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

Coming up on the program...

Millions of cars taken off the road because of Beijing's smog emergency...

a group of countries including China calls for a Paris climate agreement that respects the responsibilities and capabilities of each country...

Iraqi authorities demand that Turkish troops leave Iraqi territory...

In Business...steps are to be taken to reduce housing inventories in China...

In Sports...the president of UEFA tries to overturn his 90-day suspension...

And in Entertainment...a trailer released for the sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon...

All of that coming up in the next hour.

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Top NewsBeijing makes emergency response on worst smog pollution dayAt least two million private cars were taken off the road in the Chinese capital as Beijing rolled out its emergency response plan following its first-ever red alert for smog.

The alert remains active until noon on Thursday.

Under the alert, schools have been closed, work at outdoor construction sites suspended, and factories have been ordered to halt operations.

The city has also closed several highway sections to reduce traffic.

The traffic ban, based on odd or even license plate numbers, will take at least two million private cars off the road.

840 buses and 53 subway trains have been added to ensure that the public transportation system can accommodate extra passengers.

Li Hui, deputy head of Sihui subway station, says they have also taken some measures to cope with the commuter increase.

"Since the primary and middle schools all closed and enterprises have adopted flexible work days, the passenger flow pressures on us at rush hours have been effectively alleviated, or are not as much as expected. As for the transport capacity, we have added temporary subway trains, and normally now we have one train coming every two minutes."Meanwhile, the Ministry of Environmental Protection has demanded local environmental authorities punish enterprises that fail to launch emergency response plans to cope with the smog.

The ministry found some polluters continued to operate after teams were dispatched to areas around Beijing to ensure emergency plans were in place.

Zheng Zaihong is with the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau.

"The operation of some enterprises should be suspended if conditions are allowed, but if not, temporary control measures should be taken to lower or limit production."In neighboring Hebei Province, the environmental protection authority detected a dozen coal-burning enterprises operating illegally.

Inspection teams discovered that some other sources of air pollution, such as road and construction site dust, remained severe in central China's Henan Province and the eastern province of Shandong.

Chinese authority rolls out traffic integration plan in northern ChinaAnchor:

Chinese authorities have approved a plan to promote transportation integration in the greater Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

The move aims to turn five cities in the region into national traffic hubs and build a one-hour commuters' circle around Beijing.

CRI's reporter Guo Yan has the details.

Reporter:

The plan, approved by the State Council, is expected to relive traffic pressure in the capital city.

Ren Hong, a senior official from the National Development and Reform Commission explains how the new project helps commuters save travel time.

"It takes one hour for commuters to travel between downtown areas of Beijing, Tianjin, and Shi Jiazhuang, the capital city of He Bei, their satellite towns and new urban districts. The commuting time between cities are also cut within one and a half hour. It aims to turn Beijing, Tianjin, Shi Jiazhuang, Tang Shan and Qin Huangdao in to national transport hubs. The newly-built hubs will help shorten transfer times to no more than 10 minutes. "Beijing has issued its first-ever red alert for smog and on Tuesday rolled out its emergency response plan to tackle the severe air pollution.

Other major cities in northern China have also warned residents of terrible air quality.

Yu Shengying, a senior official from the Ministry of Transport, says the promotion of green and low-carbon transport is one of the major tasks of the project.

"In order to develop green, safe and sustainable transport we will strive to develop and promote the new-energy cars which are clean and energy-saving. New technology and renewable materials will be used for road constructions. Various traffic policies including the car registration policies, traffic regulations, vehicle emission standards, and the quality of oils will be unified in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. "Yu adds that the project is expected adopt new investment and financing methods, attracting social capital to take part in major infrastructure construction.

"we will promote the Public-Private-Partnership in infrastructure construction and encourage policy-based financial institutions to take the lead to attract social capitals to join infrastructure construction."The traffic project is also seen as a first major step for promoting the integration of the Beijing- Tianjin-Hebei region.

For CRI I'm Guo Yan.

BASIC countries call for equitable Paris climate agreementThe BASIC countries - Brazil, South Africa, India, and China - have called for a Paris climate agreement in line with the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.

Negotiators from almost 200 countries are working on reaching a deal by the end of the week.

China's Special Envoy on Climate Change Xie Zhenhua says the group of developing countries are committed to reaching a "comprehensive, balanced, ambitious and legally binding" agreement on climate change.

The official also stressed the importance of fighting pollution and transitioning to a "green economy" for China, as Beijing invoked its first ever red alert for smog.

"It means that China, in its industrialization and development process, we indeed need to transform our economic growth pattern to adjust our economic structure, our energy mix, our infrastructure. It is fair to say that solving environmental issues and working to address climate change is all interconnected."The BASIC bloc has also urged developed countries to take the lead by committing to and implementing ambitious emission reduction targets and providing various supports to developing countries.

India's Environment Minister, Prakash Javadekar, says financial and technological supports from developed nations are important.

"As far as finance is concerned, the action of the developing world depends upon to a large extent on finance and technology support from the developed world. Because they have, and the developing world don't. So haves will provide the have not. That's the simple logic."In a joint statement, the group has called on developed countries to scale up their support in the post-2020 period, with 100 billion U.S. dollars per year as a starting point.

Developing countries are most affected by climate changeAnchor:

At the climate change conference in Paris, finance has become a major sticking point. With developing countries arguing richer nations are in 'debt' to them for the impact climate change is having.

Natalie Powell reports from Paris.

Reporter:

At the COP21 Climate Change Summit in Paris, finance is one of the most difficult topics facing ministers here.

There is a growing concern that without a working agreement on finance, the most vulnerable countries will be hit the hardest by the effects of climate change.

Managers from the Climate Investment Funds, or CIFs are attending the talks in Paris, to emphasis how important funding is for developing countries, as Mafalda Duarte, from CIF explains.

"The gap is large. Obviously we're talking here in terms of COP21 at least meeting 100billion dollars, at least some of those flows should be going through adaptation but that's just one part of the story, the needs, in particular in the most vulnerable countries, least developed countries and small island states are very large."The Climate Investment Funds have established a Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience, which assists developing countries in putting in place frameworks for climate resilience and helps them cope with changing climates.

Zambia is one country that has benefited from the Climate Resilience fund, as David Kaluba a Principal Economist and advisor to Zambia's Climate Change Secretariat explains.

"We need resources to adapt because the impacts are not slowing down, they are growing, but having more than 90 million US dollars to work with is also a great benefit and this I would say in a more affordable way, because we are accessing a larger chunk of grants, largely around 50 million in grants but also cheaper bonds in around about 40 million dollars. So this is, for climate change, this is a huge benefit."But industry experts argue that funds, like these, designed to allow developing countries to implement climate change resistance measures are far too low.

They're hoping to see bigger financial commitments from ministers at the Climate Change Summit in Paris, but are sceptical about what can be achieved.

As Mafalda Durante of the Climate Investment Funds explains.

"It's such big issue because developing countries do need support, they re going to be the most exposed to the impacts at the same time they are expected to be making such significant investments in terms of infrastructure and other kinds of investment and it's important that they make the investment choices that will lead us to the below 2 degree target, so they do need support to make those choices in terms of what type of investments they make, which technologies will they invest in"Engaging the private sector in climate resilience and adaptation is also an important goal for industry experts to pursue.

But in Paris the amount of money richer countries are prepared to pay developing countries to help them deal with global warming, is likely to continue to emendate negotiations at the COP21 Climate Change Summit.

For CRI I'm Natalie Powell in ParisIndian Capital to Implement Odd-Even Scheme to Curb PollutionAnchor:

The municipal government in the Indian capital has announced plans similar to the ones in Beijing to limit the number of vehicles on the road.

However, the Indian government is taking it a step further, bringing in the new policy on a permanent basis.

CRI's Wang Mengzhen has more.

Reporter:

Under the new plan in Delhi, each private car and two-wheeler will only be allowed on the city's roads every other day starting on January 1st.

Private vehicles with odd registration numbers will operate on odd days of a month.

Those with even numbers will be permitted on even days.

The new rules won't apply to natural gas-powered buses, taxis, rickshaws or emergency vehicles, but will cover automobiles entering the capital city from other states.

Delhi Chief Secretary K.K. Sharma says to make up for it, the public transport system in Delhi will be upgraded.

"Every year pollution level increases in winter. For some time, odd and even numbered vehicles will run on alternate days. Alternative arrangements and additional transport arrangements will be made. DTC (Delhi Transport Corporation) will be asked to run extra buses with higher frequency. Metro will be requested to increase its operations during the day."A committee is being formed to decide how the new rules will be enforced.

Until then, local traffic cops in Delhi will have the final say.

The odd-even scheme covers some 9-million vehicles registered in the city, as well as thousands more which enter Delhi from neighboring states, evoking swift reaction from those affected.

"Maybe the odd-and-even formula would improve the air situation and I am already to follow this. It needs time to prove it. ""I think it's a little bit illogical. You can have some better ways to control pollutions. I am favor of the car-free day. One day of the week you are not using car. That is something logical. But odd-and-even doesn't make sense. If you have to commute, you have to commute. You can keep two cars. You use the odd car on the odd days, and the other on the even days."Environmental experts in India have welcomed the move, saying the situation is so grim that urgent steps are needed.

Environment lawyer Ritwick Dutta.

"In China and other countries where it has been implemented, there has been an effective impact, because the number of vehicles do come down on certain days. I think we have raised a stage where we have to now come down to this kind of measures, because otherwise emissions keep on increasing. So, there has to be some kind of restriction, and this is the one which works the best."This comes after the Delhi High Court embarrassed the local government, likening the national capital to a gas chamber, seeking immediate action from the central and Delhi governments.

In November and early December, Delhi's air quality slumped to hazardous levels, with PM2.5 levels to around 300.

Many doctors in the Indian capital tend to report a sharp spike in pollution-related illnesses during the winter months.

Earlier this year, the municipal government in Delhi ordered all private cars older than 10 years to be taken off the roads.

A surcharge of up to 13-hundred rupees, the equivalent of around 20 US dollars, is also being leveled on diesel-powered trucks that enter the city.

For CRI, this is Wang Mengzhen.

Cyber attacks skyrocket in ChinaA new survey reveals a massive increase in the number of cyber attacks affecting the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong over the past 12 months.

The Global State of Information Security Survey, from PricewaterhouseCoopers, has identified over 12-hundred security incidents on the mainland and on the island in the last year.

The number represents and increase of over 500 percent compared to the previous year, when just over 200 incidents were recorded.

The average financial loss for each cyber crime was 2.6 million US dollars, an increase of 10 percent year-on-year. The global average recorded a decline of five percent.

Hackers are said to be targeting customer data, internal records, and intellectual property. The global survey is based on responses from over 10-thousand executives in 127 countries, including 330 companies from the mainland and Hong Kong.

China, Japan agreed to continue discussion on early start of air, marine contact mechanismOfficials from China and Japan has concluded the fourth round of high-level consultations on maritime affairs.

The talks were held in the southern Chinese city of Xiamen and involved officials from each country's ministries of foreign affairs, defense, transportation, security, and others.

Topics included the East China Sea and specific ways to conduct maritime cooperation in the region.

China's coast guard department and Japan's maritime security department agreed to strengthen communications through information and people-to-people exchanges.

China's Public Security Ministry and Japan's maritime security department also agreed to strengthen cooperation on the fight against transnational crimes including smuggling, human smuggling, and drug trafficking.

They also agreed to continue talks in the first half of next year, on a bilateral maritime search and rescue agreement.

China Publishes Nanjing Massacre Investigation FilesA series of historical files on the investigation into the Nanjing Massacre have been published in China, ahead of the country's Memorial Day for the atrocity.

The files were published by the Nanjing Municipal Archives on Tuesday.

Wang Han, deputy director of the archives, talks about the content of these files.

"The investigation tables have a detailed record for the victims, witnesses and investigators. The methods were professional. The investigation process, witnesses and evidence all have legal sense. These files are the true reflection of what the Japanese soldiers did in Nanjing. They were significant pieces of evidence for the trial of Japanese war criminals, and played an indispensable part in the international war crimes investigation system,"The invading Japanese troops captured Nanjing on Dec. 13, 1937 and started a bloodbath that lasted for more than 40 days. More than 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers were killed and about 20,000 women were raped.

The 15 published files are part of the documents compiled between July and November 1946.

These documents have been listed in the Memory of the World Register by UNESCO, despite objections and denials from the government of Japan.

Wang Han says the files have been published to restore the history and to make people remember it.

"We publish the files to safeguard the history, to defend dignity and to respond to the denial of the history by Japanese right-wing forces, and let people in the world to better understand and remember the history, to cherish peace and promote the development of human civilization,"The files can be viewed on the archives' website as well as on Weibo and WeChat social media accounts.

China will mark the 78th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre this weekend.

China Sees Rise in Organ DonationAnchor:

New analysis is suggesting there's been a sharp increase in the number of organ donations across China this year.

This comes after authorities banned the harvesting of death row inmates' organs at the start of this year.

CRI's Luo Wen reports.

Reporter:

Official data shows close to 54-hundred people in China donated more than 14-thousand body parts through the first ten months of this year.

Both figures are the highest ever recorded in China.

Speaking to a forum on organ donation this week in Hunan's capital, Changsha, Gao Xinpu with the government's National Organ Donation and Transplant Committee says a change in attitude is the main reason.

"Over the past five years, public awareness of organ donation in China has grown significantly. The rate of organ donations per every million people here in China has risen from 0.03 in 2010 to 1.24 last year."The first national regulations on organ donations in China were adopted in 2007, banning the trade in organs.

In 2010, a voluntary organ donation system was launched in a number of different regions, then implemented nationwide last year.

And in a surprise move to start out the year, authorities ended the practice of harvesting organs from condemned prisoners, which observers suggested had compromised China's human rights credentials and left it open to criticism from the rest of the world.

Gao Xinpu says establishing a sound organ distribution system has been a priority in the Donation Committee's work.

"The most important thing is how to make the distribution of donated organs fair. Since 2011, we have been trying to set up a system which fits in-line with international criteria and medical ethics when it comes to creating a priority list."China currently has the largest number of organ donations in Asia.

But given this country's status as the world's most populous nation, Gao Xinpu says need is still well-outstripping demand.

"The donor to receiver ratio is still low, at around 1 to 30. Of the roughly 300 thousand people in China who need a transplant every year, only around 10-thousand get the organ they need."Another issue is the number of qualified transplant doctors in China.

There are currently around 170 hospitals across the country which is able to do organ transplants.

However, there are no more than 200 doctors able to conduct the operations.

It's being estimated the number of available hospitals for transplants will have to rise to 300, and the number of transplant surgeons to 400, before capacity demands will be met in China.

For CRI, this is Luo Wen.

Tibet marks 20th anniversary of Panchen Lama enthronementTibet has commemorated the 20th anniversary of the enthronement of the 11th Panchen Lama, a spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. The occasion was marked on Tuesday.

25 year old Gyaincain Norbu was enthroned as the 11th Panchen Lama in 1995, after a traditional lot-drawing ceremony in Jokhang Temple in Lhasa.

The Panchen Lama called for Tibetan Buddhists to act with compassion and promote Buddhism that adapts to the times.

The Panchen Lama currently serves as vice president of the Buddhist Association of China and a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee, the country's top political advisory body.

The Panchen Lama is the highest-ranking lama after the Dalai Lama in the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, the most influential school among the four main schools.

Iraq urges NATO to force Turkey to withdraw troopsTurkey's foreign ministry says the country has halted the deployment of troops to northern Iraq for now but will not withdraw those already there, after Baghdad demanded the withdrawal of soldiers camped near the Islamic State-held city of Mosul.

Seperately, Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu says he hopes to visit Baghdad soon.

"I have sent a letter to Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. The Iraqi Defence minister will hopefully pay a visit to Turkey soon and I hope to visit Baghdad as soon as possible for a high level consultation meeting. "We will continue to work to bolster bilateral ties and cooperation. I would like to address the Iraqi people from here: We will always support your fight against terrorism. All Iraqis are our brothers."Turkey has said its latest deployment of soldiers to northern Iraq is part of a mission to train and equip local Iraqi forces.

But Baghdad says it never invited such a force and will take its case to the United Nations if they are not pulled out.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is demanding his 48-hour deadline be adhered to.

"As the prime ministry decided there are plans to maintain good relations with neighbouring countries including Turkey it asks Turkey to withdraw all its forces out of Iraqi land and respect Iraq's sovereignty. This is a fair Iraqi demand and we are keen to have brotherly and neighbourly relations between us and Turkey. We demand Turkey to respect these relations and withdraw its forces out of Iraqi lands. These forces are on their Iraqi land without the knowledge or permission of the Iraqi government and we were surprised by these forces entering with military equipment to our lands and therefore our demand is a fair one."Abadi has also spoken with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg by telephone, asking NATO for help.

Iraq has urged the international community to provide more weapons and training in its battle against the militants, but rejects most forms of direct intervention, mistrusting the intentions of foreign powers.

Russia fires missiles at IS positions from submarine deployed in MediterraneanRussian Defense Minister has confirmed that Russia attacked the Islamic State positions in Syria with Kalibr missiles fired by the submarine deployed in the Mediterranean Sea.

According to Sergei Shoigu, the missile striked two major targets of the IS in Syrian Raqqa province.

It was the first time that Kalibr cruise missiles were fired by the Russian submarine from the Mediterranean Sea.

The Russian side says both the Israel and the U.S. were informed of the move.

WeatherBeijing, smog continues with a high of 3 degrees Celsius.

Overnight temperatures should drop down to 2.

Shanghai will see heavy rain with a high of 15 and a low of 12.

In Chongqing, it will be overcast with a high of 16 and lows of 11.

Elsewhere in the world, staying here in Asia,Islamabad will be rainy, temperature drops to 12.

Kabul will see sleet with a high of 3.

Over to North America,New York will be cloudy with a high of 6 degrees.

Washington, overcast with a high of 12 degrees.

Honolulu, cloudy, 28.

Toronto will be slightly rainy with a high of 10 degrees.

Finally, on to South America,Buenos Aires will be cloudy with a high of 31.

And Rio de Janeiro will have slight rain with a high of 29 degrees Celsius.

Headline NewsPremier Li stresses innovation in China's 13th five-year planChinese Premier Li Keqiang has stressed the role of innovation in China, calling for further efforts to foster new growth sources and upgrade traditional ones.

Li made the remark while attending a symposium on the country's next five-year development plan starting from 2016.

The Premier notes that the development plan should focus on growth quality and efficiency.

Li Keqiang says the government will also seek to expand effective investment, upgrade consumption and pushing new types of urbanization.

According to an earlier communiqué on proposals for the plan period, China aims to double its 2010 GDP and per capita income of residents both in cities and rural areas by 2020.

Beijing makes emergency response on worst smog pollution dayAt least two million private cars were taken off the road in the Chinese capital as Beijing rolled out its emergency response plan following its first-ever red alert for smog.

The alert remains active until noon on Thursday.

Under the alert, schools have been closed, work at outdoor construction sites suspended, and factories have been ordered to halt operations.

The city has also closed several highway sections to reduce traffic.

The traffic ban, based on odd or even license plate numbers, will take at least two million private cars off the road.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Environmental Protection has demanded local environmental authorities punish enterprises that fail to launch emergency response plans to cope with the smog.

Russia fires missiles at IS positions from submarine deployed in MediterraneanRussian Defense Minister has confirmed that Russia attacked the Islamic State positions in Syria with Kalibr missiles fired by the submarine deployed in the Mediterranean Sea.

According to Sergei Shoigu, the missile struck two major targets of the IS in Syrian Raqqa province.

It was the first time that Kalibr cruise missiles were fired by the Russian submarine from the Mediterranean Sea.

The Russian side says both the Israel and the U.S. were informed of the move.

Iraq urges NATO to force Turkey to withdraw troopsTurkey's foreign ministry says the country has halted the deployment of troops to northern Iraq for now but will not withdraw those already there, after Baghdad demanded the withdrawal of soldiers camped near the Islamic State-held city of Mosul.

Separately, Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu says he hopes to visit Baghdad soon to talk about the situation.

Turkey has said its latest deployment of soldiers to northern Iraq is part of a mission to train and equip local Iraqi forces.

But Baghdad says it never invited such a force and will take its case to the United Nations if they are not pulled out.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is demanding his 48-hour deadline be adhered to.

Abadi has also spoken with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg by telephone, asking NATO for help.

Biz ReportsStocksAnchor:

Turning to business news. First, a quick look at the closing numbers across North America and Europe.

U.S. stocks traded lower on Tuesday, as weak commodities prices continued to weigh on markets.

Oil prices fell as markets expected global supplies to continue to exceed demand.

Meanwhile, sharp drops in materials and energy shares led to a broad decline in the market. Mining stocks in particular were hurt.

In other markets, the U.S. dollar traded mixed against other major currencies.

The dollar index retreated 0.2 percent in late trading Tuesday.

At the closing bell,Dow Jones dropped nearly 1 percent.

S&P 500 fell 0.7 percent.

The Nasdaq dipped 0.1 percent.

In Europe, shares closed lower on Tuesday.

UK's FTSE 100 shed 1.4 percent.

Germany's DAX moved down 2 percent.

France's CAC 40 decreased 1.6 percent.

China likely to roll out de-stocking measures for property sectorAnchor:

It is expected that during an upcoming key economic meeting Chinese officials will introduce measures to cut housing inventories.

It's being reported that reducing stock in the property market will likely be discussed at the upcoming Central Economic Working Conference, which sets economic targets for the coming year.

It is said that the measures are not expected to boost the real estate market nor set quantitative reduction targets for specific regions.

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the unsold home inventory hit a record 686.3 million square meters by the end of October, up 17.8 percent from the previous year.

For more on China's property sector, CRI's Paul James earlier spoke with John Ross, senior fellow with the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University.

China to establish full-coverage audit system by 2020China is planning to establish a full-coverage audit system by 2020.

The system will fully cover public funds, state assets, state-owned resources, and the economic responsibilities of government officials.

Full Coverage is a guarantee of national economic security, economic restructuring, the rule of law and a clean government.

Meantime, personnel training, the integrated management of audit projects, and other areas are set to be strengthened.

Seven provinces and municipalities including Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Chongqing have been selected to pilot the system.

Alibaba introduces third-party supervision to help improve goods qualityChinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is cooperating with four third-party inspection agencies to improve the quality of products.

The four agencies are China Certification and Inspection Group, Swiss inspection and certification company SGS, German inspection agency TUV and the French-based quality inspection firm Bureau Veritas.

Alibaba initiated a new service named "Zhong guo zhi zao," or "Made-in-China," on its e-commerce platform Taobao.com in April to provide a sales channel for manufacturers which process products for foreign brands.

The company is attempting to introduce more professional and stricter inspection services for manufacturers using Taobao.com in order to guarantee the quality of products sold on the platform.

Taobao.com has attracted more than 45-hundred manufacturers with average daily sales of 40 million yuan, or over 6 million U.S. dollars.

S. Korea to sell 3 billion yuan panda bonds in ChinaSouth Korea is set to issue 3 billion yuan, or 470 million U.S. dollars, worth of panda bonds here in China.

China's central bank has announced that the yuan-denominated bonds will be sold on China's domestic interbank market.

The bank has not given information on when the bonds would be issued nor provided details such as the maturity and coupon.

Panda bonds are the yuan-denominated debt of foreign countries and overseas agencies sold in China.

Analysts expect the market to expand as China pushes internationalization of its currency.

According to the World Bank, the panda bond market is expected to surpass 320 billion yuan in the next five years.

ICBC punishes 137 workers for graftThe Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the country's largest lender by assets, has penalized over 100 employees for corruption.

More than 10 employees have been expelled from the Communist Party of China or removed from their posts due to "serious breaches of Communist Party discipline".

Offenses include attending banquets, getting receptions that exceeded the normal standard as well as going on trips funded by clients.

The crackdown follows a wide investigation on China's finance industry, starting in October.

SportsMichel Platini appeals to the CAS to lift banand in some FIFA news:

Michel Platini has left the Court of Arbitration for Sports in Lausanne, after presenting his appeal against his 90-day FIFA ban on Tuesday.

The UEFA president is looking to freeze the ban by Friday, which will allow him to continue campaigning for the FIFA presidency.

Elections for the sought after office will be held on February 26th.

Platini was the clear favorite choice to succeed former FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, but an investigation by Swiss authorities over a payment of 2 million USD to Platini, has tarnished his reputation.

During a press conference, Secretary General for the Court of Arbitration for Sports, Matthieu Reeb spoke about the conditions affecting Platini.

"Currently, Michel Platini is suspended for 90 days by FIFA, it is a provisional suspension until we have a final decision on the merits, which can come perhaps before the end of this year. So here today, we only have to decide whether this provisional suspension may be lifted or not. It means that later this week - probably Thursday or Friday - we have a decision saying if Michel Platini must remain suspended - or not."Platini still denies any wrong doing in regards to the recent FIFA corruption.

The UEFA president stated that the 2 million he received was back dated salary, approved by Blatter.

Badminton's Carolina Marin preps for BWF final in DubaiIn badminton:

With badminton's BWF Super Series finals in Dubai right around the corner, world number one Carolina Marin of Spain is prepping for the competition.

Marin spent all of Tuesday practicing her game ahead of the tournament.

On Wednesday, Marin's opening match will be against Chinese player, Tai Tzu Ying.

The Spaniard spoke to the press about the upcoming tournament.

Yes, it is going to be a tough tournament because we are the eight best players in the world. So there are going to be some tough matches from the beginning, but of course I'm looking forward to play here".

Marin is coming into the tournament after having strong season with 5 Super Series titles around the world including the All-England.

Only the top 8 players in the world will compete in Dubai.

Marin believes that right now that her toughest opponent in this competition will be herself.

On Thursday if all goes well, Marin is due to clash with world number 2, India's Saina Nehwal, in an eagerly anticipated match.

Milos Raonic beats Nadal in Manila's IPLTin a tennis update:

World number five, Rafael Nadal and his team the Indian Aces lost to the Philippine Mavericks at the International Premier League Tennis tournament on Tuesday.

Nadal didn't seem disappointed with this loss, since the tennis star has stated that he is simply competing to practice for the 2016 season.

The Spaniard's loss came at the hand of Canadian Milos Raonic with a 6-5 deciding set in their match.

Raonic was pleased with the outcome of the match.

The Canadian stated that the key to this win was knowing his opponent.

"Certain things with Rafa (Nadal) you want to stay away from - you want to keeps point short, especially with my game style. You don't want him to control the points too much. Even in the service games I lost, I felt like I was always inside the court, I was making some unfortunate mistakes in those games, but I stuck to my game, I stuck to the things I believe I do best and tried to execute,"Raonic next big step will be to compete in the 2016 Olympic Games.

The tennis star hasn't been officially confirmed for the games, but Raonic stated that he is expecting to play.

CBA updateand for a CBA update:

Tuesday saw a lot of games in the Chinese basketball league.

The top four ranking as they stand are:

Number 1 Xinjiang Guanghui with 13 wins 1 loss2nd Zhejiang Guangsha with 12 wins 2 losses3rd Guangdong Southern with 12 wins 2 losses4th Sichuan Blue Whales with 11 wins 3 lossesKeep an eye out for the games coming up on the Friday, as standings might change.

LeBron James makes a lifetime deal with Nikeand in some news from the LeBron James camp:

The NBA star has signed a deal with Nike that will continue even after he retires from the sport of basketball.

James recently signed a lifetime endorsement deal with the athletics apparel company.

The financial terms of the agreement has not been disclosed to the public, but for reference, a 7 year endorsement deal from Nike which James received shortly before he was drafted into the NBA was worth 90 million USD.

In a written statement to the Associated Press, Nike stated that they have invested in James for a long time and would like to continue to do so.

James will be turning 31-years-old on December 31st.

The NBA megastar has shown no signs of slowing down and is expected to play well into his 30'sSingapore youngsters break Rugby pass recordin some fun rugby news:

A new Rugby world record has been set by 21 Singapore national team youngsters on Tuesday, as they passed a rugby ball 4,002 times in a space of one hour in Asia Square.

The old record set by the Maccabi junior team in England in 2013 was 2,336.

During the hour long effort, players could not drop the ball and all passes had to be ruled as standard rugby passes, that is a pass from at least 5 yards apart.

The record attempt was part of the Rugby Hub carnival in Asia Square.

The event celebrated the upcoming Singapore portion of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, which will take place from April 16th-17th.

EntertainmentTrailer for 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' sequel releasedUS online video provider Netflix has released the first trailer for the sequel to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

The film is officially titled "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny".

However, it has derived quite a lot from the Oscar-winning masterpiece by Ang Lee in 2000.

The film follows four martial arts heroes who are trying to protect the 400-year-old sword, known as the Green Destiny.

The film is directed by renowned fight choreographer Yuen Woo-ping.

Michelle Yeoh will reprise her role of the original film, joined by Donnie Yen and Harry Shum Jr.

The trailer contains only a few lines by Michelle Yeoh in English, which signals the film will be English-speaking.

The Netflix-backed "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny" will premiere on February 8th next year, both on Netflix and in Chinese theatres.

Documentary film festival screens movies from 88 countriesThe Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival 2015 is now underway with a slate of more than 3,650 movies from 88 countries and regions.

In addition to a showcase of Sino-foreign documentary films, the three-day event also features trade, seminars, forums, lectures, and training.

China's dazzling development in recent decades has inspired many international directors and producers to document Chinese people and their culture.

Nigel Marven, the director of competing film "Cruise Ship Adventure," shares his thoughts.

"I think the history of China is truly fascinating. I saw a great documentary on Confucius last night. From my point of view, the geology, the landscape and the wildlife of China [are] fantastic. We've only scratched the surface. There are so many great animals that we can film, so many wildlife stories that we can tell."Meantime, some directors are finding inspiration in Chinese stories, like British director Arthur Jones who brought a project called "The Six." It's the story of six Chinese survivors of the Titanic disaster.

"It combines Titanic, which is like one of the best known tragedies, disaster stories in the world, including in China. But it combines that with a really specific Chinese story about immigration, about Chinese people going out in the world to work and then coming back to China. For us, it's the perfect combination."The documentary festival will conclude on Thursday.

Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hooper bring "The Danish Girl" to LondonThe much-anticipated film "The Danish Girl" is finally being released.

The film's lead, Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne, was joined by his co-stars Alicia Vikander and director Tom Hooper at the movie's London premiere on Tuesday night.

The movie traces Lili's journey of self-discovery, from denial to acceptance to rebirth, in the face of a hostile society.

"The Danish Girl" opens in the U.K. on January 1st.

Cast of 'Downton Abbey' attends US premiereThe cast of the hit British drama "Downton Abbey" has unveiled the first episode of the final season for US audiences in New York.

All eight parts of the final season have aired in the UK, around two months earlier than in the US.

Michelle Dockery, playing Lady Mary in the show, says she has mixed emotion knowing the end is near.

The 6th season of "Downton Abbey" will premiere in the US on January 3rd while the Christmas special will not be available until March.

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

Recapping our top stories this morning...

Millions of cars taken off the road because of Beijing's smog emergency...

a group of countries including China calls for a Paris climate agreement that respects the responsibilities and capabilities of each country...

Iraqi authorities demand that Turkish troops leave Iraqi territory...

In Business...steps are to be taken to reduce housing inventories 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.