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

Coming up on the program this evening...

China considering granting pardons to certain non-violent prisoners to mark the 70th Anniversary of the end of World War II...

Chinese stocks take a nosedive today in their sharpest sell-off since 2007...

And an explosion rocking a US Army base in Japan...

In Business...New chairpersons for China's three telecom operators being announced today..

In Sports...Usain Bolt winning the 100 meter world title here in Beijing...

And in Entertainment...Terminator Genesys tops China weekend box office...

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.

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TopPrisoner-amnesty deal deliberated by lawmakersA draft decision submitted to China's top legislature on Monday says some prisoners may be considered for an official pardon, as the country is to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the World War II.

Li Shishi, director of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee's legislative affairs commission, has provided details of the categories of prisoners that could be granted amnesty.

He says they include criminals who fought in China's war of resistance against Japanese aggression from 1937 to 1945.

Also included are those who participated in wars to safeguard national sovereignty after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

Another two categories are age-related.

They include criminals who are 75 or above, disabled ones unable to care for themselves; and those who committed crimes while under the age of 18 and received a maximum sentence of three years in prison.

Li notes that felons convicted of violent crimes such as homicide, rape, terrorism or narcotics will not qualify, as the amnesty deal should not create fear among the general public.

China Releases 2nd List of Relics, Martyrs of War against Japanese AggressionChinese authorities have released the country's second list of relics and martyrs of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression on Monday.

The latest list includes 100 national relics and 600 martyrs.

The relics include places where the important events and battles took place and memorial facilities of famous heroes during the war.

The martyrs include soldiers and officials from the army of the Communist Party of China and the Kuomintang, patriotic persons and foreigners supporting the Chinese effort in the war.

Vice minister of Civil Affairs Dou Yupei says that the living veterans will be given awards.

"Some living veterans who took part in the war against Japanese aggression will receive a one-time allowance of 5,000 yuan per person. All the veterans can be awarded a souvenir medal to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victory of Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. In particular, all the Kuomintang veterans who are living in the mainland are involved in this activity."Data shows a total of over 56-thousand veterans are under the direct service from the Civil Affairs Ministry, including six thousand Kuomintang veterans.

Neighboring province to cut emissions for Beijing's V-Day paradeNorth China's Hebei Province has said that it will cut pollutant discharge from its heavy industries by 30 percent to ensure good air quality for the upcoming military parade in Beijing on September 3.

Hebei surrounds the Chinese capital and is home to many of China's large steel mills and other pollution-spewing heavy industries such as cement and glass.

Authorities say the province will implement the highest level anti-pollution response. Plants that fail to meet the emissions standard ahead of this Friday will be forced to shut down.

China has taken extraordinary steps in the past to ensure good air quality in Beijing for special events, including the summer Olympic Games in 2008 and the APEC summit last year.

Soldiers Gear Up for ParadeAnchor:

Chinese soldiers are gearing up for the military parade in Beijing, which is set to take place in less than 2-weeks.

CRI's Luo Wen reports.

Reporter:

70 flags representing Chinese military units which fought in the war are going to be on display during September 3rd's parade.

The flag bearers have been practicing for more than 8-hours a day in the lead-up to the event.

As each flagpole weighs about 5-kilograms, Yang Lei, commander of the flag bearers battalion, says keeping hydrated is key.

"Each water bottle our flag-bearers have can hold around 2 liters, which means the soldiers don't have to stop to get water. The soldiers do have to change their uniforms at least three times a day because of sweat. Their bodies lose a lot of water each day."The training for the parade began in early June.

More than 10-thousand soldiers are being trained at several bases around Beijing.

For many of them, this will be a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Liu Zhaowei is one of those chosen to take part in the parade.

He says he almost didn't make the cut.

"I can't tell you how excited I was when I made it on to the list after being placed on the reserve list. It was then that I realized how valuable this opportunity is."Soldiers selected from PLA units that fought during the war are going to be represented in the parade.

The "Liulaozhuang Company" from New Fourth Army is one of them.

Almost all of the company was killed in a battle against Japanese forces in 1943.

Chen Hai, who serves in the company now, says their valiant actions are still remembered and cherished even today.

"At that time, all 82 warriors sacrificed themselves for the country. They passed down to us a spirit, which is also the spirit of our company. That is 'endless lives, endless battles'."Military delegations from more than ten countries, including Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia will pass by Tian'anmen on September 3rd.

Two teams of war veterans will also take part in the parade.

One of them is 102-years old.

For CRI, I'm Luo Wen.

China-Veteran Pilot recalls world war IIAnchor:

Ahead of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, a Chinese veteran who served as a fighter pilot during the war has taken time to share his story.

CRI's Wang Mengzhen with more.

Reporter:

99-year-old Zhang Yisheng was a captain during World War II.

He says it was the battle of Shanghai which prompted him to join the military.

"The Japanese were so detestable. They always bullied us. I hated them so much. I said to myself, if I have a chance, I want to fight them. So I made a decision to become a pilot."Zhang Yisheng joined the air force after graduating from the Huangpu Military Academy in 1942.

From 1942 to 1943, he received flight training in the U.S. state of Arizona, qualifying to fly a B25 bomber, which was the best low-altitude bomber at the time.

He says his time as a B25 pilot took him all over the world during the war.

"From the U.S., I flew over Greenland, Iceland, Britain, North Africa, the Mediterranean, Egypt, the Middle East, Iraq to Karachi.".

Zhang Yisheng's son, Zhang Ang, says he remains very proud of his father's accomplishments.

"They didn't expect to return home once they received their combat missions. So before joining the battle, they always wrote their wills and made clear who would care for their remains, as well as who would receive their pensions."At the age of 99, Zhang Yisheng is one of only a handful of Chinese flyers who remain alive to tell their tale.

For CRI, this is Wang Mengzhen.

China considers repealing crime of sex with underage prostitutesChina's top legislature has debated repealing the crime of sex with underage prostitutes and reclassifying it as rape, which would face a tougher punishment.

The National People's Congress Standing Committee deliberated the draft amendment to the Criminal Law as its six-day bimonthly legislative session started on Monday.

Under the current law, people who have sex with prostitutes less than 14 years old face a maximum of 15 years in prison, while those convicted of raping a child may face death sentence.

Legal professionals have been questioning whether to scrap the crime of sex with underage prostitutes since it was written into the Criminal Law in 1997.

Meanwhile, another draft amendment to the Criminal Law filed at the legislative session stipulates that seriously corrupt figures that have been given two-year suspended death sentences will face life imprisonment after the two years.

The draft says the aim is to prevent "the most corrupt criminals serving shorter jail terms through commutation."China stocks in sharpest fall since 2007China stocks nosedived on Monday with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropping 8.49 percent to close at 3209 points, its sharpest decline since Feb. 27, 2007.

The smaller Shenzhen Component Index fell 7.83 percent to close at 10,970 points. The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, lost 8.08 percent to end at 2,152 points.

Near 2200 shares tumbled by the daily limit of 10 percent.

After an 11-percent loss in share values last week, investors expected the central bank to inject more liquidity by cutting the reserve requirement ratio over the weekend, but the adjustment did not happen.

The flash China general manufacturing PMI retreated to 47.1 in August, its lowest reading since March 2009.

The flash index is the earliest available indicator of manufacturing sector conditions in China. The continuous fall in the index in recent months indicates that the economy is still bottoming out.

For more on this, we spoke earlier with Professor Liu Baocheng, from the University of International Business and Economics.

Tianjin death toll up to 129Rescue authorities have updated the death toll from the Tianjin warehouse explosions. It now stands at 129, with 44 others missing.

They had put the figure at 123 on Sunday afternoon.

All the dead have been identified, including 76 firefighters, seven policemen and 46 other people.

Kuang Jinzhi, deputy director of center of appraisal of material evidence of the Public Security Bureau of Tianjin, says police will take samples of blood from two direct relatives of each victim.

"The criminal investigation bureau of the Ministry of Public Security coordinated with the provinces and cities involved, took samples of the blood from the direct relatives of the victims, and checked the samples in accordance with our requirements. Then it sent the data to our laboratory via the internet."Kuang says the demand for the extraction and purification in the process is quite high, as the bio-materials of the victims were damaged seriously after experiencing high temperatures, explosions and chemical reactions.

Those remain missing include 28 firefighters, four policemen and 12 others.

Meanwhile, 610 people remain hospitalized, 39 of them in serious condition.

A total of 187 injured people have been discharged from hospitals.

Two blasts ripped through a warehouse storing dangerous chemicals in north China's Tianjin Port at around 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 12.

Personnel are cleaning up the site while investigators look into the cause of the incident.

Moroccan Gunman Denies Being part of ISThe lawyer for the gunman who was disarmed by passengers on a train in France two days ago has said that the assailant only meant to rob people on the train.

Sophie David, the lawyer of the gunman, said the 26 year-old Moroccan whom European authorities suspect of being an Islamist militant was surprised of this accusation.

"When I remind him of why he is there he is stunned by the terrorist nature which is being given to his actions. For the attempted murder charge, he says it's not true because for him there was no gunshot, he can't deny the charge for carrying a weapon, he says he had the Kalashnikov, says that the Kalashnikov didn't work and that he was stopped immediately without any gunshot being fired. For him there was no gunshot."The man, named by French and Spanish sources close to the case as Ayoub el Khazzani, told David he found the Kalashnikov he was carrying in a park near the Gare du Midi rail station in Brussels where he was in the habit of sleeping.

David then went on to explain the situation as the man had explained it to her.

"He took his weapons and boarded the train in order to ransom the passengers after which he wanted - that's what he declares - to fire in a window and jump from the train window and escape."Two people were wounded in the struggle to subdue Khazzani aboard the high-speed train from Amsterdam to Paris on Friday.

Three young American military members, one of whom suffered knife wounds, were among the passengers who stopped the gunman.

France train shooting avoided: three Americans at the press conferenceFor more on the averted train shooting, CRI's Michael Butterworth earlier talked with Professor Greg Barton, Chair in Global Islamic Politics at Deakin University.

Back anchor: That was Professor Greg Barton, Chair in Global Islamic Politics at Deakin University, speaking with CRI's Michael Butterworth.

Explosion at US Army Base in JapanJapan has demanded the U.S. take preventive measures to ensure the safety of U.S. military facilities across Japan after an explosion rocked a warehouse at a U.S. military base in Sagamihara early on Monday.

A U.S. Army spokesman said in an email to Reuters that the building did not in fact store any hazardous materials, ammunition or radiological materials.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said they have called for an investigation into the cause of the explosion.

"The explosion has worried the people living nearby and is extremely regretful. The Japanese government has not only told the United States of this regret but has asked for more information and an investigation into the cause of the explosion, and strongly demanded that U.S. military facilities (around Japan) all take safety measures to prevent such events in the future."Local residents told media they had been especially concerned after recent happenings in neighboring China.

Director of Emergency Services for the U.S. Army in Japan, Lieutenant Colonel James Sides urged everyone to stay calm and said there was little need to worry.

We are going to send a crew in shortly to determine what happened. But at this time there is nobody, that we know is inside and nobody has been injured and there was no chemical release or anything like that. The smoke that was seen was just from the items inside, the furniture - the normal things that would burn inside of a building."The cause of the fire is not yet known. No reports of injuries or harmful chemicals have been released in the explosion.

Steel Plant Catches fire near Heneda AirportA huge blaze broke out Monday at a steel pipe plant near Tokyo's Haneda airport.

The fire broke out from a two-metre cooling tower located on the vast steel pipe-making facility and has reportedly spread to a next door cosmetics factory owned by Japan's Kao, which has evacuated 600 of its employees.

There has been no immediate word about employees working at the Nippon Steel factory or if anyone else at the affected sites have been injured.

The giant steelmaker, Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal, declined to make any immediate comment on the situation.

The blaze came just hours after a blast ripped through a warehouse at a US military post near Tokyo.

Local police declined to speculate on whether there was any link between the two incidents.

Japan Airlines and rival All Nippon Airways said none of its flights had so far been affected.

Last year, at least 15 people were injured after an explosion at a Nippon Steel plant in central Japan.

China Releases Organ Donation GuidelineChina has published its first national guideline on organ donation.

The guideline aims to better regulate the organ donation process and raise public awareness.

Li Jing is the deputy director of the Red Cross Donation Center in Guangdong Province.

"For the public, the guideline would help them know more about organ donation, and clean up their misunderstanding and bias against it. The move will be a milestone if it gets more people willing to register to make the donations."The guideline includes ethics, standards to judge death, and standards on extraction and distribution of organs.

Zhuang Yiqiang, vice secretary of a national human organ donation and transplant committee, says the guideline will also help improve the work of the country's coordinators.

China began a voluntary organ donation trial in 2010 and promoted the practice nationwide in 2013.

The country banned the use of executed prisoners' organs for transplants at the beginning of this year, making citizen donations the only legitimate source.

As of Aug. 19 this year, China has seen 4,737 voluntary organ donations. This year has recorded 1,590 donations.

Record-breaking head tower hoisted on Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao BridgeThe first head tower of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge has been successfully hoisted, breaking the world record for the largest tower.

The 3000-ton head tower, measuring 105 meters high, was steadily lifted onto its base during a 10-hour operation.

It is the first time such a large head tower has been hoisted anywhere in the world.

The remaining two towers will be hoisted at the end of September or in early October.

Wei Qingdong is the spokesman for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Management Bureau.

"The investment in the bridge project totals 105 billion yuan and three parties including Guangdong Province, Hong Kong and Macao are in charge of making the investment, building the bridge and conducting management together. It extends to 55 kilometers as the world's longest cross-sea bridge."The bridge is a mega sea crossing linking the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the city of Zhuhai in Guangdong province, and Macao Special Administrative Region.

The service life of the bridge is expected to be 120 years.

WeatherBeijing will be cloudy tonight with a low of 21 degrees Celsius; same skies tomorrow with a high of 29.

Shanghai will see slight rain with a low of 22; more showers tomorrow with a high of 38.

Chongqing will also have showers with a low of 24, showers tomorrow and a high of 27.

Lhasa will have thundershowers tonight with a low of 9, cloudy tomorrow with a high of 23.

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad, cloudy tomorrow, 35.

Kabul, sunny, 32.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney, slight rain with a high of 17.

Brisbane, slight rain with a high of 26.

Perth, sunny, 18.

And finally Auckland, New Zealand will have moderate rain with a high of 18 degrees Celsius.

Headline NewsPrisoner-amnesty deal deliberated by lawmakersA draft decision submitted to China's top legislature on Monday says some prisoners may be considered for an official pardon, as the country is to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the World War II.

Li Shishi, director of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee's legislative affairs commission, has provided details of the categories of prisoners that could be granted amnesty.

He says they include criminals who fought in China's war of resistance against Japanese aggression from 1937 to 1945.

Also included are those who participated in wars to safeguard national sovereignty after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

Li notes that felons convicted of violent crimes such as homicide, rape, terrorism or narcotics will not qualify, as the amnesty deal should not create fear among the general public.

Taiwan negotiators arrive in Mainland for new round of talksA delegation headed by the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Lin Join-sane has arrived in Fuzhou for a new round of talks with mainland negotiators.

After its arrival at noon on Monday, the delegation was warmly welcomed by the mainland-based Association for Relations across the Taiwan Straits President Chen Deming.

The two groups are both non-governmental organizations authorized by the Chinese mainland and Taiwan respectively to negotiate cross-Strait issues.

Bomb attack kills 2 Egyptian policemen, injures 24Two have been killed and 24 others wounded following a bomb exploded on a bus carrying Egyptian policemen in the country's Delta province of Beheira.

The blast occurred on Monday in a town, some 150 km north of Cairo.

The bombing today was the latest in a string of similar attacks targeting security personnel that have left hundreds of police and servicemen dead or injured since the military ousted former president Mohammed Morsi in July 2013.

Twenty-nine people, including six policemen, were injured last week when a car bomb hit a state security building in Qalioubiya province near Cairo.

Indian Air Force MiG Crashes Indian-controlled KashmirAn Indian Air Force MiG has crashed in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

The MiG crashed Monday in a paddy field in a village, about 14 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

Both the pilot and a co-pilot on board are said to eject safely prior to the crash.

The cause of the crash is not immediately known.

Reports say that an inquiry has been ordered into the accident to ascertain the cause.

Last year, an IAF pilot was killed after MiG-21 he was flying crashed in the region.

Biz ReportsTurning now to business news.

First a look at the numbers from across the Asian markets to close out this Monday evening.

Asian stocks closed lower on Monday.

Shares related to steels, computers as well as national defense industries are leading the losses today.

At close:

Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng index dipped 5.2 percent.

Elsewhere in Asia,Japan's benchmark Nikkei ended sharply lower, losing 4.6 percent.

South Korea's KOSPI was also down 2.5 percent.

Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index dropped 4.3 percent.

And finally, Australia's ASX 200 tumbled 4.1 percent.

New Chairpersons of China's 3 Telecom Operators Announced TodayChina's three telecom service providers have announced new chairpersons, at a time when the government is trying to increase Internet speeds and lower prices for users.

Shang Bing replaces Xi Guohua as the board chairman of China Mobile, the world's largest telecom operator by number of subscribers.

Shang is currently vice head of China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Meantime, Wang Xiaochu and Chang Xiaobing, the chairmen of China Telecom and China Unicom respectively, have exchanged positions with each other.

Statistics have shown that the three telecom giants raked in a total of over 75 billion yuan, or nearly 12 billion U.S. dollars in the first half of this year, thanks to an increase of 4G users.

China is now pushing ahead with its "Internet Plus" campaign to integrate information technology with manufacturing and other traditional sectors.

Chinese Yuan Strengthens Against USDThe central parity rate of the Chinese currency has strengthened by 2 basis points against the U.S. dollar.

In the spot foreign exchange market, the Chinese yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.

China's central bank earlier reformed the exchange rate formation system to better reflect market development in the exchange rate of the Chinese yuan against the U.S. dollar.

The central parity rate is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the market each business day.

It also refers to the closing rate on the previous day, in conjunction with supply and demand condition and movement of major currencies.

China pension fund allowed to invest in stock marketAnchor:

The final guidelines have been issued for how the Chinese government plans to invest the state pension fund.

New rules will allow Chinese authorities to press for larger returns, which will include allowing authorities to invest the money into the domestic stock market.

30-percent of the 3.5-trillion yuan in the pension fund is going to be invested in various areas.

For more on the new move, CRI's Paul James spoke with Mike Bastin, director of China Business Center based in London.

First 400 Chinese-made Taxis Arrive in VenezuelaA fleet of 400 taxi cars made in China have arrived in Caracas, Venezuela.

This is the first shipment of an agreement to supply the South American country with 20 thousand Chery cars.

The financing plan was launched last year by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in order to help modernize the country's public transport sector.

In the meantime, China-made Yutong buses have also been imported to Venezuela and a motor coach plant is now being built with Chinese help to upgrade the country's public transportation.

The bus factory will be able to produce 3500 buses a year, and is expected to meet Venezuela's domestic needs first and then export buses to other Latin American countries.

S Korean Currency Weakens to 4-year Low on Tensions with N KoreaSouth Korea's currency has weakened against the U.S. dollar to its lowest in about four years on concerns about the heightened tensions with North Korea.

The won/dollar exchange rate touched 1,200 won per dollar after the opening bell, marking the highest since 2011.

The exchange of artillery fire between the two Koreas inside the demilitarized zone on Thursday has boosted worries about geopolitical risks among foreign investors.

Top-level military officials from both countries have continued their talks for three days in a row, but whether they could reach an agreement and defuse tensions remained uncertain.

Market watchers forecast the South Korean currency would keep a downward trend to the dollar on expectations for interest rate hike in the United States within this year.

New Zealand Central Bank Warns Rising Economic Risks from Housing CrisisThe central bank of New Zealand has warned of rising economic risks from the housing crisis in the country.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand says property investors are driving a growing risk to the country's economy and financial stability, due to one of the most expensive housing markets in the biggest city.

House prices in Auckland have surged by 24 percent over the past year, compared with 3 percent for the rest of the country.

Investors have now accounted for 41 percent of Auckland house purchases, up 8 percentage points since late 2013.

Grant Spencer, the central bank's vice governor, warns that the increasing investor presence is likely to amplify the housing cycle and worsen the potential damage from a downturn, both to the financial system and the broader economy.

The central bank is aiming to avoid a sharp fall in house prices that may lead to banks tightening lending and economic contraction setting in.

In the meantime, the government introduced a tax bill today to Parliament that would require income tax paid on any gains from homes bought and sold within two years, excluding on an owner's main home, inherited property or relationship settlement transfers.

SportsCall-in: World Athletics Championships PreviewThe World Athletics Championships continues today in Beijing, joining us live on the ground is CRI's Luo Bin:

1. Three Chinese long jumpers are into the final, can you brief us on how they did in this morning and and tell us what can we expect from them in the final?

2. What else is on the table tonight?

Volleyball World Cup updateIn women's volleyball, China have suffered their first loss at the FIVB World Cup. China went down to the United States 3-0.

China have won all previous two matches against Serbia and Algeria. Usain Bolt wins 100 meters world title in BeijingAnchor:

After stumbling into the men's 100 meters final, Jamaica's Usain Bolt has defended his title in a time of 9.79 seconds at the IAAF World Championships Sunday in Beijing.

CRI's Luo Bin reports.

Reporter:

Jamaica's Usain Bolt put all doubts to rest after producing his biggest clutch performance to beat rival Justin Gatlin in the 100-meter final.

Bolt clawed back into contention after trailing for most of the race and made his giant stride count to win in 9.79 seconds - .01 seconds faster than Gatlin.

The two-time Olympic champ says he needed to take the pressure off himself for the finals after his sub-par semi-finals finish.

"I remember I come around and my coach asked me what happened, and I said I really don't know and he said, I think you think about the race too much, you think about try to get a perfect race, get anything better, and he said listen, you've been here too many times and you know what takes you to win, so just relax and get it done and execute it, and all you can do is just to execute as possible as you can."For his part, Gatlin says, despite taking silver, he gave it his all:

"At the end of the day, I had a good stretch, I showed a lot of competitiveness, I went out and then gave it, all I can give at this point of time. The last five metres was little crucial, lean forward a little bit too much and caught off a little unbalanced, but it was a good race and all."At 33, Gatlin had been unbeaten for two years as Bolt struggled with injury. But on the biggest of occasions, timing was with Bolt again.

In a dead heat for third, Trayvon Bromell of the United States and Andre De Grasse of Canada shared bronze in 9.91 seconds.

Chinese sprinter Su Bingtian became the first from his country to run the blue-ribbon sprint event final at the outdoor world championships.

Finishing ninth in 10.06 in the final, Su says it is a huge encouragement for him and he is confident that he can run faster in the future.

"I think maybe I didn't have sufficient energy for the final. But I am satisfied with my result. It was my third fastest result. "Su was able to stand at the start line after a dramatic semifinal in which he was among three athletes who all clocked 9.99 seconds and all of them qualified to make it a rare nine-man final.

It is also the first time in world championships history that a sub-10 seconds time has been required to reach the final.

For CRI, I'm Luo Bin.

Yi Jianlian denies rumors of Lakers offerChinese basketballer Yi Jianlian has denied having received offers from the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers.

Previous reports suggested that Yi turned down offers from the Lakers and chose to stay at the Chinese Basketball association for higher pay.

Yi says he has been training overseas and never heard from the NBA team.

Yi Jianlian will be staying with his home team Guangdong in this upcoming CBA season which starts on October 31.

Bayern Munich to set up Shanghai officeSome off-pitch football news,German Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich are to set up an office in Shanghai as part of their efforts to penetrate the Chinese market.

The club is shifting some of its attention to the overseas markets, following their continuous domestic success.

It has already set up an office in New York last year.

It also has an official online store on Alibaba's Tmall.

Bayern is one of the European football clubs seeking profits from China.

The team went on a China tour earlier this summer and played three games in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.

Executive board member in charge of Bayern's international strategies Joerg Wacker says the team will visit China again.

Bayern Munich is the most successful team in Bundesliga history, with 24 domestic titles and four Champions League crowns.

Tennis: Serena Williams takes out Halep for back-to-back Cincinnati titlesIn tennis action:

Serena Williams got her name on the Rookwood trophy for the second time earlier today beating Simona Halep 6-3, 7-6 for back-to-back Cincinnati titles.

She heads into the U.S. Open trying to become the first player since Steffi Graf in 1988 to pull off a calendar Grand Slam sweep.

It took Williams six tries before she got her first title.

After a slow start, the world number one began to dominate her Romanian rival by winning five straight games to take the opening set.

Halep, the world number three, again showed her abilities early in the second when earning three break points in the opening game, but Williams rescued each.

Though the second set proved more even than the first, it was Halep who was rescuing match points in the tie-break before the inevitable happened and Williams, having played her finest tennis of the week, secured her latest victory.

Halep was the runner-up at Toronto a week earlier and was hoping to beat Williams for the second time in less than a year - she upset her at the WTA Finals in October.

Halep broke Williams' serve to open the match, but couldn't sustain it.

Williams won four of the last six points in the tiebreaker, winning it when Halep sliced a backhand shot into the net.

Entertainment'Terminator: Genisys' Tops China's Weekend Box OfficeThe Hollywood film Terminator: Genisys made its debut in the top position at China's weekend box office, by grossing nearly 170 million yuan or more than 27 million US dollars.

The film hit Chinese big screens on Sunday, and its result marks the fourth biggest midnight opening and the fourth biggest opening day score in China just behind Fast & Furious 7, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Transformers 4.

The film eyes John Connor continuing to lead the war against Skynet in 2029. Connor sends his loyal soldier Kyle back in time to 1984 to save his mother Sarah but the pair is forced to join forces with the Terminator to tackle a larger threat.

Genisys is the fifth installment in the Terminator franchise, and Hollywood star Arnold Schwarzenegger reprises his role as the Terminator after skipping the 2009 installment.

The 68-year-old actor is now in China for the promotion of the film.

Stay in China's box office, the film 'Go Away Mr.Tumor' starred by Danniel Wu and Bai Baihe has dropped to the second place, with 58 million yuan ticket sales during the weekend.

Meanwhile, the romantic comedy remake 'Bride Wars' opened in the third place, by earning roughly 36 million yuan at the weekend.

Emperor Entertainment Group Celebrates 15th Anniversary with Concert in MacauFamous Emperor Entertainment Group has held a concert in Macau during the weekend, to celebrate its 15 years in the music industry.

The Group's founder and chairman Albert Yeung kicked off the event alongside his wife by cutting a large cake on stage with other executives from the company.

Artist Nicholas Tse has performed his hit song 'Jade Butterfly' during the concert.

The concert also included performances from artists under the group, such as Twins, Joey Yung, and Leo Ku.

Emperor Entertainment Group was founded in 1986 by Albert Yeung.

It businesses have covered concerts organization and promotion, artists management, record production and distribution.

Lu Han Unveils Posters for Upcoming Solo Album 'Reloaded'

Chinese singer and actor Lu Han has unveiled the posters of his first solo album named 'Reloaded'.

The concept posters were designed by Mike Jones, who is the creative director of the world-famous electronic music label Mad Decen.

The 25-year-old singer has previously released several singles, including the theme song for the romance-comedy "Miss Granny" and one of the bidding songs for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games.

'Reloaded' is scheduled to be released on September 14th in the form of digital album.

Meanwhile, his newest film "The Witness" in which starred alongside popular actress Yang Mi is scheduled to be released in China on October 30th.

Lu Han is the former Chinese member of popular K-pop boy band EXO.

He has filed a lawsuit against his former South Korean talent agency SM Entertainment last year, aiming to have his contract with the company nullified.

One Direction Reportedly to Break up for Solo ProjectsBritish boy band One Direction is reportedly set to split up for a year in March, with an aim to focus on solo projects.

British Newspaper The Sun reports that the band will bring forward performances planned for the rest of the year, and may regroup after Christmas to complete contractual commitments.

Last month, One Direction surprised theirs fans with a new single titled "Drag Me Down".

Being part of their fifth album, the song ruled the UK music chart soon after its publication, and broke the record by being played 4.75 million times worldwide on its release date.

However, according to the report, the band will carry out no tour for the upcoming album, and their last concert is scheduled to kick off Sheffield in October.

Publicists of the band have not made any comments on the reports.

One Direction has run for five years after their formation on 'The X Factor' in 2010.

The band originally has five members, but Zayn Malik made his departure from the band in this March tp launch a solo career.

WeatherBeijing will be cloudy tonight with a low of 21 degrees Celsius; same skies tomorrow with a high of 29.

Shanghai will see slight rain with a low of 22; more showers tomorrow with a high of 38.

Chongqing will also have showers with a low of 24, showers tomorrow and a high of 27.

Lhasa will have thundershowers tonight with a low of 9, cloudy tomorrow with a high of 23.

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad, cloudy tomorrow, 35.

Kabul, sunny, 32.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney, slight rain with a high of 17.

Brisbane, slight rain with a high of 26.

Perth, sunny, 18.

And finally Auckland, New Zealand will have moderate rain with a high of 18 degrees Celsius.

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

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

China considering granting pardons to certain non-violent prisoners to mark the 70th Anniversary of the end of World War II...

Chinese stocks take a nosedive today in their sharpest sell-off since 2007...

And an explosion rocking a US Army base in Japan...

In Business...New chairpersons for China's three telecom operators being announced today..

On behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers, I'm Spencer Musick in Beijing hoping you'll join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour to open a window to the world together...