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

Coming up on the program this evening...

The Chinese president spoke of the top issues affecting Sino-UK relations, before catching his flight to London for a state visit...

China's GDP growth rate dips to its slowest level in six years...

mixed feelings in Tehran, as Iran's nuclear deal with six world powers goes into effect...

In Business...China's export sector continues to post sluggish growth numbers...

In Sports...Australia steals a win from Scotland at the Rugby World Cup...

In entertainment...Chinese musicians honoured in Berlin...

TopXi Jinping's Reuters Interview Sets a Promising Tone: expertAnchor:

Chinese President Xi Jinping is on his way to the UK for a five-day state visit.

Before departing, the leader granted an interview to the Reuters News Agency where he drew attention to a number of issues seen as being key to Sino-UK relations.

CRI London Correspondent Duan Xuelian reports, experts in the UK have paid close attention to the Chinese president's words.

Reporter:

Stephen Perry, chairman of UK's 48 Group Club was among the first to read about Xi Jinping's interview with Reuters. As a pioneering figure known for his deep business ties with China, Stephen believes it's important to understand the Chinese approach to official interviews.

"When Chinese leaders speak, they speak modestly, carefully, and they don't make any promises, they don't paint fancy pictures about the future except in the most broad and general terms. But I can tell you that I'm absolutely certain that the content of China's next Five-Year Plan and the opportunities it provides for the UK will be without precedent. And Britain will have better prospects for relations and trade relations with China than Germany has enjoyed for the last 25 years if we prove our desirous for business."There has been a concentrated media focus on China since the state visit by the Chinese President to the UK was announced. China's slowing down economy was one of the most debated issues in the UK. Stephen says foreign media has translated New Normal to mean 7% growth this year, but that's a very narrow view of what New Normal means.

"New Normal is about a period of transition into a managed market economy and the period of transition will last until 2021 at least. So the arrival of a growth rate about 7% may take two or three years to settle down. It maybe a little higher, a little bit lower, what President Xi was saying was that we are comfortable that we are meeting the challenges that have come along and at the moment we are comfortable with the progress we are making but we are not complacent and ready to meet bigger challenges ahead."Stephen was also impressed that the Chinese President made a point of mentioning this year being the beginning of the second decade of the China-UK comprehensive strategic partnership. He believes that this visit is setting a promising tone for the future China-UK relations.

"It's not just a state visit by a President who will talk about the current trade and or relations between the two countries. He is saying these are particularly important times for strategic partnerships. The term strategic means that both countries have matching needs and if they can find ways to make those investment opportunities happen then much bigger opportunities will develop from them."For CRI, I'm Duan Xuelian in LondonUK should have nothing to fear about China: Chinese ambassadorAnchor:

China's ambassador to the UK is on record saying that Britain should not fear his nation, but work together with China to promote prosperity and contribute to international peace.

Ambassador Liu Xiaoming made the comment during an interview with British media Sky News.

He also talked about security concerns, and Chinese investment in British industry.

CRI's Niu Honglin has more details.

Reporter:

The Chinese Ambassador to the UK was interviewed by Dermot Murnaghan during the program called Murnaghan on Sky News.

Answering the question of whether the UK should fear anything from China, Liu Xiaoming said the two countries should cooperate more, rather than build on suspicions of each other.

Nothing to fear about China. China is a peace-loving country and the president will be here for cooperation partnership and I think China and the UK have a lot to cooperate (on) and we believe China and the UK are two important countries of a global influence. By working together the two countries will help to build a better world, to promote prosperity and to save world peace."One cooperation deal that has aroused discussion among Britons is the possible Chinese investment into the Hinkley Point nuclear power station.

While some have voiced support for the deal, there's also worry that the Chinese funding into the project is a threat to the country's nuclear security.

Ambassador Li Xiaoming refutes that claim.

"I heard quite a lot about these concerns about the nuclear power station. I think Chinese companies are here to build nuclear power at the request of British businesses, request of the British government. They are not here for the so-called control of your nuclear power. We are here for a win-win cooperation. We'll play by international standards, we'll follow international rule. It's transparent and I think your security, authorities - regulation authorities - are not that stupid to, you know, to allow a Chinese company to control your nuclear facilities."The ambassador also talked about the issues concerning internet security, stressing that China itself is a victim to internet hacking, and the Chinese government is resolutely against such behaviors.

"I would say, you know, cyber is not a safe place and I think countries should work together rather than, you know, criticise each other."The ambassador made similar comments during an interview with BBC's Newsnight program, where he further called on the two countries to broaden common interests while reserving differences.

For CRI, I am Niu Honglin.

China-UK cultural exchanges help support bilateral relationsAnchor:

Along with building political trust and boosting trade, cultural exchanges have become another pillar supporting China-UK relations.

CRI's Guo Yan reports.

Reporter:

2015 is the year of China-UK Cultural Exchange, and has seen a series of activities in London showcasing Chinese culture.

Lord Michael Walton Bates, Minister of State at the Home Office, attended an exhibition of Chinese award-winning photos on Sunday and expressed his views on cultural links.

"Everybody is of an opinion that we want to forge a much closer link between China and the UK, based on trade, but also on culture and education, such strong links between the UK and China."Since the founding of the "China-Britain high-level cultural exchange" plan in 2012, the two countries have seen vigorous exchanges in areas of education, media, sports, public health and tourism.

The China-Britain Cultural Exchange Year, launched after Prince William's visit to China in March, has offered a stage for various cultural activities including art festivals and creative shows.

Chinese designer Wang Haizhen, who showcased his latest collection during a fashion show in London, said it is important for Chinese artists to have the opportunities in the international arena.

"They explore what's inside Chinese creativity and artists and what they are thinking and they like more people to get more understanding of what Chinese artists and designers are doing, and they really start exchanging ideas. I think it's a good signal that not only about 'Made in China' but also about creativity in China."Meanwhile, tourism has also been considered a good way for the two peoples to deepen their mutual understandings.

Britain has seen a growing number of Chinese tourists in recent years, bringing big revenue for the country.

Christopher Rodrigues is the chairman of VisitBritain, the British tourist authority.

"I'm sure that cultural understanding helps political relations, and I absolutely know because there is evidence all over the world that travel increases understanding, and increased understanding leads to better political relationship. So for us, what London has to offer, what the country has to offer, is something we want Chinese visitors to appreciate."Figures from Visit Britain revealed that the number of Chinese visitors to Britain in the first six months of 2015 reached a record 90,000, a 28 percent rise on the same period of 2014.

For CRI, I'm Guo Yan.

China's GDP growth slows in Q3New stats show China has recorded year-on-year economic growth of 6.9 percent for the third quarter.

This is the first time the quarterly rate has dropped under 7 percent since the second quarter of 2009.

But the number for the July-September period has beat expectations as the prediction for Q3 had been 6.8 percent.

Sheng Laiyun, spokesperson of China's National Bureau of Statistics, explains why growth slowed in the third quarter:

"I think the main reason is that the international and domestic economic and financial situation showed new trends and new issues in the third quarter. From the international situation, the US adjusted its interest rate, causing international prices to go down, driving many nations to devalue their currencies. This has caused much pressure to China's export sector."According to the official figures, among the three pillar industries, the growth in agricultural and industrial sectors stood at 3.8 percent and 6 percent respectively, while the service sector saw 8.4 percent growth in the first three quarter.

Sheng says these numbers indicate that China's economy is still in a period of transition but will remain stable:

"China's economy is operating in a reasonable range. Optimization and upgrading are being enhanced and maintain a good momentum. So under the circumstances of the new normal, China's economic transformation is going well and is within expectations."The official adds that China will speed up the development and innovation and build on the service sector to maintain growth.

We will have more in-depth analysis on China's economic situation, later in the biz segment.

China criticizes Abe's offering to controversial shrineChinese officials have criticized Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's offering to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine during the autumn festival.

Japan's Justice Minister and Internal Affairs and Communications Minister visited the shrine on Sunday, a day after Abe sent a tree as an offering.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying.

"The Yasakuni shrine honours Japan's war dead, including 14 Class-A war criminals who were responsible for atrocities committed during World War II. China has been always opposing visits and offerings to the shrine by Japanese officials. We calls on Japan to face up to history and deeply reflect on its past aggression, make a clean break from militarism and gain trust from its neighbors and the international community with real action."The shrine is also regarded as a symbol of past Japanese militarism.

Visits to the infamous shrine by Japanese leaders and officials have always sparked strong criticism from China and South Korea.

Second-hand smoke causes over 100,000 deaths in China annually: WHOThe World Health Organization has called on China to enact a national tobacco control law.

WHO, the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project, and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, jointly released a report on Monday.

The report says second-hand smoke causes more than 100,000 deaths in China annually, with 740 million non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke at least once a day during a typical week.

The report warns that around 1 million people die from tobacco-related illnesses in the country annually, and the number could rise to 3 million by 2050 unless action is taken now.

Singleton phenomenonAnchor:

According to a recent survey from China's 80 million-strong matchmaking website, Zhenai, Beijing has the most wealthy single people in the country.

CRI's Yao Yongmei takes a closer look.

Reporter:

According to the survey done by Zhenai.com, the capital city of Beijing came top for the number of singles earning more than 50,000 Yuan, or 8,000 US dollars a month, followed by Shenzhen, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Most wealthy single men work in the manufacturing, internet and financial industries while wealthy single women work in finance and education.

Occupations vary for those earning more than 50,000 Yuan per month according to age - most post-60s singles work in manufacturing, post-70s in service, post-80s in finance and post-90s are freelancers.

The survey also found that wealthy singles in second-tier cities like to accumulate money in their bank accounts. Chengdu topped the number of singles with at least 500,000 Yuan in savings, followed by Chongqing and Nanjing.

As for the reasons why do they remain single, more than half of the surveyed say that they are "waiting for true love", while 22.9 per cent say that they are too busy and do not have the time for dating.

Wang Pei is the PR manager of the dating website, Zhenai.com:

"It seems that the new generation of the middle class, urban-dwelling singletons holds more respects towards their own feelings and the marriage. Chinese singles are taking matters into their own hands as for when or whether to get married."Chen Fang, a 32-year-old client relations manager for a financial company in Beijing, embraces her single lifestyle. She enjoys a relatively high income of 20,000 RMB a month and often goes out with friends to dinners, movies and concerts.

"It's 21 century now, we don't need to get married for the sake of marriage. The pressure to get married mainly comes from my parents, who are pretty anxious that their daughter is still single at 30s. But ultimately my parents want me to be happy: they don't want to see me rushing into a marriage and get divorced later. "This young man surnamed Wang at his 30-something also doesn't want to change his status quo:

"Our generation is more open. We don't think we single people should feel bad or miserable about ourselves. I'm pretty happy with what I am now: I'm now focused on my work and I have my circles of friends who often hang out together. I don't want to be braced up to the duties and obligations of marriage too early."Although nearly 72 percent female respondents think man should have a house before getting into a marriage, it looks as though the vast majority of the surveyed paid more attention to their partners' moral qualities than their appearance and material wealth.

Iran Nuclear Deal Goes into EffectTop officials from Iran and the EU have jointly announced the implementation of the nuclear deal reached between Iran and the six world powers in July.

Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation Ali Akbar Salehi says his country is ready to take practical steps in compliance with the terms of the historic deal.

"Our practical action begins as President Rouhani issues an order. We are ready for that now. We should take very extensive steps and in order to do that, we had to make necessary preparations and we have made them so we are ahead of schedule. Only action on the ground remains to be taken now, which is dismantling a number of centrifuges as we agreed in the nuclear deal."In the meantime, the International Atomic Energy Agency says it will provisionally apply the Additional Protocol to its Safeguards Agreement when the nuclear deal comes into effect.

The Additional Protocol is a voluntary agreement that grants the IAEA expanded rights of access to information on nuclear and nuclear-related activities.

The EU has adopted the legislative framework for lifting all of its nuclear-related economic and financial sanctions against Iran.

US President Barack Obama also ordered his administration to take steps to lift the sanctions.

However, sanction relief will not take place until the IAEA verifies that Iran has fully complied with the terms of the agreement.

On July 14th, Iran reached a landmark nuclear deal with six world powers, namely China, the US, the UK, France, Russia and Germany, after more than 18 months of marathon talks.

Under the deal, all of the nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran will be gradually lifted over the next 10 years.

Implementation of Nuclear Deal Gives Mixed Feelings to Tehran ResidentsThe implementation of Iran's nuclear deal has aroused mixed feelings among residents of the country's capital.

Hassan is the owner of a fruit shop in Tehran.

He says his biggest concern now is how soon sanctions can be lifted to relieve his country's current economic predicament.

"My business is even worse than last year, when we had customers despite the sanctions. Now the sanctions seem to be lifted, but prices are still increasing and people's incomes are shrinking. No one wants to buy."But there are optimistic who say they believe the deal will move forward, despite some twists and turns that come along with the process.

Mohmmad Hasan Khani is a professor for International Relations at Imam Sadegh Uniersity.

"I feel good because I've been one of those who have been cautiously optimistic about the outcome of this process of negotiation, and it seems to me that now it's time that we can somehow pick up the fruits of the negotiation, so it means the negotiation has been fruitful, the diplomacy has worked. It's good news not only for Iran, but also for the region, and for the other side, I mean, five plus one."It's been reported that Iran will unveil a new investment package featuring 1,300 new projects in the coming days. It's said to be part of an effort to attract foreign investment and boost the badly-hit tourism industry that boasts 19 UNESCO-registered sites.

Stranded migrants allowed to cross into SloveniaSlovenia has allowed about 100 refugees and migrants to cross into the country, after earlier refusing to take in more from Croatia.

But thousands more are still stranded as nearly 2,000 arrived at the border during the weekend.

Slovenia says it is expected 35,000 migrants could be arriving in the country within a 10 day period.

Bostjan Sefic, state secretary at Slovenia's interior ministry, warned that his country would not accept unlimited number of migrants.

"We cannot accept a number of migrants larger than the number of those who will continue their journey. In a very short time, in maybe ten days, we would have 35,000 migrants in Slovenia, which is unacceptable for us."Slovenia and Croatia have both said they would not stop migrants from crossing their borders as long as Austria and Germany also keep their doors open.

Thousands of Asylum seekers have been traveling north through Balkan states after their route to Western Europe was blocked.

This came after Hungary closed its borders with Serbia and Croatia.

The EU has planned to share 120,000 refugees among its members, though this proposal has been resisted by Hungary and several other EU member countries.

Kerry urges MidEast restraint as tensions riseUS Secretary of State John Kerry is calling on Israeli and Palestinian leaders to take urgent action to end the violence taking place in Israel and the West Bank.

"We continue to urge everybody to exercise restraint and refrain from any kind of self-help in terms of the violence and Israel has every right in the world to protect its citizens as it has been from random acts of violence. But in my conversations with the Prime Minister as well as with King Abdullah and the Foreign Minister of Jordan, they have expressed a desire to try to see this process, be able to find a way of making certain that everybody is clear about what is happening with respect to the Temple Mount."Kerry's statement came after more than two weeks of relentless violence that has seen 41 Palestinians and eight Israelis killed.

Kerry is set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas later this week in Berlin.

He says he will be working with them to find steps that could help reduce tensions.

In addition to his meetings with Abbas and Netanyahu, Kerry will also meet with the foreign ministers of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Russia to discuss the crisis in Syria and the need for a political transition to end the conflict.

Clean-up under way in Philippines after typhoonA clean-up is underway on the waterfront in Manila after Typhoon Koppu passed through the area.

Elmer Navarette, foreman of the Manila Department of Services, describes the scene.

"This rubbish was swept here by strong waves and winds caused by typhoon Lando (Koppu). This is the result."The powerful storm, named Lando locally, blew ashore early on Sunday in the north-eastern Philippines.

At least two people died and five other were injured.

The storm continues to bring strong winds and rain in the country's north.

Local officials say 16,000 villagers were displaced and power was knocked out in entire provinces.

According to the government's weather agency, the typhoon is expected to weaken to a tropical storm by late Monday and exit the main northern island of Luzon on Wednesday.

China' national meteorological center also forecast that the typhoon will arrive in China on Friday, first hitting the island of Taiwan before heading to Fujian province on the southeastern mainland.

Top al Qaeda leader killed in U.S. airstrike: PentagonThe Pentagon says the leader of an al Qaeda-linked group has been killed in an airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition in Syria.

Sanafi al-Nasr is said to have been killed in northwest Syria on Thursday.

Nasr, who was once al Qaeda's chief financial officer and had been labelled as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the U.S. Treasury, is the fifth senior Khorasan Group leader killed in the last four months.

S. Koreans to gather for long-awaited reunion with DPRK familiesHundreds of South Koreans are now gathering in the country's eastern coastal city of Sokcho to prepare for a long-awaited reunion with family members from North Korea.

The first group of 393 South Koreans, including the divided families and their companions as most of them are in their 80s and 90s, will cross the inter-Korean land border into the Mount Kumgang resort by bus on Tuesday morning.

Later in the afternoon, they will have a gathering with their long-lost relatives.

A group of 255 South Koreans will participate in the second round of reunions starting from Saturday.

WeatherBeijing is cloudy tonight with a low of 12 degrees Celsius; it will be cloudy to overcast tomorrow with a high of 18.

Shanghai, cloudy tonight with a low of 18; cloudy tomorrow with a high of 25.

Chongqing, clear tonight with a low of 19; cloudy tomorrow with a high of 26.

Lhasa, clear tonight with a low of 3; cloudy to sunny tomorrow with a high of 18.

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad, light rain tomorrow with a high of 27.

Kabul, cloudy, 17.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney will have light rain with a high of 28.

Brisbane, cloudy with a high of 24.

Perth, sunny, 27.

And finally Auckland, New Zealand will be cloudy with a high of 17 degrees Celsius.

Headline newsChinese president leaves for visit to BritainPresident Xi Jinping left Beijing this afternoon for a state visit to Britain.

It's the first state visit to the UK by a Chinese president in 10 years. It runs from Monday to Friday.

Queen Elizabeth II is set to host a welcome ceremony for President Xi, along with an informal lunch and a formal dinner.

President Xi will also hold talks with Prime Minister David Cameron and address a banquet hosted by the Lord Mayor of the City of London.

In addition to London, the Chinese president will make a stop in Manchester.

Dutch King to visit ChinaKing of the Netherlands Willem-Alexander will pay a state visit to China from Oct.25 to 29.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang says the visit is at the invitation of Chinese president Xi Jinping.

President Xi paid a state visit to the Netherlands last year, the first one ever by a Chinese president to the western European country since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two nations.

One suicide bomber in Ankara bombings identified: PMTurkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu says one of the suicide bombers who carried out twin bombings in the capital city of Ankara earlier this month has been identified.

A Turkish court arrested four suspects linked to the bombings that killed over 100 people.

Twelve people have been detained, some in relation to messages they wrote on Twitter about the attack.

The attack is one of the worst of its kind in Turkish history.

Stranded migrants allowed to cross into SloveniaSlovenia has allowed about 100 refugees and migrants to cross into the country, after earlier refusing to take in more from Croatia.

But thousands more are still stranded as nearly 2,000 arrived at the border during the weekend.

Slovenia says it is expected 35,000 migrants could be arriving in the country within a 10 day period.

Thousands of Asylum seekers have been traveling north through Balkan states after their route to Western Europe was blocked.

S. Koreans to gather for long-awaited reunion with DPRK familiesHundreds of South Koreans are gathering in the eastern coastal city of Sokcho to prepare for a long-awaited reunion with family members from North Korea.

The first group of 393 South Koreans will cross the inter-Korean land border into the Mount Kumgang resort by bus on Tuesday morning.

Later in the afternoon, they will have a gathering with their long-lost relatives.

A group of 255 South Koreans will participate in the second round of reunions starting from Saturday.

Biz ReportsStocksTime now to check today's business news, starting with closing numbers across the Asian markets.

Chinese stocks staged a mixed performance on Monday as official data showed the country's GDP growth dropped below 7 percent for the first time in six years.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged down a fraction of a percent, while the smaller Shenzhen index advanced by a fraction.

The mixed performance of Chinese stocks showed market sentiment is divergent over the GDP number that nevertheless beat many expectations.

China's fragile stock market recorded substantial gains last week, with the Shanghai Composite Index rising 6.5 percent over the five trading days.

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index ended up with slight gains.

Elsewhere in Asia,Japan's Nikkei lost nearly 0.9 percent, as investors moved to lock in recent gains amid thin trading.

The South Korean KOSPI closed flat.

Singapore's Straits Times Index shed 0.2 percent.

And finally, Australia's ASX/200 finished with slight gains.

Latest Economic Data UpdatesAnchor:

A slew of economic data has been released by the China's National Bureau of Statistics.

CRI's Min Rui has more.

Reporter:

The latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics show exports growth dropped 7.9 percent in the first three quarters to 17.9 trillion yuan.

The number is considered sluggish, and it comes as China's economy is in a period of transition - shifting away from an investment-driven model to one that is driven by domestic consumption.

In September, retail sales increased by nearly 11 percent, slightly higher than previous data.

The figure marks the highest rate of growth since the beginning of this year.

Meanwhile, investment in China's property sector, once a major growth engine, continued to slow through the first three quarters of this year.

During that nine month period, real-estate investment rose 2.6 percent to 7 trillion yuan.

The growth slowed by nine-tenths of a percentage point through the first eight months, and dropped 2 full points compared to the first half.

Industrial output increased 5.7 percent in September, but the rate is down from the 6.1 percent registered in August.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate stood at 5.2 percent in September, up slightly from the previous two months.

Fiscal revenue grew faster in September but the country's finances faces great pressure in the fourth quarter of this year.

For CRI, I am Min Rui.

China's GDP expands 6.9 pct in Q3Anchor:

For more on the latest data of the Chinese economy, I spoke earlier with Professor Liu Baocheng at the University of International Business and Economics.

…Back anchor:

That was Professor Liu Baocheng, from the University of International Business and Economics based in Beijing.

China unveils timetable for building negative list systemChina plans to improve access to the country's markets by expanding the negative-list system that's been piloted in three free trade zones.

The expansions will take place over a 25-month period, starting from December.

The full text of the policies of the negative list system has been published online.

The list lays out the condition that prevent or limit access to Chinese markets, affecting industries, fields and businesses concerning national security, strategic resources, public interests, and moreA more complete negative list will be launched in 2018.

The negative list system was first launched in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone in 2013.

Chinese public companies expect rising 3Q profitsMore than half of China's listed companies have published preliminary financial results for the first nine months of the year, with the majority of them expecting better profits.

Nearly 60 percent on the companies says profits increased.

According to market information provider Eastmoney, among the top ten gainers, seven were in the manufacturing sector.

Companies in the steel and electric equipment sectors recorded their best performance in the third quarter.

Weapons, construction material, and real estate companies suffered the heaviest losses.

Investors are still waiting for many heavyweight companies to release financial data this week.

China's currency to essentially become world's great currency:HSBC chairmanDouglas Flint, group chairman of HSBC Holdings, says the Chinese currency is to become the world's third great currency, after the U.S. dollar and the Euro.

However, Flint also pointed out that it will probably take a few decades for the Renminbi to become equal with the Dollar and Euro as a world reserve currency.

He is excited to see the rapid growth of RMB business globally, saying the inclusion of the RMB into the SDR basket of currencies would be symbolic of the maturity of the Chinese currency.

He also noted that more central banks have swap lines with the Chinese central bank, and more reserve managers include RMB in their reserve management plans.

China's power use drops slightly in Sept.

Electricity consumption in China edged down two-tenths of a percent in September, sinking to 456.3 billion kilowatt hours.

This stat is seen as a key indicator of economic activity.

But the number through the first three quarters of the year is up.

The National Energy Administration says electricity usage through the first nine months of the year increased by eight-tenths of a percent.

Air France plans 1,000 voluntary job cuts in 2016Air France plans to move forward with plans to slash about 1,000 jobs next year.

The restructuring has already triggered violent protests and scuffles.

After failing to convince pilots to work more for the same wage, under new productivity measures, France's leading flag carrier unveiled its "Plan B" based on massive lay-offs and reduced flights to trim losses and boost productivity.

The 'Plan B' will take place over the next two years.

In addition, Air France eyes to trim 1.5 percent in unit costs per year between 2015-2017 and to report positive free cash flow every year by the base businesses.

It plans to reduce the long-haul business by 10 percent over the period with a major focus on low-profit destinations, mainly in Asia and the Middle East.

Xiaomi has announced successor to its Mi TV 2Xiaomi has announced a successor to its Mi TV 2 today.

The next-gen Mi TV 3 boasts a 60-inch display with LG's true 4K technology. It's available for 4999 renminbi, less than 800 U.S. dollars.

The company also launched a Segway-like device for hands-free short-distance transportation.

The device can go as fast as 16 kilometers per hour and weighs only 12kg.

The TV and the new transportation device will be on sale from Xiaomi's official website from November 3.

SportsAustralia snatches a win over Scotland in RWCIn rugby news:

Australia snatched a 35-34 victory over Scotland to reach the semi-finals of the 2015 Rugby World Cup at Twickenham on Sunday.

Scotland's Fin Russel stated that his team played phenomenally but Australia was just to hard to match.

"In the group (stages) they were flying, and going into the game we knew that it would be tough, how hard it was going to be. As you saw on the pitch, they created a lot of opportunities and four or five tries they scored which is amazing in a quarter final. But for us, and credit to our boys, we stuck in there and managed to hold in the whole game and it came down to one kick, two minutes to go."A penalty from Bernard Foley in the final minute of the match gave Australia the win, six minutes from time to re-take the lead.

Australia will now face Argentina in the last four.

Argentina moves to play Australia in the RWC semfinalsand in some more Rugby news:

Argentina stunned Ireland 43-20 in Cardiff on Sunday to reach the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup.

Ireland went into the game as narrow favourites.

But the South Americans blitzed them early.

Ireland's head coach, Joe Schmidt, stated that moving forward from this game, his team has learned valuable lesson from Argentina.

"As difficult as it is to be going out of the World Cup at this stage, I think it was a fantastic Argentinean performance and I think it was a performance from us that the players will learn from. There's a lot of players who have never ever been in a match of that intensity and hopefully that learning experience will offer something in the future."Argentina will move to the semi-finals for the second time and they will face Australia next Sunday at Twickenham.

Chen Long and Li Xuerui win in Denmark OpenIn badminton news:

Finals day at the BWF SuperSeries Premier Denmark Open saw wins for defending champions Chen Long and Li Xuerui on Sunday.

The 26-year-old Chen Long faced Indonesia's Tommy Sugiarto in the men's singles final and came through in straight sets, 21-12, 21-12.

This was a third consecutive victory for Chen Long in Denmark and lasted about 25 minutes.

and in women's action:

Defending champion Li Xuerui beat Pursala Sindhu to retain her Danish title.

Xuerui won in straight sets with a 21-19, 21-12.

Emiliano Grillo wins the Frys.com OpenIn golf news:

Argentina's Emiliano Grillo defeated Kevin Na on a second playoff hole to win the Frys.com Open in Napa valley colifornia on Sunday.

This is his first victory on the PGA Tour.

With the win, Grillo has invited to the Masters next April.

The South American stated that playing the Masters has always been a dream his.

"Well, you say Masters and I can't believe it. This is awesome, this is great. You know when I got the card, after the Web.com Championship I saw that I was 71 or 72 in the ranks so I told my team, 'Hey, look, we got a chance of getting top 50 by the end of the year. Let's take, you know, let's try to get it done and maybe we can play the tournaments that we always wanted."Grillo's world ranking has improved to number 36 after this win.

The new ranking qualifies him for the HSBC Champions in Shanghai and the Bridgestone Invitational.

Artemis Racing wins America cup World Series despite collisionIn some sailing news:

Artemis Racing came back from a boat collision to win the regatta in the America's Cup World Series in Bermuda on Sunday.

There were three double-point races, with three different winnersOne was Artemis Racing, which recovered from crashing into an umpire boat before race two.

They'd already picked up a second place finish in race one, but in race two, the team was involved in a pre-start collision with an umpire boat, incurring serious damage.

Incredibly, they blasted through the starting line with more speed than anyone else and won the second race.

In the third and final race, Artemis Racing grabbed a fourth place finish and secured the points needed to win the regatta.

Hall Wins Red Bull Air Race in Las VegasIn air racing news:

Matt Hall won the final round of the Red Bull Air Race series on Sunday in Las Vegas, but it was Paul Bonhomme who took the overall series title.

Australian Hall finished with a time of 48.604 seconds to top the podium.

In second was Briton's Paul Bonhomme with a time of 48.968Hall stated after the race that he loves his profession and looks forward to next season.

"It's a great sport, I love the sport, I love that it's my full time profession, and I can't wait to get back into it next year."In overall season, Bonhomme finished the year on top, with 76 total points, while Hall came in second with 71.

Andreas Bakkerud wins in Italy for World Rally Cross Seriesand in Rallycross news:

Norway's Andreas Bakkerud wins the World RX of Italy on Sunday in Italy.

This is Andreas Bakkerud's first victory of the seasonAfter the race, Bakkerud stated that this win wasn't just for him, but rather his entire team.

"It was a big relief, for sure. I won the buggy race last week in the UK. It was absolutely mega to win here again, I enjoyed it so much. The rain was really hard, hard conditions - especially on the gravel. Yeah, but we made it through and it had been a hard period in the summer for the OlsbergsMSE and really...the guys have been working really really hard so (it's a) big team win."The seasons finale will take place in Argentina next month.

Currently, Petter Solberg leads in overall season points with a 26.

EntertainmentTwo Chinese musicians awarded the "Echo Klassik"Two Chinese musicians, Lang Lang and Yang Tianwa were awarded the "Echo Klassik" music prize in Berlin.

Lang Lang received the prize in the category "instrumentalist of the year, piano" and a special prize for the "Lang Lang International Music Foundation".

At the same time, Yang Tianwa was awarded in the category "instrumentalist of the year, violin".

"Echo Klassik" is Germany's major classical music award with 26 categories.

The award is held annually, usually in October or September, separate from its parent award, the Echo.

"Young Theatre Artist's competition" of the 3rd Wuzhen Theatre Festival underwayThe "Young Theatre Artist's competition" of the 3rd Wuzhen Theatre Festival is now underway in east China's Zhejiang Province.

12 specially selected groups are now performing their creations to compete for the top three which will be judged this Friday.

The competition this year requires original work based on the theme "transmittal" with three stage elements: a circle, a lamp and a kiss.

Huang Lei is one of the initiators of the theatre festival. He says the purpose of the competition is to inspire young artists to think out of the box and present their best work.

"Every year, we choose three stage elements for the competition. And the choice is completely random. There is no any sort of link or logic among these elements. We didn't set any pattern there. We believe that if we have inner logic there for competitors to look for, it will take the fun out of the creating process. What we want is for the young people to try extra harder in their work."This year's Wuzhen Theater Festival, opened last Thursday, will last till this Saturday.

It consists of various inter-related parts: Specially Invited Plays, the Young Theatre Artists Competition, an Outdoor Carnival, Wuzhen Dialogues, and master classes.

In all, 73 shows will be staged by theatre troupes from around the world, from famous professionals to untrained newcomers.

" The Witness" to Premiere in China on Oct.30A new suspense thriller "The Witness," has received wide praise after a screening in selected theaters in China.

It is set to premiere on October 30th in both China and Korea.

The movie is a Chinese adaptation of the popular Korean film, "The Blind", starring Lu Han, Yang Mi and Wang Jingchun,Lu Han portrays a street urchin who is the witness to a murder case. He is tasked with the responsibility of protecting a blind woman, played by Yang Mi, who could hear the sounds related to the killing, but is unable to provide visual details regarding the crime.

"The Witness" will also screen at select theaters in the U.S., Canada, and several other international locations.

Hollywood director exposes Japan's wartime crimes in new documentaryHollywood writer, director and producer Chris D. Nebe said he wants to remind Americans and the whole world not to forget the crimes committed by Japan against the Chinese people during World War II.

He made the remarks as his new documentary -- War Crimes under Rising Sun -- made its debut in El Monte, Los Angeles, on Saturday.

The 40-minute documentary tells how Japan started the war against China and shows photos and movie images about how Japanese soldiers killed, raped and even used chemical weapons to kill Chinese civilians.

WeatherBeijing is cloudy tonight with a low of 12 degrees Celsius; it will be cloudy to overcast tomorrow with a high of 18.

Shanghai, cloudy tonight with a low of 18; cloudy tomorrow with a high of 25.

Chongqing, clear tonight with a low of 19; cloudy tomorrow with a high of 26.

Lhasa, clear tonight with a low of 3; cloudy to sunny tomorrow with a high of 18.

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad, light rain tomorrow with a high of 27.

Kabul, cloudy, 17.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney will have light rain with a high of 28.

Brisbane, cloudy with a high of 24.

Perth, sunny, 27.

And finally Auckland, New Zealand will be cloudy with a high of 17 degrees Celsius.

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

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

The Chinese president spoke of the top issues affecting Sino-UK relations, before catching his flight to London for a state visit...

China's GDP growth rate dips to its slowest level in six years...

mixed feelings in Tehran, as Iran's nuclear deal with six world powers goes into effect...

In Business...China's export sector continues to post sluggish growth numbers...

In Sports...Australia steals a win from Scotland at the Rugby World Cup...

In entertainment...Chinese musicians honoured in Berlin...