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

Coming up on the program ...

The Chinese president agrees to forge closer ties and stronger cooperation with Zimbabwe...

senior leaders from China and the US hold a first-of-its kind meeting on fighting cybercrime...

and the US Defense Secretary says his country will send special ops forces to Iraq...

In Business...interest rate reform in China...

In Sports...Rome's bid for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games...

And in Entertainment...the new Chinese film Fall in Love Like a Star...

All of that coming up in the next hour.

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Top"All-weather friends" China, Zimbabwe agree to boost practical cooperation for common developmentChina and Zimbabwe have agreed to forge closer ties and stronger cooperation.

The consensus came as Chinese President Xi Jinping is paying his first state visit to the African country.

Xi Jinping sat down with Robert Mugabe in the State House.

Both leaders have spoke highly of bilateral ties, using the term of "all-weather friends."Xi Jinping says his visit is aimed at consolidating China-Zimbabwe friendship, deepening practical cooperation, and lifting bilateral relations to a higher level.

"We agreed that both countries should make full use of the political trust and economic compatibility between us to translate our friendship into cooperation and impetus for common development and friendship. We also witnessed the signing of many cooperation documents which highlight the strong desire of both sides for broader cooperation and the tremendous potential therein."For his part, Mugabe says his country hopes to learn from China's experience in economic development, receive more assistance from China, and expand bilateral cooperation.

'We greatly appreciate the understanding and flexibility shown by China. It is precise...precisely that empathetic approach based on principled solidarity and genuine friendship which is accelerating our recovery from debilitating sanctions."The leaders have witnessed the signing of a bilateral economic and technological cooperation agreement and a series of other deals covering such fields as infrastructure construction, production capacity, investment and financing, as well as wild life protection.

Xi Jinping's time in Zimbabwe comes as the two countries mark 35-years of diplomatic ties.

He will soon leave for neighboring South Africa to chair this year's Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Johannesburg, which will open on Friday.

Expectations run high as President Xi is to visit ZimbabweAnchor:

Zimbabwe is buzzing with anticipation, as authorities pulled out all the stops to impress Chinese President Xi Jinping upon his arrival in the country.

CRI's Li Jianhua has more.

Reporter:

Streets and shop windows throughout Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, have been adorned with Chinese flags.

Local newspapers in Zimbabwe have also been focusing a significant amount of coverage for the past 3-weeks on China-related topics.

Mabasa Sasa, editor of the state-owned Herald and Sunday Mail national newspapers in Zimbabwe, says it’s hoped the Chinese President, who the papers have been calling "Uncle Xi" in their editorials, can help solidify and create a number of new economic agreements for the country.

"This visit what he does is add impetus to those deals that have been signed. Some of them were signed last year when President Mugabe went on a state visit to China. You are talking of energy, infrastructure, water, health, agriculture, mining. It's a whole range of industries. So what this visit does really is it adds impetus to the implementation of those projects. "Zimbabwe's state-run power provider has already managed to secure a 1.2-billion US dollar loan from the China Export-Import Bank to upgrade its power generation capabilities.

Numerous other deals covering areas such as infrastructure, agriculture, mining and transportation are expected to be signed.

Chinese authorities are also said to be in talks about opening up new areas of financing to give Zimbabwe access to much needed lines of credit.

Christopher Mutsvangwa, Zimbabwe's former Ambassador to China, says despite a slowdown this year in Chinese investment in Africa, due to a reduced demand for natural resources, Zimbabwe has continued to enjoy increasing Chinese investment since Zimbabwe's independence in 1980.

"So nothing is going to stop this relationship from achieving prosperity for the two peoples of Africa and China, for the two regions, developing regions, Africa and China."China has been Africa's largest trading partner since 2009.

Chinese ties with Zimbabwe, formalized by Chinese diplomatic recognition after its independence from Great Britain in 1980, have remained close for the past 35-years, with the Chinese government financing and building a number of hospitals in the country, as well as the National Sports Stadium in Harare.

China's engagement with Zimbabwe has prompted a significant number of Chinese companies to set up operations in the country.

Li Haiyang, head of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Zimbabwe, says an influx of new Chinese help in Zimbabwe would be greatly appreciated.

"Chinese companies' development has the support of local governments and the people of Zimbabwe. The general investment environment is very good. However, in recent years, Zimbabwe's economy has not being doing well, which has been hindering the growth of Chinese companies in the country."Following his time in Zimbabwe, Xi Jinping and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe will head next door to South Africa for a 3-day Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which the Chinese President will chair.

The Chinese government has rolled out around 900 assistance programs in Africa in areas such as agriculture, health and education, and has also provided technical training to some 30-thousand people in Africa over the past 3-years.

For CRI, this is Li Jianhua.

China-Africa relations roundtable held in JohannesburgScholars spoke highly of China-Africa relations at the China-Africa Relations Roundtable held in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

Li Anshan, director of Peking University's Center for African Studies, says the rapid development of China-Africa relations benefits all sides.

"China-Africa relations have maintained good momentum in the development of both high-level exchanges and cooperation under the structure of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). Non-governmental exchange is also on the rise,"Garth Shelton, a professor of International Relations at the University of South Africa, believes more communication between the two sides will bring more cooperation.

"So much opportunity for cooperation depends on how much dialogue and discussion we can undertake. I think the think tanks in bothChina and South Africa should talk more to each other and generate new ideas for cooperation,"Conference participants also voiced great expectations for the Forum, to be held from Friday to Saturday in Johannesburg.

Sheldon says the Forum is taking place at a time when the African Union is mapping a development plan for the future which creates more room for cooperation with China.

"It is a very important summit at this time, because the African Union has a clear plan for their development future, as outlined in Agenda 2063. I think the challenge of the summit now is to link Agenda 2063 with the FOCAC action plan. We can work more closely together,"China is Africa's largest trade partner. The trade volume between the two sides reached 220 billion US dollars last year. It increased 20 times compared to 15 years ago when the forum was just launched.

China and US hold talks on combating cyber crimesAnchor:

Senior officials from China and the United States have held a joint dialogue on combating cybercrime.

It's the first high-level exchange of its kind between the two countries.

CRI's chief Washington correspondent Lv Xiaohong has more.

Reporter:

Chinese State Councilor Guo Shengkun co-chaired the dialogue with U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson in Washington.

The two sides have reached a guideline on combating crimes in cyberspace and related issues.

A hot-line will be established to strengthen communication while dealing with individual cyber security cases.

Guo Shengkun says China is willing to cooperate with the U.S. to implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries during Chinese President Xi Jingping’s state visit to the United States last September.

The two leaders also met at the sideline of the UN Climate Summit in Paris and agreed to maintain close communication and make a joint effort to formulate global rules for cyberspace.

Lynch and Johnson say that as the two major economies in the world, China and the United States share converging interests in safeguarding internet security.

The U.S. side also calls for strengthening exchanges of information, and working together to combat cyber terrorism and economic espionage.

This is the first time that China and the US have held a high-level joint dialogue on fighting cybercrimes.

The next round of talks will be held in Beijing in June next year.

For CRI, this is Lv Xiaohong reporting from Washington.

China takes over G20 PresidencyChina formally took over the presidency of the G20 on Tuesday.

As the rotating head of the group, China will play host to next year's leaders' summit. It will be held in the city of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, on Sept 4 and 5.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying says preparations for the summit are now underway.

"The official website for the summit has been launched. News regarding the summit will be released on the website in a timely fashion. Upholding the principles of openness, transparency and inclusiveness, China will keep close communication and coordination with other members of the G20 to ensure the success of next year's summit."In taking over the Presidency of the G20, Chinese President Xi Jinping has issued a statement, calling on the world's 20 richest countries to unify steps to cope with problems facing the global economy.

This year's G20 summit took place in Antalya, Turkey in November.

Beijing Sees Clear Sky after Cold Front Disperses SmogBeijing has a clear sky again after a cold front helped to disperse the thick smog that had enveloped northern Chinese cities in recent days.

The municipal meteorological center has removed its orange smog warning, the second most serious level after red.

Increased use of coal for heating has been the main factor behind surging levels of P.M 2.5, the reading of which hit 600 in certain parts in the capital on Tuesday.

This prompted warnings to schools across the capital to keep students indoors.

The thick veil of smog on Tuesday also lowered visibility significantly, causing traffic jams on some inter-city expressways and forcing closures on others.

Artist Makes Pollutants into Brick to Raise Public Green AwarenessAnchor:

Performance art by a Chinese artist has gone viral, after he made a brick out of pollution dust.

The artist says by doing so, he hoped to raise environmental awareness among the public.

CRI's Min Rui has more.

Anchor:

For four hours every day, for 100 days, Wang Renzheng held up the suction head of an industrial vacuum cleaner to suck in polluted air, at Beijing's various landmark sites.

The artist hopes his performance art, dubbed the "Dust Project," can highlight the issue of air pollution to the Chinese public.

"What I do is performance art and it does not change anything immediately. It won't change the air pollution situation even if I bring 100 or 1000 people to suck the air with vacuum cleaners. But I want to magnify the air pollution problem so people cannot ignore it, and then take actions to change it, for example. The members of the public can reduce the use of cars and take public transportation, or the government can take more effective measures to tackle the problem."From July 24 to Nov 29, the young artist from the southern city of Shenzhen carried with him an industrial vacuum cleaner everywhere he visited in Beijing.

The vacuum can suck up any particulate matter with a diameter over 0.2 microns, and it has a capacity of sucking in the amount of air that 62 people breathe-in every day.

The idea for his project had been brewing since 2013 when Beijing suffered severe smog which exceeded the standard PM 2.5 index.

"I think some people just take the air pollution problem for granted and become indifferent to the problem, and they don't feel it is urgent to take actions to change it."Wang says the 100 grams of air dust he had collected was added into a brick at a factory in the northern city of Tangshan, a move to reflect how high speed development and economic actions affect human life.

The project's first phase ended on Tuesday.

For CRI, this is Min Rui.

Yong men become new at-risk group of HIV in ChinaNew analysis shows that sexual contact is the leading way people are contracting HIV in China.

New figures compiled by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention show that 92-percent of all new HIV infections in the country come from unprotected sex.

There are around 575-thousand people living with HIV in China.

110-thousand new HIV infections have been reported this year, a slight increase from last year.

Young men between the ages of 15 and 24 have been identified as an area of concern, with infection rates among this demographic growing at an annual rate of around 35-percent over the past 5-years.

HIV transmission rates among young homosexual men are also rising quickly.

Xiao Dong, head of China's AIDS prevention center, says the rise in people meeting for indiscriminate sexual encounters through social media apps is a factor in the rising rate of HIV infections among young men.

"Many of the dating Apps are very popular, but lack social responsibility. We hope more App developers can join in helping us with AIDS prevention campaigns by publicizing AIDS prevention information through their Apps, to give young people more information about how to prevent HIV infections, as well as how to cope with life once they're infected."The new analysis has been released to coincide with World AIDS Awareness day, which fell on Tuesday here in China.

Military-style Boot Camp Set up to Stop Child Internet AddictionAnchor:

With a growing number of young people in China developing internet addiction, military-style boot camps are popping up to help tackle the issue.

CRI's Li Ningjing takes us to one such camp in Shandong Province, to examine how such camps can help lead teenagers away from their online obsession.

Reporter:

It's around 30 minutes after midnight, but loud calls and orders are sending a group young boot camp attendees scrambling into action.

This is all part of the intensive rehabilitation given by the boot camp for teenagers with internet and online gaming addictions.

Being woken in the middle of the night for a surprise session of military training has become routine for these teenagers, including 15-year-old Liu Jianming, a newcomer sent by his parents to the camp four months ago:

Liu say the methods used by the camp are really effective:

"Yes it is helpful, because if I stay here for a few months, I will cherish the feeling of freedom out there and I basically will never touch online gaming again,"Liu Jiang who enrolled nine years ago, however, disagrees:

"We are not thinking about internet addiction, we just want to get out, and we would do everything to get out."Despite arguments over the effectiveness of such boot camps, the attendees spend on average six months in the facility. Activities in their core training include washing plates and cutlery after meals, martial arts, and psychological counseling.

Yu Yabo, founder of this particular Shandong-based boot camp explains the rationale behind their training methods:

"You should firstly bring them here to calm down, without phones and money. Everyone living here will be treated the same, without any connection to the outside world, then they will ask themselves; Why I am here? What should I do here? How should I do it? And then they will look around at the others and rethink themselves. Things become easy once they calm down."The boot camp first opened in 2009. Now there are 20 personnel working here, including ten military training teachers and five psychologists.

Zu Xinjian, a teacher and also a former member of the Chinese armed police, says treating internet addiction is not an easy task:

"Firstly, it's because treatment with psychological counseling alone doesn't work. Secondly, the children won't cooperate with you. Sometimes they will even display abnormal behaviour that's different from others, even become aggressive."To push the students further, the camp also limits students' contact with their loved ones, allowing them to see their parents once every three months and communicate with relatives only via hand-written letters.

Beijing-based psychologist, Paul Yin, however, believes the treatment for internet addicted youngsters cannot be fully effective unless the parents themselves take their share of responsibility.

"There's a Chinese saying from an ancient text, it says; Whenever you see a problem, if you want to solve the problem, the first thing you need to do is to look in the mirror, and that's what parents need to do,"So far, some 250 boot camps have been set up across China, trying to help wean increasing numbers of teenagers off their addiction to the internet.

For CRI, this is Li Ningjing.

Carter: More US special ops headed to IraqUS Defence Secretary Ash Carter says the US will send an expeditionary force to Iraq to help Iraqi and Kurdish forces fight Islamic State militants.

Carter told the House Armed Services Committee that over time these special operators would be able to conduct raids, free hostages, gather intelligence and capture IS leaders.

"We're using the might of the finest fighting force the world has ever known. Tens of thousands of US personnel are operating in the broader Middle East region. More are on the way. We have some of our most advanced air and naval forces attacking ISIL."The force is in addition to the "less than 50" Special Operations forces Obama authorized in October to aid in the fight against ISIS in Syria.

Carter says the deployment will improve intelligence gathering and generate more targets.

German Cabinet Approves Fighting against IS PlansThe German cabinet has approved plans for military support to fight the Islamic State in Syria.

It follows an appeal from French President Francois Holland in the wake of the Paris terror attacks last month.

Germany is going to send in fighter jets, a navy frigate, and a 12-hundred soldiers to the region.

Ahead of the approval, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the forces will join the US-led coalition against the militants, and ruled out the possibility of working with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad or his troops.

"We are enlarging the mission and our participation in the already existing alliance is to combat the same opponent - ISIS - but in Syria, and this is why we discussed the enlargement of the mandate for a military mission."German authorities had already agreed to send 600 soldiers to Mali to combat the Islamic State there.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister David Cameron is calling for a debate and vote in Parliament on British airstrikes in Syria.

That debate will take place later today.

NATO to Continue Funding Afghanistan Security Forces until 2020Foreign ministers from the NATO bloc have agreed to continue funding Afghanistan security forces until 2020 and to strengthen the existing NATO-Afghan partnership.

Afghanistan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani confirmed the news after meeting his NATO counterparts.

"The foreign ministers also discussed the continued commitment to the financial sustainability of Afghan national defense and security forces. We have agreed that we should work to secure the necessary pledges until the end of 2020 for the financial sustaining of Afghanistan's national defense and security forces. We also discussed that we would continue to develop, strengthen and enhance the NATO-Afghan enduring partnership agreement."NATO also announced that the alliance will keep about 12,000 troops in Afghanistan through next year and confirmed the commitments - roughly 7,000 US troops and 5,000 from NATO member states and partners.

Rudder Problem, Pilot Response Cause Indonesia Airliner CrashIndonesian investigators have suggested an ongoing problem with the rudder control system, coupled with the pilots' improper response, led to last year's crash of an airliner that killed all 162 people on board.

According to the National Transportation Safety Committee, the rudder control system had sent repeated warnings to the pilots when the plane was heading from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.

The Committee's Nurcahyo Utomo says the rudder problem had been reported 23 times during the previous year and explains what had happened before the plane plummeted into the Java Sea:

"The aircraft experienced a condition in which it reached beyond its ability and lost its lift and stalled. This condition was already beyond the pilot's ability to recover from, and the aircraft entered into an upset condition where the highest roll angle recorded was 104 degrees."Utomo added that possible confusion between the pilot and co-pilot also led to the crash and recommend to build standard call-outs to avoid such a situation:

"Every time the captain shouted 'pull down, pull down', the aircraft climbed further so we saw there was ineffective communication (in the cockpit) so that one of the recommendations we have made (in future) is to make standard call outs."Bad weather conditions, however, has been rolled out by the investigators.

The AirAsia plane crashed on December 28 last year.

Police Investigate Possible String Crimes after Penguin Die at Dortmund ZooA penguin at Dortmund Zoo in Germany has been found dead, and two others are missing.

Police spokesman Marco Mueller says the dead Humboldt penguin was found dead in the flamingo cage on Monday morning.

He says police are now trying to determine if someone stole the other two animals or if they had somehow escaped.

In November, a 21-year-old sea lion named Holly was found dead in her enclosure at the same zoo with a smashed skull and three teeth missing.

In August, three pygmy marmosets and two acouchi rodents vanished.

Police have not yet determined if the incidents are linked.

The zoo has added more security personnel and watch dogs.

WeatherBeijing will be sunny today with a high of 4; clear tonight with a low of -3.

Shanghai will see slight rain with a high of 14, cloudy tonight and a low of 5.

Chongqing will be overcast with a high of 15 and a low of 12.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Islamabad will be cloudy with a high of 21.

Kabul, cloudy, 11.

Over to North America,New York will have moderate rain with a high of 16 degrees.

Washington, moderate rain, 19 degrees.

Honolulu, slight rain, 28.

Toronto will have some clouds with a high of 5 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,Buenos Aires, cloudy with a high of 30.

And Rio de Janeiro will see slight rain with a high of 27 degrees Celsius.

Headline News"All-weather friends" China, Zimbabwe agree to boost practical cooperation for common developmentChina and Zimbabwe have agreed to forge closer ties and stronger cooperation as Chinese President Xi Jinping is paying his first state visit to the African country.

Xi Jinping sat down with Robert Mugabe in the State House.

Both leaders have spoke highly of bilateral ties, using the term of "all-weather friends."Xi Jinping says his visit is aimed at consolidating China-Zimbabwe friendship and deepening practical cooperation.

For his part, Mugabe says his country hopes to learn from China's experience in economic development, receive more assistance from China, and expand bilateral cooperation.

The leaders have witnessed the signing of a bilateral economic and technological cooperation agreement and a series of other deals.

China and US hold talks on combating cyber crimesSenior officials from China and the United States have held a joint dialogue on combating cybercrime.

Chinese Minister of Public Security Guo Shengkun co-chaired the dialogue with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and Attorney General Loretta Lynch in Washington, to discuss joint effort in combating cybercrime.

During that meeting, the two sides have agreed to maintain close communication to formulate global rules for cyberspace.

Meanwhile, the U.S. side calls for strengthening exchanges of information, and working together to combat cyber terrorism and economic espionage.

This is the first time that China and the US have held a high-level joint dialogue on fighting cybercrimes.

Carter: More US special ops headed to IraqUS Defence Secretary Ash Carter says the US will send an expeditionary force to Iraq to help Iraqi and Kurdish forces fight Islamic State militants.

Carter told the House Armed Services Committee that over time these special operators would be able to conduct raids, free hostages, gather intelligence and capture IS leaders.

The force is in addition to the "less than 50" Special Operations forces Obama authorized in October to aid in the fight against ISIS in Syria.

Carter says the deployment will improve intelligence gathering and generate more targets.

Beijing Sees Clear Sky after Cold Front Disperses SmogBeijing has a clear sky again after a cold front helped to disperse the thick smog that had enveloped northern Chinese cities in recent days.

The municipal meteorological center has removed its orange smog warning, the second most serious level after red.

Increased use of coal for heating has been the main factor behind surging levels of P.M 2.5, the reading of which hit 600 in certain parts in the capital on Tuesday.

This prompted warnings to schools across the capital to keep students indoors.

The thick veil of smog on Tuesday also lowered visibility significantly, causing traffic jams on some inter-city expressways and forcing closures on others.

Biz ReportsStocksTurning to business news, beginning with a look at the closing numbers across North America and Europe.

U.S. stocks posted solid gains on Tuesday, as investors await major decisions from central banks later this month.

The European Central Bank is expected to expand its easing program and cut its negative deposit rate further on Thursday.

Investors are also looking to Friday, which will see key November employment data, before the Federal Reserve decides on interest rates at its December meeting.

Meanwhile, the U.S. November manufacturing purchasing managers' index registered 48.6 percent, a decrease of 1.5 percentage points from the October reading of 50.1 percent.

Oil prices also stabilized on Tuesday.

At the closing bell,Dow Jones, S&P 500 and the Nasdaq all moved up 1 percent.

In Europe, the equities ended mixed.

At the closing bell,UK's FTSE 100 was up 0.6 percent.

Germany's DAX decreased 1.1 percent.

France's CAC 40 lost 0.9 percent.

PBOC offers SLF and MLF in Nov., "interest rate corridor" takes shapeThe vice governor of China's central bank says the country is going to develop a stable interest rate corridor to help make its monetary policy stable but more flexible.

Yi Gang's remarks came after the IMF admitted the renminbi into its Special Drawing Rights basket alongside the dollar, euro, pound sterling, and yen.

Last month, the PBOC noted in an article that China should also establish the interest rate corridor while transiting to the new monetary policy so as to ease the fluctuation of short-term interest rates, improve the market recognition and benchmark meaning of future policy interest rates, and pave way for effective management of interest rates.

Also last month, the PBOC cut the interest rates on standing lending facility, a liquidity support tool, for its local branches.

It also offered six-month medium-term lending facility loans to 11 financial institutions.

For more "interest rate corridor", CRI's Paul James earlier spoke with John Ross, senior fellow with the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University.

China's home prices see continued rebound in NovemberPrices for new homes in 100 major Chinese cities have risen in each of the last four months.

In November, the average price per square meter in the sampled cities grew half a percent month on month, and increased 3 percent from a year earlier.

The southern city of Shenzhen is leading the rebound with a year-on-year surge of 35 percent.

Home prices in top 10 major cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, surged nearly 8 percent on average from a year earlier.

Chinese companies to cut copper supplyTen leading Chinese copper producers have announced plans to reduce output of refined copper next year.

They aim to reduce output by 350-thousand tons in 2016, 5 percent of China's annual production.

Companies, including Jiangxi Copper and Yunnan Copper, have also agreed to stop increasing capacities over the next few years.

The move comes amid warnings of excess capacity in the copper industry, blamed for its recent price slump and poor market prospects as China's manufacturing sector remains sluggish.

Chinese investors buy stake in Man City groupA Chinese consortium is spending 400 million US dollars to take a 13-percent stake in the group that owns soccer clubs including Manchester City and New York City FC.

The consortium includes China Media Capital Holdings and CITIC Capital.

The City Football Group is valued at an estimated 3 billion US dollars.

As part of the deal, new shares will be issued in City Football Group in addition to ones owned by Sheikh Mansour's Abu Dhabi United Group.

The chairman of CMC will join the board of the City Football Group.

The capital from the share acquisition will be used by City Football Group to fund its China growth.

Huawei signs agreement with Barcelona's future sports theme parkChina's Huawei and OPEN CAMP, a future sports theme park in Barcelona, have signed an agreement to collaborate technology at the park.

Under the agreement, Huawei is set to provide communications equipment, data, and voice processing for the park.

The Chinese technological giant will also inform OPEN CAMP about new products and improvements for maintenance of the equipment.

Barcelona will host the world's first sports theme park offering more than 50 virtual experiences linked to every sport.

OPEN CAMP is expected to open next year.

China's Alibaba opens branches in Germany, FranceChina's e-commerce giant Alibaba has opened offices in Munich and Paris as the company seeks to expand imports from Europe.

Alibaba has announced Terry von Bibra, who worked for Amazon and Yahoo, as chief of its German branch.

Sebastien Badault, former employee of Amazon and Google, will head the French office.

The move aims to build a supply chain of European goods so that Chinese consumers can purchase them at reasonable prices.

Currently, Alibaba has offices in four European countries, including Britain, France, Germany, and Italy.

SportsFiona May talks about Rome's 2024 Olympic bidIn Olympic news:

Olympic committee member for Rome, Fiona May, discussed the cities bid to host the Olympics in 2024 on Tuesday.

In 2014, Italy's Premier Renzi put forward the countries capital as a candidate to host the games.

Italy had hosted the games before in 1960 and had originally wanted to bid for the 2020 games.

But because of economic unrest, the bid was pulled for that year.

Now the country is committing to the 2024 games and Committee members like British-born former Olympian, Fiona May, are looking to help with the process.

May is of Italian decent and was recently named the Athletes liaison officer for the Rome 2024 bid.

During a press conference, May spoke about her plans for the games.

"Rome has its own personality, has its own character, we have to find a role like individual, make a difference to be like the next step, the next story after 1960 I think. I've been in five Olympic games and all five were different, they have advantages and disadvantages, but I think Rome, and that is what I want to do, it is like pointing in a different direction, making more spectacular but like with that touch of Italian."Rome's bid is expected to include an update to many venues used in the 1960 Olympic Games.

The 2024 hosts will be decided by the International Olympic Committee in 2017.

Olympic delegate Igor Kazikov welcomes Russian weight lifters homeIn some more Olympic news:

Head of the Russian Olympic delegation for the 2016 Olympics, Igor Kazikov addressed doping concerns during a welcome home ceremony for athletes who competed in the World Weight Lifting championship on Tuesday.

During the welcome home ceremony, the Russian weight lifters were congratulated for the 11 gold medals they had won.

The results from the IWF championship in Houston, where Russian athletes won big, will count towards qualification for the Rio 2016 Olympics.

As the weight lifters from Russia are expected to be allowed to compete in the 2016 games, track and field athletes from the country are still suspended due to doping allegations.

As athletes were being welcomed home, Russian Olympic representative, Kazikov discussed the recent concerns of doping.

"Not everyone likes us, but despite this we have to prove with our victories, our character and our skills that we can win, that we are ready to take the highest positions. (I wish) a happy journey to everyone. The main thing is that there are no injuries, that everybody is in a good mood. Happy journey into the Olympic year."Kazikov would go on to admit that there were problems concerning Russia's anti-doping Laboratory,The delegate assured the public that, in the future, athletes will be checked before competition.

Tiger Woods talk's about return to golfand in golf:

Tiger Woods has told the public on Tuesday, that there is no specific "timetable" for his return to golf.

The sports star athlete has been out of the game since Aug. 23rd, where he played at the Wyndham Championship in North Carolina.

In the span of 18 months, Woods has received two back surgeries that have kept him away from his clubs.

Woods has yet to start rehabilitation for these surgeries but recently agreed to host the Hero World Challenge at the Albany Golf Club.

It was during this competition that woods spoke about his condition and whether he would be able to compete in future tournaments.

"Therein lies the tough question, a tough answer because I have no answer for that and neither does my surgeon or physios. There is not timetable. That's the hardest part, that's the hardest part for me. There's really nothing I can look forward to, nothing I can build towards, it's just taking it literally day by day and week by week and time by time. It's different from any of the surgeries and procedures I've had in the past.

Woods would go on to say that, he would love to compete again and that any accomplishments he can make in the future would be great!

Tiger woods sits on a thrown of accomplishments already, having 79 career victories on the PGA Tour, 14 majors titles and a record 11 times PGA Tour player of the year.

Hamilton talks about 3rd title winin some F1 related news:

Mercedes Driver Lewis Hamilton recently sat down with SNTV to talk about his third formula one title in a interview on Tuesday.

Acquiring this season's third title has been a dream of Hamilton's for some time, according to the driver.

F1 legend and personal hero of Hamilton, Aryton Senna, also claimed a career of three title wins and Hamilton stated that, becoming as great as him was a huge motivation for success.

"I got into Formula One wanting to be Ayrton Senna. There was no other driver, I wasn't bothered by any other driver, just Ayrton. And he'd won three titles and that's what my goal was. Now, I'm just focused on, I don't have to look at other drivers as targets. I'm my own target now, and how far I can take myself from here is going to depend not only on me, but Petronas, this team Mercedes, and how they help me achieve it."When asked what's next for the new hall of famer, Hamilton would respond that he will continue to perform his at his best.

For the Mercedes driver, he feels extremely accomplished, in becoming his hero's peer.

Davis Cup champs meet with Cameronand in tennis:

England's victorious Davis Cup team met with Prime Minister David Cameron at Downing Street on Tuesday.

The meeting comes after the British team, along with tennis start Andy Murray, defeated Belguim 3-1 in the Davis final.

This has been the countries first Davis cup win since 1936 and Prime Minister Cameron wanted to personally congratulate the team.

To celebrate the occasion, on Downing Street, Cameron and the team posed for group pictures, celebrating the end of a 79 year Davis cup droughtEntertainment"Fall in Love like AStar" to premiere on ThursdayThe movie "Fall in Love like A Star" will open to Chinese audience at Midnight tonight.

Starring China's hottest young actor Li Yifeng and actress Yang Mi, the movie seeks to bring into focus the delicate relationship between celebrities and their agents.

While being asked to introduce the character that he plays, the leading actor Li, a heartthrob for the country's many young women, thought highly of it.

"I think he is very enthusiastic about music and is really dedicated to his career. He wants to bring innovations and changes to the music field, so I would like to say he is not just a singer. He is an artist. Meanwhile, he is also very courageous to pursue true love."The movie's story revolves around the secretive love between an aspiring actor played by Li and his agent played by Yang in an industry that encourages young actors to remain single in the public eye for fear of losing fans.

"Point Break" remake premieres in ChinaBodhi and Johnny Utah caught the prefect wave to China, for the world premiere of the "Point Break" remake.

Luke Bracey plays Johnny Utah, a young FBI agent who infiltrates a team of thrill-seeking elite athletes engaging in unusual crimes that involve big-wave surfing, wing suit flying, motorbike racing, rock climbing and other extreme adventures.

"I think it's really exciting for me. I mean you guys are now the biggest movie-going kind of audience. I think it is and it's really exciting that we get to bring this stuff out to China, a whole new market, and a whole new world of possibilities. It is really exciting, I hope I get to spend more time here and open more movies here. I really do."The early opening of the film in China highlights the country's growing influence over Hollywood productions. According to the film distributors, "Point Break" has taken the only remaining slot for foreign blockbusters in the highly-regulated Chinese market.

The film follows the plot of the original action thriller closely, but adds in new and improved special effects.

"Point Break" opens in Chinese theaters on Friday, but won't hit U.S. theaters until Christmas day.

"Captain America" trailer received more than 61 million views in 24 hoursThe new trailer for Captain America: Civil War received more than 61 million views in a day, smashing the previous Marvel record of 34 million views held by Avengers: Age of Ultron.

It turns out that 61 million is also the population of Italy, which officially puts the anticipation levels for the next chapter in the Captain America universe through the stratosphere.

Judging by the trailer, this movie acts almost like an Avengers 2.5. There are glimpses of Black Panther, Hawkeye, Scarlett Witch, and War Machine in the scenes, but there have also been reports that Spider-man will make an appearance in the film.

Judging by the trailer, the world's superheroes are now being scrutinized for their actions and a system of accountability is desired to keep Captain America and the Avengers in check.

WeatherBeijing will be sunny today with a high of 4; clear tonight with a low of -3.

Shanghai will see slight rain with a high of 14, cloudy tonight and a low of 5.

Chongqing will be overcast with a high of 15 and a low of 12.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Islamabad will be cloudy with a high of 21.

Kabul, cloudy, 11.

Over to North America,New York will have moderate rain with a high of 16 degrees.

Washington, moderate rain, 19 degrees.

Honolulu, slight rain, 28.

Toronto will have some clouds with a high of 5 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,Buenos Aires, cloudy with a high of 30.

And Rio de Janeiro will see slight rain with a high of 27 degrees Celsius.

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

Recapping our top stories this morning...

The Chinese president agrees to forge closer ties and stronger cooperation with Zimbabwe...

senior leaders from China and the US hold a first-of-its kind meeting on fighting cybercrime...

and the US Defense Secretary says his country will send special ops forces to Iraq...

In Business...interest rate reform in China...

On behalf of the rest of the Beijing Hour team, 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.