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

Coming up on our program this morning...

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has arrived in Tianjin, taking time to pay homage to the firefighters who lost their lives in last week's massive Port explosion.

Search operations have resumed in rural Shaanxi where close to 60 people remain missing following a massive landslide at a mine site.

Wreckage has now been discovered of a passenger aircraft which went down yesterday in eastern Indonesia with over 50 people onboard.

In Business... new reports show George Soros is divesting out of Alibaba.

In Sports... China rides high once-again in the finals of the Badminton World Championships.

In entertainment.... the director of this year's biggest summer blockbuster has been tapped to be part of the Star Wars franchise.

Top NewsLi Visits Blast SiteAnchorChinese Premier Li Keqiang has taken time to honor the fire fighters who lost their lives in the Tianjin explosion.

CRI's Luo Wen reports.

ReporterLi Keqiang has made a stop at a fire brigade in Tianjin, speaking highly of fire fighters' performance in battling deadly fires at the Port.

"Both the official firefighters and their contract counterparts tried their best to evacuate workers at the port to safety, regardless of the dangers to themselves. In this accident, fire fighters also suffered the heaviest casualties, but made the greatest contribution. They are all heroes and deserve the respect of society."A total of 112 people have confirmed dead while 95 others are still unaccounted for after the blasts at a chemical warehouse tore through the port area of the Tianjin Binhai New Area last Wednesday.

Of the dead, 21 are firefighters.

85 firefighters are still listed among the missing, including 13 in active service, and 72 working for the Tianjin Port.

Li Keqiang says the firefighters are being considered equal, regardless of their designation.

"All the dead -- whether official firefighters or contract counterparts -- will enjoy the same posthumous honor and their families will be given the same compensation."The premier arrived in Tianjin on Sunday afternoon.

Apart from visiting rescuers and the injured, he's also met with the working group coordinating the rescue and recovery operations.

Li Keqiang is also demanding tight environmental monitoring, noting its become one of the main concerns.

"The monitoring of the environment should be conducted around the clock with the timely release of accurate, authoritative information to the public. An evacuation order should be sent out without delay if the content of a toxic chemical is found beyond safe limits in the air."The premier is also promising support for the hundreds of people who have been moved out of their homes in the area around the blast site.

Li Keqiang is also demanding the swift release of information connected to the explosions, and says anyone found to be in derelection of duty will be severely punished.

A work safety overhaul is taking place across the country focusing on dangerous chemicals and inflammable materials.

For CRI, I'm Luo Wen.

Rescuers work to clear chemicals at blast site before rain fallsAnchorWork is underway at the blast site in the Port of Tianjin to remove a highly-poisonous chemical from the area.

Time has also become a factor in the situation.

CRI's Min Rui has more.

ReporterChinese soldiers and rescue workers have begun working on the site in gas masks and bio-hazard suits following confirmation of toxic sodium cyanide at the blast site.

Crews are trying to clear the chemicals before any rain falls.

Water combined with sodium cyanide can create a toxic gas.

Military expert Han Zhongping says crews are setting up zones on the blast site to better help decontaminate the area.

"First, we're breaking down the whole blast area into several zones in order to map out a thorough search. This should help eliminate possible hazards and search for chemicals, especially toxic ones. One of the big challenges will be to how to prevent contamination."It's believed as much as 700 tonnes of sodium cyanide, a highly toxic inorganic compound, was among a collection of dangerous chemicals stored in the warehouse which set off the massive explosion on Wednesday.

However, the exact volume of the chemicals at the site has yet to be verified.

A military team of some 200 chemical warfare specialists are still working around the core area of the blast.

At the same time, other measures are being taken to prevent additional disasters.

Crews are spraying hydrogen peroxide to make any sodium cyanide on the site inert.

Military expert Han Zhongping says clearing the chemical danger should be the main priority.

"The management and control of these chemicals is one of the major tasks. Neutralizing and cleaning up, as well as screening for hazards is very important. On the one hand, crews need to be careful that no new fires break out. On the other hand, they have to keep a close eye on the highly toxic chemicals. They need to be properly handled. Only by neutralizing the chemicals can we completely eliminate the potential for a new fire."Despite the presence of some pollutants beyond normal standards, authorities in Tianjin say the air remains safe to breathe.

Wei Enqi with the Tianjin Environmental Monitoring Center says neighboring areas, including Beijing and Hebei, also don't have to worry.

"According to our recent monitoring, the direction of the wind continues to go from the southwest to northeast, which means any air pollutants are blown towards the sea."In addition, no pollutants have been detected in waters off Tianjin harbor.

Maritime authorities have been keeping a very close eye on water pollution levels since the initial blast on Wednesday evening.

The Tianjin Maritime Safety Bureau has contingency plans in-place should contamination become a concern.

For CRI, I'm Min Rui.

Websites punished for spreading rumors about Tianjin blastsChinese Internet regulators are launching a crackdown on online rumors connected to the explosions in Tianjin.

The Cyberspace Administration of China has sanctioned 50 different websites for creating panic by publishing unverified information or letting users spread rumors.

Reports circulating on the websites have included false information on the impact of the blasts and allegations of looting at the port where the explosions occurred.

The CAC has shut down and revoked the licenses of 18 of the websites, and suspended the operations of another 32.

Search for Landslide Victims Resumes in ShaanxiSeven people are confirmed dead and 57 others are still listed as missing following a landslide last week in Shaanxi.

The massive slide rolled through a mining operation in a rural area of the province, leveling the living quarters of the operation.

Chen Jun, chief engineer of the rescue team, says the slide is still posing a threat.

"We're monitoring the debris, which has been showing signs of a possible collapse. To ensure the safety of the search crews, the headquarters told them to withdraw from the debris field."The search for the missing is back underway after being temporarily suspended on Saturday.

It involves some 700 police officers and firefighters.

The landslide hit early Wednesday, burying 64 people.

Ten managed to avoid the initial slide, while 4 were pulled to safety afterward.

China's O2O catering industry makes eating easyAnchorService industry observers in China are expecting significant growth in the online meal ordering sector, which is becoming increasingly popular here in China.

CRI's Fu Yu brings more details.

ReporterYou can get almost whatever you want to eat at any time just with a click on your phone.

A local in Beijing surnamed Chen says he is a loyal customer of online ordering.

"I basically order take-out online once or twice a week, mostly on weekend when I want to take a little rest. Now ordering food is more common than before. We can see both the price and menu from the internet. With online menu, we can clearly know what we are ordering. And by paying with master card, I don't need what worry about changes."Currently, internet giant Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent all participate in this business, which is known as online to offline catering.

To make food delivered faster, a special delivery team is usually set up by the internet companies.

The delivery staff are deployed in different districts of a city so that they can move quickly once they receive an order.

Consumers can also follow the order through the internet.

Meanwhile, some companies also present discounts to attract more customers.

Zhu, a staffer at Baidu Takeaway, says O2O catering service has great potential in China.

"Now the Chinese take-out market only takes up 6 percent of the total food and restaurant business in China. This is far behind the 30 percent target reached in some developed countries. However, China's take-out business has great potential, especially when it comes to online ordering. Ten percent of all the take-order is made online, which ranks only after Britain, Germany and France."Statistics from Enfodesk, a provider of information products, services and solutions in the Chinese internet market, show the volume of O2O catering surged quickly last year, reaching 15 billion Yuan, or 2.3 billion US dollars.

Most of the customers are students and white-collar workers born in the 1980s and 1990s.

Lu Zhenxi, an E-commerce observer, says there is more at stake here than just convenient food orders.

"It is a big market closely linked to the online payment sector, which may later develop into internet financing. So the online ordering business can inspire many other business opportunities."However, food safety is a concern with O2O catering. Some internet companies are looking for solutions, such as seeking consumer complaints, cooperating with insurance companies for food insurance business, and so on.

For CRI, this is Fu Yu.

East Meets West at the 66th Edinburgh Military TattooAnchorA pair of Chinese acts are being featured at this year's Edinburgh Festival.

CRI's Duan Xuelian has more from the Scottish capital.

ReporterOver 1,200 performers from around the world are gathered at this year's festival.

Among them there are 140 performers from the People's Liberation Army Military Band and the Changxing Lotus Dragon Group.

David Allfrey, Chief Executive and Producer of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo says he's very excited about the Chinese performances, which are part of the China-UK Year of Cultural Exchange.

"They have delivered an amazing performance while they have been here in Edinburgh. There are tremendous contrasts, the PLA military orchestra delivered wonderful Chinese military orchestra music but also a cappella singing a Chinese love song, it is so contrasting as to be wonderful, and they look fantastic, they march quite beautifully at top act, and immediately following them, we have Changxi Lotus Dragon which is beautiful, delicate, the music is gentle and watery if I can call it that, and when it is lit here, it looks entrancing. We've had wonderful comments from everybody."The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is now into its 66th year.

The PLA military band was at the event in 2004, and this year, returned to the stage in Edinburgh with a special performance dedicated to the China-UK Year of Cultural Exchange.

Cheng Daming is the Artistic Director of the PLA military band.

"It's a new way of communicating through music. This time we have brought a new song which was re-written from two of the most widely known folk songs of China and Scotland, 'The Half-moon is Arising' and 'For Old Times' Sake.' And it proved to be very popular with the live audience."Changxing Dragon Lotus dance troop is making their first appearance at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

The art group's director Yang Mingzhu says they're hoping to make a splash which their debut at the event.

"Everything, including our costumes, props and traveling equipment is brand new. We want to make sure we impress. The Edinburgh Military Tattoo is well known and has a lot of influence in the world of culture. We know that our month long performance here in Edinburgh will give us good publicity and a valuable chance to meet fellow performers from other countries."With a history dating back some 200 years, the traditional dragon dance performance has been listed as part of China's intangible cultural heritage since 2006.

For CRI, I'm Duan Xuelian in Edinburgh.

Indonesian passenger plane wreckage found in remote PapuaAnchorThe wreckage of a downed Indonesian passanger aircraft has been found in the remote western Papua region.

It's still not known if any of the 54 people onboard have survived.

CRI's Poornima Weerasekara has moreReporterIndonesian Aviation officials say the Trigana Air flight lost contact with ground control at 2:55 PM local time on Sunday as it flew from the regional capital Jayapura to the town of Oksibil in Papua, in the easterm part of Indonesia.

Director General of Indonesia's Aviation Authority, Suprasetyo, says parts of the aircraft have been found not far from its intended landing site at the Oksibil airport.

"According to the information, the Trigana Air aircraft that lost contact was found at Camp 3, Ok Bape District in the Bintang Mountains regency. The information provided by the local residents said that the flight crashed into Tangok mountain. The detail on this finding is still under investigation."The wreckage has been discovered by villagers, who then alerted officials.

The twin turboprop was carrying 44 adult passengers, five children and five crew.

Bad weather is being pointed to as one of the possible reasons for the crash.

A second plane, which had been sent out to look for the missing one, was forced to turn back because of dangerous flying conditions.

Indonesian transport minister Ignasius Jonan says troops have been sent to the remote mountainous region near Oksibil to continue the search.

"The search will continue today. The officials of the National Search and Rescue Agency will go there with the Air Transportation Director General to facilitate the evacuation work and clarify things to the families of passengers on board."Trigana Air has had 14 serious incidents since it began operations in 1991, and has lost 10 aircraft.

It has been on a European Union blacklist of banned carriers since 2007.

All but four of Indonesia's certified airlines are on that list.

One of the major concerns is the age of the air fleets in Indonesia.

All aircraft owned by Trigana Air, including the small plane that crashed on Sunday, have been in-use for over 26 years.

Sunday's incident is the latest in a string of aviation disasters in Indonesia over the past year.

In December an AirAsia plane crashed in the Java Sea, killing all 192 people on board.

In July a military transport plane crashed in a residential area of Medan, Sumatra, claiming 140 lives.

The Indonesian government has introduced several new regulations hoping to improve the country's patchy aviation safety record.

For Cri I'm Poornima WeerasekaraAnti-Taliban minister killed in Pakistan blastA suicide bombing has killed a government minister in Pakistan.

Shuja Khanzada was a vocal critic of the Taliban.

He headed a provincial government department linked to Pakistan's National Action Plan against terrorism.

Witnesses say the bombing targeted Kanzada's home, which is in a city about 80-kilometers northwest of Islamabad.

"After praying, when I was going out from the corridor, I only walked four to five steps on the corridor when a huge explosion took place. I don't know what happened afterwards. I did not see anything. I fell down on the ground."The explosion also left 9 others dead, with a dozen others wounded.

Four of them are in critical condition.

Khanzada helped establish the anti-terrorism department in province of Punjab, which is home to a variety of local militant groups, most of them allied to the Taliban or al-Qaida.

Modi kicks off UAE visits with mosque tourIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has begun a two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates, visiting a site in Abu Dhabi home to some 50-thousand migrant workers.

Modi has met with some of the Indian workers living at the site.

"Those who are living in slum areas in desert areas and low salaries, they cannot afford to buy the airfare (to India) even if they are going once a year or maybe once in two years. Of course so many workers are low rank workers. My concern is about the low rank workers."The UAE uses migrant labor from India and other parts of South Asia to help build up its infrastructure.

Authorities have been criticized for the treatment of its migrant labor force.

There have been numerous reports of foreign laborers having their passports taken from them by their employers.

Palestinians, Israelis clash with police over Palestinian prisoner in hunger strikingSupporters of a Palestinian prisoner currently on a hunger strike and right-wing Israelis have clashed with Israeli police in the city of Ashkelon near the hospital where the prisoner is being treated.

Police have used water cannons to try to clear the crowds near the hospital.

Local police say a number of protesters have been detained.

"The policy of the head of the southern district was to allow legitimate protests as long as it is authorized and as long as there is no incitement or violence. From about 18:00, 18:30 a minority group arrived at the area of Barzilai hospital as well as a group of Jews at the area of Barzilai hospital when calls of incitement began on the Jewish side. I gave the order to disperse the demonstrators, the dispersal order was given and following arrests were made."Hunger strikes by Palestinian prisoners in Israel have become a major source of concern for Israeli authorities.

Mosquarium Opens in RussiaAnchorPeople in Moscow have been flocking to one of the Russian capital's newest attractions: A massive aquarium.

CRI's Xie Cheng has moreReport"Mosquarium" opened August 5th and is giving the residents of Moscow as well as tourists the chance to explore life under the sea.

The centre boasts as being unique, given its size and the variety of exhibits.

Marina Zhuravleva is the head of the oceanography and sea biology centre.

"The concept of "Mosquarium" has no parallels in Russia or Europe, it's a really big complex of oceanarium and a sea exploration centre that was built far from the seaside."The complex is divided into three areas: aquariums, a whale pool and a centre for swimming with dolphins.

It hosts more than 250 different kinds of fish, representing fauna from various parts of the world, all the way from Greenland to the Far Eastern parts of Russia.

Lyudmila Likhbatova, a visitor, shares her impression of the place:

"There's so much to see here that it's even difficult to remember what one likes most. The variety of fish, sharks swimming above one's head, plenty of little pretty fish, some look as if they were covered with velvet. Impressive!"The centre covers an area of 53 thousand square metres with 25 million litres of water being used in its 80 aquariums and pools. But thats not all it has according to Zhuravleva.

"The character of each exhibition is enhanced by our ceiling decor as well. There're icicles hanging form the floor in zones representing cold water inhabitants, water lilies in warm water zones and real size models of fish that unfortunately wouldn't fit in any aquarium."Narnia, Nord and Juliette, the three whales of the aquarium, take part in spectacular shows with special sound and light effects several times a week.

Visitors will also be able to try swimming with dolphins as soon as the creatures get used to their new home.

With more than 82 thousand people having visited the aquarium during the first five days, it appears there is nothing "fishy" about this new aquarium.

For CRI, I'm Xie Cheng.

London Vinyl Finds Success in AsiaAnchorA company in London has been using technology from the 1950's to help meet the growing demand of record collectors here in China and other parts of east Asia.

Our Catherine Drew has more from London.

Reporter:

This was in a very poor state, the two machines together took around 3 years to restore.

In London Pete Hutchison describes how he spent 3 years sourcing and repairing recording equipment from the 1950s. For many years he ran the PeaceFrog record label before approaching EMI about their large catalogue of original master tapes of classical recordings.

"So I had an idea that I wanted to licence the tapes and remake the records using the original equipment. The problem was that nobody had the original equipment so I'd ring up the major studios, the big names and say look I want to remake this record from the 50s using the original valve equipment, cut it in mono, and nobody had that equipment working so I then had to go on this sort of pilgrimage if you like to find the original equipment, get it restored and up to scratch and in working order."So far the Electric Recording Company or ERC, has issued 15 classical titles….with a usual run of 300 discs. 50 per cent of the company’s output is bought by collectors in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan.

The ERC's business has grown 60 per cent year on year since it was established in 2012…. so why is this cut vinyl so popular. Dave Parsons is a rare classical records dealer, and runs the web site classic vinyl. com. He says music recording in the 1950s was very different.

"Back then it wasn't about money, it was about quality and that's something that ERC are doing now. They are going to extreme lengths to recreate the vinyl LP in the same way that they did in the 50s. I've played the originals and compared to the electric record and compared and in most cases they're better, so they're doing a fantastic job.

The Electric Recording company is now embarking on giving the ERC treatment to jazz records of the 50s and 60s after signing a deal with Concord Music of Los Angeles. Pete Hutchison again.

"Concord are the rights holders jazz from the late fifties to to early sixties, artists like John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Bill Evans so we are looking to remake some of the very rare 50s jazz records using the the equipment with limited runs, handmade sleeves, so that people can have a really beautiful copy of the master tape as it would have been new back in the day. "These jazz albums will be available to buy from next year.

For CRI, I'm Catherine Drew in London.

WeatherBeijing will see thundershowers with a high of 31 degrees Celsius.

Overnight temperatures should drop down to 22.

Shanghai will be cloudy with a high of 32 and a low of 25.

In Chongqing, it will have showers during the daytime with a high of 28 and lows of 25.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Kathmandu, slight rain, 27.

Islamabad will see slight rain with a high of 35.

Kabul will be cloudy with a high of 30.

Over to North America,New York will be cloudy with a high of 32 degrees.

Washington, cloudy with a high of 34 degrees.

Honolulu, slight rain, 28.

Toronto will be overcast with a high of 30 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,Buenos Aires will have slight rain with a high of 17.

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

Headline newsBlast Death Toll Exceeds 110The official death toll from last week's deadly explosion at the Port of Tianjin now stands at 112.

95 others are listed as missing, including 85 firefighters.

At the same time, crews are trying to clear blast site of Sodium Cyanide.

Prosecutors have begun investigating whether there is any dereliction of duty involved in the explosions.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has arrived in Tianjin, heaping praise on fire fighters and calling for transparency and the timely release of information.

7 dead, 57 missing after NW China landslideSeven people are confirmed dead and 57 others remain missing following last week's deadly landslide at a mining operation in Shaanxi.

Recovery operations have resumed after being suspended for a time over the weekend over fears of more slides.

The deadly slide plowed over the dormatories at the mining site in a remote area of Shaanxi near the border with Hebei and Henan.

Ten workers managed to escape the slide unhurt, while 4 others were later pulled out alive.

Egypt's Sisi promises new parliament by end of 2015Egypt's President is promising new parliamentary elections are going to be held before the end of the year.

Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi has made the pledge at a speech in Cairo on Sunday.

Egypt has been without a working parliament for the past 3-years since the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi.

Parliamentary elections were supposed to be held earlier this year.

Number of Injured rises to 21 in Hungarian train collisionTwenty-one people have been taken to hospital following a train collision in Hungary.

The two trains collided head-on after being put on the same track at a station in northeastern Budapest.

None of the injuries are said to be life threatening.

The trains were only moving at around 20-kilometers per hour when they hit.

Death toll in India, Pakistan skirmish on LoC rises to 8 in Indian-controlled KashmirThe death toll from fighting in Indian-controlled Kashmir has risen to 8.

The exchange of fire between Indian and Pakistani troops along the Actual Line of Control.

The fresh skirmish has triggered panic among the civilian population on both sides of LoC.

The LoC is a de facto border that divides Kashmir into Indian and Pakistani controlled sections.

Plane with 54 people on board loses contact in Papua, IndonesiaWreckage of missing passenger aircraft has reportedly been found in Indonesia.

The plane lost contact while on a flight on Sunday.

Bad weather is hampering the search operations in the mountainous area where the plane disappeared.

There were 54 people onboard.

It's unclear if any have survived.

Biz ReportsAnchorTurning onto business news. First let's get a preview of what we can expect on the markets this week.

Here's Luo Wen.

ReporterThis week, the markets will continue to watch the Chinese yuan after its unexpected devaluation, with anticipation that the dollar will strengthen a bit more, boosting bond-market activity.

Minutes from the Federal Reserve July meeting due to be released on Wednesday will be closely watched for clues of an interest rate rise.

Investors will also look for the Labor Department's Consumer Price Index on Wednesday, which is expected to have increased 0.2 percent in July, a bit down from a rise of 0.3 percent in June.

Housing data, including housing starts and building permits on Tuesday and existing home sales on Thursday will also be in focus.

On the corporate front,On Monday, beauty products company Estee Lauder is expected to report revenue and profit beat estimates for the fourth quarter.

The company has been seeing a revival in sales in North America, helped by product launches and acquisitions.

Retailer Wal-Mart is expected to report better-than-expected quarterly sales on Tuesday, while Target is expected to miss estimates when it reports on Wednesday.

Home Depot, the world's No. one home improvement chain, is likely to report second-quarter sales below analysts' average estimate on Tuesday.

Hardware and software maker Hewlett-Packard Co is expected to report third-quarter earnings slightly above analysts' average estimate on Thursday.

Agriculture equipment maker John Deere will report its third-quarter results on Friday.

Investors will be looking for an update on the company's plans to shutter more factories to adjust to lower demand.

They will also be looking for more information about last week's blast in Tianjin which left a number of John Deere workers critically injured.

Securities watchdog vows ongoing stock market stabilizationAnchorChina's securities regulator has gone on-record saying the China Securities Finance Corporation - the national margin lender that was tasked with buying shares during the market slump - will continue to play a stabilizing role for the next few years.

The CSRC does say the CSF will only enter the market during times of volatility.

The CSF has played a significant role in the stock market rescue which was launched after Shanghai's benchmark shed some 30 percent in three weeks from mid-June.

The regulator has also revealed that CSF has recently transferred some shares it bought during the sell-off to Central Huijin, which is the investment unit of China's sovereign wealth fund.

No further details have been given regarding the share transfer.

For more on CSRC's statement, we are now joined on the line by Mike Bastin, director of China Business Center based in London.

Q1, Does CSRC's plan, keeping China Securities Finance Corporation directly involved in the market, provide peace-of-mind for investors? How so?

Q2, Why did the national margin trading service provider transfer shares to an investment arm of the government, Central Huijin Investment Company?

Q3, Some insiders say with the market going back to its normal fluctuations, China Securities Finance Corporation will affect the automatic regulation function of the market. What's your take on that?

Back anchor:

Mike Bastin, director of China Business Center based in London.

Toyota halts Tianjin operations through Wednesday after explosionsJapanese auto maker Toyota has announced it won't be restarting its operations in Tianjin until at least Wednesday.

The company says Wednesday's explosions at the Port of Tianjin have not affected the company's production facilities in the area.

However, Toyota says the evacuation notices will keep them shut down for the time being.

Around 50 Toyota employees were injured in last week's blast.

The company has not yet calculated its potential losses because of the explosion.

George Soros Sells Alibaba SharesIt's being reported that billionaire George Soros' fund has sold off most of it stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.

Soros Fund Management sold off around 4.3 million Alibaba shares during the 2nd quarter.

It now holds just 60-thousand shares worth about 4.9 million U.S. dollars, down from the 370 million U.S. dollars worth of shares it had at the end of the first quarter.

The Soros Fund has also sold over 358-thousand shares in Chinese search engine Baidu.

The Soros fund controls over 30 billion U.S. dollars in investments.

Alibaba's share price hit historic highs in November, two months after its initial public offering in New York.

The company has since lost 37 percent of its value.

China FTZ city begins cargo train service to PolandA new cargo train service has been opened linking the coastal city of Xiamen in Fujian with Poland.

The direct cargo line goes through Kazakstan, Russia and Belarus before reaching Poland.

It is the first rail line linking a Chinese Free Trade Zone with Central Asia and Europe.

The cargo service will run from Xiamen to Poland once a week.

It takes the train 15 days to make the run.

China Vanke H1 profit growth slowsChina Vanke, the country's largest property developer, has posted slower profit growth in the first half of this year.

The developer's net profits have edged up 0.7-percent year on year to some 4.8-billion yuan.

This is down from the 5.5-percent increase in net profits seen in the first half of last year.

Vanke's revenues hit 50.3 billion yuan in the first six months, up nearly 23-percent year on year.

Three Berlin airport builders in graft probeThree German companies are reportedly part of a fraud investigation connected to their work at Berlin's new airport project, which is already five years behind schedule.

Siemens, Bosch and Deutsche Telekom unit T-Systems are suspected of submitting inflated bills to the company building the BER airport on the outskirts of the German capital.

The anti-corruption unit of the consortium responsible for the airport has launched a probe into large payments to the three companies approved by BER executives.

The bills date from before the planned 2012 opening, and are requests for extra payments for originally unforeseen services.

All payments made since the start of the project will be subject to another review.

Officials hope to have the new airport operational by late 2017.

SportsChen Long Beats Lee Chong-wei to Retain World TitleFrom the badminton world championships in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Team China has once-again dominated the finals, taking home the world championships in men's singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles.

Chen Long has defended his world title, dumping Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei in straight sets, 21-14, 21-17 in the final.

"I am really happy to be able to defend my title. It has been very difficult for China's men's singles as we failed to win titles for a long time. I played very well today and I am happy to be the champion here."Lee Chong-wei, who was competing as an unseeded player after returning from an eight-month doping ban, has finished runner-up in four consecutive world championships.

In women's singles,Carolina Marin of Spain has raised the trophy for the second consecutive year after beating India's Saina Nehwal in the final.

"Today I think the secret was to enjoy the match, enjoy the final, and of course enjoy the crowd. They were supporting me during my match and I really appreciated it. I was really happy when I was playing and I have to say thank you so much to Indonesian fans and to this amazing crowd."In mixed doubles,Top-ranked Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei have retained their mixed doubles title, edging out Liu Cheng and Bao Yixin in an all-China final.

In women's doubles,Defending champions Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei have reclaimed the title after getting past Denmark's Christinna Pedersen and Kamilla Rytter Juhl in the final.

The golds in men's doubles have gone to Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia, who got past China's Liu Xiaolong and Qiu Zihan in straight sets.

Shanghai SIPG Beat Hangzhou Greentown 2-1;English Premier League RecapIn football,From the Chinese Super League.

A pair of goals by 23-year old Wu Lei has led Shanghai SIPG to a 2-1 victory over Hangzhou Greentown.

With the win, Shanghai SIPG now sit atop the league standings with 49 points, 1 point ahead of Guangzhou Evergrande.

Shandong Luneng has moved up to the third place after blanking Chongqing Lifan 3-0.

In other action,Guizhou Renhe got past Henan Jianye 2-nil.

And it was Liaoning over Guangzhou R&F 1-nil.

-----------------In the English Premier Leauge,Manchester City has jumped to the top of the table in Week 2 of the league, thumping defending champions Chelsea 3-0.

Man City manager Manuel Pellegrini says his club is doing a lot of things right at the moment.

"I'm so proud to manage this team in the way we played today. We have played just two games in this season, but in both games we score three goals in each game. We have more concentration in defending, so that's why we also have two clean sheets in the two games. It's a balanced team, but never to change the style to defend with more players."In other action,It was Arsenal over Crystal Palace 2-1.

------------Elsewhere in Europe,Paris Saint-Germain has clinched a 2-nil home win over newly-promoted Ajaccio in the French top league.

Belinda Bencic wins Rogers Cup titleIn tennis,Swiss teen Belinda Bencic has won this year's Rogers Cup tournament after Romanian Simona Halep withdrew from the final due to injury.

Halep retired with a left leg injury and heat exhaustion, and pulled out in the third set after dropping the first 3 games in the last set.

This is the second WTA Tour trophy for Bencic, who upset world number one Serena Williams in a three-set marathon semi-final.

"To close out a match against any players is very tough, to close out a match against Serena Williams is another story. I've seen her on TV so many times turn around matches. I knew she was not going to hand it to me. I got really nervous, I think that's nervous, everyone would. I'm really proud that at 5-4 I somehow closed it out."-----------In Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati,American Lauren Davis has advanced to the next round, beating her compatriot Nicole Gibbs in straight sets 7-6, 6-4.

Other competitors including Australian Casey Dellacqua, Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic and Mona Barthel from Germany are also through.

The Baltimore Orioles rout the Oakland Athletics 18-2In Major League Baseball,Chen Wei-Yin from Taiwan pitched six solid innings and Adam Jones homered twice to help the Baltimore Orioles rout the Oakland A's 18-2 on Sunday.

The 30-year-old on his team's offensive production.

"Yeah, of course I was happy because I've never seen my teammates score that many runs. And because of that, I didn't really pitch all that well but with all the runs coming in, that's why we were able to win the game."This marks Baltimore's third straight win.

In other action,The LA Dodgers beat the Cincinnati Reds 2-1.

The Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 4-0.

The Toronto Blue Jays beat the NY Yankees 3-1.

The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the NY Mets 8-1.

The Seattle Mariners beat the Boston Red Sox 10-8.

The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-1.

The Minnesota Twins beat the Cleveland Indians 4-1.

And it's Giants entertaining Nationals 5-0.

EntertainmentJurassic world director will take on "Star Wars: Episode IX"After directing the biggest block buster this season, Jurassic World Director Colin Trevorrow is now getting ready to take on the Star Wars franchise.

Disney has announced just announced that Trevorrow will direct Star Wars Episode 9, that is set for release in 2019.

Star Wars: Episode 9 will conclude the third trilogy of the Star Wars movies. It begins with Star Wars: The Force Awakens that will hit theatres world-wide on December 18 this year.

While production of the latest Star Wars franchise will not begin for a few years, Trevorrow is heading to Lucasfilm this year to begin working with artists and his fellow Star Wars directors.

Just days ago, J.J. Abrams confirmed that he would not be returning for the finale of this new trilogy, although he'll likely be involved as a producer.

Trevorrow's career has certainly skyrocketed over the past few years, from directing the indie film Safety Not Guaranteed, to helming the hugely profitably Jurassic Park sequel, and now into a galaxy far, far away.

Orlando Bloom: 'Pirates Of The Caribbean' Actor To Reprise His Role As Will Turner In 'Dead Men Tell No Tales'

Orlando Bloom: 'Pirates Of The Caribbean' Actor To Reprise His Role As Will Turner In 'Dead Men Tell No Tales'

Orlando Bloom's character as "Will Turner" is back for yet another swashbuckling adventure in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

It has finally been officially announced at the Disney Expo that Orlando Bloom will be back on screen with Johnny Depp after months of speculation.

Orlando Bloom was the main hero of the first few Pirates of the Caribbean films. His presence was missed in 2011's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

In Dead Men Tell No Tales, Captain Jack Sparrow, played by Johnny Depp is in search for the Trident of Poseidon, an artifact that gives the owner complete control over the seas.

Filming of Dead Men Tell No Tales wrapped up in Australia last week.

The movie is now in post-production.

WWII-themed Cartoons to Hit Chinese TelevisionThree cartoons featuring Chinese war against Japanese aggression in World War II will be broadcast from today.

The cartoons are part of China's commemoration of the 70th anniversary of its WWII victory.

All three are based on WWII stories such as "Tunnel Warfare", or "Di Dao Zhan" in Chinese.

The story focuses on Chinese villagers who try to protect themselves from Japanese invaders by building a network of tunnels in their villages.

It was made into a film in 1965.

The other two cartoons are called "The Letter with Feathers" and "The Defense of Yuan Zi Ya"The cartoons are aimed at teaching China's younger generation about that important period in history.

Taylor Swift welcomes superstar guests Julia Roberts, Joan Baez; performs with Little Mix, Fifth Harmony in Cali showsTaylor Swift continued surprise her fans during her latest world tour, bringing onstage not only special musical guests Little Mix but also some serious legends – Julia Roberts and folk singer Joan Baez.

The singer's second concert in Santa Clara, California was just another chance to add to her already impressive squad.

Swift and the Little Mix girls sang the group's hit single "Black Magic."But Oscar winner Julia Roberts and folk singer Baez were the biggest surprises of the night.

Both women donned 1989 tour T-shirts for the appearance and sang the song "Shaking it off" with Swift.

Swift and Roberts actually have a big screen history: the pair both starred in 2010's Valentine's Day.

Just one night before, Swift became the special sixth member of a different band: Fifth Harmony.

Swift's tour has included multiple surprise musical guests, including Andy Grammar, Nick Jonas and even Fetty Wap.

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

Recapping our top stories this morning...

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has arrived in Tianjin, taking time to pay homage to the firefighters who lost their lives in last week's massive Port explosion.

Search operations have resumed in rural Shaanxi where close to 60 people remain missing following a massive landslide at a mine site.

Wreckage has now been discovered of a passanger aircraft which went down yesterday in eastern Indonesia with over 50 people onboard.

In Business... new reports show George Soros is divesting out of Alibaba.

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.