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

Coming up on our program this morning...

world leaders are hailing the Iran nuclear deal, hoping for a new era in the Middle East...

Chinese scholars have unveiled new details of the damage done by Japanese invaders in the 1930s and 40s...

32 gold antiquities, looted from China in the 1990s, have been returned by France...

In Business...looking at the expectations for China's second quarter GDP numbers...

In Sports...China's men's and women's football teams will start the East Asian Cup against South Korea's national teams...

In entertainment...the box office in China has taken in around 20 billion yuan in the first half of the year...

Top NewsWorld Hails Iran Nuclear DealAnchorThe international community is hailing the nuclear deal reached between Iran and six major world powers, with many hoping it could transform the Middle East.

CRI's Qi Zhi reports.

ReporterTuesday's announcement of a deal on Iran's controversial nuclear program caps more than a decade of negotiations.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says the deal is "a testament to the value of dialogue.""I hope, and indeed believe, that this agreement will lead to greater mutual understanding and cooperation on the many serious security challenges in the Middle East. As such it could serve as a vital contribution to peace and stability both in the region and beyond."Ban's comment was echoed by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

"The most significant achievement of the agreement is that it safeguards the international nuclear non-proliferation treaty. Iran made the political promise that it will not develop nuclear weapons, and the other parties consolidated the promise through a binding international agreement."Under the deal, international sanctions imposed on Iran will be lifted in return for Tehran agreeing to long-term curbs on a nuclear program that the West has suspected was aimed at creating a nuclear bomb.

The agreement is seen as a political triumph for Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who was elected two years ago on a vow to reduce the isolation of his nation.

He says the deal has now opened a new chapter for Iran.

"Iran is not looking for weapons of mass destruction and never will be. Iran is not after imposing pressure on the countries of the region and never will be. Countries of the region, the relations between us, today, has a new beginning. We would like more intimacy, more affinity, more brotherhood, more unity, and extended relations with you."For the West, the deal is about more than just the nuclear issue, as explained by British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond.

"The future brings the tantalizing possibility of Iran being a more engaged, more transparent, more consistent and constructive partner in the regional relationships in the Gulf as well, working with us to deal with the shared challenge of ISIL and its extremist ideology."However, it will probably be months before Iran receives the benefits from the deal.

The lifting of sanctions is conditional on the verification of the deal's fulfillment, in addition to the US Congress' review of the deal in a 60-day period.

Meanwhile, Israel, a strong opponent to the nuclear talks, has slammed the deal as an historic mistake and vowed to block its implementation.

But in encouraging news for Tehran, the European Union has decided to extend its suspension of sanctions on Iran until January next year in preparation for the implementation of the nuclear deal.

For CRI, I'm Qi Zhi.

Callin with CRI's reporter in IranFor more on the reaction from the Tehran, we are now joined by our reporter Nie Shuyi in Iran.

1 According to your observation, how does the public in Iran feel about the deal?

2 How are Iranian newspapers and media receiving the news?

Back AnchorThat is our reporter Nie Shuyi based in Tehran.

Obama Urges Congress to Approve Iran Nuclear DealAnchorU.S. President Barack Obama is hailing the Iranian nuclear agreement, saying the deal offers an opportunity to move in a new direction.

He also urges Congress to approve the deal, vowing to uphold it through all means available.

CRI's Xiaohong reports from Washington.

AnnPresident Obama hailed the deal as a diplomatic landmark, it will stop the spread of nuclear weapons in the Middle East.

"This deal offers an opportunity to move in a new direction. We should seize it."The president noted that because of this deal, Iran will not produce highly enriched uranium and weapons-grade plutonium. Iran will also remove two-thirds of its installed centrifuges. In addition, UN inspectors will have 24/7 access to Iran's key nuclear facilities.

"Every path to a nuclear weapon has been cut off."However, the President will face harsh scrutiny from a Congress that is expected to review and decide whether or not to approve the deal within the next 60 days.

But he vowed to make sure the deal is carried out, and left all options on the table for doing so, including a presidential veto.

"I'm confident that this deal will meet the national security interest of the United States and our allies. So I will veto any legislation that prevents the successful implementation of this deal."He finally stressed that it would be irresponsible to walk away from this deal, signaling a coming showdown with Republicans in the US Congress.

Xiaohong, CRI, Washington DC.

Callin with Li Guofu on the nuclear dealFor more on the Iran nuclear agreement, CRI's Spencer Musick earlier spoke with Professor Li Guofu, director at the Middle East studies center at the China Institute of International Studies.

Back AnchorProfessor Li Guofu, director at Middle East studies center at China Institute of International Studies, speaking with CRI's Spencer Musick.

China Unveils Latest Details of War Against Japanese-AggressionAnchorChinese scholars have unveiled the latest details of the country's casualties and loss of property during the Japanese invasion.

According to their research, Japanese troops committed more than 170 major massacres between 1937 and 1945.

CRI's Luo Wen reports.

ReporterThe research results were unveiled at a press conference on Tuesday.

According to the released figures, Chinese forces killed, wounded and captured over 1.5 million Japanese troops during its War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.

Meanwhile, over the course of 14 years of the war, China suffered a total of over 35 million military and non-military casualties, with military casualties reaching more than 3.8 million.

The combined number accounted for a third of the total casualties of all the countries in WWII.

The country also suffered property loss valued at more than 100 billion dollars, using the exchange rate of 1937, while the indirect economic losses reached as high as 500 billion dollars.

Li Zhongjie, former deputy director of Party History Research Center of CPC Central Committee, says the research evidences atrocities committed by Japanese forces and refutes denials by Japanese rightists over Japan's invasion of China.

The Japanese government has been reluctant to acknowledge the Nanjing Massacre. But it's widely known that the Nanjing incident was not the only atrocity the Japanese troops had committed in China. The evidence we have collected shows that they committed a total of 173 major atrocities with each victimizing at least 800 Chinese civilians."Li adds that the Kuomintang Party forces also played an important role in the war.

He says KMT's important role was shown in its organization of the frontline battlefield, its launching of and participation in more than 20 key battles and organization of the expeditionary forces in the battlefield of Yunan, southwest China, and Myanmar.

Wang Jianlang, director of the Institute of Modern History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, reiterates that the Chinese people made great contribution to the final victory in WWII.

"The Chinese forces pinned down the Japanese invaders, forced them to drop the plan to move northward and helped prevent the Russians from fighting on two fronts. Meanwhile, the war in China distracted the Japanese who were trying to march south, gaining time for the allied forces on other major battlefields to prepare for the final counter attack."China has planned a series of activities this year marking the 70th anniversary of the world's anti-fascist war and its victory in the war against the Japanese aggression.

The highlight of the memorials is a military parade set for September 3 at Tiananmen Square that will be attended by a group of foreign leaders.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has also invited Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for the event.

For CRI, I'm Luo Wen.

Gold culture treasure returned to ChinaAnchorThe French government has returned 32 pieces of gold antiquities to China.

This batch of cultural relics, more than 2,000 years old, was looted from China in the 1990s.

CRI's Huang Shan reports.

ReporterChina's State Administration of Cultural Heritage revealed on Tuesday that France returned the 32 solid gold antiquities earlier this year.

The ornaments include four solid gold bird's heads.

They had been stolen by tomb robbers in a small county of China's Gansu province and smuggled abroad.

Bai Jian, deputy director of the cultural relics bureau in Gansu, says a large number of stolen cultural relics were sent abroad in the 1990s.

"In the early 1990s, tomb robbing was rampant near burial sites dating back to the Qin Dynasty in Li county of Gansu province. The national cultural relics bureau and the local government jointly launched a campaign to crack down on tomb robbing. Some of the treasure was reclaimed by authorities during the campaign. Yet a large amount of it is still missing that has great value in archaeological studies."Chinese authorities have spent years tracking the lost treasure and found they were purchased by two private collectors in France and later donated to a national museum.

Song Xinchao, deputy head of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, says those ornaments were returned to China after complex negotiations via diplomatic channels.

"French law forbids national museums giving away their collections because it stipulates that all state-owned assets are non-transferable. The French government could not break the law. However, it also did not want to breach relevant international conventions, so it decided to return the gifts to the donors."The treasure was returned in the name of its donator after the collector consented to withdraw the donation to the museum.

Gu Yucai, deputy head of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, emphasizes that in addition to efforts to crack down cultural relic smuggling China needs to make more efforts to take those stolen artifacts back home.

"We should crack down on the excavation, robbing and smuggling operations of cultural relics from the source. We also need to tighten the entry and exit administration, and play a more active role in relevant activities led by international organizations and conventions, to prevent the losses or relics. Meanwhile, we should search for looted relics through various ways, including diplomatic and judicial approach."Those returned artifacts are set to go on show to the public at an exhibition in Gansu province from which they were taken.

For CRI, I am Huang Shan.

Greek 3rd Bailout Plan Submitted to ParliamentThe draft bill containing actions required by Greece under the debt deal reached in Brussels has now been tabled in the Greek parliament.

The bill includes a set of taxation and pension system reforms, scheduled to be put to vote on Wednesday evening local time.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says the agreement saved Greece from exiting the euro and must be implemented.

"Let me tell you just the truth and allow me not to paint a beautiful picture; the night before the previous one was a bad night for Europe. We were made to go towards the wishes of the most powerful people in Europe, within circumstances of blackmail and suffocation, we had two terms on the table, first the agreement with specific requisites, or go bankrupt, that is leave the Eurozone."The bill has been strongly criticized by a group of cabinet ministers and MPs.

Of all the aspects of the bailout bill, what Greek people found most "humiliating" about this is the government's promise to sell off "valuable Greek assets," such as the country's islands, nature preserves, and even ancient ruins.

However, Tsipras insisted that the plan was the best Greece could get.

The bill is expected to pass with votes from opposition parties, who have said they will support it as it was the only way to ensure Greece remains in the euro currency.

The first chapter of the draft legislation ratifies Monday's euro zone final statement on the Greek issue, the second chapter includes taxation reforms and the third social reforms, including measures to discourage early retirement.

Greek banks remained closed on Tuesday with capital control limits still in place.

Japanese protest against Abe's proposed security billsAn estimated 20 thousand protestors rallied in Tokyo on Tuesday in protest against the security bills that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration is trying to pass by a parliamentary vote today.

The security bills will allow Japanese Self-Defense Forces to exercise the right to collective self-defense, which means helping allies in situations where Japan itself is not directly threatened.

The country's war-renouncing constitution does not allow that practice at present.

Protestors gathered at the prime minister's residence in downtown Tokyo, holding banners and shouting slogans against the bills.

"Abe did not appear to listen to his citizens' opinions at all. If he really listened to our opinions, the security bills would not be put to a National Diet vote, because most Japanese are against the bills.

"Abe's ideas have problems regarding how to become a country that does not start wars and how to defend peace. Peace persevered by armed threats is not true peace. We Japanese think so, maybe Abe doesn't."Various polls on the issue have suggested more than half of all Japanese citizens consider the security bills to be unconstitutional.

New data released by Japanese media also suggested that the Prime Minister's approval rate dropped to 41 percent, compared to 43 percent who disapprove.

It's the first time his disapproval rate has exceeded the approval rate since he took office in 2012 for a second term.

At least 27 killed, 40 others injured in a stampede in IndiaAt least twenty-seven people have been killed and 40 others injured following a stampede at a religious festival in South India on Tuesday.

The victims include 26 women and one man.

2 of the injured were reportedly in critical condition.

The stampede started after a woman fell down as crowds pushed to get through a narrow entrance to a river where people went to bathe.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed his condolences to the victims' families.

But the incident did not deter pilgrims, who continued to pour into the festival grounds to celebrate the Hindu festivals, held once in 144 years.

Local authorities have ordered the deployment of more police to help control the crowds.

This is not the first time that a stampede has happened during a religious festival in India.

In 2013, 36 pilgrims were killed during a stampede in a train station in northern India.

NASA sees Pluto up close with historic flybyNASA's New Horizons spacecraft has performed the first-ever flyby of Pluto.

It came at about 12,400 kilometers above the surface, making its closest approach to the dwarf planet on Tuesday.

The flyby comes after an unprecedented journey spanning 9.5 years and 3 billion miles.

The spacecraft is currently in data-gathering mode and not in contact with flight controllers.

NASA wants New Horizons to take pictures of Pluto, its largest moon Charon and its four small moons during this critical time.

Missions Operations Manager Alice Bowman she was confident that the craft would be able to successfully deliver the data.

"But we were there, we wanted to be with it as it went through this journey. And I am feeling a little bit nervous just like you do when you set your child off but I have absolute confidence that it's going to do what it needs to do to collect that science and it's going to turn around and send us that burst of data and tell us that it's okay."After Tuesday's encounter, all nine of the solar system's originally recognized planets have now been visited by a spacecraft. Pluto is now the most distant object ever visited by humanity.

Biography of Raul Castro presented in CubaA biography of Cuban leader Raul Castro was presented on Tuesday in Havana during a special session of the Caribbean island's National Assembly of People's Power.

"Raul Castro: A Man in Revolution", was written by Russian author Nicolai S. Leonov.

The book, available in Spanish and Russian, begins with Castro' s birth on July 3, 1931 and ends on Dec. 17, 2014, when Castro and U.S. President Barack Obama surprised the world by simultaneously announcing that their countries would seek a thaw of relations.

WeatherThe scorching weather is expected to end in most Chinese cities as more rains are coming.

Beijing will see thundershowers with a high of 30 degrees Celsius.

Overnight temperatures should drop down to 23.

Shanghai will be cloudy with a high of 31 and a low of 24.

In Chongqing, it will be cloudy 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 see slight rain with a high of 37.

Kabul will be cloudy with a high of 35.

Over to North America,New York will have slight rain with a high of 26 degrees.

Washington, slight rain with a high of 29 degrees.

Honolulu, cloudy, 28.

Toronto will be overcast with a high of 22 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,Buenos Aires will be cloudy with a high of 13.

And Rio de Janeiro will be cloudy with a high of 27 degrees Celsius.

Headline newsWorld hails Iran nuclear dealThe international community is hailing the nuclear deal reached between Iran and six major world powers, which caps more than a decade of negotiations.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has expressed the hope the breakthrough will serve as a vital contribution to peace and stability both in the region and beyond.

U.S. President Barack Obama has hailed the deal as a step towards a "more hopeful world".

In Tehran, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says the achievement marks the start of Iran's cooperation with the world.

Under the deal, international sanctions imposed on Iran will be lifted in return for Tehran agreeing to long-term curbs on a nuclear program that the West has suspected was aimed at creating a nuclear bomb.

China Urges Philippines to Ditch its South China Sea CaseChina is urging the Philippines to ditch its attempt to solve South China Sea territorial disputes with an international tribunal.

A Foreign Ministry spokesperson says China will refuse to recognize the conclusion of the arbitration requested by the Philippines over the two countries' disputes.

China insists that disputes should be resolved through negotiation and consultation with the countries directly involved.

The Philippines filed its arbitration case at the Hague in 2013.

The hearing on jurisdiction and admissibility began last week and has now concluded.

Chinese Premier Meets South African Vice PresidentChinese Premier Li Keqiang has met with South African Vice President Cyril Ramaphosa here in Beijing.

The premier says China hopes to enhance industrial capacity cooperation with South Africa, and carry out technology exchanges and personnel training.

For his part, Ramaphosa says South Africa hopes to learn from China's experience in industrialization and economic zone development, and facilitate bilateral cooperation in such areas as marine economy and energy.

Ramaphosa is on a five day visit in China, which will conclude on Friday.

Mexico holds 22 prison officials over Guzman escapeMexican prosecutors have formally placed 22 prison officials in custody for allegedly helping the escape of drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman from a high security prison in central Mexico.

12 prison staff members who had been questioned have been released.

A massive manhunt for Guzman is still underway after he escaped through a tunnel under his prison cell on Saturday.

Mexico's Interior Minister has said Guzman "must have" had help from prison officials in the brazen jailbreak, his second in 15 years.

The prison's director was fired on Monday. It's not clear whether he was among those released or kept in custody.

Biz reportsLatest Stock Number from North America and EuropeAnchorFirst, a quick check on the market numbers, our reporter Min Rui.

ReporterBefore we take a look at the North American and European markets, let's quickly recap the Chinese markets' closing numbers.

On Tuesday Chinese stocks closed mixed, ending a rally that lasted for three trading days.

Financial stocks plunged the most.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was off 1.2 percent.

The Shenzhen Component Index climbed 0.9 percent.

Another story from the Chinese market catching most attention is that Founder Securities has confirmed it is now under investigation by securities watchdog for possible disclosure violations.

Moving to other markets,U.S. stocks posted gains for the fourth straight session on Tuesday, as investors were encouraged by the Iran nuclear deal while digesting economic data and the second-quarter earnings reports from big companies.

The Dow Jones added 0.4 percent.

The S&P 500 increased nearly half a percent.

The Nasdaq advanced two thirds of a percent.

Over in Eurpoe, markets closed with decent gains as the market looked to see how the Greek parliament responds to the proposed measures.

The British benchmark FTSE 100 increased 0.2 percent, with the Britain's consumer prices index fell back to 0 percent in June, which means inflation was likely to pick up from the latter part of this year.

France's CAC 40 gained 0.7 percent.

Germany's DAX added 0.3 percent.

David Dollar on China's EconomyAnchorToday, further economic data, including the final figure for China's GDP growth in the second-quarter, will be published.

Analysts largely predict growth will slip below 7 percent for the April-June period as the effects of successive pro-growth policies have yet to filter through.

The Chinese government has stepped up its efforts to bolster economic growth, especially in the investment field.

The central bank moved to cut the benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points in late June and lowered the reserve requirement ratio for targeted banks.

The government has also accelerated fiscal spending with the approval of a package for major infrastructure projects.

For more on this, we are now joined on the line by David Dollar, Senior Fellow with China Center at Brookings Institution.

Talking points:

Q1: Do you expect the official GDP number for the quarter to be above or below expectations, and why?

Q2: In your opinion what are the strengths and weaknesses of the Chinese economy?

Q3: Going forward, What do you think the Chinese authorities can do to shore up the economy?

Back anchor:

Thank you very much. That was David Dollar, Senior Fellow with China Center at Brookings Institution.

China to stick to prudent monetary policy: PBOCChina's central bank on Tuesday announced it "will continue to implement prudent monetary policy, and improve the financial system's capability to serve the real economy".

The bank did not change its monetary policy stance after the latest quarterly meeting of its monetary policy committee.

In a statement, the central bank pledged to use multiple monetary policy tools in a flexible manner and maintain moderate liquidity in the market to ensure loans and social financing register reasonable growth.

It also called for continued market-oriented interest rate reform, and for the renminbi's exchange-rate reform to keep it stable.

China central bank regulates overseas action in interbank marketChina's central bank issued a notice regulating overseas investment in the country's interbank market.

Institutional investors, including foreign central banks or monetary authorities, international financial institutions, and sovereign wealth funds are now required to register with the central bank before investing in the interbank market.

After registration, investors can trade bonds in spot and forward markets, conduct interest rate swaps, and trade forward rate agreements.

They will be free to decide on the size of their investment.

China's Huawei, European partners join forces as EU 5G research levels upChina's leading telecommunication solution provider Huawei and its European partners has reached a major milestone in a recent European Union's 5G Public Private Partnership initiative.

The company is the key contributor of 5 out of 19 research projects being conducted as part of the 5G program.

Source says Huawei will invest 600 million U.S. dollars into this project.

The 5G-PPP aims at strengthening European 5G research and global cooperation in this field with a view to achieving communications infrastructure capable of coping with future wireless demand by 2020.

In addition to these new projects, Huawei has also signed for cooperation with Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom for research and development of 5G technology and application.

China's digital publishing grosses over 300 bln in 2014China's digital publishing industry grossed 338 billion yuan in 2014, or 55 billion U.S. dollars, up 33 percent year on year.

The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television on Tuesday says China had an online population of 649 million at the end of 2014.

85 percent of them access the internet through a phone or other mobile device, contributing to soaring growth of digital publishing revenue.

The number of people reading e-books also surpassed those reading traditional printed books for the first time last year, with more than half of them reading on smartphones.

Entertainment now takes a large share of the digital publishing industry, with online gaming accounted for 26 percent of the total revenue.

Apple Pay lands in the UK, some major banks missingApple Pay is now live in the UK, the first country outside the United States to get the iPhone-maker's new mobile payment system.

The service launched on Tuesday. However, some big names in Britain's banking sector like HSBC and Lloyds are missing on the mobile payment system list. Most of the banks in question have announced they will eventually be joining the service.

The new payment method can now be used in some major outlets in the UK, including Marks&Spencer, Starbucks, McDonalds and even the London Underground.

The number of pay terminals is expected to grow very soon.

As a payment system, Apple Pay has the support of credit card providers and banks.

So far, major credit card providers, such as Visa, Mastercard and American Express, and several local banks, are on the launch list for Apple Pay.

After assigning credit or debit cards to their iPhones and Apple Watches, UK users can simply tap their devises against contactless card readers to pay for things.

SportsEast Asian Cup schedules unveiledThe EAFF East Asian Cup has unveiled the schedule for this year's tournament.

It will be held between the 1st and 9th of August in the central Chinese city of Wuhan between China, Japan, North Korea and South Korea.

Both China's men's and women's football teams will first take on South Korea.

The men's team has short listed 40 players, most of whom are also on the list for the World Cup qualifiers.

Coach Alain Perrin will decide the final 23 for the team based on their performances in the next two rounds of the Chinese Super League.

For the women's team, coach Hao Wei will lead the team until the end of the tournament before he leaves for Guangzhou Evergrande.

Li Tie joins Chinese First League teamFormer Guangzhou Evergrande assistant coach Li Tie has joined Chinese First League team Hebei China Fortune.

The club announced on its official Weibo account that Li will act as the lead among Chinese coaches.

Li resigned from Guangzhou Evergrande at the end of last month after three years with the team.

Russia sacks national team coach Fabio CapelloMore football action,The Russian Football Union has sacked its national team coach Fabio Capello.

Capello took over the Russian team three years ago and his contract runs until the end of the 2018 World Cup.

He's still owed 16 million US dollars under the contract and will continue to be paid.

President of Russia's football union Nikita Simonyan says the replacement for Capello will be a Russian coach and will be announced before the end of July.

Capello had led Russia in the World Cup finals last year but didn't make it through the group stages.

Russia suffered a 1-0 home defeat against Austria to place third in the group in the qualifiers for Euro 2016.

Luis Enrique wants to repeat treble successBarcelona coach Luis Enrique is looking forward to repeating last season's success and win another treble in his second season with the Catalan giants.

"I find this second season very appealing. Having won everything we've won, it gives us the chance of winning three more titles and of facing the season with the same enthusiasm, the same desire to continue doing important things."Enrique also hinted at the possible departure of forward Pedro Rodriguez although he wants to hold on to him for the team.

Spanish and British media have reported that Rodriguez is sought after by Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho.

The new season for the Spanish La Liga begins on August 23rd, with defending champion Barcelona visiting Bilbao in the opening game.

The two teams will also face off in two legs in Spain's Super Cup a week before.

Robin van Persie completes transfer to FenerbahceDutch striker Robin van Persie has left Manchester United, officially signing for Turkey's Fenerbahce on a three year deal.

The team will pay van Persie 4.9 million euros per year in one of the most significant transfers in the Turkish Super Lig.

Fenerbahce finished runner-up in the domestic league last season and is hoping to improve the ranking, as well as making an impact in the Champions League this year.

Chris Froome crushes rivals in PyreneesIn cycling,Sky's Chris Froome denied the host nation a home winner on Bastille Day with an impressive win in the opening summit finish in the Tour de France.

Froome started the day in the leader's yellow jersey and shook off his GC rivals on the final ascent.

Vincenzo Nibali's hope of defending his title further dwindled as he was the first big favorite to lose touch with Froome. Nibali finished more than four minutes down.

Alberto Contador staggered across the line almost three minutes behind and dropped to more than four minutes overall.

Nairo Quintana was the only one who came close on Froome's wheeles, finishing the stage third and moving up to third overall.

Tour de France unveils open air museumAs the peloton reaches the mountains, the French city of Pau at the foot of the Pyrenees has inaugurated an open air museum dedicated to the history of cycling's most prestigious race.

Tour de France director Christian Prud'homme applauded the idea of a museum to honor the cyclists.

"I think it is extraordinary that it should be an open air museum, because that's what cycling is all about. The champions are challenged on the road, near the sea, in the mountains and the plain. It's a museum that will keep evolving, as year after year, we will have new winners."Pau is a frequent stop in the Tour de France. The peloton passes by the city either before or after the mountain stages, depending on whether the route goes in the Pyrenees or the Alps first.

It is where cyclists prepare their strategies or taste victory, according to Pau mayor Francois Bayrou.

MLB All Star Game underway now in CincinattiThe Summer Classic is underway in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Major League Baseball's All-Star Game began at 7 a.m. Beijing time at Great American Ball Park, with the best from the American League taking on their counterparts from the National League.

This is not a meaningless game, as some All Star events in the pro leagues tend to be. The winning side secures home-field advantage for their respective League representative in the best-of-seven World Series in October.

EntertainmentChina's box office exceeds 20 bln in 1st half of 2015China's box office has totaled 20.4 billion yuan or 3.3 billion U.S. dollars in the first half of this year.

Domestic films raked in very respectable 9.5 billion yuan, compared to foreign movies which grossed 10.8 billion yuan.

"The Man from Macao II" featuring Chow Yun Fat, took nearly a billion yuan, ranking first among domestic movies.

"Dragon Blade" starring Jackie Chan was second with over 740 million yuan.

In terms of foreign movies, "Fast and Furious 7" tops China's box office at 2.4 billion yuan, followed by Avengers: Age of Ultron and Jurassic World, grossing 1.5 billion yuan and 1.3 billion yuan respectively.

Meanwhile, six provinces and municipalities including Beijing and Shanghai, have witnessed their box offices exceeding 1 billion yuan in the first six months.

Han Geng Joins Latest installment of "A Chinese Odyssey"It's been reported that Chinese singer and actor Han Geng is to star in the third installment of movie franchise-"A Chinese Odyssey" or "Da Hua Xi You" in Chinese.

Han Geng will play the role of Joker or Monkey, which was played by Stephen Chou in the first two installments.

He says he feels stressed as Chou's Joker is quite a classic figure.

The singer has turned his focus on acting in recent years and starred in many films such as "So Young", "Ex-files" and "Ever Since We Love".

Meanwhile, Ng Man-tat, Athena Chu, Karen Mok and others actors in the first two installments also return to the movie.

Directed by Jeffrey Lau, the film is very loosely based on the classic Chinese novel "Journey to the West".

It revolves around a love story.

Although the first two franchises grabbed poor box revenues when it hit theatres in the 1995, the fantasy-comedy film is seen as a classic by many young Chinese people.

It was brought back to theaters last year.

No evidence B.B. King was poisoned before deathNo evidence supporting the allegation that blues legend B.B. King was poisoned before he died in May has been found.

An autopsy was conducted after two of the musical icon's 11 adult children said their father had been murdered.

Daughters Karen Williams and Patty King had said King's business manager, LaVerne Toney, and his personal assistant, Myron Johnson, hastened their father's death.

However, autopsy findings show the cause of death was Alzheimer's disease, plus physical conditions.

Toney worked for King for 39 years and had power-of-attorney over his business affairs.

She is named in King's will, filed in January 2007, as executor.

Some surviving children are wresting guardianship and oversight of the King estate from Toney.

The estate is estimated with a value between $5 million and $10 million.

Harper Lee's book 'Go Set a Watchman' now on sale"Go Set a Watchman"-Harper Lee's sequel to her classic book "To Kill a Mockingbird" is now on sale.

Readers and fans are flocking to bookstores across the US to get the book.

"Watchman" was written before "Mockingbird," but takes place 20 years later, in the 1950s.

In this second novel, Atticus Finch, the courtly model of integrity who in the 1930s defended a wrongly accused black man in "Mockingbird," is portrayed as a racist 20 years later.

89-year-old Lee has been suffering from the affects of a stroke and is now living in a nursing home.

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

Recapping our top stories this morning...

world leaders are hailing the Iran nuclear deal, hoping for a new era in the Middle East...

Chinese scholars have unveiled new details of the damage done by Japanese invaders in the 1930s and 40s...

32 gold antiquities, looted from China in the 1990s, have been returned by France...

In Business...looking at the expectations for China's second quarter GDP numbers...

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.