新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 08:00 2013/07/04

 Paul James with you on this Thursday, July 4th, 2013.

Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
Coming up on our program this morning...
Mohamed Morsi has been removed as the President of Egypt by the country's military.
We'll hear from a journalist on the ground in Cairo, where mass celebrations and oppostion demonstrations are still taking place.
New documents are suggesting former South African President Nelson Mandela's health is worse than the current President has been letting on.
A new plan has been put in place here in China to deal with accidents at this country's nuclear power plants.
In Business, new analysis is suggesting the US private sector added a large amount of jobs this past month.
In sports... the men's semi-finals have been set at Wimbledon.
In entertainment.... R&B star Usher is helping ring in the 4th of July celebrations in the United States.
First, let's check on what's happening on the weather front...
 
 
Weather
 
 
Beijing will be partly cloudy throughout the day, with a high of 35 degree Celsius in the daytime, and it will be clear tonight with a low of 24.
In Shanghai, it will be sunny today, 37 the high, and it will be cloudy tonight, the low of 28 degrees Celsius.
Lhasa will see slight rain in the daytime the temperature's at 25, and tonight will also see slight rain with a low of 13 degree Celsius.
Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia
Islamabad, sunny, 39.
Kabul, sunny, with a high of 33.
And in North America
New York, thundershowers, with a high of 27 degrees.
Washington, thundershowers, highs of 30
Houston, overcast, 33.
Honolulu, sunny, 28.
Toronto, thundershowers, 26.
Finally, on to South America,
Buenos Aires, overcast, 18.
And Rio de Janeiro will be sunny with highs of 25 degrees Celsius.
 
 
Top News
 
 
Morsi ousted, constitutional court chief to run Egypt in transitional period
 
Mohamed Morsi has been ousted as Egypt's President.
Living up to its pledge earlier this week, the Egyptian military has removed Morsi from power.
The chair of Egypt's Surpreme Constitutional Court will run the country in the interim, while new elections are held.
Abdy Mansour is expected to take the oath of office later on this Thursday.
The Egyptian military has also suspended the country's consitution.
The head of Egypt's armed forces, Abdel Fattah Al-sisi, is describing the move as a "roadmap."
"This roadmap includes, suspending the constitution, holding early presidential and parliamentary elections, the formation of a national reconciliation committee that would include youth movements. The head of the Supreme Constitutional Court has the authority to announce constitutional statements during the transitional period, the roadmap also includes setting up a panel to review the constitution amendments."
Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood are describing the military's move as a full-blown coup.
In a statement, Morsi continues to insist he's the legitimate President of Egypt.
The ouster of Morsi comes amid mass demonstrations against his rule, which began on Sunday to mark the one-year anniversary of Morsi taking power in Egypt's first democratic elections.
 
 
On the ground
 
For more, we spoke earlier with Cairo-based independent journalist Shahira Amin.
(qa with Amin)
Cairo-based independent journalist Shahira Amin.
Spurratic violence has been taking place in the hours since Morsi's ouster.
It's being reported 5 people have been killed and over 200 others hurt in clashes among supporters and opponents of the ousted President.
 
 
Live call in He Wenping analysis
 
For more on what we can expect in Egypt, we are joined live on the line by He Wenping, African studies expert with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
- Why did Egypt end up like this? Why did an anniversary demonstration snowball to such a situation?
- Is fair to say Egypt is facing another revolution, the second one after the one toppled Hosni Mubarak?
- What's the military playing in all of these?
- It's been saying the ripple effect of the Arab Spring is far from over and the situation in Egypt can prove that. Do you agree with this?
He Wenping, African studies expert with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
 
 
Nelson Mandela breaths by machine for at least six day: family
 
New reports are suggesting former South African President Nelson Mandela's condition has been much worse than South African officials have been letting on.
In court documents filed by members of Mandela's family, it's been revealed the 94-year old has been breathing via medical life-support for the past 6-days.
His condition is being described in the court documents as "perilous."
The papers were submitted to the courts this past Friday by his family in an attempt to try to retrieve the remains of three of Mandela's children.
Current South African President Jacob Zuma has been telling the people to begin preparing to celebrate Mandela's 95th birthday, which falls on July 18th.
Mandela has been hosptialized with a serious lung infection, and has been listed in critical condition since June 23rd.
 
 
Morales' plane heads back to Bolivia after refuels on Gran Canaria
 
Bolivian President Evo Morales is on his way back to his country, after being held up in Europe amid suspicion his plane was harboring NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.
It's been reported Morales' plane was barred from French and Portugese airspace on Wednesday after leaving Moscow.
His plane was then grounded in Vienna, Austria for some 13 hours.
Morales was eventually able to refuel his plane on the Grand Canary Islands to allow him to continue his journey back to Bolivia.
Morales and the Bolivian government issued official denials they were harboring Edward Snowden, who has been in diplomatic limbo after having his passport revoked while in the international transit lounge of Moscow's main airport.
 
 
Belgian King says to abdicate in favor of crown prince
 
Belgium's King is giving up his throne.
King Albert II is abdicating in favor of his eldest son, Philippe.
The 79-year old Albert is citing "age and health" as the main reasons for his decision to give up his crown.
The 53-year old Philippe, a fighter pilot who holds degrees from many of the world's top universities, will take over the throne in Belgium on July 21st.
King Albert, while not holding political power, has been seen as a unifying force in Belgium amid the political tensions among the country's French and Dutch-speaking factions which left the country without a government for 541-days in 2010 and 2011.
The abdication of Albert comes just three months after Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands gave up her crown to her son, Willem Alexander.
 
 
A new plan here in China on nuclear emergency published
 
Anchor
New plans are being put in place here in China as to how to deal with controlling accidents at this country's nuclear power plants.
CRI's Xie Zhao has more.
Reporter
The State Council has now approved a newly-amended National Nuclear Emergency Response Plan.
Ma Xingrui is deputy director at the National Nuclear Emergency Coordination Committee.
He says currently, China is implementing three-level nuclear management mechanism. The amended plan further clarifies the fundamental tasks of China's nuclear accident response.
"The basic tasks include several aspects. We should deal with the nuclear accident which has taken place or probably will occur. We should try our best to ease and control the accident and alleviate or eliminate casualties and loss of property. Meanwhile, we should maintain public security and social stability."
Xu Ping is deputy director at the National Nuclear Accident Office.
He says the new plan issues more detailed emergency preparations and protection measures, and puts more emphasis on emergency response.
"According to previous experience, one key point of the amended plan enhances operability of nuclear accident emergency response greatly. So far, we have four categories regarding nuclear accident. The amended plan specifies detailed response procedures when it comes to the four categories."
However, one question on everyone's lip remains to be if a nuclear accident were to happen, how should ordinary citizens respond?
Professor Chen Zhuzhou, who specializes in nuclear emergency response, says the amended plan also specifies these evacuation measures.
"For example, you can come into your apartments to wear mask or use towel to cover your nose. Other similar measures are mentioned in the plan. Meanwhile, the plan clarifies if nuclear accident occurs, what should provincial governments do, what should our nation do, and what should nuclear operators do."
For CRI This is xz.
 
 
EGYPT RECAP
 
Mohamed Morsi has been ousted as Egypt's President.
The Egyptian military has removed Morsi from power, and is installing the chair of Egypt's Surpreme Constitutional Court as the interim leader while new elections are put together.
The military has also suspended the country's consitution.
Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood are describing the military's move as a full-blown coup.
 
 
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 rose on a holiday- shortened trading day Wednesday as encouraging U.S. jobs data outweighed concerns over political turmoil in Egypt and surging government bond yields in Portugal.
The Dow was up 0.4 percent.
The S&P 500 advanced 0.1 percent.
The Nasdaq ticked up 0.3 percent.
Meanwhile, Canada's S&P/TSX lost 0.3 percent.
In Europe, European shares finished lower on Wednesday, as political turmoil in Portugal drove Lisbon's bourse to its worst day in three years and threatened to reignite the euro zone crisis.
Germany's DAX sank 1 percent.
France's CAC 40 was down 1.1 percent and Britain's FTSE 100 down 1.2 percent.
 
 
U.S. trade deficit widens to 45 bln USD in May
 
New Stats show the US trade gap hit its highest level in 6-months in May on the back of rising imports and slowing exports.
The total trade deficit in the United States increased to about 45 billion U.S. dollars in May.
That's up around 12 percent from April, and marks the highest level since November.
Exports in the US dropped 0.3-percent in May, reflecting a slowdown in the overseas sales of consumer goods, industrial supplies and materials.
At the same time, imports grew by 2-percent in May.
The trade deficit has been a drag on U.S. economic growth for years.
Most economists say the trade gap has cut around 0.1-percent from the overall GDP through the first quarter.
 
 
U.S. private sector adds 188,000 jobs in June
 
Job growth in the US private sector has reportedly picked up in June.
Automatic Data Processing and Moody's Analytics has made the assessment in a new report.
The report says the private sector in the US added 188-thousand jobs last month on a seasonally adjusted basis.
This would be the largest monthly gain in 4-months.
Small and medium businesses added roughly 139-thousand jobs.
Employment in the goods-producing sector rose by 27-thousand last month, a marked improvement over the decline in the previous month.
The service sector added 161-thousand jobs in June, the largest increase since February.
The US Labor Department will release the official jobs report for June on Friday.
 
 
EU leaders talk youth unemployment in Berlin
 
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has gone on record saying money is not the main obstacle to tackling Europe's high youth unemployment.
Merkel's comments have been made among EU leaders, who are gathered in Berlin.
The leaders of the 28 EU nations have agreed to put aside 6-billion euros next year to try to ease youth unemployment.
Merkel says decisions on how the money will be spent won't be made until later this year.
"We also want to put ourselves a bit under pressure, because we know with such a conference like we had today, we have raised significant expectations. We are saying very clearly that the problem cannot be solved from one day to another, but the next time we meet, there needs to be progress."
Merkel is insisting public spending cuts have to be part of a mix of measures to help restore economic growth in Europe.
The unemployment rate among people under 25 in Europe is over 23-percent across the whole of the European Union.
Spain and Greece have youth unemployment rates above 50-percent.
 
 
Live call-in China probes into alleged price fixing by baby formular makers
 
China's top economic planner is probing alleged price fixing by a number of foreign baby formula makers.
It's being reported five international baby formula makers, including Nestle and Danone's Dumex, are now in talks with the National Development and Reform Commission.
The manufacturers are accused of violating anti-monopoly laws by charging inflated prices and limiting competition.
The 5 manufacturers are facing potential fines of close to 2-billion yuan.
Chinese demand for foreign milk formula has been spiking in recent years, with only one domestic baby formula producer among the top-5 sellers in the country.
For more on this, we are now joined on the line with Cao Can, CRI's financial commentator.
1. How much difference are we seeing in the prices of domestic baby formula and foreign brands? Reports say that the cost of 900g foreign brand baby formula, including duties, transport and storage, is about 100 yuan. But most of them are sold over 400 yuan and even up to 800 yuan. What makes the price of the foreign brands so high?
2. Some analysts say the probe will lead to a price drop, what are your thoughts?
3. Foreign companies accounted for half of the top 10 sellers. Some domestic companies also started forming partnerships with foreign firms, will this probe result in consolidation among the domestic companies or other changes in the industry?
That was CRI's financial commentator Cao Can.
 
 
6th round of China- S. Korea FTA talks held in Pusan
 
Free trade talks between China and South Korea are underway in the South Korean city of Pusan.
This is the 6th round of talks since the two sides started FTA negotiations last May.
The latest talks are focused on coming up with a plan to lower tariffs and reduce obstacles to enter one-another's market.
Professor Zhang Liangui from CPC Central Committee's Party school says there are a number of differences that have to be overcome.
"The Chinese side wants more thorough discussion on trade and investment, whereas South Korea wants to talk more about government procurement, intellectual property rights, environment protection and service industry. This is going to be a problem because Chinese government has certain regulations on foreign investments in certain fields. But South Korea wants the Chinese side to be more open-minded in these areas."
One of the main sticking points is believed to be Chinese agricultural exports to South Korea.
The next round of China-South Korea talks are scheduled to be held in China later this year.
 
 
Shell says Gulf find may hold 100 million barrels
 
Royal Dutch Shell says it has found a potentially massive oil shelf in the Gulf of Mexico.
Shell says the find may hold some 100 million barrels of oil.
The find is some 8-thousand meters below the sea.
The discovery in the Vickburg exploration project is 25-percent owned by Nexen, which is the wholly-owned subsiduary of CNOOC.
 
 
Chrysler issues recalls for 560,000 vehicles
 
Chrysler is recalling around 560-thousand vehicles worldwide.
The recall is meant to address defective electronics in the head restraints in a number of its brands.
The affected vehicles brands include 2011-2013 Chrysler Sebring, Jeep Liberty SUV's and Dodge Nitro SUV's.
At the same time, Chrysler is also recalling around 69-thousand of its pickups worldwide to update their electronic stability control software.
Chrysler has issued 11 separate recall campaigns since early June.
 
 
Headline News
 
 
Morsi ousted, constitutional court chief to run Egypt in transitional period
 
Mohamed Morsi has been ousted as Egypt's President.
Living up to its pledge earlier this week, the Egyptian military has removed Morsi from power.
The chair of Egypt's Surpreme Constitutional Court will run the country in the interim, while new elections are held.
The Egyptian military has also suspended the country's consitution.
Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood are describing the military's move as a full-blown coup.
The ouster of Morsi comes amid mass demonstrations against his rule, which began on Sunday to mark the one-year anniversary of Morsi taking power in Egypt's first democratic elections.
 
 
Morales' plane heads back to Bolivia after refuels on Gran Canaria
 
Bolivian President Evo Morales is on his way back to his country, after being held up in Europe amid suspicion his plane was harboring NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.
It's been reported Morales' plane was barred from French and Portugese airspace on Wednesday after leaving Moscow.
His plane was then grounded in Vienna, Austria for some 13 hours.
Morales was eventually able to refuel his plane on the Grand Canary Islands to allow him to continue his journey back to Bolivia.
Morales and the Bolivian government issued official denials they were harboring Edward Snowden, who has been in diplomatic limbo after having his passport revoked while in the international transit lounge of Moscow's main airport.
 
 
EU "committed" to transatlantic partnership but wants spying probe: Barroso
 
The head of the European Commission says the EU remains committed to it's planned trans-Atlantic Partnership with the United States.
But at the same time, EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso says EU authorities want a probe into the US spying scandal.
Barosso is warning there can't be free trade discussions until the US opens a dialogue with EU officials over the activities of its intelligence services and the protection of EU private data.
The comments come following word this week the US government has been spying on EU offices and internal EU computer networks on both sides of the Atlantic.
US-EU trade talks are scheduled to begin on Monday.
 
 
Belgian King says to abdicate in favor of crown prince
 
Belgium's King is giving up his throne.
King Albert II is abdicating in favor of his eldest son, Philippe.
The 79-year old Albert is citing "age and health" as the main reasons for his decision to give up his crown.
The 53-year old Philippe, a fighter pilot who holds degrees from many of the world's top universities, will take over the throne in Belgium on July 21st.
King Albert, while not holding political power, has been seen as a unifying force in Belgium amid the political tensions among the country's French and Dutch-speaking factions which left the country without a government for 541-days in 2010 and 2011.
The abdication of Albert comes just three months after Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands gave up her crown to her son, Willem Alexander.
 
 
Newspaper Picks
 
 
CHINA DAILY
Headline
Hot weather creates health problems
Summary
The high temperatures this week in northern and eastern China has been driving up the number of emergency calls and sending hundreds of people to hospital with heat-related illnesses.
Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing as well as cities in Hebei, Henan, Shandong and Jiangxi provinces have issued heat wave warnings, with temperatures approaching 40-degrees in many areas yesterday.
SHANGHAI DAILY
Headline
Taxi drivers told to reroute app bookings
Summary
Taxi drivers who pick up passengers through taxi booking apps will soon have to reroute their bookings through taxi companies and dispatch centers.
The apps are being blamed for a drop in revenue for taxi companies.
Similar rules are being put into effect here in Beijing as well.
BEIJING NEWS
Headline
Airline trials free in-flight Wi-Fi service
Summary
Free Wi-Fi services may become a permanent fixture on Chinese flights, following a successful trial yesterday on a domestic flight from Beijing to Chengdu.
Air China says it will allow passangers access to Weibo, e-mail and to check stock market information with their tablets or laptops.
Wi-Fi via your cell phone will still be banned.
BEIJING MORNING POST
Headline
Poisoner executed
Summary
A woman has received a lethal injection for lacing milk with nitrite which killed three children and sickened more than 30 others in Gansu two years ago.
Ma Xiuling and her husband, who were dairy farmers, deliberately added nitrite, an industrial salt, to fresh milk produced by a business rival in April of 2011.
DONGGUAN TIMES
Headline
Sex tape official appeals
Summary
Lei Zhengfu, the former district official in Chongqing convicted in the sex video scandal, is planning an appeal.
Lei's lawyer contends Lei's invovlement in the tape shouldn't have been considered a crime.
Lei Zhengfu was sentenced to 13-years behind bars on Friday.
GLOBAL TIMES
Headline
Sea route reopens
Summary
A sea route for tourism between Beihai in Guangxi and Ha Long Bay in Vietnam is being reopened.
The route has been shut down for the past two years for dock upgrades.
One ship is going to run between the two ports every 4-days to start with.
CHONGQING EVENING NEWS
Headline
Man braves flood for food delivery
Summary
The paper is reporting a man in Chongqing swam across a flooded river to fetch hot food for his pregnant wife trapped by rising floodwaters.
It reportedly took the man half an hour to swim 500 meters and reach the opposite side.
He then reportedly found some cooked rice and salted vegetables in a friend's home and swam back.
 
 
Special Reports
 
 
Riverdance follow-up to make global debut in Beijing (Zhang Ru 1621)
 
Anchor
A new version of the Irish Riverdance 'Heartbeat of Home' is set to hold its Asian premiere here in Beijing.
CRI's Zhang Ru has more.
Reporter
Since its debut in 1994, Riverdance has toured the world with more than 12,000 shows, gaining 1.7 billion US dollars in worldwide box office earnings, to become one of the most successful productions in history.
The show's director John McColgan and producer Moya Doherty recently traveled to Beijing to announce a new version of Riverdance, called Heartbeat of Home.
John McColgan says the new show is a large-scale dance and music spectacle, driven by Irish dance.
"We have a ten-piece band composed of some of the best Irish musicians in Ireland and the UK. We have singers from Venezuela and Zambia. So it's truly an amazingly multi-cultural show with a mix of multi-cultural performers in the band; the stage is still be driven by the pride of Ireland and pride of Irishness."
Riverdance made its debut in China in 2003 and has toured the country ever since.
Zhang Ligang, CEO of Acrosschina Management, brought Riverdance to China several times, expanding the tour from eight to 26 cities last year.
But this is the first time Zhang's company invested in the show as its co-producer.
Zhang Ligang has been cooperating with Riverdance for eight years as its local promoter. He says that when Riverdance first came to China, it took three days to set the stage, but now it takes only 10 hours.
"At the very beginning, after the foreign crew and cast performed in some venues in China, they refused to come again because they said it was too hard to tour China. But now we help them arrange the schedule in an international way. The schedule is so detailed that everybody knows who is going to do what in each hour. This practice has been learnt from the international team. "
Having been Riverdance's local promoter and then its co-producer, Zhang says his final mission is to produce China's own show and make it a world hit.
Zhang and the Riverdance team are planning to produce a Chinese version of Riverdance, featuring Chinese ethnic minority dancers as cast members, later this year.
For China Now, I am Zhang Ru.
 
 
Sports
 
 
Djokovic to Take on Del Potro in Wimbledon Semifinals
 
Reporter
The two top seeds at the Wimbledon Championships have reached the final four in the mens singles division.
World No 1 Novak Djokovic will take on 8th-seeded Juan Martin Del Potro in the semifinals, while second-seed Andy Murray will face 24th-placed Jerzy Janowicz.
CRI's London correspondent Tu Yun has more.
Reporter
It's the fourth year in a row that Novak Djokovic has advanced to the Wimbledon semis.
The Serb cruised past 7th seed Czech Tomas Berdych 7-6, 6-4, 6-3.
With defending champion Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal long gone, this could be a chance for the 2011 All England Club champion to repeat history.
"I'm just thinking about what I need to do on court - to win every match I play in. I'm dedicated to go far in this tournament. I've playing some of the best tennis of my career on grass. I'm really glad because this is not my most preferred surface. But I won this title a few years ago, and hopefully that experience can help me in the upcoming challenges."
Djokovic will be battling Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro in the next match.
It's the first time the 8th-seeded Argentine has reached the last four at Wimbledon.
The 2009 US Open champion swept past 4th-seed Spaniard David Ferrer 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 despite a heavy fall during the first set.
"I think I played the best match in the tournament against David. I'm so happy to be in the semis. I hit really well my forehand and serve. At the end I played my best forehand ever in this Wimbledon. A big performance from me. I'm so happy with my level at this moment. I beat one of the biggest players of the season."
2nd-seeded Andy Murray also secured a place in the semifinals, coming from two sets down to beat Spain's Fernando Verdasco 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-5.
Murray set up a semifinal clash with 24th-seeded Jerzy Janowicz from Poland, who outperformed countryman Lukasz Kubot 7-5, 6-4, 6-4.
For CRI, I'm Tu Yun at Wimbledon.
 
 
Mark Cavendish wins stage five of the Tour de France
 
Mark Cavendish claimed his first stage victory at this year's Tour de France after taking a bunch sprint at the end of the 228 kilometer ride to Marseille.
He pulled ahead of Team Sky teammate Edvald Hagen to finish in five hours, 31 minutes, and 51 seconds.
Considered one of the favorites to win this year's Tour, Cavendish had been fighting a bout of bronchitis early in the race. He was also one of the riders who went down in the group crash that occurred on day one.
That was the British rider's 24th stage win at the Tour de France, still 10 shy of record holder Eddy Merckx.
At the end of stage 5, the overall standings remain intact, with Australian's Simon Gerrans wearing the race leader's yellow jersey, and Peter Sagan in the green points jersey. .
Stage 6 will feature a relatively flat 179 kilometre ride to Montpellier. It's one of the Tour's lighter stages, but will still be challenging in the heat and if the wind picks up.
 
 
Warren Gatland makes surprise captain selection ahead of Lion's third test against Australia
 
In rugby,
The British and Irish Lions announced their starting lineup ahead of the final test decider against Australia.
With the first series win since 1997 on the line, head coach Warren Gatland made significant alterations to his 23-man squad.
The new lineup will feature a record 10 Welshmen from Gatland's Six Nations-winning team.
With Sam Warburton sidelined by a hamstring injury, the main unknown was who would captain the Lions squad in the critical third test.
Veteran player Brian O'Driscoll had been held up as the likely man to replace Warburton, but Gatland shocked nearly everyone by chucking O'Driscoll from the starting line entirely.
Welshman Alun-Wyn Jones will take over as captain instead.
"Hopefully, I've been selected for the way I play and not neccessarily for the way I lead. It's as simple as that. I've played from the start of the tour with an eye on getting into the first test, to be selected in the position that I am for the final test is a pretty special moment for me, personally, but obviously there's still a job to do."
Another welsh player, Jamie Roberts, will replace O'Driscoll at outside-centre.
Mike Philips will return at scrum-half after missing the second test with a knee injury and Toby Faletau will make his first start as an eightman.
The third and final test will take place in Sydney this weekend.
 
 
Entertainment
 
 
Usher kicks of 4th July Celebrations in NYC
 
RnB sensation Usher kicked off the Independence Day celebrations yesterday by lighting up the Empire State Building.
The iconic building will host a unique Independence day LED light show, to be synchronized with the finale of the Annual Macy's 4th of July Fireworks.
The show will utilize Philips Colour Kinetics choreographed to music scored by Usher.
The "Climax" singer says that he is thrilled with his involvement in the project.
(Usher)
I'll be curating the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks show. I'll be emceeing, curating and introducing my vision. You know, for many years I've kind of brought you entertainment through dance, through lighting, through wardrobe. This is a bit different but at the same time equally gratifying because I get a chance to articulate myself through songs that might not necessarily be my own but a vision that I think represents America."
The 8 time Grammy winner and father of two added that patriotism is something that he is very serious about, especially for the youth.
The pyrotechnic show, the biggest in the nation, will be dazzling New York City later this evening local time.
 
 
Venice Film Festival gives first peak at line-up
 
The Venice Film Festival has given a sneak peak of its stellar line-up.
Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron's upcoming movie "Gravity" has been announced as the opener for this year's event.
The film stars George Clooney and Sandra Bullock as astronauts struggling to return to earth after collisions leaves them stranded in orbit.
The prestige falls upon Cuaron 12 years after his film Y Tu Mama Tambien clinched Best Scenario and Best Male Young Talent at the glamorous gala.
(Y Tu Mama Tambien)
This year's jury will be headed by legendary Italian auteur Bernardo Bertolucci, who's 1962 debut The Grim Reaper received its breakthrough at the festival.
Organisers have also announced that William Friedkin, the man behind the quintessential horror flick the Exorcist, will be honoured with the lifetime achievement award.
Freidkin says he welcomes the award with "gratitude and love', praising the festival as his true "spiritual home'.
Whilst much remains to be confirmed, festival goers can expect to see Scarlett Johansson as an alien in Under the Skin and Steve McQueen's latest feature Twelve Years a Slave.
The 10 day festival touches down on the Venice Lido on 28th August.
 
 
Helen Mirren quashes Doctor Who rumours
 
Ever since Matt Smith announced his departure from the role, speculation has been rife around who will be the next Doctor Who.
(Doctor Who)
Some have tipped screen legend Dame Helen Mirren for the role as the Time Lord.
However, the "Caligula" star has quashed rumours that she will be the first female Doctor.
Speaking on the British morning program Daybreak, Mirren says that whilst she is keen to see a female cast as the 12th Doctor, that person will not be her.
The 67 year old Oscar winner believes that it's "well over-time to have a female Doctor Who".
Mirren added that she thinks "a gay, black female" Time Lord "would be the best of all".
The BBC show is celebrating its 50th birthday this year, and remains the most successful sic-fi series of all time.
The show recently courted controversy when a collection of essays entitled "Doctor Who and Race" emerged late May, branding the series as "thunderously racist" and sexist.
Currently, the money is on either Homeland's David Harewood or Skyfall's Ben Wishaw for the role.
Doctor Who returns to screens for its 50th anniversary special on 23rd November.
On a side note, the TARDIS received a royal visit yesterday when Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall visited Roath Lock studios yesterday.
The pair rubbed shoulders with Daleks and Weeping Angels as part of the Semicentennial celebrations.