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

Coming up on the program this evening...

Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in Vietnam to begin his latest trip abroad.

Taiwan's leader says he believes this coming weekend's meeting between himself and Xi Jinping could be a breakthrough in normalization.

Myanmar's opposition leader raising concerns about the openness the elections this weekend.

In Business... a big investment to help China meet emissions targets.

Sports... A South African with a one-stroke lead after Round-1 of the HSBC Championship in Shanghai.

In entertainment.... Actor Hu Ge honoured at a top Asis film conference.

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

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TopXi arrives on Vietnam visit, aiming to outline future tiesChinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in Hanoi for his first official state visit to Vietnam as China'a head of state and top leader of the Communist Party of China.

The development of bilateral ties and party-to-party cooperation will be highlights of discussions between the leaders of the two sides.

Xi will head to Singapore on Friday.

For more on Xi Jinping's South Asia tour, CRI's Nick Lanigan earlier spoke with Yuan Jingdong, Associate Professor in the Department of Goverment and International Relations at the University of Sydney.

Back Anchor:

That's Yuan Jingdong, Associate Professor at the Department of Goverment and International Relations at the University of Sydney, Speaking with CRI's Nick Lanigan.

Vietnam's Agricultural Exports to China See Steady GrowthAnchor:

Neighboring Vietnam has become China's 10th largest supplier of agricultural produce, as an increasing number of Vietnamese goods become available for Chinese consumers.

Our reporter Niu Honglin has the details.

Reporter:

Pingxiang City in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region borders with Vietnam and is home to many companies trading Vietnamese agricultural products.

Chen Kangli manages a company in Pingxiang that mainly engages in trade of Vietnamese fruits.

She says Vietnamese fruits can supplement China's domestic supplies, thanks to seasonal variations.

"For example, watermelons in China hit the market in June and July. Now is not the season for watermelons. But Vietnamese watermelons have just come in. And also Pitaya can be found all the year around. Moreover, Vietnamese fruits are relatively larger and taste great."In addition to companies capitalizing on their geographical advantages, many Chinese supermarkets have also recognized the value of Vietnamese agricultural products.

Many of these stores directly purchase products from Vietnam.

For example, Shou Hang Supermarket, which has 43 stores in Beijing, began directly purchasing agricultural products from Vietnam three years ago.

Liu Zhengping, purchasing manager at Shou Hang Supermarket, says direct procurement from Vietnam has brought them huge economic returns:

"We import fruits directly from Vietnam. The fruits mainly include pitaya, longan, litchi and mango. Their sales are very impressive. Around 5,000 kilograms of Pitaya are sold every day in our stores."Liu Zhengping and his team are now in Vietnam, trying to introduce more types of local fruits to his market.

China and Vietnam signed a cooperative memorandum for agricultural trade in 2013, and bilateral trade in the sector has seen rapid growth.

Besides friuts, produce from Vietnam such as rice, cassava and coffee are also common on the market in China.

Do Tien Sam, former head of China Studies Institute at Vietnam's Academy of Social Sciences, says the variety of Vietnamese agricultural products can meet the huge demand from the Chinese market.

He also indicates that there're much more cooperative potentials to tap into.

"Chinese leaders have said for many times that favorable conditions will be created for Vietnamese agricultural products to expand in China. We need to further study Chinese consumers' taste so as to plant products that can meet their needs and then introduce those products to China."Latest stats show that China imported 2.11 billion US dollars worth of agricultural products from Vietnam between this January and September, up 23 percent year-on-year.

During the same period, China's exports of agricultural products to Vietnam have increased 15 percent, topping 2.4 billion US dollars.

For CRI, I'm Niu Honglin.

Famous HK businessman Promote Chinese language in VietnamAnchor:

For over 40 years, a well-known Hong Kong businessman has been dedicated to promoting cultural exchanges between China and Vietnam.

CRI's Wang Mengzhen has the story.

Reporter:

Dr. Jonathan Koon-shum Choi is the chairman of the Hong Kong-based Sunwah Group which was established in 1957.

Every year, the group invests one million U.S. dollars in a number of public welfare programs in Vietnam.

This includes Chinese language teaching projects to help educational development in the southeast Asian country.

Operating businesses in Vietnam for 45 years, Choi says promoting the Chinese language is a much more important task.

"You can see the Chinese language in many places such as the temples in Hanoi. But many elite Vietnamese students don't understand Chinese. The language is used to record history -- the Vietnamese history written in the Chinese language. So I think it's not good if the students don't understand the Chinese language."Now the Jonathan KS Choi Cultural Center has been set up in the Vietnam National University based in the capital city Hanoi.

The center has been hosting various public events including free lectures to help school drop-outs learn Chinese.

In addition, a three-year training program has been set up for workers in the local community.

Professor Yuen-Tsang Woon Ki is a main lecturer with the program.

"The training will last for three years. This is just a start. We will have more teachers joining in the program to help promote the development of social work in Vietnam. And this also reflects Hong Kong's support to Vietnam's social work development."Knowing that Chinese President Xi Jinping is paying a two-day visit in Vietnam, Dr. Choi is looking forward to deeper cultural ties between the two neighbors.

"I sincerely hope that our country can strengthen exchange with Vietnam in various fields of the economy, culture to education to reach a goal of mutual understanding, mutual respect and mutual trust."Over the decades, Dr. Choi has been promoting educational development through China and ASEAN countries.

He was also the founder of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Honorary Academician Foundation, the Zhongshan Sun Wah Science and Technology Institute and various other educational institutions.

For CRI, I am Wang Mengzhen.

China, Singapore see fast development in educational cooperationA new deal for more cooperation in education is expected to be signed as part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's trip to Singapore.

It's expected the move will allow for the creation of more education opportunities for people from both sides.

Yu Yunfeng is the education counselor with the Chinese embassy in Singapore.

He says cooperation in education between the two sides has already been on the rise.

"As an example, Shanghai Jiaotong University recently initiated a program called 'the CEOs of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.' It's been established mainly for Singaporean entrepreneurs who want to study and invest the Chinese market. The program allows them to better understand Chinese society and get prepared for their time in China quickly."At the same time, more than 140 primary and and secondary schools in both countries have established sister-school ties.

Chinese students currently form the largest group of overseas students studying at universities in Singapore.

Former Chinese leader's 1978 visit to Singapore revisited: Han Tan JuanAnchor:

In the run up to Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Singapore from Friday to Saturday, Han Tan Juan, a retired Singaporean reporter, has shared his memories of the first meeting between top state officials of the two countries.

He recalled the "extraordinary" diplomatic activity and revealed the importance both sides placed on the historic visit.

CRI's Li Jianhua has the details.

Reporter:

It has been almost forty years since Chinese and Singaporean leaders last met each other - in 1978.

At that time, Han Tan Juan was a chief editor for former Singaporean leader Lee Kuan Yew's memoirs. He recalls Lee's meeting with the then Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping saying it was unlike any other in history, given the fact the China and Singapore hadn't yet established diplomatic relations.

"His visit was extraordinary as a diplomatic activity because Singapore and China had not established relations back then, and the ties between the two countries were not as strong as today. There were still many unresolved issues."Mr. Lee paid special attention to Deng's visit and gave him a presidential welcome.

"Mr. Lee rarely went to the airport to welcome state guests, but he went when Deng Xiaoping came and he went to see Deng off at the airport as well."Han also shares an anecdote about the two leaders' meeting. Knowing Deng was a heavy smoker, Mr Lee provided two ashtrays for the Chinese leader.

"What is interesting is that Deng also knew Lee was sensitive to smoke. We don't know how he knew, but he did not smoke once during the two or three hours of the meeting."China and Singapore established relations in 1990; although communication between the top leaders from China and Singapore had began in 1978. Former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping's visit to Singapore also played an important role in China's adoption of the reform and opening-up policy in 1979.

During Xi's time in Singapore, he will also meet Taiwan leader Ma Ying-Jeou to exchange views on the future of relations.

This will be the first cross-Strait meeting between top leaders of both sides of the Taiwan Strait since the founding of New China in 1949.

For CRI, this is Li JianhuaMa Ying-jeou: Ma-Xi Meeting to Help Promote Cross-Straits TiesTaiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou has gone on-record saying his forthcoming meeting with Xi Jinping this weekend marks the first step toward the normalization of further meetings between the leaders from the mainland and Taiwan sides.

Ma Ying-jeou says their scheduled meeting this coming Saturday in Singapore is important for a number of reasons.

"First, it's the first meeting between leaders across the Taiwan Strait in 66 years. As such, it's a historic milestone. It will help further improve cross-Strait ties. Secondly, it's also the first time in history the leaders from the two sides have chosen to meet in a location not on the mainland or Taiwan. This reflects an increasingly mature relationship between the two sides. Thirdly, the leaders will, for the first time meet, as the leader of Taiwan and the leader of the mainland, rather than using their official political titles on either side."To keep with the protocols of the "One-China Policy," the two leaders plan to call one-another 'Mister' when they meet.

The meetings will include one which will be an open session for the media.

Another will take place behind closed-doors.

FM spokesperson: Freedom of navigation 'no excuse for provocations'

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has once again voiced opposition to any activity that harms and threatens China's sovereignty and security in the name of navigation and over-flight freedom.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying made the remarks on Thursday in response to reports that U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter would visit USS Theodore Roosevelt in the South China Sea.

Hua said that China respects and safeguards the freedom of navigation enjoyed by all countries according to international law.

"What we oppose is any activity that pushes for the militarization of the South China Sea and even provocative activities that threaten the sovereignty and security interests of other countries in the name of navigation and over-flight freedom."She urged the United States to be more open and above board and more transparent in their behaviors and intentions.

China's SANY Settles Lawsuit with US Gov'tA Chinese company has managed to settle a years-long lawsuit against the US government.

A subsidiary of SANY Heavy Machinery, Ralls Corp, sued the US government and the office of US President Barack Obama after they killed a wind-farm project in the US state of Oregon 3-years ago, citing national security concerns.

He Weiwen, former Chinese consular official in New York, says the new settlement actually works well for the Chinese firm.

"It has gone beyond our expectations... In fact, better than we expected. At first, I thought there would be little progress. But now, both sides have decided to back down. This allows Ralls to transfer its project in Oregon to a third party. I think it's quite good. It's not easy to arrive at this result given the situation here in the US."As part of the settlement, Ralls will be able to sell its Oregon wind farms to an investor.

And at the same time, the comany has also been given the green light to go ahead with two new wind farm projects in Texas and Colorado.

Aung San Suu Kyi on Myanmar ElectionMyanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has voiced concerns over whether free and fair elections can be guaranteed this coming weekend.

Aung San Suu Kyi is accusing the Election Commission of failing to prevent rules and regulations from being broken.

"We have repeatedly made complaints about the way in which some parties and individuals have been breaking the rules and regulations laid down by the Election Commission but very little action has been seen on the part of the commission. Very recently, we have received news that advance voting has started in some parts of the country and that this is contrary to the rules and regulations laid down by the UEC."Aung San Suu Kyi also said that if her National League for Democracy party wins historic national polls this weekend she will take a post "above the president" to circumvent a constitutional ban that blocks her from that position.

The opposition leader is constitutionally barred from the presidency because her late husband was British and her two sons hold foreign passports.

The polls will be the first time since 1990 that Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party has contested elections.

It is widely regarded as a referendum on Myanmar's reform process.

Kremlin urges cautions on jet crash causeThe Russia authorities say that any theories about last Saturday's Russian Airliner Crash in Sinai are only "Speculation" at this moment.

Earlier, US intelligence suggested the crash was probably caused by a bomb planted on board by the Islamic State extremists.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin says the country's rescue teams are to wrap up their search for any more remains of victims.

Russian Emergency Situations Minister Vladimir Puchkov said that the search zone has now expanded to 40 square kilometres.

"Our forces are conducting a search operation in the zone of emergency situation. Today by 10 p.m. we will finish the operation, the full search of 40 square kilometres. Every square centimetre must be searched."So far, 140 bodies have been retrieved from the crash site, while only 58 of them have yet been identified.

The Airbus 321 en route from Egypt's Sinai Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg crashed on Saturday in the Sinai Peninsula shortly after losing radar contact.

All 224 people aboard were killed in the crash.

Justin Trudeau sworn in as Canada's new prime ministerJustin Trudeau has been sworn in as Canada's prime minister.

The 43-year-old former school teacher and member of parliament since 2008 is now the second youngest prime minister in Canadian history.

""One of the first things is we're a government that wants to earn Canadians' trust by demonstrating that we trust Canadians. Openness and transparency isn't just about trust though it's also very much about better policy making."Trudeau is the son of late prime minister Pierre Trudeau, who swept to office in 1968 on a wave of support dubbed "Trudeaumania".

As prime minister, Trudeau now has the chance to restore his father's liberal legacy, which had been under siege during 10 years of Conservative rule under Stephen Harper.

Harper stepped down as prime minister just ahead of the swearing-in ceremony.

Air pollution poses a threat to Roman monumentsAnchor:

A new joint study out if Italy suggests around 4-thousand monuments in Rome are at risk of permanent damage because of air pollution.

CRI's Luo Wen has the details.

Reporter:

Like many other major centers in the world, the Italian capital, Rome, has its own problems with air pollution.

But as Rome is home to some of the earliest treasures in modern European history, air pollution takes on an additional concern.

To study the effects air pollution might be having on Rome's historical monuments, 7 different monitoring stations have been set up by two leading Italian conservation and environmental institutes.

Changes to the color, erosion and corrosion of ancient statues, fountains and monuments are being examined over the course of 15-years.

Annamaria Giovagnoli, the Deputy Director of Superior Institute for Conservation and Restoration, says they've found the lower parts of many monuments and statues are suffering from more severe damage than other parts.

"The monument becomes the recipient of air pollution produced by vehicles: cars emit polluting agents from the ground. In the streets the air is very often purified by the monument's facade. As a matter of fact, if you look at the monuments of Rome, but also those of other cities, you find that the effects of pollution are visible in the lower parts, 2 to 3 metres from the ground - it's there that the polluting agents get settled before the the air rises up from the 'canyon', almost purified."A series of measures are being taken by the Italian government to tackle air pollution.

These include adopting cleaner fuels, the creation of ride-sharing programs and adding incentives for people to use public transit.

However, Patrizia Bonanni, who works at Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, says this is still far from enough.

"Recovery measures have been implemented by Italy's municipalities, regions, and by the state, so air pollution has gone down. From that point of view things are better. But there's still a great impact on these inert receptors, on any material that doesn't metabolize and doesn't adapt itself to changes in environmental conditions."Restoration projects can be carried out on ancient monuments and statues to clean up the pollution.

However, Annamaria Giovagnoli says this in-itself can create problems.

"A monument's surface protects itself by covering itself with dust pollution. So on the one hand dust pollution causes grave damage to the surface because its components interact with the material and deteriorate it; but it's also true that removing this layer means exposing the new surface to air and pollution, a renewed surface that has a higher reactivity to pollution."The 7 different monitoring stations Giovagnoli's group has set up in urban areas of Rome are meant to measure the effect of the air pollution on inert materials such as marble and bronze.

The group says it feels this work will help develop long-term conservation strategies to prevent the ultimate deterioration of monuments.

For CRI, this is Luo Wen.

China Donates Equipment to Anti-poaching Efforts in KenyaChina has donated 18 double-cabin pickups and security equipment worth close to 540-thousand U.S. dollars to the Kenya Wildlife Service.

The move is aimed at helping the country's wildlife protection measures.

Guo Ce, Counselor of China's Embassy in Kenya, says the donation is part of China's commitment to global wildlife preservation.

"The Chinese government has actively been involved in international cooperation in wildlife conservation. We earnestly fulfill the relevant international obligations and try our best to maintain global ecological security, especially the protection of African elephants and other endangered wildlife. I hope these wildlife conservation supplies, including vehicles, can enhance the capability of wildlife conservation in Kenya."The donation is part of the promises made by Chinese premier Li Keqiang when he visited the country last May.

WeatherBeijing will have sleet tonight with a low of 2, tomorrow will still have sleet with a high of 4.

Shanghai will have slight rain tonight with a low of 19, tomorrow will be cloudy, high of 24.

Chongqing will be rainy with a low of 15, tomorrow will have thunderstorm with a high of 18.

Lhasa will be clear with a low of 0, tomorrow will be cloudy with a high of 15.

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad will be sunny with a high of 23.

Kabul, cloudy, 13.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney, slight rain, high of 26,Brisbane,rainy,27,Perth, also rainy, 26,And finally Auckland, New Zealand will be cloudy with a high of 18 degrees Celsius.

Headline newsPresident Xi arrives on Vietnam visit, aiming to outline future tiesChinese President Xi Jinping has expressed his hope that the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between China and Vietnam can be lifted to a new level.

In a written statement, released upon his arrival in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, he also said that China attached great importance to its traditional friendship with Vietnam and viewed bilateral ties as strategically highly important and from a long-term perspective.

This is Xi Jinping's first visit to Vietnam as China's head of state and top leader of the Communist Party of China.

It comes at a time when the two countries are celebrating the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

After the Vietnam trip, he will pay a state visit to Singapore on Friday.

Ma Ying-jeou hails Xi-Ma meeting as "milestone"Taiwan's leader Ma Ying-jeou has said that his scheduled meeting with Xi Jinping is the first step towards the normalization of meetings between leaders of the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.

At a press conference in Taipei on Thursday, Ma hailed the visit as a historic milestone, which helps further improve the cross-Straits relations.

Ma will meet Xi Jinping in Singapore on Saturday.

The meeting is a breakthrough in face-to-face exchanges and communication between the leaders across the Taiwan Straits since 1949.

According to a mainland Taiwan affairs official, the two-party meeting includes one session open to the media and another behind closed doors.

Russia sends air defense systems to Syria: reportIt's reported Russia has sent anti-aircraft missile defense systems to Syria to protect its forces there.

Syria's state news agency SANA said on Thursday that the defense systems had been deployed to protect Russia's war planes operating in the country.

The Commander-in-chief of the Russian Air Force is quoted as saying that in addition to warplanes, launchers and choppers, they have also sent air defense systems to Syria to respond to emergency situations.

Russia started airstrikes against militant positions in Syria on September 30th, a move hailed by the Syrian government as "an efficient step" in its war against terrorism.

Mexican court approves recreational use of marijuana for small group of peopleA court in Mexico has approved the recreational use of marijuana for four people who challenged the country's health law and appealed to the Supreme Court.

The decision allows the four to cultivate, process, and consume marijuana "for recreational purposes".

Four of the court's five judges voted in favor of the measure, citing the individual's right to choose.

Although the approval only applies to a single case, it was seen as a move to open the door for the recreational use of marijuana for other people.

However, the decision does not mean the country will allow the sale of marijuana.

Biz ReportsChinese shares Continue Rally on ThursdayAnchor:

Time to check today's business news, starting with the closing numbers here in China.

Markets on the mainland rallied to a two-and-a-half-month high on Thursday after benchmark indexes posted their best day in seven weeks in the previous session.

Securities brokerages, banks and energy stocks led the gains.

The telecommunication services index soared more than 5 percent after China's industry ministry announced it would deepen reforms in the sector.

At the close, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.8 percent.

The smaller Shenzhen index added half of a percent.

But the ChiNext Index of growth enterprises lost 0.8 percent.

For more on this extended rally on mainland stock markets, we are joined on the line by Cao Can, CRI's financial commentator.

Back anchor: Many thanks - that was CRI's financial commentator Cao Can.

While in Hong Kong, the benchmark Heng Seng Index closed flat.

Tokyo shares closed higher as the U.S. Federal Reserve indicated that it may raise its key interest rate next month, sending the yen lower versus its U.S. counterpart, spurring the buying of export-related issues.

The day's gainers comprised foods, shipping and nonferrous metals stocksThe benchmark Nikkei went up one percent.

South Korea's KOSPI trimmed 0.2 percent.

Singapore's Straights Times index sank 0.4 percent.

And finally,Australia's ASX/200 dipped 0.9 percent.

ADB offers 100 mln loan to support China's emission reduction projectsThe Asian Development Bank has agreed to grant a 100-million-U.S.-dollars loan to support China's emission reduction projects.

The money will be used to help reduce energy consumption, phase out mercury use and cut greenhouse gas and toxic emissions in China's chemical industry.

The funds will be distributed by the China Construction Bank, to industrial plants belonging to the China National Chemical Corporation, the country's largest producer of chemical products.

The first sub-project loan will be a trial for large-scale use of a successfully tested mercury-free catalyst in the production of PVC in Shangdong Province.

It is expected to eliminate the use of 35 tons of mercury per year by 2019.

It will also allow China to end mercury mining in the country.

The second sub-project will finance comprehensive energy efficiency and management measures, aiming to reduce energy consumption by more than 10-thousand tons of coal equivalent a year.

The project will run for about five years with expected completion in February 2021.

China continues to loosen price controlsChina's top economic regulator says local governments are going to give local businesses more autonomy in how they can price their products and services.

The National Development and Reform Commission says 30 of China's 31 provincial-level governments have already revised their "pricing catalogues," reducing the number of items subject to government price controls by 55 percent.

The focus for this round of cuts are in areas such as medical care, natural gas, power and public services.

Last month, the central government revised the national pricing catalogue, cutting the number of items subject to its price controls by 80 percent as part of efforts to let market forces dictate pricing.

Pricing catalogues in China are lists of products and services which are price-controlled by the government to ensure massive price swings don't take place.

China targets telecom reform, merger plans remain unconfirmedChina's industry regulator has rebuffed the reported merger plans of the country's top three telecoms companies.

Ministry of Industry and Information Technology spokesman Zhang Feng:

"The ministry will continue studying reforms in the telecom sector to figure out the next step, but has not taken any action toward the consolidation of telecom companies."His remarks follow media reports that the government is considering merging the country's three state-owned telecom service providers to improve efficiency and accelerate modernization of the information sector.

The three operators, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, exchanged executives in August, the first such adjustment in a decade.

Meanwhile, the ministry also added that China will allow companies that do not currently make cars to produce new energy vehicles.

The ministry says dozens of non-auto companies have applied for licenses to produce NEVs and it is now reviewing their qualifications.

Argentina, China make "important headway" in nuclear energy cooperationAuthorities from China and Argentina have wrapped up negotiations on plans to build a new nuclear plant in Argentina.

The plant, to be built about 110-kilometers from the capital Buenos Aires, is going to cost nearly 6-billion U.S. dollars.

Around 85-percent of the financing will come from Chinese banks.

The plant will feature a heavy-water reactor built with more than 70-percent of its components built in Argentina.

It's expected to create around 7-thousand jobs.

At the same time, Chinese and Argentine authorities have also worked out a framework agreement for a fifth nuclear plant.

This one will be developed with Chinese technology, and should produce about 25-percent more power than the one they're now working on.

Disney to get special trademark protection in ChinaChina is to give special trademark protection to the Walt Disney Company as the firm prepares to open its first theme park on the Chinese mainland next year.

The State Administration for Industry and Commerce says it will carry out a year-long campaign to crack down on Disney counterfeits.

It will also create "emergency teams" to help protect Disney trademarks, increase training for forces to spot illegal behavior and boost monitoring of Disney counterfeits online.

Disney is developing the 5.5 billion U.S. dollar theme park with China's state-owned Shanghai Shendi Group.

Earlier this year, Disney delayed the opening of the Shanghai Disneyland resort until the first half of next year. It had been previously scheduled to launch at the end of this year.

Facebook rides mobile wave to boost profits, user baseFacebook has posted strong quarterly revenue in the third quarter as new advertising services and its mobile app boosted ad sales.

Net profit in the period jumped 11 percent from a year ago to 891 million U.S. dollars as revenues leapt 41 percent to 4.5 billion U.S. dollars.

The company's ad revenue grew 45.4 percent to 4.3 billion U.S. dollars, with mobile ads accounting for 78 percent of the total, compared with 66 percent in the same quarter last year.

Facebook says the number of monthly active users of the network hit some 1.5 billion, up 14 percent from a year earlier.

The stronger-than-expected earnings report sparked a gain of 3.7 percent in Facebook shares in after-hours trade on Wednesday.

SportsRound one of HSBC Golf Championships in Shanghai completeIn golf,Round one of the HSBC Championships is in the books in Shanghai, with South African Branden Grace with the early lead.

Grace, who started out his first round in Shanghai on the back-9, birdied the par-4 9th to end his Thursday with 1-stroke lead after carding a 9-under-63.

American Kevin Kisner, Australian Steven Bowditch and Norway's Thorbjorn Olesen all sit tied for 2nd at minus-8.

American Dustin Johnson is among a group of three golfers 2-back of the lead at minus-7.

World number-1 Jordan Speith finished out his day at minus-4, as did Sergio Garcia and Rory McIlroy.

McIlroy had to skip yesterday's pro-am in Shanghai after he came down with a slight touch of food poisoning.

The top Chinese golfers in the field are Zhang Xinjun and Li Haotong.

Both fired an opening round 5-under-67.

--On the women's side,This week's LPGA stop in Japan will get underway tomorrow.

Mainland golfers Feng Shanshan and Lin Xiyu are not taking part in this week's stop in Japan.

Nor is world number-1 Lydia Ko.

Zhuhai Open Review [update]; ATP 1000 Paris Masters PreviewIn tennis action,From the WTA Elite Trophy tournament taking place in the city of Zhuhai in Guangdong,It was the Chinese pair of Xu Shilin and You Xiaodi downing the pair of Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski and her partner Alicja Rosolska from Poland in a three sets affair.

The Chinese pair will be taking on a Ukrainian duo in their next match.

In singles action,Venus Williams is battling Chinese wild-card entry Zheng Saisai in straight sets.

--Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark is battling Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova.

--Karolina Pliskova from the Czech Republic will take on Italian Sara Errani.

--The WTA Elite Trophy tournament brings together 11 of the top players who did not qualify for last week's WTA Finals in Singapore.

This event includes Caroline Wozniacki, Jelena Jankovic and Venus Williams, among others.

China's Zheng Saisai was added to the field as a wild-card entry.

-------------------On the men's side at the Paris Masters event,2nd seeded Andy Murray will take on Belgium's David Goffin of Belgium later today for place in the quarter-finals.

Murray, who is set to battle Goffin again later this month in the finals of the Davis Cup, says this match will be a good opportunity to get to know how Goffin ticks.

"Anytime you spend time on court with opponets you can learn about their game. The thing is the ball and movements are completely different on clay courts and that's why some guys play better on some surfaces than others. Things that he might not do well on a hard court he might do better on clay. It's good to play against him but I'll obviously before the (Davis Cup) tie watch matches of him to learn and understand his game better on that surface."------------------In other action tonight from Paris,6th seeded Kei Nishikori is up against 10th seed Richard Gasquet.

--Its number-1 Novak Djokovic up against 14th seeded Gilles Simone.

--8th seed David Ferrer will battle hard-hitting Bulgarian Grigor Dmitrov, who is only one of 2 unseeded players in action tonight.

--The other non-seed, Viktor Troicki, takes on number-4 Stan Wawrinka.

--3rd seed Roger Federer is set to go against number-13, American John Isner.

--5th seed Tomas Berdych takes on 9th seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfred Tsonga.

--And its 7th seeded Raphal Nadal wrapping up the evening up agaisnt number-11 South African Kevin Anderson.

Basketball: Golden State remains perfect on NBA SeasonIn basketball,The Golden State Warriors remain perfect on the NBA season so far, handing the LA Clippers their first loss of the season this morning, 112-108.

It was reigning league MVP Stephen Curry once-again leading the way for Golden State with 31-points.

The Warriors are now 5-0 to start the season, while the Clippers fall to 4-1.

In other action,The Toronto Raptors remain the only other NBA team with a blemish on their record, after handing Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder their 2nd loss in a row, 103-98.

Toronto, like Golden State, have a 5-0 record to start the season,The loss for Oklahoma City moves them to 3-2.

--It was Washington over San Antonio 102-99--Indiana edged Boston 100-98.

--The Brooklyn Nets are still looking for their first win of the year.

They went down to Atlanta 101-87.

--James Harden had 28-points to lead Houston past Orlando 119-114.

--LeBron James had 23-points to help Cleveland over the New York Knicks 96-86.

--The 76ers are still looking for their first win of the season after going down to Milwaukee 91-87.

--It was Phoenix over Sacramento 118-97.

--And it was Portland over Utah 108-92.

China Ranked 84th in FIFA Latest RankingsIn off-pitch football news,The Chinese men's national team has dropped 3 spots in FIFA's latest world rankings.

China's men are now ranked 84th in the world and 9th in Asia.

This is the China's lowest ranking in some 10 months.

At 43th, Iran is still the top Asian team in the rankings, ahead of South Korea and Japan.

Belgium has moved up to the top position in world rankings, followed by Germany and Argentina.

This is Belgium's highest-ever position since the rankings were introduced in 1993.

Chelsea notches victory in European Champions League actionIn action from the European Champions League,It was Brazilian midfielder Willan scoring in the 83rd minute to give Chelsea a 2-1 victory over Dynamo Kiev in group stage action last night.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.

"To win after conceding a goal with 10-15 minutes to go, I repeat it's important. I spoke a lot with the players over the last two or three days, when the difficult moment arrives face it. Don't collapse, don't be affected, keep the belief."With the victory, Chelsea, which has been struggling so far in the Premier League, moves up to 2nd in their group with 7-points, 3-points back of Porto and 2-ahead of Kiev.

Its Porto sitting atop Group G after cruising past Maccabi Tel Aviv 3-1 last night.

-----------------Elsewhere,Bayern Munich thrashed Arsenal 5-1 in their Group F encounter.

Bayern Manager Pep Guardiola says they're goal is to finish at the top of their group.

Olympiacos has kept pace with Bayern after edging Dynamo Zagreb 2-1.

In other action,It was Roma over Bayer Leverkusen 3-2, vaulting them into 2nd place in their group with the Italian's first victory in the group stages.

--Gent got past Valencia 1-nil.

--A pair of goals from Russian forward Artem Dyzuba was enough to move Zenit St. Petersburg past Lyon 2-nil.

--Barcelona is all but assured a trip to the knock-out stages after blowing out BATE Borisov 3-nil last nightNHL's Oilers confirm McDavid will be out months with fractured colarboneIn off-ice news from the National Hockey League,The Edmonton Oilers have confirmed rookie sensation Connor McDavid is likely to be out for months, rather than weeks.

This, after the team confirmed the 18-year old phenom fractured his colarbone during the Oilers last game against the Philadelphia Flyers.

McDavid lost an edge and went heavy into the end-boards while trying to chase down the puck.

He is going to have to undergo surgery to repair the fracture.

Depending on the nature of the fracture and his healing time, McDavid could be out of the Oilers line-up for 3-5 months.

Touted by some as the next Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux, Connor McDavid had already notched 5 goals and 7 assists in the 13 games he was in before being injured.

EntertainmentHu Ge Receives Asian Special Contribution Award in JapanChinese actor Hu Ge has received the "Asian Special Contribution Award" at the tenth anniversary of the "Asian TV Drama Conference" in Japan for two of his TV dramas "Inspiration in Life" in 2004, and "Good Time" in 2005.

Hu Ge delivered his acceptance speech in English.

"First of all, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to ATDC for the recognition and encouragement to me. That achievement cannot be achieved without a wonderful script and a strong production team."The award is voted for by Asia's top producers and screenwriters. It's the first time the Asian TV Drama Conference has issued this particular award to an individual.

Hu Ge was best known for playing Li Xiaoyao in hit television series "Chinese Paladin."He has embarked on a number of television projects, most of which had a wuxia - or chivalry - theme.

While most recently, his breakthrough role of Lin Shu in the drama "Nirvana in Fire" has been as a tremendous success in his acting career.

The drama has gone viral through Chinese social networking platforms such as wechat and weibo.

The successive airing of "Disguiser" "Nirvana in Fire" and "Good Time" featuring the actor on several Chinese satellite TV channels has continued to keep him in the public spotlight.

2015 CMA Awards: Luke Bryan wins the top prize, but Chris Stapleton carries the dayLuke Bryan may have won the CMA Awards' top prize for Entertainer of the Year, but it was a soulful outsider who picked up many of the night's most significant trophies.

Chris Stapleton was the big winner of the latter half of the Country Music Association Awards, taking Album of the Year for "Traveller" and Male Vocalist of the Year.

Following an impressive duet with Justin Timberlake and a New Artist award, the awards have confirmed Stapleton as both a major new star and one of the genre's most artistically significant newcomers.

While some of the show's latter nods went to upbeat, more radio-minded performers also saw success with Florida Georgia Line, taking home the Vocal Duo of the Year award.

Katy Perry's $135m Earnings Top Taylor SwiftKaty Perry has beaten pop rival Taylor Swift to become the highest-earning woman in the music industry this year, according to Forbes.

The business publication has estimated that the 31 year old Perry, earned 135 million US dollars in the past 12 months, compared with an estimated 80 million for Swift, who's 25.

British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac came in a surprise third with 59.5 million US dollars, even though only two of its five current members are women - and Christine McVie only rejoined the band last year after a 15-year absence.

Perry's earnings were boosted by a worldwide tour, Prismatic, as well as endorsement deals with beauty firms such as CoverGirl.

The Roar singer's latest album Prism has sold four million copies worldwide since its release in 2013.

Shake It Off singer Taylor Swift ranked a distant second despite some 8.6 million in global sales for her hit album, 1989, and the start of a world tour.

Lady Gaga ranked fourth while last year's top earner Beyonce slipped to fifth place.

China's Bona Film Invests $235 Million in Fox Movie SlateChinese studio Bona Film Group has signed a deal to invest 235 million US dollars in a slate of so called Hollywood tentpole movies from 20th Century Fox.

These are films which are likely to provide franchise and spin off opportunities.

The NASDAQ-listed Chinese distributor is making the investment through TSG Entertainment Finance, headed by financial guru Chip Seelig's, Seelig Group.

WeatherBeijing will have sleet tonight with a low of 2, tomorrow will still have sleet with a high of 4.

Shanghai will have slight rain tonight with a low of 19, tomorrow will be cloudy, high of 24.

Chongqing will be rainy with a low of 15, tomorrow will have thunderstorm with a high of 18.

Lhasa will be clear with a low of 0, tomorrow will be cloudy with a high of 15.

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad will be sunny with a high of 23.

Kabul, cloudy, 13.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney, slight rain, high of 26,Brisbane,rainy,27,Perth, also rainy, 26,And finally Auckland, New Zealand will be cloudy 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...

Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in Vietnam to begin his latest trip abroad...

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