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

Coming up on the program this morning...

The UN Security Council strongly condemning the killing of a Chinese and a Norwegian citizen by Islamic State militants..

Chinese President Xi Jinping calling on Asia-Pacific economies to boost win-win cooperation in pursuit of common prosperity at the just-concluded summit in Manila...

And the lower house of France's parliament voting to extend a state of national emergency...

In Business.... China set to cut interest rates on standing lending facilities...

In Sports....the latest from ATP World Tour Finals...

And in Entertainment.... Adele's new album drops today...

Top NewsUN Condemns Killing of Chinese and Norwegian CitizensThe UN Security Council on Thursday strongly condemned the killing of a Chinese citizen and a Norwegian citizen by Islamic State militants.

The council expressed their sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims, as well as the Chinese and Norwegian governments, while stressing that IS must be defeated.

The Chinese national Fan Jinghui was captured by IS earlier this year. The Chinese government on Thursday confirmed his death.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang have both strongly condemned the killing.

Xi Jinping says China will resolutely crack down on all terrorist activities.

APEC economic leaders highlight inclusive growthThis year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting has wrapped up in Manila.

Leaders of the 21-member economies have issued a joint declaration, vowing to build inclusive economies by supporting comprehensive and ambitious structural reforms.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III says the declaration has also offered guidance for developing the regions' service sector:

"The services sector is becoming a more important part of the economic equation. It makes up approximately two-thirds of the GDP in the APEC region. And we need to put more emphasis and thought into making this sector even more competitive. This framework will lead a goal-driven road map for us to achieve over the next decade to help the sector thrive."The leaders reaffirm their commitment to endorsing the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific.

APEC leaders also called for increased international cooperation and solidarity in fighting terrorism as this year's meeting was held following a series of terror attacks around the world.

This year's APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting was the 23nd of its kind.

The annual meeting will next be held in Peru.

Xi Jingping Calls for Deepened APEC CooperationChinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday called on Asia-Pacific economies to boost win-win cooperation in pursuit of common prosperity.

Xi Jinping made the remarks at the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in the Philippines' capital Manila.

The president said reforms and innovation are needed as growth impetus, and called for joint efforts to deepen economic restructuring and cooperation, in areas such as urbanization and the Internet economy.

Xi Jinping added both the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the One Belt and One Road initiative were making significant progress.

The leaders' meeting concluded on Thursday with a joint declaration, which reaffirmed APEC members' commitment to building an open economy in the region.

China to Launch Nationwide Carbon Emission Trading Market in 2017AnchorA Chinese official says a nationwide carbon emission trading market is expected to take shape in two years to fulfill the country's commitment to a low-carbon future.

CRI's Yu Yang reports.

ReporterBriefing a news conference on Thursday, Xie Zhenhua, China's special representative on climate change, said the country is exploring emissions trading mechanisms.

"China now is piloting emission trading in seven provinces or municipalities, and the work is going well. All of them have started online trading, and their prices are stable, which you can see for details in the report. But the pilot program does not focus on the prices. Its purpose is to explore a market mechanism."Xie Zhenhua made the remarks as the country released a report on its fight against climate change over this past year.

The negotiator said there is a lot of work to do within the emission trading mechanism and law making is a priority for the time being.

"We are working on laws and regulations for emission trading. When we complete all the preparation work, we will move on to establish a unified national market."China began piloting carbon trading in 2011 and approved seven schemes in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Guangdong and Hubei.

Under the schemes, enterprises which produce more than their share of emissions are allowed to buy unused quotas on the market from those that cause less pollution.

According to the country's top economic planner, the NDRC, transactions of the seven pilots have totaled close to 1.2 billion yuan, involving gas emission quotas of over 40 million tonnes.

Xie Zhenhua said the nationwide carbon emissions trading market is expected to be launched at a faster pace following the smooth operation of the seven pilot schemes, while international cooperation is welcomed.

"Now there are many countries, like some local governments of America, the EU and some neighboring countries. They all want to cooperate with us to establish a unified emission trading market. So now we are having cooperation with other countries, exchanging experience with them."Xie Zhenhua also reiterated China's goals in its own "Intended Nationally Determined Contribution" to cut its carbon emissions per unit of GDP by 60-65 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, and increase non-fossil fuel sources in primary energy consumption to about 20 percent and peak its carbon emissions by the same date.

He also said the country wanted a legally binding agreement to be reached at the world climate summit in Paris that begins at the end of this month.

Also on Thursday, China issued its first state-level standards for the calculation of greenhouse gas emissions from major industries, like power generation and steel.

It's the latest step in the country to tackle climate change.

For CRI, this is Yu Yang.

QA on climate changeFor more on China's latest moves to tackle climate change, CRI's Wang Mengzhen earlier spoke with Li Zhichao from a Beijing-based NGO dedicated to combating climate change.

Back AnchorThat was Li Zhichao from Beijing-based environmental organization speaking with CRI's Wang Mengzhen.

Building of ASEAN economic community full of challengesAnchorObservers awaiting the formal establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community by the end of this year are warning of difficult challenges ahead as it comes into being over the next few years, given the social and economic imbalances among the group.

CRI's Li Jianhua has more.

ReporterThe completion of the ASEAN Economic Community as a whole is expected to be completed by 2020, with the ultimate goal of building an economic community, a political-security community, and a socio-cultural community.

Chief among those goals, the building of its economic community is expected to be finished by the end of this year.

However, Professor Yang Baoyun with Peking University says differences in terms of culture, religion and politics among ASEAN members poses a challenge to building both the political-security community and the socio-cultural community.

"The national conditions of the member states of ASEAN countries all differ from each other, especially in economic and social development. The difficulties its member states have are everywhere. How to set a standard which will meet the needs of all its member states is of vital importance to push forward ASEAN integration. And this is easier said than done. "In the meantime, Yang also says new laws should be put in-place to smooth the way for ASEAN integration.

Yang Baoyun says this should include an internal dispute resolution mechanism to avoid taking problems to international forums.

"If the regulations in joining the ASEAN Economic Community are not complete, there will be no way to settle the disputes among its member states. International arbitration is not recommended if they run into problems. They should try to work a way out to solve the issues themselves."Thailand's Deputy foreign minister Don Pramundwindai, says more people-to-people communication will play a pivotal role in the achievement of the three targets set by the ASEAN Economic Community.

"That is the most important challenge. Also it's about connectivity. In the ASEAN Community, we are talking about how we connect the ASEAN members together. But connectivity isn't about physical connectivity. But it connects all the pillars — connect people-to-people, infrastructure, or connection about trade and investment to a region. We also have a negative side of connectivity, like migration. So when we talk about connectivity, it not only includes the positive side, but also the negative side."ASEAN was established nearly 50-years ago as a political grouping of ten Southeast Asian nations.

It's since developed into a regional economic and trading power, and has been looking to expand its role in Asian affairs through the creation of the ASEAN Economic Community.

For CRI, this is Li Jianhua.

China busts largest underground banking casePolice in east China's Zhejiang Province have busted the country's largest underground banking case, which involved transactions totaling 410 billion yuan (64 bln U.S. dollars).

A total of 100 suspects from eight gangs have been detained since the police launched the investigation in September last year.

Police say the gangs were loosely united by a ringleader, Zhao, who operated dozens of shell companies for foreign exchange transactions and money laundry in Hong Kong.

The Ministry of Public Security said China has faced an "increasingly arduous and complicated" problem with unapproved financial institutions often used for laundering money obtained from corruption, online gambling and fraud.

According to the ministry, police have shut down 37 such banks since August this year.

Abaaoud "played key role" in Paris attacks: MinisterFrench Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has said that Abdelhamid Abaaoud is believed to have played a key role in organizing last Friday's Paris attacks.

"Abdelhamid Abaaoud played a key role in these attacks. The investigation will establish the exact implication of this Belgian-Moroccan national. It will also allow for us to determine the exact journey of this terrorist from Molenbeek in Belgium who had made his way to Syria in 2014."Cazeneuve explained that France did not know before the deadly attacks that Abaaoud was in Europe.

He confirmed that Abaaoud was killed in the police raid on an apartment building in a suburb north of Paris.

Cazeneuve also insisted that cooperation between European intelligence agencies had to be improved, after it became clear that Abaaoud had managed to slip through the cracks and easily make his way to France from Syria.

French Lower House votes to extend state of emergencyThe lower house of the French Parliament voted on Thursday to extend the national state of emergency for three months after last week's deadly attacks.

After approval in the National Assembly, the measure goes to the Senate on Friday, where it is likely to also win approval.

The state of emergency expands police powers to carry out arrests and searches.

It also allows authorities to forbid the movement of persons and vehicles at specific times and places.

France claims 35 IS targets in Syria DestroyedThe French military said it had destroyed 35 Islamic State group targets in Syria since last week's attacks on Paris.

Military spokesman Colonel Gilles Jaron introduced that French planes had dropped about 60 bombs on six sites, and all the targets were Islamic State militant command centres or training sites.

He said the strikes were aimed at weakening and disorganising the Islamic State group.

France has been taking part in the US-led coalition against Islamic State extremists in Syria and Iraq.

It sharply increased its air strikes in Syria after Friday's attacks, which killed at least 132.

Russia to build a nuclear power plant in EgyptRussia and Egypt signed an agreement on Thursday for Russia to build a nuclear power plant in Egypt.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said the project would involve the building of a 'third-generation' plant with four reactors.

It is not clear how much the deal is worth, but Sisi said Russia will extend a loan to Egypt to cover the cost of construction.

"It will take (Egypt) 35 years to pay off the cost of this plant - 35 years. The country and the balance sheet - and please take what I say in complete detail and responsibility - the country will not bear the cost of building this plant, on the contrary, it will be paid back through the actual production of electricity that will be generated by this plant."The plant, Egypt's first, will be built at Dabaa in the north of the country and is expected to be completed by 2022.

U.S. House passed Bill to Halt Refugee programAnchorU.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill to halt the administration's plans to accept thousands of Syrian and Iraqi refugees. They did so over repeated veto threats from the White House.

CRI's Washington chief correspondent Xiaohong with more.

ReporterThe U.S. House of Representatives voted 289 to 137 to pass the bill to restrict the influx of Syrian and Iraqi refugees.

The Republican-proposed bill requires the country's top security officials, namely the Secretary of Homeland Security, the director of the FBI and the director of National Intelligence, to certify that potential refugees from Syria or Iraq do not pose a security risk to the United States.

House Speaker Paul Ryan said before the vote that it's common sense to pause, revaluate and put higher standard in place when it comes to the security of the American people.

He pointed to recent congressional testimonies from FBI Director James Comey and Homeland Security Secretary Jay Johnson acknowledging the challenges of trying to investigate refugees from war-torn Syria and Iraq.

"Our own law enforcement experts are telling us they don't have confidence that they can detect or block with the current standards in place that ISIl or ISIS is not trying to infiltrating the refugee population. This is an urgent issue and that's why we're dealing with this urgently."President Barack Obama on Wednesday vowed to veto the bill, saying the proposed bill is untenable and would provide no meaningful additional security for the American people.

Opponents of the bill argued that there is already a vigorous 18-month to 24-month vetting process for refugees. According to the White House, the total number of Syrians admitted to the U.S. since Sept. 11, 2001 attack stood at 2,174. And none of them has been arrested or deported because of allegations they harbored extremist ambitions.

House minority leader Nancy Pelosi criticized the proposed legislation, saying it missed some important and more practical issues.

"And what are we not doing. We're not addressing visa-waiving. We're not addressing guns. We're not addressing the fact that this bill only talked about people coming from Iraq and Syria. Our bill is more inclusive. It's smarter. And therefore it's stronger in terms of protecting the American people. "In the Senate, a bill co-drafted by Republican and Democratic legislators touched upon the visa-waiving measure. If adopted, Europeans or other foreign citizens who have traveled to Syria or Iraq in the past five years will not be granted a visa waiver to enter the United States, a measure currently enjoyed by citizens of about 40 countries, all strong U.S. allies.

Peter King, a Republican Congressman, has also suggested a ban on gun sales to people on terrorist watch list.

A Bloomberg Politics poll released Wednesday showed that 53% of American adults don't want Syrian refugees resettled in the U.S., while 28% voiced support to the administration's pledge to take in 10 thousand Syrian refugees next year.

Xiaohong, CRI, Washington DC.

Palestinian Attacks in Israel and West Bank Leave at Least Five DeadAt least five people were killed in two separate attacks in the West Bank and Tel Aviv on Thursday.

An Israeli police spokesman identifies an 18-year-old American as one of the victims killed by a Palestinian attacker in the West Bank.

"In the West Bank area near Gush Etzion where we've seen a number of terrorist attacks, there again, one terrorist opened fire at four vehicles and unfortunately, as a result, three people were killed, including an American that we identified at the scene."He said that earlier a Palestinian stabbed two Israelis inside an office building Tel Aviv.

Police say two suspects are in custody.

At least seven other people were wounded.

High-Rise Injury Case Shines Spotlight on Social Morality in ChinaAnchorDiscarding objects or trash by residents of high rise apartments out of their windows has become a social vice here in China. A recent case of a fallen object injuring a baby and its related court ruling have shined the spotlight again on the issue.

CRI's Victor Ning has more.

ReporterOn a November afternoon last year, a discarded cement block fell from an eleven-story apartment building in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. It hit a 44-day-old baby on the ground and left her with severe injuries.

The perpetrator could not be identified, so the girl's parents sued owners of all 128 units in the building. A local court ruled in early November that the apartment owners should collectively compensate the girl's family with nearly 400-thousand yuan, or 62-thousand USD dollars.

Local Judge Sun Jiao explains the court's decision.

"The decision was based on our national laws. It is a way of allocating aid and compensation to the family of the injured. It does not mean that all defendants caused the injury, but under the special circumstances of the case, it is a way of securing compensation, within our legal framework."According to Chinese law, when a fallen or discarded object from a building causes injuries or damages, the building's occupants are deemed responsible unless they can prove otherwise.

The plaintiff's lawyer says the family has incurred significant costs relating to the girl's treatment and recovery.

As expected, the ruling was not well received by some of the building's residents.

"I live on the third floor. I wasn't even at home when the incident happened. I don't understand why the family is asking for compensation from all of us.""We won't pay the compensation at all. It is okay if they ask for donations. But it is not fair. We will appeal the ruling."Some of the apartment owners have submitted evidence that they were not home or living in those apartments at the time of the incident. But the court says none of the evidence could sufficiently prove the defendants' claims. The court says if the perpetrator was found in the future, the current defendants will be exonerated.

The girl's father, a man surnamed He, says he understands the controversy surrounding the case, but is satisfied with the ruling.

"We are happy with the court's decision, but we are facing the pressure of public opinion. Some defendants feel the ruling was unfair. But we are telling our story before the court of law, and it made a lawful decision, so we stand by it."Local police say the lack of hard evidence complicated the case. Security monitors have since been installed outside the residential building and its surrounding buildings.

However, local police officer Yi Wenchuan says dangerous objects have not stopped coming down.

"Often people throw down rocks, glass bottles, and other dangerous items. We have been called a few times regarding such incidents. It has happened both before and after the case involving the baby girl."Similar cases in China have happened before, involving injuries and even deaths. It was not the first time either that the entire building's occupants have been sued.

The family's lawyer says seeking legal protection and compensation is only a last resort in such cases. All parties involved in the case have called for more moral awareness and civility among those who may want to drop things out of their windows.

For CRI, I'm Victor Ning.

Israel, Palestinians sign 3G mobile network agreementIsrael and the Palestinian Authority on Thursday signed an agreement to allow a 3G mobile network in Gaza and the West Bank.

Israel said the decision was made after it concluded a security examination as well as other work with the Communications Ministry.

Palestinian Minister of Civil Affairs Hussein Al-Sheikh said in a statement that the agreement "will enable the companies benefiting from the service to begin coordination with the Palestinian ministry of telecommunication."Earlier this year, Israel's Communications Ministry allocated a number of high-speed 4G frequencies to Israeli mobile phone operators.

Palestinian mobile operators Paltel and Wataniya, still using 2G technologies and losing money, want to offer 3G to meet surging demand for social media applications.

In the past, Israel had told the Palestinians there were not enough frequencies for 3G and that they should lease access to them from Israeli providers.

WeatherBeijing will see sleet with a high of 3 degrees Celsius.

Overnight temperatures should drop down to 0.

Shanghai will have slight rain with a high of 17 and a low of 16.

In Chongqing, it will be cloudy with during the daytime with a high of 21 and lows of 15.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Islamabad will be cloudy with a high of 24.

Kabul will be cloudy with a high of 12.

Over to North America,New York will be cloudy with a high of 13 degrees.

Washington, cloudy with a high of 11 degrees.

Honolulu, slight rain, 30.

Toronto will be cloudy with a high of 5 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,Buenos Aires will be cloudy with a high of 22.

And Rio de Janeiro will have slight rain with a high of 33 degrees Celsius.

Headline NewsUN Condemns Killing of Chinese and Norwegian CitizensThe UN Security Council on Thursday strongly condemned the killing of a Chinese citizen and a Norwegian citizen by Islamic State militants.

The council expressed their sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims, as well as the Chinese and Norwegian governments, while stressing that IS must be defeated.

The Chinese national Fan Jinghui was captured by IS earlier this year. The Chinese government on Thursday confirmed his death.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang have both strongly condemned the killing.

Xi Jinping says China will resolutely crack down on all terrorist activities.

China, India Pledge Further Security CooperationChinese Premier Li Keqiang met with Indian Minister of Home Affairs Rajnath Singh in Beijing on Thursday.

The two countries pledged further investment and security cooperation.

Li Keqiang said China welcomed Indian companies aiming to invest in China, and hoped India could provide more opportunities for Chinese investment.

The premier also called on the two sides to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in counterterrorism and fighting against transnational crimes.

The Indian official said India was ready to conduct regular exchanges and cooperation with China on security and law enforcement.

He also called on the two countries to properly handle disputes through dialogue and consultation, in order to maintain peace in border areas.

Heavy Metal Pollution Alarming Despite Discharge DropChina's Ministry of Environmental Protection says heavy metal pollution still poses a large risk on the country's environment, despite a drop in the discharge of several key heavy-metal pollutants last year.

The discharge of five key heavy metal pollutants of lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium and metal arsenic declined by about 21 percent in 2014 compared with 2007.

The ministry made the assessment in 28 provincial localities, adding the discharge of heavy metal is still high due to the past three decades of rapid industrial expansion.

The ministry says it will review heavy metal pollution control next year, and penalize local governments that fail to meet the requirements.

Rare Winter Floods Cause Massive Economic Losses in ChinaRare winter floods in Hunan and Jiangxi provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region have brought an economic loss of nearly 1 billion yuan, or around 155 million U.S. dollars.

China's National Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters made the announcement on Thursday.

As of Thursday, the floods have affected more than half a million people and destroyed nearly 500 houses. Around 30,000 people have been relocated.

Torrential rain has been battering these areas throughout November, causing more than 30 rivers to break their banks.

The headquarters has sent four work teams to the areas to conduct rescue and relief work.

Biz ReportsTurning onto business news. First, a quick look at the closing numbers across North America and Europe as well as a recap on the Chinese market.

U.S. stocks ended mildly lower after wavering between small gains and losses Thursday. At close, all three indices ended with slight loss.

Stocks traded in a narrow range, as the newly-released minutes from Federal Reserve's October meeting bolstered expectations of a December rate hike.

Some analysts blame the modest stock moves due to the lack of major economic reports.

Many believed that the U.S. central bank will begin raising interest rates next month.

UnitedHealth closed down 5.7 percent as the greatest weight on the Dow. Pfizer and Allergan closed about 3 percent lower to also weigh on the health care sector.

Shares of Best Buy dropped more than 3 percent by noon even after the company announced better-than-expected quarterly profit.

Over in Europe, shares ended well.

The British benchmark FTSE 100 increased by 0.8 percent.

Germany's Dax surged more than one percent.

While the French CAC 40 added 0.2 percent.

Quick recap on the Chinese markets, stocks advanced substantially on Thursday after dipping for two consecutive days, as investors expected more favorable policies to support the oversupplied property sector.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.4 percent.

The smaller Shenzhen index gained 2.7 percent.

China's central bank cuts SLF interest rates for local branchesChina's central bank said Thursday it will cut the interest rates on standing lending facilities.

After the cut, interest rates of overnight and seven-day SLFs for local financial institutions will be reduced to 2.75 percent and 3.25 percent respectively from Friday.

Previous SLF interest rate level cuts were not announced.

The SLF is a liquidity tool, created by the central bank in early 2013 to support its local branches.

The tool could provide a large amount of funding to banks when they face a liquidity squeeze and are unable to get sufficient financing from the interbank market.

China's central bank says that Thursday's move aims to help make interest rates more market-based and is in line with the current liquidity situation.

China EximBank to finance China Railway's global projectsThe Export-Import Bank of China on Thursday signed a lending agreement with China Railway Corporation to help the latter explore global markets.

The bank will grant the railway contractor a line of credit of up to 500 billion yuan, or some 80 billion U.S. dollars, for major infrastructure projects.

China Railway is speeding up efforts to increase its overseas presence.

The company and four Indonesian firms have agreed to set up a joint venture to build a high-speed railway linking Jakarta and Bandung, the first overseas high-speed railway project for a Chinese company.

The project is expected to start in November 2015 and take three years to complete.

The bank also promised further support to China Railway on railroad construction in Laos and Thailand in the future.

Corporate News of this weekAnchorLet's check out some of the main events taking place on the corporate front in China this week.

China's leading online travel booking platform Ctrip is in talks with its rival Tuniu about a possible investment deal.

As the biggest online travel agency, Ctrip in recent months has invested in almost every one of its rivals, including last months' deal with Qunar.

Some observers are saying that this behavior looks increasingly anti-competitive.

For more on this topic, we are joined on the line by Doug Young, Associate professor at Fudan University and former China company news chief with Reuters.

[Talking points]

1, Could this prompt the anti-monopoly regulator to take action to preserve competition in China's online travel market?

2, As for the uneasy partnership, several pairs of former foes suddenly merged in China this year, for example taxi hailing app Didi and Kuadi, and groupon platform Meituan and Dianping, how do you see the impact of this trend of mergers going forward?

*************Hunan TV's online video platform Mango TV, is reportedly undergoing its second round of funding which will exceed RMB 20 bln.

In June Mango TV received RMB 500 mln in Series A funding.

The company is a subsidiary of Hunan provincial radio and TV media operator Hunan Broadcasting System.

[Talking points]

1, why is the company in need of a round second funding? Is the company planning to go public?

2, many video streaming services providers like LeTV are also investing in the hardware and software side of Internet tv. Do you see this step as coming next for Mango TV?

Back Anchor:

Doug Young, associate professor at Fudan University and former China company news chief at Reuters.

Alibaba launches funds to invest in HK, Taiwan startupsAlibaba on Thursday launched two nonprofit venture capital funds to help startups in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Alibaba set aside 300 million U.S. dollars for its Taiwan fund and earmarked nearly 130 million U.S. dollars for the Hong Kong fund.

Alibaba said it started receiving applications on Thursday and investment choices will be released in three months.

Joe Tsai, vice chairman of Alibaba and director of the two funds, said the fund and other resources will be used to help startups develop and expand their businesses.

Sichuan Airlines expands international businessChina's Sichuan Airlines on Thursday announced three new international routes as the regional airline attempts to go global.

The Chengdu based Sichuan airlines currently has a fleet of 107 Airbus jetliners.

The new flights will link Chengdu with Tokyo, Osaka and Singapore from January.

The flight to Tokyo is scheduled four times a week, and the flight to Osaka three times a week.

The flight to Singapore will be run on daily basis.

Chinese tourists have been flocking to Japan this year as the yen weakens and visa policies are loosened.

In the first three quarters this year, the number of Chinese tourists in Japan more than doubled from the same period last year.

With outbound Chinese tourism booming, Sichuan Airlines has stepped up international expansion this year, with flights to Vietnam, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates.

SportsChina appeals against disallowed goal in FIFA World Cup qualifierChina's Football Association has lodged an appeal to Asian Football Confederation against a disallowed team China's goal in FIFA World Cup qualifier against team Hong Kong on Tuesday.  The Chinese team had to see a goalless tie in Hong Kong after Yu Dabao's goal in the 77th minute was ignored by the referees.    Yu's flash volley in the box was denied by the Hong Kong keeper and Yu's second shot found a post.

But the ball bounced into the net, completely crossing the goal line before the keeper tapped it out in the air.  However, it is said that the appeal has little chance to change the result since Goal-line Technology was not used in the 2018 World Cup Asian Zone qualifiers.  After the match, China is staying third in Group C and has slim chances to enter the final stage of the qualifying campaign.

Lin Dan knocked out of Hong Kong OpenIn badminton,Chinese badminton superstar Lin Dan has crashed out of the second round of the Hong Kong Open.

Lin Dan lost to local favorite Ng Ka-long 21-8, 21-18 in their first meeting.

Lin, a two-time Olympic champion and five-time world champion, won Super Series title in Japan in September, but failed to get past the first round of the French Open last month.

He is aiming for next year's Rio Olympics.

In other actions,Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei overcame Germany's Marc Zwiebler 21-12, 21-12 for his place in the last eight.

Lee is set to face World number one Chen Long from China who got past Thailand's Boon-sak Pon-sa-na for his place in the quarter finals.

China's Tian Houwei also went through after downing defending champion Son Wan-Ho of South Korea 21-13, 21-17.

On the women's side,World number one Carolina Marin of Spain edged Japan's Akane Yamaguchi 21-19, 21-8 to reach the last eight.

In earlier actions, It was the world number-7 Wang Yihan advancing into the next round at the tournament over Hong Kong's Cheung Ngan-yi in straight sets.

NBA: Warriors to take on ClippersLooking ahead at some NBA action coming up this morning:

Three games on tap-The Sacramento Kings will take on the Miami Heat at 8:30 am Beijing time.

Lebron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers host the Milwaukee Bucks at 9 am Beijing time.

And it is the Golden State Warriors away agaisnt the Los Angeles Clippers at 11:30 am Beijing time.

China's Wanda completes merger of World Triathlon CorporationChina's Dalian Wanda Group has finished a merger of World Triathlon Corporation - the organizer of the Ironman triathlon series.

This comes after the two companies inked an agreement in August confirming that Wanda had purchased WTC for 650 million U.S. dollars.

Wanda now plans to promote the sport on TV to attract 200-thousand regular amateur participants in China within ten years.

The company has also said that triathlons will be held in at least three Chinese cities next year.

Wanda has been enhancing its portfolio with sports acquisitions.

It purchased Swiss sports marketing group Infront Sports & Media for 1.2 billion U.S. dollars earlier this year, and a 20-percent stake in Spanish soccer team Atletico Madrid.

Tennis: ATP World Tour FinalsIn tennis,In an match just concluded earlier this morning, world No.1 Novak Djokovic downed Czech player Tomas Berdych 6-3, 7-5 in the ATP World Tour Finals in London.

Djokovic will next meet Rafael Nadal in semi-final on Saturday.

Earlier,World No. 3 Roger Federer beat Japanese Kei Nishikori in three sets 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 stay undefeated at the tournament.

The win means Swiss Federer tops the Stan Smith Group, having won all three of his round-robin matches at the ATP's season-ender for the ninth time in 14 consecutive appearances.

Federer talks about his win after the match.

"It's just another match, a really important one for me, to move on with a good feeling. There's (ranking) points on the line and prestige, wanting to beat Kei, winning at the O2. I want to do well here."Federer was already guaranteed a place in the semi-finals, thanks to his straight-sets wins over Tomas Berdych and Novak Djokovic but battled for two hours and 10 minutes to maintain his unbeaten record.

Entertainment'The Assassin' and 'Thanatos, Drunk' to compete for Taipei Golden Horse Film FestivalDirector Hou Hsiao-hsien's martial arts film, 'The Assassin', and Chang Tso-chi's 'Thanatos, Drunk' are the biggest hits vying for recognition in the major categories at the upcoming 52nd Golden Horse Awards.

(Assassin clip)The Assassin, leads the Golden Horse Awards with 11 nominations including Best Film, Best Director, best Actress for Shu Qi, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

'Thanatos, Drunk' is just behind with ten nominations including Best Film and Best Director, as well as all the acting categories except for Best Actress.

(Thanatos clip)Meanwhile, Hong Kong director Philip Yung's 'Port of Call', received nine nominations including Best Actor for lead star Aaron Kwok.

In addition, mainland director Jia Zhangke's 'Mountains May Depart' received seven, the highest number for a mainland movie competing in the upcoming awards.

The 52nd Golden Horse Awards will kick off this Saturday in Taipei.

Director Zheng Xiaolong's 'The Legend of Mi Yue' to Hit TV on November 30thDirector Zheng Xiaolong's upcoming epic series The Legend of Mi Yue is ready to hit TV screens this month.

(Miyue clip)Based on the life of ancient China's first female politician Mi Bazi, the 81-episode series is set to be aired from November 30th, on Beijing Satellite TV and the Shanghai-based Dragon TV.

The TV drama is adapted from the namesake novel, which portrays the ups and downs of Mi Yue, who turns from being a simple girl into an iron-handed power behind the throne.

The star-studded cast includes Sun Li, Liu Tao and Huang Xuan.

The award-winning director says the TV drama has already attracted attention from overseas markets before its Chinese mainland debut.

He further indicates the series' overseas distributor is in discussions with at least a dozen companies, including California-based Netflix.

The director's previous hit TV drama 'The Legend of Zhen Huan' was streamed by Netflix in the United States earlier this year.

Adele to Release '25' TodayAdele is set to release her much anticipated third album '25' today, which has made stars from across the music industry and Hollywood excited.

The 23-year-old popstar Selena Gomez shows her craze for Adele, and says she is looking forward to the British singer's latest album.

"I think she's such an incredible, special artist. She does what she wants to do and she has her own life, is able to live it, and she lets everybody focus on the music -- which is what it's all about. Music is so much maybe getting invested in what people are saying. And it's all about the music. She lets it speak for itself."And it seems that everybody loves Adele.

'The Great Gatsby' director Baz Luhrmann is more effusive, saying there is no precedent for a singer like Adele.

"There's no comparison for Adele. She came out of apparently nowhere and is tremendously gifted. She plays only by her own musical rules. Just when you think what's going to happen, she drops the perfect opening single. She is Adele, it's as simple as that."Being the singer's third studio album, '25' will have eleven songs under the track, including the record-breaking hit 'Hello'.

Christian Bale Talks His Character in Upcoming 'The Big Short'

The 'Batman' star Christian Bale enjoyed the chance to play real-life financial wiz Michael Burry in the upcoming drama 'The Big Short'.

(Big clip)The 41-year-old Oscar winner says the gentleman he portrayed in the film is an incredible and unique individual, who enjoys being an outsider on Wall Street.

"I believe his motivations are completely different from the usual Wall Street motivations, which is just amassing money. He's somebody who truly speaks and thinks numbers and that happens to be something that he's able therefore to earn other people a fortune and do very well for himself. He was a real treasure trove to talk to, a real pleasure and a real delight to portray."Directed by Adam Mckay, this biographical comedy-drama is based on the 2010 namesake book by Michael Lewis.

It depicts four outsiders in the world of high-finance, who decide to take on the big banks for their lack of foresight and greed during financial crash of 2008.

Brad Pitt and Ryan Gosling also star in this film.

'The Big Short' will open in the US on December 11th, followed by a wider release on December 23rd.

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

Recapping our top stories this morning...

The UN Security Council strongly condemning the killing of a Chinese and a Norwegian citizen by Islamic State militants..

And the lower house of France's parliament voting to extend a state of national emergency...

On behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers, 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.