新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 20:00 2015/04/02

 The Beijing Hour

Evening Edition

It's Shane Bigham with you on this Thursday, April 02nd, 2015.

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

Coming up on our program this evening...

Myanmar officially apologizes to China over the bombing last month that resulted in the deaths of five people in Yunnan province...

Chinese authorities express anger after two US warplanes land in Taiwan...

And a Russian fishing trawler has sunk, with 54 confirmed dead so far...

In Business: changes to China's social security fund...

In Sports: looking ahead to the semi-final matchups at the Miami Open tennis tournament...

In Entertainment: Hong Kong based Asia Television loses its broadcast license 1...

First, let's check in with what's happening with the weather...

Weather

Beijing will be clear tonight with a low of 6. Tomorrow will be sunny with a high of 17.

Shanghai will see slight rain with a low of 15, with more rain and a high of 17 expected on Friday.

Chongqing will be cloudy tonight with a low of 23. Those clouds will still be there tomorrow. A high of 33 is expected.

Elsewhere in Asia,

Islamabad will have some clouds with a high of 37.

Kabul, sunny, 19.

In Australia

Sydney will have showers with a high of 21,

Canberra, partly cloudy, 20,

Brisbane, thundershowers, 27,

Perth will be sunny with a high of 28 degrees Celsius 2.

Top News

Myanmar apologizes to China over warplane bombing

Myanmar has formally apologized to China over an accidental bombing that killed five people in southwest China's Yunnan province last month.

A warplane crossed the border into Chinese territory while on a mission against an armed ethnic 3 group in Myanmar.

Myanmar's Foreign Minister is paying a visit to China as his President's special envoy 4 to discuss the aftermath of the bombing.

He offered the apology during talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

He also pledged compensation for the five Chinese who were killed and another eight who were injured.

The bombing incident occurred when Myanmar government forces were battling ethnic armed groups in northern Myanmar, which borders China's Yunnan province.

China expresses anger about US planes land in Taiwan

The Chinese Foreign Ministry 5 has expressed anger after two U.S. fighter jets landed in Taiwan on Thursday.

Hua Chunying is the spokesperson with the Foreign Ministry.

"We have also noticed the reports and have already lodged 7 a solemn representation to the United States. China urges the U.S. to strictly 8 abide 9 by the 'one-China policy,' the principles of three China-U.S. joint 10 communiqués, and to cautiously and appropriately handle this incident."

Taiwan's Central News Agency says the two F-18s landed at an air force base in southern Taiwan yesterday after experiencing mechanical problems. It says it was not clear where they were coming from or where they were going.

This is a rare official contact between the militaries of the United States and the island.

Russian trawler sinks with 54 dead

A Russian trawler has sunk off the Kamchatka peninsula, with 54 sailors confirmed dead so far.

Sixty-three people have been rescued, many suffering from hypothermia. Information is coming from a maritime 11 rescue center in Russia's Far East.

The freezer trawler had 132 people on board.

Colonel Timur Tedeyev, Spokesperson from the Russian Emergencies Ministry.

"The rescue operation is continuing in the Sea of Okhotsk where the trawler Dalniy Vostok sank. Currently more than 14 vessels 12 are involved in the search and rescue mission. At the moment after the ship disaster in the Sea of Okhotsk the Far Eastern prosecutor's office initiated 13 a review of safety on the sea. In the course of this review we will assess whether the ship was at sea legally, we will look into the availability and quantity of the life-saving equipment, etc.

According to Russian emergency services, drifting ice may be responsible for the sinking.

Seventy-eight of the crew were Russian, with the remainder coming from countries including Latvia, Ukraine, Myanmar and Vanuatu.

Thai military government replaces martial 15 law

Thailand's military government has lifted martial law but has replaced it with new security orders, retaining sweeping 16 powers for the military.

Special security measures - including a ban on political gatherings 17 of more than five people - will continue under the new orders.

Political observers say lifting martial law has been partly prompted by the need to attract foreign investment to the Thai economy.

Puang-thong Pawa-kapan, Associate Professor at the Department of International Relations at Chulalongkorn University.

"They think that by lifting martial law, tourists - especially European tourists - will arrive to Thailand more. But I think this measure is too little too late now, because economic stagnation 18 is a huge problem - it can't be solved by just boosting the tourism industry."

Martial law was introduced in Thailand in May of last year, shortly before the army staged a coup 19, seizing power from then Prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Families of Victims of Germanwings Flight to get Different Payouts of Compensation

Families of those killed aboard the Germanwings flight are likely to receive vastly different payouts depending on their nationalities and where tickets for the flight were purchased.

However, In Germany, damages are calculated based on the victim's lost earnings 20 and other financial consequences of the loss, and there is typically no separate award for pain and suffering, which means Lufthansa is not obliged, legally, to pay such compensation.

Elmar Giemulla is an honorary professor of aviation law at Berlin's Institute of Technology.

"In my opinion, Lufthansa should be open to the survivors 21 when they stress this point. It cannot be accepted, morally nor from a point of view of the reputation of Lufthansa that Lufthansa denies completely that there is compensation for moral damage."

With many claims therefore likely to be based mainly on financial considerations, this means that revelations by Lufthansa that its flight school knew of pilot Andreas Lubitz's depression are unlikely to affect outcomes in many countries, apart from the United States.

Germany's Allianz, which is co-coordinating the insurance response, says that all claims arising from the crash would be handled fully 22, fairly and as quickly as possible.

The insurer's preliminary estimate for the total cost of the crash is 300 million dollars but it has said the figure could change as new information becomes available.

Chile floods death toll 23 rises to 27 as clean-up operations continue

The number of dead from last week's devastating 24 flash floods in Chile has risen to 27 with 57 people still unaccounted for according to rescue officials in the north of the country.

The Chinese embassy is working with Chilean authorities to try to recover the bodies of four Chinese nationals who are among the dead.

The victims were engineers at a Chilean subsidiary of a Chinese road and bridge construction company.

Almost 11,000 people have been affected 25 and more than 4,500 have been taken to temporary shelters in the area.

One of the survivors from the worst floods to hit the region in over 80 years.

"My house is on a hill, on the corner. I heard screams, women screaming, noise and people starting to run upwards 26, those on the river bank.

Among the thousands who lost their home is Victor Zamora, one of the Chilean miners who was trapped underground for 69 days in 2010.

International donor 27 pledge US$3.8 billion for humanitarian 28 aid in Syria

International donors 29 have pledged 3.8 billion US Dollars to tackle the humanitarian crisis in Syria.

The United Nations is seeking to help 18 million people inside Syria and those scattered 30 throughout the region by more than four years of civil war.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon headed a donor summit in the Kuwaiti capital on Tuesday along with more than 80 governments and dozens of aid agencies.

"The violence has left so many Syrians without homes, without schools, without hospitals and without hope, and today the international community stepped forward in an unprecedented 31 show of solidarity 32 to ease their plight 33."

The number of people needing humanitarian aid has increased by 2.9 million in just the past 10 months.

Some 200,000 people have died and nearly half the Syrian population has been displaced by the turmoil 34 that began with anti-government protests in 2011, that later spiraled into a full-scale civil war.

Pollutions Sources Identified among Major Cities

Anchor:

China's environmental protection authorities have laid out the results of their preliminary findings of the leading pollution sources among this country's major cities.

CRI's Qi Zhi has more.

Reporter:

According to the latest research, vehicles, coal-burning, airborne dust and industrial production account for 85 to 90-percent of the major airborne pollution sources in most Chinese cities.

Vehicles are the biggest polluters in Beijing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

Coal-burning emits the most particulates 35 in Shijiazhuang and Nanjing.

Tianjin is mostly troubled by airborne dust, while in Ningbo, it is industrial production.

In Shanghai so-called "mobile sources", including ships, are said to be responsible for most of the pollution.

The research program was initiated and led by the Ministry of Environmental Protection two years ago.

Hai Yin is an official with the Ministry's Environment Monitoring Department.

"We selected nine cities in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area, Yangtze River Delta 36 and Zhujiang River Delta, as they tend to have a lot in common. Firstly, they have a good technology backgrounds for conducting this kind of researches. Secondly 37, historically speaking, pollution in these cities is relatively 38 heavier than other cities. And thirdly, the cities themselves have conducted their own research into pollutants 39 such as PM10, which laid a good foundation our additional research."

The new analysis is meant to try to provide local officials with information as to how to better manage air pollution.

As an example, the results for Shanghai suggest municipal officials should focus not only on vehicles, but also the city's shipping 40 industry, both domestically and internationally.

Luo Hailin is with Shanghai's environmental protection bureau.

"There are a lot of opportunities for Shanghai to tackle 'mobile sources.' Authorities should be better controlling so-called yellow-labeled vehicles. As for the ships, it hasn't been our priority in the past. But now it seems they have a considerable impact on the environment. Moreover, another issue is the trucks. Generally speaking, the number of vehicles in Shanghai is less than that of Beijing. However, our calculations show the pollution levels from this category are almost the same in the two cities. The main reason is Shanghai is home to more trucks."

Yellow-labeled vehicles refer to those whose exhaust emissions 42 are below national standards.

Beijing's municipal authorities already laid out an updated emergency plan for heavy pollution days this week.

If heavy smog lingers for more than three days, a top-level emergency plan will go into effect to reduce emmissions, including limiting the use of private vehicles.

Apart from the nine cities in the latest analysis, another batch 43 of 26 cities will have their main sources of pollution disclosed later this year.

The findings are said to be just the first step towards a broader pollution management plan for China.

The next step will see researchers take a 'bigger picture' look at atmospheric 44 pollution on a regional level.

For CRI, I'm Qi Zhi.

Largest online gambling 45 case involves huge amount of bets

Chinese police say they have cracked the largest lottery-related online gambling case the country has ever seen.

As much as 400 billion yuan or about 64 billion US dollars worth of bets were placed each month.

Lu Feng is an official with the public security department of south China's Guangdong Province.

"We want to warn those illegal companies to strictly abide by laws and regulations, including internet service providers and Internet Data Center service providers. At the same time, we want to warn the public that gambling is illegal, no matter in what form."

Over one thousand suspects have been arrested in the online gambling network, and half of them now are in detention 46.

The group, led by two men from Guangdong Province, built around 200 gambling websites and rented them out at high prices.

Chinese police bust 47 cross-provincial 48 fake medicine network

Police in east China's Anhui Province have destroyed a production and sales network that had been making fake medicine.

The operation was said to span 12 provinces.

Yang Wen is an official with Anhui's Provincial Ministry of Public Security.

"We destroyed 30 dens 49 and busted 50 seven gangs. We seized over 1.8 million pills on the spot, as well as some manufacturing equipment. The involved value, at the market price, amounts to 440 million yuan or around 70 million US dollars."

Last July local police received a report saying a downtown drug store in the city of Ma'anshan was selling medicine under the brand name of a well-known foreign company.

The owner of the store later confessed that he obtained the fake medicine from a city in central China's Henan Province.

After months of investigation 51 into physical evidence such as bank transaction details and account books, the police found the case involved 12 provinces, as well as many foreigners.

The final round-up of the case was led by the Ministry of Public Security, with 59 suspects arrested.

Forty-four Chinese Tourist Attractions Downgrad

A number of highly rated Chinese tourist attractions have fallen from grace after a crackdown on irregularities in the industry.

China National Tourism Administration, or CNTA, says that ratings awarded to 44 tourist attractions, mostly in the 2A and 3A categories, have been removed.

Peng Decheng is the director of the Planning and Financing Department of China National Tourism Administration.

"All these moves are a good step in solving problems in the vacation areas, especially focusing on safety issues, sanitation 52, service quality, and management."

The move is a part of a campaign kicked off by CNTA in January to fix issues including market monopolies, illegal business operations, bullying 53 tourists, and forced shopping.

Peng also says that ten 5A scenic 54 spots were given a "warning", including Nanjing Confucius Temple, Qinhuaihe River Scenic Area, and Hangzhou Qiandao Scenic Area.

The warned tourism attractions have to fix problems identified by the authority and have 3 to 6 months to return to industry standards.

Business licenses 55 have been revoked 56 for 12 travel agencies, and 33 others were ordered to stop business till problems are fixed 57.

The CNTA says the campaign will continue, with the next focus on illegal one-day tours and other "budget" offerings.

China has a five-tier rating system for tourist attractions, based on criteria 58 such as the importance of the site, transportation, and sanitation. 1A is the lowest and 5A the best.

Chinese medical workers and parents call for increasing awareness 59 about autistic children

Chinese medical workers and parents have issued a call for enhanced awareness and aid for children suffering from autism.

Today is World Autism Awareness Day.

Wei Qingyun is a medical worker in a Beijing rehabilitation 60 center.

"The children we receive here around September and October every year are mostly the ones rejected by schools. Their parents tell me that their children were rejected or asked to quit after admission. I think this is a very tough social problem now."

Wei says ordinary schools tend to be unwilling 61 to accept children with autism, while special-needs schools don't offer classes tailored for autistic children.

Many parents are in a dilemma 62 about where their children can receive proper education.

"The older our children grow, the more worried we're becoming. We're worried about their education, jobs, and their capacity for independent living. We can take care of them for now, but what about after we pass away?"

Reports say there are currently around 1.6 million child-patients diagnosed with autism in China and the number keeps rising annually 63.

The children suffering from the disease tend to lack emotional reactions, language, and social skills.

Biz Reports

Anchor:

First, let's have a look at the numbers across the Asian markets on this Thursday evening.

Joining me on the desk is Niu Honglin.

Reporter:

Chinese stocks ended higher with nearly 140 shares increasing by the daily limit of 10 percent.

At the closing bell, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index traded higher by two fifths of a percentage percent.

The Shenzhen Component 64 Index gained around a quarter percent.

More than 2,000 shares across the two boards posted gains on this trading day.

Shares related to home appliances, environmental protection and electric instruments led the gains.

Analysts 66 expect more volatility 67 on the future performance of the stock market over the upcoming round of initial public offerings that will come after the annual Tomb-Sweeping Day on April 5.

Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index advanced around three quarters of a percent.

Elsewhere in Asia,

The Japanese Nikkei jumped nearly one and a half percent, posting the biggest daily percentage gain since mid-February.

South Korea's KOSPI added a fraction of a percent.

Singapore's Straits Times index increased one fifth of a percent.

In Australia, the ASX 200 closed up by two thirds of a percent.

China Broadens Investment Scope for Social Security Fund

Anchor:

China's cabinet has announced that it will broaden the investment scope of the nation's social security fund.

The move will allow the fund to invest in local government bonds and corporate 68 bonds.

The maximum share of investment on these two kinds of bonds will be raised to 20 percent from 10 percent.

The fund's direct equity 69 investment will be allowed in centrally-administered enterprises and their subsidiaries, as well as credit-worthy private firms.

Meanwhile, the upper limit of the fund's trust loan investment will be raised to 10 percent from 5 percent, with orientations 70 toward projects such as affordable 71 housing and municipal infrastructure 72.

The government will also allow the fund to directly invest in interbank certificates of deposit and manage such investment as bank deposits.

For more on the overall health of China's social security fund,the Beijing Hour's Paul James earlier spoke 6 with CRI's Financial Commentator 73 Cao Can.

China to Implement 74 New Fuel Quality Standards by the end of 2016

China is to implement a new set of quality standards for gasoline and diesel 75 fuels by the end of next year.

The China V fuel quality standards were issued in 2013 and were originally set to be adopted nationwide in 2017.

The standards involve desulfurization of gasoline and diesel fuel to a maximum sulfur 76 content of 10 parts-per-million (ppm).

The improved fuel will reduce emissions from all motor vehicles while enabling advanced emission 41 control technologies to be deployed 77.

The time change means oil refiners will have less time to upgrade their refineries 78 to produce the cleaner fuels.

The new fuel standards are a critical step forward for China to combat its worsening air pollution.

Former CNOOC deputy general manager under probe

China's top anti-graft watchdog says the former deputy general manager of the China National Offshore 79 Oil Corporation has been placed under investigation.

Wu Zhenfang is being investigated for suspected severe violations 80 of discipline, language often used to refer to corruption 81.

Details of the investigation haven't been revealed.

Brazil's Petrobras Gets $3.5bln Funding from China Development Bank

Brazilian state-owned oil giant Petrobras has signed an agreement to obtain 3.5 billion US dollars in funding from the China Development Bank.

The deal is part of a cooperation agreement to be implemented 82 through this year and next.

Petrobras says the company and the CDB have also confirmed their intention to undertake further cooperation in the near future to strengthen synergies between the economies of the two countries.

Petrobras' stock has made a recovery since its 52-week low in March.

Analyst 65 says this injection of Chinese funding comes at a crucial time, and it will influence a turnaround for the Brazilian oil giant.

Delta Air to take payments via Alipay from Chinese travelers

Delta Airlines has become the first U.S. airline to accept payments via Alipay, a service run by Alibaba that is used by hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers.

Last November, the U.S. signed an agreement with China, extending one-year visas issued to Chinese travelers to up to a decade. This deal is expected to bring more Chinese tourists to America.

Delta has opened non-stop U.S.-China flights since 2009. It flies direct between Beijing and Shanghai and Detroit and Seattle, and from July 9 will link Los Angeles and Shanghai.

US Hedge Fund Firms Invest $600m in Didi, Kuaidi

Two US hedge funds are leading a consortium buying a 600 million US dollar stake in the newly-combined Chinese taxi-hailing services of Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache.

The investment is expected to increase the combined company's current value by almost 50 percent.

But this is still lower than that of US competitor Uber, which is reportedly valued at 41 billion US dollars.

Headline News

Myanmar apologizes to China over warplane bombing

Myanmar has formally apologized to China over a Myanmar warplane bombing that killed five Chinese in southwest China's Yunnan province last month.

Myanmar's Foreign Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin is paying a visit to China as Myanmar President U Thein Sein's special envoy to discuss the aftermath of the bombing.

He offered the apology during talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

He also pledged compensation for the five killed Chinese and another eight injured.

The bombing incident occurred when Myanmar government forces were battling ethnic armed groups in northern Myanmar, which borders China's Yunnan province.

Death toll from Kenyan university attack rises to 15

At least 15 people have been confirmed dead and 65 others injured after gunmen stormed a university in northeast Kenya early Thursday.

Kenya's Majority Leader of the National Assemby, Adan Duale, confirmed the numbers, saying a major security operation is still underway to rescue more students who remain trapped inside the university.

Somali militant 83 group Al-Shabaab has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack.

Kenya's Internal security ministry says the Moi University campus in Garissa has been secured.

The ministry says three out of four hostels 85 have been evacuated 86. Attackers occupy the other hostel 84.

The heavily armed assailants forced their way into the university at about 5:30 a.m. local time and gained entry into student hostels after firing at guards manning the main gate.

U.S. embassy in Jamaica closes hours for suspicious package

The US embassy in Jamaica closed for several hours today after someone tossed a package over the wall into the compound.

Local police say it happened just before 8 o'clock in the morning and officers quickly arrested a "white man who spoke with an American accent."

Bomb disposal experts were called to the scene to examine the package but officials say no threat was detected.

US President Barack Obama is to visit Jamaica on April 9th, one week from today.

China to tackle old-age care in single-child families

China's health authorities say officials will explore a new method of elderly care to give support to single-child families.

Officials say nursing, health care, companion and first-aid services will be provided with a priority for single-child families with financial difficulties and bed-bound seniors.

37 pilot programs will be in place to explore new techniques to procure 87 government services, foster old-age care enterprises, and facilities that run on-demand and customized elderly care.

The number of seniors in China, as a percentage of the population, will increase significantly over the next decade-or-two.

And the one-child policy implemented in the past several decades has placed additional burden on the younger generation to care for their elderly family members.

Newspaper Picks

China News Service

"Millennial 88 temple's advertising 89 for new media talents goes viral"

A 1,500-year-old Buddhist 90 temple has become a hit online after an advertisement recruiting new media talents received more than a million clicks, and 4,000 applications worldwide within five days.

The advertisement, which combines music, cartoons and humorous wording, was posted by Donghua Zen Temple in Shaoguan City of south China's Guangdong Province.

It offers eight posts, including application operation, user interface 91 design, new media communication and IT maintenance.

It was first posted five days ago on the temple's official account on Wechat, China's most popular social network and went viral through retweets.

The ad reads "Half a month in the forest relaxing your nerves and half a month in the city. Easy, flexible, full of freedom, what are you waiting for? Our Buddha 92 needs you!".

Yahoo News

"World lights up for Autism Awareness Day"

Buildings and famous landmarks 93 around the world will be lit with blue lights to bring awareness to World Autism Day, which is today.

Marking World Autism Awareness Day on April 2, advocates are arguing more autism-specific employment services are needed.

Advocates are pushing for young people diagnosed with autism to receive more targeted support in their hunt for full-time 94 work.

While youth unemployment is high across the board, more than half of Australia's young people with high functioning autism are out of work.

Most - an estimated 80% - of adults with autism aren't employed largely because of a lack of vocational training, not enough support with job placements and discrimination.

At the same time however, there is research to suggest that people with autism can be good employees because they are good at recognizing patterns, reasoning and are able to focus greater attention to detail.

BBC

"Mediterranean 95 Sea 'accumulating zone of plastic debris 96'"

Scientists say large quantities of plastic debris are building up in the Mediterranean Sea.

A survey found around one thousand tonnes of plastic floating on the surface, mainly fragments of bottles, bags and wrappings.

The Mediterranean Sea's biological richness and economic importance means plastic pollution is particularly hazardous 97, according to Spanish researchers.

Plastic has been found in the stomachs of fish, birds, turtles and whales.

Very tiny pieces of plastic have also been found in oysters 98 and mussels grown on the coasts of northern Europe.

A high abundance of plastic has also been found in other seas, including the Bay of Bengal, South China Sea and Barents Sea in the Arctic Ocean.

Special Reports

Raising the Bar came to HK for the first time

Report:

Hong Kong has become the third city in the world, and also the first city in Asia, to host a "Raising the Bar" event.

CRI's Li Jing has details.

Reporters:

"Raising the Bar" originated in New York City last year, when 50 professors have 50 lectures at the same time in bars across the city, as patrons drank and had thought-provoking discussions with top academics.

Eppie Lau is the lead organizer here in Hong Kong.

"Sometimes it can be very scary to only learn in school or in university, instead, we want to advocate for bringing education out of the 'ivory tower', and advocate for learning to happen 'everywhere and anywhere'. And that's the best conversation that you can have spontaneously with those who are around you."

Lau, together with a dozen of international volunteers, has been making preparations for this event for about six months.

The talk topics range from the internet to music, from social issues to politics. Puja Kapai, a law professor with the University of Hong Kong, is one of the speakers.

"I think that bringing the conversation to the bars is a very innovative 99 and new idea to help, provide access to these topics. So I was very excited when I heard the initiative Raising the Bar has been brought to Hong Kong, I think it is a great way to get the conversation started or continuing on social issues that affect Hong Kong."

Audience member May Sarmiento says she has enjoyed the night very much.

"Actually I had fun with the questions and answers. The audience were very very attentive 100 and they were able to share their ideas. I think people can really enjoy, instead of just the lecture part."

The venues 102 were provided free of charge by ten different bars in Hong Kong. Aruna Rana is the owner of an art bar called Culture Club, which has hosted a wide range of cultural events over the past four years since its operation.

"We are a multi-cultural venue 101 and yes, that's why we do a lot of cultural events. The reason that we rent out the venue is for the cultural thing and something like Raising the Bar. I won't say it will directly promote the venue but it is always like word of mouth. "

Organizers say they will seriously review audience feedback, so as to improve future activities.

For CRI, this is Li Jing in Hong Kong.

Sports

Tennis: Tomas Berdych defeats Juan Monaco for place in the semi finals

Starting us out in tennis:

Tomas Berdych beat Juan Monaco 6-3, 6-4 to set up a Miami Open semi-final clash with two-time former champion Andy Murray.

Berdych and Monaco traded breaks early in the first set, but the World No. 9 earned the pivotal break for a 5-3 lead. The 29-year-old Czech went on to serve out the first set at love.

The second set was even-keeled for the first eight games before Berdych broke for a 5-4 lead.

The Czech served out the 92-minute victory at love.

Berdych's best showing in Miami was a runner-up finish in 2010, when he lost to Andy Roddick.

The last meeting between the pair was in the semi-finals of the Australian Open in January, which the Scot won in four sets.

And turning over to the WTA:

Third seed Simona Halep battled the stifling 103 heat - and a determined 104 comeback in the second set - before claiming a 6-1, 7-5 win over unseeded American Sloane Stephens 6-1, 7-5.

That fired the Romanian into the semifinal stage of the Miami Open.

However Halep will be face a stern test - as she takes on seven-time champion Serena Williams for a place in the final.

Williams overcame some hard moments to beat Sabine Lisicki of Germany 7-6, 1-6, 6-3 for her 700th career victory.

The No. 1-seeded Williams withdrew before the Indian Wells semifinal earlier this month with a right knee injury.

She had been scheduled to play Halep, who went on to win the title and leads the women's tour with 24 victories this year.

Basketball: Taiwan player Jeremy Lin makes list of top 30 point guards in NBA

Over to basketball, first a piece of news from the NBA about everyone's favourite Chinese point guard:

With the 2014-15 NBA regular season coming to an end in the next couple of weeks, a top sports magazine has ranked the 30 best point guards in the league.

Although nowhere near the top, Taiwan player Jeremy Lin is among the top 30 ranked.

Lin is 28th on the list ahead of Isaiah Canaan of the Philadelphia 76ers (29) and the Utah Jazz's Daunte Exum.

It appears that Lin's best attribute in these rankings is his scoring ability. Lin comes in at 22 overall in that category which is behind of Darren Collison (21), George Hill (20) and Jose Calderon (19) and ahead of Isaiah Canaan (23), Michael Carter-Williams (24) and Marcus Smart (25).

In 18 games after the All-Star break, Lin is averaging 14.8 points, 5.1 assists and 3.3 rebounds 105 per game. Lin is also shooting 45.3 percent from the floor and 37.0 from beyond the arc. All of these numbers, outside of his three-point shooting, is much improved from the first half of the season.

NBA: Brooklyn Nets claim narrow 100-98 win over the Knicks

Deron Williams had 26 points to lead the Brooklyn Nets past the New York Knicks 100-98 earlier today at Madison Square Garden.

With the win, the Nets grabbed a share of seventh place in the Eastern Conference with the Miami Heat.

In other action:

Milwaukee bagged a 95-91 win over Chicago.

Houston beat out the Sacramento Kings 115-111.

The LA Clippers took out the Portland Trail Blazers 126-122.

Toronto took out Minnesota 113-99.

Utah beat Denver 98-84.

New Orleans beat the Lakers 113-92

Charlotte took out Detroit 102-78.

Washington beat Philly 106-93.

San Antonio beat the Orlando Magic 103-91.

Boston took out Indiana 100-87.

And it was the Dallas Mavericks 106 over the OKC Thunder 135-131.

Snooker: Ding Junhui through to second round of China Open

Chinese snooker ace 14 Ding Junhui was on solid form Wednesday as he harvested a 5-1 victory over Mark Davis in the second round of the China Open.

He achieved three breaks of over 50 points en route to beating Mark Davis and booking a third tie round against Mark Williams.

Ding made his fame in the same tournament in 2005, which saw him establish himself as one of the world top players before he rose to top of the world ranking last year.

Also on Wednesday, Mark Selby overcame neck pains to thwart 107 Elliot Slessor's attempt to reach the third round for the first time with a 5-0 victory.

Dongfeng race team retires from Volvo Ocean Race

In sailing:

A broken mast has forced Dongfeng race team to retire from leg five of the Volvo Ocean Race after the team realized they could not complete the leg without missing the start of leg six.

The top mast broke on Monday at sea when the Chinese boat was approaching Cape 108 Horn. The weather was too rough to attempt repairs so the skipper Charles Caudrelier decided 109 to motor to the port of Ushuaia to assess the damage.

Skipper Charles Caudrelier on the race against time to reach the start of leg six.

"We need to be there one week before the start of the leg to be ready to start, that's a challenge against time. We are 2000 miles from Itajai. We need about 10 to 12 days. "

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing 110 currently leads leg five having cleared Cape Horn and begun sailing up South America's eastern coast. Close behind are Team Alvimedica, MAPFRE and Team Brunel. The leading four are within 40 nautical 111 miles each other.

Entertainment

ATV stripped of its license

The government in Hong Kong has cancelled the broadcast license of 'Asia Television,' the territory's oldest free-to-air TV network group.

A notice was served to the company after a meeting of the Executive Council.

The law require a one year notice period, which means ATV's will first be extended for three months beyond its scheduled expiry, and then cancelled.

ATV's English and Cantonese channels will cease on March 31 next year.

This is the first time in Hong Kong broadcasting history that a whole network has been stripped of its license.

Huayi Brothers finalize 112 deal with STX Entertainment

Leading Chinese film and television company 'Huayi Brothers,' have finally approved an 18-film co-financing and distribution agreement, with America's 'STX Entertainment.'

The deal marks one of the first major investments by a Chinese company in a Hollywood studio film slate 113.

It became effective after receiving Huayi Brothers' shareholder 114 approval at a meeting in Beijing, approved by the company's directors.

Huayi Brothers announced the deal in mid-March, but didn't name the U.S. partner.

Siblings 115 Wang Zhongjun and Wang Zhonglei, who run Huayi, remain determined to establish a sizeable foothold in the U.S. film business.

To date, the company has invested in individual films including one of Sony's latest releases 'Fury.'

Cynthia Lennon first wife of John Lennon dies of cancer

Cynthia Lennon, ex-wife of late Beatles legend John Lennon has died at the age of 75 after a brief battle with cancer.

Cynthia and John were married from 1962 to 1968, at the very start of the Beatles' rise to mega-stardom.

The remaining members of the band, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, both paid tribute to Cynthia and shared their condolences for her son Julian.

Yoko Ono, who married John Lennon in 1969, the year after his divorce from Cynthia, also shared a statement about Cynthia's "strong zest 116 for life."

Following her death, Julian Lennon posted a musical tribute to his late mother online.

"Furious 7" release goes ahead in Thailand

Screenings of the latest installment 117 in "The Fast and the Furious" blockbuster franchise 118 "Furious 7" have gone ahead in Thailand.

This comes after the overturn of a court injunction which had blocked the film's release in the country.

Last week, Shamongkolfilm International, one of Thailand's major film producers and distributors called on Thai courts to halt the film's release, arguing that local star Tony Jaa had breached 119 his talent management contract by appearing in the movie.

The company claimed damages of $49 million and obtained an injunction halting the films release in Thailand ahead of the June court hearing.

However, a Bangkok Civil Court threw out the injunction, arguing that other interested parties would be damaged by the films non-release.

So the scheduled Thailand premiere of "Furious 7" went ahead as planned last night.

Joni Mitchell in intensive care

Singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell is in intensive care after being found unconscious at her Los Angeles home.

The Canadian born artist was rushed to hospital earlier in the week, and a statement released on her website said she had regained 120 consciousness in the ambulance on the way.

It is not immediately clear what illness she has, but the statement added she is awake and in good spirits.

In December Mitchell told Billboard 121 magazine that she had a rare skin condition, which prevented her from performing.

Throughout her career, Mitchell has release 19 original albums, with her last in 2007. She is best known for her 1970 hit 'Big Yellow Taxi.'

That's it for this edition of the Beijing Hour. A quick recap of your headlines:

Myanmar officially apologizes to China over the bombing last month that resulted in the deaths of five people in Yunnan province...

On behalf of all the Beijing Hour staffers, Shane Bigham in Beijing hoping you'll join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour, to open a window to the world together.