arrived at the airport I was told that we cannot leave the airport because there were attacks on the streets and direct attacks against UN peacekeepers. So we stayed at the airport for 4 days and 4 nights. So we didn't have anything to eat. They only gave us some combat rations. We heard gunshots everywhere around us."The Chinese government has 560 million US dollars pledged to the UN peacekeeping budget this year, the 6th largest contributor.

Chinese authorities say their missions abroad under the UN flag demonstrate the country's global responsibility.

For CRI I'm Poornima Weerasekara.

Pakistan Former Foreign Secretary on Gwadar to Be Declared Duty FreeAnchorThe Pakistani government is planning to declare Gwadar, a key hub on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a duty-free port.

Former Pakistani Foreign Secretary Riaz Khokhar says this plan is crucial to bring more benefits to the region.

CRI's Tu Yun caught up with Khokhar at a forum for the "Belt and Road" Initiative in Zhejiang Province.

BACK ANCHORThat was Riaz Khokhar, former Pakistani Foreign Secretary, speaking to CRI's Tu Yun.

Thailand confirms first MERS caseHealth authorities in Thailand have confirmed the country's first case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.

A 75-year-old businessman from Oman had tested positive for MERS.

Rajata Rajatanavin, Public Health Minister of Thailand, is urging the public not to panic.

"Please don't panic. This person travelled from another country. The public health ministry has confirmed the case as quickly as possible. Since he arrived here, we have isolated him from other patients, and his relatives also have had no contact with other patients in the hospital."The health minister says 59 others are being monitored for the virus, including three of the man's relatives who traveled with him to Bangkok.

The country's national airline has also stepped up preventive measures against MERS.

At the same time, 23 people have died from the virus in South Korea and more than 6,700 are isolated at homes and medical facilities.

On Thursday, World Health Organization Director-General Margaret Chan met with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se in Seoul and urged the government to keep up with efforts in controlling the outbreak.

Eurogroup Meeting Makes No Progress on Greek CrisisA meeting of the euro zone's finance ministers has ended with no progress on a Greek debt deal.

Yanis Varoufakis, Greek Finance Minister, says he believes an agreement that is acceptable for all can still be reached.

"In today's Eurogroup meeting our side sent a strong signal to our partners and to the institutions by presenting a comprehensive proposal that can, if accepted, in a short space of time, resolve the Greek crisis, once and for all. We explained that the two sides, Greece and the institutions, had already come really close to an agreement on very important parts of that agreement. "However, Christine Lagarde, chief with the International Monetary Fund urges Greece to come up with "tangible, deliverable measures" so as to unlock more bailout loans.

"We are waiting and we hope that the next few days will be used by the Greek authorities to come back with tangible, deliverable measures so that we can determine whether those four important criterias (sic) for programmes to be credible and for us to be accountable to the international community can be satisfied."Eurozone leaders will convene an emergency summit on Monday in Brussels to further discuss the crisis, which has been lingering for five years.

Greece has less than two weeks remaining to strike a deal with its creditors or face defaulting on a 1.6-billion-euro loan repayment due to the IMF.

Yemen Peace Talk Enters a Third DayDelegates have not reached any breakthrough in Geneva's peace talks seeking to end the civil war in Yemen.

The talks have now entered a third day.

Head of the rebel delegation Hamza al-Houthi indicates a truce is still under negotiation.

"A humanitarian truce is on the negotiating table based on the invitation of the Secretary-General of the United Nations who called for humanitarian aid. As for the internal affairs, we stress that the outside assault must stop immediately and the siege must end immediately."Meanwhile, Yemen's exiled Prime Minister Khaled Bahah has met with the Arab League Chief in Cairo.

He has called for a permanent ceasefire, accusing the Houthi rebels of using the temporary humanitarian pause to seize more territory.

"The obstacles facing the talks in Geneva is that the Houthis have a large delegation of some 22 members and we are hoping to bring down the number to seven delegates. Hopefully we'll sit down together and solve our own national issues and go back together from Geneva to Yemen."The unrest in Yemen has so far killed over 1,000 civilians and displaced more than a million.

In another development, the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for four car bombings in Yemen's capital Sanaa which killed at least 18 people and injured dozens.

The blasts happened as Saudi-led coalition forces continued air strikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Police arrest one suspect of mass shooting in Charleston churchPolice in South Carolina have arrested a suspect in connection with a shooting inside an historic black church in downtown Charleston that left nine people dead on Wednesday.

Greg Mullen is the Police Chief of Charleston:

"With that, I am very, very pleased to announce that we have made an arrest in this case. We have arrested Dylann Roof from Lexington, South Carolina. Approximately 30 minutes ago he was arrested in Shelby, North Carolina during a traffic stop."The mass shooting occurred after the suspect had sat with parishioners at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church for an hour.

The victims were six women and three men, and ranged in age from their 20s to their 80s.

Several pastors are said to be among the dead.

Responding to the latest shooting, President Barack Obama says there's the need for a national reckoning on gun violence in America.

"Now is the time for mourning and for healing. But let's be clear, at some point we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries. It doesn't happen in other places with this kind of frequency, and it is in our power to do something about it."The shooting in Charleston is now treated as a hate-crime in the preliminary investigation.

Wanted FIFA probe Argentines turn themselves inTwo Argentine businessmen wanted in the United States in a FIFA bribery case have turned themselves in to authorities.

Hugo Jinkis and his son Mariano were among 14 football and business officials indicted by the US Justice Department in a sweeping investigation into alleged bribery, racketeering and money-laundering.

It's been three weeks since the US government launched arrest warrants for them.

They confessed their intention to fight a US extradition order and requested house arrest rather than jail while they do so.

Jorge Anzorreguy, their lawyer, says they will be detained while a judge decides on their petition.

"Regarding the extradition process, we still need to wait for the requiring country (referring to the US) to file the necessary documents so it can be assessed, so Argentine authorities can assess whether the extradition is applicable or not."The Jinkis' are owners of Full Play, a sports marketing and broadcasting company.

The company was suspected of having paid millions of dollars in bribes to secure rights to several games during four Copa America tournaments, which feature national teams from South America.

WeatherBeijing will see thundershowers with a high of 26 degrees Celsius.

Overnight temperatures should drop down to 17.

Shanghai will be cloudy with a high of 28 and a low of 21.

In Chongqing, it will see showers during the daytime with a high of 31 and lows of 23.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Kathmandu, slight rain, 30.

Islamabad will be cloudy with a high of 38.

Kabul will have slight rain with a high of 30.

Over to North America,New York will be cloudy with a high of 28 degrees.

Washington, overcast with a high of 31 degrees.

Honolulu, slight rain, 27.

Toronto will be cloudy with a high of 20 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,Buenos Aires will be cloudy with a high of 11.

And Rio de Janeiro will have moderate rain with a high of 21 degrees Celsius.

Headline news NPC says decision on HK universal suffrage to stand despite vetoChina's top legislature says its decision on Hong Kong's electoral reforms will remain in force in the future, despite Hong Kong Legislative Council's veto of the universal suffrage motion on Thursday.

In a statement, the National People's Congress Standing Committee says its decision regarding the universal suffrage in Hong Kong shall continue to serve as the constitutional ground for the region in the future.

The top legislature has also slammed a small number of Hong Kong lawmakers for reducing the city's democratic development to a standstill.

Hong Kong legislators on Thursday rejected an electoral reform plan for selecting the region's next chief executive in 2017.

Search for missing underway after cargo ship capsizes on YangtzeRescuers have been searching for two people, missing after a cargo ship capsized on the Yangtze River in the eastern city of Nanjing.

Authorities are also bracing for potential environmental problems as the ship was carrying 280 tons of liquid alkali.

Environmental officials have been monitoring the water at the site, but have so far detected no abnormalities.

The cargo ship itself has been towed to a shipyard in Nanjing.

Chinese mainland removes entry permit requirements for Taiwan residentsThe Chinese mainland will remove entry permit requirements for Taiwan residents from July 1.

With the revision, travelers from Taiwan will need a travel pass to enter the mainland but do not have to apply for a visa-like entry permit for every visit.

The revision also eases requirements for the travel pass.

The term of validity for a travel pass to Taiwan held by a mainland resident was extended from five years to ten, while that for a Taiwan resident remains five years.

Denmark prime minister concedes election defeatDanish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt has conceded defeat in the parliamentary election.

Thorning-Schmidt has told party members she will step down as prime minister and leader of the Social Democratic Party later on today.

Her coalition lost the election to the center-right opposition.

200th anniversary of Battle of Waterloo markedKing Philippe of Belgium has led European royalty and dignitaries in a commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.

The battle in the Belgian town represented an important turning point in European history that marked the end of Napoleon and French domination and the beginning of the British century.

An event was also held in London, with Prince Charles and Prime Minister David Cameron attending.

The Battle of Waterloo was fought on June 18, 1815.

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

Our reporter Sophie Williams.

ReporterU.S. stocks surged on Thursday, with the Nasdaq Composite Index surpassing its dotcom bubble peak set in March 2000, as investors took Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's remarks as a dovish tone.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq touched a new intraday high of 5,143 points in early afternoon trading, and finished at 5,132.95, up 1.3 percent.

Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 jumped 1 percent.

On the economic front, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday the U.S. Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers increased 0.4 percent in May on a seasonally adjusted basis, slightly below market consensus.

The index for all items minus food and energy rose 0.1 percent in May, its smallest increase since December.

On the commodities front, oil prices rose as the U.S. dollar depreciated against other currencies.

Meanwhile in Europe,The Eurogroup meeting ended without a deal over Greece debt issue on Thursday.

European shares closed higher despite the uncertainty of Greece, with German benchmark DAX index rising 1.1 percent.

The London stock index technically adjusted after a four-day drop. Good economic data from Britain lifted the market, but concerns about the Greece crisis limited the gains. At the close, the FTSE 100 increased by 0.4 percent.

France's CAC 40 closed with a slight advance of 0.3 percent.

China banks' forex settlement sees surplus in MayLatest Official data shows that Chinese banks bought more foreign currency than they sold in May, in the first such surplus in nine months.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange said banks have bought 872 billion yuan in foreign currencies, or 142 billion U.S. dollars.

However, they only sold 865 billion yuan, resulting in a surplus of 8 billion yuan or 1.2 billion U.S. dollars.

The first surplus since August indicates more balanced development of China's foreign exchange revenue and expenditure.

Authorities also point out the surplus is what they were hoping for, as it creates a stable environment for reform of forex management.

Shanghai FTZ to speed up customs clearance for imported productsChina's border inspectors and customs authorities say they will streamline clearance procedures for products to be sold within the Shanghai free trade zone.

Shanghai customs will allow importers to deliver samples by air, to be screened before the whole shipment arrives by sea, to shorten the time for clearance.

The streamlined process will shorten the time between product arrival at the port to being put on the shelves in the FTZ by up to 80 percent.

The process was used earlier this month to clear a batch of milk powder from Ireland, which was put on sale in the FTZ 11 days after reporting to customs, compared with 55 days before.

Cross-border sales have grown tenfold in the past four years in China to 20 billion dollars last year.

China's Ministry of Commerce has predicted sales through cross-border e-commerce to hit 1 trillion next year and will eventually take up one fifth of the country's total trade volume.

China tariff level to stay steady after WTO transitional periodChina's Ministry of Commerce says the general level of China's import tariffs will stay steady once the nation's 15-year World Trade Organization transitional period ends.

Since China's WTO entry in 2001, it has taken concrete steps to lower tariffs.

By 2010, China's overall tariff level had dropped to 9.8 percent from 15.3 percent.

The authority says this means by 2010 China's tariff reduction commitments had been basically fulfilled.

China's WTO Accession Protocol in 2001 gave China 15 years to gradually open up its economy.

Corporate News of the WeekAnchorLet's check out some of the main events taking place on the corporate front in China this week.

Joining me on the line now is Doug Young, associate professor at Fudan University and former China company news chief at Reuters.

==Guotai Junan Securities, China's largest brokerage by revenue, is capitalizing on a stock rally by seeking 4.8 billion U.S. dollars .

If successful, it will be the nation's biggest domestic initial share sale since 2010.

[Talking point (subject to adjust)Why is the company doing this?

What would you expect the company to do with the money it raises?

==Imax, famous for its giant movie screens, is looking to raise as much as 300 million US dollars through an IPO on the Hong Kong stock exchange for its Imax China unit in the third quarter of 2015.

Media report says move is part of an ongoing expansion of Imax's business across greater China.

[Talking points (subject to adjust)What does Imax have planned if the IPO is successful?

A lot of money has been raised by web giants and TV stations recently to improve online content and streaming services. Does this help or hinder an Imax IPO?

Back anchorThat was Doug Young, associate professor at Fudan University and former China company news chief at Reuters.

Chinese, Russian companies sign survey design contract on high-speed railwayChina Railway Eryuan Engineering Group is partnering up with Russian Railways to build a multi-billion-dollar high-speed railway.

The deal inked on Thursday says the Chinese side will jointly conducting pre-construction surveys and design work for the Moscow-Kazan high-speed link in Russia.

Under the contract worth 380 million U.S. dollars, the Chinese company partners with the Russian firms this year and next year.

The railway is planned to be completed by 2018.

It will also be the first time that Chinese high-speed railway technology will be used in a foreign country.

Chinese becomes largest foreign buyers at Vinexpo in BordeauxChinese visitors have become the largest buyers among foreign visitors to Vinexpo in Bordeaux, the largest international exhibition of wine and spirits.

According to provisional statistics from the organizer, the number of Chinese visitors during the first four days of the Fair has increased by 14 percent compared to the whole period of the 2013 edition.

Vinexpo also says the visitors are mostly professionals.

The United States, as guest of honor this year, occupies second place with a 14.5 percent increase in the number of buyers.

The bi-annual Vinexpo Exhibition in Bordeaux which closed on Thursday, has brought 2350 exhibitors from 42 countries this year.

SportsGuangzhou Evergrande to play Kashiwa Reysol in AFC quarter-finalsFormer champions Guangzhou Evergrande, the only Chinese mainland team remaining in the AFC Champions League, was drawn against Japan's Kashiwa Reysol in the quarter-finals.

Evergrande president Liu Yongzhou believes his team will do well under new coach Luiz Felipe Scolari.

"Both former head coaches Fabio Cannavaro and Marcelo Lippi did a lot for our club and we appreciated their contributions. But we are confident Felipe Scolari can make a new contribution to the team and bring us even more titles."Teams that advance to the semi-finals will be decided through a two-leg series.

Guangzhou Evergrande will first play away in August and then home in September.

In other quarter-final action,Last year's runners-up Al Hilal from Saudi Arabia will play Lekhwiya from Qatar,Jeonbuk Motors which eliminated Beijing Guo'an is pitted against Gamba Osaka,Finally South China and Kitchee, both from Hong Kong, will clash against Malaysian and Kuwaiti clubs.

Tianjin Teda seals most expensive transfer, acquires Sun KeIn football,Tianjin Teda has finally closed the deal with Jiangsu Shuntian and acquired Sun Ke for 66 million yuan.

It is the most expensive transfer for a domestic player in the history of the Chinese Super League.

Sun has signed a 5-year-contract with Tianjin but will sit out Tianjin's game against Beijing Guo'an this weekend until the paperwork is done.

Sun Ke was the most sought-after player in the Chinese Super League during the transfer season.

He scored three goals for China's national team during the group stage of the AFC Asian Cup this year.

China AB teams top of group at Snooker World CupIn snooker,It is again wins for both Chinese teams.

Team A of Ding Junhui and Xiao Guodong has beaten Norwegian couple Kurt and Anita Maflin 5-0 at the World Cup in Wuxi.

They have won all four group games and are now top of the group.

Their final opponent in the group stage is Malta.

Team B, made up with Zhou Yuelong/Yan Bingtao, defeated Thailand 3-2 and are also top of their group. They will next face Germany.

Murray into quarter-finals at Queen's ClubIn tennis,Andy Murray swept past Fernando Verdasco 7-5, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals at the Aegon Championship in London.

John Isner and Viktor Troicki also made it through.

At the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany,Second seed Kei Nishikori is into the quarter-finals by beating Dustin Brown from Germany 7-5, 6-1.

He will play Jerzy Janowicz from Poland.

Also in the last eight are Andreas Seppi and Gael Monfils.

Cross-strait pair beat top seed at WTA Birmingham ClassicMore tennis action and from the WTA Birmingham Classic,Cross-strait Chinese pair Zheng Jie/ Chan Yungjan overcame top seed Casey Dellacqua/ Sania Mirza in doubles and advanced to the second round.

In singles action,Simona Halep eased past Klara Koukalova 6-1, 6-3 into the third round,And Karolina Pliskova, Angelique Kerber, and Carla Suarez Navarro are all through.

F1 Austrian Grand Prix previewIn Formula One,Drivers have spoken ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, hoping for a good weekend.

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel admitted there is quite a big gap between the Italian manufacturers and Mercedes.

"We also have to be realistic, challenging the Mercedes we first of all have to have a flawless weekend, a perfect weekend, and maybe hoping for them to have a little bit of a struggle. Normal circumstances it is quite difficult to beat them as they are still the favourites going in and there is still quite a big gap."　Vittel is sitting third in the driver's championship behind Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

Those two have won six of seven races this season and qualified on the pole in all of them.

Nico Rosberg is very optimistic about his team's chances here.

"I don't think so much about the past or things like that, for me it's just now and lately it's been going okay. Of course Canada not so much, I lost out there, but I'm feeling good. It's great to be here, I won here last year so I arrive here very optimistically, we have a great car so it should be a great weekend."The Grand Prix begins with free practice sessions on Friday.

Stenson, Johnson share early lead at US OpenIn golf,Henrik Stenson and Dustin Johnson are sharing an early lead at five-under 65 in round one of the US Open at Chambers Bay.

Stenson birdied four of his last five holes while Johnson had six birdies and a bogey.

Tournament favorite Phil Michelson carded a one-under 69.

World number one Rory McIlroy opened with four bogeys to finish at two-over 72.

Master champion Jordan Spieth, former champions Tiger Woods and Justin Rose will start later today.

EntertainmentShanghai Film Festival celebrates Action Movie WeekChinese and international action movie directors, producers and film stars joined Jackie Chan on Thursday for the final night of the Shanghai International Film Festival's first ever Action Movie Week.

Li Bingbing, Sammo Hung and Zhang Jingchu joined Chan on the red carpet for the gala which brought to a close the five day event which celebrates action movies.

25 films from around the world were screened as part of the program.

Also in attendance was Die Hard 2 director Renny Harlin who said the concept of Action Movie Week was a good idea.

"I think it's a great idea. I think it's really nice that action movies get the recognition that they deserve. You know people love seeing action movies and sometimes people look at like there's art movies and there's action movies, but I think you know they're all movies. "The Shanghai international Film Festival runs until June 21.

First trailer for Kung Fu Panda 3 releasedThe first trailer has been released for Kung Fu Panda 3.

The latest installment in the animated series sees the much loved giant panda hero tasked with training Kung Fu pandas to face a supernatural villain troubling China.

Angeline Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu and Seth Rogen reprise their roles for the sequel while Rebel Wilson and J.K Simmons are new additions.

The previous Kung Fu Panda film took $665 million at the worldwide box office.

Kung Fu Panda 3's release is penned for January 2016.

'Batkid Begins' film premieres in Los AngelesA documentary 'Batkid Begins' premiered in Los Angeles on Wednesday telling the story of helping to make one kid's wish to play Batman come true.

Miles Scott, a young leukaemia survivor put in a request to the Make a Wish Foundation to play a kid version of Batman in a movie.

Thanks to a message posted on Twitter, some 25,000 people gathered in San Francisco to watch the young boy's dream come true.

Dana Nachman directed Batkid Begins and also produced the documentary with Liza Meak.

All proceeds from the film will go to the Batkid fund to benefit San Francisco charities. Greater Bay Area Make A Wish executive director Patricia Wilson said she did have one huge regret.

"I do have one huge regret: I regret that I didn't have Miles really rob a bank. Because I think we could have gotten away with it and we'd never have to fund raise for Make a Wish again.'

Miles Scott did not attend the L.A. premiere, but "Batkid" director-producer Dana Nachman said the boy was now in remission and doing well.

Batkid Begins hits stateside cinemas in July.

Justin Bieber to have cameo in Zoolander 2Justin Bieber has a cameo in the upcoming Zoolander sequel.

Speaking in a recent interview with Women's Wear Daily, the star revealed that he will appear in Zoolander 2.

However don't expect the singer to be a model on the runway, Bieber revealed that he will open the movie with a parkour sequence. Parkour is an activity of moving through an area usually an urban environment and negotiating obstacles.

Unfortunately we're going to have to wait until February next year to see why the singer is doing Parkour. All that's been revealed so far is that most of the movie will take place in Europe and it will star names such as Kristen Wiig and Billy Zane alongside Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller.

Zoolander 2 is due for release on February 12, 2016.

British band Muse earn first No1 album on Billboard chartsBritish rock band Muse has earned their very first number one album on the Billboard 200 charts.

Drones is Muse's seventh studio album and was released earlier this month.

The band's previous best on the charts was second in 2012 with their album 'The 2nd Law'.

Drones is currently also taking the British album charts by storm, taking first place and knocking Florence and the Machine off the top spot after just one week.

Muse will be making their first ever trip to China as part of their world tour for Drones. They will visit Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong in September.

Muse are one of the biggest live bands in the world selling out stadiums and arenas across the globe. They have won countless awards for their live performances.

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

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

Central authorities and Hong Kong's regional government express regret over the failure of a political reform package for the southern Chinese city...

Torrential rains and flooding continue to be a problem in central and southern China...

Authorities in Thailand have confirmed that country's first case of the MERS virus...

In Business...chinese banks are buyers of foreign currency... recording a surplus for the first time in nine months...

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.