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

Coming up on the program this evening...

The Communist Party of China identifies the government's economic priorities for the first year of the country's 13th five-year plan.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Barak Obama pledge to work together to put the Paris Climate accord into practice.

Premier Li welcomes the Kazakh Prime Minister ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting.

In business... China prepares to launch pilot reforms for state-owned enterprises in 10 areas.

In sports...Guangzhou Evergrande ready to take on Barcelona the FIFA Club World Cup semis.

In entertainment....a first glimpse for Chinese audiences of Independence Day - Resurgence...

All of that is coming up in the next hour, but first, a reminder, there are several ways you can reach us at the Beijing Hour.

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Top NewsChina pinpoints major economic tasks for 2016The Communist Party of China has identified the government's economic priorities for the first year of the country's 13th five-year plan, which starts in 2016.

The major tasks were listed in a statement issued after a political bureau meeting of the CPC Central Committee on Monday.

The statement says China should expand the effective demand on the housing market by turning more migrant rural workers into urban residents.

This is part of the country's ongoing effort to reduce its high housing inventory.

Meanwhile, China will also continue to promote mass entrepreneurship and innovation as well as reduce operation costs for companies.

Xi, Obama promise to work together to ensure implementation of Paris climate dealChinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama on Monday proposed to work together to ensure the effective implementation of the just-reached climate accord in Paris.

In a telephone conversation, President Xi noted that the Paris deal charted a clear course for global cooperation on fighting climate change from 2020.

Xi Jinping also expressed China's willingness to expand pragmatic bilateral cooperation with the US in tackling climate change.

Meanwhile, President Obama said the U.S. side stood ready to work with China and other relevant parties to carry out the landmark deal.

This is the second phone conversation between the two state leaders over climate change cooperations in the space of one week.

China welcomes Paris climate change agreementAlong with all other major countries in the world, China has hailed the Paris climate change accord as a "new beginning in global cooperation."Adopted by nearly 200 countries taking part in the negotiations, the new agreement sets a target of holding the global average rise in temperature to less than 2 degrees Celsius, and preferably below 1.5 degrees.

For more on this, CRI's Liu Kun earlier spoke with Michael Mehling, Executive Director of MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy.

Premier Li welcomes Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov ahead of SCO meetingPremier Li Keqiang has sat down for a meeting with Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov in Beijing.

During the meeting, both leaders expressed their willingness to stand together regardless of situation.

It comes as the 14th prime ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states is kicking off in Zhengzhou city.

Leaders from the SCO member states are expected to discuss issues related to the Silk Road Economic Belt, the Eurasian Economic Union as well as anti-terrorism measures.

Prisons Proposed Commutation to Death Sentences of Liu Zhijun, Bogu KailaiIt's been proposed the death sentences of Bo Xilai's wife Bogu Kailai and the former railway minister Liu Zhijun be commuted to life imprisonment.

The prison authorities said the criminals have expressed repentance and had made no intentional offences during their reprieve.

Both have accepted ideological education and had taken part in physical labor activities in jail.

62 year old Liu was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve in 2013 over taking bribes of over 64 million yuan and abusing power.

In 2012, the same penalty went to Bogu, wife of the former Party Chief of Chongqing Municipality, accused of murdering a British citizen.

The Beijing Higher Peoples' Court has received the commutation petition, but it didn't say when a decision would be made.

Under China's Criminal Law, a death sentence with a reprieve can be commuted to life imprisonment if the prisoners don't purposely commit crimes during the period of the reprieve.

The life sentence is also likely to be commuted to 25 years if the inmates perform well and make great contributions in prison.

Ancient Town Ready for Internet SummitAnchor:

Preparations are in full swing for the forthcoming World Internet Conference, set to take place in one of China's most ancient towns later this week.

CRI's Tu Yun with more.

Reporter:

For such an internet-focused event, a fast enough internet access is surely a top priority.

Ge Wei, head of Wuzhen Tourism Co., Ltd., said over 3,000 new WI-FI hotspots have been installed making internet surfing in the township a fantastic experience.

"We have laid and re-enhanced over 50 kilometers of optical links in total. So, there are more than 20 'ten-gigabyte' optical cables in the whole scenic spot."With the conference around the corner, close to 1,000 volunteers have arrived, ready to provide multilingual services.

And what's making them stand out is the color of their uniforms.

Wang Huilin, with the event's organizing committee, explains the reason behind the design.

"Wuzhen Town is one of our water towns located in the south of the Yangtze River. We want to show participants some of our national features, as well as the special flavour of our water town. So we chose the color blue 'Wuzhen blue' for our working uniforms."This year's session takes place between Wednesday and Friday.

Internet cultural transmission, Internet development and cyber space management are among major topics.

It's also expected to provide a platform for the showcase of latest innovations in the industry.

Among the achievements to be showcased is an intelligent POS - or Point of Sale - terminal.

Different from traditional devices, the new one enables customers to pay through popular mobile applications such as WeChat and AliPay.

Customers can complete payments simply by scanning QR codes on their smartphones.

So far, local authorities have equipped about 200 local businesses with the device.

Local entrepreneur Zhang Cheng says the new machine meets a new and growing need of customers.

"In the past, many customers asked whether they could pay by WeChat or AliPay. Now after using this terminal, we really feel the immense changes the Internet has brought to our lives."At the same time the new device can boast enhanced security features.

Qian Feng is from the Wuzhen Branch of the Agricultural Bank of China.

"The first thing ensuring payment security is the signature of the customer, which allows them to check their transaction. The second thing is that we can trace merchandisers and banks through information saved in the terminal. That way, we can safeguard tourists' rights and interests."More than 2,000 political and business leaders from around the world will attend the event, including the prime ministers of Russia, Pakistan, and Kazakhstan.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will deliver a keynote speech at the opening ceremony.

For CRI, this is Tu Yun.

Report: Clamor of Chinese Tourists Most Complained OverseasAnchor:

A new report suggests that 'clamour' - shouting and excessive noise - prompt the most complaints about Chinese tourists in foreign destinations.

CRI's Luo Wen reports.

Reporter:

The survey was conducted jointly by the Chinese Academy of Tourism and China Radio International.

It reached locals from all walks of life at hot destinations for Chinese tourists around the world.

Yeung Lin is a tour guide in Macao.

She describes the kind of bad behavior from mainland travelers she hates most.

"I have led many tour groups from the mainland. The misbehaviors having struck me most among them included clamor, queue-jumping, littering and Chinese-style road crossing."According to the results of the same survey, the noisiness of Chinese tourists was also complained about in Russia, which has seen a sharp rise in Chinese visitors over the past three years.

"Many Chinese tourists coming to our shop liked to talk loudly. I once asked some of them why, and they answered that they were used to talking at such a loud volume. But it's kind of noise for us."Official data show close to 62 million Chinese people traveled overseas in the first half of this year - that's up over 12 percent on the same period in 2014.

The surge has mainly resulted from more relaxed visa policies and the increasing value of the RMB Chinese currency abroad.

Asia still dominated China's outbound tourism market and South Korea still ranked as the No.1 destination country.

But some Chinese are also igniting a growing anger there, especially among city cleaners.

"We are really hoping to see something can stop them from littering cigar butts. We have to clear these leftovers from day to night. It's a tough work."Complaints over Chinese bad bahaviour have been lingering for years at popular tourist destinations worldwide.

In order to reduce inappropriate behavior by Chinese tourists, China's state tourism administration CNTA set up a black list system earlier this year.

It targets tourists who violate order on public transportation, damaging public facilities or historical relics and ignoring social customs at tourism destinations.

To help solve the problem, tour guide Yeung Lin also came up with some proposals.

"Authorities can advertise some rules and traditions mainland tourists must follow when traveling abroad. It's also important to help people learn about local culture before their trips since insufficient comprehension of a destination may lead to misunderstanding after they arrive there."Under the trial blacklist regulation, the CNTA will develop a national database on misbehaving tourists, with the records kept for up to two years.

Being blacklisted could affect a person's ability to travel abroad again or even secure a bank loan.

For CRI, I'm Luo Wen.

S. Korea anticipates North Korea's response to follow-up dialogue offerSouth Korea's Unification Ministry has said it's anticipating a positive response from North Korea to any offer of future talks, although it said there were none planned for the near future.

The spokesman indicated new talks could come next year, although nothing was planned in the short term.

The two Koreas held talks in North Korea's border city of Kaesong on Friday and Saturday, which ended without agreement.

South Korea has called on North Korea to discuss the issue of reunions involving Korean families separated by the Korean war in the 1950's.

But North Korea is insisting on the resumption of joint tours to North Korea's Mount Kumgang region, which was a rare legitimate source of hard currency for the impoverished North.

Jeong Joon-hee, the spokesperson for South Korea's Unification Ministry, said North Korea was using this issue as a bargaining chip to continue talks on inter-Korea relations, and that South Korea would maintain its stance of establishing a firm basis for the peaceful unification of the two sides.

"The South Korean government's fundamental policy of establishing the basis for the peaceful unification (of the two Koreas) through the development of inter-Korean relations and having open-minded talks with North Korea remains unchanged. We expect North Korea to abide by the spirit of the 25 August deal and seriously review measures for improving inter-Korean ties that carry out the agreements made in the deal and respond to follow-up talks."South Korea maintains the 'humanitarian' family reunions and the resumption of tourism projects cannot be linked.

The joint tours to North Korea's Mount Kumgang region, launched in 1998, were halted in July 2008 after a female South Korean tourist was shot dead by a North Korean soldier.

Egypt says no evidence of terrorism in Russian plane crashEgypt said it had found no evidence so far of terrorism or other illegal action linked to the crash of a Russian passenger plane in Sinai that killed all 224 people on board 2-months ago.

The investigation comes after the Russia and Western governments said that plane was brought down by a bomb, in connection with Islamic State affiliate. Islamic State itself claimed that the bombing was in response to Russian air strikes in Syria.

The crash severely hit Egypt's tourism industry, which is a cornerstone of the country's economy.

The plane took off from Sharm al-Sheikh, a Red Sea resort popular with Russian and British holiday makers.

Russia's sanctions on Turkey hit businesses on both sidesAnchor:

Russia's economic sanctions against Turkey have caused economic losses on both sides, according to a new report from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

The EBRD has warned the sanctions may reduce the growth in Turkey's Gross Domestic Product by up to 0.7 percent, although it says the impact on Russia is likely to be limited.

CRI's Li Jianhua has more.

Reporter:

Russia imposed economic sanctions after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian-Turkish border.

On the Russian side, clothing importers, like Liza Krol, have born the brunt of the sanctions.

"This is probably my last trip this year and it's not known how things will turn out, or if business will even exist next year. I think that everything will work out, but the problem is that I cannot take back goods with me right now and before I could. I now have to send it via cargo and who knows when I'll receive it."Turkey was Russia's fifth largest trade partner this year before the sanctions were imposed.

Russia's imports from Turkey were 3.1 billion U.S. dollars between January and September this year, with Turkey's turnover of goods with Russia equaling 18.1 billion dollars.

Last year Turkey's trade with Russia, in mainly food and textiles, was worth nearly 6-billion US dollars. But this year, that's all changed.

Inna Bolgar, a sales consultant at a wholesale store in Istanbul, says business is significantly down since the incident.

"Now, in connection with the plane that was shot down, the number of customers has dropped sharply. If before the drop in customers was 20 percent, now it's 50 percent. All of our (Russian) clients have the same questions: when will cargo services return to normal? When will all of this end? When can we start working normally again?"Giyasettin Eyyupkoca, chair of the Istanbul-based Laleli Industrialists and Businessmen Association, said the main problem for local Turkish businesses had been the disruption in the customs process for Turkish products being shipped to Russia.

"We know that there are trucks waiting at (Russian) customs for 10 – 15 days. This is the main problem we're facing and because of it, we have seen a number of order cancellations (for clothing.) Because there's no point in buying something that you can't take with you or sell."Despite the impact on the Turkish economy, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has played down Russian restrictions on Turkish goods, saying Turkey's economy will not collapse because of Russia's economic sanctions.

"Though you (Russia) may spend a one billion (US dollars) worth in imports, Turkey is not a country that will collapse (if imports ceased.) (Applause.) Who cares whether you buy (Turkish products) or not? Funds will come through other avenues."The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development report also notes that energy is likely to be the main pressure point, with Russia Turkey's main energy supplier. But it notes that at this stage, disruption to energy supplies seem highly unlikely.

For CRI, this is Li Jianhua.

British astronaut prepares for history-making ISS missionAnchor:

An astronaut from the European Space Agency is preparing to become the first British citizen to visit and serve on board the International Space Station.

CRI's Yu Yang takes us to have a look at the training the astronaut is going through and what missions he's about to encounter.

Reporter:

A former military pilot and helicopter instructor, Tim Peake has logged over 3-thousand flying hours during his 17 years with the British army.

Now he's preparing for his most challenging flight.

This flight will carry him 400 kilometers above the Earth to the International Space Station, making him the first Briton to serve onboard the ISS.

Peake says he had to learn a whole new set of skills to prepare him for his 173-day mission.

"I think one of the hardest parts of the astronaut's job is to retain all this different information over the two-and-a-half year period from being assigned to actually launching. There's an awful lot of information on the Soyuz, on the space station itself, robotic training, EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity) training, the list goes on. So to try and retain all that, the way that they do that is by having refresher training really along our path to launch."Tim Peake was selected as an ESA astronaut in 2009, beating over 8-thousand applicants.

After completing basic training in November 2010, he embarked on a program designed to help him prepare for surviving long periods in the isolation of space.

That included spending time living in a lab beneath the ocean and also a whole week in an underground cave system.

And it seems that Tim Peake is happy to go through the training.

"I've really enjoyed learning new things like medical training and every step of the way it's really been a new adventure."While in space, Peake is set to complete around 30 different experiments on behalf of ESA and other international projects.

He's confident that the training makes him well-prepared:

"We're trained really to operate the space station, to operate the pay-loads, which makes us very flexible. It means that we can deal with a number of different science experiments that can come onboard because we know how to operate the equipment that that's going to be going into."Peake is also set to conduct numerous educational activities while in orbit.

He's scheduled to communicate with school children via amateur radio.

Peake says he's already engaged in science competitions and activities to warm up:

"So I've been trying to involve school kids as much as possible in competitions and I'll be trying to spend as much (of) my free time in the evenings and at weekends engaging in fun science competitions and other activities that will just hopefully open people's eyes to the world of science and engineering, and show that there are some fantastic careers to be had."Peake, along with two other astronauts, is set to be launched from Baikonur in Kazakhstan this coming Tuesday onboard a Russian Soyuz vehicle.

It was recently announced that he will also attempt to run a digital version of the London Marathon while in space.

Peake will run the 42 kilometer distance on a treadmill while watching a video of the London course on a big screen in front of him.

For CRI, I'm Yu Yang.

Typhoon Melor slams into PhilippinesMore than 700,000 people have fled the central Philippines as Typhoon Melor approached the archipelago nation.

The typhoon is expected to cut across the country's central heartlands in the early hours of Tuesday and head out to the South China Sea thereafter.

Melor brushed the northern tip of Samar, with winds gusting at 185km per hour. Currently, there have been no reports of casualties.

The Authorities have warned that Melor's powerful winds have the potential to whip up four-metre high waves and heavy rains within its 300-kilometre diameter, and could trigger floods and landslides.

One evacuee, whose name was not given, said people started to panic after knowing the situation is likely to get worse as the wind picked up.

"Because people suddenly panic when they learn that it is already warning level number three."According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, the cyclone warning level three means wind speeds will reach 121 to 170 km per hour.

The government had prepared more than 200,000 food packs and other emergency items ahead of the storm's landfall.

The Philippines is battered by an average of 20 typhoons every year.

Typhoon Koppu, the last deadly storm to hit the country, killed 54 people and forced tens of thousands others to flee their homes after it pummeled the northern Philippines in October.

Fuzhou Airlines demands compensation for mistakenly damaged planeFuzhou Airlines has started legal procedures to demand compensation for damaged engines after one of its passenger planes was mistakenly covered with white foam by firefighters.

The mistake took place on Thursday in Fuzhou, the capital of south China's Fujian Province.

Crew members of a Fuzhou Airlines plane reported sparks coming from an engine of another jet as it was taxiing. Eight fire engines arrived at the scene within minutes, but they targeted the wrong plane.

The airport's control center soon alerted them to the mistake, and they turned their attention to the correct aircraft nearby.

The plane of Fuzhou Airlines had to be towed away for its engines to be checked, and after an investigation it was found that they had to be replaced as they were seriously damaged.

The airport later explained via its official website that when firefighters arrived they found two planes at the scene, both of the same model B737-800.

Wang Yanan, vice chief editor of the magazine Aerospace Knowledge, estimates that the mistake will cost the airliner about 20 million U.S. dollars.

"Because the engines were working, they inhaled all the foam. As we all know that this extinguishing agent is not water, the substance will have negative impact on metal parts of plane engines such as corrosion. It is very difficult to clean and repair the engines."Fuzhou Airlines says the maintenance will take seven days, which means 24 flights will be canceled with around 3,000 passengers having to reschedule their trips.

The State council, China's cabinet, unveiled new regulations on maps on Monday, targeting online map services and rules on compiling maps.

The regulations require online map services to ask users' permission before collecting and using information.

It also stipulates that entities compiling maps shall possess mapping qualifications, and governments shall provide free use of nonprofit maps to the public and update the maps regularly.

Signed-off by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, the new rule will take effect from next year.

19:26:30-19:27:30 weatherWeatherSmog is expected to reprieve overnight here in Beijing, a low of minus 2 degrees Celsius; a mix of sun and clouds tomorrow with a high of 3.

Shanghai, cloudy overnight with a low of 5; tomorrow also cloudy with a high of 10.

Chongqing, wet tonight, low of 7; overcast tomorrow with a high of 9.

Lhasa, cloudy overnight with a low of minus 4; sunny tomorrow with a high of 11.

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad will be cloudy tomorrow with a high of 20.

Kabul, overcast, high of 4.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere:

Sydney, wet, a high of 29.

Brisbane , cloudy, 27Perth, also cloudy, high of 30.

And finally some clouds in Auckland, New Zealand, a high of 21 degrees Celsius.

Headline NewsChina pinpoints major economic tasks for 2016The Communist Party of China has identified the government's economic priorities for the first year of the country's 13th five-year plan, which starts in 2016.

The major tasks were listed in a statement issued after a political bureau meeting of the CPC Central Committee on Monday.

The statement says China should expand the effective demand on the housing market by turning more migrant rural workers into urban residents.

This is part of the country's ongoing effort to reduce its high housing inventory.

Meanwhile, China will also continue to promote mass entrepreneurship and innovation as well as reduce operation costs for companies.

Chinese Fleet Visits Pearl HarborA Chinese naval fleet has arrived at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on Sunday, with a grand welcoming ceremony held by Chinese diplomats and U.S. naval officers.

After a 15 day voyage in the Pacific Ocean, Fleet 152 arrived at Pearl Harbor, the 11th stop of Fleet 152's global tour.

The Chinese fleet includes the destroyer "Jinan", the frigate "Yiyang" and the comprehensive supply ship "Qiandaohu".

During the 5-day stop-over, officers and sailors from Chinese and U.S. navies will conduct exchange activities, including basketball and soccer games as well as a tug-of-war.

China Mulls English Legal ServicesThe increasing number of lawsuits lodged by foreigners has prompted China to consider the introduction of legal services in English.

Under Chinese law, foreign litigants have the same rights as local citizens in lawsuits if their disputes occur in the country.

But expats find it difficult to resolve disputes as few Chinese legal procedures have an English version.

Jiang Qibo, the chief judge from the Supreme People's Court, said some courts in coastal areas have already established interpreter databases, but more assistance is needed.

He said the Supreme Court will try to set up a unified lawsuit service platform in English and extend it across the country, although this idea is not yet on the agenda.

"Bitter" Becomes 2015 Chinese Character in MalaysiaA poll of 14 thousand Malaysians across the world has chosen Ku, meaning bitter, as the most popular Chinese character of 2015.

The word was selected by some 16 per cent of those who took part.

The character for 'corruption' came in second, with that for 'tax' coming in third.

Other characters in the top ten - donate unrest, crash, shame, smog, one and quake.

Fang Tianxing, President of the Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia, said the results showed the public dissatisfaction with the country's new consumption tax policy, soaring commodity prices and currency depreciation.

Malaysia started the annual poll in 2011.

South Korea, Japan, and Singapore also hold similar character polls each year.

Biz ReportsAsian StocksAnchor:

Time to check today's business news, starting with the closing numbers here in China.

Mainland markets posted strong gains on Monday, as both bluechips and small-caps rebounded on the day.

Gainers were led by securities dealers, insurance and nonferrous metals.

At the close, the Shanghai Composite Index climbed 2.5 percent.

The smaller Shenzhen Component index rose 2.2 percent.

The small-cap ChiNext Index jumped 1.4 percent.

In Hong Kong, the Heng Seng moved down 0.7 percent.

Elsewhere in Asia,Tokyo shares ended sharply lower with its benchmark Nikkei index briefly tumbling over 3 percent as sentiment was punched by concerns over continued oil prices decline.

Decliners were led by mining, securities, and oil and coal products issues.

While only agriculture and fisheries gained ground.

The Nikkei 225 dropped 1.8 percent.

In South Korea, shares there posted a sharp decline on concerns that the U.S. Federal Reserve may raise its benchmark interest rate this week.

The KOSPI closed 1.1 percent lower.

Singapore's Straits Times index dipped 0.7 percent.

And finally,Australia's ASX/200 lost two percent.

China to launch 10 pilot reforms for SOEs in 2016Anchor:

China is ready to launch pilot reforms for state-owned enterprises in 10 areas next year.

Peng Huagang with the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council says the reforms will cover functions and powers of directors, management, investment, mergers and acquisitions, and information disclosure.

The reforms are part of an SOE guidelines issued in September aimed at turning them into fully independent market entities.

At the same time, China will open up some monopolies, like energy and power, to let the market determine prices.

The move comes after reform plans for electricity, oil and gas were submitted to the State Council for approval.

For more on the SOE reforms, CRI's Shane Bigham earlier spoke with Mike Bastin, Director of the China Business Centre at Southampton Solent University, based in London.

UnionPay launches electronic bankcard substitute product for mobile paymentChina's largest payment and clearing network UnionPay has launched a new mobile payment service with over 20 commercial banks.

The service uses the near-field communication technology.

It allows users to make payments by tapping their smartphones with pre-stored bank card information on a device at cash registers.

Cardholders are now able to use the service in 25 store chains including Carrefour and McDonald's.

The new service has been seen as part of UnionPay's efforts to win back market share from third-party payment leader Alibaba's Alipay.

Chinese yuan weakens to 4-year low against USDThe central parity rate of the renminbi on Monday weakened for the sixth consecutive day to its lowest level against the U.S. dollar since July 2011.

The yuan weakened by 137 basis points to 6.4495.

The correction came after the Chinese currency had appreciated nearly three percent against the U.S. dollar as of November, compared with the end of last year.

In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.

China changes 20 sample stocks of Hushen 300 indexChina's bluechip-tracking Hushen 300 index has changed its sample to include more growth stocks.

Growth stocks such as Wanda Cinema Line and technology firm Ourpalm have been added to the index, increasing the weighting of IT and emerging industries.

Meanwhile, a number of resource shares such as Yunnan Copper and Yang Quan Coal were removed from the index.

A total of 20 stocks have been changed in all.

The Hushen 300 Index is the key bluechip-tracking index in China's A-share market.

The index tumbled almost 20 percent in the second half of this year after stock market fluctuations, with manufacturing, raw materials, and the energy industry falling the most.

Alibaba agrees on $266 million acquisition deal with South China Morning PostChina's e-commerce giant Alibaba has agreed to acquire the South China Morning Post and other media assets of SCMP Group for 266 million U.S. dollars.

The deal will be completed via all-cash purchase transfers.

SCMP Group says it expects to record a gain of around 1.4 billion Hong Kong dollars from the asset sale.

It is planning to use the proceeds for the payment of a special cash dividend.

The South China Morning Post was previously owned by Kerry Media.

The purchase of SCMP is the first acquisition of a non-mainland media asset for Alibaba.

Alibaba has acquired or invested in a growing portfolio of media and content companies in recent years.

In June, the company agreed to pay 194 million U.S dollars for an undisclosed stake in the domestic financial media firm China Business News.

Shell Says China Approves Merger with BGRoyal Dutch Shell says its planned 70-billion U.S. dollar merger with BG Group has received unconditional merger clearance from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.

This has cleared the final regulatory hurdle for the tie-up after similar approvals in Brazil, the EU and Australia.

The company says the clearance means the pre-conditional approval process is complete.

Shell is now seeking approval from both sets of shareholders as the two sides move toward deal completion early next year.

Together with BG, Shell would supply around 30 percent of China's natural gas imports by 2017.

China extends currency swap agreement with UAEChina's central bank has extended a currency swap agreement with the central bank of the United Arab Emirates.

The agreement, which is worth 35 billion yuan or 5.4 billion U.S. dollars, will last three years.

It allows the two sides to exchange payments in one currency for equivalent amounts in the other to facilitate bilateral trade settlements and provide liquidity support to financial markets.

The two central banks have also agreed on expanding the RMB Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor program to the UAE at a quota of 50 billion yuan or about 7.7 billion U.S. dollars.

Huawei protocol links various standardsChina's Huawei Technologies has opened a smart home protocol of connecting devices which support various types of connection standards.

The protocol includes handsets, routers, and air conditioners using the Hilink connection, an operating system called LiteOS, and a chip still in development and designed specifically for home appliances.

Huawei expects to sell over 100 million smartphones this year, after it sold over 27 million of the handsets in the third quarter, up two-thirds from the same period last year.

SportsGuangzhou Evergrande To Face Barcelona in FIFA Club World CupIn football action her in China,The Chinese women's national team has suffered a 2-nil defeat at the hands of the America women's team.

Team China has been win-less against America in the last 22 games.

----------Elsewhere in Asia,Guangzhou Evergrande is set to take on Barcelona this Thursday at the semi-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup in the Japanese city of Yokohama.

Barcelona may play the game without Neymar, who injured his groin during practice.

Guangzhou head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari offered these thoughts on the game.

"Barcelona without Neymar is still a great team. They have great players besides Neymar. I would say they are a perfect team. I think Neymar is one of the top three players in the world and he has always been thought of as one of those top three players. So not having Neymar in the squad is probably good for us, but obviously Barcelona is still a great team even without him."Guangzhou come into this match after a 2-1 comeback win over Club America last night.

Zheng Long and Paulinho scoring the two goals to help Evergrande with the win.

--------------In the English Premier League,Arsenal have climbed to the top of the Premiership after getting past Aston Villa 2-nil last night.

The Gunners - one point ahead of Manchester City, who tied with Leicester for 2nd with 32 points.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger:

"I knew that Villa was fighting to survive and first the maybe important point was to take the lead against a team who was low in confidence and then 2-0 at half-time - I knew that the second half would certainly be a bit more difficult but then we defended well. We were maybe lucky in one or two opportunities for Villa and didn't manage to score the third goal. But, overall it was a controlled performance and a great week for us."In other action,Liverpool drew 2-2 with West Brom.

And it's Newcastle United upsetting Spurs 2-1.

--------Later,Chelsea take on Leicester City.

Before heading to the match, Chelsea have already reached the knockout stage of the Champions League with a 2-nil win over Porto.

The Blues manager Jose Mourinho says they will carry form into the league.

"We are in this defensive stability now. We need to score more goals and even against Porto we could score five, so we need to score more goals."Chelsea currently sit at 16th place with only four wins from previous 15 matches.

China Gets 1 Gold and 2 Silvers at BWF Super Series FinalsIn badminton,China has finished with 1 gold and 2 silvers at the BWF Super Series Finals in Dubai.

It's top seeds Luo Ying and Luo Yu claiming the title in women's doubles, downing a pair from Denmark.

This is the first career Super Series Finals title for the twin sisters.

---China's Wang Yihan clinched the silver medal in women's singles.

The world number three went down to Japan's Nozomi Okuhara in straight sets 22-20, 21-18.

---In men's singles, it's Okuhara's compatriot Kento Momota winning the title.

The rising star edged fourth seed Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in two sets 21-15, 21-12.

Despite losing the game, Axelsen says he is happy with his performance.

"Of course, I have used a lot of energy this year, after playing better than ever. 2015 has been really good for me. So of course i'm really looking back at a really good year. And i'm also proud of my performances this week."In the mixed doubles final,Chris Adcock and Gabrielle Adcock of England spent just 37 minutes on court in defeating third-seed Ko Sung Hyun and Kim Ha Na of South Korea, 21-14, 21-17.

The Adcock couple made history by becoming the first British shuttlers to be crowned at the season-ending World Super Series Finals.

Toronto Raptors beat Philadelphia 76ers 96-76In basketball action from the NBA,Toronto clinched their fourth win in a row after a 96-76 win over the Philadelphia 76ers this morning.

DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points and 8 rebounds to help the Raptors with the win.

This is 76er's sixth straight defeat, dropping the team to 1-24 for the season.

----------Elsewhere,The Miami Heat has snapped their 3-game losing skid, edging the Memphis Grizzlies 100-97.

--------Oklahoma City Thunder got their fifth consecutive win after holding off the Utah Jazz 104-98.

Kevin Durant netted a game-high 31 points in the victory.

--------And it's the Minnesota Timberwolves suffering a back to back defeat, going down to the Phoenix Suns 108-101.

--------Here in China,Two games on the schedule tomorrow.

Fujian will play at home to Shanxi.

Both teams are hoping to end their four-game losing skid.

----The other game tomorrow will be Shenzhen up against Tianjin.

----Heading into the week, Xinjiang and Guangsha share the lead with 32 points, 1 point behind 3rd place Guangdong.

Nishikori and Sharapova play at Maria Sharapova and Friends tournamentIn tennis,World number eight Kei Nishikori of Japan has knocked out Jack Sock from the United States in three sets at the exhibition 'Maria Sharapova and Friends' tennis tournament in Los Angeles.

"It was really fun, he has a great forehand, it's tough always to make rallies with him, but I thought I played good tennis here and it was a little cold and windy conditions here, but it was fun on the court."After the match, the Japanese tennis star spoke about his preparations for next season.

"No I just started, I started a week ago, so it's going to be two or three more weeks to have good training and good practice and I will go back to Florida after one week. So I am going to have to train hard."The 25-year-old Nishikori also teamed up with tournament host Maria Sharapova in a doubles contest against Sock and Great Britain's Laura Robson.

However, rain stopped the contest early with no result declared.

Colorado Avalanhe Win 3-1 at St. Louis BluesIn National Hockey League,Semyon Varlamov has made a season-high 42 saves to help lift the Colorado Avalanche to a 3-1 road win over the St. Louis Blues.

With the victory, Avalanche now improves to 14-16-1 but remain in last place in the Central division while the Blues sit second.

In other action,The Chicago Blackhawks got past the Vancouver Canucks 4-nil.

And it's the New York Islanders over the New Jersey Devils 4-nil.

Tokyo Olympic stadium design proposals releasedTwo groups have submitted designs in a bid to win the lucrative contract to build the new Tokyo Olympic stadium, in time for the games in 2020.

Takakuni Ikeda, a member of Japan Sport Council, is in charge of the new facility.

"As we must properly complete the stadium within the limited time window, we are relieved to receive two proposals, both of which meet our requirements."Work on the 158 billion yen, or 1.3 billion US dollar stadium has been delayed by difficulties over its design, which have proved a major embarrassment for local Olympics organizers.

Both plans call for the construction to be completed by November 30, 2019.

The stadium will replace the now-demolished National Stadium, which was built in the late 1950s and hosted the 1964 Olympics.

The winner will be chosen later this month.

19:50:00-19:55:30 EntertainmentEntertainment'Independence Day: Resurgence' releases Chinese trailer20th Century Fox's "Independence Day: Resurgence," the sequel to Will Smith's 1996 movie has released a Chinese trailer.

The film takes place 20 years after the first extra-terrestrial invasion fought by Smith and Jeff Goldblum.

After the invention of a global defense system, a scene in the trailer shows Goldblum fearing that the new technology "won't be enough."Although, there's no sign of an appearance by Smith in the first trailer, Jessie T. Usher will star as Smith's son in the sequel along with Liam Hemsworth, Vivica A. Fox and returning stars Goldblum, Judd Hirsch and Bill Pullman.

Chinese model-actress Angelababy has also been cast in the film.

Roland Emmerich is returning to direct the Fox film.

Independence Day: Resurgence" hits theaters June 24th, 2016.

Wallace Huo Is China's Most Influential Artist of the YearTaiwan actor Wallace Huo has received the 'Most influential artist of the Year' award, at a prestigious ceremony, held in Beijing by the magazine "China Newsweek".

He's the only actor to be acknowledged this year in the 'Most influential people in China 2015' awards which also honored academics, lawyers, philanthropists, businessmen, politicians, artists, and more.

Wallace first came into the spotlight after he starred in a popular commercial in 2000, and has since starred in a number of popular television series.

The actor's drama 'The Journey of Flower' broke numerous ratings records this year, with his acting in the fantasy series attracting critical acclaim.

Wallace's ability to excel in both modern and ancient dramatic performances has made him into one of his generation's most versatile actors.

China Newsweek has been holding this annual event since 2009.

Amy Winehouse documentary wins European film awardA controversial documentary about the life and death of British singer Amy Winehouse has been honored by the European Film Academy.

Amy, directed by Asif Kapadia, was named best documentary at the European Film Awards.

The film was condemned by her father Mitch Winehouse for painting the singer's family in a negative light.

Best European film went to 'Youth' while British actress Charlotte Rampling was given a lifetime achievement.

Rampling also won best actress for her role in the British drama '45 Years' at the event in Berlin on Saturday night.

Veteran actor Michael Caine received two trophies - he was presented with an honorary award and was also named best actor for 'Youth'.

The European Film Academy was founded in 1988 and aims to promote films from across the continent.

The Weeknd, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Nick Jonas among performers at the US iHeartRadio Jingle BallNew York's Madison Square Garden was 'on fire' at the weekend as iconic and emerging artists took to the stage for the 20th anniversary of Z-100's 'iHeartRadio Jingle Ball'.

Among the performers were Selena Gomez who joined Zedd on stage to perform "I Want You to Know."　Fetty Wap made his first 'Jingle Ball' appearance of the year, performing hits like "My Way" and "Trap Queen" while seated on a giant throne.

After her performance, Hailee Steinfeld was surprised backstage by friends and family who helped her celebrate her 19th birthday.　The Weeknd had fans on their feet dancing and singing as he closed out the show with hits like "The Hills" and "Can't Feel My Face."Z-100's Jingle Ball is part of the iHeartRadio national Jingle Ball tour, timed to catch the holiday spirit in such locales as Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Miami.

The foundation aims to inspire today's youth through entertainment and education-focused initiatives.

Prince Surprise-Releases New LP 'Hit N Run: Phase Two'

Three months after Prince released his new LP 'Hit N Run: Phase One', the megastar has quickly followed it up with a surprise release of the album's Phase Two.

The 12-track collection appeared on Tidal on Saturday without any warning.

Tidal users can stream 'Hit N Run: Phase Two' now, with Prince encouraging non-users to purchase a digital copy via Jay Z's artist-friendly streaming service.

Prince's 'Hit N Run' follow-up features a handful of previously unveiled tracks – "Baltimore," "Stare," "RockNRoll Love Affair" and "Screwdriver" – alongside songs that have been performed live but never released commercially, as well as other new pieces.

The 57 year-old multi-instrumentalist has sold over 100 million records, won seven Grammys, a Golden Globe, and an Academy Award in his career to date. He's ranked 27th on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

X Factor final: Louisa Johnson wins 2015 contestLouisa Johnson is the winner of this year's British X Factor after beating Reggie N Bollie in the 2015 final at Wembley Arena.

During the series finale the 17-year-old, who was mentored by Rita Ora, sang two songs in front of the judges and 10,000-strong audience.

Johnson chose to sing James Brown's 'It's A Man's Man's World' for one of her final performances after impressing the judges with a rendition earlier in the series.

She will now release a cover of Bob Dylan's 'Forever Young'.

Johnson's version was greeted by loud applause from around the arena.

X Factor winners have had mixed post-show success over the show's 12 years, with runners-up such as Olly Murs and JLS often proving more successful than the winners.

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

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

The Communist Party of China identifies the government's economic priorities for the first year of the country's 13th five-year plan.

China's President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Barak Obama pledge to work together to put the Paris Climate accord into practice.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states summit kicks off in Zhengzhou city heralding a new era of regional co-operation.

On behalf of all of the Beijing Hour news team, Bob Jones in Beijing. Join us for the next edition of the Beijing Hour, to open a window to the world together...