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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
The Beijing Hour
Morning Edition
Rebecca Hume with you on this Wednesday, August 21st, 2013.
Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
Coming up on our program this morning...
Chinese and Kenyan leaders pledge to cooperate on national development
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood top leader Mohamed Badie is ordered to 15 days in prison
EU set to launch independent investigation on the PRISM scandal
Business
Net profits of China’s SOE’s rises 7.9 pct in the first half.
Sports
Day one of the fifth Ashes test between England and Australia gets underway.
Entertainments
A new trailer for Wong Kar Wai's new movie ‘The Grandmaster’ is released.
Plus
Special reports goes to the Edinburgh International Festival to preview The Beijing People's Art Theatre’s Shakespeare debut.
First, let's check on what's happening on the weather front...
Weather
China issues yellow warning for new tropical storm
Tropical storm Trami is forcast to hit the northeast coast of Taiwan later on this Wednesday.
The storm is headed towards the border between Fujian and Zhejiang.
Currently ranked as a Severe Tropical Storm, Trami is expected to make Typhoon status sometime Wednesday morning.
Trami is increasing in power and is expected to make landfall on the mainland with wind-speeds of around 120-kilometers per hour at the center of the storm.
Beijing will be overcast today, with a high of 29 degree Celsius in the daytime, and it will be cloudy tonight with a low of 22.
In Shanghai, it will see showers today, 32 the high, and it will see showers tonight, the low of 28 degrees Celsius.
Lhasa will be cloudy in the daytime the temperature's at 23, and tonight will be overcast with a low of 11 degree Celsius.
Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia
Islamabad, sunny, 32.
Kabul, sunny, with a high of 31.
And in North America
New York, sunny, with a high of 29 degrees.
Washington, overcast, highs of 30
Houston, thundershowers, 32.
Honolulu, overcast, 31.
Toronto, sunny, 29
Finally, on to South America,
Buenos Aires, overcast, 22.
And Rio de Janeiro will be sunny with highs of 24 degrees Celsius.
Top News
China, Kenya leaders pledge to cooperate on national development
Anchor
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has met with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta in Beijing.
The two sides have pledged to enhance their cooperation particularly in the fields of national development, disaster prevention and poverty reduction.
Su Yi has more.
Reporter
Premier Li Keqiang says China and Kenya are facing similar tasks and challenges when it comes to disaster prevention and poverty reduction.
He has called on the two sides to work together to achieve more comprehensive development.
For his part, Kenyatta says the Kenyan government appreciates China's long-term support.
Meantime, chief of China's largest policy lender, China Development Bank, says the bank has invested 250-million US dollars in Kenya's infrastructure projects, its finance sector and small businesses.
Those funds have been used to popularize the use of digital television and are expected to go into hydro-power, thermal-power and development park projects.
Zheng Zhijie says it was part of the 18.9-billion-dollars of outstanding loans the CDB has brought to African countries so far.
Also Kenyan officials say Kenyatta's state visit has helped unlock billions of dollars to finance the country's key development projects.
These projects include a railway linking the capital Nairobi with Mombasa and Malaba.
Kenyan officials say the 5-billion-dollars worth of projects have been under discussion for months under the guidance of President Kenyatta.
China is the second largest trading partner to Kenya, with an annual bilateral trade of some 2.8 billion US dollars.
For CRI, I'm Su Yi.
China's Corporate Social Responsibility in Africa
Anchor
With more and more Chinese firms looking to expand into Africa, pressure is being put on them to ensure the companies both expand opportunities for local workers, while at the same time, pay attention to their role in the local communities they work out of.
CRI's Nathan Wakelin-King has more.
As with any example of foreign direct investment, Chinese companies successfully operating in Africa are providing training and funding opportunities for many of the local people that they work with.
Gabriel Nalokessissi is a grader operator at China Road and Bridge Corporation. He was awarded a long-service award by his company for his hard work; receiving enough of a bonus to buy a shamba, or farm, and build a house on his newly-purchased land.
[sound bite: Gabriel1]
"Because when I started, I had nothing; but when I began to work with the CRBC, I was able to build my house and I started to pay my child's school fees."
Alan Omondi was also working for the same company. He started off as a basic office clerk, but through training and hard work was promoted to be an engineer, or specifically, a quantity surveyor.
"When I was first employed; I used to stay in slums. Now, with time, as I started to gain experience, and started to do the work efficiently… when I got the promotion, ok, it was a surprise to me, because now the level I've reached, in both economic and social terms, is fantastic."
In 2011, Kenya saw its worst drought in six decades. Sino Hydro, Chinese state-owned hydropower engineering and construction company, sponsored the creation of water facilities for a school in Nairobi.
Mr Gong Changying, deputy general manager of Sino Hydro, talks of the need for positive outcomes for local communities when working in Africa.
[soundbite: gongchangying1]
"In 2011, Kawaha secondary school faced a very serious water crisis, especially in 2011, Kenya experienced an extreme drought disaster; the teachers and students in Kahawa School suffered a serious water shortage. As soon as we learnt of this news, we immediately decided to sponsor a water supply facility for this school"
Margaret Ngjagag is the principal of Kahawa Garrison secondary school in Nairobi. She explains the importance of the project:
"Sufficient supply: the toilets can flush, the students have enough water in the dining hall for the kitchen, there is a lot of water to clean, the lawns are very beautiful, the teachers are very happy, the children have water at home, they can now take safe water – they can drink water in school, we don't have to buy bottled water… free of charge from the borehole"
Chinese firms have greatly increased their activity in Africa in the past decade, either through direct investment, or aid. In 2009, China became Africa's biggest trading partner.
According to the Africa Research institute, China's foreign direct investment in Africa totaled 491 million US dollars in 2003, and 14.7 billion US dollars in 2011. Research from Standard Chartered estimates that trade between China and Africa will hit 385 billion US dollars by 2015.
For CRI, I'm Nathen Wakelin-King.
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood top leader ordered 15 days in prison
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood top leader Mohamed Badie has been ordered to 15 days in prison over the alleged killing of protesters.
Badie was arrested by police in Cairo on Tuesday, and transferred under intense security to Mazraah prison.
Egypt's Anti-Coup Alliance leaders say they are extremely concerned over the arrest, and are warning against the spread of violence.
Khaled Hanafi is a member of the alliance.
''He runs the peaceful protests, he is a symbol, we are greatly saddened about his arrest, and we are greatly saddened about him being taken to prison without being prosecuted, without any legal procedures, and this will effect us all.''
A Brotherhood spokesman said the arrest was part of a plot against the 2011 revolution that ousted Hosni Mubarak.
The Brotherhood leader is accused of killing opponents of ousted Islamic President Mohamed Morsi, inciting clashes against security forces, and assaulting government institutions.
Badie's deputy Mahmoud Ezzat has been appointed temporary leader of the Islamist group.
Meantime, Egypt Finance Minister Ahmed Galal said the economy would not be dented if the U.S. or European nations decided to cut off aid as a response to the army's crackdown last week.
''What is happening to us is that maybe, maybe we don't know that, maybe we are losing some money in some place but we are getting some money or even more money from another place. So in a way at the end of the day, my books are okay."
EU Foreign ministers are set to hold emergency talks on Wednesday to review the bloc's relations with Egypt.
In November the EU had promised 6.7-billion U.S. dollars in grants and loans for a series of initiatives for Egypt.
EU to launch independent investigation on PRISM scandal
The European Union's privacy watchdogs are demanding an independent investigation on the PRISM spying program.
A working group would assess the controversial program as well as other platforms used by the U.S. National Security Agency.
It's also going to find out whether the EU also ran similar snooping programs.
This comes just days after the the British authorities forced the Guardian newspaper to destroy material leaked by Edward Snowden.
Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald is the journalist who broke most of the stories on the controversial PRISM program, amid its ongoing revelations.
It also comes as David Miranda reported to be Greenwald's partner, was held by London police at Heathrow airport for nine hours on Sunday, while in transit from Germany to Brazil.
Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger says it is suspicious he was stopped at Heathrow
"Well I think this is an Alice In Wonderland world because they didn't know what was in whatever it was that Miranda was carrying. And what they have done is to allied journalism and terrorism and I think this is why this has caused outcry around the world."
Miranda had been staying with US film-maker Laura Poitras, who has also reportedly been working on the Snowden files with the Guardian newspaper.
Miranda's detention has caused outrage by some, with Brazil calling the move 'unjustifiable.'
Britain has defended its action, maintaining the detention was "legally and procedurally sound".
Miranda is now challenging the legality of his detention, and will try to to prevent the police from examining electronic items seized from him.
Merkel visits the Nazi concentration camp
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has visited the remains of a Nazi concentration camp in Dachau, southern Germany.
The visit on Tuesday evening is the first time an acting German chancellor has visited Dachau.
More than 43-thousand people were killed by the Nazis at the camp.
Merkel spoke to a small group of survivors in the camp's parade ground.
"This is a very special moment for me to meet with you and other survivors and relatives of survivors at this place. And I want to cordially thank you for coming."
She said that what happened at the concentration camps was and continues to be incomprehensible.
69-year-old Werner Mueller is a pensioner from Munich.
"No chancellor has been here before and I think it's good. It certainly has something to do with the election campaign but that she finds time to come here is all right."
After the visit, Merkel gave a political speech at a campaign event in the nearby town.
Merkel is now running her campaign for the re-election in a federal election next month.
Highly radioactive water leak found at Fukushima
The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is reporting around 300 tonnes of highly contaminated water has leaked from a storage tank.
Masayuki Ono is the general manager of the Tokyo Electric Power Company.
He says the puddle that has formed near the tank is highly radio-active.
"It can be said that we found a radiation level strong enough to give someone a five-year dose of radiation within one hour."
TEPCO also admits the leak, which hasn't been stopped, could be flowing fast enough to fill an Olympic swimming pool in a week's time.
TEPCO, after months of denials, has finally admitted that contaminated water is reaching the ocean from its shattered facility.
The company is still struggling to figure out how to keep the crippled nuclear plant from doing more damage, despite the earthquake and tsunami hitting the plant 2.5-years ago.
Former Pakistani president Musharraf charged in Bhutto killing
Pakistan's former President Pervez Musharraf has been formally indicted on murder charges in connection with the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
Bhutto was killed in a suicide attack in December 2007, following an election rally.
Musharraf, who was president at the time Bhutto was murdered, is rejecting the charges against him, calling them politically-motivated.
Four witnesses, including an American journalist, have given sworn statements against Musharraf in connection with the charges.
Musharraf's lawyer, Afsha Adil, says the statements shouldn't be considered evidence.
"The important thing is this: you will have to prove the allegations, with evidence, and still there is no evidence on record, so we can say the future of President Musharraf is quite clean and neat. These are all fabricated cases. There is nothing solid in all these cases, even Benazir murder case."
The court decision to indict Musharraf marks the first time a former army chief in Pakistan has been charged with a crime.
Musharraf has been in-and-out of jail since returning to Pakistan earlier this year in an effort to try to contest the recent parliamentary elections.
He's currently under house arrest, and is due back in court next week.
China to allow social capital in railway sector
Anchor
The central government here in China has outlined how it intends to allow social investment into the railway sector.
CRI's He Fei has more.
Reporter
A guideline has issued by the central government on how to innovate railway funding and speed up railway construction.
The guideline suggests that ownership and management of intercity railways or rail lines in suburban areas can be opened up to local governments or private investment.
Resercher Wang Jun from the China Center For International Ecomonic Exchange says the central government is targeting the construction of railways to try to boost local economies.
"China's central and western regions seriously lack the construction of railway coverage. But we are now also facing financial problems, including how to lower the high debt in the railway sector."
Earlier this month, the China Railway Corporation, which replaced the Ministry of Railways, set an investment target of up to 660 billion yuan in the overall railway sector this year.
As part of the plan, the central government will give subsidies to the state-owned corporation over the next 3-years.
This is part of the broader attempt by the governmennt to make this country's state-dominated sectors, such as the railway sector, more market-oriented.
Professor Peng Qiyuan is from Jiaotong University.
"If the railway system wants to be more opened up to the market, the threashold lies in the price. The central government can fix an institutional price, which can be floating according to the market needs. This kind of pricing mechanism can bring more benefits to passengers and further promote the development of the railway sector."
The new plans also call for the creation of a railway development fund to support national railway projects.
The fund will be set up with cash from both the central government and other social investment vehciles.
For CRI, this is He Fei
Biz Reports
Anchor
First off, a check on the stock market of North America and Europe.
Join me on the desk, CRI's Su Yi.
Reporter
U.S. stocks ended mixed on Tuesday.
The Dow fell for the fifth consecutive session.
The Dow inched closed almost flat.
The Standard & Poor's 500-stock Index gained 0.4 percent.
The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 0.7 percent.
Investors would be looking for any hints on Fed tapering plans as the Federal Open Market Committee will release the minutes of its July 30-31 meeting on Wednesday.
In corporate earnings, Best Buy shares jumped 13.24 percent.
The consumer electronics retailer reported its earnings and revenue for the second quarter both of which beat market consensus.
Home Depot shares shed 1.22 percent though the Dow component beat market expectations both on earnings and revenue for the second quarter.
Meanwhile, Canada's S&P/TSX gained 0.7 percent.
In Europe, European shares hit a three-week low and a major volatility index jumped on Tuesday.
Investors fear that U.S. Federal Reserve will start to scale back its monetary stimulus measures next month.
Germany's DAX dropped 0.8 percent.
France's CAC 40 was down 1.4 percent and Britain's FTSE 100 was down 0.2 percent.
Profits of China's SOEs pick up
New stats suggest profits of China's state-owned enterprises or SOEs have been picking up in the last three months to the end of July.
The Ministry of Finance is reporting net profits at SOEs grew by 7.6 percent year on year to 1.3 trillion yuan in the first seven months of the year.
Previously in the first six months, the growth rate was at 7 percent.
Meanwhile, revenue grew 10.6 percent in the January-July period.
The data also indicates profits of centrally-administered SOEs surged 14.9 percent from a year earlier.
In contrast, profits of locally-administered SOEs shed 8.2 percent.
SOEs in the electronics, petrochemicals, power generation and property sectors reported relatively fast profit growth.
Those in the transportation, non-ferrous metal, coal and chemical sectors saw declines.
The monthly report did not include SOEs in the financial sector.
CNOOC net profit rises 7.9 pct in first half
China National Offshore Oil Corp. or CNOOC is reporting a 7.9-percent increase in its net profit in the first half of 2013.
The country's largest offshore oil producer reports net profits hit 34.4 billion yuan in the first half and sales revenue growth of 15.8 percent.
Meanwhile, the company's crude oil and natural gas output was up 23.1 percent year-on-year to 198.1 million barrels of oil equivalent.
It also includes 24.8 million barrels of oil equivalent from Nexen.
In February, CNOOC closed a 15.1-billion-U.S.-dollar deal with Nexen Inc. in Canada.
It is so far the biggest overseas acquisition made by a Chinese company.
China Telecom, Netease jointly launch mobile chat app
Anchor:
China Telecom has formed a joint venture with Chinese internet firm NetEase to launch a new mobile chat tool.
The new app, called Yixin, is expected to try to challenge Tencent's popular WeChat application.
Different from Wechat, Yixin users can send free text and voice messages to any mobile phone users, regardless if they have the Yixin app or not.
China Telecom has a 73 percent share of the joint venture, while NetEase has the remaining stake.
Called Zhejiang Yixin Technology, the joint venture has registered capital of 200-million yuan.
Zhejiang Yixin is hoping to have more than 100 million registered users within six months.
WeChat currently has 236 million monthly active users.
For more on this, CRI's Paul James spoke with Doug Young, associate professor at Fudan University and former China company news chief at Reuters.
[biz Q&A with Doug Young]
Doug Young, associate professor at Fudan University and former China company news chief at Reuters.
China to create agency to align financial supervision
The Chinese government is reportedly working on setting up a new agency to deal with issues connected to monetary policy, finanical regulations.
The yet-unnamed organization will be managed through the People's Bank of China.
It's reportedly going to be tasked with the oversight of financial products, along with accounting across different financial sectors.
Under the new plan, the central bank will govern bond sales in the inter-bank market.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission will oversee bonds issued by listed companies.
The National Development and Reform Commission will have the power to approve bond issues by non-public firms.
It's unclear at this point when the new agency will be activated.
U.S. judge approves Kodak plan to exit bankruptcy
Eastman Kodak Co has just earned court approval for a plan to come out of bankruptcy as a much smaller digital-imaging company.
It's being reported the once mighty photography pioneer plans to emerge from bankruptcy as early as September 3rd.
Kodak will focus its business mainly on commercial products such as high-speed digital printing technology and flexible packaging for consumer goods.
Kodak was founded in 1880 by George Eastman, inventor of the hand-held camera and rolled photographic film.
Market value of the company once topped $31 billion in the mid-1990s.
Kodak filed a $6.75 billion bankruptcy in January 2012, weighed down by high pension costs and it's delay in embracing digital camera technology.
Headline News
China, Kenya leaders pledge to cooperate on national development
Anchor
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has met with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta in Beijing.
The two sides have pledged to enhance their cooperation particularly in the fields of national development, disaster prevention and poverty reduction.
Meantime, chief of China's largest policy lender, China Development Bank, says the bank has invested 250-million US dollars in Kenya's infrastructure projects, its finance sector and small businesses.
Those funds have been used to popularize the use of digital television and are expected to go into hydro-power, thermal-power and development park projects.
Zheng Zhijie says it was part of the 18.9-billion-dollars of outstanding loans the CDB has brought to African countries so far.
China says window emerges to open talks on Korean Peninsula nuclear issue
A Chinese military spokesperson says a window has emerged to open talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.
Guan Youfei made the comments in Washington on the sidelines of Chinese defense minister Chang Wanquan's visit to the US.
Guan says the US government has voiced willingness to work with the Chinese side to realize a faster solving of the issue.
Zimbabwe court dumps challenge to Mugabe's re- election
Zimbabwe's top court has thrown out a petition to challenge the outcome of last month's presidential election, ruling that incumbent president Robert Mugabe was duly re-elected.
The disposal of the court challenge by Mugabe's challenger, outgoing Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, has paved the way for Mugabe's inauguration later this week.
Mugabe got over 60 percent of the vote, while Tsvangirai only garnered around 34 percent.
Observers from several regional blocs and other countries have largely endorsed the outcome.
Czech dissolves parliament for snap election
The Czech parliament has voted to dissolve itself, paving the way for an early election.
The dissolution was supported by 140 members of the 200-seat lower house of parliament.
President Milos Zeman is now tasked to schedule an election, which is likely to be held at the end of October.
The Czech cabinet led by Prime Minister Jiri Rusnok submitted its resignation last week after failing to win a vote of confidence.
Charges expected in killing of Australian by 'bored' U.S. teenagers
Charges are expected to be filed later today in the suspected killing of an Australian university student in the US state of Oklahoma by three teenagers.
Christopher Lane, from Melbourne, was out jogging during a visit to his girlfriend and her family in Duncan on Friday when he was shot in the back.
Police say three male suspects, all aged below 17, have admitted they decided to kill someone "for the fun."
Newspaper Picks
Beijing News
Headline: Suspect arrested in deadly bus attack
Summary:
A man suspected of killing three people and injuring 12 others on a bus in Anyang, Henan province, has been arrested.
24-year-old Zhou Jiangbo was recognized as he bought food nearly 24 hours after the attack.
Beijing Times
Headline: Illegal online drug sales would be banned
Summary:
The Chinese government has launched a five-month campaign to combat illegal online pharmaceutical sales.
Vendors who market drugs online without obtaining business licenses and those selling fake drugs will be targeted.
Drugs for the treatment of tumors, sexual dysfunction, diabetes and high blood pressure have been listed as "major targets".
Regulations relevant to online drug sales will be revised, and drug producers, traders and consumers are encouraged to provide tips in order to regulate online drug sales.
China Daily
Headline: Farmer couple donates daughter's organs
Summary:
A mother in Kaihua, Zhejiang province, donated a number of her daughter's organs, including kidneys, liver, heart and cornea, after she died of a brain tumor.
She and her husband made the decision after they learned that a large number of patients were waiting for organ transplants.
Shanghai Daily
Headline: Book service a hit with Metro users
Summary:
A book borrowing service at Metro stations in Shanghai has received an enthusiastic response since its launch last week.
Metro riders just have to pay 1 yuan (16 US cents) to borrow and return the books and magazines.
No deposits or identity information is asked.
Most of the reading materials are donated or recycled.
The income generated will be used to send books to schools for migrant workers' children.
But there are not too many choices for foreign readers yet.
Global Times
Headline: Weibo helps students tap into entrepreneurial spirit
Summary:
A majority 46 percent of surveyed college students say that China's Twitter-like information-sharing and social network platform, Sina Weibo, has encouraged them to start their own businesses.
The finding was based on a study of more than 10-thousand college students.
The report said that 46.37 percent of respondents are motivated to explore entrepreneurial options with Weibo, using the Internet tool to launch their own company.
Another some 40 percent added that Weibo helps to improve their chances of finding jobs opportunities.
Special Reports
When Shakespeare Meets Rock: Lin Shaohua's Coriolanus Debuts at the EIF
Anchor
The Beijing People's Art Theatre has made its debut at the Edinburgh International Festival.
It's also the European premiere of Chinese director Lin Zhaohua's version of Shakespeare's tragedy Coriolanus.
CRI's UK correspondent Tu Yun has more.
Reporter
Shakespeare and heavy metal rock?
That sounds a bit odd.
But that's what Chinese director Lin Zhaohua did in 2007 when he first introduced the Tragedy of Coriolanus to the Beijing People's Art Theatre with two rock bands, Miserable Faith and Suffocated.
"Rock music is more powerful in demonstrating confrontation."
And six years later, it hits the stage of the Edinburgh International Festival.
All in Mandarin Chinese; all in plain modern colloquial language.
"I think it's important for people in the United Kingdom to experience very different interpretations of the works of William Shakespeare."
Jonathan Mills is the director of the festival.
"Shakespeare is of course a British playwright. But he's a world figure. And he's open therefore to interpretation across many different genres of art, and across many different cultures."
Set in Republican Rome, Coriolanus describes the predicament faced by a victorious military commander after he becomes a policymaker.
It sheds light on the contradiction between the general public and those with ruling power.
That's the most attractive part to the 77-year old Chinese director.
"What I value most is the relationship between the ordinary people and the ruling group. That's it. Nothing more. The contradiction is always there. That's the case in China, in Britain, and all over the world."
That's also what's impressed Mills most.
"The interpretation from Lin Shaohua, I think he's making a strong reference not only to a very particular form of drama from the late 16th, early 17th century. But he's also perhaps making a statement, a symbol of the emergence of the People's Republic of China—how these acts of selflessness and heroism built a new nation and the challenges. And I read it as a contemporary metaphor for China."
[Mills has been in contact with Lin Zhaohua for years, hoping the Chinese director could bring his production to Edinburgh.
But it's not until this year that Mills successfully incorporated Lin's work into the program.
Pu Cunxin, the leading actor of the play, who's also the deputy president of the Beijing People's Art Theatre, explains.
"The budget is one of the problems. We've got an eighty-strong cast, which could be a big burden for any organizer. This time, the organizers have spent heavily on this, owing a lot to the sponsor. Otherwise, only ticket sales can barely cover it."]
The production is supported by China's Ministry of Culture and the KT Wong Foundation.
Tickets for the two-day performance were sold out days before it premiered.
For CRI, I'm Tu Yun in Edinburgh.
Sports
England and Australia look ahead to fifth and final Ashes test at Oval
Day one of the fifth Ashes test between England and Australia will get underway later today.
Australian head coach Darren Lehmann has made some last minute changes to his lineup ahead of the match.
Jackson Bird and Usman Khawaja have been dropped from the team, with Mitchell Starc and James Faulkner taking over instead.
Lehmann was not joking when he said underperformers would be dropped from his squad.
Another loss is Ashton Agar who returned home after getting sick.
Australia captain Michael Clarke said he's not planning on losing this final test, as a win would be a critical moral boost for the team ahead of the return Test series in Australia this winter.
"We may have lost the series but we still have a lot to gain. I think that we have a lot of cricket to play against England in the next 12 months is extra motivation. We need to show a lot of people, but ourselves as well, if we continue to play that style and brand of cricket we can beat any team in the world in any condition."
On England's side,
Lancashire spin bowler Simon Kerrigan has been called in for the final test.
Alistair Cook has received some flak for not scoring enough runs, but the English captain defended his performance.
I have given my batting just as much attention as I would do if I wasn't captain so that's certainly not the reason that I haven't scored the runs I would like to have done in this series. Sometimes it's the natural ebb and flow of form. Things haven't been quite as good this summer as they have been for the last couple of years. All I can do is know that my record suggests I will score runs and I've done that in the past.
The fifth test begins later today at the Oval in London.
Murray says there are no clear favorites ahead of US Open
The final tennis Major of the year—The US Open—gets underway in New York next week, and tennis fans are already discussing who's likely to walk away with the trophy.
In the mens draw, Andy Murray will enter as the defending champion and a favorite to reclaim the title.
But the Scotsman admitted that he doesn't put much weight on pre-tournament predictions.
"You can play great tennis one day and then wake up a couple of days later and feel horrible so i don't think there is a clear favourite - Novak has played great tennis on the hard court and obviously Rafa would be the form player just now how well he has been playing."
Four time US Open champion John McEnroe named Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova as possible winners, but said it's hard to see past Serena Williams if she brings her A-game.
FIFA confirms Sao Paolo venues will be ready for 2014 World Cup
With ten months to go to the opening world cup matches, FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke confirmed that Sao Paolo's stadium will be ready in time.
A few months ago, FIFA had grave doubts over whether the venue would be ready in time for its December deadline.
But after an inspection tour to the 12 host cities, Valcke said construction is progressing on track. In fact the secretary general's seemed almost jubilant.
"Why we should be negative, all is working, we are all happy, we will have the opening game of the world cup here, Brazil playing I don't know whom again, lets be happy, lets enjoy, lets all be happy."
There have also been concerns that more protests and unrest will break out during the world cup matches, but Valcke says organisers are as prepared as they can be.
President Obama honors the 1972 Miami Dolphins team at White House
Forty years after making history with an undefeated NFL season, the men of the 1972 Miami Dolphins squad finally got their White House moment.
"Today, I am proud to welcome the only undefeated, untied team in NFL history to the White House for the very first time - give it up for the 1972 Miami Dolphins!"
President Obama welcomed the former players in the East Room, where he congratulated them, but also reminded everyone that he is a loyal Chicago Bears fan.
Former head coach Don Shula—who is now 83 and in a wheel chair—gave the President a signed 1972 Dolphins jersey.
"Everyone signed this, the undefeated '72 Dolphins and this is something that we hope you find a good spot for somewhere in your office where you can look at it and think about the whipping we put on that '85 Bears team."
The 1972 team's perfect season of 17 wins is a record that remains unmatched in the NFL today.
Entertainment
Wong Kar Wai Releases New Trailer for Film
A new trailer for Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar Wai's new film The Grandmaster has been released.
(grandmaster trailer)
The action film is based on the life of Bruce Lee's teacher, legendary kungfu master Ip Man.
Rapper RZA from the Wu-Tang Clan performs on the soundtrack for the new promo.
The film will reunite actors Zhang Ziyi and Tony Leung with writer/director Wong who all worked on Wong's 2046 film together in 2004.
Hye-Kyo Song, Chen Chang, and Shun Lau will also appear in the movie.
Yuen Woo-ping, famous for his choreography of fights in films such as The Matrix, Kill Bill, and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, will star and choreograph certain scenes.
The Grandmaster hits US screens this weekend, while a UK release date has yet to be announced.
X-men Film Wraps Production
Director Bryan Singer has confirmed shooting has officially wrapped on next year's X-men Days of Future Past film.
(x-men trailer)
Production for the sequel to 2011's X-men First Class began last April in Montreal, Canada.
Singer who has been using Twitter to throughout the film's production as a way to keep fans up to date on the film's status made the announcement through a tweet.
The new film will have a massive cast including Jennifer Lawrence, Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, and Ian McKellan among several others.
The film will find everyone's favorite mutants traveling through time and battling Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage's mutant hunting Sentinel robots.
Fans can expect the film next summer.
Shanghia Book Fair Closes with Bright Hopes for Future
The 10th-Shanghai Book Fair will close tonight with a press briefing held to highlight the event and announce future plans.
Highlights from the fair include international A-listers suchas Russian-American poet Ilya Kamingsky, award winning Italian author Paolo Giordano, and Candaian science fiction writer Robert J Sawyer.
Kan Ninhui, Vice Director of Shanghai Press and Publication Bureau, confirms the fair's future goals will include to be more international.
"The international elements are an integral part of Shanghai book fair. We will enhance and elevate the quality of the literary and publication activities."
Kan also hopes the book fair will become more than a promotional platform for new books.
"We hope new creative ideas, in-depth perspectives in the academic and cultural fieds from home and abroad will be announced through the platform of Shanghai Book Fair."
The week long event was held in the Shanghai Exhibition Center and occurs annually during the third week of August.
Actress Emilia Clarke's Image Uses for Russian Anti-Rape Ad Without Permission
Game of Thrones actress Emilia Clarke has had her image used in a Russian anti-rape advertisement without her knowledge.
(Game of Thrones clip)
The 26-year-old actress's face appears on an ad for a campaign in the city of Yekaterinburg which backs Russian politician Yakov Silin.
The ad features Clarke's face but calls her Anya and has a few lines about how she feels safe walking the streets of Yekaterinburg.
Though the campaign organizers admit they did not seek Clarke's permission they posted the ad on facebook anyway claiming they used her picture to make it clear it's a fantasy.
Since then they have apologized for the confusion and removed the ad.
Sony Announces Release Date for PS 4
Sony has announced the release date for their next generation video game console the Playstation 4.
Gamers can get their hands on the new machine on November 15th in North America and November 29th in Europe.
Sony also announced the console will be available in a total of 32-countries during this year's holiday season.
The PS4 carries a price tag of 400-US dollars and euros in a bid to prevent similar losses Sony initially suffered with the released of the PS3.
It is available now for preorder though consoles ordered in the UK are not guaranteed to arrive on the launch date.
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