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

Coming up on the program this evening...

Chinese President Xi Jinping calling on all countries to jointly build a community of shared destiny in cyberspace...

The Chinese mainland urging the United States to scrap a potential arms deal with Taiwan...

And Iran set to start cutting back on its nuclear activities in the coming weeks...

In business... China set to release supervision rules governing the P2P lending industry...;In sports.... A live look at tonight's Chinese Basketball Association action...

In entertainment..... Chinese-Canadian actor Kris Wu joins the cast of an upcoming science fiction film...

Top NewsChinese President Calls for a Community of Shared Destiny in CyberspaceChinese President Xi Jinping has urged all countries to jointly build a community of shared destiny in cyberspace.

He made the remarks while addressing the opening ceremony of the 2nd World Internet Conference held in Wuzhen, east China's Zhejiang Province.

CRI's Xie Cheng reports.

In his speech, President Xi put forward 5 proposals to achieve the goal, such as speeding up the construction of a global cyber infrastructure and promoting inter-connectivity, building an online platform for cultural exchanges and mutual learning, promoting innovative development of cyberspace for common prosperity, maintaining cyber security and promoting its orderly development, and enhancing equity and justice in cyberspace.

"We should push forward the formulation of international cyberspace rules accepted by all parties and establish international conventions against terrorism in cyberspace, improve the legal assistance mechanism to fight cyber crimes and jointly uphold peace and security in cyberspace. All countries should step up communication and exchange, improve dialogue and consultation mechanisms on cyberspace, and study and formulate global Internet governance rules, so that the global Internet governance system becomes more fair and reasonable."In the meantime, President Xi also suggested an Internet governance system featuring a multilateral approach with multi-party participation, requiring all countries to adhere to 4 principles including respect for cyber sovereignty, maintenance of peace and security, promotion of openness and cooperation and cultivation of good order.

"We should respect the right of countries to participate in international cyberspace governance, their choice for the path of cyber development, as well as regulations and public policies. No country should pursue cyber hegemony, interfere in other nation's internal affairs, or engage in, connive at and support cyber activities undermining other countries' national security."He also called on the international community to strictly crack down on all types of cybercrime, since cyberspace is not a place beyond the rule of law.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev attended the event. He welcomed President Xi's proposals, and also suggested coordination in internet policies in a way that benefits the global society.

"We should take measures within the platform of the International Telecommunication Union under the UN. We could entitle it with powers such as making international protocols and coordinating other organizations."For his part, World Economic Forum's Chairman Klaus Schwab urged all countries to grasp the huge opportunities brought by the Internet.

"We want to make sure that the enormous potential of transformation could stimulate the economy, strengthen social inclusion and safeguard our environment. Everybody has to have access to the Internet to benefit from its enabling potential."In his speech, Chinese President Xi Jinping has also vowed to keep China's door open to the outside world and that the country's policies toward foreign investment will not change.

For CRI, I'm Xie Cheng.

For more commentary on President Xi Jinping's speech, my colleague Tu Yun earlier talked to Victor Gao, CRI's current affairs commentator.

Chinese, US companies should cooperate to address internet security issues: Baidu presidentThe president of Baidu has expressed confidence in the prospects for Internet security cooperation between Chinese and U.S. companies on the sidelines of the World Internet Conference.

Zhang Yaqin, president of China's largest Internet search company, says he does see a lot of opportunities for Chinese companies and U.S. companies to collaborate in the area of security.

"And actually, the bad guys, the hackers, they can launch any attack to any country at any place, and we are all victims of security problems. In fact, Microsoft, and Baidu, all these companies actually work together and form a security alliance and partnership. We also work with companies like CloudFlare, making sure there is protection at the cloud level, whether this in China or in the U.S. So we can undertake this joint defense effort in a very productive and predictable way. So there is great opportunity."Zhang admitted that there are concerns about Internet security, but believed that technology would help to achieve a balance between convenience and privacy.

"In fact, the entire industry and academia are investing a lot of resources and IQ to solve this problem. But you know, all together, I believe we will have the right technology, and make sure that we have a secure internet that really respects people's privacy. You know, overall, there is always a balance and trade-off between the benefits and convenience versus the loss of privacy. But overall, we will be fine."He proposed that in order to achieve security, companies should respect regulations and policies in countries from different regions.

The Second World Internet Conference kicked off on Wednesday in the ancient township of Wuzhen in east China's Zhejiang province.

Industry insiders share views on Internet developmentAhead of the conference, many discussions have been generated on the role that Internet can play here in China.

CRI's Luo Bin has more.

Liu Qiangdong, founder and CEO of JD.com, one of China's largest e-commerce companies, talked about the role the internet will play in future business operations.

He says the internet should further integrate with traditional industries and promote their upgrade and transformation.

"In my opinion, other than just working as a platform for traditional industries, the internet will infiltrate into these industries and integrate with them. The infiltration will go deeper and deeper, thus helping to upgrade and transform these industries."Citing the manufacturing industry in south China's Guangdong Province as an example, he pointed out the profit Chinese enterprises obtained was too small.

"For example, we took trips to Guangdong Province and thought about the situation of its huge manufacturing industry in the Pearl River Delta for two or three years. They used to process product parts for overseas companies. They exported productivity but the profit they gained was very little. Therefore how to convert the strong productivity of Guangdong Province into Chinese brands, how to increase the profit for the manufacturing industry, how to improve product quality so as to win customers' trust in Chinese brands and make them shop in China instead of going abroad (are the tasks of Chinese internet enterprises)."Echoing his point, Ralph Haupter, chairman of Microsoft Greater China Region, says the Internet gave the world a lot of opportunity of growth.

"I think we see the opportunity of technology for prosperity of society, but at the same time, we understand that countries and sovereignty needs to be a part of the way how Internet engages, so govern law being a part of way how the Internet get executed and run in a country. I think this is very important. Having sovereignty, I think, is very important for countries. For us, that's the guiding principle that we bring technology to market. And we think it's also a very, very important example how we bring technology to China."Haupter said Microsoft has brought in Internet services under Chinese law. The company had an opportunity the last 20 plus years to participate, and somehow even foster, steer, and inject growth.

"I think the Chinese market is an exploding market, that's based on pure size. But I would also say that's based on companies bringing in innovation here, which are respecting and reflecting needs of the local markets."Official stats show China has more than 668 million Internet users, almost double the total population of the United States.

China has established the world's largest 4G network and is actively participating in creating 5G standards.

For CRI, I'm Luo Bin.

China reiterates opposition to U.S. arms sale to TaiwanThe Chinese mainland's Taiwan affairs office has reiterated its firm opposition to a potential arms deal between the United States and Taiwan.

Spokesperson Ma Xiaoguang made the announcement at a press conference on Wednesday.

"We resolutely oppose any countries that sell weapons, related equipment or technology to Taiwan in any form and under any excuse. All parties should recognize that the harmonious cross-Strait relationship can only be guaranteed through united opposition to so-called 'Taiwan independence,' and adherence to the 1992 consensus, which was built around the one-China principle."Ma added the Mainland also hopes Taiwan can pursue the peaceful development of relations and do more that is conducive to the improvement and development of ties.

On Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei urged the U.S. to stop the arms sale, saying it amounts to an interference in China's domestic affairs and would harm China-U.S. relations.

The sale would mark the first time in four years that the United States has shipped arms to Taiwan, the longest gap in such arms sales in nearly four decades.

Re-operation of China-Pakistan highway to facilitate bilateral tradeThe Karakoram Highway linking northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and north Pakistan's Thakot is now back in service after five-year's extension and reconstruction.

CRI's Fei Fei has more on the new bilateral economic corridor to be built on this transit route.

First built in the 1960s and completed in the late 1970s, the Karakoram Highway had been in service for more than 30 years.

But harsh geological and climate conditions have led to erosions and damaged the road. Extension and reconstruction work started five years ago by China Road and Bridge Corporation. This September, the road was opened to the public again.

Du Fei with the China Road and Bridge Corporation said the high altitude caused extreme difficulties in the reconstruction efforts.

"The 300 kilometer long section from Khunjerab Pass on the China-Pakistan border to Pakistan's Thakot is very difficult. The highest altitude is some 4733 meters. We suffer from altitude sickness even at the level of 3000 meters. So you can imagine, when we reach 4733 meters above sea level, simply walking and talking can make you exhausted."Avalanches, mudslides and earthquakes often happen around the Karakoram Highway. A landslide in 2010 caused the emergence of a barrier lake covering 20 kilometers of road.

Chen Haipeng who is in charge of the reconstruction of this section said the landslide lake brought great difficulties.

"We launched non-stop monitoring of the discharge amount of the lake. After conducting research, we decided to relocate the road rather than renovate the previous route. So we built five seven-kilometer long tunnels and four bridges to cross the lake."Abdullah Jan with the Pakistan highway commission said before the barrier lake emerged, more than 3000 freight trucks ran through the Khunjerab Pass to Pakistan. But after 2010, only 600 to 700 trucks ran on the road.

He also said that re-smoothing the land on the transit route between China and Pakistan will promote bilateral trade and boost local economies.

The re-opening of the highway shortens the journey between Khunjerab Pass and Thakot from 14 hours to seven, cutting the transport cost for each ton of goods by some 100 US dollars.

The highway, built with fund from China during 1966-1978, is the only economic lifeline for Pakistan's northern region. Hundreds of Chinese engineers died while building the road.

For CRI, I'm Fei Fei.

Iran to Start Restricting Nuclear ActivitiesIran will start cutting back on its nuclear activities in the coming weeks. The move is part of an agreement it reached with six major world powers earlier this year.

Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency Reza Najafi made the announcement on Tuesday.

"Iran has already started some preparatory work for the implementation of its voluntary measures, nuclear related voluntary measures, and we are intending to complete this process within two to three weeks. So accelerate the implementation day as soon as possible."Six nations, including the US and China, agreed in July to lift international economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear activities.

Iran's cutbacks will have to be first verified by the UN.

In keeping with the recent deal, the IAEA on Tuesday closed its investigation on whether Iran had previously developed a nuclear weapons program.

Next round of Syrian talks to be held in New York FridayIt's been confirmed that the next round of foreign ministers meetings on Syria will be held on Friday in New York.

The news comes after a visit to the Kremlin by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, where he had talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin.

The meetings aim to narrow differences over a political transition in Damascus.

Both sides have said that they can work together to make progress in ending the war in Syria.

Putin praised Kerry's efforts in resolving the conflict and said Russia was also seeking solutions.

"You know that together with you we are searching for solutions to the most serious crises. I know that after our meeting in Paris, the American side has prepared its vision of how to resolve a range of issues, including the Syrian crisis."The world powers have been hoping to convene a meeting in Vienna at the beginning of next year, to find a political solution to the years-long conflict in Syria.

However Russia and the United States are at odds on which groups should represent the opposition parties inside Syria, and the role of Syrian President Bassar Al-Assad in any transitional period.

Kerry says though the United States and Russia do not always see "eye to eye," the two countries view the situation in Syria "fundamentally very similarly.""With regard to Syria, Vienna 1 and Vienna 2 were a strong beginning, opening up possibilities. I think there is no question, Foreign Minister Lavrov and I have agreed that together, the United States and Russia have an ability to be able make significant difference here."According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the meeting in New York on Friday is expected to pass a UN resolution reaffirming the principles of the peace process agreed on in Vienna last month.

Kerry's visit follows a meeting last week in Saudi Arabia which agreed to unite a number of opposition groups to negotiate with Damascus in peace talks.

Argentina Declares Emergency in National Electrical SupplyArgentina on Tuesday declared a national emergency in the country's electrical energy sector.

The emergency was attributed to a deterioration in the country's ability to generate and distribute electric energy.

Argentina's Energy and Mining Minister Juan Jose Aranguren on Tuesday announced measures to ration electricity, projecting the energy shortage to last for more than a year.

"The president of the nation, Mauricio Macri, has raised an emergency decree on the national electricity system. We estimate that this emergency is going to last. Regarding the capacity to resolve the problem, we estimate it is going to last until 2017."Official figures show the country's electricity demand reached 23-thousand megawatts this week, while the national grid's capacity stands at 26-thousand.

Electrical shortages have been an on-going problem in the capital Buenos Aires.

Newly elected Argentine President Mauricio Macri was the former mayor of the capital, where he launched emergency measures in 2013 to cope with the problem.

LA School District to Reopen After Threat Deemed Not "Credible"The Los Angeles School District will reopen on Wednesday, after schools were closed on Tuesday following a threat of extremist attacks.

Mayor of Los Angeles Eric Garcetti said on Tuesday that the FBI has determined that the threat is not credible.

"We can now announce the FBI has determined this is not a credible threat, something we couldn't announce earlier in the day, and I want to be very careful because that does not mean that it's conclusively one thing or another yet."An LA school board member received an email containing the threat.

The New York City school system received a similar threat on Tuesday, but it dismissed the message as a hoax and kept schools open.

More than 900 public schools, 187 charter schools were closed in the greater Los Angeles area, affecting some 640-thousand students.

Canadian PM Pledges Reconciliation with AboriginalsCanadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has pledged to work towards full reconciliation with the country's aboriginals.

It comes after he accepted a final report on the abuses of the government's abolished system of residential schools for indigenous children.

"No relationship is more important to me and to Canada than the one with First Nations, the Métis Nation and Inuit peoples. I give you my word that we will renew and respect that relationship."He added that a national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls is now underway.

The report based on a 6-year investigation recorded horrific abuses and atrocities suffered by many of the children attending the residential schools.

It has identified over 32-hundered student deaths, with many more casualties went unrecorded.

Canadian Aboriginals account for about 5 percent of the total population, and have higher levels of poverty and a lower life expectancy than their non-native counterparts.

Sweden moves towards a cashless societyNew research is suggesting that Sweden could become one of the world's first cashless societies within the next decade.

CRI's Wang Mengzhen explains.

Niklas Arvidsson, an associate professor at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, conducted the research.

He says cash is increasingly disappearing from the Swedish economy:

"Previously I have always said that around the year 2030 Sweden will, in effect, become cashless - meaning that cash will cease to play any real role in the society. It might still exist in theory but would not play any financial role. But when I look at the developments over the last two years, then I actually think that it will happen faster. We might see it happening in ten years, or even faster than that."The Swedish Krona, the country's national currency-has been used since 1873.

However, latest stats suggest that around 80-billion Swedish krona are currently in circulation as cash - down from 106 billion krona just six years ago.

This is despite annual growth in the economy.

An explosion in card payments is cited as the main reason for cash falling out of favor.

According to the Central Bank of Sweden, payments made by cards increased ten-fold between 1998 and 2013.

At the same time, mobile payments have also increased dramatically.

Kungsaengen, a bed store in central Stockholm, stopped accepting cash in 2012.

Karin Spaeng, marketing manager of the store says a cashless shop might cut security risks:

"We thought cash was a security risk. Our staff quite often work alone in the stores, they work until 7pm or 8pm, close up on their own and leave through the back door in the dark. It is a bit scary. So it is a security risk. It is reassuring for them to know that there is no cash in the store."But the trend towards a cashless society also brings problems, especially to older people.

The Swedish National Pensioners' Organization says many of its members are falling behind in the increasingly cashless society.

Joeran Rubensson is the chairman of the organization:

"This is a big problem. There are currently over one million people in Sweden without daily access to a computer, many of those are older people. We are trying to run courses to help pensioners adapt to the new society - because it is actually easier and better. But I think there will be a relatively large number of people that are left behind for a long time."Joeran suggests not changing too quickly and removing some methods of payments, so there is not a clash between older and younger people in the country.

For CRI I'm Wang Mengzhen.

Headline NewsPresident Xi calls for Internet access expansion at WICChinese President Xi Jinping called for the expansion of Internet access worldwide so as to build a community of shared destiny in cyberspace.

The remark was made as the President addressed the second World Internet Conference this morning on China's east coast.

When elaborating on China's Internet policies, Xi Jinping says China stands ready to work with all parties to come up with more investment and technical support for global cyber infrastructure building.

Meanwhile, Xi Jinping urged reform of global Internet governance, stressing that no double standards should be imposed in safeguarding cyber security.

The conference kicked off today and features strategic-level discussions on global Internet governance and the wider industry as an engine of economic growth.

China hands over Interpol's most wanted fugitive to S. KoreaChinese police have handed over a fugitive on Interpol's Most Wanted List to South Korea on Wednesday at east China's Nanjing airport.

The 54-year-old Kang Taeyong is alleged to have extorted about 1.5 trillion won or 1.2 billion U.S. dollars from over 30 thousand people between 2007 and 2008.

Interpol then listed Kang as a most wanted fugitive, but the suspect is believed to have fled to China.

Kang was later arrested by the police of Jiangsu province in October.

Back in 2013, China and South Korea has reached a repatriation deal, aiming to collaborate on capturing and tranferring suspects from both countries.

S. Korea-born Canadian pastor sentenced for life in DPRKThe supreme court of North Korea has sentenced a South Korea-born Canadian pastor to lifetime of hard labor for subversion.

The 60-year-old Hyeon Soo Lim has been accused of undermining North Korea's social system through conducting religious activities over the past 18 years.

He has also been accused of funding and helping "defectors" to escape from North Korea.

The North Korean court says Lim confessed to all the crimes he was convicted of and showed deep remorse in the court.

In November 2012, Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American missionary, was arrested for "committing hostile acts against the DPRK" after entering Rason City as a tourist and was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor.

But the North Korean authorities released him in November 2014.

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

Mainland markets closed higher on Wednesday, led by environment and Internet related shares.

At the close, the Shanghai Composite Index grew 0.2 percent.

The smaller Shenzhen Component index gained 0.1 percent.

While the small-cap ChiNext Index added 0.6 percent.

In Hong Kong, the Heng Seng advanced over 2 percent, as oil majors surged alongside the imminent U.S. interest rate decision.

Elsewhere in Asia,Tokyo shares gained ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy decision coming on Thursday morning.

Investors also piled into a range of issues to recoup recent losses following a rise in oil prices, sending overseas bourses higher overnight.

The benchmark Nikkei surged 2.6 percent.

South Korea's KOSPI closed some 2 percent higher, despite its government deciding to cut its growth forecast for next year.

In Singapore, the benchmark Straits Times index rose 1 percent.

And finally,Australia's ASX/200 moved up over 2.3 percent, ending a six session losing streak.

China central bank sees 2016 growth at 6.8 pctChina's central bank has projected its baseline forecast for 2016 growth at 6.8 percent.

The rate is slightly lower than the central bank's forecast of 6.9-percent expansion for this year.

The People's Bank of China released a working paper saying it expects positive factors such as the recovery of real estate sales and the lagged impact of government policies to bolster growth.

But China's economy still faces problems including overcapacity, profit deceleration and rising ratios of non-performing loans.

For next year, the central bank predicted consumer price index inflation at 1.7 percent and the current account surplus at 2.8 percent of GDP.

Police look into Ezu Bao casePolice in south China's Guangdong province have posted on their official weibo account that they have started investigations on a leading Chinese P2P platform Ezu Bao.

The post said that capital involved in the case have been frozen or sealed up and suspects also held.

Some 70 billion yuan or over 10 billion U.S. dollars and 400 thousand investors are said to be affected by the case.

China likely to execute negative list administration over P2P industryIt's being reported that China is likely to release detailed supervision rules governing the P2P lending industry in the second half of next year, at the earliest.

Some analysts predict the new rules will require the industry to implement a negative list system.

But it's also been suggested that no threshold for registered capital will be set, going against what many had expected.

As of November 30th, the number of monitored P2P lending platforms in China was just under 3,500, with a little over half of them operating at a so-called "normal" standard.

In the light of this, the industry is in urgent need of detailed regulations.

For more on this, CRI's Bob Jones earlier spoke with John Ross, senior fellow with the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University.

Chinese mainland eases restrictions on individual Taiwan businessThe Chinese mainland will further loosen restrictions for people from Taiwan to do business here.

From January 1 of next year, the mainland will open 24 more sectors, including advertising, packaging, and clothing, to individual entrepreneurs from Taiwan.

Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson at The State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, announced the decision at a press briefing.

"I believe these new policies will benefit more ordinary people, especially young people, from Taiwan with more entrepreneurship opportunities and development spaces."Previously, businesspeople from Taiwan were only allowed to explore retail and catering opportunities on the mainland.

The number of provinces and regions open to business ventures from Taiwan has also been increased from nine to all areas in the mainland.

Restrictions on the number of employees and maximum business floor area have also been lifted.

The mainland started to welcome individual business from Taiwan since the end of 2011.

So far, more than 35-hundered individual businesses from Taiwan have registered on the mainland.

South Korea looks to stimulate economy by boosting consumptionSouth Korea has unveiled a strategy to stimulate economic growth by encouraging consumption as the country showed a gloomy economic assessment.

The country plans to foster five promising export items, including cosmetics, clothing, food and beverage, household items and baby products, all of which are consumer goods.

To boost consumption, the government will also regularize the South Korean version of "Black Friday" in November.

At the same time, the country plans to further ease visa rules for Chinese visitors.

The decision comes as South Korea cut its growth forecast for next year.

South Korea's finance ministry set its growth outlook for next year at 3.1 percent, 0.2 percentage points lower than its earlier estimate.

The ministry also revised down its 2015 growth forecast from 3.1 percent to 2.7 percent.

Outlook for 2016 headline inflation was revised up to 1.5 percent from an earlier estimate of 1.2 percent.

Chinese NGO sues Volkswagen over emissions fraudA court in Tianjin has agreed to hear a case brought by a non-governmental Chinese environmental organization against Volkswagen over its emissions scandal.

The China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation said it has sued the automaker over the 2-thousand vehicles imported to China, equipped with the software that rigs emission tests.

SportsCBA/NBA actionBeginning with live CBA action,Heavyweights Xinjiang and Guangdong are playing in the 18th match day.

Guangdong are one of the only two teams that can match leaders Xinjiang's 15-2 record.

Boasting 14-3 at third place on the table, Guangdong saved some of their players for tonight's battle against Xinjiang.

Now let's have a look at how the teams are doing in the game's first quarter, it is 13:7 in favor of Xinjiang.

In more action,Level with Xinjiang's record and in joint lead are the Zhejiang Lions which are taking on Jiangsu;Injury-hit Beijing are recovering from their poor form but are facing tough challenges from Sichuan.

Beijing's home stadium will be renamed LeSports Center next year, after Online television site LeTV acquired the new title sponsorship for the next five years.

Back to CBA action, other games are seeing Liaoning against Jilin,Shandong versus Tongxi,Shanghai with Beijing Beikong,And Foshan taking on Zhejiang.

Over in the NBA,Sacramento conquered Houston 107-97,The Lakers ended their six-game losing streak with a 113-95 success over the Bucks,Denver downed Minnesota 112-100,Finally it is Cleveland over Boston 89-77.

New manager for CSL teamsIn football,Chinese clubs are mulling transfers for the new season.

Italian media are reporting that former Serie A manager Walter Mazzarri is in talks with Beijing Guo'an for a deal to join the club next season.

Guo'an set sights on an Italian manager to part ways with the Spanish-Portuguese style they have been used to for the last five years.

A source from the talks say the two sides will go into details such as the length of the contract and Mazzarri's coaching team that he is bringing in from Italy.

Fifty-four-year-old Mazzarri managed Napoli and Inter Milan in the Italian Serie A.

He is currently in England where he is also coveted by Premier League teams.

Guo'an's manager from last season Gregorio Manzano is on the brink of returning to the Chinese Super League.

Shanghai Shenhua are expected to announce the partnership with Manzano within the week if they finalize a deal.

Manzano was with Guo'an for two seasons where the team finished second and fourth.

Him and Guo'an prematurely terminated their contract by mutual consent at the end of last season.

DFB Pokal, Coppa Italia resultsElsewhere in football,Bayern Munich, Bremen, Leverkusen and Heidenheim are the first four quarter-finalists into this year's DFB Pokal.

They will find out their opponents from results of the other four games tomorrow morning.

At the Coppa Italia,Inter Milan beat Cagliari 3-0 to progress into the last 8.

They next play the winners between Napoli and Verona.

Alessandria are also in.

The remaining teams will be decided from the other six games later tonight and early tomorrow.

Sports Illustrated hold awards dinner for winnersIn off-court tennis news,Serena Williams has received her award as Sports Illustrated's Sportsperson of the Year.

Williams attended the special awards dinner in Manhattan.

Title holder of all tennis' four grand slams Williams is the first woman to be individually recognized for the award in over twenty years.

I've been doing what I do for over twenty years professionally and that's a long time to be playing. And this is the first time I was ever recognized as Sportsperson of the year. So it really, really meant a lot to me. And being a woman and being only the third to be recognized is pretty awesome."Golf legend Jack Nicklaus also attended the awards dinner to receive his Muhammad Ali Legacy Award.

The 18-time major champion says it's an honor to have received such an award.

"To finish the year up with the Ali award, a man who I've respected and known for a fair amount of time, it's great to be able to get an award like that."Fifteen-year-old swimmer Reece Whitley was honored as Sports Kid of the Year.

Baseball: US looking for players in Cuba; Pete Rose ban standsMajor League Baseball has sent a delegation to Cuba to discuss ways to bring Cuban players safely and legally to the United States.

MLB's chief legal officer Dan Halem says that they are hoping for negotiations with the Cuban Baseball Federation.

Halem is on a goodwill mission which has given Cuban players permission to return to their home country despite their illegal departures.

Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre said the week-long tour was just the beginning of a long process.

"Dan Halem is an attorney for MLB and it's just a matter and you heard him talk today - it's a matter of just making sure the logistics and everything that's just going to satisfy both governments. That's what it comes down to. And I don't think anything's going to be concluded here - I'm not going to say there's not going to be conversation - but there's no official negotiation going on."Before creating a regulated player transfer system, the United States would have to lift the trade embargo of Cuba or the Obama administration would have to grant extraordinary permission for MLB to reach a deal.

In other baseball news,The ban for All-time hits leader Pete Rose stands after a Major League commissioner rejected his application for reinstatement to baseball.

Rose says he is disappointed at not being allowed back in the game but held out hope he could still one day be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

"I'll continue the path of reconfiguring my life. Tomorrow, yesterday, next week, next year, next month. And all I can do is try to be a better person every day. Where eventually they'll want me in. They'll want me to be back. But I just have to keep this (gestures to his heart) thing going here. Keep this going for however how many more years."Rose agreed to the ban in 1989 when the Major League found him placing bets of the Reds to win while playing for and managing the team.

The now 74-year-old believes he is a changed person and asks to be associated with baseball again.

EntertainmentLuc Besson Sets Kris Wu to Star in 'Valerian'

French director Luc Besson has announced that Chinese-Canadian actor Kris Wu will join his latest science fiction film 'Valerian'.

The award-winning director unveiled this news through his official Sina Weibo account, China's number-one micro-blogging platform.

Being a former member of EXO and the former leader of its sub-group, EXO-M, Kris Wu has recently been most active in China.

The 25-year-old pop idol has starred in several hit Chinese movies including 'Mr.Six' and 'L.O.R.D.: Legend of Ravaging Dynasties'.

He has also released solo singles, like 'Bad Girl' and a remake of classic Chinese rock song 'Girl in The Flower Room'.

Previous, the director has set actor Dane DeHaan, super model Cara Delevingne, and pop diva Rihanna as the leading cast of the film.

'Valerian' is based on the iconic French graphic novel series of the same name. Having first appeared in 1967, the book has sold more than 10 million copies in 21 languages.

Setting the plot in the 28th century, the film will portray a time when humanity learns how to time-travel.

'Valerian' will start filming soon, and is planned to be released around the summer of 2017.

Adele TV concert special creates ratings recordBritish singer Adele has set a ratings record with a live concert on TV.

The special concert, entitled "Adele Live in New York City", was aired live on American network NBC, drawing 11.2 million viewers.

The concert included several of Adele's hits such as 'Rolling in the Deep' and 'Skyfall', as well as her new songs from the now platinum record '25'.

It also scored a strong 3.0 rating among the 18-49 age group, an achievement not seen in the past 10 years.

The Adele concert also became the most-watched concert special since 'Cher: Farewell Tour' in 2003, also on NBC.

Adele has announced a North American tour in March, following the UK and Europe.

One Direction to Join 2016 'Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve'

British boy band One Direction will join 2016 'Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest', which is set to air ABC.

Band member Liam Payne says he hopes more fans can enjoy their performance on New Year's Eve.

"There's gonna be a few people up, I think. Well, we hope so. Would like to think so. It's a big party time and everyone on New Year's. You don't get to bed early on New Year's."It's their last remaining performance before One Direction takes a break as a band.

Ryan Seacrest began helping to host the annual event in 2006, and took over as the sole host in 2012 when Clark died.

Carrie Underwood will join him in Times Square to perform live, and Jenny McCarthy will serve as a correspondent.

'Point Break' Premiered in Los AngelesThe action remake 'Point Break' has premiered in Los Angeles on Tuesday, along with a double half-pipe motocross exhibition and wingsuit jumpers parachuting onto Hollywood boulevard.

Speaking at the premier, actor Edgar Ramirez unveils more details of the film.

"This is the 'Point Break' circus, you know? I mean the movie was like that. We were among the most extreme athletes in the world, searchers, people who really ... they're so aware of how limited our time on this earth is that they really want to make the best out of it by defying death. So by being so close to the end, they celebrate life and it was an amazing contradiction to explore in this film."This remake of the 1991 classic hit follows the story of a young FBI agent getting involved with a team of extreme sports athletes, as he suspects them of masterminding a series of corporate heists.

Australian actress Teresa Palmer plays a surfer in the film. She says she felt right at home among the male-dominated cast.　"I mean I definitely gravitate towards having a lot of men in my life, strong males in my life. It was great. I also just love that my character is not there just to serve the purpose of a man's story. I mean she really is a strong woman herself and has a lot to do in the movie. So that was something I was very excited about."Co-produced by China's DMG entertainment, 'Point Break' has already been screening in China, and is now dominating the box office.

It will open in the US on Christmas Day.

'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' Releases TrailerHarry Potter fans are one step closer to the returning of the wizarding world, as the full trailer for 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' has been released.

The film was inspired by the namesake textbook, which Harry and his friends studied at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The trailer shows textbook writer Newt Scamander, who has traveled the world documenting magical creatures.

The film is set in New York 70 years before the start of Potter's tale.

Sydney will be cloudy with a high of 25.

Brisbane will see moderate rain, high of 25.

Perth will be cloudy with a high of 33.

And finally Auckland, New Zealand will have light rain with a high of 18 degrees Celsius.

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

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

Chinese President Xi Jinping calling on all countries to jointly build a community of shared destiny in cyberspace...

The Chinese mainland urging the United States to scrap a potential arms deal with Taiwan...

And Iran set to start cutting back on its nuclear activities in the coming weeks...

On behalf of the whole Beijing Hour news team, this is Spencer Musick in Beijing. Join us for the next edition of the Beijing Hour, to open a window to the world together...