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

Coming up on the program this evening...

A former Chinese envoy saying that China must continue its mission in Somalia despite the recent terror attack in the restive region...

Beijing makes its final push for the 2022 Winter Olympics as the IOC meeting gets underway in Kuala Lumpur...

And South Korea declaring an official end to the MERS epidemic....

In Business....Chinese SOEs deliver strong performance in the first half of this year...

In Sports.... Boston pulling out its bid for the 2024 Olympics...

And in Entertainment... Chinese film "River Road" set for release this September...

TopEnvoy: China Needs to Continue Diplomatic Mission in SomaliaA Chinese envoy on African affairs has said that there are actual needs for China to continue its diplomatic mission in Somalia despite the restive situation in the country.

Ambassador Liu Guijin made the remarks after Sunday's blast at a hotel in Mogadishu left at least 15 people dead, including a Chinese national.

"Somalia is in great need of reconstruction following more than 20 years of conflict. China used to have a sound relationship with the country. The Somali government has expressed hope that China can resume those Chinese-aided projects launched before the war, when conditions are right. There are always risks, but in terms of the development of bilateral ties, the needs for us to stay are real."The international community has strongly condemned the suicide attack.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry says it will pay close attention to the situation in Somalia following the suicide bombing and step up security accordingly.

Measures are also being worked out to protect the safety and interests of Chinese organizations and people in Somalia.

Meanwhile, according to a Somali intelligence officer, a German of Somali origin is suspected to have been the suicide bomber of the attack. The male bomber was believed to be from the city of Bonn.

For more on this, CRI's Tu Yun earlier spoke with He Wenping, African studies expert, at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences…Back Anchor:

He Wenping, African studies expert, at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences speaking with CRI's Tu Yun.

Beijing Bid Team Makes Final Push ahead of IOC VoteThe International Olympic Committee's executive board meetings have started in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Two of China's most celebrated figure skaters Zhao Hongbo and Shen Xue, who are also the Beijing bid's ambassadors, are trying to convince the IOC that Beijng should be given hosting rights of 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

Zhao Hongbo says being able to host the 2022 Games will demonstrate the consistent development of winter sports in China.

"We attended four Olympic games in various cities when we were athletes, including Nagano, Salt Lake City, Turin in Italy and Ottawa in Canada. We have experience the proudness of the host cities to open their arms and welcome the athletes from all over the world. To be able to host the 2022 Games, it will demonstrate the consistent development of the winter sports in our country, we are really all looking forward to it."The couple also faced some tough questions about air pollution and a lack of snow.

Shen Xue says efforts should be made to reduce air pollution no matter Beijing can win the bid or not.

"I think we should improve the air quality not just for the bid of the 2022 Games, this is a fundamental request of our regular Chinese people. So no matter we can win the bid or not for the Games, we should make effort to reduce the air pollution and improve the quality of the environment as this is the basic need of our people. "The gold medalist pairs came out of retirement to win gold at Vancouver in 2010, then retired again.

The final vote will be held on July 31 to determine which city will host the 2022 Winter Games, Beijing or Almaty, Kazakhstan.

South Korea declares end to Mers epidemicAnchor:

South Korea's Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn has declared a "de facto end" to the outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Sysdrome.

He also apologized for the government's slow response during the initial stages of the outbreak.

Cri's Poornima Weerasekara reports.

Reporter:

The announcement by South Korea's Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn declaring an end to the Mers outbreak in the country comes more than two months after the first case was reported,when a South Korean man who had visited Saudi Arabia, returned after being infected.

Twelve people remain hospitalised receiving treatment for MERS, but only one of them is still testing positive for the virus.

But Hwang says there had been no new infections for 23 days.

"Considering various situations such as the concentrated surveillance on 15 hospitals were all lifted, no new patients were diagnosed with MERS for 23 straight days and the last person under quarantine was released, the government and health workers appraised that the nation should start to feel safe (from MERS)."The South Korean government has been heavily criticized for its slow initial response that allowed the crisis to snowball into the largest Mers outbreak outside Saudi Arabia, killing 36 people and infecting 186 in total.

At its peak nearly 17,000 people were in quarantine after evidence emerged that lax policies at a few top medical institutions had exposed hundreds of patients to the virus.

The Prime Minister apologized for the government's initial failure to enforce quarantine procedures. He promised that the government would implement reforms to fix the shortcomings in the country's health care system that came to light during the crisis.

But Hwang says South Koreans should now focus on getting back to their normal lives that had been disrupted.

"Now South Korean people should be relieved from their anxiety of MERS and normalise their cultural and leisure activities and return to their daily routines such as schools (opening)."Thousands of schools were closed and all outdoor gathering and cultural events were canceled.

The outbreak dealt a major blow to South Korea's economy, knocking second-quarter growth to its worst in more than six years.

Tourism numbers dropped by 40 percent and South Korea is now eager to repair lingering negative perceptions.

Last week, the South Korean government approved a 9.8 billion dollar stimulus package to help the struggling economy.

Some experts see today's announcement by the South Korean government as a hasty step taken to prevent the country's economy from bleeding any further.

The World Health Organisation says it is not ready to declare an end to Mers in South Korea.

The WHO says it needs 28 days without a new infection - twice the incubation period of the virus – before it will make the announcement.

The first case of Mers emerged in the Middle East in 2012. The virus is linked to the same family of coronaviruses that triggered the deadly outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003.

Despite today's announcement that South Korea is now rid of Mers, the public health system would continue to be on high alert.

For CRI I'm Poornima Weerasekara.

Pyongyang is not interested in dialogue to unilaterally freezing or giving up nukesNorth Korea's Ambassador to China says Pyongyang is not interested in dialogue to give up its nuclear ambitions.

Ji Jae Ryong made the comments during a news conference held at the North Korean Embassy in Beijing on Tuesday.

The comments come just one day after U.S. envoy for six-party talks Sydney Seiler suggested the recent deal with Iran could set an example for solving North Korea's nuclear issue.

But Ji said North Korea's situation could not be compared with that of Iran's.

"The situation of North Korea is totally different to Iran. We are a nuclear state, both in name and reality. As a nuclear state, we have our own interests in a nuclear program."North Korea has conducted three nuclear tests and called itself a nuclear weapons state.

The United States and five world powers reached a historic deal with Iran earlier this month that will limit Iran's nuclear capabilities in exchange for lifting sanctions from the US, EU and UN.

North Korea is also sanctioned by the three parties for procuring equipment related to its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Talk To Be Held for Greece's Third BailoutTechnical experts from Greece's international creditors are now in Athens now for talks that will pave the way for the country's third bailout.

Greece's deputy finance minister Dimitris Mardas says his office is ready to provide support to the team.

"As you know, we are the support office to the negotiating team. We are following the developments and we will give the information that they need on how to best go with the process."After passing two packages of measures through parliament, Greece is now on course to begin talking to the European Commission, the ECB and the IMF, as well as the euro zone's rescue fund and the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) for a three-year-loan worth up to 86 billion euros to keep Greece in the euro zone.

The talks are designed to clear the path for high-level talks between Greek ministers, senior European Union and International Monetary Fund officials later this week.

They will be focused on issues like pensions and labour market reforms.

Expert: Obstacles Remains for TPP DealPacific Rim officials are set to meet in Hawaii for talks that could make or break the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal.

The meeting is to run from today to Friday on the island of Maui, with high hopes of a pact to conclude the TPP negotiations.

But experts are warning that the toughest issues have been left until last.

Joshua Meltzer, with the Brookings Institution, says the United States and Japan are facing political challenges going into the talks.

"The United States has got some particular demands on strengthening intellectual property rights. But at the same time, in order to achieve that, it's going to have to be prepared to provide new market access opportunities into sectors in the U.S. economy that have traditionally been fairly closed. For Japan the focus has been on removing a range of barriers to exports, particularly of a range of agricultural products as well as for automobiles."Failure to agree this week will endanger an already tight timeline to get a deal through the divided U.S. Congress this year, before the 2016 presidential campaign dominates the stateside agenda.

A six-week battle over U.S. legislation to streamline the passage of trade deals through Congress finally ended in late June, sparking a rush of negotiations to ready ministers to take the tough decisions needed to wrap up the talks.

A U.S. official has said talks would continue even if there was no finalized agreement in Maui.

Thailand Continues Working to Solve Human Trafficking: Thai PMThai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha says that Thailand will continue its work on tackling human trafficking.

The statement comes on the heels of the U.S. State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons report has kept the country on its lowest rank for a second year.

Prayuth says Thailand is working to solve the situation step by step.

"We will continue to do whatever work we have to. This is the matter of following international rules. There were a lot of problems in the past which we are solving step by step; to amend the laws, continue to monitor operational practices by authorities and (carrying out) punishments against authorities (involved)."The annual report comes days after Thailand indicted 72 people, including fifteen state officials, over suspected links to human trafficking.

Their arrests comes as a result of what Thai police called their biggest-ever investigation into human trafficking.

India's Former President DiesIt's being reported that former Indian president Abdul Kalam, died on Monday at the age of 83.

Kalam died from cardiac arrest in a hospital in the north-eastern city of Shillong, capital of Meghalaya state.

Local media reports say Kalam had collapsed earlier in the day while delivering a lecture.

Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley says the country lost one of its most inspirational people.

"Dr. Kalam was not merely the President but he was to every Indian a role model and an ideal citizen. Everything about him was positive. He thought well, he had positive ideas, his contribution as a scientist, his contribution as a president was unparalleled. He has left a void for all of us."Kalam was considered the father of India's missile programme.

He served as the country's 11th president, from 2002 to 2007.

He became a national folk hero after helping oversee nuclear tests in 1998 that solidified India's status as a nuclear weapons state.

Libyan court sentences Gaddfi's son Seif to deathA Libyan court has sentenced to death Seif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of the former leader Muammar Gaddafi.

The court also ordered eight other senior figures of the former regime put to death on the same day.

Some local media called the ruling controversial, saying the court was under pressure of Islamist forces.

Libya's Ministry of Justice earlier denounced the trials set by the court on Seif, as well as 37 other of Gaddafi's former close officials.

But Justice Minister Al-Mabruk Ghraira Omran called on the international community not to accept the verdicts.

China's FTZs Develop Well on TrackAnchor:

China's four free trade zones have seen rapid development since being established.

As CRI's Luo Wen reports, thousands of enterprises have registered in these pilot zones that boast streamlined services and preferential policies.

Reporter:

In April, China approved the expansion of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and the setup of three similar zones in Guangdong, Fujian and Tianjin.

At a recent press conference, Lv Jinzhou with Tianjin Airport Economic Zone spoke highly of the FTZ's role in helping attract foreign enterprises.

"After establishment, the Tianjin FTZ has signed agreements with Airbus on the building of an A330 completion and delivery center and with Bombardier over the setting up of a maintenance plant. Currently, a series of new agreements are under negotiation."Lv Jinzhou says the attraction of FTZ is mainly rooted in innovative policies and a sound business environment.

As of the end of June, China's central authorities and the governments in Shanghai, Tianjin, Fujian and Guangzhou have enacted around 100 policies to bolster the development of these zones.

Meanwhile, the number of items included in the negative list for investment in these places has been further reduced from 139 to 122.

Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen says the way the FTZs operate and their efforts to improve business environment have been recognized by investors.

"Free Trade Zones are expected to lead the country's opening-up move and become a 'test field' for new reform measures. Policies already adopted in FTZs aiming to push forward with opening-up in more sectors have attracted enterprises from both here at home and abroad."Official figures show that about 20-thousand companies registered in the FTZs in Guangdong, Tianjin and Fujian between April and June, while in the Shanghai FTZ, the first of the kind that opened around two years ago, 21 thousand firms were set up in the first half of this year.

Tang Wenhong from the foreign investment department of the commerce ministry says great efforts have been made to streamline services and simplify administrative approval procedures at the FTZs.

He adds that besides the efforts to facilitate investment, the four FTZs have also made remarkable progress in financial innovation.

"Shanghai has accelerated the compiling of a plan for building itself into an international financial hub and expanding cross-border use of the RMB. In the first five months of this year, cross-border RMB settlement in the city exceeded 140 billion yuan, or 23 billion US dollars, accounting for over 26 percent of the city's overall settlements, while the cross-straits RMB settlements in the Fujian FTZ will reach 36 billion yuan very soon."According to a master plan issued by the State Council, China's cabinet, the four zones will develop in specific directions.

The Guangdong FTZ is required to help widen the cooperation between the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao and the Tianjin FTZ should boost the integration of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei.

The Fujian FTZ is asked to pilot programs for deepening cross-straits cooperation, while the Shanghai FTZ is tasked with exploring new horizons for the country's opening-up and reform.

For CRI, I'm Luo Wen.

Early Prevention A Key in China's Fight Against HepatitisAnchor:

The World Health Organization (WHO) is marking the fifth annual World Hepatitis Day today, with the theme "Prevent Hepatitis. Act Now".

As CRI's Victor Ning reports, events in China and around the world will raise awareness and understanding of viral hepatitis.

Reporter:

In China, an estimated 90 million people carry the Hepatitis B virus, while 28 million of them suffer from the disease chronically. Most patients were infected with the virus during childhood. In line with the theme of this year's World Hepatitis Day, Lei Zhenglong, Deputy Director of China's Center for Disease Control, says early prevention and vaccinations are priorities in the country's fight against the disease.

"We believe Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B vaccinations are the most economic and effective ways to prevent the diseases. We need to maintain a high vaccination coverage rate to ensure a strong public immunity barrier."China expanded its immunization programs to include Hepatitis B vaccinations in 2002, providing free shots for all new-born babies. Since then, about 200 million children have received the vaccinations, bringing the coverage rate to 95%. Statistics show that the infection rate of the disease among Chinese children has dropped significantly since the measure took effect.

Many newborns in China are infected by their mothers who carry the Hepatitis B virus. China began addressing the issue in 2010 by offering these babies injections of hepatitis B immune globulin, in addition to the regular vaccinations. This added measure has been shown to prevent 97% of babies born to infected mothers from contracting the virus.

In recent years, severe side effects and even deaths brought on by Hepatitus B vaccinations in China have caused some worries about the safety of the preventative measure. Addressing these concerns, Wang Huaqing, Deputy Director of the National Immunization Program at China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention, says the public needs not to worry about the safety of the vaccinations.

" We have been monitoring the side effects of the Hepatitis B vaccinations since 2005. Most negative effects were due to hypersensitivity in individual cases. Occurrences of anaphylactic shocks are extremely low, less than the rate of one in a million. Both global and our national monitoring results show that Hepatitis B vaccination is among the safest of all available vaccinations."The upcoming World Hepatitis Day will be marked in China with free seminars, testing clinics and other events hosted by health institutions across the country. According to the World Hepatitis Alliance, co-coordinator of the World Hepatitis Day with the WHO, 157 countries participated in the event in 2014. The date of 28 July was chosen to honor the birthday of Nobel Laureate Professor Baruch Samuel Blumberg, who discovered the hepatitis B virus.

For CRI, I am Victor Ning.

Woman dies in east China lift tragedyA woman has died after getting stuck in a factory elevator in Jiangsu province.

The accident happened on Monday afternoon in a cargo lift in the city of Wuxi, when the woman suddenly became stuck in the gap between the lift and the platform.

Her body was severely distorted when rescuers arrived at the scene.

Further investigation is under way.

The incident came on the heels of another fatal tragedy in Hubei, when a woman was killed in a shopping mall escalator on Sunday morning.

HK Panda: Jiajia becomes world's oldest panda in captivityHong Kong's giant panda, Jia Jia, has celebrated her 37th birthday in style on Tuesday as she was awarded two Guinness World Record titles.

Female panda Jia Jia is now officially recognised as the "oldest panda ever in captivity" and the "oldest panda living in captivity" after reaching an age equivalent to 110 in human years.

Adjudicator of Guinness World Records Blythe Ryan Fitzwiliam presented two certificates for Jia Jia at Hong Kong Ocean Park.

"I was here today to recognise two Guinness World Records titles for Jia Jia. The first being the oldest panda living in captivity, and then the second title for the oldest panda ever in captivity."The previous record was set by panda Dudu in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, who died in 1999 aged 36.

Jia Jia arrived at Hong Kong Ocean Park six years ago together with male panda An An.

The two have become the most popular attractions in the park.

WeatherBeijing has heavy rain tonight with a low of 28 degrees Celsius; tomorrow thundershowers with a high of 30.

Shanghai, clear tonight with a low of 30, tomorrow sunny with a high of 38.

Chongqing, cloudy tonight with a low of 26, also cloudy tomorrow with a high of 37.

Lhasa clear tonight with a low of 12, tomorrow cloudy with a high of 28.

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad, scattered thundershowers tomorrow, 32.

Kabul, cloudy, 28.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney, cloudy with a high of 18.

Brisbane, cloudy with a high of 23.

Perth, overcast, 21.

And finally Auckland, New Zealand will have showers with a high of 13 degrees Celsius.

Headline newsTwo-day IOC Executive Board meeting starts in Kuala LumpurThe two-day IOC Executive Board meeting has started in Kuala Lumpur, ahead of the 128th IOC Session, which will vote on the hosting cities for 2022 Winter Olympic Games and 2020 Winter Youth Games.

China's capital Beijing is bidding to host the 2022 Games against Almaty, Kazhakstan.

For the 2020 Winter Youth Games, the city of Lausanne in Switzerland is up against Brasov in Romania.

The new round of the IOC Session is scheduled to announce the host cities on Friday.

48 Vietnamese rescued off south China coast48 Vietnamese crew members of six cargo ships have been saved in waters off Guangxi.

The six ships capsized aground on Monday afternoon due to stormy weather in the sea.

Some sailors fell into the water and some were stranded on a grounded ship.

Rescue teams rushed to the site and had saved 41 crew by Monday evening.

7 others were saved on Tuesday morning.

Macao policeman awaits trial for sexual assault of 9 teenagersA Macao policeman suspected of sexually violating nine teenage girls through deception and blackmail is awaiting trial.

The 22-year-old male reportedly pretended to be a female model online in order to exchange nude photos with other girls.

He extorted the girls for more pictures and even sex, once he had obtained the images.

Macao Judicial Authorities have discovered that the suspect sexually assaulted nine teenage girls.

Police say it is possible that there are more victims.

The officer was dismissed from his post in May and imprisoned in a local jail while awaiting trial.

He is facing multiple charges, including rape, coercion, sexual extortion and sexually violating children.

The case has already entered the criminal proceeding stage.

North Korea top leader sends wreath to cemetery of Chinese People's Volunteer ArmyNorth Korea's top leader Kim Jong Un has sent a wreath to the cemetery of martyrs of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army on the occasion of the 62nd anniversary of the victory in what is known in North Korea as the great Fatherland Liberation War.

The wreath was placed at the cemetery located in Hoechang County, South Phyongan Province.

Kim Jong Un has also paid tribute to late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun earlier Monday.

Local reports say the Kim extends his noble respects to the martyrs of the Korean People's Army and the Chinese People's Volunteers.

Biz ReportsAnchor:

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.

Chinese shares dropped again following Monday's collapse and regulators' promise of support for the market.

More than 300 stocks sank by the daily limit of ten percent on the day, led by technology and energy sectors.

The textile machinery sector dropped the most by 6.3 percent.

Despite the overall slump, the financial sector rose the most by 2.5 percent.

At the closing bell,The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was off 1.7 percent.

The smaller Shenzhen Component Index lost 1.4 percent.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, tumbled 3.8 percent.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong stocks ended higher with the benchmark Hang Seng index rising 0.6 percent.

Elsewhere in Asia,Japanese stocks ended slightly lower on a stronger yen and concerns over China's economic outlook, but bargain hunting help hold the downside.

The benchmark Nikkei dipped a fraction of a percent.

South Korea's KOSPI closed flat.

Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index sank one percent.

Finally, Australia's ASX 200 ended down a fraction of a percent.

China to continue to stabilize stock market: CSRCChinese securities regulator said the China Securities Finance Corporation will continue to buy stocks to stabilize the market.

China Securities Regulatory Commission spokesperson Zhang Xiaojun made the remarks after the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index experienced its sharpest daily drop since 2007 on Monday.

He was dispelling some media speculation that the national margin trading service provider has backed off from stabilizing the stock market.

Meanwhile, Zhang added that CSRC is investigating huge stock sell-offs by some individuals and will punish any malicious short selling.

Hanergy Thin Film Power Removed from Shanghai-HK Stock ConnectHanergy Thin Film Power Group has been taken off the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect pending an investigation by Hong Kong regulators.

The move followed the decision by Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission to suspend trading in the Chinese solar panel company on July 15.

Hanergy had earlier asked for its shares to be suspended from trading in Hong Kong on May 20 after its stock price plunged by 50 percent.

The stock plunge wiped off almost half of the company's 21 billion U.S. dollars within half an hour.

The SFC later announced that it was investigating the company over the stock plunge.

Since then, London's FTSE has decided to remove Hanergy from three of its indexes, including the FTSE China 50 Index and the FTSE Hong Kong Index.

The solar panel company's parent company Hanergy Group Holding has a 73-percent stake in the listed subsidiary.

CIRC Issues New Guideline to Regulate Internet Insurance BusinessAnchor:

The China Insurance Regulatory Commission, the country's insurance watchdog, has issued a guideline to regulate the internet insurance business.

CRI's Yu Yang reports.

Reporter:

The new guideline clearly defines the qualification and regulations of the internet insurance businesses.

Dean of School of Insurance with Central University of Fiance and Economics Hao Yansu says rules need to be set up to regulate the new business.

"Currently, there are over 80 insurance companies in China. Most of them have their own online platforms to sell products. There are also a few independent online insurance companies. As more and more insurance companies launch their websites, more social capital will enter the internet insurance business. Thus rules need to be set up to ensure the effective operation of this business."According to the guideline, only legally registered insurance companies and professional insurance agencies can sell products online.

Customers are expected to transfer money directly to a certain account designated by the insurance institute. Third party payment platforms are not allowed to be involved in this process.

Hao Yansu says setting up the entrance threshold means that the "disorderly growth" of internet insurance would be prevented.

"The financial industry needs to be strictly regulated. Those intermediary agencies which are not filed with the supervision department are not allowed to sell insurance products. A special license is required."The guideline also requires that insurance institutes should present information about insurance products and services in clear and understandable language on the internet platform.

Professor of insurance policy at Beijing Technology and Business University Wang Jinxu says the regulation aims to protect consumers' legal rights.

"Whether consumers are informed of real conditions or not remains a problem for insurance products sold online. These regulations are greatly needed to avoid disputes."The regulation is set to come into effect this October.

Statistics show that the revenue of internet insurance stood at around 86 billion yuan in 2014, a growth of 195% compared to 2013.

For CRI, I'm Yu Yang.

Central bank to maintain policy despite inflation fearsChina's central bank said it will maintain prudent monetary policy in the second half of this year.

The statement comes after rising concerns that policymakers may tighten monetary policy as inflation has shown signs of warming due to an unexpectedly sharp increase in pork prices.

Pork accounts for 2.9 percent of the consumer price index.

The price of the country's staple meat has risen more than 20 percent since March.

CPI rose only 1.3 percent in the first half of the year.

Dismissing the concerns, the central bank said the consumer price has steadied at a low level and the outlook is stable.

Li Pumin, secretary-general of the National Development and Reform Commission, said the rise was determined by the market and the prices will be back to normal after the period of adjustment.

Central SOEs deliver strong performance in H1Chinese regulators said centrally-administered state-owned enterprises performed well in the first half of the year, with better performance expected in the second half.

The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission noted that central SOEs have seen a steady rise of profitability, especially in the second quarter of the year.

In the first half of this year, these SOEs garnered an operating revenue of eleven trillion yuan or 1.8 trillion U.S. dollars and reaped 643 billion yuan of profits.

There are around 110 SOEs under the administration of SASAC, including China National Petroleum Corporation, Sinopec Group and China Mobile.

Around 91 percent of these SOEs were profitable in the first half of the year, thanks to lower costs and better operations.

Delta Air Lines invests in China Eastern AirlinesU.S.-based Delta Air Lines has bought nearly 4 percent of shares of China Eastern Airlines for 450 million U.S. dollars.

Delta's investment will help China Eastern promote mixed ownership and speed up its overseas expansion.

The investment is part of a series of cooperation agreements signed by the two airlines, which both belong to the SkyTeam Alliance.

The two airlines have signed codeshare agreements to operate 30 U.S. domestic flights, 43 Chinese domestic flights and seven trans-Pacific flights.

Baidu Shares Fall as Profits Miss ExpectationsShares of China's biggest online search engine Baidu sank after the company reported lower-than-expected earnings.

Baidu posted a net profit of about 590 million US dollars in the second quarter, up 3.3 percent year on year.

Its operating profit stood at 559 million U.S. dollars, down 2.5 percent year on year.

The company reported revenues up 38 percent from a year earlier to nearly 2.7 billion US dollars in the second quarter.

Baidu shares plunged 8.7 percent in after-market trading on the Nasdaq following release of the earnings and ended the trading day down 4.2 percent.

Kazakhstan formally becomes new WTO memberThe World Trade Organisation has formally accepted Kazakhstan's bid to become the body's newest member.

The membership announcement comes after nearly 20 years of negotiations.

Kazakhstan will become WTO's 162nd member once official signing and ratification protocols are completed.

The Kazakh Foreign Ministry said WTO membership will facilitate the introduction of new practices and standards while diversifying the economy and enhancing national and international interconnectivity.

SportsFINA recap & previewSome action from the FINA World Championships in Kazan:

Defending champions Chen Ruolin/Liu Huixia have retained their title in women's synchronized 10-meter platform.

And Xie Siyi claimed men's 1m springboard title to give China the fifth straight win.

Xie won by a large margin of more than 36 points after five dives.

It was an unexpected win for the nineteen-year-old, who used to be a platform diver and is competing in his first world championships.

The other Chinese diver He Chao finished seventh.

China remains on top of the medal tally after four days with 5 golds, 2 silvers and 1 bronze.

Today is the fifth day of the 16th FINA World Championships and the excitement continues in open water swimming and diving events.

In the Aquatics Palace, the competitions has kicked off with the preliminary round of the men's synchronised 3m springboard event.

And the fierce finals are set to begin at 7:30 pm local time today.

The long-awaited performance by Evgeny Kuznetsov is widely considered to be the main event of the evening.

Evgeny would be traditionally partnering with the 2012 Olympic 3m springboard champion Ilya Zakharov.

Their synchronized dive with the degree of difficulty of 3.9 remains unsurpassed till this day.

Shanghai Shenhua wins 1-0 over Henan JianyeIn football, a recap of Chinese Super League action,Shanghai Shenhua beat Henan Jianye 1-0 yesterday to wrap up the 21st round of play.

Tim Cahill scored the winner for the home team. The Australian striker has had four goals in his last four games.

In other action,Real Madrid crashed Inter Milan 3-0 at the International Championships Cup in Guangzhou.

It was the third straight loss in China for Inter Milan, after their defeats against Bayern Munich and AC Milan.

Real Madrid will round off the Championships Cup with a game against AC Milan in Shanghai on Thursday.

Boston pulls out of bidding to host 2024 OlympicsAnchor:

The U.S. Olympic Committee has nixed Boston's bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics, just hours after Mayor Martin Walsh said he would not "commit" to a deal that makes city taxpayers vulnerable to the costs of hosting such a large-scale event.

CRI's Luo Bin reports.

Reporter:

Boston's bid to host the 2024 Olympics is officially over, after the city and the U.S. Olympic Committee severed ties after a board teleconference on Monday.

The bid soured within days of its beginning in January and failed to get - and keep - the support of key Boston politicians.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh says he would not be pressured into signing the contract that puts the city on the hook for any cost overruns.

"This is a commitment that I cannot make without assurances that Boston and it's residents will be protected. I refuse to mortgage the future of the city away. I refuse to put Boston on the hook for over-runs and I refuse to commit to signing a guarantee that uses tax payers' dollars to pay for the Olympics."No Boston Olympics Co-Chairman Chris Dempsey led the citizen's charge to kill the bid.

"Well it's certainly hard when you're dealing with a bid that requires building the three most expensive Olympic venues from scratch. And Boston's 2024 plan was always a costly bid, that required a lot of building of sporting infrastructure."There are only seven weeks left before the cities have to be officially nominated.

The decision has thrown the bid process - and hopes that the USA will host another Olympics - into doubt.

However, the US Olympic Committee says the federation wants to stay in the race. Los Angeles has been touted as the likely alternative host city.

For CRI, I'm Luo Bin.

MLB: Chicago Cubs beat Colorado Rockies 9-8Over to some baseball action,Chicago Cubs took a 9-8 narrow win over the Colorado Rockies on Monday at Wrigley Field.

Kris Bryant swatted a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to help the Cubs getting the victory.

Carlos Gonzalez belted a two-run shot to centerfield off Hendricks to put the Rockies into a 2-0 lead in the third inning.

DJ LeMahieu drove in two runs with a single through the left side of the infield to extend the Rockies advantage to 4-0 in the fourth.

The Cubs took the lead with a big inning in the bottom half of the fourth from Rockies starter Jorge De La Rosa.

In other action,Boston Red Sox beat Chicago White Sox 10-8 in a home game.

San Francisco Giants upset the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2 in California.

New York Yankees got an easy win 6-2 over Texas Rangers.

St. Louis Cardinals beat Cincinnati Reds 4-1.

And it was the Kansas City Royals crashed Cleveland Indians 9-4.

International athletic tournament to start in Ho Chi Minh CityThe 22nd Open Ho Chi Minh City International Athletics Tournament will be held from July 28 to August 3 in the city known as the commerce center of Vietnam.

It is expected to see the participation of hundreds of athletes from 12 Asian countries and regions.

China's Hong Kong and Taiwan will compete in the tournament joined by countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

The event is organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports and coordinated by the city's Athletics Federation.

Vietnam finished first at the last Tournament in 2014 with 8 gold, 4 silver and 5 bronze medals, followed by South Korea and Thailand.

Putin: Sepp Blatter deserves Nobel PrizeRussian president Vladmir Putin has gone on record saying Sepp Blatter deserves a Nobel Prize for his work as a leader of world's football governing body.

Putin made the comments on Monday, two days after he and the embattled FIFA president met in St. Petersburg for the preliminary draw for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

However, he did not give any details about the specific Nobel Prizes to which he refered.

Blatter, who has denied his ties to corruption, has announced he would step down from the top position.

An election for his successor is due to be held in February.

EntertainmentChinese literary film "River Road" to be released on SeptemberA news conference on Chinese Indie filmmaker Li Ruijun's literary film "River Road" has been held in the province of Gansu.

Director Li Ruijun together with executive producer Fangli and best-selling author Han Han attended the conference.

The film is a masterfully lensed nomadic road movie set in his dusty native province of Gansu, in Northwestern China.

In the film, Bartel and Adikeer, two Uyger ethnic minority brothers, venture out with their two-humped camels to join their herdsman father, after their grandfather dies, by following a dried-up river bed.

It is slated for release on September 3.

Chow Yun Fat and Gong Li's film "Shanghai" to be screened in the USThe 2010 mystery/thriller neo-noir film directed by Mikael H?fstr?m, starring John Cusack and Gong Li is set to be screened in the United States.

The film directed by Swedish director Mikael H?fstr?m was first released in China in 2010.

The movie tells the story of an American who stumbles upon secrets while investigating the death of a friend in 1940s Shanghai.

John Cusack plays the American, Chow Yun Fat plays the head of a gangster group while Gong Li take the role of a famous singer in a night club, who works for the Chinese resistance group fighting the Japanese invaders.

The film will be limited screened in some theatres of in the United States from August 21.

'Steve Jobs' to screen at New York Film FestivalOscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney's film of "Steve Jobs: Man In The Machine" is to be screened at the New York Film Festival.

A new trailer for the documentary film gives a look at the personal and private life of the late Apple CEO, Steve Jobs.

The film follows Jobs from his days tinkering in his garage to his reign as CEO of a game-changing multibillion-dollar company.

However, the film also delves into Jobs' shoddy treatment of the people around him, as interviews with friends, family, lovers and employees painting a picture of a man driven by ambition and ego.

Universal has set an October 9 North American release for the film.

Tyrese Gibson on his most recent solo album and creating a short filmR&B singer Tyrese Gibson's album, "Black Rose" has debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 charts.

He created what he says is his most emotional album while going through a messy divorce and custody battle and dealing with the death of friend and "Fast and Furious" co-star Paul Walker.

"This is my last solo album, and it is the most emotional baby I have ever worked on ever in my life. It was like a, it's an analogy but it was like a three and a half year pregnancy that came with a lot of complications."He plans to release a short film called "Shame" in November. The 25-minute short film is based on his single "Shame" and is produced by Denzel Washington and directed by Paul Hunter.

Christopher Nolan Has a New Short Film on the WayAfter last year's sprawling science-fiction family drama "Interstellar" Christopher Nolan has made a short documentary.

The film named "Quay" is said to be already done and will be screened at the New York city this August.

The film is about Stephen and Timothy Quay, a pair of identical twin stop-motion animators who have been making highly influential and revered short films for decades.

Nolan's documentary will debut on August 19 as part of a Brothers Quay retrospective at the Film Forum in New York City, which Nolan himself is curating.

It'll feature their movies "In Absentia","The Comb" and "Crocodiles".

Each movie will be presented in 35 mm film, which is no surprise given Nolan's championing of using real film over digital.

A Blu-ray of Nolan's "Quary" will be released Oct. 20.

Channing Tatum's 'Gambit' to start shooting in OctoberThe spin-off to 'X-Men', 'Gambit' starring Channing Tatum, will reportedly start filming in October in New Orleans.

For Channing Tatum's role as the energy charging Cajun Remy LeBeau aka Gambit, Tatum is already being taught hand card tricks by magician David Kwong who was the magic consultant of "Now You See Me".

The Channing Tatum Gambit movie is rumored to be an origins story of the titular character because its casting call includes numerous street criminals.

Souces have claimed that 20th Century Fox will cost 154 million US dollars for the production.

WeatherBeijing has heavy rain tonight with a low of 28 degrees Celsius; tomorrow thundershowers with a high of 30.

Shanghai, clear tonight with a low of 30, tomorrow sunny with a high of 38.

Chongqing, cloudy tonight with a low of 26, also cloudy tomorrow with a high of 37.

Lhasa clear tonight with a low of 12, tomorrow cloudy with a high of 28.

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad, scattered thundershowers tomorrow, 32.

Kabul, cloudy, 28.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney, cloudy with a high of 18.

Brisbane, cloudy with a high of 23.

Perth, overcast, 21.

And finally Auckland, New Zealand will have showers with a high of 13 degrees Celsius.

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

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