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

Coming up on our program this morning...

New traffic restrictions have been announced for later this month to coincide with major events here in Beijing.

A former Taiwan leader is being taken to task for his stated position about the Diaoyu Islands.

The US government has secured the backing of Gulf countries when it comes to the Iranian nuclear accord.

In Business... a new fund has been established to help promote Internet Plus.

In Sports... China searching for its first victory at the East Asian Cup.

In entertainment... the schedule for this year's Beijing music festival has been unveiled.

All of that coming up in the next hour.

A reminder as always there are several ways to reach out to us here on the Beijing Hour.

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You can also visit crienglish.com for the latest news and information from China Radio International.

Top NewsBeijing to Adopt Odd-Even Plate Number RuleAuthorities in Beijing have announced a return of the odd-even license plate restrictions toward the end of this month.

From August 20th to September 3rd, personal vehicles will only be allowed on the roads during alternating days.

This coincides with the start of the IAAF World Athletics Championships taking place in Beijing, and will end after the massive parade in the city to mark 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Rong Jun with the Beijing Transport Commission says they will be putting on additional public transportation to meet the demand.

"According to the statistics we compiled during the APEC meeting, ridership on public transportation increased 11 percent, with an average of one-million, 460-thousand people taking public transportation per day. So, we will increase public transportation by 2 percent, which we think will satisfy the needs of the growing bus ridership. We are also going to put at least 3 trains on standby on every key line to increase subway transportation capacity."The odd-even license plate restrictions were often enacted ahead of major events in Beijing such as the 2008 Olympics and last year's APEC meeting.

Overseas journalists invited to cover China's V-Day celebrationsDomestic and overseas journalists are being invited to cover events commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Beijing next month.

A series of events are going to take place in Beijing on September 2nd and 3rd to mark the occasion.

Overseas journalists hoping to cover the events will have to register before-hand.

Foreign militaries are also being invited to participate the massive parade set to be held in Beijing on September 3rd.

Forced Chinese laborers in WWII unsatisfied but accept Mitsubishi's apologyThree groups of Chinese victims of forced labor during World War II have decided to accept the reconciliation offered to them by Japan's Mitsubishi Materials.

The settlement includes a public apology by Mitsubishi Materials, as well as payments of 100-thousand yuan, or some 16-thousand U.S. dollars, for each victim or their surviving relatives.

Mitsubishi has decided to settle the case with Chinese claimants after coming to similar settlements with US prisoners of war.

The deals are expected to be concluded by the end of this month.

Around 38-hundred Chinese victims and their families are part of the settlement.

Taipei mayor vows to pursue "whatever" beneficial to cross-straits exchangeTaipei's mayor is moving to ease frictions connected to his past positions when it comes to the 'one-China' policy.

Ko Wen-je is promising to do "whatever" benefits cross-Strait communication.

"I understand and respect the 1992 consensus raised by the mainland as the foundation for the peaceful development of cross-straits relations. I will not refuse anything that benefits the peaceful development of cross-straits relations. I will do whatever benefits the cross-straits communication."The "1992 consensus" is the adoption of the 'one-China' policy.

It states that both sides acknowledge there is only one unified China.

Ko Wen-je has come under fire recently for his previous position of refusing to acknowlege the policy.

This had threatened to undermine a series of meetings between municipal authorities in Shanghai and Taipei.

However, those meetings have been going ahead.

Lee Teng-hui should apologize for Diaoyu Islands statement: Taiwan leaderTaiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou is demanding an apology from a former leader of the island who has gone on-record saying he belives the Diaoyu Islands belong to Japan.

Ma Ying-jeou is calling on Lee Teng-hui to retract his "serious misstatement" about the islands.

He also says Lee Teng-hui should apologize to the people of Taiwan.

Lee, the former chair of the Kuomintang, is known for his pro-Japan stance.

Ma Ying-jeou, in calling for Lee's apology, also notes the former Taiwan leader has also been on-record saying the Diaoyu Islands should be counted into the total area of Taiwan's Yilan County.

Insiders: Drone-Computer Exports Control NecessaryAnchor:

Chinese Commerce Ministry officials are moving to try to ease concerns about the impact a new set of regulations are going to have on the country's drone manufacturing industry.

A new set of rules are set to take effect later this month, putting tighter restrictions on the export of the advanced technology.

CRI's Luo Wen has more.

Reporter:

Latest stats show that of every 10 civil drones sold worldwide, 7 are produced in China.

Wang Yanan, associate Editor-in-Chief with monthly magazine Aerospace Knowledge, says China has been on the leading-edge in the development of both military and civilian drone technology.

"Both military and civilian-run companies have been hard at work developing drones. Many civilian drone makers, thanks to easy access to capital and technological advantages, have come up with excellent products, which have really advanced the domestic drone market. At this point, China is dominating drone technologies."But this rapid advancement in drone development also has some observers concerned.

Professor Huang Jun with aerospace-focused Beihang University suggests the regulations currently in-place aren't tight enough when it comes to national security.

"Drone development in our country has been both fast and rampant. Drones can serve multiple civilian and military purposes. Many of the drone makers in China aren't really concerned with profits, and are more interested in the technology. But if they don't care about profits, they might be less-cautious about who has access to their designs, including terrorists. This could be a black mark for China if the technology gets into the wrong hands."It's concerns like these which have prompted the Chinese government to bring in new restrictions on which types of drones can be exported out of China.

Mei Yuxin with the Ministry of Commerce insists the new policies will have a limited impact on domestic drone manufacturers.

"Overall, the new restrictions will have limited effect. The rules mainly target drones that can fly over 15-thousand meters above the ground and for longer than one hour. Drones of this nature only account for a small percentage of the country's annual drone exports, which have hit 2 trillion US dollars."New regulations being brought in also include restrictions on computer exports.

Computers which have 8 tera floating-point operations per second, or 8 teraflops, will not be allowed out of China.

The Commerce Ministry's Mei Yuxin says computers of this capacity could be dangerous in the wrong hands.

"It goes without saying that supercomputers are of significant strategic importance, particularly in nuclear weapon development. We can't allow ourselves to sell these kinds of tools to our rivals or those plotting to undermine peace."The new restrictions will take effect on August 15th.

Companies which manufacture drones or computers are going to be required to register with the commerce authorities and get a license before delivery.

They are also being required to provide copies of their export contracts, as well as documents showing their products' technical specifications and who they're going to be selling them to.

Manufacturers who violate the rules could be subject to criminal prosecution.

For CRI, I'm Luo Wen.

New regulation on third-party payments stirs controversyAnchor:

A new set of regulations connected to online payments here in China are stirring up discussion, with some suggesting the proposed rules may hinder the advancement of online shopping.

CRI's Min Rui has more.

Reporter:

Alipay, China's leading third-party payment portal, has issued a new statement, saying their services are maturing with the overall development of the online shopping market, suggesting it hopes regulators will ease back on its planned controls.

The People's Bank of China, China's central bank, announced this past week that it's putting forward a proposal which may limit the amount shoppers can pay through third-party online payments.

Depending on the level of technology an online payment platform has when it comes to user verification, online shoppers may be limited to spending as little as one-thousand yuan per day.

Accounts that have both digital certification and signature qualification checks would be exempt from the proposed restrictions.

The proposal has created a stir on the internet, particularly among the growing number of people who use online payment services such as Alibaba's Alipay and Tencent's Tenpay.

"When I saw this, my reaction was, Union Pay will face massive complaints again. The commission fee charged when transferring money from a bank to another here in China does not exist in other countries. With online payments creating competition for all payment methods, the central bank's latest policy is again making our life more complicated. I feel this policy will compromise convenience for the interest of state-backed banks, not for the sake of consumers."An online survey conducted by Sina.com has found around 60-percent of those asked believe their online shopping experience is going to be affected by the new rules.

The debate surrounding this has prompted a new response from the central bank, noting people will only be directed to their banking payment platforms if they need to spend beyond the limit, suggesting the impact on their spending cap will minimal.

Some have suggested the move by the central bank is an attempt to try to protect the interests of the Chinese banking industry.

However, Lu Feng, deputy chief of the China Center for Information Industry Development, says the main concern is transaction security.

"For example, if someone deposited 100 million yuan to a third-party payment account, without the spending limit, the consumer is vulnerable to possible risks. That's why we need a cap to limit the amount so to avoid large sums of money beyond protection of bank deposit insurance."But at the same time, Lu Feng is also suggesting the current caps, which will range from 1-thousand to 5-thousand yuan per day, are too low.

He suggests it should be increased to around 50-thousand yuan to meet demand.

In addition to limiting the size of transactions, the new regulation also bans payment institutions from opening accounts for firms engaged in financial operations, such as offering credit, financing, wealth management and guarantees.

Huang Zhen with the Central University of Finance and Economics says this provision should be implemented.

"In terms of financial innovation, third-party payment platforms should be aware of their duties as a payment portal first, and then innovate in data risk control instead of becoming a bank-like service provider, or becoming a deposit platform."The public consultation period for the new regulations closes on August 28th.

For CRI, I'm Min RuiPeacekeeping, the game of the brave: Chinese PeacekeeperAnchor:

We continue our series today on China's armed forces involvement in UN peacekeeping missions.

CRI's Niu Honglin now on a pair of Chinese military observers who have served in some of the most dangerous UN Peacekeeping missions around the world.

Reporter:

"You need some tact to play the game of the brave."This is how Nan Yixu sums up the essence of his job – that of a military observer deployed in Lebanon,As a member of the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) in Lebanon, Nan Yixu's job was to supervise the ceasefire line in the volatile tri-border region of Lebanon, Israel and Syria. Place names of that region often appeared in breaking news at that time: Bekaa Valley, Golan Heights -- all about tension or conflicts. There are constant cross-border skirmishes triggered by illegal transfer of arms, crossing of combatants and the flight of refugees.

Nan Yixu's mission was to observe what was happening on the ground, to look out for any unexploded ordnance like bombs, shells, grenades or land mines buried under the roads. His duty was to report what he saw and heard in a timely manner through the appropriate channels.

Military observers are the eyes and ears of UN. Higher level commanders need their input to understand the ground situation and make the right decisions.

Nan Yixu says even though they were only there to observe, there were constantly exposed to danger.

"When we were patrolling alongside the Blue Line, anything could happen. For instance, people from different forces might turn their guns at you simultaneously. You looked up and saw all the red dots, the laser sightings, on your teammate's face. Both of you rushed back to the car, found somewhere safe to hide and immediately reported what you'd seen. You never asked for these things to happen, but they did make you better teammates, closer friends."Like Nan Yixu, He Xing has also carried out some similar mission several months ago. He served under the UN flag as Force Engineer at Force Headquarters in the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) in Western Sudan from May 2014 to June 2015. He was the Force Commander's advisor on all engineering matters related to post-war reconstruction in a region that has undergone a bloody war.

He Xing was responsible for assigning engineering tasks to different teams, evaluating the performance of engineering companies in the mission; communicating with different sections and civilian organizations to prioritize engineering tasks; and monitor the progress made.

He Xing is now back in China, teaching in a university in China's eastern city of Nanjing.

He says he will always cherish the experiences he has gained as a peacekeeper"In each and every peacekeeping mission, there's always danger, security concerns. Accidents happen. I wish all the peacekeepers can finish their mission successfully and safely. And I wish during the mission they should learn from foreigners from their counterparts. And try to maintain a good relationship with local communities. "He Xing says he witnessed Chinese peacekeepers overcoming the challenges one by one and making steady progress in various aspects.

For CRI, I'm Niu Honglin.

For more stories on China's participation in UN peacekeeping missions, pls. go to crienglish.com to find a special page on it.

China ready to help flooding MyanmarThe Chinese government says it's ready to help Myanmar cope with the massive flooding which has been innondating the country since mid-July.

Close to 50 people have been killed in the massive flooding, which is focused in Myanmar's northwest region.

Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar has personally delivered the first batch of Chinese donations to the region.

Additional Chinese donations, worth some 300-thousand US dollars, are being sent to the area.

The flooding, brought on by the annual monsoon season, has left rescue personnel in Myanmar scrambling to keep up.

"Getting food is the serious issue for us. We do not have anything because our rice stores have been flooded already. Pigs and cows as well. The flood started at midnight, so we could not prepare and had no chance to bring anything."Authorities in Myanmar have declared the four worst hit areas in central and western Myanmar disaster areas.

The United Nations is warning the scope of the flooding may be worse than is currently known, as poor infrastructure and communications in the worst-hit regions is limiting access to information.

The flooding has also affected the political process as the country gears toward its national election later this year.

The deadline for candidates to register for the election has been extended by a week.

At the same time, the next session of parliament, scheduled to start next week, has been postponed indefinitely.

Gulf allies back Iran nuclear deal after US security guaranteesAnchor:

The United States' allies in the Gulf have agreed to back the Iranian nuclear deal, despite their concerns.

The pledge comes following a promise by Washington for more intelligence-sharing and faster weapons transfers to the Gulf countries.

CRI's Poornima Weerasekara reportsReporter:

US Secretary of State John Kerry is meeting Gulf state leaders in Qatar to allay their fears of Iran gaining more regional influence after the lifting of economic sanctions.

Kerry spoke to members of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) - a regional body comprising of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar - that form the most prosperous and stable part of the Arab world.

But now they are faced with the twin threat of domestic terror attacks and regional instability due to clashes between two ideologically opposed factions: Sunni extremists like the Islamic State and Shia militias.

The Gulf countries fear the nuclear deal will pave the way for Tehran to step-up support for Shia militia groups like the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are fighting a Saudi-led Sunni coalition.

Washington is promising an increase in intelligence sharing.

The US side also says it will expedite arms transfers and provide special training for armed forced in the Gulf region.

The moves are meant to allay fears of a rising Iran, as well as to try to win support for the Iranian Nuclear deal.

Kerry says the deal includes enough safeguards to prevent Iran from attempting to develop a nuclear weapon.

"This agreement to some people's criticism, did not focus on issues that we knew might take five years, ten years to try to resolve. We focused exclusively on Iran's nuclear programme and the potential of Iran having a nuclear weapon"The US has also agreed to help the Gulf region develop their ballistic missile defense capabilities, and strengthen their cyber security programmes.

Working groups on those issues will begin meeting next week in Saudi Arabia.

But talks on fighting the Islamic state have failed to reach a consensus.

Kerry has sat down with his Russian and Saudi counterparts at a special meeting focused specifically on Syria.

The Saudi and US sides have been refusing to with work with the Syrian army loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

However, Russia has continued to back Assad.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Russia will continue to provide military and technical support to the Syrian government to fight the Islamic State.

"At the moment, the greatest threat in this country, in Iraq and in the Middle East as a whole comes from the Islamic State and we are providing military and technical support to the Syrian government to combat this threat exactly as we are providing support to the Iraqi government to fight against the same Islamic State."At the same time, the Russian side has once-again criticized the United States for providing air cover for Syrian rebel groups fighting Assad's forces.

The fighting in Syria, which began as a civil war in the spring of 2011, has since devolved into a multi-pronged battle among rival factions.

It's also allowed militant groups to gain significant control over large sections of the country.

The Islamic State currently controls most of eastern Syria and portions of western Iraq.

For CRI I'm Poornima Weerasekara.

Ban Ki-moon: post-2015 development document "we the peoples agenda"Anchor:

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is lauding a new sustainable development program adopted by the United Nations this week.

CRI's UN correspondent Su Yi has more.

ReporterBan made the comments following days of marathon talks that ended Sunday evening with an ovation for the reaching of the final text.

"This is truly a we the peoples agenda. The outcome document is called quote Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It is a roadmap to ending global poverty, building a life with dignity and leaving no one behind."The document outlines 17 ambitious Sustainable Development Goals, ranging from issues of poverty, gender equality and economic development to climate change and ocean resource protection.

Co-facilitator of the negotiation, Kenya's ambassador to the UN Macharia UN and multilateralism.

"The nations of the world I think ought to be proud of themselves that every country and all civil society were in a room for three years working on sustainable development goals and subsequently working on the agenda that we know will give new life to the United Nations and multilateralism in the world and that we know will bear the benefits that this world and its humanity deserves."The Sustainable Development Goals listed in the roadmap document , or SDG, is set to replace the Millennium Development Goals, or MDG, a set of eight anti-poverty targets to be reached by the end of this year.

Meantime, the UN chief is also calling on the international community to maintain the momentum and trying to reach a new global climate pact at the Paris climate summit later this year.

"We can be the first generation that ends global poverty and the last generation to prevent the worst impacts of the global warming before it is too late."Ban Ki-moon is an active promoter of a new global climate agreement which is expected to decide whether the human being is able to rein global temperature hike below 2 degree Celsius.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Wu Hongbo also says UN bodies including the Statistics Division will be tasked to monitoring the implementation of the goals.

Meanwhile, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN Wang Min has issued a statement that China has attended the whole negotiation process of the Agenda in a constructive manner.

For CRI, I'm Su Yi in New York.

Obama unveils aggressive climate change plan amid staunch opposition at homeUS President Barack Obama has announced a new, tougher climate change plan for power plants in the country.

The Clean Power Plan is designed to try to cut carbon emissions from the power sector by 32-percent by 2030 compared with 2005 levels.

It will also place significant emphasis on wind and solar power, as well as other renewable energy sources.

The plan sets the target for renewable energy production at 28-percent of all capacity.

Opponents in the energy industry are vowing to fight the plan.

Sveral state governors have already said they will simply ignore it.

French, Malaysian Experts Meet in Paris for MH370 InvestigationFrench and Malaysian investigators have gathered in Paris to begin to assess the aircraft debris which washed up last week on Reunion Island in the western Indian Ocean.

The debris has been confirmed as being from a Boeing 777.

However, investigators are still working to determine if it is from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai says other materials discovered on Reunion Island this past weekend are also being looked at.

"Some wreckage from some sort of aluminium, frame, some sort of broken pieces of material from the plane. But we are not sure what plane was that. So we have to verify those."At the same time, Liow is asking for calm as the investigation moves forward.

"As all of you know that undue speculation is giving a lot of stress to the next of kin and also people (who is) waiting for the news. So let us not speculate. I am as anxious as all of you to know the verification result. I will inform as soon as we get the confirmation."A piece of luggage, as well as two bottles found near the aircraft debris are also being analyzed.

Investigators are warning it could take several weeks to properly verify where the debris came from.

However, the confirmation of the plane debris being from a Boeing 777 is leading many to believe it came from missing flight MH370, as no other Boeing 777 has crashed in the Indian Ocean.

The flight disappeared on March 8th of last year enroute from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people onboard, two-thirds of whom are Chinese nationals.

WeatherBeijing will be sunny with a high of 32 degrees Celsius.

Overnight it will be cloudy and temperatures will drop to 22.

Shanghai will be sunny with a high of 38 and clear tonight with a low of 28.

In Chongqing it will be cloudy in the daytime with a high of 36 and overnight it will have shower with the lowest temperature of 26.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Islamabad will be rainy today with a high of 34.

Kabul will be cloudy with a high of 30.

Over to North America,New York will be cloudy with a high of 34 degrees.

Washington, overcast, high of 35.

Honolulu, rainy, 28.

Toronto, Canada, will have slight rain with a high of 24 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,Buenos Aires will be overcast with a high of 16.

And Rio de Janeiro will be sunny with a high of 29 degrees Celsius.

Headline newsOverseas journalists invited to cover China's V-Day celebrationsDomestic and overseas journalists are being invited to cover events commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Beijing next month.

A series of events are going to take place in Beijing on September 2nd and 3rd to mark the occasion.

Overseas journalists hoping to cover the events will have to register before-hand.

Foreign militaries are also being invited to participate a parade set to be held in Beijing on September 3rd.

Flood sweeps 9 away in NW China, 2 deadTwo people are dead and 7 others missing after being swept away in flooding in Shaanxi.

The nine people were dining at a village in the Qinling Mountains when it was hit by flooding late yesterday afternoon.

Heavy rains have been inundating the region over the past 24-hours.

China airport suspended from adding routes or flightsChina's civil aviation authorities have announced they're banning the Shenzhen Airport from adding any additional flights or routes this year.

This comes following an investgation, which has determined the airport hasn't been doing enough to handle its flight delays.

The same investigation also blames Shenzhen Airlines and China United Airlines for poor management.

Nanjing releases draft regulation to enhance child protectionThe local government in Nanjing has issued new rules on child protection.

Parents in that city could face criminal charges if they leave any child under 6-year-old, or those with physical disabilities, on their own.

The new regulations also forbid parents from using long-term hunger as punishment.

Offenders may have their children taken away from them.

Last month, at least eight cases were reported in the city of children either dying or suffering injuries after being left alone by their parents or school staff in locked cars in Nanjing.

Few of the parents involved in the cases have faced charges.

UK police to look into alleged child abuse case inovlving former PM HeathThe UK's Independent Police Complaints Commission has announced its going to investigate allegations that detectives failed to pursue a complaint of child sexual abuse made against former Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath in the 1990s.

It's looking into allegations that local police in Wiltshire, in southwest England, did not pursue charges connected to allegations Edward Heath may have been involved abuses connected to children.

Details of the alleged abuse or who has made the complaints have not been made public.

Heath was Prime Minister between 1970 and 1974.

He died in 2005 at the age of 89.

Biz ReportsStocksAnchor:

Turning onto business news. First, a quick look at the closing numbers across North America and Europe as well as a recap on the Chinese market.

Joining me on the desk, Luo Wen.

Reporter:

U.S. stocks extended losses amid generally downbeat economic data on Monday, as plunging oil prices hit Wall Street sentiment.

The U.S. Commerce Department is reporting consumers' personal income continues rising while spending growth slowed in June.

Meanwhile, the July manufacturing Purchasing Manager's Index has come in at 52.7, down from the 53.1 seen in June.

Oil prices also plummeted over 4 percent on the day as after it was announced production from OPEC hit a record high in July.

In response, the overall energy sector slumped around 2 percent.

At the close,The Dow Jones shed half of a percent.

The S&P 500 trimmed 0.3 percent.

The Nasdaq dipped about 0.2 percent.

Over in Europe,Stocks there mostly climbed as improving earnings and economic indicators outweighed losses in Greek shares, which resumed trading after a five-week suspension.

Greece's main market in Athens was down as much as 23 percent in early trading before reversing part of the losses to end 16 percent lower.

At the closing bell,The UK's FTSE 100 went down a fraction of a percent.

Germany's DAX edged up 1.2 percent.

France's CAC 40 rose nearly one and a half percent.

Finally recap on the stocks' performance here in China,Shares turned south once-again on Monday following last week's declines, as investors continued to be concerned about the wild swings in the market and mounting economic headwinds.

The Shanghai Composite Index shed 1.1 percent.

The smaller Shenzhen Component Index lost 1.7 percent.

CSRC's Latest Move Focus on Programmed TradingAnchor:

China's securities regulator has frozen one of the US hedge fund Citadel LLC's accounts, accusing it of short-selling A shares on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

This comes after the China Securities Regulatory Commission announced it would be keeping a closer eye on programmed, electronic trading by institutional investment firms.

So far, exchanges in both Shanghai and Shenzhen have already restricted 38 accounts in connection with this.

Regulators say some individuals or organizations have maliciously driven up or suppressed share prices of weighted stocks like PetroChina and Sinopec.

Program trading usually focuses on a basket of stocks with buy and sell orders executed by a computer program based on predetermined conditions.

For more CSRC's latest move on programed trading, we are joined on the line by Gao Shang, analyst with Guantong Futures.

Gao Shang, analyst with Guantong Futures.

Chinese investment firms set up fund to support 'Internet Plus'

Three Chinese investment firms are teaming up to create a 5 billion yuan fund to support emerging sectors as part of the Chinese government's "Internet Plus" initiative.

Gold Stone, a subsidiary with CITIC Securities, Ce Yuan Ventures, and China Renaissance Investment Bank will pool the money to invest in companies in Internet-based real estate, automobile, financing, agriculture and other sectors.

The new fund will offer venture capital investment and capital operations, including private financing, acquisitions and mergers and IPO support for A shares listing on the Strategic Emerging Industries Board.

The "Internet Plus" initiative is meant to help the integration of the Internet with traditional sectors like manufacturing, agriculture, finance and logistics.

Chinese Airbnb Tujia Finishes Series D FundingTujia.com, the so-called Chinese version of Airbnb, has completed its latest round of funding, raising 300 million U.S. dollars.

The funding has put the company's overall valuation at more than one billion US dollars.

Comparitively, US-based Air B&B is valued at over 25 billon US dollars.

All-Stars Investment and Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi are backing the latest round of financing.

The company conducted its first round of fund-raising in 2012.

It has announced plans to launch a Customer to Customer business, allowing consumers to do rental business directly.

Meanwhile, Tujia is also planning to set up new branches overseas by the end of this year.

The vacation rentals site is also targeting overseas markets including Thailand and South Korea.

Company to take legal measures against oil scandal rumor:TingyiTianjin-based Tingyi Holdings is rebuffing reports its instant noodles sold on the mainland have been affected by a cooking oil scandal.

The company is warning it plans to take legal action against anyone who spreads this information.

In an online video, a tour guide from Taiwan is seen telling tourists from the mainland to boycott all products from Tingyi, saying the company was involved in the latest food safety incident in Taiwan.

Last year, Ting Hsin International Group, Tingyi's parent company, and many of Ting Hsin's suppliers, were found selling cooking oil tainted with animal feed.

However, Tingyi says none of its noodles produced and sold on the mainland used ingredients supplied from Taiwan.

The company has filed a formal complaint with police.

CIC said to have backed taxi-booking app Didi KuaidiIt's being reported China's sovereign wealth fund has invested an unspecified amount in taxi-booking app Didi.

China Investment Corporation is said to be one of several investors that has injected more than 2-billion U.S. dollars in recent months into the app, which is now valued at around 15-billion U.S. dollars.

The size of CIC's investment has not been revealed.

SportsChina to Face North KoreaIn football,China's women's football team will be shooting for its first win at this year's East Asian Cup as they will take on defending champions North Korea tonight.

A loss by the Chinese side will leave it at the bottom of the standings for the second consecutive year.

The other match tonight will see Japan taking on South Korea.

China has been winless at this year's tournament, with both the men's and women's football team going down to South Korea in their previous matches.

------------------Elsewhere in Chinese football,Shanghai SIPG will be on the pitch against Atletico Madrid in an international friendly in Shanghai.

Shanghai SIPG head coach Sven-Goran Eriksson says he has a lot of respect for what Atletico head coach Diego Simeone has done with his club.

"Well, I suppose it is like the characteristic of the coach. As a player, he has quality, a lot of qualities. Technically good, but very very aggressive. And Atletico Madrid is a very aggressive team. They don't allow the opponents to play. So he is doing a great job with them. But it was like he was a player. It was like he was a player. I understand that he likes that type of football."Madrid's latest recruit Luciano Vietto of Argentina will make his debut in the match after signing with the club last month.

Dario Conca will also bein the line-up tonight.

32-year-old Conca has helped Guangzhou win the Chinese Super League Cup for three consecutive years since 2011.

Shanghai SIPG is now on top of the Chinese Super League standings, ahead of Guangzhou Evergrande and Shandong Luneng.

Coaches of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Milan and Tottenham on Audi CupIn other football news,Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Milan and Tottenham Hotspur have gathered in Munich ahead of the Audi Cup.

Real Madrid head coach Rafael Benitez says the event in Germany doesn't create any new challenges for him.

"In terms of football it's similar. You have to manage a group of players, players with a lot of quality and the try to do your best. Nothing different. Obviously everything in terms of media is a little big bigger. But for you as a manager you have to concentrate on your job. That's it."Benitez has also been forced to respond to speculation about a possible rift between him and star Cristiano Ronaldo, who will not be taking part in the event in Germany.

"No problems between us. I said before he is a very competitive player so I am really pleased with that. And this morning he has had a lower back problem and then we decided we leave him there."Real Madrid beat Milan on penalties when the two sides met in Shanghai last week.

The Spanish power house will open the tournament against Tottenham later today.

Darmstadt sign former Berlin captain Peter NiemeyerIn off-pitch football news,Bundesliga newcomers Darmstadt has announced the signing of Berlin's veteran midfielder Peter Niemeyer.

The 31-year-old midfielder has played five years for Hertha Berlin where he scored nine goals in 121 appearances.

Darmstadt will take on Hannover in its first Bundesliga match on August 15th.

China to Face Venezuela at 2015 Stankovic Continental CupIn basketball,China's Olympic team has been handed a somewhat surprising setback, doing down to Mexico's second-string basketball team 92-80 in the 2015 Stankovic Cup opener.

The Mexicans made 11 of their 18 three-pointer shooting attempts and dominated the paint with 34 rebounds.

China's Guo Ailun netted 18 points while Zhu Yanxi added 15 points in the loss.

This is the first loss for China this summer.

China will next face Venezuela tonight at 7 p.m., Beijing time.

--------------In FIBA Asia U16 Championship,Defending champions China has its second consecutive win, downing fellow East Asian powerhouse South Korea 78-53.

Li Yueru had a game high 25 points and 15 rebounds for China in the victory.

Next up for China is India.

In other action,Japan hammered India 113-39.

And it was Chinese Taipei over Thailand 81-70.

Sweden swimmer Sjostrom breaks women's 100m fly WR at Kazan worldsAt the FINA World Aquatics Championships in Kazan,China's Lu Ying has taken bronze in the women's 100-meter butterfly.

The gold has gone to Sweden's Sarah Sjostrom, who has defended her title and broken the world record in the event for the second time.

London Olympics champion Ye Shiwen had a disappointing day yesterday, finishing eighth in the women's 200-meter individual medley.

China's Fu Yuanhui has made it into the women's 100m backstroke finals.

Xu Jiayu has also qualified for the men's 100m back final.

----------------------------------American swimming star Katie Ledecky has broken her own world record of the women's 1,500-meter freestyle.

The 18-year-old shaved 0.65 seconds off the mark that she first set at the Pan Pacific championships in Australia last year.

It's the fourth time Ledecky has broken the record of the event.

Ledecky also holds the world marks in the 400-meter and 800-meter free events.

China downs Australia 3-0 in volleballIn volleyball,China has cruised to 3-nil victory over Australia in a group match at the Asian Men's Volleyball Championship in Tehran.

China remains undefeated so far, and remains top of its group.

China will next face Qatar, who edged Japan last night 3-2.

David Price makes winning start as the Blue Jays beat the Twins 5-1In Major League Baseball,The Toronto Blue Jays continue their hot streak after their major moves before the trade deadline.

The Jays topped the Minnesota Twins 5-1 this morning in the opener of a four-game series between American League wild-card contenders.

Newly acquired David Price struck out 11 over eight innings in the victory.

The Blue Jays are pushing for the postseason for the first time since winning a second straight World Series in 1993.

Other games on the schedule,Serena Williams Remains as World No. 1In tennis,The latest WTA and ATP rankings are out, with little change among the top-10.

On the women's side, Serena Williams stays as world number one, ahead of Maria Sharapova and Romania's Simona Halep.

Chinese veteran Peng Shuai and rising star Zheng Saisai are the only two Chinese players in the top 100.

Peng Shuai sits in 31st place and Zheng Saisai is 68th.

--------On the men's side,Serbian Novak Djokovic has maintained his place at No. 1.

Spain's Rafael Nadal has climbed to the 9th after winning the the Hamburg Open.

Croatian Marin Cilic has moved from ninth to eighth.

Canada's Milos Raonic has been bumped from 8th to 10th.

25-year-old Zhang Ze is the highest-ranking Chinese player on the ATP rankings, sitting at 218th in the world.

EntertainmentSchedule of 18th Beijing Music Festival revealedThe annual Beijing Music Festival, a highlight of the the city's music agenda, is gaining momentum.

The theme, schedule and lineup of this year's Beijing Music Festival have now been revealed.

This year’s theme "Revel in Romance", promises to explore concept of Romanticism in Western classical music.

It features the premiere of a reproduced opera adapted from that of German composer Richard Wagner, including his famous piece "Nuremberg in the name of a singer".

It will also see the performance of German classical pianist Gerard oppitz along with the famous WDR symphony orchestra.

French-Chinese pianist Zhu Xiao Mei will be back to replay Bach's "The Goldberg Variations" after a well-received performance at last year's festival.

A total of eighteen operatic works, symphonies and piano recitals will be staged during the Beijing Music Festival.

The festival will be held from October 8 to 24.

Hamlet to be staged in BeijingShakespeare's Globe theater in London will bring the classic work Hamlet to Beijing.

Directed by Dominic Dromgoole and Bill Buckhurst, this new take on the play was created in 2014 on the occasion of the 450th anniversary of William Shakespeare's birth.

With 16 cast members, Shakespeare's Globe embarked on a two-year global tour of Hamlet, aiming to take in every country in the world.

The play will be staged at the National Center for the Performing Arts this week from Wednesday to Sunday.

Weinstein Co.'s 'Macbeth' Gets Exclusive Amazon DealThe 2015 British drama film "Macbeth" will stream exclusively on Amazon soon after its December theatrical release.

Macbeth is based on William Shakespeare's play of the same name.

Justin Kurzel has directed the film based on a script by Jacob Koskoff and Todd Louiso.

It stars Michael Fassbender in the title role and Marion Cotillard as his wife.

The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.

Macbeth will be released on October 2nd in the UK, with the US release set for Christmas.

South Korean band, F.T. Island, rocks Hong Kong stadiumSouth Korean band F.T. Island has rocked Hong Kong as part of their "We Will" Asian tour.

Opening with their 2010 hit, "Love Love Love," the band performed twenty-two songs, including "Severely," and their new single, "Pray," in front of over 3000 fans.

Hong Kong was the band's third stop on the tour and F.T. Island's next performance is back home in Seoul.

F.T. Island debuted in 2007 with Lee Hong-gi, a former child actor, as the lead singer.

The band has since gained popularity all across Asia and their fifth album, "I Will," has seen the band - best known for its pop-rock songs - take on an even rockier edge.

WeatherBeijing will be sunny with a high of 32 degrees Celsius.

Overnight it will be cloudy and temperatures will drop to 22.

Shanghai will be sunny with a high of 38 and clear tonight with a low of 28.

In Chongqing it will be cloudy in the daytime with a high of 36 and overnight it will have shower with the lowest temperature of 26.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Islamabad will be rainy today with a high of 34.

Kabul will be cloudy with a high of 30.

Over to North America,New York will be cloudy with a high of 34 degrees.

Washington, overcast, high of 35.

Honolulu, rainy, 28.

Toronto, Canada, will have slight rain with a high of 24 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,Buenos Aires will be overcast with a high of 16.

And Rio de Janeiro will be sunny with a high of 29 degrees Celsius.

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

Recapping our top stories this morning...

New traffic restrictions have been announced for later this month to coincide with major events here in Beijing.

A former Taiwan leader is being taken to task for his stated position about the Diaoyu Islands.

The US government has secured the backing of Gulf countries when it comes to the Iranian nuclear accord.

In Business... a new fund has been established to help promote Internet Plus.

On behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers, this is Paul James in Beijing hoping you'll join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour to open a window to the world together.