新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 20:00 2015/08/22（在线收听）

The Beijing Hour (Saturday-Sunday)Evening EditionIt's Shane Bigham with you here on this Saturday, August 22nd, 2015.

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

Coming up on the program this evening...

Troops from China and several other countries have been conducting drills to prepare for the military parade on September 3rd...

A funeral has been held in Bangkok for one of the Chinese nationals killed in an explosion in the city on Monday...

Passengers on a high speed train in France helped to subdue an armed passenger who wounded several people...

In the 2nd half of the hour, we'll bring you some of the business stories making headlines over the past week.

In Sports...the world Athletics Championships have opened in Beijing...

And in Entertainment...a popular Chinese children's story is to be made into a movie...

All of that coming up in the next hour, but first, just a reminder there are several ways to reach out to us here on the Beijing Hour.

You can follow us on our weibo account at weibo.com/beijinghour.

We're also on WeChat. Type in "Beijing Hour" to find us.

Email us directly at [email protected].

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

Top NewsPresident Xi opens athletics worldsChinese President Xi Jinping has opened the world athletics championships in the "Bird's Nest" National Stadium.

The president declared the championships open at a ceremony themed "Flying with Dreams," ahead of the evening session that features the women's shot put and men's 10,000m final.

The first gold medal went to a 19-year-old marathoner from Eritrea this the morning.

Female Honor Guard to Present in Parade on September 3 for the first timeTroops are still practicing for the September 3 military parade that will feature 12,000 soldiers and 500 pieces of China's latest military gear.

Foreign journalists were invited to a military base outside Beijing on Saturday to watch the training.

Among the troops were 62 female honour guard soldiers who are to march in the parade. It will be the first time that female soldiers have participated in anZhao Ying, an air force rifle brigade soldier, says she has to overcome some difficulties being a female honor guard soldier in the parade.

"The hardest thing for us female soldiers to overcome, well, one of them is this rifle. Because we're the rifle brigade, and when comparing the male and female soldiers, the physical strength of us female soldiers might be a little weaker than that of the male soldiers. Another one might be, well, because we're in the back of the male soldiers, and their shoulders are broader, so when we're squared up and marching together, we might be a bit weaker, but by now we have already overcome these hardships."The parade is widely seen as a high-profile display of the people's army's fast-growing capabilities, and China is growing more active in asserting its territorial claims in the South China Sea and the East China Sea.

Zhang Hongjie, flag soldier for the honor guard, feels the pressure of representing soldiers who fought during the war.

"The only pressure that we feel comes from trying to show our spirit and actions in a more precise way on day of the military parade. After all, this is a day of commemoration for the war against Japanese aggression, and our modern troops will show our spirit on this sort of special day. "Throughout the parade there will be instrumental and choral performances presented by the military Combined Band and the military Chorus. Most of the music and songs to be performed are classic works from the wartime era.

Photos Show Overseas Chinese WWII ContributionAnchor:

Over 300 historical photos on the contributions made by overseas Chinese during World War II are on display in Beijing. As CRI's Wang Wei explains, these expats were involved in the war on the Chinese and the European fronts.

Reporter:

The exhibition is at the Overseas Chinese History Museum in Beijing.

It is to remember and pay tribute to expats who dedicated their lives and assets to the war against Japanese aggression in China.

The exhibition includes a series of photos about the Wuhan Chorus, led by a Chinese person living in Singapore. Museum curator Huang Jikai says the Chorus raised funds for the War during its tours in Singapore and Malaysia in 1938 and 1939.

"During the tour, they sang a lot of songs about the resistance against Japanese aggression like '800 Heroes' and 'Selling Flowers'. These songs spread extensively around Southeast Asia at that time. The Wuhan Chorus donated about 6 million yuan to the motherland in more than one year,"Some photos tell stories of overseas Chinese who returned to China to fight in the war.

"The three photos tell the situation of overseas Chinese volunteers in the 61st Division under the 19th Army in the Battle of Shanghai. As part of the 19th Army, these volunteers defended the country with their blood and lives,"Meanwhile, there are also pictures showing a large number of Chinese expats who took part in the war against fascism in Europe.

Ouyang Jinhai was one of them. He took part in the Normandy landing when he was 18 years old, and was wounded twice. A photo of his father and himself, taken during the Second World War, is also displayed at the exhibition.

"After the war, the U.S. government granted him two Purple Hearts, the award for injured military personnel. In a 2006 domestic variety show, when asked what he wanted to say the most, he answered in one sentence, 'National reunification and world peace,' "The exhibition opened last Friday and is scheduled to last for one month.

For CRI, this is Wang Wei.

Funeral of Chinese Blast Victim Held in BangkokThailand is preparing to hold a funeral for four of the Chinese victims killed in the explosion in Bangkok on Monday.

A funeral mass was held on Saturday in a catholic church in Bangkok for one of those victims.

Among the 20 people killed in the blast, 7 were Chinese, while 24 out of the 120 injured were Chinese. The Chinese embassy in Thailand says relatives of all seven deceased victims have arrived in Bangkok.

Some families of the injured Chinese are also in Bangkok, having visited their loved ones in hospitals upon arrival.

An official with the embassy says staff has been in close contact with the Thai government regarding treatment of the injured Chinese nationals and has held detailed discussions regarding compensation for those who were injured in the bombing.

Winthai Suvaree, spokesman for the Thai junta, says the government has started issuing compensation to the families of the victims.

"The Ministry of Justice has given compensation to 15 victims. Thirteen of them were foreigners and two were Thais. Bangkok Administration also gave compensation to 9 wounded people."Thai officials have said in the last couple of days that the investigation of Monday's blast is making progress, but details haven't been revealed.

Death toll in Tianjin blast rises to 121Five more bodies have been recovered in the blast area in Tianjin, meaning there are now 121 confirmed deaths.

The number includes 67 firefighters and seven policemen.

Fifty-four people are missing, more than a week after several powerful explosions ripped through warehouses in the port city.

More than six hundred people remain in hospital, including 48 who suffered critical injuries.

Authorities in Tianjin have been conducting DNA testing on remains found at the scene of the explosions. All but two of the deceased victims have been identified.

S. Korea and N. Korea to Hold Talks Amid Recent TensionsSouth Korea and North Korea have begun high level talks to defuse recent tensions.

Kim Kyou-hyun, South Korean Presidential Vice Chief of the National Security Office, confirmed the news.

"The South and the North agreed this afternoon that South Korean National Security Office Chief Kim Kwan-jin, South Korean Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo, North Korean Director of the Korean People's Army's General Political Department Hwang Pyong So and North Korean Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea Kim Yang Gon meet at 6 p.m., South Korean time, at the Panmunjom Peace House regarding the current South-North relationship situation."The Panmunjom Peace House is located near the border between the South and the North.

Tensions started to escalate in early August after South Korea accused the North of planting landmines that wounded two South Korean soldiers near the border. South Korea then began broadcasting anti-north propaganda through loudspeakers near the border. The two sides exchanged fire earlier in the week near the border, but no casualties were reported.

North Korea has already declared a "quasi-state of war" and has threatened further military action. The announcement for Saturday's talks came just hours ahead of a deadline set by Pyongyang for Seoul to dismantle the loudspeakers near the border.

Chinese banks urged to provide more support to major projectsChinese authorities have issued documents calling on banks and other financial institutions to provide greater support to major projects in key sectors.

The document has urged lenders to optimize credit management and policies, and intensify innovation so as to provide better financial services.

Ye Yanfei is the inspector of the Policy Research Department of the China Banking Regulatory Commission.

"The major projects are those that are urgently needed in future development, that are very effective in stimulating economic growth, that are very effective in improving the people's livelihood, and that are well-targeted in restructuring."The "One belt, one road" initiative, the coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province, and the Yangtze River Economic Belt are included in the projects.

This move is meant to further elevate the level of infrastructure, better cope with the downward pressure of the economy, and increase the potential power for the long-term economic growth.

China-Currency Depreciation/Car ManufacturingThe depreciation of the yuan in the past week seems to have had little impact on China's domestic car manufacturing sector.

Yang Xueliang, Director of Public Relations of Geely Holding Group, says the impact so far is uncertain.

"The depreciation last week was good news to us. But compared with other countries, for example, the Japanese yen has been depreciating for the last three years, and its value has fallen a lot. Therefore, the prices of Japanese cars have decreased a lot. That's a big challenge for Chinese cars."Geely was one of seven Chinese car manufacturers listed on the Fortune 500 last year.

Meanwhile, some people believe a depreciation of the RMB may affect the sales of imported cars. Johnson Jin is from TNS Sinotrust, a market research firm.

"The depreciation of the Renminbi makes car importers very cautious about the market for the second half of this year and next year. Many dealers pay for cars in free-trade zones based on the real-time exchange rate so they suffer immediate losses once the cars come ashore and are purchased at regular prices,"China's car exports were down a total of 14 percent in the first seven months of this year Sales of foreign cars fell 23 percent in the first half of this year.

Tibet: Working on Catastrophe InsuranceAnchor:

Insurance industry regulators in Tibet Autonomous Region are pushing for the promotion of catastrophe insurance.

Our reporter Chi Huiguang has the details.

Reporter:

The central government's insurance regulator has expressed support for a catastrophe insurance pilot project in Tibet. Wang Jianhong, deputy director of China Insurance Regulatory Commission, Tibet Bureau, says the details are currently under development.

"First, we have to figure out the cost of a catastrophe insurance system. Then we should implement differentiated supervision by encouraging all the insurance companies to expand their service scope and develop their branches to the base levels of prefectures and counties, and develop products that are suited to the region. "He says the pilot scheme is particularly important for Tibet, a disaster-prone region.

"The natural environment in Tibet is very harsh and prone to huge losses in terms of damage to the economy and to property. So it's very necessary to carry out catastrophe insurance in Tibet."Wang says that Tibetan people are quite familiar with insurance and benefit from it.

"The Tibet Autonomous Regional government bought Personal Accident Insurance for all farmers and herdsmen the year before last. Also, agricultural insurance already covers the whole region. "Xiang Junbo, a former head of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, is urging support for the catastrophe insurance pilot project in Tibet. He suggests encouraging and guiding insurance organizations to develop a new type of insurance product according to the special conditions on the plateau, and to promote the insurance industry to join the establishment of a social security system in the region.

"It's very important and urgent to establish the catastrophe insurance system. Research we've done shows that 82 percent of people agree to set up the catastrophe insurance system in our country. Insurance payments for catastrophes account for 30 to 40 percent of losses, following standard international practices."Xiang says the direct economic loss from the Wenchuan Earthquake in 2008 was about 850 billion yuan, while insurance payments covered just 2 billion yuan of the total, less than 0.2 percent.

For CRI, I am Chi Huiguang.

Russian PM arrives on disputed Kuril IslandsRussian Media is reporting that the country's Prime Minister arrived in the disputed Kuril Islands for a working visit.

Dmitry Medvedev plans to take part in a national youth forum.

The Prime Minister will also visit a few construction sites that are part of Russia's Kuril development program mapped out until 2025.

It's reported this is the first time that the 12-day National Youth Education Forum has been held on the disputed islands.

All of the Kuril islands, located in the Sea of Okhotsk, have been administered by Russia since the end of World War II, but Japan also claims sovereignty over four of them.

Gunman on French Train Pinned Down by Passengers, Including US SoldiersAn attacker with a machine gun wounded three people on a high-speed train in France on Friday. The gunman was overpowered by other passengers and later arrested after train stopped at the Arras station in northern France.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve says the French anti-terrorism prosecutor is investigating the incident, but at this time the gunman's motives are unknown.

"The anti-terrorist judicial unit, the prosecutor Francois Molins, has taken charge of the case and will lead this investigation by mobilizing the services of the French Interior Ministry, notably, the anti-terrorist department of the judicial police and the central direction of the judicial police."The minister says the injured included French actor Jean-Hugues Anglade and a US citizen.

Alek Skarlatos, a 22-year old American and member of the U.S. National Guard, was among those passengers who helped to pin down the gunman. He says his friend and fellow American Spencer Stone, who was among the injured, played a crucial role in tackling the attacker.

"Spencer ran a good ten metres to get to the guy and we didn't that his gun not working or anything like that, Spencer just ran anyway and if anybody would have gotten shot it would have been Spencer for sure and we're very lucky that nobody got killed, especially Spencer."Skarlatos says he just returned from a deployment in Afghanistan. He says Stone, a US Airforce serviceman, is in the hospital and in stable condition.

A French official says the 26-year-old attacker on the Amsterdam to Paris train was armed with a kalashnikov and was of Moroccan origin.

Train Carrying Migrants Departs in Macedonia After Police ConfrontationsA train carrying 600 migrants left Macedonia on Saturday morning. This comes just one day after the police used tear gas on migrants to prevent them from entering the country.

"We arrived here for 5 hours maybe and sleeping on the road not having any place sleeping　and now we are waiting going to Europe with my wife and children. Yes too much cold and rain we could not sleep, so much for my children, my wife too much cold and raining."Most migrants were continuing their journeys north to Serbia or Hungary, where they could reach their final destinations of Germany or other more prosperous EU nations.

Europe has seen an unprecedented influx of Middle Eastern, African, and Asian migrants and refugees in recent months. Many are from worn torn countries such as Syria.

The Greek island of Kos and the French town of Calais have also become flash points as migrants continue to pour in.

Macedonia declared a state of emergency on Thursday so the army could be deployed to manage the migrant crisis.

Europe's largest theatre organ restored to original gloryAnchor:

A project to restore Europe's largest Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Organ has been completed after six years of hard work. It's now set to fill an ancient venue in London on Saturday with its unique sound.

CRI's Xie Cheng has more.

Reporter:

Before the days of IMAX cinemas and Dolby Digital Surround Sound, silent film was brought to life by the Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Organ.

The instrument, boasting over 1,700 pipes, 4 keyboards, a pedal board and 241 stop keys, was widely used during the 1930s to create the ambience of a full orchestra from one platform.

Organist Richard Hills says the United Kingdom is the birthplace of the organ.

"The Wurlitzer was introduced in the 1920s in cinemas in the UK and its primary function was to accompany the silent pictures. And as such, its design developed so that it was rather different from a church organ, many of the same sounds, but very much an orchestral organ. It was designed to imitate sounds of a full orchestra, so we find percussions as well as brass sections and string sections."He adds that its console can create the sounds of drums, cymbals, xylophones, glockenspiels, marimbas and pianos, all under the control of one person.

In the early 20th century, thousands of these organs were installed in cinemas throughout the US, Canada, the UK and Australia to accompany silent films. But their time was relatively short.

'The Jazz Singer', the first movie with dialogue and music in 1927, had accelerated the end of the theatre organs. Theatres gradually replaced organs with speaker systems.

The Wurlitzer was originally brought to the UK from the US in 1930, settling down in a cinema in London. But it was put into storage when the cinema closed 30 years later.

To restore the organ to its original glory as possible, volunteers worked for over 5,000 hours to bring the Wurlitzer back to life. It's hoped now that the Wurlitzer will last for many years to come.

"It was stored in an underground car park so it was in reasonable condition. But it was an opportunity when we installed it here to replace all the leathers to make it really good, so it'll last for many years and also to get the best sound."Organists are scheduled to play the Wurlitzer on Saturday at The Troxy theatre for a performance dubbed 'A Night of 1,000 Pipes'.

The performance is thought to be the first time British audiences will experience this instrument in a venue for which it was originally intended for in over 40 years.

Organist Richard Hills has full confidence that the show will be a fantastic experience.

"The sound that comes from having one of these instruments in a big theatre is very unique and so this will be arguably the first time for many decades that it's possible to hear that in this country."For CRI, I'm Xie Cheng.

ASEAN economic ministers annual meeting in Malaysia 6103ASEconomic Ministers of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) are kicking off a three-day meeting in Malaysia.

The 47th ASEAN Economic Ministers' Meeting is to deliberate on the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community.

Malaysian International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed opened the meeting,"It is heartening to note that more than 91 percent of the AEC Blueprint measures have been implemented. We have another 46 measures to work on. And we are working to address these issues and we are committed to delivering on our pledge,"The 10 nation bloc is set to announce the establishment of the ASEAN community by the end of this year based on three issues: politics, economy, and culture.

The ASEAN Community's Post-2015 Vision, the bloc's roadmap for the next 10 years, is also expected to be adopted.

ASEAN's dialogue partners, including China, will join the meetings to discuss ways to strengthen economic ties including trade and investment.

Wildfires Continue to Spread in US State of WashingtonWildfires that crossed containment lines on Wednesday in the U.S. state of Washington have continued to spread. The fires are growing more than 259 square kilometers a day.

Many homes and building have been burnt in the fires; however, the chaotic situation has made it impossible to calculate the exact numbers.

Authorities ordered hundreds to evacuate homes earlier this week, though some people ignored the order.

One resident in the town of Twisp who remained at home says he is now very concerned.

"I've been up for like 40 hours and I was very nervous, very concerned, because it was going to take everything we have, us and the rest of our friends."The U.S. National Guard used helicopters on Friday to help battle the fires.

President Barack Obama signed a federal declaration of emergency for Washington state on Friday, authorizing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate relief efforts in the State.

Nearly 29,000 firefighters, 3,000 of them in Washington, are battling roughly a hundred large blazes in the drought-stricken States including Idaho, Oregon, Montana and California.

Thirteen people have died as of Friday.

East China Braces for Typhoon GoniThe eastern city of Taizhou in Zhejiang Province is preparing for the approaching of Typhoon Goni.

Ships and fishing boats in various coastal areas are returning to port.

Visitors have been evacuated from tourist areas.

Changtan Reservoir has already started to discharge water to make room for fresh inflows that will come with the rain. Its water level should fall below flood control levels by morning.

According to the National Meteorological Center, Typhoon Goni was south of Taitung City, Taiwan this morning and moving northward at a speed of 10 km per hour. It's expected to arrive near the East China Sea on Sunday evening.

China to take on global cruise giantsChina Communications Construction and CTS (HK) Group have announced they will work together with the local government in Sanya to invest in the cruise industry.

The joint venture between the two state firms aims to see a maiden voyage between Sanya and the Xisha Islands some time this year.

Sanya is a southern resort on Hainan Island, and the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea are China's latest tourist hot spot.

The aim of this joint venture is to establish Sanya's Phoenix Island as one of the world's largest cruise ports.

China has already invested over 35 billion yuan or 5.4 billion U.S dollars in the "Phoenix Island" project, a landmark vacation destination in Hainan.

The number of people taking cruises in China has grown at an annual rate of 34 percent over the past decade and is expected to hit 4.5 million annually by 2020.

China Unmanned Vehicle market has potential but also obstacles aheadThe market for unmanned vehicles continues to grow in China, despite challenges.

One such military vehicle helps soldiers on patrol and detection missions.

Su Bo, an expert from the R&D Center of China North Industries Group, explains how it works.

"The vehicle is based on a single laser radar and a video censor. Calculations are carried out by special software. Through its resolution, the vehicle distinguishes between moving people and fixed targets. This platform completely follows unmanned designs and forms an unmanned system."The market for civilian unmanned vehicles is making gains as well.

Peng Yongsheng, Director of the Car Department of Tianjin Military Traffic Institute, says many vehicle manufactures are working to bring unmanned vehicle to the market.

"Car manufacturers have attached great attention to the development of unmanned vehicle. They also cooperate with us. One day when the unmanned vehicle is widely used and enters mass production stage, the prices of the sensors will certainly go down."Peng says there are certain technological difficulties that need to be overcome before mass production and widespread civilian use of unmanned vehicles becomes practical.

WeatherBeijing will be cloudy tonight with a low of 20, tomorrow will have slight rain with a high of 27.

Shanghai will rainy tonight with a low of 23, also rainy tomorrow, high of 25.

Chongqing will be cloudy tonight with a low of 24, also cloudy tomorrow with a high of 33.

Lhasa will be overcast tonight with a low of 10, tomorrow will be cloudy with a high of 20.

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad will have slight rain tomorrow with a high of 33.

Kabul, cloudy, 29.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney, rainy, high of 17,Brisbane, cloudy,23,Perth, also cloudy, 18,And finally Auckland, New Zealand will be cloudy with a high of 15 degrees Celsius.

Headline newsPresident Xi opens athletics worldsChinese President Xi Jinping has opened the world athletics championships in the "Bird's Nest" National Stadium.

The president declared the championships open at a ceremony themed "Flying with Dreams," ahead of the evening session that features the women's shot put and men's 10,000m final.

The first gold medal went to a 19-year-old marathoner from Eritrea this the morning.

East China Braces for Typhoon GoniThe eastern city of Taizhou in Zhejiang Province is preparing for the approaching of Typhoon Goni.

Ships and fishing boats in various coastal areas are returning to port.

Visitors have been evacuated from tourist areas.

Changtan Reservoir has already started to discharge water to make room for fresh inflows that will come with the rain. Its water level should fall below flood control levels by morning.

According to the National Meteorological Center, Typhoon Goni was south of Taitung City, Taiwan this morning and moving northward at a speed of 10 km per hour. It's expected to arrive near the East China Sea on Sunday evening.

China to take on global cruise giantsChina Communications Construction and CTS (HK) Group have announced they will work together with the local government in Sanya to invest in the cruise industry.

The joint venture between the two state firms aims to see a maiden voyage between Sanya and the Xisha Islands some time this year.

Sanya is a southern resort on Hainan Island, and the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea are China's latest tourist hot spot.

The aim of this joint venture is to establish Sanya's Phoenix Island as one of the world's largest cruise ports.

China has already invested over 35 billion yuan or 5.4 billion U.S dollars in the "Phoenix Island" project, a landmark vacation destination in Hainan.

The number of people taking cruises in China has grown at an annual rate of 34 percent over the past decade and is expected to hit 4.5 million annually by 2020.

Two Koreas to hold senior-level contact amid tensionsSouth Korea's top presidential security advisor and unification minister will meet their counterparts from the North late on Saturday amid rising tensions across border.

The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. local time in the truce village of Panmunjom.

The meeting comes amid rising inter-Korean tensions after the exchange of fire across border on Thursday.

North Korea has warned that unless South Korea stops propaganda broadcasts in front line areas by 5 p.m. Saturday, it will launch military action. South Korea warned of a stern retaliation against any further provocations.

Russian PM arrives on disputed Kuril IslandsRussian Media is reporting that the country's Prime Minister arrived in the disputed Kuril Islands for a working visit.

Dmitry Medvedev plans to take part in a national youth forum.

The Prime Minister will also visit a few construction sites that are part of Russia's Kuril development program mapped out until 2025.

Weekly Biz Roundup (Saturday)Anchor:

It's time to take a look back at some business headlines from this past week in our Weekly Business Review.

One gauge of China's general manufacturing PMI has sunk to a 77-month low.

China's exports plunged in July, but officials still hope to achieve their annual trade growth targetAnd the IMF decides to extend the current SDR currency basket until September of next yearLet's catch up on all of that and more with CRI's Wenjie.

The Caixin Flash China General Manufacturing PMI has plunged to a 77-month low in August.

The reading stands at 47.1, down from 47.8 in July.

Readings above 50 indicate expansion.

The survey shows new orders and new export orders continued to decline at a faster rate in August, and employment dropped at a faster pace than in July.

However, He Fan, an expert with Caixin Insight Group says systemic risk remains under control and the structure of the economy is still improving.

China's exports plunged 8.9 percent in July, the biggest drop in four months.

Shen Danyang, spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce, said on Wednesday that exports are likely to stay in positive territory this year, though negative growth cannot be ruled out for a few months.

"The figure of the same period in the second half last year was relatively higher. Considering last year's figure and abnormal growth in some months, the possibility of exports seeing negative growth in some months cannot be ruled out. But despite all this, we are still hopeful to see overall export growth for the whole year".

China's exports fell 0.9 percent year on year in the first seven months of the year.

China's imports slumped by 14.6 percent in the first seven months, when foreign trade dropped 7.3 percent.

The target for trade growth for 2015 is around 6 percent.

The International Monetary Fund appears to have given a signal that it's not likely to add the renminbi into its basket of special drawing rights this year.

The IMF on Wednesday said it's extending the current valuation of the current basket until the end of September of next year.

It says it's made the decision to allow users of the SDR basket to avoid any changes in the basket's valuation before the end of the calendar year, as to give them more time to adjust to any new changes if a new currency were added.

A number of countries around the world use the valuation of the Special Drawing Rights basket as a peg for their currencies.

The International Monetary Fund has yet to make a final decision on whether or not to add any new currency to its SDR basket this year.

That decision is due in November.

China's central bank injected 120 billion yuan, or about 18 billion U.S. dollars, into the money market via open market operation on Thursday.

The yield for the seven-day reverse repo stands at 2.5%.

On Wednesday, the People's bank of China pumped an extra 110 billion yuan into the market through its Medium-term Lending Facility.

The MLF is a new liquidity tool designed for commercial and policy banks to borrow from the central bank by using securities as collateral.

On Tuesday, the central bank injected 120-billion yuan into the money market through 7-day bond repurchases.

Cao Can, CRI's financial commentator, said several factors contribute to the tight liquidity in the market.

"First, there are less depositors in the banking system, because Chinese consumers are consuming more. On the other hand, Chinese people instead of putting their money into the banks, they speculate on properties or stock market. Another point is Chinese banks are investing in long term commitment, for example, infrastructure construction."US Federal Reserve officials appear to be closer to a decision on whether to raise interest rates as early as next month.

Minutes of the Fed's July meeting released on Wednesday indicate that Fed officials want to see further improvement in the job market and inflation outlook before making their first rate increase in 9 years.

Peter Lai, Consultant at CASH Financial Services Group Limited, says the recent RMB depreciation in China may affect their decision.

"Well of course we can see that the US tried to increase the interest rate under the so-called global condition in the past months, but as I have just mentioned, the depreciation of renminbi (also known as yuan, which is the basic unit of the renminbi) was unexpected, so that's why they have to measure and adjust the whole global economic development before they try to increase the interest rate."The Fed has held the benchmark rate near zero since 2008.

US inflation has remained below the Fed's 2 percent target for more than three years.

The Chinese government is objecting to a US decision to levy new anti-dumping and anti-subsidies tariffs on Chinese-produced tires for passenger vehicles and light trucks.

Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Shen Danyang on Wednesday said the US decision will significantly hurt the interests of Chinese tire producers.

"In the process of investigation, the U.S. investigatory apparatus used improper practices like using alternative countries' data and presumption of adverse facts, and finally decided the high tax rate. The U.S. side also ignored the national conditions of China and relevant cases handled by the WTO. They refused the application from Chinese companies for separate taxes, and applied it with unified tax rate, thus leading to the discrimination and limitation to the Chinese companies and our economic system."The final ruling on that case is expected at the end of December.

China's State Council on Wednesday announced it's going to extend tax breaks to more small businesses.

Starting October 1st and lasting until the end of 2017, companies with annual taxable income under 300-thousand yuan will see their corporate income tax cut in half. The previous threshold was set at 200-thousand yuan.

At the same time, companies with average monthly revenues under 30-thousand yuan will be exempted from the value-added tax and business tax until the end of 2017.

The move is the latest attempt to help small businesses in China, which provide nearly 80-percent of all urban jobs.

A dozen foreign auto and equipment makers have been affected by last Wednesday's explosions in Tianjin.

Both Toyota and John Deere have suspended factory operations near Tianjin port after many of their staff were injured in the blasts.

Meanwhile, Renault has announced that around 1,500 of its cars were damaged in the explosions.

Other foreign brands including Volkswagen and Mitsubishi have also reported severe damage.

It is estimated that the combined losses for these companies is over 2 billion yuan, or over 310 million US dollars.

Tianjin port, China's fourth-largest port, handles around 40 percent of China's auto imports.

Meanwhile, industry observers estimate that the total amount of insurance compensation for the Tianjin blasts could reach 6 billion yuan.

Australia's national airline Qantas has posted one of the fastest turnarounds in Australian corporate history with a return to full-year profit.

Qantas on Thursday said its net profit reached 410 million US dollars for 2014-2015.

While oil prices at multi-year lows helped cut fuel costs, Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce took the credit for his controversial plan to cut 5,000 jobs, trim capacity, raise fares and overhaul the airline's frequent flyer program.

"This transformation has all about getting our foundations right, being smarter with our cost, faster with our decisions, more productive with our assets and on these stronger foundations we can build a much stronger Qantas,"The airline suffered from high fuel prices and aging jets at the turn of the decade, eventually announcing a plan in 2013 to cut 2 billion U.S. dollars in costs by 2017.

Chinese online peer-to-peer lending platform Dianrong.com has managed to generate 207-million U.S. dollars in its latest round of financing.

It is the biggest investment in the Chinese Internet finance industry so far.

The investment has been led by Standard Chartered, the China Fintech Fund, and Shanghai-listed Bohai Leasing.

The latest financing follows a similar investment back in January when Dianrong received money from U.S. investment firm Tiger Global Management, which is an investor in Alibaba and JD.com.

Shanghai-based Dianrong offers lenders 5.5 to 10-percent annual returns for online P2P services, which is much higher than bank interest rates.

And that concludes this edition of the weekly business review; I'm Wenjie, thank you for listening.

SportsIAAF world championships call inMarathon runner Ghimay Ghebreslasie from Eritrea has won the first gold medal at the IAAF World Championships here in Beijing.

The 19-year-old won the opening event in two hours, 12 minutes and 27 seconds. He is Eritrea's first world championships gold medalist, and the youngest winner of any road event in the championships' history.

Three Chinese runners took part in the marathon. Xu Wang was the fastest among them and crossed the finish line in 24th place.

In other action,China's Gong Lijiao and Gao Yang have qualified for the women's shot put final scheduled for later tonight.

Gong is a double bronze medalist at the two previous world championships. She is keen to upgrade the medals to a gold at this event.

"I am confident to win it. I have won bronze medals twice at the World Championships already. This will be a great opportunity for me as I am on home soil. I want to make the breakthrough tonight."Gong, second in this year's world rankings, will go head-on against world number one Christina Schwanitz from Germany.

For more on the world championships, we are joined on the line by our reporter Luo Bin at the Bird's Nest.

That was our reporter Luo Bin.

CSL recapIn football,Guangzhou Evergrande took advantage of an early game to take the provisional lead atop the Chinese Super League.

It beat Shanghai Shenxin 4-2.

Robinho scored his first two goals for Evergrande.

The team is two points clear at the top of the table on 51 points.

And another game between Henan Jianye and Shandong Luneng has just kicked off.

European football leagues previewAt the same time,Manchester United and Newcastle have hit the field in the English Premier League.

There are five more games on the table today.

In the Bundesliga,Berlin Hertha and Bremen drew 1-1; also five more games tonight, which will see defending champion Bayern Munich challenge Hoffenheim.

La Liga opened with a goalless draw between Malaga and Sevilla.

Early tomorrow morning Zhang Chengdong's Rayo Vallecano will host Valencia. The former Guo'an player has played in two friendlies in Spain and could very likely make his La Liga debut in this game.

Seria A begins at midnight Beijing time between Verona and Roma.

China beat Serbia 3-1 at Volleyball World CupThe latest action in women's volleyball,China came from one set behind to win 3-1 against Serbia at the FIVB World Cup in Japan.

Zhu Tingli scored 24 points and was named the best player of the match.

China still has 10 more teams to play at the tournament. The team will face Algeria tomorrow.

The strongest opponents for China are the United States and Russia.

The top two teams at the World Cup will qualify for next year's Rio Olympic Games.

Tennis semi-finals fixturesIn tennis,Roger Federer has set up a semi-final clash against Andy Murray at the Cincinnati Open.

The other match-up in the last four is between Alexander Dolgopolov and Novak Djokovic.

In women's semi-finals,It is Simona Halep versus Jelena Jankovic, and Serena Williams against Elina Svitolina.

Vuelta previewIn cycling,Teams are arriving ahead of the Tour of Spain.

Tour de France winner Chris Froome from Sky is the favorite. Froome is hoping to complete a grand tour double in one season but foresees challenges.

Froome will resume his battles with old Tour de France rivals such as Nairo Quintana, Alejandro Valverde and Vincenzo Nibali.

The Tour of Spain begins with a time trial in southern Spain early tomorrow morning Beijing time.

EntertainmentPopular Chinese Children's Tale "The Adventures of Shuke and Beita" to Become a FilmPopular Chinese children's tale-"The Adventures of Shuke and Beita" is becoming a film.

Zheng Yuanjie, author of the hit children's literature, has confirmed the news.

Shuke and Beita are two mice who don't want to steal food like the others. The two good friends then co-found the Shuke & Beita Airlines to help other animals.

The fairy tales was already turned into a 13-episode animation series in 1989.

The animation and the story have a great influence on China's younger generations.

Some of the other works by Zheng Yuanjie, hailed as "King of Chinese Fairy Tales", have also been made into animations or TV series.

George R.R. Martin says HBO could finish 'Game of Thrones' before he does"Game of Thrones" author George R.R. Martin acknowledges that HBO could air the final episode of the show based on his books even before his last book in the series comes out.

He says he's OK with that.

The HBO fantasy drama has recently concluded its fifth season with a blizzard of cliffhangers, including some plot twists that deviate from what's been laid out in the five books published so far.

And the sixth season is likely to stray even further from what happens in the yet-to-be-published "Winds of Winter" novel- the sixth book in what's expected to be at least a seven-volume series.

For now, the producers of the saga envision doing eight seasons of the show.

George R.R. Martin does not conform whether his "The Winds of Winter" will be ready when Season 6 hits HBO next spring.

Jimmy Fallon Gets Injured, AgainHost of the Tonight Show Jimmy Fallon has hurt another body part while recovering from a serious finger injury incurred in June.

Fallon posted a photo on Instagram of himself in a dentist's chair with a chipped tooth.

Ironically his hand injury led to Fallon chipping his tooth. The new injury was incurred while he attempted to open a tube of scar tissue repair gel.

Fortunately, Fallon already taped Friday night's new show, and his chipped tooth isn't expected to affect production.

The show was already scheduled to air reruns all next week, even before his tooth incident.

At the end of June, Fallon was forced to cancel a Friday-night taping after he hurt his hand and had to have surgery.

NBC has recently extended Fallon's contract by six years, keeping him as host of "The Tonight Show" through the fall of 2021.

Janelle Monae Joins Demonstrator to protest against police brutalitySinger Janelle Monae and about 60 demonstrators have gathered in Hollywood to protest police brutality.

The Grammy-nominated recording artist and her Wondaland label mates sang 'Hell You Talmbout', a recently released song with lyrics that include names of victims of alleged police violence.

"We want this song to be used as a tool in all communities around the world. We are about unity, unification, and we are about being on one side to end having to say any more names, no more names."Relatives of people killed while in police custody also took turns passing around the microphone to call out their loved ones names.

'Hell You Talmbout' is a 6 and half minute song dedicated to black Americans killed by police.

Kelly Clarkson Announces PregnancyPop-country crossover singer Kelly Clarkson has announced that she's "totally pregnant" during her concert at Los Angeles' Staples Center.

The singer made the surprise announcement after she became emotional during her song "Piece by Piece", which is about the star's relationship with her father.

This will be baby number two for the 33-year-old singer and her talent manager husband-Brandon Blackstock.

The couple married in 2013 and have a 13-month-old daughter.

Kelly Clarkson shot to fame in 2002, winning the inaugural season of music talent show-"American Idol".

Kristen Stewart to Star in Karl Lagerfeld's Chanel FilmKristen Stewart will star in a film directed by designer Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel's upcoming show.

The film offers a fictional, behind-the-scenes look at a biopic in the making about founder Gabrielle Chanel.

Stewart portrays an actress impersonating the designer as a young woman.

Lagerfeld had already filmed the project last month over two days at director Luc Besson's Paris studio.

Lagerfeld said Stewart "played it really, really mean."The Chanel movie debuts at the Métiers d'Arts show on December 1.

Lagerfeld is the head designer and creative director of Chanel, Italian house Fendi and his own label.

Stewart has shot her last few feature films in France.

WeatherBeijing will be cloudy tonight with a low of 20, tomorrow will have slight rain with a high of 27.

Shanghai will rainy tonight with a low of 23, also rainy tomorrow, high of 25.

Chongqing will be cloudy tonight with a low of 24, also cloudy tomorrow with a high of 33.

Lhasa will be overcast tonight with a low of 10, tomorrow will be cloudy with a high of 20.

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad will have slight rain tomorrow with a high of 33.

Kabul, cloudy, 29.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney, rainy, high of 17,Brisbane, cloudy,23,Perth, also cloudy, 18,And finally Auckland, New Zealand will be cloudy with a high of 15 degrees Celsius.

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

A quick look at the headlines before we go...

Troops from China and several other countries have been conducting drills to prepare for the military parade on September 3rd...

A funeral has been held in Bangkok for one of the Chinese nationals killed in an explosion in the city on Monday...

Passengers on a high speed train in France helped to subdue an armed passenger who wounded several people...

In the 2nd half of the hour, we'll bring you some of the business stories making headlines over the past week.

In Sports...the world Athletics Championships have opened in Beijing...

And in Entertainment...a popular Chinese children's story is to be made into a movie...

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