| The Beijing Hour
Evening Edition
It's Spencer Musick with you on this Monday, April 13th, 2015.
Welcome to the Beijing Hour, live from the Chinese capital...
Coming up on our program this evening...
Chinese premier Li Keqiang addressing the Fifty-Fourth Annual Session of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization.
Chinese authorities issuing new restrictions on Shenzhen residents crossing into Hong Kong...
Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton officially announcing her 2016 bid...
In Business: A large number of lockup shares hit Chinese markets today...
In Sports: Jordan Speith walking away victorious at the Masters in Augusta...
In Entertainment: MTV's movie awards have taken place over in the United States...
All of that coming up in just a moment, but first, just a reminder there are several ways to reach out to us here on the Beijing Hour.
You can follow us on our weibo account at weibo.com/beijinghour, or email us directly at [email protected].
Top news
Premier Li Keqiang Highlights Observing Common International laws at the 54th AALCO annual session
Anchor:
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is stressing the importance of observing common international laws in order for Asian and African countries to achieve their development goals.
Premier Li made the remark while addressing the Fifty-Fourth Annual Session of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization.
The meeting officially kicks off today in Beijing.
CRI's Yin Xiuqi has more.
Reporter:
Premier Li Keqiang reiterates China's commitment to the Five Principles, noting that the ideas are even more important under the current complex international situation.
"As a founding member of the United Nations, China holds the view that we should consolidate the international system on the basis of sovereign state, and abandon the law of jungle. Asia and Africa countries should jointly protect the post-war international order with the United Nations at its core, staunchly uphold the authority of the UN Charter, and adhere to the fundamental principle of sovereign equality, non-interference in each other's internal affairs and non-use of force."
In 1954, leaders of China, India and Myanmar initiated the Five Principles, including mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence.
The Principles were laid out at the first Asian–African Conference held in the Indonesian city of Bandung.
The notion has become the grounding of the basic norms governing international relations as well as basic principles of international law.
The Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization, or AALCO, was also established after the conference in Bandung.
Premier Li Keqiang said China would further work with AALCO and member countries to seek democracy and the rule of law in international relations.
For some regional conflicts and historical problems, we need to solve them through negotiations rather than resorting to force. For the controversial issues, we should tackle them in the manner of mutual understanding and accommodation, and try to achieve the greatest common divisors. If we are pursuing peace in a sincere way, we can resolve all the problems and overcome all the barriers. The way Asian and African people getting along with each other will be broader and smoother."
The annual AALCO session, which will take place in Beijing from April 13 to 17, will involve delegates from AALCO members and international organizations.
A special meeting will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Bandung Conference in 1955, and an international seminar on United Nations chapters and post-war international order are scheduled to take place on the sidelines of the AALCO session.
For CRI, I'm Yin Xiuqi.
Shenzhen citizen's entry to Hong Kong restricted
Anchor:
Chinese authorities have formally announced that Shenzhen residents are limited to just one visit a week to Hong Kong using their multiple-entry permits.
The new policy is expected to cut number of visitors by a third every year, in a bid to crack down on parallel goods traders that have caused problems for Hong Kong residents.
CRI's Hong Kong correspondent Li Jing has this report.
Report:
Shenzhen, a border city in South China's Guangdong Province, introduced the multiple-entry scheme in 2009, facilitating its permanent residents to visit Hong Kong as many times as they want.
Parallel traders have since taken advantage of the policy to buy duty-free products in Hong Kong and resell them in the mainland for profit. As a result, the increase in parallel importers has pushed up retail prices and disrupted locals' daily lives in border districts in Hong Kong.
The decision was made by the central government after huge numbers of tourists from the mainland put a strain on Hong Kong's accommodation capacity.
Chief Executive in the Special Administrative Region CY Leung.
"The Hong Kong government is very concerned over the recent period as a result of Hong Kong's ability to withstand this problem (the influx of mainland shoppers). So, last June, the Hong Kong government proposed to the Chinese Central government to cancel the policy of multiple visits passes and replacing it with the once-a-week travel passes."
The new policy is welcomed by some Hong Kong residents.
"It will be less crowded, and if the rental fee drops in retail stores, we can buy cheaper products there."
However, Lau Nai-keung, a member of the Basic Law Consultative Committee, says the new move will not reduce parallel trading activities.
"Hong Kong residents will monopolize the parallel trading business. We have been doing this business for hundreds of years. It cannot be stopped. "
Statistics show that currently, more than half of the parallel traders are actually from Hong Kong.
Hong Kong's Chief Executive CY Leung says the authorities will fight against the parallel trading business hand-in-hand with authorities in Shenzhen.
"We have to distinguish parallel traders that come to Hong Kong more than once a week from other visitors. The new measure is to target professional parallel traders. We are aware that Hong Kong residents will continue their business, authorities will strengthen the crackdown."
Some retail insiders also worry that the new policy would further dampen the local economy. Lawmaker Vincent Fang is one of them.
"The retail sector will be affected. Pharmacies and stores selling daily necessities will be hurt first. We don't know what to do yet. "
The tightening measure comes at a time when Hong Kong tourism sees a decline in the number of visitors and a slump in sales last month. CY Leung says Hong Kong continues to welcome all tourists.
"The new policy doesn't mean that we don't want to promote tourism development. As a matter of fact, authorities will adopt a series of campaigns shortly to attract visitors from all around the world."
The one-visit-per-week permit would be issued from Monday, while multiple visit visas already issued remain valid.
The restriction is expected to cut the number of visitors to Hong Kong by 4.6 million a year.
For CRI, this is Li Jing in Hong Kong.
Multiple-entry Adjustment Shows Central Government's Care for Hong Kong: State Council
Chinese mainland authorities say the new restriction on Shenzhen citizens' entry to Hong Kong reflects the central government's consideration for people's livelihood in Hong Kong.
The State Council's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office says the adjustment demonstrates the central government's support for a positive response to residents' appeals by the Hong Kong government.
According to the mainland's authority, the decision is a necessary measure to support Hong Kong's economic development.
The authority says the central government will continue to encourage tourism development and the steady exchange of personnel between the mainland and Hong Kong.
US business delegation visit China to promote cooperation in clean energy
A US trade mission led by top officials from the Department of Commerce and Energy started a visit to China today.
US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and Deputy Secretary of Energy Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall are heading the delegation representing 25 American companies.
The US mission held talks with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang and Chinese Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng in Beijing.
The visit is a result of a joint announcement by US President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping last November, in which both leaders vowed that China and the US would work together to meet both countries' post-2020 carbon emission targets.
China-US Joint Cooperation on New Energy Makes Progress
Anchor:
For more on the China-US cooperation in the clean energy field, our reporter Xie Cheng earlier spoke with some of the business leaders from the delegation.
Reporter:
Ecolab Inc., an American global provider of clean energy technologies and services, has made great progress on helping industries in China to produce their goods with less water consumption.
Those industries include dairy plants, food industries, steel mills, paper mills and a great number of energy firms.
The company has grown 10 times larger for the last 5 years in China.
Christophe Beck, the Executive Vice President of the firm, talks about how green technologies are successful in China's paper industry.
"If we take the paper industry, for instance, which is a big one in China. We've brought our technologies to purify the water to produce better paper and afterwards we purify the water that comes out from the paper mill, and we recycle it within the paper mill which helps paper mill produce with much less water."
He also says water treatment and food safety are the two biggest fields in which they will cooperate with China.
"The first one is water treatment and helping companies produce with no net water intake, we recycle everything. The second one is food safety, we can help the food and beverage industry to produce safer food."
Another company, McWong Environmental Technology, has been promoting ZLD, or Zero Liquid Discharge, to solve the waste water issue in some Chinese industries.
The main idea is to reuse the solid waste, turning it to a useful industrial product.
In this way, they will recycle all of the material from waste water treatment.
Alex Ping Zhang, President of the company, says he's quite pleased with the cooperation with China.
"Many Chinese companies now have better understanding the needs and have a very high social responsibility, and are also required by new environmental law, so cooperation we getting from counterparts are very good."
He adds that the company's goal is to save money, land, energy, manpower, and eventually to produce affordable ZLD projects for Chinese clients.
For one of the ZLD projects, they're cooperating with ChinaCoal Mengda New Energy Chemical Company Limited in Inner Mongolia. This project is now under the commissioning stage.
Another project with China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation is still in operation.
For CRI, I'm Xie Cheng.
Hillary Clinton finally announces her bid for 2016
Anchor:
Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has officially thrown her hat into the ring for the Democratic nomination for President.
CRI's chief Washington correspondent Xiao Hong has more.
Ann:
After several months of officially sitting on the fence, Hillary Clinton has finally made it public.
"I'm running for President. Americans have fought their way back from tough economic times but the deck is still stacked in favor of those at the top. Everyday Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion."
Her first campaign ad is targeting the middle class and the economy.
Polling suggests Hillary Clinton stands as the overwhelming favorite to replace Barack Obama.
She holds a significant lead over all her potential rivals.
The Republican bench so-far includes Senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul.
Rand Paul's latest campaign ad has taken aim at Clinton, calling her part of the broken Washington machine.
"Hillary Clinton represents the worst of the Washington machine. The arrogance of power, corruption and coverup, conflicts of interest and failed leadership with tragic consequences."
Clinton does come with some baggage.
She's consistently being dogged by her role as Secretary of State during the 2012 Benghazi attack.
Large foreign donations to the Clinton Foundation have also become an issue, as is her use of a non-State Department email account.
Clinton is set to begin her campaigning in Iowa.
Xiaohong, CRI, Washington DC.
Q&A on Hillary Clinton's announcement of her bid for Presidency
For more on Hilary Clinton's presidential bid, the Beijing Hour's Paul James earlier spoke with Dr. Clifford A. Kiracofe, educator and former senior professional staff member of the US senate foreign relations committee.
Back Anchor:
That is Dr. Clifford A. Kiracofe, educator and former senior professional staff member of the US senate foreign relations committee, speaking with the Beijing Hour's Paul James.
The growing link between terrorism and organized crime worth attention: UN Secretary General
Anchor:
The 13th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice is being held in Doha.
Government officials, policy-makers and experts are exchanging their experiences and planning to intensify international cooperation in tackling the threat of transnational organized crime.
CRI's Yu Yang has more details.
Reporter:
The UN Crime Congress is considering how best to integrate crime prevention and criminal justice into the wider UN agenda.
UN officials say it will focus on links between security, justice and the rule of law, and the attainment of a better, more equitable world.
The meeting also highlights effects of crime on sustainable development
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon points out that the trend of criminals and terrorists supporting each other is worth attention.
"We must address the growing links between organized crimes and terrorism. Like never before, criminals and terrorists are coming together and feeding off each other. They are funding terrorists through criminal networks and growing rich through the suffering of the entire population. We must take a comprehensive approach to address extremism, trafficking, money laundering, corruption and a range of related issues."
Thousands of government officials, experts and members of non-governmental organizations from over 140 countries attend the meeting.
Chinese Justice Minister Wu Aiying is calling on all parties involved to promote international coordination and cooperation.
"International cooperation should be strengthened in the aspects of extradition of criminals, judicial assistance, and recovery of illegal assets, which leaves transnational criminals, corrupt officials and terrorists nowhere to hide."
The meeting lasts from April 12 to 19.
The UN Crime Congress is held every five years.
For CRI, I'm Yu Yang.
Sudanese Voters Begin Casting Votes in Presidential, Legislative Polls
Voters in Sudan are casting their ballots to elect a president and members of the national and state parliaments amid boycotting by most of the country's opposition parties.
16 candidates, including incumbent President Omar al-Bashir, are running for the country's top post.
Forty-five political parties, most of them small ones, are taking part in the race.
Sudanese president Omar Al Bashir stressed that he will bring an end to the state of war in the country.
Al Bashir says establishing peace is the first item on his campaign agenda, adding that the areas including the Blur Nile, South Kurdufan and Darfur will live in peace again.
The ongoing war there has left thousands of people dead and has crippled the economy.
Some Sudanese hope the elections will bring positive changes to the country.
Mohamed Osman is a local resident in Khartoum:
"We hope the current high prices, expensive living and unemployment would change, there must be reform for the sake of the youth and freedom."
The polling process is to last until Wednesday while the vote counting is set to begin the next day.
The final results of the elections are scheduled to be announced on April 27.
South Korea Foreign Ministry conducts Briefing Following Libya Attack
Two coordinated attacks have hit the South Korean and Moroccan embassies in the Libyan capital of Tripoli.
The attack on the South Korean embassy on Sunday killed two local security guards while no South Korean casualties were reported.
South Korea's foreign ministry has strongly condemned the deadly attack and expressed condolences to the victims and their families.
South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister for Overseas Koreans, Lee Key-cheol.
"We are considering to temporarily move the South Korean embassy in Libya to Tunisia, and we strongly advised our overseas nationals there to evacuate by contacting them individually. Moreover, our government has released a Foreign Ministry spokesperson statement to denounce the attack on our embassy."
Just hours after the attack, a bomb hit the Moroccan embassy, damaging the gate and a residential building next to the embassy.
No one was injured in that blast.
HeForShe Campaign in Beijing
Anchor:
The UN Women China organization has recently launched a HeForShe campaign here in China to promote equality for women.
CRI's Huang Shan has this report.
Reporter:
Serving as a part of UN's global efforts, the HeForShe campaign highlights social and cultural barriers that hinder women and girls from achieving their full potential.
During the campaign, people from all backgrounds have gathered in Beijing to discuss the inequality faced by women and girls in China, and around the world.
The campaign, led by the UN Women China organization is trying to encourage men and boys to take action against inequalities confronted by females.
Julie Broussard is the country program manager of UN Women China.
"China has seen some huge improvements in the status of women since 1949, particularly in terms of employment and education, but there is still a ways to go. According to the 2010 census of China there are 34 million more men and boys in China than women and girls, and this is a result of send preference. There are also other problems that hurting women here, some employment discrimination, domestic violence, and other issues."
Chinese actor Li Guangfu also gives his thoughts on gender inequality as a social problem.
"It's common to see girls do better at school than boys, all the way to higher education in China. But at work you see women take far fewer important positions. I think this is a big social problem."
Since the launch of HeForShe at the UN headquarters in New York in 2014, a large number of men worldwide have made the HeForShe commitment to curb gender inequality.
The long name list includes heads of state, CEOs, and global luminaries from all walks of life.
Organizers believe the involvement of men on channels like social media may play a crucial role in sending out the campaign's message.
Former Olympic Champion Yang Ling mentions his role in the campaign.
"I will make a good example and promote gender equality. I will never discriminate against women and children in action or language."
As part of the campaign, a one-year initiative called Impact Ten by Ten has been launched as well.
This initiative aims to engage people with the greatest capacity to influence others, such as governments, corporations and universities.
Organizers hope that, through these means, the campaign's message can be spread more widely, and communities with the greatest need to address gender equality concerns can be targeted.
For CRI, I'm Huang Shan.
weather
Beijing will be clear tonight with a low of 5, tomorrow will be sunny with a high of 24.
Shanghai will see slight rain tonight with a low of 8, it will continue to see slight rain tomorrow with a high of 16.
Chongqing will be clear tonight, 13 degrees the lowest, tomorrow it will be cloudy with a high of 25.
Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia,
Islamabad will be sunny tomorrow with a high of 39.
Kabul, also sunny, 25.
Over in Australia
Sydney, will be partly cloudy with a high of 21,
Canberra, also partly cloudy, 21,
Brisbane will have some clouds, 28,
Finally Perth will be overcast with a high of 21 degrees Celsius.
Headline news
Premier Li Keqiang Highlights Observing Common International laws at the 54th AALCO annual session
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is stressing the importance of observing common international laws in order for Asian and African countries to achieve their development goals.
Premier Li makes the remark while addressing the Fifty-Fourth Annual Session of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization.
He reiterates China's commitment to the principle of peaceful development , noting that the ideas are even more important under the current complex international situation.
Premier Li Keqiang said China would further work with Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization to seek democracy and the rule of law in international relations.
China Limits Shenzhen Visitors to Hong Kong to Curb Day Trippers
The central government has agreed to limit visitors to Hong Kong.
Central authorities are making the move to limit the number of mainland residents making day trips into the city.
The Ministry of Public Security is limiting people from Shenzhen to one trip per week.
This comes amid a growing number of complaints in Hong Kong about the influx of mainland residents visiting the city.
Mainland welcomes Taiwan joining AIIB with proper identity
A Chinese mainland spokesperson says that the mainland welcomes Taiwan joining the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank under an appropriate name.
Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for the mainland's Taiwan Affairs Office, has confirmed via a media report that Taiwan can join the bank despite failing to become a founding member.
He says the mainland will consider opinions from all sides so as to properly address the issue of Taiwan's membership in the bank.
Taiwan authorities announced the island's letter of intent for membership of the bank on the last day of March, the deadline for such applications to join the bank as a founding member.
China's former state-assets manager stands trial over corruption
Jiang Jiemin, the former head of China's State-owned Assets watchdog will stand trial today, facing corruption charges.
He is being tried at a local court in Hubei.
Prosecutors allege Jiang Jiemin took massive amounts of bribes while working with the China National Petroleum Corporation and the PetroChina Company Limited.
Jiang was placed under investigation and removed from public office in September 2013.
China Q1 foreign trade dips 6 pct
New stats show foreign trade has declined by some 6-percent year on year in the first quarter.
Foreign trade through the first 3-months topped out at just over 900-billion U.S. dollars.
Exports are up by nearly 5-percent.
However, imports are down by over 17-percent.
On a monthly basis, Chinese exports in March dropped by over 14.5-percent.
Imports through March are down over 12-percent.
Biz reports
Anchor:
Turning now to our buisness news, but first let's have a look at the numbers from the Asian markets starting out the week on this Monday evening.
Joining me on the desk is CRI's Yu Yang.
Reporter:
Chinese stock markets extend a recent rally on Monday and closed at a seven-year high, as new stock market reforms now allow investors to hold up to 20 accounts.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 2.2 percent.
The Shenzhen Component Index added 1 percent.
In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index soared 2.7 percent, as fresh cash from mainland investors flooded the market.
Bank related stocks took the lead.
The Banking giant HSBC, which accounts for the largest weighting of the Hang Seng Index, edged up 1.5 percent.
China Construction Bank, the third largest weighting of the Hang Seng Index, bounced nearly 8 percent.
Bank of China gained more than 8 percent and ICBC moved up 5 percent.
Elsewhere in Asia,
The Japanese Nikkei ended slightly lower on profit-taking.
South Korea's Kospi rose half a percent.
Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index was up 0.4 percent.
In Australia, ASX 200 edged up 0.1 percent.
US$12b shares to be unlocked
Lockup shares worth nearly 73 billion yuan, or some 12 billion U.S. dollars, will become tradable on China's stock market this week.
Approximately 13 billion shares from 14 companies will be eligible for trade on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges.
Under China's market rules, major shareholders of non-tradable stocks are subject to one or two years of lockup before they are permitted to trade their shares.
BOE Technology Group Co, a Beijing-based display device manufacturer, will released the largest volume this Wednesday with unlock shares worth some 50 billion yuan, or 8 billion U.S. dollars, hitting markets.
China's foreign trade continues to weaken
Official data came out earlier today showing that China's foreign trade volume dipped by 6% in the first quarter of 2015.
The lackluster performance was partly dragged due to a 14.6 percent export slump in March.
Last month, China's foreign trade volume dropped by 13.5 percent from a year earlier, following an 11.3-percent increase in February.
General Administration of Customs spokesman Huang Songping says the decline is mainly due to a sluggish global economic recovery.
"First, demand from the global market is down and export orders declined. According to our survey on 3,000 Chinese export companies, about 44% of them have shown export orders fell significantly since last October. In March, the proportion has risen to 47.3%, even worse than the previous level."
Other than this, Huang says that domestic downward pressure is also accounted for in these figures.
China has lowered its annual target for foreign trade growth to around 6 percent for 2015, from the 7.5-percent goal set for 2014.
But Huang Songping pointed out that the implementation of newly approved Free Trade Zones and the 'Belt and Road' initiative can be favorable factors to promote foreign trade.
"Preliminary calculation shows, China's foreign trade volume with countries along the routes of belt and road initiative in the first quarter was estimated at some 1450 billion yuan, accounting for a quarter of China's total foreign trade in the same period, up 10 percent."
There are continued worries over foreign trade volume falling short of the target again for the fourth consecutive year.
China Approves Reforms to Three Policy Banks
China's State Council has approved plans to reform the country's three policy banks.
The banks are the China Development Bank, the Export-Import Bank of China and the Agricultural Development Bank of China.
Changes to the policies include the CDB adapting to the international market for more development-oriented financial models.
The China Exim Bank is also being tasked with a "going-out" strategy.
The Agricultual Development Bank of China has been told to maintain its policy-oriented business as a priority.
For more on the reform of these three policy banks, CRI's Paul James spoke earlier with Mike Bastin, Director of The China Business Centre based in London.
Back anchor:
That was Mike Bastin, Director of The China Business Centre based in London, speaking with the Beijing Hour's Paul James.
VAT reform grinds onward
China is expected to replace its business tax with a value-added tax for the financial services and real estate sectors this year.
According to a blueprint released by the Chinese government, the final stages of a major overhaul of the indirect tax structure will be completely replaced by the VAT by the end of this year.
Unlike the business tax, which is levied on the total revenue of a company, the VAT assesses only increments of new value created by a company.
Under the VAT, costs of purchasing certain goods and services can be deducted from a company's taxes.
The tax shift has already been implemented on a trial basis in sectors such as transportation, leasing, and telecommunications.
The financial services and real estate sectors were left to last because of their complexity and their wide-ranging impact on the economy.
The construction and consumer service industries are also scheduled to be moved into the VAT system this year.
Sports
Golf: Jordan Spieth wins Masters
Starting us off in Golf,
Jordan Spieth has won a historic Masters victory at Augusta by four shots and matched the 72-hole tournament record set by Tiger Woods.
Spieth fired a two-under par 70 to finish on 18-under 270. He and Woods are sharing the record for both scoring and winning at the age of 21.
Spieth claimed the green jacket symbolic of Masters supremacy and the top prize of 1.8 million US dollars.
He says it's an honor and describes it "one of the best feelings" he's ever felt.
"This was arguably the greatest day of my life. And to join the club that is the green jackets and to join Masters history and put my name on that trophy and to have this jacket forever, it something that I can't fathom right now. Yesterday I walked out of this interview room saying I want to walk back in there really late tomorrow and sit there with the jacket on."
Spieth will leap from fourth to second in the world rankings with this win.
Justin Rose and Phil Mickelson finished tied for second place.
Rory McIlroy finished in fourth at 12-under, while Tiger Woods produced his best finish since 2013 at 17th place.
Sun Yang wins 3rd gold at Swimming Championship
Turning over to swimming,
Sun Yang has won the men's 800-meter freestyle and claimed his third gold medal at the National Swimming Championships.
The Olympic and world champion took the gold with 7 minutes, 47.58 seconds, the world's second fastest time.
Sun had earlier won in the men's 200 and 400 meter freestyle.
He will take part in the 1,500 meters freestyle on Wednesday.
In other action,
Asian champion Ning Zetao topped the group and advanced into the final for men's 100 meter free; Shen Duo won the women's 200m free; and team Zhejiang grabbed the 4x100m mixed medley relay title.
Jenson Button penalized over clash with Pastor Maldonado
McLaren's Jenson Button has been handed a Formula 1 license points penalty for his collision with Lotus' Pastor Maldonado in the Chinese Grand Prix.
He was also demoted from 13th to 14 place with a five-second penalty.
Button's McLaren made contact with the rear of the Lotus entering lap 48, sending the Lotus spinning and himself running wide at Turn 1.
Maldonado abandoned the race due to rear-end damage.
Button finished with a damaged front wing. He insisted the incident "a misjudgment" as he thought there was room on the inside of the turn.
The two drivers had been involved in the biggest scrap of the race, locked in with each other and exchanging 13th place over the course of several laps.
Football: Hangzhou Greentown against Henan Jianye
In the Chinese Super League,
Hangzhou Greentown are playing Henan Jianye right now.
Henan paid the price with striker Xiao Zhi after defeating Guangzhou Evergrande in the last round.
Key player Xiao left the team for a knee surgery and will miss games for at least three months.
Forced to play without Xiao, Henan came up with a back up plan as coach Jia Xiuquan brought four young players for the challenge.
The good news for them is that Javier Patino has recovered from a sprained muscle and will be striving for his first goal of the season.
However Hangzhou will not be an easy target as they are stronger in defense and have home field advantage.
NBA Recap
In NBA action from earlier today,
The New Orleans Pelicans' playoff hopes were dashed, as they fell to the Houston Rockets 121-114.
The Washington Wizards took out the eastern conference leading Atlanta Hawks 108-99.
It was San Antonio over Pheonix 107-91.
And the Dallas Mavericks beat out the LA Lakers, 120-106.
MLB recap, Orlando hit three triples in first three career hits
Turning over to Major League Baseball action,
The New York Yankees took a 14-4 victory against their longtime rivals, the Boston Red Sox.
New York grabbed their first lead of the weekend with a seven-run first inning off Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz.
It was New York's biggest thumping of a Red Sox starter in nearly 70 years.
Masahiro Tanaka kept the lead for New York with 97 pitches over five innings, allowing four runs on four hits and three walks.
And in other action
Reigning champion the Kansas City Royals blasted off to a 6-0 start and eventually swept over the Los Angeles Angles 9-2.
Kansas City's newcomer Paolo Orlando hit two triples during the game. He became the first MLB player to complete three triples in his first three career hits.
And some highlights of the full slate of action on the diamond from earlier today:
Detroit took out Cleveland 5-8.
St. Louis beat out Cincinnati in extra innings, 7-5.
It was the Tampa Bay Rays over the Miami Marlins 8-5.
Toronto took out Baltimore 10-7.
The Mets beat out the Atlanta Braves 4-3.
It was Nats over Phillies 4-3.
The Chicago White socks beat out the Minnesota Twins 6-2.
It was Pittsburgh over Milwaukee 10-2.
The Astros got the better of fellow Texans the Rangers 6-4.
And it was the San Diego Padres over the San Francisco Giants 6-4.
John Degenkolb wins Paris-Roubaix
In cycling,
Giant-Alpecin's John Degenkolb took the spotlight in what would be Sir Bradley Wiggins' last road race and won the Paris-Roubaix.
He is the first German since the race's first edition in 1896 to win the race.
Degenkolb emerged from a leading seven-man group and beat Zdenek Stybar and Greg van Avermaet in a sprint finish in the Roubaix velodrome.
Sir Bradley Wiggins ignited his last road cycling show with an attack inside the final 35 kilometers of the race and finished in the main chasing group 31 seconds down.
Entertainment
MTV Movie Awards take place
The MTV awards took place last night with The Fault in Our Stars taking away the Best Movie award.
The film's star Shailene Woodley also picked up best female performance and The Trailblazer Award. She gave an emotional speech dedicated to John Green, the author of the book in which the film is based on.
"So John Green, beyond The Fault in Our Stars, I just want to thank you for being the human that you are and for every single day living a life with integrity, and again compassion on your sleeve because you changed the lives of millions of people around the world and you changed mine. So thank you so much."
Other winners included Bradley Cooper who walked away with the Best Actor award for his performance in American Sniper. He paid tribute to Chris Kyle during his acceptance speech.
"Chris would have turned 41 four days ago. Chris this is for you."
Robert Downey Jr. accepted the Generation Award which was presented to him by his Avengers co-stars including Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth and Jeremy Renner.
The awards show which is based on fan votes is also seen as an unofficial preview to this summer's blockbusters. Viewers were treated to new film previews of Pitch Perfect 2 and Avengers Age of Ultron.
Arnold Schwarzenegger to attend Beijing International Film Festival
Arnold Schwarzenegger will be attending the Beijing International Film Festival this week.
The Austrian born actor and former California governor will address the event which is to be held from April 16 to 23.
Known for his role in 'The Terminator' movies, Schwarzenegger stars in two films due for release later this year.
The festival has attracted 930 movies from 90 countries and regions to compete for its Tiantan Awards. The 10 Tiantan Awards include gongs for best feature film, best director, best actress and best music.
French director Luc Besson will chair the awards jury which also includes Peter Chan and Zhou Xun. Jean-Jacques Annaud who directed recent China-France hit Wolf Totem is also expected to attend the festival.
Game of Thrones episodes leak online
Four episodes of the new series of Game of Thrones have leaked online.
Four of the fifth season's episodes have been leaked online. The New York Times reports that since appearing online on Saturday, the four episodes have already been downloaded several hundreds of times.
The network suggests that the leaked episodes were culled from screening copies provided to critics and reviewers prior to broadcast. In a statement HBO acknowledged the leak and said they were looking into assessing how the breach occurred.
Game of Thrones is a favourite among illegal downloaders as the series is frequently one of the more popular shows available on torrenting sites.
Anticipation for the series is so feverish that even the series' fifth season trailer leaked before its scheduled release date. In an effort to decrease piracy of the new season, HBO previously announced plans to launch Season Five in over 170 countries and territories simultaneously.
Xie Tianxiao announces China tour
Chinese rock singer-songwriter Xie Tianxiao has announced he will be touring China this year.
The star has just signed a contract with Tree Music, a Beijing based indie-music production company in Beijing.
Known for his powerful live performances, Xie broke into the Chinese rock music scene in 1990 after he began writing his own songs and moved to Beijing from his hometown in Shandong province. He has performed hundreds of concerts in China, Japan, the US and Europe.
Besides preparing for the national tour which starts in Shenzhen in June, Xie is planning to record a new album. He says he plans to go back to his early impressions of rock with his new album to create something raw and authentic.
Rapper Nelly arrested on drugs charges
Award winning rapper Nelly has been arrested on drugs charges after police stopped a bus in which he was travelling in Tennessee.
(bjh/soundbites 0413 Nelly)
The bus was stopped by state troopers after it was not displaying legally required stickers. The bus was then searched after a state trooper smelled marijuana.
Officers are alleged to have found drugs and handguns on board. The star was charged with felony possession of drugs, simple possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia and was later released on bail.
The rapper whose hits include Dilemma and Ride Wit Me is currently starring in his own reality TV show Nellyville.
West causes scene at Armenia concert
American rapper Kanye West tried to walk on water during a concert in Armenia Sunday causing chaotic scenes.
The star was performing at a free concert in Yerevan when he seceded to dive into a lake with dozens of his fans following suit.
Authorities and West's security quickly moved in to help the singer after fans crowded around him pushing at least one concert goer away from the rapper and into the water. The show was stopped by police after the incident.
Weather
Beijing will be clear tonight with a low of 5, tomorrow will be sunny with a high of 24.
Shanghai will see slight rain tonight with a low of 8, it will continue to see slight rain tomorrow with a high of 16.
Chongqing will be clear tonight, 13 degrees the lowest, tomorrow it will be cloudy with a high of 25.
Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia,
Islamabad will be sunny tomorrow with a high of 39.
Kabul, also sunny, 25.
Over in Australia
Sydney, will be partly cloudy with a high of 21,
Canberra, also partly cloudy, 21,
Brisbane will have some clouds, 28
That’s it for this edition of the Beijing Hour.
A quick look at the headlines before we go...
Chinese premier Li Keqiang addressing the Fifty-Fourth Annual Session of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization.
Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton officially announcing her 2016 bid...
On behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers, this is Spencer Musick Beijing hoping you'll join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour to open a window to the world together |