Coming up on the program this evening...

The New BRICS Development Bank being launched in Shanghai...

China a target in Japan's hawkish new Defense White Paper...

And US President Barack Obama lauding China's role in the historic Iranian nuclear agreement....

In Business.... the WTO reaching an agreement to reduce tariff burdens on IT products...

In Sports.... Shanghai SIPG climbs to the top of the Chinese Super League...

And in Entertainment... Miley Cyrus being announced as the host of this year's Video Music Awards...

TopNew BRICS development bank launched in ShanghaiAnchor:

The top five emerging economies in the world - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, or the BRICS countries as they are popularly known - have launched a new bank to fund key infrastructure projects in the developing world.

As CRI's Poornima Weerasekara reports, the new bank that has been setup with an initial capital of 50 Billion US Dollars plans to give out its first batch of loans by April of next year.

Reporter:

The New BRICS Development Bank (NDB) is the second multilateral lender to open for business this year and is seen as another alternative to existing global financial institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

It comes hot on the heels of another Beijing backed lender, the Asian Infrastructure Development Bank that was launched a few weeks ago.

Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei says the bank will gradually open up to include more developing nations and complement existing multilateral lenders.

"As a multilateral development bank initiated and established by the emerging markets, the NDB will focus more on the needs of developing countries, respect their national conditions and better represent developing countries' ideas."The BRICS Bank headquartered in Shanghai plans to double its capital base to 100 billion US Dollars in the next few years.

It will also work closely with the Beijing based Asian Infrastructure Development Bank that has a similar mandate.

The bank's new president K.V. Kamath, a former executive with one of the largest private banks in India says the BRICS banks has decided to set up a "hotline" with the AIIB to strengthen corporation between the two lenders.

"We have decided to set up a hotline between ourselves so that we can talk to each other to make sure that we have a common mind and a common approach because we believe that new institutions coming together with a completely different approach, will truly lead to the development of not only the "BRICS" countries, but in a longer run, the entire development world."The BRICS countries have also agreed to set up a 100-billion Dollar reserve fund to help members during times of a liquidity crunch.

China has pledged 41 billion US Dollars to this fund, giving it the largest share of voting rights at 39.5 percent.

Brazil, India and Russia will each contribute 18 billion US Dollars, while South Africa has promised 5 billion dollars.

The BRICS nations represent 42 percent of the world's population and account for over 30 percent of the world's GDP.

Many emerging nations have complained about the lack of a voice in existing global financial institutions that are currently dominated by the US and Europe. For example, China, whose economy is the second largest in the world, has fewer votes in the IMF than Belgium, Holland and Luxemburg with a combined population of just over 28 million people.

Experts say the setting up of new alternative policy banks may finally help to push long-overdue reforms to the existing international financial order.

For CRI I'm Poornima Weerasekara.

China a Focus in Japan's Defense White PaperAnchor:

The Japanese cabinet has approved the country's defense white paper for 2015 with China and South Korea as targeted points of focus, and South Korea has denounced the paper.

CRI's Luo Wen reports.

Reporter:

In the 400-plus page document, Japan claims it's facing an "increasingly tough" security situation.

It portrays China as a threat in escalating regional tensions, accusing China of building offshore platforms in the East China Sea and reclaiming land at islands in the South China Sea.

It also criticized China's increased military spending, saying it is now 41 times higher than in fiscal 1989.

It's reported that the publishing had been delayed for more than a week as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling party panel demanded mention of additional examples of China's maritime activities.

And content related to China takes up one-third of a chapter on global security trends that covers eight countries and regions.

China has not made any comments on the report so far.

But in an earlier response to partial contents of the paper, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying reiterated that "China's relevant activities are in waters within China's jurisdiction beyond any dispute. The protests by Japan are groundless, and China does not accept the unreasonable request of Japan."Hua also defended that China's increased military budget is consistent with its robust economic growth.

In the document, Japan also renewed its claim to a pair of disputed islets that are called as Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan.

Seoul's Foreign Ministry has denounced the paper and summoned a Japanese diplomat stationed in Seoul to file a protest.

South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Noh Kwang-il urges Japan to respect history.

"The Japanese government adding an absurd assertion again in its 2015 Defence White Paper released today is an act denying past Japanese imperialism invading the Korean Peninsula. Such action is no better than it itself notifying the international community that it is still not correctly realising history, even though we have reached the 70th anniversary of the ceasefire."The paper also referred to North Korea's recent test-fire of a submarine-mounted, nuclear-capable missile, the conflict between Russia and the United States and Europe over the crisis in Ukraine, as well as Moscow's increased military activity in the Asia-Pacific, the Arctic, Europe and near the mainland of the United States.

The passage of the report came at a time when support for the Abe government plunges to an all-time low after it pushed unpopular defense bills through parliament despite public anger.

The legislation allows Japan's Self-Defence Force to fight for foreign militaries even when it is not under attack.

Analysts believe that by playing up the surrounding threat, the Abe administration provides excuses for formulating a more aggressive new national defense policy, evidence for remolding its Self-Defense Forces and for amending its post-war pacifist constitution.

For CRI, I'm Luo Wen.

UN Security Council Endorses Iran Nuclear DealAnchor:

The UN Security Council has unanimously endorsed the historic agreement reached between Iran and major world powers on the Iranian nuclear issue, paving the way for the lifting of sanctions imposed on Iran by the US, EU and UN.

CRI's Guo Yan reports.

Reporter:

The vote marks formal UN approval for the hard-won agreement reached between Iran and the permanent members of the Security Council, plus Germany, after 18 straight days of talks in Vienna earlier this month.

One of the key issues discussed during and after the Vienna talks was whether the deal is verifiable and whether it can be fully implemented. That is also what the UN ambassadors focused on during Monday's Security Council meeting.

Iran's UN ambassador Gholamali Khoshroo says he hopes the adoption of both the resolution and the comprehensive agreement can turn the page in the region.

"We earnestly hope that it helps turn the page in our region, enabling countries to close the ranks and fight against violent extremism and to move towards more cooperation to tackle the grave threats that our region and the world face."China' permanent representative to the UN Liu Jieyi said that the unanimous adoption of the new Council resolution represents the first important step in implementing the Iran nuclear deal.

"We must implement the Security Council resolution as well as the comprehensive agreement in a balanced, precise and comprehensive manner. All parties should firmly fulfill their commitments in order to fully implement the deal."Liu Jieyi particularly emphasized the importance of the spirit of win-win cooperation.

"The achievement around the comprehensive agreement is a far-reaching inspiration to the modern practice of international relations. It shows the powerful viability of building a new type of international relations based on win-win cooperation. The Iranian nuclear issues involves so many vital interests and even some core interests of all parties involved, yet without the spirit of win-win cooperation, it would have been much more difficult to reach such an agreement and would be difficult to implement any deals."In exchange for the agreement, Iran is hoping that the sanctions that have crippled the country's economy can be lifted.

But the Security Council resolution will not completely lift all sanctions on Iran.

It maintains an arms embargo, and sets up a panel to review the import of sensitive technology on a case-by-case basis.

Also it sets up a way to renew sanctions if Iran does not abide by its commitments.

In effect, this means that if an unresolved dispute emerges, the UN sanctions will snap back automatically after 30 days.

For CRI, I'm Guo Yan.

Obama says China plays important role in Iranian nuclear talksChinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama have exchanged views via telephone on the recent Iran nuclear agreement.

Xi Jinping has pledged that China would continue its constructive cooperation with all the parties involved, ensuring the implementation of the nuclear deal and the UN Security Council resolution.

For his part, Obama says China has played a significant role during the Iranian nuclear talks.

In addition, Obama has expressed that he is looking forward to Xi Jinping's visit to the US in September.

He has promised that the two sides will engage in close consultation to make sure the visit is fruitful.

Ling Jihua arrested, expelled from CPCA former vice chair of China's top political advisory body has been formally arrested as prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation.

Ling Jihua has also been expelled from the Communist Party of China and removed from public office, according to a decision made at a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

Ling was the former vice chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and head of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee.

A statement issued after the meeting says Ling is being investigated for accepting huge bribes and obtaining a great deal of the Party and state's core secrets, along with other criminal offenses.

Ling was first put under investigation last December. In February, he was removed from the post of vice chair of the top political advisory body.

China to Accelerate Public Hospital Reform: ReportAnchor:

A newly released report shows that the problem of "poor access and high cost" to medical service has been alleviated since medical reform in China started in 2009.

The report also says more efforts need to be made to accelerate reform of public hospitals and establish a scientific compensation mechanism.

CRI's Yu Yang reports.

Reporter:

The report says that the medical services system at the grassroots levels has been improved.

People living in urban and rural areas can enjoy 41 free basic health services.

However, current services can not meet the demand of people in need.

"The medical insurance does not cover drugs for the treatment of cancer. The insurance is far from enough for curing major diseases.""Most people still don't trust community hospitals. I think the government should give priority to improving the medical service at community hospitals. We can also learn from other countries, like encouraging private doctors or family doctors."The report suggests that public hospitals' income be separated from medical treatment and prescription medicine revenue streams.

Wu Ming, professor with the school of public health at Peking University, says weaning hospitals' reliance on medicine prices benefits both doctors and patients.

"The high medicine prices are unreasonable. A large amount of margin profit is taken by pharmaceutical salesmen and distribution companies. The intermediary links need to be changed. The prices of medicine should be brought down and payment for doctors' service be increased. This benefits both the patients and doctors."The report points out the personnel salary distribution system should be further reformed to motivate the medical staff.

A new evaluation system based on medical care service efficiency, medical treatment quality and patients' satisfaction need to be established.

Dai Tao, director of the medical information research institute of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, says the role of market mechanisms needs to be further explored.

"More effective measure to motivate the medical staff should be in place. A salary distribution system which can fully recognize the value of doctors' service is in urgent need."Health care reform measures were first launched in 2009, with a focus on improvements at the grassroots level and access to basic public health services.

Reform is also underway to boost overall capacity for 500 county level hospitals in 2015.

For CRI, I'm Yu Yang.

Former Croatia Ambassador loves ChongliAnchor:

Following the launch of Beijing and Zhangjiakou's joint application to host the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, more people have learned about the ski industry in Chongli.

The resort attracts tourists from neighboring cities and from across China. During the winter season, the resort can handle around ten thousand tourists.

CRI's Liu Xiangwei has more.

Reporter:

Ante Simonic is the former vice-prime minister of Croatia, and the former Croatian ambassador to China from 2008 to 2013. The 66 year old remembers Chongli well.

"As you see, I'm very old. I used to ski in so many European countries. But with my wife I chose to ski in Chongli. 8 years ago, I started as a tourist, coming for 1 or 2 weeks per year. Then we used to spend at least 2 or 3 months per year in Chongli. So we witnessed the development of Chongli and the ski industry."Ante speaks very highly of the skiing facilities in Slovenia and the neighboring countries of Croatia. But the reason why he eventually chose Chongli is because the resort has so much to offer including the service, local people and equipment.

"The quality of snow, the climate, and the service in the ski resorts are great! The restaurants and the drinks are really nice. Chinese don't drink only tea! Security, hospitality of the locals and their ability to communicate with others are excellent. There are shops in Chongli with the best equipment you can imagine. These are the reasons we are not skiing in other countries"It's obvious that Ante is very fond of the facilities in Chongli. At the same time, he said he has faith in the ability of the Chinese people to organize large events after the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

"The Chinese planned to organize Winter Olympics in Chongli. Beijing had organized one Olympics so good. People don't know about Zhangjiakou, but it's a city where a couple of millions live, and it has the size of a medium European country. It's a beautiful city with high capacity to do the job."Ante hopes that skiing enthusiasts and athletes from all over the world can see and feel Chongli by themselves. In fact, Chinese people have already started to show interest in winter sports.

Back AnchorCRI's Liu Xiangwei reporting.

Beijing is dedicated to combat overpopulation problemAnchor:

Beijing is making efforts to cap its population under 22 million by the end of this year, and 23 million by 2020.

As CRI's Zhao Jianfu reports, the move is part of an overall effort to cure so-called "urban ills."Reporter:

During a meeting about the city's economic situation, Beijing mayor Wang Anshun said the city government will ease urban ills in such areas as population, traffic congestion, and pollution.

And problems lying behind the overpopulation are, he says, more extensive than many people think.

Liu Yun was born and raised in Beijing. She speaks for experience.

"The crucial part is, with the increase of the population, real estate prices also rise drastically. There was no long queue to go to kindergarten back when I was a kid. But now, you will have to arise early for kindergarten."Sun Tong, a white collar worker living in Beijing, complains about traffic and standards of medical care.

"Traffic jam, license-plate lottery for car registration; I still haven't got the license. The big hospitals are all located in either Dongcheng or Xicheng District. It is also difficult to get registered at the hospital."There are thousands of people like them. By the end of 2014, the number of permanent residents in Beijing had hit 21.5 million.

Zhao Hong is vice director of Beijing Academy of Social Sciences.

He points out that the overpopulation is the result of the ambiguity of the city's self-positioning.

"Beijing has functioned too much as an economic and habitat entity. With the unique resources Beijing's gathered because of being the capital, the education, medical care and retails industry are far too strong, weighing way over it should be in terms of the positioning and scale. We need to cut these off, restore it as a typical capital."Apart from this, Zhao also underlines the unsound design of Beijing's layout, pointing at the problem of the single-center frame.

Nevertheless, the proposal of multi-center was raised as early as 2004, but it failed to be put into practice until recently. Beijing is relocating the core services like education, medical and administrative to the outskirts, in the hope that this will drive the population outwards accordingly.

However, it's widely acknowledged population problem is not easy to deal with. Li Yongping is a professor in the Institute of Population Studies at Peking University.

"To solve population problem is not short term. It's not like tap water, you can turn it on or off on your own needs. The hysteresis (lag?) of the effect of the polices could be 10 years or 20 years. So Before that, it is difficult to see the polices' side effects."Yongping adds that the policy should be viewed in the long term to see its real outcomes.

For CRI, I'm Zhao Jianfu.

Netanyahu meets US defence secretaryUS Defence Secretary Ashton Carter has met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Tuesday.

This comes a week after six world powers and Iran reached a deal on the Iranian nuclear program.

Netanyahu has been the fiercest opponent of the accord calling it a mistake of historic proportions.

Today is Carter's second day of meetings with the Israeli leadership.

Carter is later scheduled to visit Jordan to talk with government officials.

He will also visit a base used in the war against the Islamic State group.

David Cameron Sets out Five-year Strategy to Tackle ExtremismBritish Prime Minister David Cameron has set out a five-year strategy to tackle extremism in the country.

Launching his government's anti-extremism policy, the prime minister warns youngsters not to be swayed by the militant ideology.

"And here is my message to any young person here in Britain thinking of going out there: 'you won't be some valued member of a movement. You are cannon fodder for them. They will use you. If you are a boy, they will brainwash, strap bombs to your body and blow you up. If you are a girl, they are going to enslave and abuse you.' That is the sick and brutal reality of ISIL (IS)".

Cameron also demands that internet companies do more to help to crack down on extremists seeking to recruit young people into their fold.

Britain's national security threat level is at its second-highest setting.

Around 700 Britons are estimated to have traveled to Syria and Iraq to join IS militants.

Some of them have since returned.

19th RoboCup Underway in Hefei, E China's AnhuiAnchor:

The 19th RoboCup is underway in Hefei City, capital of east China's Anhui Province.

CRI's XYee reports.

Reporter:

More than 2,000 participants from 47 countries and regions worldwide are taking part in the 19th RoboCup to showcase and compete with the latest robot technologies.

General chair of RoboCup 2015 and president of Chinese committee of RoboCup Chen Xiaoping says that RoboCup is not only a competition, but also a platform for technicians and science students to learn from each other and transfer their technologies to industrial production.

"Speaking from the perspective of industrialization, as there are so many excellent technologies displayed here and also so many enterprises coming to visit, they can easily launch negotiations and cooperation here."Football matches has always been a highlight of RoboCup, in which robots will autonomously operate without external control and will be assessed on their skills, such as walking, running, kicking, maintaining balance, visual perception and self-localization.

The matches this year are grouped into five categories: Small-size leagues, middle-size leagues, humanoid leagues, standard platform leagues and the simulation leagues.

RoboCup Federation President Itsuki Noda says the ultimate goal of the RoboCup is to build a robot football team that could compete with human World Cup champion teams by 2050.

"When we found the RoboCup eighteen years ago, we set a landmark goal, to develop a robot team to play soccer and win against humans. Toward this final goal, participants continue to challenge technological difficulties every year."The 19th RoboCup differs from all of the previous games in several aspects.

For one, Chen Xiaoping says more value is attached to the cutting-edge technologies.

"For example, face recognition is developing fast in recent years. But this year, we reduced the score weight on this technology and put more emphasis on innovative technologies, like the robots' ability to recognize people's movements. We want to develop these technologies through competitions."Moreover, the committee introduced an automatic scoring system that uses 12 cameras to monitor the operation of a robot and score its performance.

Before that, the scoring was less accurate.

This is the second time the RoboCup has taken place in a Chinese city, with the first time being Suzhou city in 2008.

For CRI, I'm XYee.

WeatherBeijing has thundershowers tonight with a low of 22 degrees Celsius; tomorrow thundershowers with a high of 29.

Shanghai, overcast tonight with a low of 26, tomorrow showers with a high of 31.

Chongqing, heavy rain tonight with a low of 26, heavy rain to overcast tomorrow with a high of 27.

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

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad, light rain tomorrow, 34.

Kabul, cloudy, 36.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney, cloudy with a high of 18.

Brisbane, light rain with a high of 20.

Perth, light rain, 14.

And finally Auckland, New Zealand will be cloudy with a high of 15 degrees Celsius.

Headline newsBRICS New Development Bank starts businessThe New Development Bank founded by the BRICS nations has started business in Shanghai on Tuesday.

The BRICS countries include the world's major emerging economies -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The bank aims to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS, as well as other emerging and developing economies.

It has an initial authorized capital of 100 billion U.S. dollars.

Japan cabinet approves defense white paper 2015The Japanese cabinet has approved a defense white paper for 2015.

The paper describes the security situation surrounding Japan has become "increasingly tough".

In the document, Japan blames China for building a new offshore platform in the East China Sea.

It has also criticized China for its military spending.

China has not made any comments so far.

State Council appoints Hong Kong gov't officialsThe State Council, China's cabinet, has appointed new officials to the Hong Kong government on Tuesday.

Lau Kong-wah replaces Tsang Tak-sing as Secretary for Home Affairs.

Meanwhile, Cheung Wan-ching becomes Secretary for the Civil Service, replacing Tang Kwok-wai.

They were nominated earlier by Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying.

Chinese military exercises in South China SeaThe Chinese Navy has begun a large-scale amphibious landing drill in the South China Sea.

The drill involves a landing brigade, marine corps, amphibious forces and navy helicopter units.

It's been reported that "Bison class" amphibious hovercraft were deployed during the drill for the first time.

Reports of the drill come after a seven-hour surveillance flight by the new US commander of the Pacific Fleet over the South China Sea on board an America's newest spy plane.

Meanwhile, Japan has emphasized China as a threat in escalating regional tensions its annual defence report.

The report raises concerns over China's recent peaceful reclamation work in the South China Sea.

Chinese man acquitted of murder after 11 years in prisonA court in Hunan has acquitted a man who spent more than 11 years behind bars for the so-called murder of a classmate.

Zeng Aiyun, a former graduate student at Xiangtan University, was convicted in 2004 of murdering his classmate Zhou Yuheng.

Zeng had been sentenced to death three times by the same court. But China's supreme court rejected the verdicts and ordered a retrial.

The court overturned the guilty verdict, citing insufficient evidence on Tuesday.

At the same time, another classmate Chen Huazhang was found to be the real killer.

Chen poisoned Zhou in 2003, and deliberately laid a false trail and implicated Zeng in the murder.

Chen was sentenced to life imprisonment on Tuesday, and will be forced to pay 180-thousand yuan in compensation to the victim's family.

Shooting rampage leaves 34 people dead in Brazilian city of ManausAuthorities have confirmed that over 30 people have been shot dead over the last three days in the Brazilian city of Manaus.

Local police believe that the killings were committed by a local criminal group.

Further details are not available at present.

Police are still investigating the case.

Biz ReportsStocksAnchor:

Turning now to business news.

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

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

Reporter:

Thank you Spencer.

China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index hovered around the 4-thousand-point level, as market sentiment remained cautious following the recent drastic volatility.

At the close, the index was up 0.6 percent.

While the smaller Shenzhen Component Index gained 0.9 percent on the day.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, rose 1.2 percent.

This is the fourth consecutive day of gains following government moves to arrest a freefall that saw the key index plunge over 30 percent from its June 12 peak.

Shares related to highways, airports and railways led the gains.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong stocks closed higher with the benchmark Hang Seng index finished up half of a percent.

Elsewhere in Asia,Japanese stocks fared well in their return from the holiday.

The yen's weakness against the U.S. dollar gave a boost to export-oriented issues and added to expectations of firm April-June quarterly earnings by listed companies due this week.

The benchmark Nikkei added 0.9 percent.

Gainers were led by shipping, utilities and air transport.

South Korea's KOSPI edged up half of a percent.

Singapore stocks finished slightly lower, with the benchmark Straits Times Index down a fraction of a percent.

Finally, Australian stocks rose with the benchmark ASX 200 ticked up 0.3 percent.

Back to you Spencer.

China's Export to Pick up in H2: MoCChina's Ministry of Commerce says the country's exports are expected to increase in the second half of this year as the global economy, especially the U.S. economy, is picking up.

Stats from the Customs shows China's export in the first half of this year went up just one percent from the previous year.

At a news conference on Tuesday, ministry spokesperson Shen Danyang said although growth is low, China's export performance is still stronger than most major economies.

"The growth rate doesn't seem high, but we think it is very valuable. If we make a horizontal comparison, our export performance is the strongest among all global major economies in terms of both scale and growth rate, as shown by the latest statistics released by the WTO that China's export growth is the best among developed countries, major economies, and BRICS countries."Also at the news conference, the ministry reported that foreign direct investment in the Chinese mainland rose 0.7 percent year on year last month to about 14.5 billion U.S. dollars.

The growth slowed sharply from a 7.8-percent rise in May.

In the first half of the year, FDI, which excludes investment in the financial sector, stood at some 68.4 billion U.S. dollars, up 8.3 percent from the same period last year.

WTO Negotiators Agree Tariff Cuts on more IT ProductsAnchor:

WTO negotiators seeking to eliminate tariffs on IT products agreed to over the weekend to expand the list of items covered.

Participants from 54 nations had struck a tentative deal to add about two hundred IT products on which tariffs would be dropped.

WTO said the list had an annual trade value of one trillion U.S. dollars.

Products on the list include semiconductors, MRI machines, GPS devices, loudspeakers and video game consoles.

Negotiators expect their respective governments will sign off on the deal by Friday.

For more on the tariff cuts, CRI's Shane Bigham earlier spoke with Gao Shang, analyst with Guantong Futures.

…Back anchor:

Gao Shang, analyst with Guantong Futures, speaking with CRI's Shane Bigham.

Chinese SOE profits edge down in H1Official data shows the profits of China's state-owned enterprises continued to fall in the first half of the year, but at a slower pace.

SOEs' combined profits dipped 0.1 percent from a year earlier to 1.2 trillion yuan or about 201 billion U.S. dollars in the first half of this year.

The rate of decline narrowed from a drop of 3.3 percent for the January-May period.

SOEs in transport, chemicals, electronics and power generation sectors saw strong increases in profits.

While the coal mining, steel, petroleum and petrochemical industries posted notable profit drops.

The Ministry of Finance said SOEs' profits have been steadily improving since the January-February period as the economy appears to be stabilizing with the filtering through of pro-growth measures.

China has cut benchmark interest rates three times this year while lowering banks' reserve requirement ratio.

It also accelerated fiscal spending on infrastructure to shore up investment.

China cuts retail fuel pricesChina is expected to cut the retail prices of gasoline and diesel from Wednesday.

The nation's top economic planner has announced that retail prices of gasoline and diesel will fall by 265 yuan or 43 U.S. dollars per ton.

This is the sixth reduction since the beginning of the year.

The cut comes after oil prices in international markets have decreased over concerns about the Greece debt crisis.

Chinese car rental firm eHi receives 242 mln USD in financingChinese car rental firm eHi Car Services has reached a deal with a Chinese policy lender for some 241 million U.S. dollars of funding.

The deal with China Development Bank will allow eHi to receive 1.5 billion yuan in credit through multiple financial instruments for five years.

The funding will be used to expand eHi's existing network and car fleets.

The deal also includes car-related fixed asset investment by the Shanghai-based eHi and CDB's Shanghai branch.

The company reported a 60.7-percent rise in revenue during the first quarter this year and 3.6 million yuan in profits.

This was the first time the car rental service has been profitable after floating its shares on the New York Stock Exchange in November last year.

Australia Signs Live Cattle Export Deal with ChinaThe Australian Ministry of Agriculture has announced a breakthrough in live cattle export trade negotiations with China.

Veterinary authorities from the two countries are formalizing agreements on animal health certification requirements.

The requirements will allow the industry to begin to prepare the commercial and Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System (ESCAS) arrangements for trade to commence.

Once the agreement is formalized, exporters will be able to begin working with importers in China to implement the ESCAS and establish supply chains that meet the requirements.

Australian Ministry of Agriculture estimates that live cattle trade with China will be worth up to nearly 1.5 billion U.S. dollars in ten years.

China's Spring Airlines to buy 21 Airbus planesChina's largest low-cost carrier Spring Airlines is planning to raise 4.5 billion yuan or 735 million U.S. dollars to buy 21 Airbus A320 jets.

The Shanghai-listed company is to fund the purchase through a private placement of shares.

More than 80 percent of the money raised will be spent on the purchase of the Airbus planes.

The rest will be used to improve inflight WiFi, upgrade information management and build its online ticket sales platform.

Spring Airlines currently operates more than 90 domestic and international routes.

SportsSIPG holds Guo'an to go top in CSLSome football action here in China,Shanghai SIPG and Beijing Guo'an have battled to a 0-0 draw in Beijing in the marquee match-up of the Chinese Super League's 20th round.

The result helped SIPG to climb to the top of the 16-team standing with 42 points — one more than defending champion Guangzhou Evergrande.

Shandong Luneng is third on 40 points followed by Beijing with 39.

SIPG was awarded a penalty 10 minutes into the game after Beijing's Darko Matic was penalized for a handball in the box.

However, Davi's weak shot was easily blocked by Beijing goalkeeper Yang Zhi.

SIPG's powerful striker Asamoah Gyan was heavily marked by Beijing defenders throughout the match. His headers towards goal did not cause much problem for Yang.

Yang's counterpart Yan Junling also had a good match, blocking two killer attempts by the hosts in the latter part of the match.

SIPG has never beaten Guo'an in the capital. The draw also ended the Shanghai team's six-match winning streak in the CSL.

Top European clubs to play in ChinaWorld-renowned clubs Real Madrid, AC Milan and Inter Milan will be visiting China to compete in the International Champions Cup later this month, with a Milan Derby starting the soccer-filled week.

The Italian rivals, who both struggled in the Serie A last season for a European Champions League berth, aim to bounce back next season.

Milan, who replaced coach and -former striker Filippo Inzaghi with Serbian Sinisa Mihajlovic, have already signed several players.

Last season's Milan Derby only saw two draws, and fans are expecting a real battle between the two sides on Saturday at the Shenzhen Universiade Sports Center.

Real also underwent changes this summer, highlighted by their captain keeper Iker Casillas' move to Porto. In return, they picked Brazilians Casemiro and Danilo from Porto.

They have qualified for the semifinals of European Champions League since the 2010-11 season, including winning one final in 2014 to conclude their La Decima - wining the intra-continental title 10 times.

The team will visit China next week to meet Inter on Monday at Tianhe Stadium in Guangzhou before taking on Milan on July 30 in Shanghai.

FIFA announced date for election of Sepp Blatter's successorAnchor:

After Monday's meeting, FIFA has confirmed that the presidential election to choose Sepp Blatter's successor will take place next year in February.

CRI's Luo Bin reports.

Reporter:

FIFA is going to hold a presidential election on February 26th, giving Sepp Blatter seven more months in power before leaving the scandal-tainted governing body.

The date was chosen by FIFA's executive committee on Monday.

Blatter says he is looking forward to learning who is going to be the next president.

"And one of these important decisions, it's already known all around the world is that we have approved the date of the Extraordinary Elective Congress, which shall be organized in Zurich and it will be next year, 2016 on 26 February and there a new president of FIFA will be elected. Naturally I'm keen to know who will be the next president."The 79-year-old announced plans to resign four days following his re-election in May amid American and Swiss criminal investigations into corruption.

He also says FIFA will set up an 11-man taskforce to propose reforms to clean itself up after a series of scandals.

"And we have decided to have a task force; 11 people. Ten players and a coach, but the coach is a playing coach. He will be an independent personality. We will decide together with the presidents of the confederations who will be this personality to chair the reform task force. I would say these are, I don't know if I can say, it's the intelligent 11 or it's the 11th of intelligence."FIFA's 209 members are expected to return to Zurich next year to select a new president almost nine months after Blatter's resignation statement.

Potential contenders include UEFA President Michel Platini and Prince Ali bin al-Hussein.

According to FIFA statutes, candidates need to have the written support of five member associations to stand and must announce their intention to run four months ahead of a vote.

That means October 26 is set to be the deadline for the nominations.

For CRI, I'm Luo Bin.

MLB: Washington Nationals beat the New York Mets 7-2In Major League Baseball,The National League East-leading Washington Nationals have beaten the New York Mets 7-2 at Nationals Park in Washington DC.

Clint Robinson's two-run double to deep centre was the biggest blow as the Nationals jumped on Mets starter Matt Harvey for five runs in the first three innings Monday night.

Some other scores now on the books,The LA Angels beat Boston Red Sox 7-3,San Diego Padres defeated the San Francisco Giants 4-2,The Pittsburgh Pirates downed Kansas City Royals 10-7,And the Atlanta Braves past the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-5 at Turner Field.

EntertainmentMiley Cyrus to host MTV Video Music AwardsMiley Cyrus has been announced as the host for this year's MTV Video Music Awards set to take place next month.

Cyrus announced the news via Twitter posting a photo of herself with a banner saying 'MTV won't let me perform, so I'm hosting this year's VMA's'.

Her management have confirmed the news.

Miley Cyrus isn't a stranger to the MTV awards, with her 2013 performance causing outrage among viewers for her risqué dancing. Last year she brought a homeless 22 year old onstage to accept her award as part of a campaign to raise awareness for homeless youth.

The MTV Video Music Awards will air on August 30.

Monk comes down the mountain angers Chinese Taoist associationChen Kaige's latest Kung Fu film 'Monk Comes Down the Mountain' has angered a senior Chinese Taoist who says the film has tainted his religion.

Vice Chairman of the Chinese Taoist association Meng Chongran says certain scenes in the film featuring robbery, violence and sex have tainted the image of Chinese Taoism.

The film which is based on a best-selling novel, tells the story of a Taoist monk who leaves a mountain for the city in the 1920s.

The film stars Aaron Kwok, Chang Chen, Lin Chi-ling and Wang Baoqiang.

In a statement on a Taoist Wechat account, Meng demanded that the film be pulled from all screens across the country.

'Monk Comes Down the Mountain' has earned 400 million yuan since its opening on July 3.

One Direction could take a hiatusSimon Cowell has said that One Direction may take some time off following recent news that member Louis Tomlinson is to become a father.

One Direction formed in 2010 after finishing in third place in the UK's X Factor reality tv show. The band shot to fame across the world and have released four studio albums. Their most recent album 'Four' reached number one in eighteen countries.

Speaking to The Sun, Cowell said 'the band have had enough success to enable them to take some time off and do other things apart from each other'.

Last week, Louis Tomlinson announced he and stylist Briana Jungwirth were expecting a child together.

Zayn Malik left the group earlier this year saying he wanted to live his life as a normal 22 year old. The band have gone on as a four piece since.

Top Gear could be heading to the USTop Gear's Jeremy Clarkson has hinted that the show could be making a move to the US.

During the Top Gear live show in Australia, Clarkson, speaking alongside James May and Richard Hammond hinted that the next project may include a US network or streaming service.

Clarkson told the crowd that 'you may see us on a television or on the internet near where you live very soon'.

He made fun of Hammond for using an American accent telling him 'you're not in America yet.'

It's rumoured that the trio cannot make a new show in the UK within the next two years due to their BBC contracts.

They've been linked with US networks and also streaming service Netflix.

Meanwhile, a new look Top Gear will be launched later on this year with UK radio DJ Chris Evans heading the team.

Casting for Star Wars: Episode 7 already underwayDespite the fact that Star Wars: The Force Awakens hasn't been released in cinemas yet, casting is already underway for the follow up, Star Wars: Episode 7.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Benicio Del Toro is rumoured to be a contender for a villain role in the movie which will be directed by Rian Johnson.

Benicio Del Toro is said to have been offered a role however whether a deal has been reached remains unclear.

Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamil will return along with The Force Awakens stars Daisy Ridley and Oscar Isaac.

The release date has already been penned for May 26, 2017.

WeatherBeijing has thundershowers tonight with a low of 22 degrees Celsius; tomorrow thundershowers with a high of 29.

Shanghai, overcast tonight with a low of 26, tomorrow showers with a high of 31.

Chongqing, heavy rain tonight with a low of 26, heavy rain to overcast tomorrow with a high of 27.

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

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad, light rain tomorrow, 34.

Kabul, cloudy, 36.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney, cloudy with a high of 18.

Brisbane, light rain with a high of 20.

Perth, light rain, 14.

And finally Auckland, New Zealand will be cloudy with a high of 15 degrees Celsius.

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

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