The Beijing HourEvening EditionPaul James with you on this Tuesday, December 22, 2015.

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

Coming up on the program this evening...

The first body of the 76 people missing in Sunday's massive landslide in Shenzhen has been recovered.

Safety has been made a top priority at an urban management conference which has taken place in China.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has travelled to Cyprus amid to get China involved in peace negotiaions for the island.

In business... a pair of foreign players have been increasing their holdings of Chinese property giant Vanke the past week.

In sports.... a new center has been opened in Beijing to honor the Beijing Ducks' Stephon Marbury.

In entertainment..... a Chinese screenwriters finds himself involved in yet another plagrism lawsuit.

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.

You can follow our weibo account at weibo.com/beijinghour.

On WeChat: search "beijinghour"Email us directly at [email protected].

Visit crienglish.com for the latest news and information from China Radio International.

Top NewsNumber of missing people drops to 76 in Shenzhen landslideAuthorities say the number of people missing from Sunday's massive landslide in the city of Shenzhen has dropped to 76.

This comes as some of those previously thought to be missing have since been located.

Authorities have also released a full list of those missing.

Most of them are migrant workers from Henan, Hubei and Hunan who have been working at the industrial park where the slide took place.

Shenzhen is a major manufacturing center in southern China.

Searchers have uncovered the first body buried in the massive slide.

Authorities are still working on the scene in a search and rescue capacity, as signs of life have reportedly been detected in the aftermath of the slide.

However, the so-called golden window to find survivors, which is considered 72-hours, is quickly approaching.

A massive mountain of construction waste came pouring down on the industrial park in Shenzhen on Sunday afternoon, burying over 30 buildings on the site.

It is being reported heavy trucks have been transporting silt and waste to the site for the past 2-years, drawing numerous complaints.

Dirt, cement chunks and other construction waste had reached heights of around 100-metres before the fill came tumbling down.

The Ministry of Land and Resources, along with the Ministry of Public Security, is promising a thorough probe.

Conference on urban development lays out solutions for China's urban problemsAnchor:

A series of new broad-based plans have been laid out at a national conference on urban development priorities, with safety and a change in overall strategy toward city-building coming from the sessions.

CRI's Li Jianhua has more.

Reporter:

In an attempt to focus more on urban problems and ways to solve them, this year's Urban Development Confrence in Beijing has shifted its focus away from infrastructure constrcution toward proper urban development.

Those at the event say this is the first time in 37-years the focus of the annual session has not been on infrastructure building.

Professor Qi Shuyu with the National School of Administration says the timing of the conference, at the end of the current five-year plan, is a sign the central government is starting to better understand the need for proper urban management.

"Urban development plays a pivotal role in the development of the country, especially in the development of the Chinese economy in the coming 5-years. Urban areas are both major areas for consumers and service providers. In addition, innovation mostly comes from urban areas as well. But at the same time, urban areas are also the places where major problems can take place. Take the Shenzhen landslide as an example."Qi Shuyu says one of the priorities they've focused on is safety.

He says the other is developing cities on the basis of serving "people.""We need to better understand what the essence of a city is, as well as better define what responsibilities the government should take. Urbanization should serve people's needs. The highest level of urbanization is its livability. Another point is how the government can take its own steps toward better serving the interests of the people."This year's conference also discussed ways to give migrant workers in cities more opportunities.

Qi Shuyu says any new urbanization programs should balance the needs of the locals with those who are non-hukou holders.

"Urbanization shouldn't just benefit those who have lived in a city for a long time. It should also be beneficial to the development of people from rural areas. The problem of rapid urbanization is here, now that farmers are coming off the fields and looking for work in cities."The Chinese goverment has been taking steps toward green development in Chinese cities.

However, observers say a number of obstacles still lie ahead.

Professor Qi Shuyu says the actual conditions in China, including the massive population flows, have been holding back the urbanization process.

"For one thing, urbanization is happening too fast. This is the main driver of the massive population flows, which, in turn, create very high demand for infrastructure construction, management and services in a city. Another hurdle is the concept of 'city,' the center of which should be 'people' instead its economic development. The last is the management of the government, including the elimination of bureaucracy, as many municipal functions are overlapping and conflicting."China's urbanization rate surpassed 50 percent this year 2015.

In 1978 when Reform and Opening up was first suggested, only around 18 percent of the country lived in an urban setting.

To adapt to the changes in the social structure in China, a new urbanization plan is going to be released next year.

For CRI, this is Li Jianhua.

Key economic work conference stresses structural reformsAnchor:

The conclusion of this year's key economic work conference has seen China's top leaders promise more structural economic reforms and a strategy toward promoting economic innovation.

The annual Central Economic Work conference came to an end last night.

Among the plans laid-out include a focus on getting more Chinese products on the market.

At the same time, China's leadership is planning to use its money, land and labour resources more efficiently.

Another area of concern is the property sector.

To cope with a major oversupply of housing in China, property developers are likely going to be forced to lower housing prices.

People who move from rural areas into the cities are also going to encouraged to change their Hukou status to allow them to purchase homes in the cities.

For more on the plans, CRI's Liu Kun spoke earlier with Professor Zhang Jun, Dean at the School of Economics at Fudan University.

China's Lawmakers Proposes to Lift Geographical Restrictions on DonationsChinese lawmakers are looking at lifting long-standing geographical restrictions on donations made through the media.

The changes are being considered for the country's Charity Law.

Li Shishi, vice chair of the Legal Committee of the National People's Congress, says the geographic restrictions don't make sense when it comes through donations through the mass media.

"I suggest writing into the draft of law that, public philanthropic performances, matches, sales, galas and collection box donations should be confined to areas where the institutions are registered. However, donations that are carried out via broadcast, television, papers, Internet and other media do not have to fall in the geographical restrictions."Lawmakers are also advocating more tax incentives for people or groups who donate.

Chinese lawmakers began working on a Charity Law in October to regulate charities to better protect the interests of donors, beneficiaries and volunteers.

March 5th is also being considered for China's Philanthropy Day.

However, that date hasn't been confirmed.

Tianjin issues first red alert for pollutionOfficials in Tianjin have issued the city's first-ever red alert for air pollution, joining neighboring Beijing in an attempt to keep the winter smog in-check.

The red alert in Tianjin will run until 6am Thursday.

Tianjin and Beijing are among 40 cities in northern China that have some level of alerts in-place for air pollution.

Among them, the cities of Baoding, Handan, Langfang and Xingtai in Hebei are all under red-alerts.

Under a red-alert, half of all private vehicles are banned from the roads.

Schools are also forced to shut down classes.

In Beijing, the current red-alert for smog is due to expire on Wednesday.

Classes Go Online under Pollution AlertAnchor:

As part of the smog red-alert underway in Beijing, and now Tianjin, online platforms have been helping keep thousands of students in Beijing learning.

CRI'S Luo Wen reports.

Reporter:

"Li Ruohan, could you tell me how to solve this question?

My answer is... ..."This back-and-forth has taken place during an online class between teacher Li Qiaomei and her student Li Ruohan, who are both from Beijing Jingshan School.

Though the teacher has been unable to give guidance face to face over the past two days, it's not a problem for Li Qiaomei, who is helping her students prepare for the upcoming college entrance exams in June.

The suspension of classes under a smog red alert have been a big concern when it comes to those involved in the education system, particularly for parents of graduating students at Beijing's middle and high schools.

But Man Na, head of the Jingshan School's third grade faculty, says student won't get left behind in their studies, as long as they have access to the internet.

"To help the students keep to their schedule, teachers have worked out detailed plans, and have put them online. Time is allocated not only for studying, but also for their rest and exercise, so they can also keep making progress at home."This is the second time this month schools in Beijing have been closed due to severe air pollution.

Teachers are required to make sure those who stay home get enough help with their studies.

The platform – Beijing Digital School – is helping bridge the distance between schools and home.

Zhan Weihua, head of the government-backed online platform, says there are plenty of materials for the students to study on the website.

"We have put online study materials that last a total of 12-thousand class periods and cover all subjects from primary to high schools."Li Yi with Beijing's municipal education authority says the platform can actually benefit students.

"On this platform, students can get access to materials provided by different schools and ask for help from teachers around the city. It helps gather resources."Chen Ken with Chinese internet company Tencent says his firm is upbeat about the role of online classrooms.

"For graduating students, it's so important to keep studying every day. Online platforms can help them make it,s and communicate with teachers anytime."Close to 700-thousand primary and middle school students in Beijing are due to return to their classes after the red alert expires.

It's estimated more than 90 percent of them have visited the online platform during the alert period.

For CRI, this is Luo Wen.

China, South Korea hold first round of talks on maritime demarcationChinese and South Korean negotiators have held their first round of talks connected to maritime demarcation in the Yellow Sea.

The Chinese side at the talks has been led by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin.

He says the biggest issue to tackle is overlapping exclusive economic zones.

"For a long time, people in both countries have been working together, jointly exploring ways to utilize resources of the Yellow Sea. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea has established the current maritime law. China and South Korea have overlapping exclusive economic zones and continental shelves, so we need to solve the problem by demarcation."The South Korean side, headed by Cho Tae-yul, says these talks might be able to serve as a benchmark for other maritime disputes.

"If both countries are engaged in negotiation based on a shared understanding, mutual trust and the spirit of security cooperation, I am sure that we can definitely reach a fair settlement of the dispute, as well as make a good example showing that both countries take specific actions to respect the international law."Under UN convention, a country's Exclusive Economic Zone extends 200-kilometers off their respective coast, meaning China and South Korea have overlapping interests in the middle of the Yellow Sea.

A second round of maritime talks between China and South Korea will take place in China sometime next year.

Wang Yi Visits Cyprus to Push forward Peace TalksChinese foreign minister Wang Yi is promising Chinese support for talks to reunify Cyprus under one government.

Wang Yi met with the foreign minister of the internationally-recognized government of Cyprus, saying the two countries have a lot of areas they can cooperate in.

Wang Yi saays this could also include joint port development projects.

"Cyprus is an island nation. Port development is very important to Cyprus. China has a rich experience and strong ability in island equipment, management, skills and applications. We are willing to discuss port cooperation between the two countries and help Cyprus transform and upgrade its ports to better play the role of transportation hub. The function and development of ports needs the support of industrial zones around the ports. China is also happy to discuss this with Cyprus and to promote mutually beneficial co-operation."The Chinese Foreign Minister's trip to Cyprus follows similar ones made to the Island nation recently by officials from the US, Russia and Britain as peace talks gather pace.

Cyprus has been split by since 1974 when Turkey invaded and installed a pro-Turkish government across the northern half of the country.

However, only Turkey recognizes the legitimacy of that administration.

Turkey's continued support to the pro-Turkish administration is one of the reasons that has held Turkey back from gaining membership in the European Union.

Pu Zhiqiang gets suspended three-year sentenceA court in Beijing has handed lawyer and blogger Pu Zhiqiang a suspended three-year sentence for inciting ethnic hatred and disturbing public order.

In handing down the sentence, the courts say Pu Zhiqiang provoked ethnic discord and incited ethnic hatred via multiple entries he posted on his Weibo accounts from 2012 to 2014.

The courts say his widely-viewed and shared posts triggered antagonism in the public and created a severe social impact.

Pu Zhiqiang has been given a suspended sentence as he confessed and repented.

He says he will not appeal.

IMF Quota Reforms to Give Emerging Economies Larger Say: AnalystsAnchor:

Observers are suggesting this past week's vote by the US Congress to bring in long-anticipated changes to the International Monetary Fund's voting structure may be just the beginning of a series of reforms for the international lender.

From Washington, our Rebecca Foster has more.

Reporter:

The 2010 IMF reforms expanded the voting power of China, India, Russia and Brazil.

Those who agreed to give up some voting share included the United States, Saudi Arabia and South Africa, though several European countries gave up the largest share.

Andrew Hanauer is the Campaigns Director at Jubilee USA Network, an organization that aims to improve the quality of lending to poorer countries.

"It's a big deal, it's definitely a step in the right direction. We've been waiting more than five years for this to happen. 205 There's no question that it did not look for the United States being the only country holding these reforms up, particularly because the United States is the only country that has the power to hold things up by itself at the IMF."The Obama administration has been an enthusiastic supporter of the reforms, but the five year delay was caused by the US Congress, which wouldn't or couldn't vote to approve the changes.

Investment Advisor Douglas Rediker who is also a Visiting Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics says by voting to approve the changes, the US Congress has finally closed a credibility gap.

"This was a US initiative five years ago, to actually reform not just the voting rights or the quota at the IMF, but the overall governance structure to give emerging markets a much more representative voice at the table. And then, the irony was that it was the US that turned out to be the one party that held up the very reforms that the US spearheaded. "The five year delay has also pushed back negotiations for a new set of IMF reforms which will now begin and Douglas Rediker says that process will begin in 2016.

"The IMF articles contemplate an ever shifting global economic landscape. That's why under the rules the IMF is supposed to reassess this governance structure and the quotas by which countries exercise their rights, simply because the world moves on and economic strengths wax and wane."With China holding the presidency of the G20 in 2016 that's likely to lead to new efforts to expand the role of emerging nations in the architecture of the world's economic leadership.

For CRI, I'm Rebecca Foster in WashingtonEU Prolongs economic sanctions against Russia by 6 monthsAnchor:

The European Union has extended its economic sanctions against Russia for another 6-months, extending them to the end of July of next year.

The sanctions affect certain financial, energy and defense transactions between Europe and Russia.

The EU says its extending the sanctions, as benchmarks set out in the Minsk agreements to end the conflict in Ukraine won't be met on-time by the end of this year.

It comes just one day after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his government is ready to co-operate with European nations on various issues.

"It occurs to me that it is in the interests of European countries - maybe I'm wrong, so let them tell me - to unite efforts. In the economy, in politics, in the fight against terrorism and in the fight to solve ecological problems, with organized crime; so unite with Russia. We are ready for this work, we are open. We are not going be upset because of the sanctions. We are waiting."The EU sanctions were initially introduced for one year in the summer of 2014 in response to alleged Russian involvement in eastern Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Russia is tightening trade its sanctions on Ukraine by applying new tariffs to Ukrainian exports as of January 1st, when the Ukraine-EU free trade deal takes effect.

For more on this, CRI's Liu Kun spoke earlier with Professor William Butler at the Dickinson School of Law at Pennsylvania State University.

Black Box of Russian Flight Jet DamagedRussian authorities say they flight data recorders recovered from the Russian fighter jet which was downed by the Turkish airforce last month has severe internal damage.

The Russian side claims 13 of the 16 microchips installed in the black boxes of the Su-24 have been completely damaged, making it impossible do decipher the data at this point.

Sergei Bainetov, deputy head of the Russian Defense Ministry, says they need to consult specialists to access the data.

"Decoding of the data from the microchips is impossible with the conventional equipment from measuring instruments factory and Interstate Aviation Committee due to internal damages at this point, and we are considering asking for help from Russia's specialized scientific institutions to read the data."Russian officials are warning it may take a "substantially long time" to get to the data.

However, they are promising the information will be released in due time.

The information in the flight data recorder of the downed plane is said to be critical to determining whether or not the Russian jet crossed into Turkish territory, as the Turkish side claims it did.

WeatherBeijing will be hazy tonight with a low of minus 5, tomorrow will be cloudy and hazy, with a high of 6.

Shanghai will have slight rain tonight with a low of 10, also rainy tomorrow, high of 13.

Chongqing will be overcast with a low of 6, tomorrow will be overcast, high of 10.

Lhasa will be clear with a low of minus 8, tomorrow will be cloudy with a high of 7.

Elsewhere in Asia,Islamabad will be cloudy with a high of 15.

Kabul, cloudy, minus 2.

Down in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sydney, rainy, high of 22,Brisbane, cloudy, 29,Perth, cloudy, 38,And finally Auckland, New Zealand will have slight rain with a high of 22 degrees Celsius.

Headline NewsIraqi PM kicks off his two-day China visitChina's top leaders have met with the visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi here in Beijing on Tuesday.

The meeting between Abadi and Chinese President Xi Jinping is said to have focused mostly on bilateral issues.

Chinese premier Li Keqiang has also met with Abadi at a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People.

The Iraqi Prime Minister is in China for a two-day official visit.

Abadi's agenda is focused mostly on expanding business and energy ties with China.

Number of missing people drops to 76 in Shenzhen landslideAuthorities say the number of people missing from Sunday's massive landslide in the city of Shenzhen has dropped to 76.

This comes as some of those previously thought to be missing have since been located.

Searchers have uncovered the first body buried in the massive slide.

So far only the 16 people who survived the initial slide are known to be alive.

Authorities earlier said they thought they may have heard signs of life in the aftermath of the slide.

However, the so-called golden window to find survivors, which is considered 72-hours, is quickly approaching.

A massive mountain of construction fill came tumbling down on an industrial park in Shenzhen Sunday evening, burying over 30 buildings on the site.

China aims to complete shantytown renovation by 2020China's top leadership is promising the elimination of urban shantytowns and undeveloped areas by 2020.

The statement has been issued following a two-day Central Urban Work Conference in Beijing.

As part of the statement, authorities say saftey needs to be the top priority when developing cities and their management.

At the same time, the leadership is vowing to upgrade the so-called urban clusters in the eastern regions, while creating a new group of urban city clusters in the central and western regions of China.

Urban clusters are areas such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

Tianjin issues first red alert for pollutionOfficials in Tianjin have issued the city's first-ever red alert for air pollution, joining neighboring Beijing in an attempt to keep the winter smog in-check.

The red alert in Tianjin will run until 6am Thursday.

Tianjin and Beijing are among 40 cities in northern China that have some level of alerts in-place for air pollution.

Among them, the cities of Baoding, Handan, Langfang and Xingtai in Hebei are all under red-alerts.

Under a red-alert, half of all private vehicles are banned from the roads.

Schools are also forced to shut down classes.

In Beijing, the current red-alert for smog is due to expire on Wednesday.

Biz ReportsAsian StocksAnchor:

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

Mainland markets closed moderately higher on Tuesday as the country's pending economic reforms enhanced investors' confidence in the economy.

Gainers were led by agriculture, software, petroleum, iron and steel and securities brokerages.

While shares in banking, insurance, liquor brewing and tourism sectors led the losers.

At the close, the Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.3 percent.

The smaller Shenzhen Component index rose 0.9 percent.

The small-cap ChiNext Index gained 0.4 percent.

In Hong Kong, the Heng Seng moved up 0.2 percent.

Elsewhere in Asia,Tokyo shares ended the trading Tuesday mixed amid little trading cues as investors absorbed last week's Japanese and U.S. central bank policy moves.

Decliners were led by pulp and paper, and wholesale trade issues, while air transport and land transport gained ground.

The Nikkei 225 dropped 0.2 percent.

In South Korea, the KOSPI edged up 0.6 percent.

Singapore's Straits Times index added 0.3 percent.

And finally,Australia's ASX/200 ticked up 0.2 percent.

Two Foreign Investors Add H-shares of VankeNew stats released by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing show two foreign companies have decided to purchase large portions of Chinese real estate giant Vanke's H shares.

As of December 15th, Value Partners Group has added some 3.3 million H, or Hong Kong, shares of Vanke at an average of 21 HK dollars per share.

This has lifted Value Partners' share of Vanke to slightly over 5 percent, from about 4.7 percent.

Meanwhile, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia has added some 2.9 million H-shares of Vanke at about 20 HK dollars per share, on average.

This has lifted its holdings of Vanke to nearly 7 percent.

China Polls Banks on Ending Benchmark Deposit, Loan Rates: BloombergAnchor:

It's being reported China's central bank has been quietly surveying banks on the possibility and potential impact of removing its benchmark deposit and lending rates.

It's being reported the survey has also asked the banks about their use of the so-called Loan Prime Rate.

This is the rate, calculated on submissions from 9 Chinese lenders, banks use to give to their most high-quality clients.

China's central bank, which sets the benchmark one-year deposit and lending rates, has already removed their upper and lower limits.

Policy makers have cut both rates six times over the course of the past year in an attempt to keep the economy moving forward.

For more on this, CRI's Shane Bigham spoke earlier with Gao Shang, senior analyst with Guantong Futures.

China's CGN Mining Buys Stake in Canada's Fission UraniumIt's being reported Chinese firm CGN Mining has bought a nearly 20-percent stake in Canada's Fission Uranium Corporation.

CGN has reportedly agreed to pay 85-Canadian cents per share, a 25 percent premium to Fission's Friday close, for a 19.99 percent stake in the company.

The deal is said to be worth about 82-million Canadian dollars, which at current values, is just under 60-million U.S. dollars.

CGN is controlled by China Uranium Development Company, a subsidiary of state-owned China General Nuclear Power Corporation.

Canada is the world's second biggest uranium-producing country after Kazakhstan.

Panama Canal expansion on track to complete in April 2016The agency that operates the Panama Canal says the expansion of the vital waterway will be complete by this coming April.

The Panama Canal Authority says it has fulfilled its payments for the expansion with United for the Canal Group.

This is the multinational consortium in charge of building the third set of locks designed to accommodate today's much larger cargo ships.

Tests on the Atlantic floodgates due to get underway in April with the use of a charted ship.

The work on the additional locks are almost all complete.

The expansion project began in September 2007 with an initial investment of some 5.2 billion U.S. dollars.

The new locks were originally due to open in August of last year to mark the 100th anniversary of the opening of the historic waterway.

However, the work was slowed by a strike and differences over cost overruns between the Canal Authority and the consortium.

Chinese bank signs loan deal with Ukraine to upgrade telecommunications networkUkrainian telecom operator Ukrtelecom has signed a loan agreement with the China Development Bank.

Under the deal, Ukrtelecom will be given export credits worth some 50 million U.S. dollars.

The loan, due to be repaid by 2022, will be used to carry out the modernization of telecom infrastructure in the six largest Ukrainian cities, as well as create a management center for the network in the country's capital Kiev.

As part of the deal, Chinese technology giant Huawei will provide Ukrtelecom with technological support and equipment during the network modernization project, which will be launched next year.

Ukrtelecom is the largest telecommunications operator in Ukraine.

It provides fixed telephone services for about 7.2 million subscribers, as well as Internet access for more than 1.6 million customers.

Hubei to establish RMB40 bln Yangtze River Economic Belt Industry FundA new 40-billion yuan investment fund is being set up by provincial authorities in Hubei.

Provincial authorities say the 40-billion will act as seed money, with the hope the Yangtze River Economic Belt Industry Fund can attract outside investment worth around 1-trillion yuan into the fund.

Unlike other funds, this one won't be allowed to invest in infrastructure and real estate projects.

It's being reported the fund has already received applications from close to 70 different institutions already hoping to invest over 800 billion yuan into the fund.

SportsAtlanta Hawks Beat the Portland TrailBlazers 106-97In NBA action from this morning,The Atlanta Hawks have earned their 4th straight win, downing the Portland Trail Blazers 106-97.

Dennis Schroder had a team-high 18 points in the victory.

However, the 22-year-old lost a tooth in a collision early in the 4th quarter when he collided into the leg of a Portland player.

-------In other action,Kawhi Leonard scored 24 points and added 6 rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs rolled past the Indiana Pacers 106-92.

This is the Spurs' 6th win in a row and 16th consecutive home victory.

-------Jeremy Lin and the Charlotte Hornets have lost 2-in-a-row, going down to Houston 102-95.

--It was the Wizards over the Sacramento Kings 113-99.

--The Orlando Magic downed the New York Knicks 107-99.

--The Brooklyn Nets have won just their 2nd road game of the season, upsetting Chicago at home, 105-102.

--The Utah Jazz thumped the Phoenix Suns 110-89.

--The Oklahoma City Thunder narrowly got past the Los Angeles Clippers 100-99.

--And the Boston Celtics beat up the Minnesota Timberwolves 113-99.

-------In the CBA action tonight,One game is now being played, with Shandong up against Shenzhen.

Both teams are putting 3-game winning streaks on the line tonight.

Shandong currently sits 6th in the league at 12-7, while Shenzhen sits outside a playoff position right now in 9th at 11-8.

--In off-court basketball news,Beijing has opened a new center to celebrate the accomplishments of current CBA and former NBA star Stephon Marbury.

Marbury, who has embraced his time in China after coming here at the tail-end of his NBA career, has helped guide Beijing to three title wins in the past four years.

The 300-square-meter area showcases photo's of Marbury throughout the different stages of his career and life.

It also has all the different jersey's the CBA star has worn, from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the New Jersey Nets to the Beijing Ducks.

The center is schedule to open to the public on the 28th.

Marbury will be in action tomorrow night as the Ducks, winners of their last 6, are at home to Jiangsu Tongxi.

Arsenal beat Manchester City 2-1 in EPLIn football action from the English Premiership,Goals from both Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud managed to secure Arsenal a 2-1 win over Manchester City last night.

Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger.

"Of course it's a significant game as when　you look at Man City, the quality they have on the pitch, we know they will be there in the end to fight for the championship and for us to beat this type of team in a big game strengthens our belief and its needed."With the victory, Arsenal moves to within two points of league leaders Leicester, while City remains in third, but now 6-points back Leicester.

NFL: Stafford Leads Lions Past Saints, 35-27In NFL action from this morning,Drew Brees has become just the fourth NFL quarterback to throw for 60-thousand yards.

He hit the milestone during the New Orleans Saints' 35-27 loss to the Detroit Lions this morning.

With 60-thousand-168 passing yards, Drew Brees now trails only Peyton Manning, as well as the retired Brett Favre and Dan Marino for the all-time yards leader.

His 424 touchdowns are behind only Manning, Favre and Tom Brady.

----------In off-field NFL news,The NFL has suspended the New York Giants' receiver Odell Beckham Jr. one game for his conduct against Carolina, when he drew three personal fouls.

Beckham will miss next weekend's match-up against Minnesota.

Without Beckham, the 6-8 Giants will be missing their best offensive weapon as they try to stay alive in the NFC East race.

Hockey: Dallas, Washington keep pace atop the NHL standingsIn the NHL,The 2nd-to-last games before the league takes its Christmas holiday break are in the books.

The top teams in the Eastern and Western Conference have kept pace with one-another for the best record in the league.

The Dallas Stars, tops in the West, doubled up on Minnesota 6-3 this morning.

Out east, the Washington Capitals have won their 6th game in a row, getting past Carolina 2-1.

Washington is now off until after the Christmas break, while Dallas has a chance to head into the holiday with the overall league-lead in points at 54 tomorrow morning as the Stars play host to Chicago.

In other NHL action this morning,The Montreal Canadiens struggles without top goaltender Cary Price continue.

The Habs, who still top the Atlantic Division, have now lost 4-straight, going down to Nashville 5-1.

--It was the New York Islanders over Anaheim 5-2.

--The Pittsburgh Penguins, who are now without injured star Sidney Crosby until at least after the break, didn't need their sniper, as they rolled over Columbus 5-2.

--Philadelphia edged St. Louis 4-3.

--It was Toronto snapping Colorado's 4-game winning streak, dumping the Avs in Denver 7-4.

--And it was Edmonton moving to 7-3 in their last 10 games with a 3-1 win over Winnipeg.

NZ captain McCullum announces retirement from international cricketIn Cricket,New Zealand cricket captain Brendon McCullum has announced he will retire from international cricket in February.

"At the end of the test series against Australia I'll be retiring from all international cricket. It will obviously be great to finish playing cricket in New Zealand and on some of our grounds and against Australia as well so I guess it's circumstantial that it was needed to be announced now with teams and the T20 World Cup etc... and to be able to allow clarity ideally my preference would certainly have been to wait till the end of your career before you retire but unfortunately it was that wasn't able to be avoided."McCullum will become the first cricketer to play 100 consecutive test matches when he takes the field in New Zealand's first test against Australia in Wellington on February 12th.

The 34-year-old made his test debut against South Africa in 2004, and hasn't been absent from the Zew Zealand test side ever since.

In his 99 tests to date, McCullum has accumulated 62-hundred-73 runs, making him New Zealand's second-highest test run-scorer after former captain Stephen Fleming.

McCullum is expected to be replaced by 25-year-old batsman Kane Williamson when he retires.

Jordan Spieth Remains as World No. 1 in PGA World RankingIn golf,The top ten players in the latest PGA world rankings are out, and the group remains unchanged heading into the new year.

22-year-old Jordan Spieth will end the season as world number one, followed by Australian Jason Day and Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy.

Three Chinese golfers are among the top 200 in world rankings, with Wu Ashun being the highest ranked at 167, followed by Li Haotong and Liang Wenchong.

The last edition of PGA world rankings for the year will be released next week.

The top 50 players will get an automatic spot in next year's Masters Tournament.

New design for 2020 Olympic stadiumThe new design for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics stadium has been approved.

In approving the design, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says the new stadium will leave a legacy that can be passed on to the next generation.

"We will continue our efforts to make sure this new national stadium is equipped with the world's highest level of barrier-free functionality, and that Japanese concepts will help it to become a venue that gives a moving experience to crowds (at the Tokyo Olympics). It will become a legacy that can be carried to the next generation."The approval comes after the original design was scrapped due to its soaring costs and scale.

Work on the 80-thousand seat stadium, projected to cost about 1.2 billion U.S dollars, is set to be complete just a month before an IOC deadline to have the facility finished.

EntertainmentScriptwriter Yu Zheng involves in another TV Drama plagiarism caseChinese scriptwriter Yu Zheng has become embroiled in yet another plagiarism case.

The Yangzhou Intermediate People's Court has accepted a plagiarism lawsuit filed by author Zhou Haohui against Yu Zheng and others, for allegedly stealing parts of Zhou's novel "The Evil Hypnotist" for their 2014 TV series "Cosmetology High."The case will hit the courts in around a month's time, provided no settlement is reached before-hand.

Zhou Haohui says he's looking forward to the trial.

This isn't the first time Yu Zheng has run into plagiarism issues.

In 2014, Taiwan-based romance novelist Chiung Yao filed a lawsuit, alleging Yu Zheng's "The Palace: The Lost Daughter" was almost identical to her novel "Mei Hua Lao".

Last Friday, an appeals court in Beijing upheld the original verdict in December of 2014, which ordered Yu Zheng and four companies involved in the TV show to pay five million yuan to Chiung Yao.

Yu Zheng has also been ordered to issue a public apology for copying her work.

Warner Bros. Delays Guy Ritchie's King Arthur to 2017Warner Bros. has pushed back Guy Ritchie's untitled King Arthur movie, starring Charlie Hunnam, from next July to mid-February of 2017.

Ambitiously-planned to span six films, the King Arthur films offer a re-imagining of the Arthurian legend.

Arthur was reputedly a 6th century English King who defended Britain against Saxon invaders.

The key source material for the film will be Thomas Mallory's "The Death of Arthur," published in 1485 as a compilation of French and English tales.

The first King Arthur film also stars ?strid Bergès-Frisbey as Guinevere, as well as Jude Law, Djimon Honsou and Katie McGrath.

It will open against Sony's "Bad Boys 3" and 20th Century Fox's "Maze Runner: The Death Cure."Warner Bros. is also shifting an untitled New Line horror film dubbed "Lights Out" into the July 22 slot from its September 9th planned release.

'The Man in the High Castle' Becomes Amazon's Most-Streamed Original Series"The Man in the High Castle" has become Amazon's most-streamed original series.

Premiering on November 20th, the drama's performance marks the biggest launch month in Amazon Prime's video history, hitting the record just four weeks after "High Castle's" full-season debut.

The announcement comes just days after Amazon renewed the series for a 2nd season.

Available in the U.S., UK, Germany, and Austria, "The Man in the High Castle" broke a record previously set by "Bosch."In addition to "High Castle's" renewal last week, Amazon has also renewed the drama "Hand of God," as well as comedy "Red Oaks".

Black Film Critics Circle Name 'Creed' Top Film of the YearThe Black Film Critics Circle has voted "Creed" as the best film of 2015.

"Creed" led group's top 10 films list, followed by "Mad Max: Fury Road," "Straight Outta Compton," "Spotlight," "The Martian," "Room," and "Beasts of No Nation".

"Rocky's" seventh installment has won BFCC's Best Actor award for Michael B. Jordan's portrayal of Adonis Johnson Creed.

Brie Larson has won the BFCC's Best Actress Award for her performance in A24's "Room" as a mother forced to raise her son in confinement.

Best Supporting Actor and Actress honors have been awarded to Sylvester Stallone and Tess Thompson.

The Best Directing Award has been given to George Miller for his post-apocalyptic epic "Mad Max: Fury Road."Additional BFCC winners include Ice Cube for the Pioneer Award and Abraham Attah for the Rising Star Award.

Enya on her first new music in seven yearsA lot of industry observers are waiting to see of Enya's first release in some 7-years, "Dark Sky Island,"　will be able to replicate her past success.

Enya's latest release came out the exaxt same day as Adele's latest album, "25."However, Nielsen Music says her new album has already been able to generate 23.8 million sales in the United States alone.

Despite her popularity, Enya says has maintained a large degree of anonymity.

"Fame and success are two different things and at that stage I had a choice not a lot of people would have this choice, but I had a choice whether to seek fame with the music or whether to stay back behind the music and let the music speak for itself and really that's what I did."Enya has won 4 Grammy awards under the New Age category, which she says she's not a fan of.

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

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

The first body of the 76 people missing in Sunday's massive landslide in Shenzhen has been recovered.

Safety has been made a top priority at an urban management conference which has taken place in China.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has travelled to Cyprus amid to get China involved in peace negotiaions for the island.

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