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

Coming up on our program this morning...

The presidents of China and Turkey, meeting in Beijing, have pledged closer cooperation on a range of issues, including fighting terrorism...

Russia has vetoed a security council resolution to set up a criminal tribunal on the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17...

Chinese athletes are boosting Beijing's bid for the Winter Olympics on the final day before the host city is selected...

In Business...Chinese stock markets rebound from the sharp losses recorded on Monday and Tuesday...

In Sports...UEFA's president wants to be FIFA's president...

In entertainment...Chinese films at the Venice Film Festival...

Top NewsChina, Turkey pledge mutual support, closer cooperationAnchorThe Chinese and Turkish Presidents have pledged mutual support on issues of major concern and vowed to enhance bilateral cooperation on such issues as the fight against terrorism.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan is in China for a two-day state visit, his first to the country as Turkish President.

CRI's Niu Honglin reports.

ReporterChinese President Xi Jinping held talks with his Turkish counterpart on Wednesday in Beijing.

He says he appreciates President Erdogan's stance over the relationship between China and Turkey.

"Honorable President, you paid three visits to China when you served as the president of the ruling party, Prime Minister, and now as Turkish President, which shows you attach great importance to the relationship between China and Turkey. I highly appreciate that."Although it is Erdogan's first visit to China since he took the office, he has met with Xi Jinping several times before.

President Xi says they've had frank discussions and reached consensus on many issues.

"We agreed that the two sides should support each other over issues of major concern and deepen our strategic cooperative ties. I am willing to work with you to fully summarize the China-Turkey relationship, and then we can keep in mind the general direction of the bilateral ties, strengthen political trust and link our development strategies. "President Xi praised Erdogan and the Turkish government for their stance opposing all forms of terrorism as well as all attempts in Turkish territory to harm China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Xi Jinping added that China is willing to boost law enforcement and security cooperation between the two countries.

He said he looks forward to closer communications between legislatures and government agencies of the two countries to ensure their strategic cooperation progresses along the right track.

For his part, Erdogan stressed that the Turkish government sticks to the one-China policy, supports China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and opposes terrorist activities of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement aimed at China.

"The two sides will celebrate the 45th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations. We upgraded the bilateral relationship to strategic cooperative ties in 2010. Now we are taking solid steps to push forward the development of this relationship. I believe my visit here will enhance our mutual political trust and promote people-to-people exchanges. "Briefing the media following the leaders' meeting, Chinese vice Foreign Minister Zhang Ming said the two leaders also expressed willingness to link China's Belt and Road initiatives with Turkey's development strategy in pursuit of common prosperity.

"During the talks, President Erdogan showed great interest in the 'One Belt, One Road' initiatives, and expressed willingness to cooperate within this framework. The two sides believe that linking the Belt and Road initiatives with Turkey's development strategy can strengthen bilateral cooperation in all fields. For instance, Turkey has a grand plan of high-speed rail construction. Chinese enterprises are encouraged to take part in it."On the long-standing talks over Turkey's purchase of the Chinese long-range surface-to-air missile system, Zhang Ming declined to give more details, only saying it is the common wish of the two countries to strengthen defense cooperation.

Turkey, a NATO member, accepted a bid from a Chinese firm for its first anti-missile system back in 2013.

However, the 3.4 billion- US-dollar deal is yet to be signed due to U.S. and Western concerns.

Earlier on Wednesday, Erdogan laid a wreath at the Monument to the People's Heroes in Beijing and then met with the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

For CRI, I am Niu Honglin.

Call-in with Li Guofu on Turkish president's visit to ChinaFor more on the Turkish president's visit to China, CRI 's Lin Shaowen earlier spoke with Li Guofu, senior research fellow with China Institute of International Studies.

Li stresses that the mutual respect to the other side's core interests is key in further developing the China-Turkey ties.

That was Li Guofu, senior research fellow with China Institute of International Studies.

Russia vetoes draft UN resolution on setting up tribunal for MH17 crashRussia has vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolution seeking to establish an international tribunal to investigate the downing of a Malaysian airliner last year.

Eleven of the Council's 15 members voted in favor while three others, including China, abstained.

The resolution had been drafted by Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine.

It sought to set up a special tribunal to try those responsible for shooting down flight MH17 over Ukraine.

In defending the veto, Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin criticized what he said would have been criminal prosecution carried out "in a closed fashion.""Turning now to criminal prosecutions while it is carried out by the members of the JIT in a closed fashion. It was said that an agreement was reached between five sides on not disseminating information. In this case, what are the grounds to be assured of the impartiality of such an investigation? "China's UN ambassador Liu Jieyi says several council members still have major concerns over the draft resolution and a vote under such circumstances will only divide the council.

Ukraine and the West have pointed the finger at militants in eastern Ukraine, saying they may have used a Buk surface-to-air missile supplied by Russia to down the Boeing 777 plane.

Moscow denies involvement and instead accuses Ukraine's military.

Malaysia's Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai says he's disappointed at the vote.

"We are deeply disappointed at the failure to adopt a draft resolution to establish an ad-hoc international tribunal for MH17, despite our persistent effort to address council member concerns and to bridge our differences."The minister had earlier said a tribunal would be best placed to "deliver justice to the families of the victims."Flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was downed over areas controlled by Ukrainian militants in the east during heavy fighting with government forces.

The majority of the 298 people on board killed were Dutch nationals.

Probably part of the missing MH370 debris found in La Reunion: reportAviation experts say a piece of plane wreckage that washed up on the island of La Reunion in the French Indian Ocean may be from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

One such expert with IPR, an aviation security agency, says the found piece has "incredible similarities" to what you would expect to find on a Boeing plane like the one that disappeared in March of last year.

The debris has an identification number of some sort - BB670.

The expert says while the code does not represent a plane's registration number or serial number, it could still allow for quick identification of the plane it came from, and we could have answers within days.

Officials from Boeing were quoted by media reports as saying that they thought the debris just found was consistent in appearance with a Boeing 777, the type of plane of MH 370.

MH370 disappeared while en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur on March 8th, 2014.

There were 239 passengers and crew on board.

More than half of the people on the plane were Chinese.

If the debris that washed up on the beach proves to be a part of the missing plane, it will be the first evidence found after more than 15 months of searching.

China, ASEAN vow to maintain peace on South China SeaChina and ASEAN countries have vowed to promote the formulation of a Code of Conduct (COC) for the South China Sea and maintain peace and stability in the region.

The vow was made at a China-ASEAN senior officials' meeting on the South China Sea issue.

Deputy minister of foreign affairs of Thailand Don Promudwinai, said that the meeting is important in promoting the early conclusion of the Code of Conduct.

"For this session, it is important for ASEAN and China to work towards the early conclusion of the COC and stimulate the COC. We agree to spot a new phase of the consulting engine of the COC."The meeting also adopted a work plan on the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea for 2015-2016.

Chinese vice foreign minister Liu Zhenmin says that relevant parties should have patience in solving disputes in the South China Sea.

"The disputes in the South China Sea cannot be solved in a short period of time, we must make long-time preparation for them. The aim is to control the conflicts, maintain peace and freedom of navigation. We are steadily against any outer forces to interfere with the issues through any kind of excuses. We are also against hyping up the issue to other international occasions. We hope the issue can be solved through the consultation between China and ASEAN countries, especially the COC and negotiations."China and ASEAN countries jointly released the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea in 2002.

China highlights upcoming China-ASEAN Expo, Business and Investment SummitAnchorChinese officials putting together this year's China-ASEAN expo in Guangxi are suggesting the internet is going to be one of the main focuses of the event.

The expo is due to kick off in September.

CRI's Guo Yan has more.

ReporterYu Ping, vice chair of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, says this year's event in Guangxi's capital, Nanning, will be focused on the promotion of e-commerce.

"This year's business leaders forum will highlight the connectivity of China-ASEAN e-commerce and logistics. Discussions will focus on the role of e-commerce and logistics in our building of the Maritime Silk Road of the 21st Century and China-ASEAN Free Trade Area"The creation of a China-ASEAN e-commerce network is also expected to be finalized at this year's event.

Economic and trade cooperation between China and ASEAN countries is continuing to rise, despite the current economic slowdown.

Trade spiked more than 8-percent last year, and is also up 1.6-percent through the first half of this year.

Chinese vice-Commerce minister Gao Yan notes the 10 countries which make up ASEAN account for a significant amount of trade with China.

"The trade between China and ASEAN reached 480.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2014, with the year-on-year growth rate being 8.23 percent, which is 5 percent higher than the growth rate of China's total foreign trade last year. The trade between China and ASEAN reached 224.38 billion U.S. dollars in the first half of this year, up 1.6 percent year on year. The trade with ASEAN accounts for 12 percent of China's total foreign trade."This year's summit in Nanning, which will run for 4-days, is also due to include a forum involving Chinese companies and leaders from Thailand, which is this year's honored guest at the meeting.

For CRI, I'm Guo Yan.

China approves renewable energy zone in Winter Olympics candidate cityThe State Council has given the green-light for the creation of a renewable energy zone in the city of Zhangjiakou, which is part of the Beijing bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Under the plan, Zhangjiakou will be home to a low-carbon Olympic area which will be run completely on renewable energy.

Wu Weidong, executive vice-mayor of Zhangjiakou, says the creation of the zone will also improve the environment in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

"Zhangjiakou can improve its environment by building this renewable energy demonstration area. And at the same time, it can transport clean renewable energy to Beijing and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, an important part promoting the region's development."According to the plan, by 2020, 55 percent of electricity consumption should be met by renewable energy and 40 percent of industrial enterprises should realize zero carbon emissions.

All of the city's public transportation will be fueled by renewable energy within five years.

As Beijing's partner in the Winter Olympic bid, Zhangjiakou is expected to host the biathlon, Nordic combined, ski jumping, snowboard, and freestyle skiing events.

Yao Ming, Song Andong Promotes Beijing 2022 BidAnchorAs voting on the host city for the 2022 Winter Olympics draws near, Chinese bid ambassadors have shared Beijing's hopes of hosting the winter games.

CRI's Huang Shan has more details.

ReporterWith only one more day to go before the International Olympic Committee decides on the 2022 Winter Olympic Games host city, two icons of Chinese sport, Yao Ming and Song Andong, are doing their best to promote Beijing's bid.

Eight-time NBA All-star Yao Ming has expressed the desire and enthusiasm of bringing winter Olympic Games to China.

"It's a great honour to be part of the campaign. Both the summer Olympics and winter Olympics represent the Olympic constitution and Olympic spirits. The Olympics inspire people's courage, to influence more people to a create better future and a better world. On that part, I think it is about the right time and perfect time to bring the Olympic back in Beijing in 2022."Song Andong, a teenager born in Beijing who is the first Chinese-born player to be drafted into the National Hockey League, says the development of winter sports in the country could be further enhanced, if Beijing is awarded the rights.

"It's a special honor to be able to do it in your country and the city you grow up. I think the problem right now is to get more people to get involved with the sport. The younger generation - the kids - have grown up and they can participate in the sport. Again with hockey, just get the momentum of the sport going. I think that will develop the sport as a whole and we will really grow into one of the powerhouses, hopefully."To meet the aims of hosting "sustainable" and "economical" games that can leave a "powerful legacy", Yao Ming says Beijing has the experience and ability to hold cost-effective Games.

He also indicates the shortage of snow will not be a problem for the decision on the bid.

"Artificial snow, yes, in fact, there is some of it, but consider the number of the percent in the entire snow. I think it is small and have very limited impact on the local water supply. And most of the snow game area is in Yanqing and Zhangjiakou, those areas are always covered with snow in the winter, so that will not be a problem. "The International Olympic Committee will announce the results of the vote tomorrow. Beijing is up against Almaty, Kazakhstan.

For CRI, I'm Huang Shan.

Afghanistan's intelligence agency confirms death of Taliban leaderAfghanistan's main intelligence agency has confirmed the death of Taliban leader Mullah Omar.

Abdul Hassib Sediqi is the spokesman for the National Directorate of Security.

"Today, we officially confirm the death of Mullah Omar. Mullah Mohammad Omar, the Taliban leader, was sick and was in one of the hospitals of Karachi city in April of 2013 and died mysteriously there."The Afghan government says the information is credible.

In a statement from the presidential office, Ankara also calls on all armed opposition group to "seize the opportunity and join the peace process. "The Afghan Taliban has yet to comment on the report.

The comments came amid peace talks between Taliban representatives and Afghan government officials.

Mullah Omar is credited with helping found the Taliban movement during the chaos of the Afghan civil war in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar.

The US government has a 10-million US dollar reward out for his capture for harboring al-Qaeda's leadership in Afghanistan.

The White House says it deems the report on his death as true.

UK and France Make Move to Deal with Calais Migrant CrisisFrance is to send extra police officers to the Eurotunnel in Calais as migrants continue to break fences to enter the UK despite the death of a man on Wednesday.

A Sudanese man who died trying to cross is believed to have been hit by a truck.

He was among over 3 thousand people attempting to enter the tunnel this week.

British Home Secretary Theresa May chairs an emergency meeting on the migrant crisis and says more urgent work is needed to deal with the issue.

"What we are seeing at the railhead at Coquelles at the moment is as we are putting extra security fencing in; there have been migrants particularly trying to get into the Eurotunnel and onto the trains before that security fencing is going up. One of the outcomes of the meeting today was some more urgent work with government departments but also with euro tunnel on what further measures can be taken at Coquelles to prevent people from getting into the tunnel"Britain has agreed to spend up to 7 million pounds, nearly 11 million dollars, of extra funding to help increase security at the tunnel's French terminal.

Disruption to freight traffic is expected to last all week.

Microsoft Launches Windows 10AnchorSoftware giant Microsoft has launched a long anticipated new operating system Windows 10.

As our Technology Correspondent Rachel Silverman reports, PC makers are hoping Windows 10 will give their industry a much-needed boost.

ReporterThese kids won't have to remember passwords or obsess about security, because these kids will grow up with Windows 10.

Microsoft is marketing windows 10 as a fresh but familiar operating system. One that anticipates the future needs of today's children.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella explains.

"Windows 10 ushers in an era of more personal computing in a mobile first, cloud first world. We're building into Windows, that's seamless cross over across devices as you move around at home and at work. "New versions of Windows usually ignite sales of personal computers but the last update to windows was widely considered a miserable failure.

Tech analyst Bob O'Donnell says with PC sales sliding four years in a row, Microsoft and PC manufacturers are looking at Windows 10 to set off sparks.

"Microsoft needs a fix because Windows 8 didn't do very well and as a result they really got a lot of egg on their face. And this is their attempt to save face, to bring back together pieces that people liked and knew about windows into a new environment. "Windows 8 detractors say they're relieved to hear Windows 10 has brought back their beloved start menu. It also features a virtual assistant called Cortona…similar to apple's Siri…except you can talk to Cortana on a wide range of devices, including your computer.

"Hey Cortana email…..what's the subject of your email? Dinner plans"Tech analyst Bob O'Donnel says the feature he's most excited about is windows 10's facial recognition feature.

"The coolest thing Windows 10 offers is Windows Hello which is a biometric authentication mechanism whereby you can walk up to your computer and if you have the appropriate 3d camera built into your computer you can walk up to your computer it will recognize your face and log you in"People lined up early in the morning on launch day at Microsoft stores. We spoke to some of them who came for free consultations to see if their pcs are windows 10 accessible… (Woman) "I always try to keep my systems updated to the latest but I'm excited about Cortana."(Man) "Windows is a nice mature operating system. I don't think people give it its due."To jump-start adoption of Windows 10 the company is offering free upgrades to the vast majority of home users. Microsoft has set a target of 1 billion devices running windows 10 within three years of launch.

For cri, I'm Rachel Silverman in San Francisco.

WeatherBeijing will see thundershowers with a high of 29 degrees Celsius.

Overnight temperatures should drop down to 22.

Shanghai will be sunny with a high of 37 and a low of 29.

In Chongqing, it will be cloudy during the daytime with a high of 36 and lows of 27.

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

Islamabad will be cloudy with a high of 34.

Kabul will be overcast with a high of 28.

Over to North America,New York will see slight rain with a high of 34 degrees.

Washington, overcast with a high of 35 degrees.

Honolulu, slight rain, 28.

Toronto will be sunny with a high of 31 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,Buenos Aires will have slight rain with a high of 20.

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

Headline newsChina, Turkey pledge mutual support, closer cooperationChinese President Xi Jinping has held talks with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Beijing, with both leaders pledging mutual support on issues of major concern.

Xi Jinping says he appreciates Turkey's stance opposing all forms of terrorism as well as all attempts in Turkish territory to harm China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

He also says China stands ready to link the Belt and Road initiative with Turkey's development strategy in pursuit of common prosperity.

For his part, Erdogan stressed that the Turkish government opposes terrorist activities of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement aimed at China.

The Turkish president is on a two-day visit to China.

Chinese envoy calls for focusing on truth establishment over MH17 air crashChina's United Nations ambassador Liu Jieyi says the current focus should be on establishing the truth of the downing of Malaysian flight MH17 last year over eastern Ukraine.

Liu was speaking after Russia vetoed a draft Security Council resolution seeking to establish an international tribunal to investigate the incident.

Eleven of the Council's 15 members voted in favor, one against and three others, including China, abstained.

Liu Jieyi says some council members still have major concerns on the draft resolution and to forcibly push for a vote will only result in the division of the council.

The ambassador stresses that China supports an objective, impartial and independent international investigation into the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Ukraine and the West have pointed the finger at militants in eastern Ukraine for shooting down the plane with a missile provided by Russia.

Moscow denies involvement and instead accuses Ukraine's military.

Escalator in deadly accident met national safety standard: producerThe producer of the escalator that caused a woman's death in central China says the escalator involved in the tragedy passed a national safety inspection.

The woman died after falling through a gap that suddenly opened at the top of the escalator in a shopping mall in Hubei.

The chief engineer of Shenlong Elevator says the escalator was assembled by a qualified third-party company, a practice that conforms to national regulations.

Investigators have concluded that the escalator panels were incorrectly designed, holding Shenlong accountable for the tragedy.

White police in Ohio University indicted for murdering unarmed black manA white police officer at a US university has been indicted on a murder charge for fatally shooting an unarmed black man during a traffic stop earlier this month.

Prosecutors say officer Ray Tensing with the University of Cincinnati "purposely" killed Samuel Dubose, a 43-year-old black man, during a routine traffic stop.

Tensing had argued that he was dragged by Dubose's car, which led to the deadly shooting.

If convicted, Tensing could face 15 years to life in prison.

Biz ReportsClosing numbers across North America and EuropeAnchorFirst, a quick check on the closing numbers across North America and Europe on this Thursday morning, here is our reporter Min Rui.

ReporterU.S. stocks extended gains on Wednesday as the Federal Reserve's statement released in the afternoon encouraged investor sentiment.

Both the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 gained 0.7 percent.

The Nasdaq rose 0.4 percent.

According to the Fed's statement, U.S. economic activity has been expanding moderately in recent months.

To support continued progress toward maximum employment and price stability, the Federal Reserve kept rates unchanged.

On the economic front, after five consecutive months of increases, U.S. pending home sales slipped in June but remained near May's level.

The Pending Home Sales Index fell 1.8 percent in June but is still 8.2 percent above June 2014's reading.

In corporate news, shares of Twitter plunged 14.5 percent to 31.24 dollars Wednesday following the release of its quarterly results.

Facebook revealed stronger-than-expected second-quarter profits and sales after the close on Wednesday, but it wasn't enough to impress investors and the firm's shares fell slightly in extended trading.

Over in Europe, shares ended higher, lifted by strong corporate results.

British FTSE 100 increased by 1.2 percent as some of the blue chips announced better-than-expectation financial statements.

The French CAC 40 gained 0.8 percent.

Germany's DAX added a third of a percent.

China stocks rebound as regulators deny support withdrawalChinese shares rebounded Wednesday following two-days of declines as regulators promised ongoing support for the market.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index climbed 3.4 percent.

The smaller Shenzhen Component Index went up 4.1 percent.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, gained 4.3 percent.

The China's securities regulator said that it is investigating possible irregularities in Monday's massive sell-off that gave the benchmark index its worst day in eight years.

At the same time, regulators are also denying reports the China Securities Finance Corporation, the national margin trading service provider, has been pulled back from stabilizing the stock market.

Analyst says this week's equity sell-off should have only a limited impact on China's economy and monetary policy easing will continue as the economic recovery is slow.

Chinese stockbrokers see active asset management biz scale at 2.2 trln yuanNew statistic shows that the scale of asset management by Chinese securities brokerages reached nearly 2.2 trillion yuan as of the end of June.

A survey from the Asset Management Association of China shows that CITIC Securities saw the biggest active asset management business scale in this section.

CITIC Securities activity stood at 413 billion yuan at the end of June.

The amount is more than double that of its next closest competitor.

China can withstand market volatility: IMF chiefInternational Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde on Wednesday downplayed China's recent market volatility.

She said the Chinese economy is resilient and the slowdown in growth is under control.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index is still up more than 80 percent from a year ago despite the recent sharp declines.

In response to China's efforts to stabilize the market, the IMF chief said Chinese authorities' efforts to maintain a level of liquidity are commensurate with an orderly process which is also quite good.

She said market turmoil won't derail the IMF's discussions on whether to include the Renminbi in its special drawing rights basket of currencies.

Sovereign wealth fund CIC's Overseas Arm ExpandsThe new overseas arm of China Investment Corporation has started operation, with a 5 billion US dollar initial fund.

The sovereign wealth fund's new arm plans to gradually expand its investment scope to 100 billion US dollars.

Right now, the sources of funding are still unknown.

But it is being reported that China's Finance Ministry has injected 100 billion US dollars into CIC's new subsidiary.

Different from CIC International, CIC Overseas will focus more on managing the country's foreign direct investment.

This is part of Chinese government's fresh efforts over the past year to have more of the country's industrial firms go global.

For more on the overseas funding expansion, we're joined by Cao Can, CRI's financial commentator.

Questions1) In what sectors do you think CIC can make the best use of the fund?

2) How does this new fund help Chinese enterprises invest overseas?

3) What are the differences between CIC's new overseas arm and the Silk Road Fund company set up late last year?

Back Anchor:

Cao Can, CRI's financial commentator Cao Can.

China's BYD signs deal to provide zero-emission buses to LondonChinese automaker BYD signed a 30 million U.S. dollar deal on Wednesday to provide London with its first large-scale, zero-emission, single deck bus fleet.

Under the deal, BYD will provide London with 51 electric buses, all of which will be built on BYD chassis and powered by BYD's electric drive train.

The buses will run on two routes and come into service by the end of August next year.

The move follows a drive by London's government to make all of its single deck buses emissions-free by 2020.

SportsMichel Platini announces run for FIFA presidencyUEFA president Michel Platini has confirmed he will run for the FIFA presidency.

Platini wrote to member federations in Europe and asked for support.

He said he decided to run because he wanted to "give FIFA back the dignity and position it deserves."Platini has long been the favorite candidate to succeed Sepp Blatter, who offered to resign days after he was re-elected to a fifth successive term amid corruption allegations.

Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan is seen as the only challenge to Platini.

Prince Ali has launched attacks against Platini, calling him "not good for FIFA and football."The Jordanian prince was beaten by Blatter in the election in May and is yet to announce whether he will run again.

Other names in contention for the presidency include former FIFA vice president Chung Mong-joon, Portuguese international Luis Figo and Brazilian great Zico.

Sepp Blatter will remain FIFA president until the re-election in February next year.

AC Milan, Real Madrid prepares for game in Shanghaifootball action from China,AC Milan is in Shanghai preparing for an International Champions Cup exhibition game against Real Madrid tonight.

The game should tell whether AC Milan is still in the same league with Europe's elite clubs.

AC Milan has been functioning well under new coach Sinisa Mihajlovic in the pre-season, with three wins in four games.

The new coach, on the job since June, brought his philosophy of dominating the game to the team.

"No matter who our opponents are, we will do our best to control the game and make our opponents struggle to catch up with our rhythm. Real Madrid started their summer training camp earlier than us. So they are very well-prepared. We are getting better in the last games. So in the next game, we will try to improve something and and we can get better from there."Real Madrid also has a new coach. Rafael Benitez says his aim is to build a strong team.

Chinese-Italian teenager to play in Italian Serie AElsewhere,Chinese-Italian teenager Denny Wang Yi has joined newly-promoted Carpi on loan and will be playing in the Italian Serie A in the upcoming season.

Seventeen-year-old Wang made his mark with Juventus' youth team and was part of Italy's Under-17 national team.

Wang has little chance to make the line-up for last season's champion Juventus but to play for Carpi will be a good opportunity for the back winger.

Wang is a second-generation Chinese-Italian in Turin whose grandfather immigrated to Italy and opened a Chinese restaurant. He has previously said he is willing to change his nationality if China calls him for the national team's squad.

Robinho not included in Guangzhou Evergrande's AFC listGuangzhou Evergrande's latest recruit Robinho has failed to make the list for the AFC Champions League.

The team has already submitted a list of 30 players which includes fellow Brazilian players Paulinho and Ricardo Goulart.

Robinho still has a slim chance to play in the AFC Champions League as substitutions can still be made a week before the games.

Guangzhou Evergrande resumes its action in the tournament on August 25 against Japan's Kashiwa Reysol in the quarter-finals.

Swimming world championships recapThere was no gold medal for China on day six of the swimming world championships in Kezan.

Huang Xuechen took a silver in synchronized individual freestyle, which was won by Natalia Ishchenko from Russia.

Huang had also previously won the silver medal in women's synchronized swimming duet technique with her partner Sun Wenyuan.

In mixed team competition of the diving event, the Chinese duo of Chen Ruolin/Xie Siyi came in third, behind British and Ukrainian pairs.

China now has six gold medals, three silver and two bronze to stay on top of the medal tally.

China into semi-finals of Int'l Basketball ChallengeGuo Ailun's game-high of 18 points helped China's Olympic team beat Italy 72-64 to make it into the semi-finals of the International Basketball Challenge.

Guo also had four steals and six rebounds.

China finished the group stages with three straight wins against Iran, Slovakia and Italy.

China will play Lithuania in the semi-finals.

EntertainmentChinese films set for Venice Film FestivalVenice Film Festival has announced its line up for its 72nd annual edition on Wednesday with big names in Chinese cinema joining the list.

Venice is the world's oldest film festival and will open with Hollywood movie Everest starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Keira Knightley. The film is based on the 1996 climbers' disaster on the mountain.

Meanwhile Chinese film Mr Six will close the festival. Directed by Guan Hu, the film tells the story of a 50 year old street punk who has reigned over the streets of Beijing for years, only to discover one day that he holds no power any more. The film is scheduled for release in China at the end of this year.

21 films are in competition this year including Zhao Liang's Behemoth and Tom Hooper's "The Danish Girl" which stars Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne.

Alfonso Cuaron will head the jury alongside Elizabeth Banks, Diane Kruger and Hou Hsiao-hsien.

The festival runs from September 2-12.

Rolling Stones wrap up world tour grossing $109 millionThe Rolling Stones have wrapped up their world tour with ticket sales grossing $109 million.

According to Hot Tours, the rock and roll band wrapped up their Zip Code stadium tour in the US earlier this month with over 628,000 tickets sold at 14 concerts.

The Zip Code tour kicked off in San Diego on May 24 and was the band's third world tour since 2012. Adding their three world tours together, the band's concert ticket sales have grossed just over $400 million with 1.8 million fans attending 62 shows. And that's not including festival appearances such as their headline slot at last year's Glastonbury festival.

The band were the highest earning touring band this month with Dave Matthews and Billy Joel coming in second and third place.

Former One Direction singer signs record realFormer One Direction band member Zayn Malik has signed a solo record deal.

He has signed with RCA Records.

The singer announced the news on his Twitter page saying that he left the boyband so that he could show his fans who he really is and so that he could make real music.

Malik left the band earlier this year and has since fallen out with former band mate Louis Tomlinson on Twitter about his solo material.

Simon Cowell previously announced that he would not sign the singer to his own label as he wanted to focus on One Direction and having both acts on his label would be unfair. Cowell did however congratulate the singer on signing with RCA Records.

Friends co-creator calls cast's $1 million paycheck ridiculousFriends co-creator Marta Kauffman has called her ex-cast's $1 million per episode demands ridiculous.

The now 'Grace and Frankie' showrunner made the comments on Tuesday during a Television Critics Association press tour that showed off several Netflix big hits.

She told reporters that being paid $1 million per episode is ridiculous and unrealistic.

Friends was a big hit in the 90s finally coming to an end in 2004. It centered around a group of six friends and their social lives. 2 years before the series came to an end, the actors requested a pay rise to $1 million an episode which was granted. At the time it was the highest salary for a half an hour show ever.

The series finale in 2004 was watched by 52 million people in the US. Friends has been shown around the world and been translated into tens of different languages.

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

Recapping our top stories this morning...

The presidents of China and Turkey, meeting in Beijing, have pledged closer cooperation on a range of issues, including fighting terrorism...

Russia has vetoed a security council resolution to set up a criminal tribunal on the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17...

Chinese athletes are boosting Beijing's bid for the Winter Olympics on the final day before the host city is selected...

In Business...Chinese stock markets rebound from the sharp losses recorded on Monday and Tuesday...

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.