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

Coming up on the program this morning...

Chinese defense officials say a planned overhaul of the military is not a shift in defense policy...

Authorities in Beijing say the city will adopt the most strict vehicle emission standards in the world...

Several police officers and civilians have been wounded by a gunman in the US state of Colorado...

We have our weekly round up of the latest Business news.

In Sports...tennis action from the Davis Cup final in Belgium...

In Entertainment...a Chinese singer arrested in Beijing on drug charges...

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

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Top NewsChina's peace commitment unchanged after military overhaulChina's Defense Ministry says the plan to reorganize the current military command system will not affect the overall defense policy.

Ministry spokesperson Yang Yujun says China's policy of maintaining a defensive military remains unchanged.

"China will always uphold the flag of peace, development and cooperation, and will always follow the defensive defense policy. The cut of 300,000 troops has again demonstrated China's resolve to pursue a path of peaceful development, and Chinese armed forces will always be a staunch force to safeguard world peace and regional stability."The Defense department says the move is commensurate with its international standing and interests in security and development.

"This reform is intended to build a modern military that can win IT-based wars and carry out missions and orders with higher efficiency, as well as to make breakthroughs in military administration and joint operational command, to optimize and enhance military structure and policy systems."The military reshuffle was announced by President Xi Jinping earlier this week. He is also chairman of the Central Military Commission.

Reform Aimed at More Professional TroopsAnchor:

For more on that, here is our reporter Luo Wen.

Reporter:

Following a 3-day meeting among the top brass of the PLA this week, Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is also the head of the Central Military Commission, has announced a series of planned changes for the organizational structure of the Chinese military.

Among the changes will be the creation of separate commands for the separate military divisions, including the Army, the Navy, the Air force and the Strategic Rocket forces.

A general command center for land forces is also being set up, while the current regional military commands will be regrouped into larger "theater" commands.

A three-tier command system is also being set up, with the Central Military Commission at the top, followed by the theater commands who will dictate orders to individual combat units.

And at the same time, the Central Military Commission will run a new administration system to cover various services for PLA troops, such as payments, pensions and other veteran’s services.

Zhao Xiaozhuo with Chinese Academy of Military Sciences says the moves should help clear-up a lot of the bureaucracy which exists within the PLA.

"These reforms are meant to adjust the constitution of the armed forces, as well as the composition of the personnel structure. In particular, the proportion of administrative personnel, as well as non-combat personnel, will be cut down. This will create more space for combat personnel. The reform plans also include plans to transform the soldiers into a more elite force."The current structure of the Chinese military takes its roots from the initial formation of the People's Republic in 1949.

Back then, the military was built-up with the distinct goal of repelling a large-scale invasion and taking part in a mechanized war.

That began changing in the mid 1980's when the Chinese military began upgrading its technology to deal with the realities of more modern warfare scenarios.

But Zhao Xiaozhuo with the Academy of Military Sciences says the organizational structure hasn't really kept up with the times.

"In recent years, China's armament and military science and technology has developed very quickly, as has the training for our soldiers. Yet, the organizational system is still relatively backward. The current system was developed basically in the 1980s and hasn't really changed over the past 30 years. However, the international situation, as well as the internal requirements in China for the armed forces has changed dramatically. So I think it makes sense to bring in reforms to the organizational structure of the military."Also among the reforms are plans to divest the military out of non-core areas.

While the military has been banned from commercial ventures in China since the late 1990's, the PLA does still have non-military components, including hospitals around the country which are for-profit ventures open to the public.

In announcing the planned changes, the Chinese Ministry of Defense says it also plans to provide more support to military personnel who may find themselves shuffled-out as a result of the reforms.

Chinese President Xi Jinping announced plans to cut 300-thousand from the PLA ranks during this year's event to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

For CRI, I'm Luo Wen.

Beijing to adopt world's strictest emissions standardMunicipal authorities in Beijing have started soliciting public opinion about proposed new vehicle emission standards.

Under the proposal, which covers both passenger and industrial vehicles, Beijing's Environmental Protection Bureau is hoping to cut vehicle emissions by 30-percent in the next 7-years.

Director of the bureau's vehicle management office, Li Kunsheng, says it's time to adopt the world's strictest emissions standard in the city.

"In the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, fresh air is not enough. So we have to implement the most stringent emission standards in the world. Also, we need to give car makers around two years to produce new vehicles which adapt to the new emission standard."Phase-6 of the emission standards will require passenger vehicles to pump out 40-percent less exhaust in 2-years time.

Vehicles with larger motors, such as buses and industrial vehicles, are going to have to cut their emissions by 50-percent.

Currently, vehicles in Beijing need to meet the fifth phase emissions standard, which went into effect in 2013 and is equivalent to the Euro V emissions cap.

Li Kunsheng says other measures will be adopted to help reduce emissions.

"We have decided to install particle trap devices for heavy diesel vehicles and other vehicles with big emissions. It's hopeful that their pollutants emissions can be reduced by 90 percent."It's been announced that the new emission standard is expected to be implemented in December, 2017.

The bureau estimates that pollutants emitted by vehicles will be cut by 30 percent by 2022.

Top UN Official Calls for Actions for Climate Change at Commonwealth SummitUnited Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has made an appeal for action on climate change days ahead of the Paris Climate Conference.

"There's a strong commitment, not only the governments, but the business communities and civil societies. And people on the ground they urge the leaders of today that to make this world better and environmentally sustainable so that our succeeding generations can live in peace and harmony and prosperity."The top UN official made the remark at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta.

This year's summit highlights climate change as well as the fight against terrorism, two weeks after the Paris terrorist attacks which killed at least 130 people.

Ahead of the leaders' meetings, British Prime Minister David Cameron has announced funding of 7.5 million U.S. dollars for a Commonwealth counter-extremism unit.

"Well, the Commonwealth is this extraordinary organization, a third of humanity, countries stretching the globe, half of it under the age of 25. So I think one of the most important things we can do here is talk about the perils of Islamist extremist violence and the problem of extremism more broadly."The Commonwealth links more than 2 billion people on five continents, including large countries like India, Australia and Canada and small island states like Tonga and Vanuatu.

Erdogan hopes to meet Putin over downed jetTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he hopes to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin next week in a bid to defuse the crisis over Turkey's downing of a Russian warplane.

Erdogan expressed his hopes that the two could meet at the United Nations climate change summit.

"On Monday there will be a meeting in Paris, I believe Mr (Vladimir) Putin will be there, attending. I would like to meet him there and maybe talk (about) this in a reasonable way."He adds there is big potential for cooperation between Russia and Turkey despite tension over the downing of the plane.

Erdogan says he has called Putin, but the Russian President did not return his phone call.

Turkey shot down the Russian warplane Tuesday in northwestern Syria, near the Turkish border, after saying it entered Turkish airspace. Russia denies the aircraft ever left Syrian airspace.

Lavrov: visa-free travel to Turkey is overMeanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Moscow will suspend visa-free travel with Turkey.

"The government of the Russian Federation has made the decision to suspend the visa-free regime currently in force between Russia and the Turkish Republic. This decision will come into force on the 1 January, 2016."In response, Turkey's deputy prime minister said that Turkey would be preparing its own response to Russia.

But Numan Kurtulmus also stated that he did not think the two countries would sever ties.

Following the incident on Tuesday, Lavrov cancelled a session of the Russia-Turkey Joint Strategic Planning Group in Istanbul, with the Foreign Ministry suggesting Russians should scrap their trips to Turkey for tourism or any other aims, citing security concerns.

Russian tourist agencies have stopped booking trips to Turkey following the ministry's advice.

The Russian side is also accusing Turkey of purchasing oil from the Islamic State in Syria.

The foreign minister says Russia has asked the United Nations to investigate into the allegation.

"Now, we have proposed detailed suggestions to the UN Security Council, and entrusted the UN Secretary-General to draft a report in two weeks. The report will include information about who supports IS' oil industry. I hope the United States can support us and make it pass."Lavrov said Russia will support French President Francois Hollande's suggestion on closing the Turkey-Syria border and discuss detailed measures with the Syrian government to fight against terrorism.

France Hold Memorial Ceremony for Paris Attack VictimsAnchor:

France has held a private memorial ceremony to pay homage to those killed in Paris two weeks ago in a series of coordinated attacks.

CRI's Niu Honglin has the details.

Reporter:

The French national anthem played by a military band echoed at the Invalides National Monument where a sombre ceremony honored those killed in the November 13 attacks in Paris.

A minute's silence was held and the names of the 130 victims in the Paris attacks and their ages were read aloud:

The youngest victim killed in the attacks was 17 and the oldest was 68, but the vast majority of victims were in their 20s and 30s.

Most of the people killed were at a rock concert, while many others were at bars and restaurants in central Paris.

French President Francois Holland addressed the service.

"To all of you, I solemnly promise, that France will do everything to destroy the army of fanatics who committed these crimes. Without rest, it will protect its children. I promise you also that France will remain herself, as the dead loved her, as they would have wished her to remain."Among the 2,600 spectators at the ceremony were several survivors who were injured in the attacks. Most say it was a moving, emotional experience:

"I felt compassion for all those families who have lost a loved one.""The emotion was reflected mostly by silence from the beginning to the end of the ceremony. The silence was everywhere and you could hear a pin drop."But, when recalling about the horrible night two weeks ago, many of them say they don't want to feel hatred towards people who created the tragedy.

"I don't want to because I don't want to give them the satisfaction, that they reached their goal. Because that's what they expect, want, that we are angry, divided and I don't want to be pointing fingers at someone in particular."The ISIS terror group claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying it was retaliation for French air strikes in Syria and Iraq.

France has embarked on a diplomatic push to increase support for the fight against IS militants.

French president Francois Hollande had flown to Washington to meet President Barack Obama, then met German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian PM Matteo Renzi. After that, he traveled to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, where agreements were reached on more coordination on air strikes and intelligence sharing.

For CRI, this is Niu Honglin.

Multiple police officers, civilians injured in Colorado shootingAt least three police officers and several civilians have been hurt in an ongoing active shooter scene in the U.S. state of Colorado.

Lt. Catherine Buckley of the Colorado Police Department describes what happened.

"We had officers respond to the scene. When officers arrived they did encounter active gunfire. We do have three officers that are injured. We do not know the extent of their injury. We have an unknown number of civilians that are injured. We are still working through this situation."Officers from the Colorado Springs Police and the Colorado State Patrol rushed to the area around a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic, where a gunman opened fire.

Police said a gunman fired shots upon entering the clinic.

Meanwhile, law enforcement officials were concerned about the possibility of explosives being involved.

Buckley says the situation is still unstable, and the shooter is not contained.

"We do not have the shooter at this point, but we do have all of our resources brought to bear, and we are actively working through the different businesses and buildings to make sure that we provide medical treatment for the individuals that are injured and try to locate the shooter in this situation."Colorado Springs, near Denver, was the scene of a mass shooting on October 31 in which a gunman killed three people near downtown before dying in a shootout with police.

Shoppers rush to supermarkets on Black Friday deals across USBlack Friday has kicked off in the United States following Thanksgiving Day.

Shoppers across the country rushed to stores for the annual retail event.

Best Buy Manager Maurice says they have made full preparations for the sale.

"Today actually, we have a lot of great items pretty much across all different departments. I think just like talking to the customers that home theaters and televisions are the things that customers are really looking for. So we honestly expecting customers to really gravitate to pretty much every department, because we are greatly deals throughout the store for our customers."Customers have been lining up outside stores hours ahead of opening times.

Most shoppers say they have a specific deal in mind when they queue up for Black Friday.

"I think some of the things are really nice, at least the deals on the TVs, the deals on the TVs are really good. They are less than half and I think that's brilliant."The sales volume of Black Friday is also an indicator of the retail industry in the US.

The National Retail Federation has estimated sales in November and December this year to be 630 billion US dollars, up nearly 4 percent from the last two months of 2014.

Meanwhile, the NRF predicts that Americans will spend at least 83 billion U.S. dollars online this holiday season, representing the highest online sales in history.

Chinese consumers enjoy Black Friday Sales in ChinaAnchor:

Cross-border e-commerce players are making their mark by promoting Black Friday sales here in China.

Our reporter Luo Bin has more.

Reporter:

Peral Zhu is one of those enjoying "Black Friday" in China.

Zhu says she used to live in the US and she misses "Black Friday," the biggest shopping day of the year in that country.

"I love buying shoes and I used to stock up on them on Black Friday. But after coming back to China, I found that designer shoes in big stores here are too expensive for me. So I didn't buy anything and lost the feeling for Black Friday for a long while.''

But this year, Zhu says she is enjoying overseas Black Friday discounts even though she is in China for the occasion, thanks to the cross-border e-commerce sites.

"In this past year I've found that some of the promising cross-border e-commerce sites are thriving and they have brought those discounted products in the US close to me."Zhu adds she is able to buy discounted goods ahead of Nov. 27 - the actual Black Friday - because the cross-border e-commerce sites began their sales about a week ago.

This is the first time major players like Amazon and the Chinese overseas shopping site ymatou.com have run the shopping festival for as long as a week or more.

Zeng Bibo, the CEO of ymatou.com, says the company is extending the shopping festival because of the huge demand in China.

"We already found that Chinese consumers who are used to shopping at home showed great enthusiasm for overseas products during our Black Friday campaign last year. But we were under-prepared then, as we didn't have a good supply of many goods and the service system didn't provide enough support."This year, the company made early preparations.

"Black Friday or Thanksgiving sales in other countries all start a week earlier for the shops' VIP customers. So if you go shopping on the actual day, there won't be anything good left. This year, our professional buyers started stocking up two weeks ago when the shops had their VIP sales."According to China customs and the China E-commerce Research Center, over 18 million Chinese consumers bought goods online from overseas last year, spending 140 billion yuan, or nearly 22 billion US dollars.

For CRI, this is Luo Bin.

Hong Kong and mainland signed new pact in service tradeAnchor:

Authorities in both Hong Kong and on the mainland say they've "basically achieved" full liberalization of trade in services following the signing of a new pact on Friday.

Our Hong Kong correspondent Li Jing has the story.

Report:

Finance officials from both sides have signed the Agreement on Trade in Services under the framework of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement.

A previous agreement the Special Administrative Region signed last year with neighboring Guangdong province will now be expanded to the entire country, which allows almost all local services to enjoy preferential treatment, such as legal, accounting, banking, telecommunications, culture and entertainment.

John Tsang is Hong Kong's Financial Secretary.

"In general, 153 sectors in the mainland have had fully or partially opened up to Hong Kong's services industry, accounting for 95.6% of all the World Trade Organization services trade sectors. In respect of the mode of "commercial presence", national treatment will be applied to Hong Kong in 62 sectors. The simplified measures will make it easier for Hong Kong companies to open up businesses in the mainland."At the same time, China's Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen has specified that any preferential treatment the mainland accords to other countries or regions would be extended to Hong Kong if it is more preferential than CEPA.

"The mainland has a huge market with great development in terms of service industry, while Hong Kong is very competitive in this regard. So the new agreement would put Hong Kong at an advantage."Hong Kong SAR deputy to the National People's Congress Prof. Priscilla Lau says it brings along great opportunities to Hong Kong professionals, especially in the financial sector.

"93 percent of our GDP is in the service sector. If we want to strengthen our link with the mainland, it is necessary to have liberalization of the service sector. We have a lot of financial products in RMB. If we want to have RMB to go international, to become convertible and be accepted by international financial sector, it is important to expand our business within the mainland."She also mentions that Hong Kong could play a key role in raising capital, boosting trade and services to implement "One Belt, One Road" initiative put forward by the Central Government.

The new pact will be effective from June next year,CEPA was first signed in 2003, aiming to open up the mainland market to Hong Kong companies by removing tariffs and investment restrictions while promoting mutual recognition of professional qualifications.

For CRI, this is Li Jing in Hong Kong.

China to boost railway construction in next five years: reportChina will spend about 2.8 trillion yuan, or 460 billion U.S. dollars, on railways over the next five years.

The country plans to construct no less than 23,000 kilometers of new track, as detailed in the China's 13th Five-Year Plan, starting from next year.

The construction of railways in central and western China and intercity railways will be prioritized during this period.

Fixed asset investment in railways in the current five-year plan, ending this year, is expected to hit 3.5 trillion yuan, far above the plan's target of 2.8 trillion yuan.

Giant Panda Basi to Celebrate her 35th BirthdayGiant panda Basi, the oldest of its kind alive in the Chinese mainland, is celebrating her 35th birthday today, in southeast China's Fuzhou City.

The city authority is holding a birthday party for the mascot of the Beijing Asian Games in 1990.

Chen Yucun is the director of Fuzhou Giant Panda Center.

"An age of 20 for giant pandas is equal to an age of 80 in human beings, the ratio is about one to four. So we can scientifically say Basi's age is equal to over 100 years old for a human."Basi is the first giant panda to be diagnosed with hypertension.

She is in good health now as her breeder takes her blood pressure every day, gives her medication, and helps her do exercises.

The average lifespan for pandas is 20, and the most long-lived died at the age of 37.

WeatherBeijing will have smog today with a high of 2; cloudy tonight with a low of -4.

Shanghai will see slight rain with a high of 13 and a low of 8.

Chongqing, also rainy with a high of 13, overcast tonight, lows of 11.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Islamabad will be cloudy with a high of 23.

Kabul, cloudy, 8.

Over to North America,New York will have slight rain with a high of 17 degrees.

Washington, cloudy, 21 degrees.

Honolulu, slight rain, 28.

Toronto will be cloudy with a high of 3 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,Buenos Aires, cloudy with a high of 27.

And Rio de Janeiro will be overcast with a high of 31 degrees Celsius.

Headline NewsChina's peace commitment unchanged after military overhaulThe Chinese military has reiterated its commitment to safeguarding world peace and regional stability after the announcement of an overhaul.

The Defense Ministry said that China's plan to reorganize its military administration structure and command system, will not affect the country's defense policy, which is "defensive in nature".

President Xi Jinping, in his role of chairman of the Central Military Commission, announced on Thursday that all China's armed forces will be supervised and controlled by the top military organ, the Central Military Commission.

The current regional military commands will be regrouped into new battle zone commands under the commission.

China, Czech pledge closer nuclear power, finance cooperationChinese Premier Li Keqiang and his Czech counterpart Bohuslav Sobotka have pledged to boost cooperation in nuclear power, finance and other sectors.

Sobotka, who is making his first official visit to China, says he welcomes China's participation in Czech's nuclear power business.

On the financial front, Li Keqiang says China is ready to establish RMB settlement in Prague.

The two also witnessed the signing of 12 cooperation deals between the two countries.

Multiple police officers, civilians injured in Colorado shootingAt least three police officers and several civilians have been hurt in a shooter scene in the U.S. state of Colorado.

Police swarmed the area around a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic, where a gunman opened fire.

Most people have been evacuated from the building.

However a police spokeswoman said authorities did not know where the gunman was located and stressed the incident was "still very much an active situation."Lavrov: visa-free travel to Turkey is overRussian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Moscow will suspend visa-free travel with Turkey after Turkey's downing of a Russian warplane earlier this week.

The move will take effect starting from the beginning of next year.

In response, Ankara says it would be preparing its own response to Russia.

The Russian side is also accusing Turkey of purchasing oil from the Islamic State in Syria.

Sergey Lavrov says Russia has entrusted the UN Secretary-General to draft a report in two weeks.

Beijing to adopt world's strictest emissions standardMunicipal authorities in Beijing have started soliciting public opinion about proposed new vehicle emission standards.

Under the proposal, which covers both passenger and industrial vehicles, Beijing's Environmental Protection Bureau is hoping to cut vehicle emissions by 30-percent in the next 7-years.

Phase-6 of the emission standards will require passenger vehicles to pump out 40-percent less exhaust in 2-years time.

Vehicles with larger motors, such as buses and industrial vehicles, are going to have to cut their emissions by 50-percent.  Weekly Biz RoundupAnchor:

It's time to take a look back at some of the headlines from the world of business in our Weekly Business Review.

In this edition, we will take you through the latest session of China-US Trade Talks and tell you about Alibaba's attempt to buy a stake in a popular English language newspaper in Hong Kong.

CRI's Wenjie has more.

Reporter:

The 26th Session of the China-U.S. Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade concluded on Monday in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province in south China.

Zhang Xiangchen, vice negotiation representative for international trade with China's Ministry of Commerce, said the session is a great success.

"The China-U.S. Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade has scored a great success, and reached many consensuses. Those consensuses involve many sectors, such as intellectual property protection, fishery, Lumbering, wild animal protection, cooperation in food industry, investment and trade between provinces and states. These sectors all achieved major progress."The three-day event was co-chaired by senior officials including Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang and US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker.

The Chinese Commerce Ministry said on Thursday that the future cooperation between China and Africa will be adjusted based on past experience.

Vice Commerce Minister Qian Keming said future cooperation will focus more on strengthening infrastructure construction in Africa and helping the continent to realize industrialization and agricultural modernization.

He also pointed out that China and Africa have mutually benefited from their cooperation.

"China has been Africa's largest trading partner for the past six-consecutive-years. The trade volume between the two reached 220 billion U.S dollars in 2014, 20 times higher than the figure when the Forum was established. Africa is an emerging destination for investment from Chinese enterprises. The stock of direct investment from China to Africa has reached 32.4 billion US dollars, growing by over 30% yearly in the past 15 years."Despite the robust figures, trade between China and Africa has been under downward pressure since a slowdown in the world economy this year.

Qian noted that this is largely due to the slide in global commodity trading prices.

China's top customs authority on Wednesday rolled out 18 measures to buoy China's sinking foreign trade.

Customs procedures have been streamlined, raising customs clearance efficiency by around 50 percent.

Foreign trade fees have been lowered or eliminated to reduce enterprises' financial burden.

The authority has also slashed six items subject to government approvals or review for trade-oriented manufacturers.

Authorities in both Hong Kong and the mainland announced they have "basically achieved" full liberalization of trade in services following the signing of a new pact Friday morning.

Finance officials from both sides have signed the Agreement on Trade in Services under the framework of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement.

A previous agreement the Special Administrative Region signed last year with neighboring Guangdong province will now be expanded to the entire country.

It allows almost all local services to enjoy preferential treatment, such as legal, accounting, banking, telecommunications, culture and entertainment.

According to Priscilla Lau, Hong Kong SAR deputy to the National People's Congress, 93 percent of Hong Kong's GDP is in the service sector.

She said the new agreement brings along great opportunities to Hong Kong professionals, especially in the financial sector.

"93 percent of our GDP is in the service sector. If we want to strengthen our link with the mainland, it is necessary to have liberalization of the service sector. We have a lot of financial products in RMB. If we want to have RMB to go international, to become convertible and be accepted by international financial sector, it is important to expand our business within the mainland."The new pact will be effective from June next year,CEPA was first signed in 2003, aiming to open up the mainland market to Hong Kong companies by removing tariffs and investment restrictions while promoting mutual recognition of professional qualifications.

China's central bank on Wednesday announced the first batch of overseas central banks and similar institutions which have been allowed to enter China's inter-bank foreign exchange market.

The seven institutions have completed registration with the China Foreign Exchange Trading System.

They are the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Reserve Bank of Australia, Hungarian National Bank, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Development Association, World Bank Group Trust Funds, and GIC Private Limited.

This group covers three categories of institutions - foreign central banks, international financial institutions and sovereign wealth funds.

They can directly participate in the inter-bank forex market as foreign members, use existing inter-bank forex market members as their agents, or entrust the PBOC as their agent.

They will also be allowed to conduct Renminbi and foreign exchange trading of one or more traded forex products, including spots, forwards, swaps and options.

On Friday, China scrapped compulsory net purchase orders on securities traders to allow them trade freely on market conditions.

China Securities Regulatory Commission ordered securities traders to buy more stocks than they sold in July when stock markets experienced violent fluctuations.

The move is considered a reflection of CSRC's confidence in the stock markets, which resumed IPOs earlier this month.

On the corporate front,It was reported on Tuesday that Chinese Internet giant Alibaba is in talks to buy a stake in the South China Morning Post newspaper.

Reports said Alibaba's founder Jack Ma has been negotiating the deal with the SCMP Group's major shareholder, and the contract will be signed shortly.

If the deal is agreed on, this would be another investment by Alibaba in media after its recent bid for Youku Tudou, the video sharing website seen as China's YouTube as well as financial news provider Yicai, in which Alibaba invested 1.2 billion yuan in June.

Founded in 1903, the South China Morning Post is the most widely circulated English language newspaper in Hong Kong.

An industry research released on Wednesday suggests sales of Apple's iPhone 6s and 6s-Plus in China are weaker than expected.

Stats from IHS Technology suggest Apple's sales through the 3rd quarter accounted for about 12-percent of mobile phone sales in China.

That's only about 0.5-percent higher than the previous quarter.

Wang Yang, director of IHS Technology, says a lack of new advancements in the 6S series has people in China looking toward cheaper options.

"All the major Chinese smartphone makers have been able to convince more Chinese consumers to buy home-grown products, marketing them as high-quality products at lower prices. As an example, an iPhone is sold at 5,000 to 6,000 yuan in China, while many Chinese-produced smartphones can cost only around 1,000 yuan, or even cheaper. Those phones performance is about 80 percent of that of an iPhone. For consumers in China, this quality-to-price ratio has become more appealing to them."Stats released by Alibaba shows Apple ranked fourth in the sales of mobile phones during is massive Singles' Day promotion.

Xiaomi, Huawei and Meizu out sold Apple on November 11th.

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

SportsDavis Cup Final tied at 1-1In tennis news:

The Davis Cup final has kicked off and Friday saw a lot of action as Belgium took an early lead but was brought into a tie when Great Britain's Andy Murray hit the court.

It would be Belgium taking a 1-0 lead when David Goffin beat Kyle Edmund with a 3-6 1-6 6-2 6-1 6-0 earlier on Friday.

Edmund spoke about his Davis Debut after the game.

"This is a very unique atmosphere. It's something I never played in. So it's a whole new experience for me. Yeah, sometimes it's just something different I'm not used to. When I do look back, yeah, I gave it my best. I was dominating the first two sets. He couldn't get near me. He turned that, and that's something I need to learn from. So, yeah, obviously I'm disappointed that I couldn't do it for the team."But the day would not see Great Britain shy from leveling the score.

Andy Murray Kept British hope alive when he thrashed Belgium's Ruben Bemelmans in straight sets to take the Davis Cup score to 1-1.

Murray is currently 9 for 9 in the Davis Cup this year, making him a serious force for the British team.

Him and his Brother are looking to make it 10-10 when they compete together on Saturday in their doubles match.

Rosberg tops 2nd Abu Dhabi Practice SessionAnd in some season closing F1 News:

Nico Rosberg has set the pace in Friday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Practice session.

It was the second Practice session of the Yas MArina Circuit and Rosberg would be first followed by teammate Lewis Hamilton.

This marks Rosberg's qualifying domination as the German has been at pole position for the past 5 races.

If Rosberg stays on top in Sunday's race, it will mark his third successive win.

Still unclear if Russia will compete in RioIn some news concerning Russia:

It is still unclear whether Russia will have the green light to take part in next years Olympic Games after Thursday's IAAF press conference.

Russia was banned from international sporting world just two weeks ago following a report from the World Anti-Doping Agency.

The report accused the country of state-sponsored doping practices and related corruption concerning its athletic programs.

Russia's athletics federation stated that they would not file for an appeal on the ban, but would instead work closely with WADA and the IAAF to put measures in place that would lead to Russia's athletic reinstatement.

During the IAAF Press conference the organization's president Sebastion Coe, mainly spoke about his personal connections with sports company, NIKE.

Sebastion did touch on the issue of Russia, only stating that more needs to be done.

"Frankly the answer to the question is as quickly as we can get our inspection team and the agreed criteria and the terms of reference and the Russian federation, in conjunction with their national Olympic committee, and I speak regularly to Alexander Zhukov, the president of the national Olympic committee, as soon as we can get those processes in place but there is no reason why we should not make progress, probably within the next 10 days to two weeks by conference call to make sure we start this process as soon as possible."Though Russia will definitely be missing the World Indoor Championships in March, Coe still hasn't stated whether he thinks Russia will be allowed to come back to athletics in time for the Olympic Games next August.

Dan Carter unveiled at France's Racing ClubIn some rugby news:

Rugby World Cup winner Dan Carter was unveiled at Racing Club on Friday.

The information came on a somber day as French President Francois Hollande lead the country in a nationwide remembrance following the terrorist attacks on November 13th.

Carter's new career in French club Rugby comes after leading the ALL Blacks to a world cup victory earlier this year, where the star was heralded as being the year's MVP.

The club contract for the former KIWI is reportedly worth 1.59 million US dollars a year.

American Football: Dallas cowboys quarterback Tony Romo injured in Thanksgiving gameFor any American Football fans out there:

The Dallas cowboys didn't just lose their game to the unbeaten Carolina Panthers this past Friday,it appears that Cowboys quarterback, Tony Romo, might be out for the season after sustaining an injury in the 33-14 loss the cowboys saw on thanksgiving.

The 35-year-old star quarterback spoke to the press after the game:

"It was tough. I worked hard to comeback and get myself ready and acclimated for the game. I feel like in some ways I just I couldn't quite get myself into the same mental framework. When I say that I mean in the way I am playing, just quick enough. I knew that it would take a little bit of time but some of the decisions - poor decisions - that I made were just uncharacteristic and just very frustrating and cost our team today. They put us in a big hole and you can't do that against good football teams. And I am just disappointed that I wasn't able to play better."Romo has been from injury related issues before.

The quarter back has only recently returned to the game after suffering from a broken collarbone.

Former FIFA President Havelange, hospitalizedand for some news from the FIFA world:

Former FIFA President, Joao Havelange, remains in a stable condition after being hospitalized for respiratory difficulties in Rio de Janeiro on Friday.

The hospital would not state when the 99-year-old had been taken into its care.

This is not the first time Havelange has been hospitalized for respiratory infection.

The former president lead FIFA from 1974-1998.

EntertainmentMao Ning Arrested for Drug OffencesChinese singer Mao Ning has been arrested by Beijing police for drug offenses.

According to the Beijing News, the singer was detained on Friday morning.

Further details of the arrest have not been revealed.

The 47-year-old performer was one of the hottest singers in China during the 90s.

First Cross-Straits TV Program Exhibition Held in TaiwanThe first Cross-Straits TV Program Exhibition has been held in Taipei City, Taiwan.

Over 200 attendees and 24 exhibitors have participated in the exhibition and brought their hit TV programs, including dramas and documentaries.

"Nirvana in Fire," a mainland TV series, is being exhibited. This TV series has been broadcast in Taiwan recently, receiving high ratings and sparking lively discussions in the media. It has also boosted the sales in Taiwan of the novel from which it was adapted.

Wang Weijiang is the director of the Taiwan Visual and Audio Production Association.

"Since 2008, the number of Chinese mainland TV series broadcast in Taiwan has increased rapidly. At present over 8,000 hours of mainland dramas are broadcast in Taiwan per year, as compared with around 800 hours before 2008. In the past year some programs filmed jointly by both sides of the Straits earned good reputations, which will become a pattern to follow in our future cooperation."Media agencies from both sides also signed three agreements on strategic cooperation as well as jointly filming new TV drama.

Adele confirms 2016 tourAdele has announced her first tour since 2011, with a string of European dates in support of her record-breaking new album, "25."The album sold a record 2.4 million copies in its first four days in the U.S., while in Britain it sold 730 thousand copies in its first week.

One reason for the huge sales may be that Adele declined to make her album available through music-streaming services including Apple Music, forcing listeners to buy it either digitally or at stores.

The British singer announced that she will play venues in Britain and Europe starting February 29th in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The singer will then take her Arena show to Dublin, Manchester, London, Glasgow and Birmingham before heading across Europe in the spring.

Chris Brown drops free 34-track mixtape, 'Before the Party,' including new Rihanna collaborationHip-hop singer Chris Brown dropped a surprise on Friday, releasing a free 34-track mixtape which includes collaboration with his ex-girlfriend Rihanna.

According to Gossip Cop, it is to feature previously recorded songs that were never released by the singer, including a single titled "Counterfeit."The mixtape titled "Before the Party" is considered a Thanksgiving appetizer before the main dish: Brown's full-length new album, "Royalty," which drops on Dec. 18.

While shoppers were busy flocking to stores for Black Friday deals, it was an even better holiday for hip-hop lovers. Besides Brown, Rick Ross and Lil Wayne also dropped mixtapes, giving fans reasons for thanks.

WeatherBeijing will have smog today with a high of 2; cloudy tonight with a low of -4.

Shanghai will see slight rain with a high of 13 and a low of 8.

Chongqing, also rainy with a high of 13, overcast tonight, lows of 11.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Islamabad will be cloudy with a high of 23.

Kabul, cloudy, 8.

Over to North America,New York will have slight rain with a high of 17 degrees.

Washington, cloudy, 21 degrees.

Honolulu, slight rain, 28.

Toronto will be cloudy with a high of 3 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,Buenos Aires, cloudy with a high of 27.

And Rio de Janeiro will be overcast with a high of 31 degrees Celsius.

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

A recap of your headlines:

Chinese defense officials say a planned overhaul of the military is not a shift in defense policy...

Authorities in Beijing say the city will adopt the most strict vehicle emission standards in the world...

Several police officers and civilians have been wounded by a gunman in the US state of Colorado...

In Sports...tennis action from the Davis Cup final in Belgium...

In Entertainment...a Chinese singer arrested in Beijing on drug charges...

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