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

Coming up on the program this evening...

President Xi Jinping arriving for the BRICS summit in Ufa, Russia....

Officials and experts lauding a new lending initiative from the BRICS countries....

And China launching emergency responses against two typhoons....

Business.... Central SOEs in China promising not to sell shares amid market volatilityIn Sports.... In the CSL: Sun Ke Leaving Tianjin,to return to SaintyIn Entertainment.... The release date of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2" being pushed back to 2016All 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 crienglish.com for the latest news and information from China Radio International.

topChinese president arrives in Russia for BRICS, SCO summitsChinese President Xi Jinping is now in the Russian city of Ufa for the annual summits of BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

This is Xi's third time to attend the annual BRICS summit.

Xi Jinping and other leaders of the emerging countries will exchange views on enhancing cooperation among BRICS countries and on global, regional issues of common concern.

At the SCO summit, a decision on starting the procedures for India and Pakistan to join the organization is going to be adopted.

Leaders will also approve the SCO development strategy until 2025, sign a border defense cooperation agreement, and issue a declaration on the 70th anniversary of the WWII victory.

Xi Jinping is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A trilateral meeting of leaders of China, Russia and Mongolia is also on the agenda.

BRICS Bank to Complement World Financial MechanismMeanwhile, officials and experts are lauding a new lending initiative from the BRICS countries, saying it will complement the existing global financial mechanisms.

CRI's Qian Shanming has more.

The newly established New Development Bank, known as the BRICS Bank, will be on top of the agenda at the BRICS summit.

The bank, initialized last year at the sixth summit in Brazil, endeavors to help financing infrastructure and sustainability in the bloc and other developing countries.

Subir Gokarn, director of Brookings India, believes that BRICS bank will play an important role in India's infrastructure funding needs.

"Firstly it is the first concrete institution manifestation of the BRICS. So far, the BRICS has only been a grouping but it has not had anything concrete emerging from it. And this reflects the strongest bond, commonality between these countries because they are all basically strong, large economies who have very specific needs in terms of infrastructure development and so on. And the BRICS bank actually is going to provide an alternative channel for funding to be provided for these purposes."The Shanghai-based Bank will have initial authorized capital of 100 billion U.S. dollars, and its initial subscribed capital of 50 billion U.S. dollars will be equally shared among the founding members.

In addition, the bank has set up a contingency fund of 100 billion US dollars to help BRICS countries to cushion short-term liquidity pressure.

Of the fund, China will provide 41 billion US dollars to the capital stock; India, Brazil and Russia each pay in 18 billion, and South Africa 5 billion.

Gao Fei, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University, says the bank and the fund will complement the existing global financial mechanisms.

"The current global financial system is a legacy of WWII, and reflects the post-war economic situation. But now 70 years has passed. The situation has changed dramatically with the increasing growth of emerging economies and developing countries. The western-led system has lagged behind the world financial and economic development. I think the BRICS bank and the contingency fund will add new impetus to the long-term, stable and continued growth of the world economy. "The board of governors of the NDB has held its first meeting in Moscow during which members of the board of directors were appointed.

In addition, 68-year-old K.V Kamath, former Indian private banker, has been named as the first president of the BRICS bank.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov says the BRICS New Development Bank will work with other international financial institutions to promote infrastructure construction of the member countries.

(Act3, Anton, male in Russian)"The initiation of a new bank will bring new funds and programs. This BRICS New Development Bank will benefit not only Russia but also all the other member countries. More projects will have funding with such international financial organizations. It will stimulate the development of the world economy."The BRICS nations, accounting for about one fifth of the world GDP, have committed to making the bank a more inclusive, democratic and transparent international financial agency.

The bank will soon be open to all UN member nations besides its founding countries.

It will start operating at Lujiazui, Shanghai's financial hub, at the end of this year.

The BRICS leaders are expected to map out the first five-year plan during the Summit for the bank in Ufa.

For CRI, this is Qian Shanming.

For more on the BRICS' role in global issues, CRI's Tu Yun spoke earlier with Jia Xiudong, Senior Research Fellow from the China Institute of International Studies.

Back anchor: Jia Xiudong, Senior Research Fellow from the China Institute of International Studies, speaking with CRI's Tu Yun.

China launches emergency responses against two typhoonsChina has activated an emergency response mechanism for potential damages from two upcoming typhoons.

Meteorological authorities have forecasted that typhoon Linfa will move toward the coastal area between Guangdong and Fujian Provinces tomorrow.

Typhoon Chan-hom will move towards the coastal area of Zhejiang and Fujian on Friday night.

The two typhoons will both bring heavy torrential rains to eastern and southern parts of China.

Dong Lin with China's Central Meteorological Observatory says Chan-hom may be much more destructive than Linda due to its more powerful strength.

"Chan-hom may combine with the midlatitude system, bringing a cold front and thus bringing more rainfall. Since it's a tropical cyclone, it'll bring abundant moisture. If Chan-hom doesn't combine with the system, the rainfall brought by the typhoon itself may decrease a bit. But all in all, the typhoon will definitely deeply affect the rainfall in east China and might deteriorate previous damages."Locals in the areas affected by the two typhoons have been advised to stock daily necessities for one to three days, and emergency mechanisms for disaster relief might be initiated if necessary.

War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression Museum reopens after renovationAnchor:

The Museum of the Chinese people's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression opened to the public this morning after half a year's renovation in Beijing.

CRI's Min Rui has more.

Reporter:

The Museum reopened with an exhibition entitled "Great Victories and Historic Contributions" to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

Visitors laid bouquets of flowers in front of the martyr statue in the main exhibition hall and bowed for those who lost their lives in the war.

Deputy Curator of the Museum Luo Cunkang says many veterans were invited to visit the exhibition on the opening day.

"Many veterans speak highly of the exhibition after visiting, saying it is with abundant historical resources and is an objective reflection of the history from 1931 to 1945."The veterans were accompanied by soldiers in active service. When coming across the photos of familiar war scenes and heroes, the veterans told their experiences and memories to the younger generation.

26-year-old Chen Like, who is accompanying her grandfather to the museum, says that the new items added to the museum really enhanced the visitor's experience.

"I've been to the museum before, but now I think the exhibition is more comprehensive--with pictures, videos, old equipment like gas masks used by the Japanese soldiers, along with guns and artillery. The exhibits even include Japanese documents. They are precious evidence and I learned a lot from this visit."On display at the museum are 1170 pictures and 2830 pieces of war relics, most of which are being shown for the first time.

Some newly added items are collected from special exhibitions in the past years by the museum.

Others are from local museums and archives of different regions.

The gas masks and suits are from the Japanese Unit 731 facility, which is located in northern China's Harbin, where the Japanese conducted biological and chemical experiments on its predominantly Chinese captives.

Speaking of the victory over the aggression, Deputy Curator of the Museum Luo Cunkang emphasized the fact that the Chinese people had made a distinguished contribution to the anti-fascist war.

"Another thing is that China was the main oriental battlefield in the whole picture of the world's anti-Fascist war. However, some Chinese people have little awareness of the important role that China played in this regard; also the international community has put little emphasis on this fact."The exhibition is free of charge to all people from 9am to 4pm.

For CRI, I'm Min Rui.

Japanese Veteran Slams Politicians for Denying Aggression HistoryAnchor:

Nakajima Goro is a Japanese veteran who has criticized current Japanese politicians for not facing up to the country's past aggression against China.

As CRI's Niu Honglin reports, the 90-year-old veteran is also making an effort to educate his fellow Japanese citizens about this troubled chapter of history, allowing younger generations to reflect on the war.

Reporter:

Nakajima Goro was only 12 years old when the July 7 Incident happened in 1937, but he and his friends took it for granted that they should fight for the Emperor in the future, because they were taught so since they were very little.

"The system Japan used to manipulate its people centered on the Emperor, and was guided by strong outward expansion with 'prosperous country with a powerful army' as a slogan. Japan was actively building its military forces in order to expand its power. Since Japan itself has few resources, it wanted to invade China. We were growing up under such militaristic education..."He joined in the Japanese army in March 1945, and participated in the looting in east China's Shandong Province.

"The locals ran away as soon as we started looting the village, without even one person left. We could only grab the cattle and rice, something edible like that. We were not aware of the bad deeds we were doing. We did everything the leaders ordered, just like robots."Nakajima was seriously wounded in a fight with the Eighth Route Army. He thought he was going to die, but medical staff with the Eighth saved his life.

He returned to Japan in September 1946, and has been living a normal life since then.

However, he could not forget the experience in China, and felt concerned about the current leadership in Japan not apologizing for the aggression, and not being able to face up to the facts.

"Most Japanese soldiers who joined the war of aggression against China, just like me, mentioned nothing of what they had done because they had done really bad things to China. However, some politicians like Shinzo Abe knew the atrocity Japanese troops did in the war, but put up an innocent face, saying something like it was nonsense like 'talking that equals humiliating ourselves' about Japan's wrongdoing in the past."Nakajima Goro started to deliver speeches about the aggression at the age of 80 to let more Japanese people know the history and reflect on the war.

For CRI, I am Niu Honglin.

China's First Multiple Unit Train to be Exported to Europe Rolls off LineAnchor:

China's first multiple unit train set to be exported to Europe has rolled off the production line belonging to a subsidiary of China's high-speed rail maker CRRC Corporation Limited.

CRI's Xie Cheng has more.

Reporter:

A ceremony has been held to announce the multiple units' rolling off the assembly line of Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Company Limited.

The multiple units which will be delivered to Macedonia are also the first products in accordance with the Technical Specification for Interoperability, or TSI, the rules especially made for railways in Europe.

Lin Wenjun, the chief-designer of the multiple units, says this means Chinese high-speed railway trains have gained recognition and qualification to enter the European market.

"In order to enter Europe, TSI is a technical threshold with a number of specific standards, including safety, comfort level, and even passengers' experiences, such as ensuring customers can smoothly walk inside the carriage, sit comfortably, or if their kids can reach the buttons and so on"The train painted with red and yellow, based on the colours of Macedonia's national flag, will be put into operation in 6 months.

It's the first time that low-floor technology and articulated bogies have been put into use on Chinese high-speed railway trains' production.

The 3-car train is also designed in line with the strictest safety standards in Europe.

Zhang Minyu with Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Company Limited explains their strategy to enter the European market.

"We break into the European market with high-quality products rather than prices. For example, they require that the trains have a speed of 140 kilometers per hour, then we design the train with technology for speed at 160, thus gaining advantages on safety operations."The train will run on the 215-km-long railway between Tabanovce in northern Macedonia and Gevgelija at its southern border with Greece.

The track, passing the Macedonian capital Skopje, is an important part of the No. 10 Pan-European transport corridor.

With the Chinese multiple units put into operation, the ability of the track's passenger transport will be greatly improved.

China has exported railway equipment to over 80 countries and regions in the world with a total amount of nearly 26.8 billion yuan, or over 4.3 billion U.S. dollars.

For CRI, I'm Xie Cheng.

Pakistan's Karachi suffers power outage amid heatwaveResidents of the southern Pakistani city of Karachi are facing power outages amid high temperatures.

Many of the city's 20 million inhabitants have slept on the streets to try to keep cool, while medical services are limited.

It is currently the Muslim holy period of Ramadan meaning many people are fasting during the day.

Munawar Ahmed, head of Ehsanulla Medical Lab, says the power cut has caused many problems.

"There has been no power for the last 12 hours. The problem is that the entire area is plunged into darkness and there have been a number of road accidents. We are unable to do X-Rays and CT scans of those coming to us. This a big problem. And still there is no power even though it is nearly 8 o'clock in the morning."Private electricity company K-Electric says repairs to the distribution system are currently underway.

Thailand Fears for rice exports after worst drought in decadesThai officials fear a worst drought in decades is set to cost the country's rice export industry billions of US dollars.

Government officials have told farmers to hold off on planting their crops in a bid to ease the impact of the drought.

The Office of Agricultural Economics estimates that the drought could amount to nearly 2 billion US dollars worth of damage in Thailand's central plains alone.

It's estimated this year's rice production will decrease by 11 per cent.

Chookiat Ophaswongse with the Thai Rice Exporters Association says the lower than expected output could reduce Thailand's competitiveness to rival countries.

"If the drought continues, meaning if we don't get the seasonal rain, there will be a problem in terms of the annual rice production, which usually yields 26 metric tons per year. We are very worried about this. The impact of a decreased production might lessen our ability to compete with rival countries, such as Vietnam."The rainy season officially began in the last week of May.

Japan's Kyushu Electric Power Set to Reboot Nuclear ReactorJapan's Kyushu Electric Power Co. has started loading uranium fuel rods into the Sendai No.1 reactor from Tuesday.

The move marks Japan's first attempt to reboot its nuclear industry following the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

A total of 157 fuel assemblies will be loaded in the reactor after which regulators will make final checks.

The reactor is expected to start operating around mid-August.

The company also aims to have the No.2 reactor running by mid-October.

Kyushu company, the only supplier on the southwestern island of the same name, says starting the No.1 reactor would help it cut about 60 billion U.S. dollars costs a month due to burning fossil fuels.

However opinion polls show a majority of people oppose the restart of the nuclear reactor.

EU waits for new Greek bailout proposalAnchor:

Emergency meetings in Brussels on how to keep Greece in the euro have ended without a deal- but with a new date - Sunday - for all EU heads of state to convene for a final summit.

Eurozone leaders have discussed a proposal from Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to negotiate a third bailout deal that includes debt relief and the immediate promise of emergency aid.

But finance ministers of the single currency bloc are still awaiting a firm request for a new financial assistance program from Athens following a rejection of austerity measures in Greece's referendum on Sunday.

Our Europe correspondent Sandra Gathmann reports from Brussels.

Reporter:

A new face in the room, but no new proposal… Eurozone creditors had hoped for answers from Greece's newly appointed finance minister carrying the result of Sunday's referendum on his shoulders… an overwhelming rejection of austerity measures from the Greek people.

But Euclid Tsakalotos quickly found himself isolated after showing up without a working document.

To the disappointment of eurozone chiefs and Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem who've demanded a firm request by Wednesday.

"The first step will be that the Greek government will send the Eurogroup a new request, a new request letter for ESM (European Stability Mechanism) support and as soon as that comes in, hopefully already tomorrow morning, we will have another conference call from the Eurogroup to formally start the process of dealing with this request. All of this has to be done in a matter of days, we have very little time as you are all aware."One man acutely aware of time pressure is Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras who strolled into a separate Eurozone leaders summit armed with a fresh request for immediate aid from his eurozone partners before discussing a long term financial program.

There are doubts though that a quick rescue package can be cobbled together before Greek banks collapse in the next several days… The European Central Bank has turned up the heat by raising haircuts on the little collateral Greek lenders have left while freezing emergency liquidity. Anthony Baert is an Economist at ING Bank.

For one government bond Greek banks can have less liquidity than before…actually it boils down to a certain tightening… but the ECB is facing a very tough choice, on the one hand it doesn't want to be accused of posing political pressure but it has to stick to the rules of emergency liquidity assistance.

US President Obama hasn't shied away from piling the political pressure - placing phone calls to the German and Greek leaders on Tuesday, urging both sides to come to a quick agreement.

Eurozone leaders will continue meeting this week in a final push to see whether there is hope for a compromise. The stakes have never been higher for either side - though the Greek economy and the euro's integrity have in many ways already been bruised.

For CRI, this Sandra Gathmann in Brussels.

weatherBeijing will be clear tonight with a low of 22 degrees Celsius; tomorrow sunny to cloudy with a high of 33.

Shanghai has light rain tonight with a low of 23; the rain continues tomorrow with a high of 28.

Headline newsPresident Xi Jinping arrives for the BRICS summit in UfaChinese president Xi Jinping has arrived in the Russian city of Ufa for two international summits.

Xi Jinping is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of the BRICS summit.

The 7th BRICS summit is going to run from Wednesday to Thursday in Ufa.

Meantime, another two-day meeting of the Council of Shanghai Cooperation Organization Heads of State is scheduled for Thursday and Friday.

At the SCO summit, a decision on starting the procedures for India and Pakistan to join the organization is going to be adopted.

China starts emergency response against typhoonChina has issued an emergency response mechanism for potential damage from Typhoon Chan-hom and Linfa on Wednesday.

China National Commission for Disaster Reduction has urged local authorities in central and eastern areas such as Hunan, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong, to take precautions against the two typhoons.

Meteorological authorities forecast Typhoon Linfa will move towards the coastal area between Guangdong and Fujian.

It will bring torrential rain in these provinces later today.

Typhoon Chan-hom is also moving toward Zhejiang and Fujian.

It is expected to make landfall on Friday.

China launches employment institutions for disabledChina is set to establish employment institutions for disabled people nationwide by 2020.

Under the plan, there will be at least one job centre at county level for mentally challenged and heavily disabled people.

China has over 7 million people of working age with mental, intellectual and severe physical disabilities.

This accounts for 23 percent of all working-age disabled groups in the country.

Pakistan confirms hosting Afghan peace talksPakistan has confirmed it hosted peace talks between the representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban in Islamabad.

An Afghan government delegation and Taliban officials had face-to-face talks for the first time on Tuesday.

The meeting is seen as a significant milestone in opening formal peace negotiations.

The talks follow a series of less formal encounters between various Afghan officials and Taliban representatives in other countries in recent months.

So far no further details have been released.

U.S. Army plans to cut 40,000 troopsThe U.S. Army is planning to cut 40-thousand troops from both domestic and foreign posts over the next two years.

It's been confirmed that the current size of active-duty soldiers in the army will be reduced from about 490-thousand to 450-thousand by the end of September, 2017.

An additional 17-thousand civilian employees will also be laid off.

Details of the plan are expected to be officially announced later this week.

The decision comes after the Pentagon announced it would be cutting military numbers during its 2016 budget announcements in February.

biz reportsAnchor:

Turning now to business news.

First a look at the numbers from across the Asian markets to close out this Wednesday evening.

Chinese stocks tumbled sharply on Wednesday as investor confidence shattered, leading to share-dumping to prevent further losses.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index sank 6 percent.

The Shenzhen Component Index slumped nearly 3 percent to close.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, rose half a percent.

More than half of the roughly 2,800 companies listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen had suspended trading to avoid further losses.

All industry groups lost ground, with many aviation manufacturing, medical care, Internet and transportation companies plunging by the daily limit of 10 percent.

With the benchmark Shanghai stock index falling more than 30 percent from its June peak, the Chinese government has unveiled a raft of supportive measures to prop up the market, but the efforts have done little to halt the decline so far.

Northeast Securities attributed the massive sell-off to the sell-off of blue chips as it is the only way to reduce risk exposure due to the suspension of many small caps from trading.

It said the market bubble created by borrowed money as a result of margin trading needs time to deflate and so does the restoration of investors' confidence.

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index shed almost 6 percent, led by losses on mainland markets and panic selling.

Elsewhere in Asia,Tokyo stocks fell sharply on Wednesday with jitters over Chinese market volatility, and concerns over Greece's debt.

The benchmark Nikkei ended down over 3 percent.

South Korea's Kospi slipped over one percent.

Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index closed down over one and a half a percent.

Finally, Australia's ASX 200 slid nearly two percent.

Central SOEs in China promise not to sell shares amid market volatilityOver 100 SOEs in China have pledged to join efforts to stem massive sell-offs in the stock market.

This comes after China's state asset regulator ordered the country's centrally administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) not to sell shares in their listed companies amid the "abnormal market volatility"The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission also encouraged SOEs to purchase more shares to stabilize prices.

The decision followed a raft of other supportive measures aimed at stemming the stock bloodshed that has seen the key Shanghai stock index plunge by more than 30 percent from its June peak, but the effort seemed to be of no avail so far.

Immediately after Wednesday's market opening, the central bank issued a statement reiterating its liquidity support to stabilize the market and avoid systematic and regional financial risks.

China Securities Finance Corporation Limited, the national margin trading service provider also pledged to purchase more shares of small- and medium-sized listed companies to ease stock market liquidity.

China Central Bank Approves $ 8.1 bln MBS SaleAnchor:

China's central bank has given China Construction Bank the right to sell 50 billion yuan, or 8 billion U.S. dollars, of mortgage-backed securities.

China Construction Bank is the first financial institution to be granted the right to sell MBS after a new registration system for credit asset securitization was adopted in April.

Under the new system, qualified issuers will only be required to register transactions before issuance, as opposed to the previous system where regulators approved transactions on a deal-by-deal basis.

China only issued three batches of MBS from 2005 to 2014.

In 2005, China Construction Bank issued the first MBS in the country for 3 billion yuan.

For more on this, CRI's Spencer Musick earlier spoke with Liu Baocheng, Professor at University of International Business and Economics.

Back anchor:

That was Liu Baocheng, Professor at University of International Business and Economics, speaking with CRI's Spencer Musick.

China's supreme court reopens insider trading caseChina's Supreme People's Court reopened one of the country's biggest insider trading cases after procurators protested lenient penalties handed out by lower courts.

Wednesday's public trial of Ma Le, a former fund manager of Bosera Asset Management Co., one of the largest fund houses in China, was held in Shenzhen at the SPC's No.1 circuit court.

Ma was sentenced to three years with a five-year reprieve for insider trading by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court last year for purchasing stock shares using non-public information.

He illegally earned nearly 19 million yuan, or about 3 million U.S. dollars, making his case the largest monetary insider trading case at the time. All money was confiscated and Ma was fined an additional 19 million yuan.

Yet, Shenzhen procurators protested the initial verdict to the SPC asserting that the penalty was "inappropriate".

Wednesday's SPC circuit court did not immediately give its final ruling, which will be released on due date.

Xiaomi's website overloaded by Brazilian buyers on first day of launchChinese smartphone maker Xiaomi's online store in Brazil was overloaded due to high levels of buyers on Tuesday, the first day its products were on sale in the country.

Xiaomi's star model 'Redmi 2' was launched on the Brazilian market on its online store at noon local time on Tuesday.

The first batch of smartphones were only for consumers with reservations, but the number of buyers trying to visit the website increased so fast that the online store was immediately overloaded.

Normal service resumed an hour and a half later.

SportsCSL: Sun Ke Leaves Tianjin, Goes Back to SaintyWe kick things off with news from the Chinese Super League.

Tianjin Teda has released its latest and the league's most expensive signing, Sun Ke. Sun is now back at Jiangsu Sainty and has renewed his contract with his previous club until the end of next year.

Tianjin Teda's sponsor, Quanjian, signed Sun Ke for a record 66 million yuan last month.

But the team refused to enroll Sun and did not register him with the football association after the transfer.

Sun did not play a single game for Tianjin Teda.

Sainty's deputy manager, Zheng Ming, says Sun is temporarily staying with the old club and can still join Teda after all things are settled.

Sun thanked both sides for the efforts to put him back on the pitch.

"Everyone wanted to seal this transfer deal from the very beginning. But some unexpected twists caused problems. Not being able to train and play has an emotional and physical impact on me as a player. I am now grateful for both Jiangsu Shuntian and Quanjian for allowing me to return to action."Quanjian has withdrawn its sponsorship from Teda and acquired first league team Tianjin Songjiang.

Football: CFA UpdateIn football action today, from the fourth round of the Chinese FA Cup:

Qingdao Jonoon faced off against Shanghai Shenhua earlier today (UPDATE)Matches already under way with about 15 minutes into play:

CSL leaders Beijing Guo'an are taking on lower-league Beijing BG;Chongqing Lifan is up against Shandong Luneng;Kicking off right about now:

Henan Jianye is taking on Hangzhou;and Shanghai SIPG is hitting the pitch against Guangzhou R&F.

Coming up at about 8 p.m., Beijing time:

Hebei CFFC will meet Jiangsu Guoxinand Xinjiang Tianshan will face Tianjin Teda.

Gold Cup: US Beat Honduras 2-1, Panama tie Haiti 1-1In more football action from the North and Central American tournament, the Gold Cup:

A late goal from Sony Norde rescued a point for Haiti against Panama in the opening match of tournament, as the Group A rivals played out a 1-1 draw.

It took Panama until the 56th minute to break the deadlock, Quintero profiting from an error in the Haiti defense before firing into the bottom corner.

Haiti's equaliser came five minutes from time to ensure the opening match of the tournament ended in a draw.

In the day's other match:

The USA got their Gold Cup campaign off to a winning start with a 2-1 victory over Honduras.

The USA took the lead after 24 minutes when Clint Dempsey converted from close range.

The USA doubled their lead 18 minutes after the break.

Honduras did hit back five minutes later through Carlos Discua, who burst forward and slammed the ball past USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan, but they failed to find an equaliser and start the tournament with a defeat.

Steven Gerrard Arrives in LA to Join MLS SquadIn other football news:

New Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder and former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard says he did not want to play out his days as a "squad" member at Liverpool and had little hesitation signing for the Major League Soccer team.

Gerrard joined the Galaxy after spending his entire 17-season pro career with Liverpool and says he wants to make a lasting contribution to the LA squad:

"We have a fantastic team and a fantastic set up and if I can just add a little bit and play to the best of my abilities than the future will be really bright. I'm so happy to be here and excited and my family is settling in really well and now its just down to business and performing on the pitch."At the beginning of this year, Gerrard announced he was leaving Liverpool after not being offered a new contract during the off-season. He was also not started against Real Madrid in the Champions League.

At LA, Gerrard expects to hit the ground running:

I adapt pretty quickly and I've been around the game for a long time and I'm pretty experienced. So, I think that transition will happen very quickly. For me I want to get off to a good start and I don't want any excuses that I need months to settle in, I'm looking to fire from the beginning."Gerrard will make his mL debut for the Galaxy against San Jose on July 17.

Wimbledon UpdateIn quarter-finals tennis action from Wimbledon:

The top seeds in men's action all hit the court tonight.

At 8 p.m., Beijing time,Third-seed Briton Andy Murray will take on Vasek Pospisil, the last unseeded player in the men's singles bracket.

This is the furthest Pospisil has made it at Wimbledon and is coming off a five-set war with Serbia's Viktor Troicki.

And no. 2 Roger Federer hits the court against twelfth-seeded frenchman Gilles Simon. Federer has been extremely dominant at Wimbledon this year, only dropping one set up to this point. Meanwhile, Simon handed Federer two defeats in 2008, but fallen to the Swiss five consecutive times since.

After,The world no. 1 and top seed, Novak Djokovic will take on ningth-seed Croatian Marin Cilic.

Djokovic is 12-0 against Cilic, and the Croatian has needed five sets to come out on top of two matches at Wimbledon so far. But Cilic did take Djokovic to the brink at last year's Wimbledon. The world no. 1 needed five sets to beat Cilic.

And fourth-seeded Swiss Stan Wawrinka will battle twenty-first seeded Richard Gasquet of France.

Wawrinka has continued with the momentum he received after winning the French Open and has so far looked impressive on the grass at Wimbledon.

In women's doubles action:

Third-seeded Czech/American pair Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova took on fifth seed U.S. duo Rachel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears (UPDATE)Coming up:

No. 2 all-Russian pair Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina will take on Cara Black of Zimbabwe and Lisa Raymond of the U.S.

Entertainment"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2" Pushes back Release DateMartial arts film "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2" is going to push back its release date to the first quarter of next year.

Movie site Deadline has reported the date change and has not revealed the reason behind the delay.

The sequel was scheduled to premiere in cinemas and on US online broadcaster Netflix in August this year.

However, Netflix has said they will air the film simultaneously with the cinema release no matter when it premieres.

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2: The Green Legend" is the sequel to the 2000 film by Oscar-winning director Ang Lee.

However Lee hasn't returned for the latest installment. He was replaced by Yuen Woo-ping who choreographed the fight scenes in the first film.

Michelle Yeoh has returned to reprise her role as Yu Shu-lien, while Hong Kong kung-fu star Donnie Yen joins the cast as Silent Wolf.

The plot to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2" will tell a different story with little connection to the first film.

Han Solo Movie in the WorksDisney has announced they are developing a spinoff movie based on the space smuggler Han Solo.

The spinoff will be directed by Lego movie directors Christopher Miller and Phil Lord.

The film is said to explore Solo in his younger ages.

A charismatic criminal turned Rebellion hero, Han Solo will return in Star Wars' upcoming installment The Force Awakens this Christmas.

Played by Harrison Ford, Solo's last appearance was in 1983's Return of the Jedi.

Details as to who will be cast in the role of Han Solo have not been revealed yet.

The film's release date has been set for May 2018.

FOX Eyes Film Adaption of Same-sex Marriage Case in the USStudio company FOX is going to bring the same-sex marriage case in the United States to the big screen.

FOX has acquired the life rights of Jim Obergefell, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit that went to the US Supreme Court.

Obergefell married John Arthur in Maryland in 2013, three months before Arthur died of ALS.

However, the state of Ohio refused to list Obergefell as his spouse as Ohio didn't recognize same-sex marriage.

Obergefell filed a lawsuit which eventually went to the highest court in the US.

FOX has also bought the copyright to the book "21 Years to Midnight", which is being written by Obergefell and a journalist at The Washington Post.

The film project will be produced with Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen, whose credits include five Twilight movies and The Fault in Our Stars.

David Tao Admits Infidelity, Apologizes in PublicMandopop singer/song-writer David Tao has admitted he had an extramarital relationship during a press conference.

The singer came out to apologize nine days after the scandal broke out.

David Tao stressed that he only met once with Yang Ziqing after he married.

"I met Ms. Yang in 2010 and we had a relationship. After I got married, we just texted each other sometimes. And only we met once. We met in Chengdu on June 19, which is the main reason behind my infidelity."Tao added that his wife and parents-in-law have forgiven him after the incident happened.

He even presented his complete chatlog with Yang Ziqing at the press conference, accusing Yang of deleting and altering some of their conversations to mislead the public.

However, the presentation showed the singer did write in his message that he got married out of his mother's command.

David Tao married Penny Jiang last July, claiming Jiang the only woman he loves in the world.

Tao is a Golden Melody Award-winner and is well known for creating a crossover genre of R&B and hard rock tunes.

weatherBeijing will be clear tonight with a low of 22 degrees Celsius; tomorrow sunny to cloudy with a high of 33.

Shanghai has light rain tonight with a low of 23; the rain continues tomorrow with a high of 28.

Chongqing will be cloudy tonight with a low of 23, cloudy tomorrow with a high of 34.

Lhasa has showers tonight with a low of 10, tomorrow cloudy with a high of 24.

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad, light rain tomorrow, 32.

Kabul, cloudy, 32.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney, light rain with a high of 16.

Brisbane, also light rain with a high of 18.

Perth, overcast, 14.

And finally Auckland, New Zealand will be cloudy with a high of 11 degrees Celsius.

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

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

President Xi Jinping arriving for the BRICS summit in Ufa, Russia....

Officials and experts lauding a new lending initiative from the BRICS countries....

On behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers, I'm Sophie Williams in Beijing hoping you'll join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour to open a window to the world together...