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

Coming up on our program this morning...

Chinese President Xi Jinping calling on SCO member states to uphold the "Shanghai Spirit" of common development.

A top religious scholar saying that China gives full protection to freedom of worship for Uyger Muslims in Xinjiang.

And the White House saying it fully welcomes the new proposal by Greece to resolve its debt crisis.

In our weekly business review, officials and experts are lauding a new lending initiative from BRICS countries.

In Sports, the latest tennis action from Wembledon.

In Entertainment, screen legend Omar Sharif dies at the age of 83.

Top NewsXi Delivers Speech to SCO SummitAnchor:

This year's Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit has wrapped up in the Russian city of Ufa.

At the meeting, Chinese President Xi Jinping called on the SCO member states to uphold the "Shanghai Spirit" of common development.

He also expressed welcome over India and Pakistan joining the bloc.

CRI's Luo Wen reports.

Reporter:

In his speech to the 15th meeting of the SCO Heads of State Council, President Xi Jinping said the region faces challenges in security, stability and economic growth.

"Affected by external and internal factors, our region faces multiple difficulties and challenges in promoting stability, security and economic growth. We need to move faster and take more concrete actions to realize more progress of the organization at the new departure point."The president called for upholding the "Shanghai Spirit" of mutual trust, mutual benefit, respect for cultural diversity and pursuit of common development.

"We should follow the Shanghai spirit to build a community of common destiny. We should continue to observe the Shanghai spirit and other principles governing international relations championed by the SCO: uphold international equity and adjustors, promote multi-lateralism and openness, respect each other's interests, refrain from interfering in other countries' internal affairs, settle disputes by peaceful means and seek common development and prosperity with a win-win approach."Xi Jinping also attached great importance to security in the region.

"We need to increase the action ability, create a strong security wall in the region. We need to be more proactive in political contacts and coordination, work out response measures and together defend the security as well as stability in all member states of our organization."The president suggested the SCO enhance security cooperation with Afghanistan, help its security forces play a bigger role in the process of national reconciliation and economic reconstruction.

In regard to economic cooperation, Xi Jinping said China is willing to strengthen investment cooperation with other SCO members via the platform of the China-Eurasia Economic Cooperation Fund and the Silk Road Fund.

He urged efforts to enhance connectivity of transportation facilities and expand people-to-people exchanges between SCO member states.

Friday's meeting also witnessed a resolution being passed to start the procedures of granting India and Pakistan full membership of the SCO.

It marks the first time the group has expanded since it was set up in 2001.

Currently, the bloc now has six full members including China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

In addition, Belarus would obtain observer status, joining Afghanistan, Iran and Mongolia.

Also at the summit, the leaders signed the Ufa Declaration and an agreement on border defense cooperation.

They also approved the organization's development strategy until 2025, a 2016-2018 cooperation program on combating terrorism, separatism and extremism, and the drafting of a treaty on anti-extremism.

A consensus was reached on the peaceful settlement of international hotspot issues such as the Ukraine crisis.

A press communiqué on the 70th anniversary of the World Anti-Fascist War and WWII and a statement on the drugs issue were released.

The leaders also decided the 16th summit will be held in Uzbekistan's capital of Tashkent next year.

For CRI, I'm Luo Wen.

Interview with Shen Dingli on SCO's Acceptance of India, PakistanAnchor:

The leaders of the SCO states have ratified the resolution on starting the procedures of granting India and Pakistan full membership in the bloc.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said China believes the admission of new forces into the SCO will inject new impetus into the organization's all-ranging cooperation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also spoke highly of the expansion, saying that it is the first time in the SCO's history to that it will process accession of new members.

Analysts say that with this expansion, the SCO will provide a platform for broader economic and security cooperation within the Eurasian region.

For more on the entry of India and Pakistan to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, CRI's Shane Bigham spoke with Shen Dingli, Vice Dean of the Insitute of International Affairs, Fudan University.

…Back anchor:

Shen Dingli, Vice Dean of the Insitute of International Affairs, Fudan University, speaking with CRI's Shane Bigham.

Putin on ISRussian President Vladimir Putin has warned that the Islamic State is posing an increased security threat to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's southern borders by extending its reach into Afghanistan.

"Active activation and activity of IS group fighters has been found, who are extending their tentacles also to this country, which increases the security threat on the southern borders of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). We find it important not to postpone the realisation of plans that have been agreed during the summit of cooperating in combating extremism and separatism for 2016."Putin made the remarks at a press conference after the SCO summit concluded in the city of Ufa.

State leaders attending the summit have approved a cooperation program on combating terrorism, separatism and extremism, and the drafting of a treaty on anti-extremism.

Leaders of SCO member states to attend WWII commemoration in BeijingLeaders of all member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) have confirmed their attendance at the commemorative activities marking the 70th anniversary of the victory of Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in September in Beijing.

According to a press communiqué released after the 15th meeting of the SCO Heads of State Council, SCO leaders endorsed a statement to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victory of the world anti-fascist war and WWII.

In the statement, leaders expressed profound gratitude to those people who made significant sacrifice and suffered great losses to free the world from oppression and destruction.

China Slams Protests over Deported UygursChina has slammed recent protests by the United States and Turkey over Thailand's repatriation of more than 100 Uygurs to China.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying blamed some foreign forces for ignoring the facts and trying to politicize the issue.

"We found that some foreign governments and forces ignored the fact and called these illegal stowaways 'refugees' groundlessly. They condemned unscrupulously about China's and Thailand's normal law enforcement and cooperation on cracking down illegal migration, and even politicized the issue. It's a connivance on illegal migration and smuggling, and violates relevant international convention and laws. It goes against the common efforts of the international society on cracking down illegal migration. We cannot accept that."Hua Chunying notes those deported are illegal smugglers, not refugees.

She also condemns foreign attempts that aim to interfere in China's internal affairs by inciting ethnic and religious issues and disrupt China's security and stability.

She also condemns recent violence against Chinese and Thai citizens and organizations in Turkey following the repatriation.

She urges the Turkish government to take effective measures to protect the security and legitimate rights of embassies and personnel of China and other related countries.

Xinjiang citizens' religious freedom has been fully guaranteed: Xinjiang ScholarAnchor:

A local researcher in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyger Autonomous Region has refuted foreign reports that authorities have banned fasting and prayer during Ramadan, saying that religious freedom is guaranteed for Muslims living in the region.

CRI's Wang Mengzhen reports.

Reporter:

Some recent reports from western media have accused the Chinese government of banning fasting and other worship activities for Uyger people in Xinjiang during the holy month of Ramadan.

But Ma Pinyan, with Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences, says those reported bans indeed never existed.

"I've been living in Xinjiang since I was born and I've never encountered the prohibitions reported by some western media outlets. I have been studying religion since the early 1980s. I visited southern Xinjiang quite often and sometimes during the month of fasting. I've never seen any place in Xinjiang where fasting is forbidden or local people are banned from worshipping."Ma says national policies have been well implemented to guarantee religious freedom in Xinjiang and that the so-called religious discrimination does not exist.

The northwestern China's autonomous region is home to more than 12 million Muslims and over 80 percent of China's Islamic clergies. More than 2/3 of China's mosques are located there and 10 local ethnic groups follow the religion.

Ma also says that the local government has take multiple measures, including establishing Islamic schools, to help train religious clergies.

"The government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region established its Islamic Institution in 1986, which aims to train senior Islamic clergy, such as the imam hatips. It also set up Islamic schools in areas mainly populated by Muslim residents, like Kashgar, Khotan and Ili, which aim to train Islamic clergy for moderate to small-sized mosques. Only senior Islamic clergy are invited to give lessons. When these clergy become too old to lead worship, their students can then succeed them."Ma adds that in a bid to meet the demand from local Uygurs, the region's government translated the Qur'an, Islam's holy book, into the Uyghur language as early as the 1980s. And in recent years, a new edition of this book, as well as some authentic collections of the Islamic Sunnah have been translated and published.

Ma says that he hopes foreign reporters could visit Xinjiang someday and discover the truth themselves.

For CRI, I'm Wang Mengzhen.

China can promote healthy development of capital market: premierChinese Premier Li Keqiang is now calling for more confidence and efforts to underpin the country's economic growth in a cabinet meeting on Friday.

Li's remarks came as China is trying to recover from a stock market nosedive that led to the loss of massive wealth in a three-week plunge.

In response, Li Keqiang says economic vitality is increasing and market confidence is rebounding, but the country still needs to stay alert.

"Based on the introduction from each governor and information provided by related departments, the Chinese economy has been operating steadily with signs of improvement since the second quarter of 2015, This means our economic policies have taken effect gradually. However, the foundation of the economy is not yet solid and external uncertainties are increasing. China is and will continue to face various challenges and risks during economic expansion. We will never take them lightly."Earlier, the International Monetary Fund has downgraded its global economic growth projection to 3.3 percent for 2015. This is down 0.2 points from its forecast of 3.5 percent in April.

Speaking of economic plans in the second quarter, Li underscores the need of keeping sustainable macroeconomic policies and expanding domestic demand.

"In the second quarter of this year, we will continue our efforts to keep the economy operate on a steady basis. We should have the confident and insist our overall economic policies. At the same time, we need to take immediate actions to address the potential risks and problems. As such, we could have a healthy economic and social development, providing a sound environment for our people."At the same time, the Chinese premier stress the government's determination to overhaul the country's economic structure, cut redtape and encourage entrepreneurship and innovation.

Listed companies unveil plans to stabilize stocksAlmost a quarter of China's listed companies have come up with plans to stabilize their stock prices.

More than 650 companies so far have announced measures to increase share holding of or repurchase their own stocks from the market.

The move comes after the stock market plunged by 30 percent from its June 12th peak.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission has also encouraged major shareholders and supervisors of listed companies to buy more shares to help maintain steady prices.

Chinese shares have staged a two-day strong rebound thanks to these moves by the central government to bolster the market.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index surged more than 4.5 percent on Friday.

865,000 evacuated as super typhoon approaches ChinaMore than 865-thousand people in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang have been evacuated as super Typhoon Chan-Hom approaches.

The National Meteorological Center issued a red alert, the highest alert, on Friday morning for the super typhoon.

It is due to make landfall somewhere between Rui'an and Zhoushan in Zhejiang Province between Friday night and Saturday noon.

The typhoon has brought rain and strong gales to Zhejiang's coastal areas.

Shanghai also issued a typhoon alert on Friday, warning of gales starting Friday afternoon and heavy rain on Saturday.

Residents have been relocated and outdoor group activities have been canceled.

The NMC said Chan-Hom could be the strongest typhoon to land in Zhejiang since 1949.

China on Iran TalksChina has said it hopes the parties involving in Iranian nuclear talks can reach consensus in the shortest time possible.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying says China will continue efforts for a fair and balanced agreement.

"Despite twists and turns, each party are still seriously involved in the talk and actively seeking for a package solution for the unresolved issues. We hope each side will keep their confidence and momentum to reach consensus and a fair and balanced agreement for solving Iran nuclear issue in the shortest time possible. China will continue to make active effort for this."Talks between Iran and five UN Security Council permanent members plus Germany have extended well into a second overtime after missing the deadlines of June 30 and July 7.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif earlier accused the countries involved of changing conditions and using pressure tactics.

However he reiterated that Iran won't leave the talks.

"We will continue the talks. We have not left the negotiating table and will never leave it. If the other side is seeking a dignified and balanced deal, it will certainly be achievable."Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said negotiators are making progress in resolving the remaining obstacles and called the atmosphere at the talks in Vienna, "constructive".　But White House officials say "all options remain open."The final deal will depend on Iran's acceptance of curbs to its nuclear programme in return for the easing of economic sanctions imposed by the United Nations, United States and the European Union.

White House Welcomes Greece's New ProposalThe White House has said it welcomed the latest proposal by Greece to resolve its debt crisis and that it is something for that country's creditors to weigh carefully.

White House spokesperson Josh Earnest lays out what the administration says is the way forward.　　"It is something that's currently being considered by their creditors. We have said for quite some time now that the solution or resolution to Greece's financial challenges is a package of reforms and financing that will put Greece back on the path of economic growth and debt sustainability."　　Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has appealed to his party's lawmakers to back a tough reform package after abruptly offering last-minute concessions to try to save the country from financial meltdown.

The measures include pension cuts and tax increases that are likely to inflict further pain on the Greek people.

Greek banks have been closed since June 29, when capital controls were imposed and cash withdrawals rationed after the collapse of previous bailout talks.

Greece defaulted on an IMF loan repayment and now faces a critical July 20 bond redemption to the ECB, which it says cannot make without aid.

The country has had two bailouts worth 240 billion euros from the euro zone and the IMF since 2010.

Still, its economy has shrunk by a quarter, unemployment is at more than 25 percent and one in two young people are out of work.

British government 's travel ban in Tunisa leads to heated discussionThe first of thousands of Britons have returned home from Tunisia following warnings of potential terror attack.

On Thursday, the British government urged all nationals to leave Tunisia as a further attack is said to be "highly likely".

However, some British tourists in Tunisia are not satisfied with the travel ban, saying they still felt safe in the country.

British Ambassador to Tunisia Hamish Cowell responds that the decision was taken because "security in Tunisia was deemed insufficient for foreign tourists".

"Well I've just been meeting with some of the tour operators who are leading the process of bringing their people home, working very closely with the British embassy teams down here. I know many will be disappointed at having to cut short their holidays but we haven't taken this decision lightly, and our top priority is the safety of our nationals."Meanwhile, the UK foreign secretary says it was too big of a risk not to act.

Over 2,500 UK tourists were believed to be in Tunisia.

Last month, 30 Britons were among the 38 tourists killed during an attack in the beach resort of Sousse.

Sound artists serenade century-old artworksAnchor:

London's National Gallery has teamed up with musicians to offer visitors a unique way of experiencing the collection of artworks through sound.

CRI's Fu Yu reports.

Reporter:

This is "Ultramarine" by DJ Jamie XX, a composition created to present Theo van Rysselberghe's 1892 painting "Coastal Scene."It is part of the exhibition called "soundscapes", a project where artists compose music clips, pulling inspiration from the paintings they see.

The exhibition features six artworks that are being serenaded by music in soundproof rooms.

Exhibition curator Minna Moore Ede says it's a wonderful way of re-imagining the artworks.

"The idea is that you step into the room and you look at one painting that has been chosen by the artist or musician and you hear their sound response. It's a very dark atmospheric space, these are six brand new sound and music commissions, so this is your only opportunity really to hear new work by these musicians in the context of the painting that they've chosen."New York based composer Nico Muhly created this piece in response to 'The Wilton Diptych', a 14th century altarpiece which shows the young Richard III in a religious setting.

"I try to respond to it in a way that wasn't cartoonish, it's not a one-to-one correspondence between how it looks and how it sounds. But instead, what I was aiming to do is surround it with material that's always in motion, so I worked with a sound designer called Jethro Cooke to make sure that everything is moving slowly in the way that with art that exists in 360 degrees you'd have to move around it to experience it."Curator Moore Ede says alternative exhibitions like "the soundscapes" open The National Gallery's vast collections to a new audience and give older artworks a new lease of life.

"We do wonderful monographic exhibitions on Rembrandt, on Goya, but there are many routes to get to a painting and this kind of exhibition will bring in a different public, it opens the paintings up to different types of people. And I think it's great for somewhere like The National Gallery to offer a really varied menu of exhibitions, if you like."The Soundscapes has opened and runs until early September.

For CRI, this is fu yu.

Chinese Merchant Ship Launches First Two-way Arctic VoyageChinese merchant ship "Yong Sheng" has launched its first two-way Arctic voyage from Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province.

Li Yunpeng, general manager of China Ocean Shipping Group, says the voyage is of great significance.

"The passage, after normalization, is sure to be of great value to clients and it will be of great significance in regards to resource exploitation and utilization alongside the Arctic passage"Yong Sheng is a multipurpose ship loaded with nearly 10-thousand tons of export rolled steel products.

It plans to enter the Bering Strait in early August, and arrive in Denmark at around mid-August, before returning to China in October.

Yong Sheng completed its one-way voyage of the Arctic Northeast Passage in 2013.

The arctic route shortens the journey by nearly 3-thousand nautical miles compared with the traditional China-Europe passage.

WeatherBeijing will be cloudy with a high of 34 degrees Celsius. Clear tonight with a low of 24.

Shanghai will have thunderstorms with a high of 25 and a low of 24.

In Chongqing, it will be cloudy with a high of 35 and a low of 24.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Kathmandu, light rain, 29.

Islamabad will have light rain with a high of 32.

Kabul will be cloudy with a high of 31.

Over to North America,New York, light rain with a high of 29 degrees.

Washington, overcast with a high of 30 degrees.

Honolulu, light rain, 28.

Toronto will be cloudy with a high of 26 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,Buenos Aires will have light rain with a high of 16.

And Rio de Janeiro will be cloudy with a high of 26 degrees Celsius.

Headline newsSigning of agreements at SCO meetingThe leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization have signed documents finalizing the development strategy of cooperation of member states until 2025.

Meanwhile, leaders have ratified a resolution on starting the procedures of granting India and Pakistan full membership of the organization.

They have also decided to elevate Belarus to the status of observer from dialogue partner.

Four countries, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia and Nepal have been accepted as new dialogue partners.

The SCO summit is focusing on planning the organization's future development.

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech to the meeting, proposing joint measures for boosting security cooperation, integration of development strategies, and people-to-people exchanges.

China Slams Protests over Deported UygursChina has slammed recent protests by the United States and Turkey over Thailand's repatriation of more than 100 Uygurs to China.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying blames some foreign forces for ignoring the facts and trying to politicize the issue.

She notes those deported are illegal smugglers, not refugees.

She condemns foreign attempts that aim to interfere in China's internal affairs by inciting ethnic and religious issues and disrupt China's security and stability.

She also condemns recent violence against Chinese and Thai citizens and organizations in Turkey following the repatriation.

Yellen says Fed may raise interest rate this yearFederal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said on Friday that she expected the Fed to raise interest rates at some point this year.

Yellen also said that although economic outlooks remain highly uncertain, many of the fundamental factors underlying U.S. economic activity are solid and should lead to some pickup in the pace of economic growth in the coming years.

Meanwhile, Yellen stressed that although the unemployment rate has dropped markedly during the economic recovery, it could not capture the extent of slack remaining in the labor market.

She cited reasons that the labor participation rate had been declining and the number of people working part time on the rise.

U.S. designates Tunisia as major non-NATO allyU.S. President Barack Obama has upgraded the ally status of Tunisia to that of a major non-NATO United States ally.

The status will qualify Tunisia for certain privileges in defense and security cooperation, making it easier for the country to get financial and military aid from Washington.

Obama expressed his intention to designate Tunisia as a major non-NATO ally of the U.S when he hosted the Tunisian President in May at the White House.

Weekly Biz RoundupAnchor:

It's time to take a look back at some of the headlines from the business world this past week in our Weekly Business Review.

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

Chinese shares staged a strong rebound on Friday after intensive moves by the government to bolster the market.

China's consumer price index edged up while the producer price index fell in June.

And China's first multiple unit train set to be exported to Europe has rolled off the production line.

Let's catch up on all of that and more with CRI's Wenjie.

Reporter:

The newly established New Development Bank, known as the BRICS Bank, was on top of the agenda at the BRICS summit in Ufa, Russia.

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.

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 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.

////////On the Chinese A share market,China's market rallied on Friday after intensive moves by the government to bolster the market.

Following recent supportive measures to stable the market, China's top securities regulator said on Friday that it will continue with its approval procedures for initial public offerings, though it confirms that there will be no IPOs in the short term.

China Securities Depository and Clearing Company Limited announced on Thursday night that both the transaction and scrip fees in the A-share market will be cut by 30 percent, starting next month.

On Thursday, six monitored insurance companies made net purchases of stocks and funds with a combined value of more than 15 billion yuan.

That same morning, the China Banking Regulatory Commission announced it will allow banks to extend mortgage loans that use share funds as collateral to prop up the stock market.

At the end of Thursday, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was up 6 percent.

The Shenzhen Component Index surged 4 percent.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, climbed 3 percent.

Tang Yonggang, an analyst at Shenwan Hongyuan Securities says the market shows signs of stabilizing as the regulator came to the rescue of small-caps, especially those on the ChiNext, easing the liquidity crisis and giving investors a much-needed dose of confidence.

"Individual stocks on ChiNext reached their daily limits, which have greatly influenced market confidence. We can see this has rapidly provided incentives for growth enterprises in emerging industries. Judging from the mainboard, aerospace and military industry stocks took the lead to pick up, which has significantly helped boost the public's confidence in the market. "In the meantime, Chinese police joined the securities regulator to investigate "malicious short selling."Meanwhile, the State Council, China's cabinet, has also assured that the government had plenty of tools at its disposal to restore confidence in the economy.

The announcement comes after a cabinet meeting presided by Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday.

////////The National Bureau of Statistics says China's consumer price index or CPI, a main gauge of inflation, edged up 1.4 percent year-on-year in June.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices in June have remained unchanged.

The rise of the index was attributed mainly to higher food prices, including vegetables and pork.

Pan Jiancheng, deputy director-general of China Economic Monitoring and Analysis Center, said stable agricultural production ensures the stability of the prices of farm produce, particularly food prices.

"On the other hand, continuous and modest rise of salary has pushed up service prices. So under the influence of these two factors, a modest rise of prices in the first half of this year can be viewed as a stable performance."The bureau also announced China's producer price index or PPI, which measures wholesaleinflation, slid 4.8 percent year on year in June.

The reading also marked the 40th straight month of decline, a sign of prolonged weakness of demand.

Month on month, producer prices in June decreased 0.4 percent.

Experts attributed the dive mainly to price declines in oil refining, chemistry materials and products.

////////China's land prices continue to rise this year in first tier cities, where the cost of buying a home has also been pushed up.

For the first half of this year, Shanghai's urban land sales value grew more than 5 percent from a year ago to over 50 billion yuan or more than 8 billion US dollars.

Average land prices grew year-on-year by more than 8 percent to over 9,000 yuan per square meter.

Wu Jianfeng, associate professor at the School of Economics at Fudan University says land reserves are becoming harder to obtain in Shanghai.

"This March, the Ministry of Land and Resources and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development released a notice for cities to adjust their land supply structure and ensure more balanced market development. Following that notice, many cities have cut the amount of land they are willing to sell. Also, land reserves are becoming harder to obtain in Shanghai."With less new land available, unit prices of some land, particularly those around the middle ring in Shanghai, are even rising above home prices.

However, property developers are still keen on bidding.

Lin Bo, the vice president of China Real Estate Information Corporation Research Center comments on the future trend of the property market.

"When land prices are so high, it increases the uncertainties and the risks in property projects. Individual developers don't want to take that risk, so more and more of them are choosing to work with others in recent years."Despite these partnerships reducing risks for developers, analysts expect home prices to continue to rise in first tier cities as long as demand continues to outstrip supply.

///////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 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 will run on the railway between Tabanovce in northern Macedonia and Gevgelija at its southern border with Greece.

////////On the Corporate Front,China's homegrown taxi-hailing service Didi Kuaidi has announced it has raised 2 billionU.S dollars since starting fundraising two weeks ago, boosting its cash reserves.

The company said that existing stakeholders such as Alibaba and Tencent participated in the fundraising, while Capital InternationalPrivate Equity Fund, Ping An Ventures, and several other globally renowned investors have invested in this round of fundraising.

Didi Kuaidi had previously raised the financing target and is now looking to pool a further few hundred million dollars from new investors before the final closing in the coming month.

With the newly added 2 billion U.S. dollars, Didi Kuaidi will increase its cash reserves to above 3.5 billion U.S. dollars.

Competition in China's ride-hailing market is growing as U.S. company Uber Technologies Inc. started its formal fundraising this week specifically for its China operation, UberChina.

Didi Kuaidi is trying to broaden its offering to Chinese riders by expanding its premium car services and a carpool offering from its previous focus on the taxi market.

And that concludes this edition of the weekly business review; I'm Wenjie, thank you for listening.

SportsDjokovic and Federer to Meet for Wimbledon FinalAnchor:

Into the 11th day at Wimbledon and the men's singles, World Number One Novak Djokovic beat Richard Gasquet to reach the final where he will play Roger Federer who beat Andy Murray on Centre Court the same day.

CRI's London Correspondent Duan Xuelian reports from the grass at Wimbledon.

Reporter:

World Number One and top seed Novak Djokovic faced off French player Richard Gasquet in straight sets on Friday. It's his 10th win over the Frenchmen and the match saw Gasquet putting up an impressive effort.

In the post match interview, the French player says he can see why his opponent is always a cut above.

"I'm really pleased with the way I played. From the baseline I was playing great, I was fast, going to the net with a lot of confidence. But the key is, he serves better than me, he returns better than me, and when you have these two shots on grass, that what makes the difference."The second to play on Centre Court in the men's semi finals are seven time Champion Roger Federer and British number one Andy Murray. The audience expected some top spin tennis from the number two and number three seed and they surely didn't disappoint.

Both men are at their best and gave a three set match that was frequently punctuated with deuces and set points. In the end, it was Federer who turned out to be the better player, building up an immaculate service game and winning 84% of his first serve points.

This is how the 33-year old Swiss commented on his own performance:

"I think it's my serve again. I have been serving very well the entire tournament. I don't think I face one break point today, against maybe one of the best return game player we've seen in the tournaments. So I'm very very pleased to have done that. I kept the pressure up and I went for my shots and I was able to mix it up like the way I usually do. And then again, I just kept pushing forward, stay focused and it all worked out very well."In his 10th Wimbledon final, Federer will meet reigning champion Novak Djokovic on Sunday. The two were in last year's final together and it was the Serb who walked away with the Wimbledon title.

For CRI, I'm Duan Xuelian reporting from Wimbledon.

Serena Williams to take on Garbine Muguruza in the finalSome action from the women's side,Serena Williams has gained a 6-2, 6-4 semi-final victory over Maria Sharapova and nwo looks ahead to Saturday's final against Garbine Muguruza.

20th seed Spaniard Muguruza powered her way into the final with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Agnieszka Radwanksa.

Martina Hingis, a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and doubles partner Sania Mirza are seeded number one and won their semi-final against the fifth-seeded American pair of Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears 6-1, 6-2.

CSL recapIn football action from the 18th round of the Chinese super league,Guizhou Renhe beat Shanghai Shenxin 5-2 last night,With the victory over Shanghai, Guizhou have managed to stay in the league.

Both teams were ranked at the bottom of the table before the match.

In tonight's games,Changchun Yatai will face Guangzhou Evergrande,Chongqin Lifan is set to play Henan Jianye,And Tianjin Teda will play against Shanghai SIPG..

Kick-off for these matches will be at 7:45 Beijing time tonight.

Mark Cavendish wins Tour de France stage seven; Chris Froome retains leadIn cycling from the Tour de France,British rider Mark Cavendish won a sprint finish on Friday for the 26th Tour de France stage victory of his career, while fellow countryman Chris Froome retained the overall lead as he bids to win the race for a second time.

Fortunately, this time there was no crash near the finish.

The crash on Thursday's sixth stage has cost German rider Tony Martin a broken collarbone, forcing him to withdraw while wearing the race leader's yellow jersey.

Martin says he cannot go to the next stage as he needs surgery.

"We got to know that the (collar bone) is broken. It is an open fracture. I need surgery directly., I will fly now to Hamburg - to Germany - and get surgery later on. I can't start tomorrow."Cavendish is Martin's teammate on the Etixx-Quick Step team, and can empathize with the German after separating his right shoulder in a crash on the first stage of last year's Tour.

Cavendish timed his attack to perfection to catch German sprinter Andre Greipel near the line.

Only Eddy Merckx with 34 stage wins and Bernard Hinault with 28 have won more Tour stages than Cavendish.

Peter Sagan of Slovakia, who is bidding to win the best sprinter's green jersey for the fourth straight year, was third.

Thomas and Thompson lead after round 1 of John Deere ClassicIn golf,Americans Justin Thomas and Nicholas Thompson each fired 8-under-par 63 to share a one-shot lead after the first round of the John Deere Classic on Thursday.

The winner of the year's first two majors chose the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Illinois for his final hit-out before next week's Open Championship at St. Andrews.

Jordan Spieth had an inconsistent opening round on the TPC Deere Run course, carding an even-par 71.

Danny Lee capped his round of 68 with birdies at the 17th and 18th, leaving the New Zealander five shots off the pace.

Zach Johnson is three behind the leaders after a bogey-free 66.

Two of Johnson's fellow Americans shared top spot on the leaderboard after the first round.

Luke Guthrie and Charles Howell III are tied for third one shot back.

EntertainmentLawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago star Omar Sharif diesActing great Omar Sharif has died of a heart attack at the age of 83.

The Egyptian actor was best known for his leading role in Doctor Zhivago and major supporting role in Lawrence of Arabia.

In May, Sharif had been revealed to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

After starring in over 20 Egyptian movies, Sharif made his English language debut in David Lean's 1962 epic Lawrence of Arabia.

He won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for the performance, and also picked up an Oscar nomination.

Trailer for new season of 'Doctor Who' revealed at Comic-Con"Doctor Who" fans attending a panel for the show at San Diego Comic-Con were in for a treat when they played a trailer for the new ninth season.

In the footage we see Peter Capaldi returns as The Doctor and Jenna Coleman is also back as Clara Oswald.

The trailer also showed "Game of Thrones" actress Maisie Williams who will be featured in a guest role.

"Doctor Who" premieres Sept. 19.

Ben Affleck in Talks to Star, Co-write 'Batman' Solo MovieDirector-actor Ben Affleck is rumored to be co-writing and starring in a standalone 'Batman' movie.

The showbiz magazine Variety reports that Affleck is currently in negotiations to write a 'Batman' movie with Geoff Johns.

He is already set to play the Caped Crusader, which will first appear in the upcoming 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' movie.

More details are under wraps at this moment. However, his 'Batman' standalone film is not expected to be released any time soon.

The 'Gone Girl' actor is currently engaged in directing 'Live by Night'. Production for that film is scheduled to begin in November.

Affleck is also expected to make an appearance in Warner Brothers' 'The Account' in January.

Ed Sheeran tops first Friday album chart with xEd Sheeran has topped the inaugural Friday albums chart with "X."The singer-songwriter has reclaimed the top spot a year after the record's original release, meaning x has now spent a total of 13 non-consecutive weeks at number one.

As well as reigning over the inaugural Friday albums chart, Sheeran will become the first solo performer to headline Wembley Stadium tonight, kicking off one of three nights at the venue.

Meanwhile Krept & Konan are this week's highest new entry with The Long Way Home entering at number two, while last week's number one Lionel Richie & The Commodores' The Definitive Collection falls to three.

James Bay's debut album Chaos And The Calm slips to four, while Taylor Swift's 1989 also fell one place to complete the Top 5.

Cast of 'Irrational Man' Promote Film in L.A.

Actors Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone have brought their latest film 'Irrational Man' to Los Angeles.

In typical Woody Allen movie fashion, the film is crammed full of dialogue about both philosophy and philosophers.

Actress Emma Stone did her best to explain what the film talks about.

"Without giving too much away, I think, in the end, it talks about the idea that some lucky break can essentially make your fate. There's something that happens in the movie that seems completely random that leads to a huge kind of destiny unfolding. So, I think it's the same thing that Woody explores in a lot of his movies which is this sort of bleak outlook paired with this sort of hopeful belief in magic -- that there's more, but probably not."'Irrational Man' will open in US theatres on July 17.

Chinese Version of 'King of Mask Singer' Releases First TV PromotionThe Chinese version of ' King of Mask Singer' has released its first TV trailer ten days before its airs.

The singing competition show was imported from South Korea's MBC station.

Stars already established in the business will wear masks to sing in front of judges and audiences without revealing their identities.

According to the rules, one singer will be selected each week to go through to the next round.

At least 20 stars from the Chinese music industry will appear on stage to compete.

Only the winner of the final is allowed to take off the mask and claim the title.

The singing competition will be aired on July 19.

WeatherBeijing will be cloudy with a high of 34 degrees Celsius. Clear tonight with a low of 24.

Shanghai will have thunderstorms with a high of 25 and a low of 24.

In Chongqing, it will be cloudy with a high of 35 and a low of 24.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Kathmandu, light rain, 29.

Islamabad will have light rain with a high of 32.

Kabul will be cloudy with a high of 31.

Over to North America,New York, light rain with a high of 29 degrees.

Washington, overcast with a high of 30 degrees.

Honolulu, light rain, 28.

Toronto will be cloudy with a high of 26 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,Buenos Aires will have light rain with a high of 16.

And Rio de Janeiro will be cloudy with a high of 26 degrees Celsius.

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

A recap of your headlines:

Chinese President Xi Jinping calling on SCO member states to uphold the "Shanghai Spirit" of common development..

A top religious scholar saying that China gives full protection to freedom of worship for Uyger Muslims in Xinjiang...

And the White House saying it fully welcomes the new proposal by Greece to resolve its debt crisis...