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

Coming up on the program this evening...

China and Zimbabwe agreeing to forge closer ties as Chinese President Xi Jinping pays his first state visit to the country...

Senior officials from China and the United States holding a joint dialogue on combating cyber crime...

Myanmar President U Thein Sein and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi discussing a peaceful transfer of power in the country....

In business... China taking steps to cut down on red tape in the country's corporate bond market...

In sports... the Beijing Ducks taking to the home court against rivals Liaoning in CBA action tonight...

In entertainment.... the MNET music awards kicking off in Hong Kong...

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

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 "all-weather friends."Xi Jinping says his visit is aimed at consolidating the 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.

For more on this, CRI's Liu Kun spoke earlier with Dr David Dorward, former Associate Professor and Director of the African Research Institute at La Trobe University, Australia.

Dr David Dorward, former Associate Professor and Director of the African Research Institute at La Trobe University, Australia, speaking with CRI's Liu Kun.

China-Africa Relation Roundtable Conference Kicks off ahead FOCAC SummitExperts and scholars attending a roundtable discussion on China-Africa relations have expressed high expectations ahead of the upcoming forum on China–Africa Cooperation.

CRI's Yu Yang reports.

The China-Africa Relations Roundtable Conference was held in Johannesburg, in preparation for the upcoming Forum on China–Africa Cooperation.

Speaking at the conference, Vice Minister Zhang Ming with the Chinese Foreign Ministry says since the China-Africa friendship started in the 1950s, both sides have been trying to advance the China-Africa relationship to a higher level.

"African countries are now working vigorously to accelerate industrialization. China, for its part, is deepening its reforms and relocating its competitive industries and surplus production capacity overseas. China has not only the capacity but more importantly strong political will to support Africa in realizing independent and sustainable development. China-Africa cooperation faces unprecedented opportunities."As the Co-Chair of the 2015 FOCAC Johannesburg Summit, South Africa's Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Nomaindiya Mfeketo says they are very willing to advance the China-Africa relationship to help African countries fulfill their AU 2063 Agenda.

"In the mist of the on-going global economic slowdown, African companies are focusing their efforts on emerging economies for new opportunities, and access to the Chinese market is at the heart of this strategy. Our aim is to use the Summit to elevate the Africa-China relationship to a new level that would have a beneficial impact and give impetus to Africa's developmental agenda."China has been Africa's largest trading partner for the past six years.

The trade volume between the two sides reached 220 billion U.S. dollars in 2014, 20 times higher than the figure when the FOCAC was established.

Zhong Jianhua, Special Representative on African Affairs for the Chinese government, says the economic cooperation has brought benefits to the both sides.

"In past years, China has imported sufficient raw materials from the African continent to support our country's fast development. Equally, African countries also earned huge capital from its raw material exported to China, and now they have used the money to buy products and invest the money into their own infrastructure and boost their economies."Peter Kagwanja, Chief Executive of the Africa Policy Institute, has an expectation for the 2015 FOCAC Johannesburg Summit.

"China need(s) now to help Africa begin industrialization, so that it can add value to its commodities. Therefore, Africa will stop being an exporter of raw materials that don't fetch a lot of money in the market, and stop being an importer of manufactured goods which are over-priced. And it can help escape the poverty."The 2015 FOCAC Johannesburg Summit will run from December 2nd to the 5th.

For CRI, this is Yu Yang.

China-Africa economic cooperation reaches new height: spokesmanCommerce Ministry spokesman Shen Danyang says China and Africa have reached a new height in economic and trade cooperation over the past 15 years.

"China-Africa cooperation has covered industry, finance, tourism, telecommunications, aviation, broadcast and television. More and more Chinese enterprises are focusing on the African market and will make greater contributions to Africa's development."Trade between China and Africa reached 222 billion U.S dollars in 2014, some 21 times the amount seen in 2000. China has been the biggest trading partner of Africa for six consecutive years. The total investment reached 30 billion dollars in the year 2014, or 60 times that in 2000.

Shen says the upcoming Forum on China–Africa Cooperation will open a new blueprint for developing the economic and trade relations between China and Africa, and will inject new impetus into their economic development.

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

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

CRI's chief Washington correspondent Lv Xiaohong reports.

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 cyber crimes.

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

For CRI, this is Lv Xiaohong reporting from Washington.

China Making Progress in Preserving Bio-DiversityChina has met the UN's Convention on Biological Diversity 2020 targets ahead of schedule.

Qiu Qi Wen is Deputy Director of Nature and Ecology Conservation from China's Ministry of Environmental Protection. Qiu says that China has made significant progress in preserving bio-diversity.

"We now have 2,729 nature reserves in China, covering a total area of about 1.5 million square kilometers and nearly 15% of China's total land area. That is above the world average of 12.7%. Moreover, 85% of our land-based ecosystems, including wild animals and plants, are properly protected. In the last decade, our national forest areas have grown by 100-thousand square kilometers."The Convention on Biological Diversity 2020 targets were established in 2010, to facilitate ecological preservation for member states.

Since 2010, China has launched a series of environmental protection initiatives, including plans to curb ecological degradation and to ensure ecological protection.

A recent joint report by the World Wildlife Fund and China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development highlighted the urgent need for better ecological protection in China.

The report found the country's terrestrial vertebrates have declined by half in number in the last 40 years.

China's Efforts to Combat Desertification Showcased at Paris Climate Conference Side EventThe UN Climate Change Conference in Paris has entered Day 2, and a series of side events are being held at the China Pavilion - including a showcase about China's efforts to combat the expansion of deserts in the country.

CRI correspondent Duan Xuelian has more.

China Pavilion is one of the most active pavilions in the exhibition area, with a robot named Vanke engaging visitors in front of the conference rooms.

"Welcome to the China Pavilion! My name is Vanke. To see the agenda and guest information of Chinese Enterprise Day, please touch my screen. I can also calculate and offset the carbon emissions of your trip to Paris. "Inside the conference room, Chinese delegations are holding a presentation about China's efforts to prevent the expansion of Kubuqi, the seventh largest desert in the country, located in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Xie Zhenhua, China's special envoy on climate change, was one of the speakers. He said that China is one of the countries most severely impacted by desertification and is making unprecedented efforts in fighting the problem. To reach its climate change target, adaptation is a key factor.

"When people talk about fighting climate change, they used to only emphasize mitigation, but now they began to be acutely aware of the need for adaptation. It is equally important, even more so in developing countries."Initiated in 1988, the so-called Kubuqi model is responsible for helping local desert people to adapt to and improve the environment they live in. With policy support from the government and financial resources from the private sector, the Kubuqi project mobilized local communities to join efforts to plant trees, build roads, and develop eco-tourism.

According to a report published at the presentation, the project has restored 6,000 square kilometers of desert and created over one million job opportunities.

Monique Barbut, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, commented that the Kubuqi practice is a successful case study. Such flagship programmes will inspire more countries to innovate their approaches in fighting desertification. She said that among the two billion hectares of degraded land all over the world, 75% of them are in working landscape.

"What we are saying here is that by restoring just 500 million hectares of those degraded land, not only will ensure that by 2050 we will be in the position to feed 9.7 billion people that will be living on this planet, but it could store up to 30% of all the carbon emissions of the world."The Kubuqi model of fighting desertification is being studied to see if it can be replicated in other deserts in China and around the world.

For CRI, I'm Duan Xuelian in ParisEconomists Speak Highly of Inclusion of Chinese RMB into SDR BasketMany senior officials and economists have spoken highly of the recent inclusion of the renminbi into the International Monetary Fund's Special Drawing Rights basket.

CRI's Xie Cheng has more.

China's Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao described the inclusion as a win-win decision, since both China and the rest of the world will benefit from it.

"This is not just in the Chinese interest. It is the IMF's interest. It is in the global interest. We hope the decision made can benefit the Chinese side with a more open financial sector reform and make the IMF SDR boast more attractiveness and more representativeness."Zhu Guangyao made the remarks while attending a meeting themed 'China and the Global Economy: Dialogue on China's 13th Five-Year Plan' at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

He also added that the RMB joining the SDR doesn't mean the end of China's financial reforms, and that the country is continuing a manageable floating system so as to make the economy led by innovation rather than investment.

For his part, Nicholas Lardy, a senior researcher at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, believes that such an inclusion shows the world's acknowledgment of China's financial reforms.

"So the inclusion of the yuan in the SDR basket, of course, is a symbolic milestone and a significant one. You could say that it does acknowledge a very important step towards the financial reforms that have taken in China in the past few years. As an observer of Chinese financial reform, I'm encouraged by all that has been achieved in the last few years. I think it is appropriate that these efforts are acknowledged in the decision in the SDR."Meantime, James Boughton, a senior fellow at the Center for International Governance Innovation, suggested that further reforms are still necessary as China becomes more influential in the global financial sector.

"I think having the Renminbi in the SDR basket will be a very positive development, but what has to happen is that more intense reforms of the finance sector in China. And I think that will happen. It's already happened at a great extent. China's role in the international financial system will just continue to grow."The IMF's executive board approved on Monday the inclusion of RMB in its SDR basket as an international reserve currency.

This means that the RMB will be the fifth currency included in SDR along with the U.S. dollar, the euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound.

For CRI, I'm Xie Cheng.

Military-style Boot Camp Sets Up to Stop Child Internet AddictionWith 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.

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 counselling.

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 counselling alone doesn't work. Secondly, the children won't cooperate with you. Sometimes they will even display abnormal behavior 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.

Myanmar President and Aung San Suu Kyi Discuss Power TransferMyanmar President U Thein Sein and opposition National League for Democracy chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi have discussed the establishment of precedent in a peaceful power transfer in the country.

A presidential spokesperson said that both U Thein Sein and Suu Kyi expect a smooth power transition.

"The president has promised a smooth transition and Aung San Suu Kyi also said we need a good transition towards democracy, as a good example in the future for a young democratic country like us. Our government guarantees that we will make this happen."During the dialogue, U Thein Sein congratulated NLD party on its winning of general election last month, while Suu Kyi expressed her thanks to the president for amending the law to enable the NLD to take part in the political process starting from 2012, as well as cooperating with other parties and holding free and fair elections as promised.

Later today, Suu Kyi is also scheduled to meet Min Aung Hlaing, Commander-in-Chief of the country's Defense Services.

NATO Extends Membership Invitation to MontenegroNATO has formally invited Montenegro to become a member state.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg made the announcement on Wednesday at a NATO foreign ministers' meeting.

"Today we will take an historic decision. At the Wales summit, our heads of state and government tasked us to consider whether Montenegro is ready for membership in our alliance. In taking this decision, you will be inviting Montenegro to begin the process to join us around this table as a full member of the NATO alliance."The accession process is expected to take months, before Montenegro obtains its formal membership. NATO's last expansion was in 2009, when Albania and Croatia were admitted.

Russia has strongly opposed Montenegro's NATO membership, calling it a threat to regional stability.

Headline NewsChina happy to see improvement in Afghanistan-Pakistan tiesChina has said it is ready to play a constructive role in improving Afghanistan-Pakistan ties and promoting reconciliation in Afghanistan.

Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed on Monday to jointly promote the Afghan peace process with "legitimate political actors" and take action against those who refuse to join the reconciliation process.

The understanding was reached at a meeting between Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on the sidelines of the Climate Change Conference in Paris.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying says that as a common friend of Afghanistan and Pakistan, China is happy to see any improvement in their relationship.

Hua says China sincerely hopes the two countries will strengthen mutual trust and maintain peace and development in the region.

China mulls harsher punishment for patent violationsPatent infringement in China may soon lead to fines of up to 5 million yuan or about 780,000 U.S. dollars, according to an amendment proposed by China's Cabinent.

The draft revision has been published by the State Council to seek public opinion.

The current law stipulates that compensation amounts must be decided based on actual losses by the obligee or gains by the infringer. The new draft allows for compensation of up to three times the losses or gains.

China's Patent Law was enacted in 1984 and was revised a third time in 2008.

Huge graphite deposit discovered in north ChinaChina has announced the discovery of a major graphite deposit in its northern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The deposit has proven reserves of 130 million tonnes of flake graphite, accounting for 7.3 percent of the world's recoverable reserves.

Local authorities say the new discovery alone has a mineral content of over 7 million tonnes.

Prior to the discovery, the US Geological Survey puts the mineral content of flake graphite for the entire world at less than five million tonnes.

Flake graphite is used as a raw material for high-end precision instruments.

Pakistan executes four convicts in deadly army school attackPakistan has hanged four militants involved in a deadly attack on an army-run school that killed nearly 150 students and staff members in December last year.

An army court had handed the death penalty to the four men.

Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain has rejected their clemency petitions.

They were hanged just days ahead of the first anniversary of the attack.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. The militants all belonged to the banned group the Pakistani Taliban.

This was the first death sentence approved by the army chief after the country's Supreme Court legalized the establishment of military courts in August.

Biz ReportsStocksTurning over to business news, starting with the closing numbers in China.

Mainland markets closed mixed on Wednesday.

The two main bourses were pulled up by heavyweight sectors like banking and oil.

The Shanghai Composite Index surged 2.3 percent.

The Shenzhen Component index gained 0.9 percent.

The small-cap ChiNext Index dropped 1.6 percent, led by the grapheme sector which was down some 3 percent.

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Heng Seng Index added 1.7 percent.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets wavered on Wednesday due to the downbeat U.S. job data which is one of the factors that determine the rate hike approach the Federal Reserve looks likely to adopt next month.

Investors are also cautious ahead of the release of a set of global economic data, including the keenly-awaited results of the European Central Bank's policy meeting.

Japanese benchmark Nikkei lost nearly 0.4 percent.

South Korea's KOSPI also dropped 0.7 percent.

Singapore's Straits Times index jumped more than 1 percent.

And finally, Australia's ASX/200 retreated by 0.2 percent.

China Lifts Limits on Corporate Bond IssuanceChina's top economic planner has loosened its control on the number of bonds corporations can issue, as part of its attempts to cut red tape in the country's corporate bond market.

The National Development and Reform Commission or NDRC made the announcement earlier Wednesday. But the new streamlined rules will only apply to issuers of corporate debt rated AA and above.

Previously, NDRC set annual limits on the number of bonds for corporate issuers in specific regions and industries.

Analysts believe that the steps are designed to improve declining asset quality.

A more liquid and longer-dated bond market will help corporations to better manage borrowing, and banks to better manage non-performing loans.

One Belt and One Road Initiative Sees Good Momentum between Jan. and Oct.

Chinese authorities have announced that China's One Belt and One Road Initiative has seen some positive momentum from January to October of this year.

Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Shen Danyang said that positive momentum of cooperation was seen between companies from China and countries along the one road and one belt.

"As to sectors receiving foreign investments, financial services, business services, and retailing have seen significant increase on actual use of inbound foreign investments. Most foreign investments went to Shanghai, Jiangsu and Tianjin. Investors from Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Singapore ranked top among other countries."Shen reveals that investment from countries along the one road and one belt reached nearly 6.5 billion US dollars in China, up by 14 percent.

The spokesperson also said that Chinese companies invested some 13 billion U.S. dollars in these countries in the same period, increasing by about 37 percent.

Most of the Chinese investments have flown to Singapore, Kazakhstan, Laos, Indonesia, Russia and Thailand.

The One Belt and One Road Initiative aims to build connectivity and cooperation among countries in Eurasia.

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 to be 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 transitioning to the new monetary policy.

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

John Ross, senior fellow with the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University speaking with CRI's Paul James.

Yashili Completes Deal to Buy Danone's Dumex China UnitYashili has sealed a deal worth some 150 million euro or 159 million U.S. dollars with Danone to buy all of the French food giant's infant formula unit Dumex China.

Danone has been struggling to revive its Dumex unit since 2013 when food scares hit its reputation in China.

In 2013, Dumex saw its net sales plummet by over 70 percent from the year before.

Its previous supplier Fonterra launched a wide-scale recall in the same year due to suspected contaminated whey products, though the contamination was later proved to be unfounded.

Facebook CEO pledges to give away 99 pct of company sharesFacebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says that he and his wife will give 99 percent of their Facebook shares to charity, as they announce the birth of their daughter Max.

The couple's holdings in the company are currently worth about 45 billion U.S. dollars.

It will be managed by a new organization known as the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

Zuckerberg and his wife have promised they will give away their money "during their lives" through charitable donations, private investment, and promotion of government-policy reform.

Meanwhile, Facebook said in a securities filing that Zuckerberg has planned to give away up to 1 billion dollars of Facebook stock each year for the next three years.

Alibaba Taps into SteelmakingAlibaba has partnered with China's metals and mining company, China Minmetals Corporation, to establish an e-commerce platform focusing on the steel industry.

The platform aims to provide online services like storing, manufacturing, financing and shipping to steelmakers.

The corporation would have 46 percent of shares in the new consortium, while Alibaba took up 44 percent.

China Minmetals Corporation announced last Friday that they would increase the capital in their branch that focuses on e-commerce.

SportsCBA updateStarting things off with some CBA action,Xingjiang's season-opening 11-game winning streak came to an abrupt stop as they went down to Fujian 128-119.

Xinjiang are still top of the table with an 11-1 win-loss record.

CBA action continues tonight, with the Beijing Ducks on home court against Liaoning.

Beijing have just received a 40-thousand yuan fine for their involvement in chaos during their away game against Shanxi last Sunday.

Beijing player Yin Tianren and an assistant coach verbally assaulted Shanxi fans under provocation and both have been banned for tonight's game.

Shanxi received a heavier 170-thousand yuan punishment for causing the ruckus.

The game between Beijing and Liaoning is in its first quarter and it is 31:26.

Several other games that are happening right now,Second-placed Guangdong are playing Shanghai,The Zhejiang Lions are going up against Sichuan,Shanxi are taking on Zhejiang,Beijing Beikong are hosting Qingdao,And it is Bayi against Tongxi.

Philadelphia 76ers beat Lakers, end 18 game winning streakOver in the NBA,The Philadelphia 76ers avoided recording their worst start to the season by winning 103-91 against the LA Lakers.

Philadelphia had lost all their previous games and were on brink of out-running their record-equalling 18th successive loss in an NBA season.

Coach Brett Brown is relieved to have had this much needed win and thinks it will tease their appetite for more victories.

"I think that we haven't blinked or reacted to the obvious place that we're all in and I'm proud that they stay together, that they truly do knock out good days and we do believe that they will add up. I'm pleased for the city. We don't want this streak continuing. We were pleased to come in here and get a win for our fans, they deserve it. Obviously this is a relief on many levels but we're going to get greedy. We want a little bit more and that's how we'll approach tomorrow night."Next up for Philadelphia are the New York Knicks tomorrow morning Beijing time.

More NBA results from this morning,Dallas edged Portland 115-112,Washington beat Cleveland 97-85,Brooklyn downed Phoenix 94-91,Memphis upset New Orleans 113-104,And finally Orlando rolled past Minnesota 96-93.

Liang Wenbo, Marco Fu in last 16 at UK ChampionshipTaking a look at how Chinese players are doing at the Snooker UK Championship,Liang Wenbo rebounded from 4-1 down to beat former winner Judd Trump 6-4 and reach the last 16.

It is Liang's best result so far at the York Barbican Center.

He is expected to go even further as he has a better chance against Tom Ford in the next round.

Marco Fu from Hong Kong joins Liang in the last 16 after defeating David Gilbert 6-3.

He will meet Shawn Murphy.

Bad news for Xiao Guodong and Li Hang who are both out.

More action from the tournament,Thailand's Thepchaiya Un-Nooh fluffed a maximum 1-4-7 break and squandered 44-thousand pounds in prize money.

Un-Nooh missed the final black in the sixth frame of his game with Neil Robertson.

He went on to win that frame but was eventually knocked out 6-2.

Badminton Super League underwayThe China Badminton Super League is underway in the eastern Chinese city of Fuzhou.

Chinese-Malaysian shuttler Lee Chong-wei and Olympic champion Li Xuerui beat world number one Chen Long and Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu-ying in a mixed doubles exhibition game on the opening night.

The games officially kick off tomorrow at all badminton clubs.

China's Lin Dan, Cai Yun, Zhao Yunlei, Wang Yihan are all participating.

Men's doubles duo Lee Yong-dae/Yoo Yeon-seong from South Korea will also be in action.

Liverpool, Southampton to fight for semi-final place at League CupIn football,Three of the four semi finalists for the League Cup have been revealed.

They are Manchester City, Stoke City, and Everton.

The last entrance will be decided between Liverpool and Southampton in an all Premier League quarter-final.

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp has his sights set only on this particular game and says it is all their attention for now.

"That is the biggest fault you can make. To think about the next round, who you can get in the next round. It is only Southampton and they are strong enough. And they are, I think, pretty hot on this game because they lost their last two games and so they want to strike back and it's a home game. I heard about Southampton and Liverpool are not the best friends, I am not sure, and so it is not a friendly game (laughs).　So if we want to go to the final we have to fight for it, and that's what we try to do."Klopp has had six wins, three draws and one defeat in his 10 games in charge of Liverpool. His side has won six of their last seven games in all competitions.

Southampton will be without captain Jose Fonte for a cut knee.

Russian weightlifters clean during World ChampionshipsRussia is running extensive checks to make sure the weightlifters are clean and will not go down the same road as their track and field athletes.

Russia will have a full squad of weightlifters for next year's Rio Olympic Games after securing all 10 places from the just concluded World Championships in Houston.

Igor Kazikov from the Russian Olympic Committee says they underwent all necessary checks. No one has been implicated in doping.

"There are problems with the anti-doping laboratory now, but in principle the doping control should be carried out in accordance with the rules that exist in the sports ministry, I mean checks before departure, ongoing checks. And all the athletes who take part in any sports events now undergo checks after they finish a competition."Russia won 24 medals in total at the Championships, with 11 of them being gold.

Entertainment2015 Mnet Asian Music Awards Readies to Kick off in Hong KongThe 2015 Mnet Asian Music Awards are set to roll out the red carpet in Hong Kong this evening.

Being a big winner at previous MAMAs, Key from boyband Shinee indicates they have something special to show their fans at this year's gala.

"When we prepare for an awards ceremony, we always create a new song, dance, arrangement or performance. But this time we are going to use new equipment so please pay special attention to the start of our performance. "Shinee is up for the Best Male Group, competing with BIGBANG, BTS, EXO, Shinhwa, and Super Junior.

From boy group EXO, Chen says if they can win awards from MAMA, it would be a great honor.

"We still feel the weight of the awards that we have won so far (from MAMA). If EXO wins another award at MAMA 2015, it will be a huge step up for EXO.　If we win the award, we will hard our hardest to make sure that we are worthy of it. Thank you."The nominees for Best Female Group are AOA, Apink, Girls' Generation, Miss A, Sistar and Wonder Girls.

Though the event is for South Korean pop stars, it often features performances from popular western acts.

This year's event will also include A-lister Chow Yun Fat and pop diva Jolin Tsai as the special guests.

Produced by a music television channel in South Korea, the show has been held in different Asian cities such as Macau, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Final Episodes of 'Kangsi Coming' Starts ShootingThe final shooting of Taiwan's comedy talk show 'Kangsi Coming' started today, with mainland actress Fan Bingbing and her actor boyfriend Li Chen as the final guests.

According to Taiwan's Eastern Television, Fan Bingbing's appearance fee is valued at some 100,000 New Taiwan dollars, or some 3,000 US dollars.

The program's hostess Dee Hsu also indicates the 'real' final episode for the show is set to air without any guests, just having three hosts including herself, Kevin Tsai and Jordan Chan.

'Kangsi Coming' has been one of the most successful talk shows in Mandarin speaking regions across Asia since its debut in 2004.

The show is due to end as its hosts Kevin Tsai and Dee Hsu have decided to leave.

The final season of the show is planned to be aired on January 7th.

Pixar Animation Studios Dominates 43rd Annie Awards NominationsThe 43rd Annie Awards has announced this year's nominees on Tuesday, with 'Inside Out' taking the lead.

Produced by Pixar Animation Studios', 'Inside Out' has earned 14 nominations, including best animated feature and best character design.

This 3D animated comedy is set in the mind of a young girl, where five personified emotions-Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness - try to lead her through life.

Besides, Pixar Animation Studios, which is owned by Disney, seems to have dominated the nominations with its 'The Good Dinosaur' receiving ten, including Character Animation in a Feature Production.

Directed by Peter Sohn, this film features an epic journey into the world of dinosaurs where an Apatosaurus named Arlo makes an unlikely human friend.

Other nominees for the best animated feature include 'Anomalisa', 'Snoopy: The Peanuts Movie' and 'Shaun the Sheep'.

This year's Annie Awards has added a new category - best independent animated feature . 'The Boy and the Beast' and 'When Marnie Was There' are among the inaugural nominees.

The awards are set to be handed out on February 6th at UCLA's Royce Hall.

Founded in 1972, the Annie Award is an American award for accomplishments in animation.

Chris Hemsworth Sails down Thames on 'Essex' ShipChris Hemsworth and his 'In the Heart of the Sea' co-stars have taken a sail down the Thames in London, in advance of their film's European premier.

Director Ron Howard also took selfies with Hemsworth and Tom Holland on the 'Essex' ship, which can be seen in the film.

Based the bestselling book of the same name, the film narrates a dramatic trip of 'Essex' in the 1800's that is hit by a bull sperm whale.

The crew is then shipwrecked for 90 days where they must resort to cannibalism to survive.　To play the 19th-century sailors adrift with no food, Hemsworth and his co-stars had to slim down considerably, enduring diets of some 500 calories a day.

'In the Heart of the Sea' will open in the US on December 11th, and in UK on December 26th.

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

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

China and Zimbabwe agreeing to forge closer ties as Chinese President Xi Jinping pays his first state visit to the country...

Senior officials from China and the United States holding a joint dialogue on combating cyber crime...

Myanmar President U Thein Sein and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi discussing a peaceful transfer of power in the country....

In business... China taking steps to cut down on red tape in the country's corporate bond market...

On behalf of all of us on the CRI news team, this is Spencer Musick in Beijing, hoping you'll join us for the next edition of the Beijing Hour, to open a window to the world together...