新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 20:00 2013/07/23

 The Beijing Hour

 
Evening Edition
 
 
Monday July 22nd, 2013.
Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
Coming up on our program this evening,
There are calls to speed up the construction of quake-proof housing in Gansu Province.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon offers his "deepest condolences and sympathies" to the victims of the deadly earthquake.
Ten people are injured after a plane's nose wheel collapses on landing at New York's LaGuardia Airport.
Business, New stats show a net foreign exchange outflow here in China over the past month.
Sports, There's success for China in the FINA swimming world championships in Barcelona.
Entertainments, US actor Dennis Farina passes away at the age of 69.
Plus Special reports takes a look at the annual Hong Kong Book Fair and appearance there af the renowned poet, Xi Murong.
 
 
Weather
 
 
Beijing will be sunny tonight with a low of 22 degrees Celsius. Tomorrow sunny with a high temperature of 36.　
Meanwhile Shanghai will be clear tonight, with a low of 29,　sunny tomorrow, with a high of 38.
Lhasa will have showers tonight, 13 degrees the low, showers tomorrow with a high of 22.
Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia
Islamabad, thundershowers, with a high of 32.
Kabul, sunny, 35.
Over in Australia
Sydney, overcast, highs of 18.
Canberra, sunny, 14.
Brisbane, sunny, 21.
And finally, Perth will be overcast with a high of 19.
 
 
Top News
 
 
Death toll rises to 94 in NW China quake
 
The need for accelerating the construction of quake-proof housing has been urged in Gansu Province, where an earthquake has killed at least 94 people.
An initial investigation showed that the quake had toppled some 51,800 houses.
Wang Lanmin, head of the Gansu seismological bureau, said most of the collapsed houses were adobe rooms that could not withstand a strong earthquake.
The adobe houses built on the loess and stone hills were the worst-hit.
The quake-stricken region has experienced over 400 aftershocks so far, with the strongest measuring 5.6 in magnitude.
Local authorities in the area have relocated 226,700 people and rescue efforts are still underway.
Rescuers have been working to assist victims near the epicenter of the earthquake, where major roads are temporarily blocked.
Wang Xiaoming, a senior official from the provincial medical department, stated that by midday Tuesday, the earthquake had injured over 900 people in the cities of Dingxi and Longnan.
"We have activated medical resources from all the province and got help from Shaanxi and Qinghai provinces. Currently the medical resources are enough and we are strive to make every injured people to be cured from death."
Soldiers, firefighters and more than 300 local paramilitary personnel have been dispatched to the quake zone to help with rescue efforts.
No casualties have been reported in schools so far.
 
 
UN chief offers condolences over NW China quake
 
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has offered his "deepest condolences and sympathies" to the victims of the deadly earthquake in Gansu Province .
The secretary-general also expressed his belief that under the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping, there will be a speedy recovery for those who are affected by the earthquake.
 
 
Plane's front gear collapses in LaGuardia landing injuring at least 10 people
 
At least ten people have now been confirmed injured after a plane's nose wheel collapsed when it landed at New York's LaGuardia Airport.
Officials say 6 of the casualties have been taken to hospital after the Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Flight 345 skidded off the runway.
Melinda Andujar described the scenario he witnessed.
"The front wheel didn't come out and it landed on its nose and it started skidding, sparks came out and then it got on fire, but it was only the front."
The injured are reportedly suffered back and neck injuries.
The six crew members have also been taken to another hospital for observation.
The airplane from Nashville, Tennessee, had some 150 people onboard.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident.
 
 
Q&A on air travel safety
 
Anchor:
Another air travel tragedy took place earlier this month when an ASIANA flight crash landed at San Francsico Airport.
The crash resulted in the death of three Chinese schoolgirls.
The accident was one of several mishaps lately, which show that there is still a lot of room for improvement when it comes to safety in the air travel industry.
So how do aviation safety experts view at the latest accidents?
CRI's Zheng Chenguang spoke with Dr. Todd Curtis, a former Boeing airline safety engineer and now founder of airsafe.com.
…
Back anchor:
That's CRI's Zheng Chenguang speaking with Dr. Todd Curtis, former Boeing airline safety engineer and founder of airsafe.com.
 
 
World celebrations after royal baby
 
Anchor
Congratulatory messages are pouring in from around the world to mark the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's son.
Now, here's more from CRI's Shen Chengcheng.
Reporter
Here in China, people welcomed the birth of the British royal baby after China's state broadcaster CCTV announced the news on its morning news bulletin earlier today.
"I think it's a good thing that the baby has mixed blood from royalty and an ordinary person. If this baby inherits the throne, he would be much closer to the people. That is what I'm thinking."
Kate and William arrived at St. Mary's Hospital early in the morning Monday.
The child was born at 4:24pm in London.
He's 8-pounds 6-ounces, and is said to be in fine health.
So far the child has not been named.
Prince William said the couple "could not be happier" following the birth of the boy, who's the third in line to the throne.
In Japan, British brands have been celebrating in Tokyo a day after the birth of the royal baby.
Toshiyasu Takubo manages an all-British store in Tokyo.
"We're hoping for an economic ripple effect, we hope that the baby will help companies like us which specialise in British products to get more attention in Japan."
In the US, President Barack Obama wishes Kate and William all the happiness and blessings parenthood brings.
And Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says Australians wish the royal baby all the best.
　"What we've decided to do as a government, is to provide a 10,000 dollar grant to the research programme at Taronga Park Zoo for the bilby and this will be in honour of the new baby prince."　
A 62-gun salute will be fired at the Tower of London on Tuesday to celebrate the arrival of the royal baby.
So far, William and Kate have remained silent about potential baby names.
The couple are expected to talk to their medical team before deciding whether to leave hospital later on Tuesday.
For CRI, I'm Shen Chengcheng.
 
 
Government concerned Fukishima nuclear plant may be leaking contaminated water
 
The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant has admitted that contaminated water may have leaked into the sea.
This is the first time the Tokyo Electric Power Company, or Tepco, has acknowledged leaks.
Masayuki Ono is a TEPCO spokesperson.
"High readings of radiation were detected in the soil around of the turbine building. We are very sorry for causing concerns to many people, and especially we deeply apologise to the people of Fukushima."
Japan's nuclear watchdog said earlier this month that the contamination of the sea had been continuing since the accident took place two years ago.
But Tepco had previously failed to confirm any ground water leakage.
TEPCO is currently injecting a chemical solution into the seawall to prevent contaminated underground water from escaping into sea.
The March 2011 earthquake and tsunami knocked out cooling systems at the Fukushima plant, triggering fuel meltdowns and causing radiation leakages.
Earlier this month, Tepco acknowledged that levels of radiation in groundwater had soared, suggesting highly toxic material from the plant was getting closer to the Pacific.
 
 
19 people killed in bus crash in central Thailand
 
At least 19 people were killed and 20 more others were injured in a pre-dawn bus crash in central Thailand
An 18-wheeled truck hit the double-decker bus which then caught fire.
Police said the truck drove through a barrier in the centre of the road and swerved into the path of oncoming traffic.
The bus driver was among the dead, and the driver of the truck was slightly injured and is being questioned by the police.
The authorities are still investigating the cause of the crash and are in the process of identifying the dead.
The bus was carrying around 45 passengers to Bangkok at the end of a 3-day holiday.
The crash happened in the province of Saraburi, 90 kilometres from the capital.
 
 
Blue book
 
Anchor:
Experts are suggesting that bilateral relations between China and the United States remain in a state of stable development, yet competition remains.
The comment is part of an analysis issued by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a leading think tank in China.
As CRI's Shen Chengcheng reports, according to the 2013 American Blue Book, the US may become more involved in regional disputes in Asia as part of its 'Return to Asia' strategy.
Reporter:
Yuan Zheng is the Deputy Director of the Division of American Foreign Policy Studies under CASS's Institute of American Studies.
He says the stronger presence of the United State in the Asian-Pacific region is determined by its national interests.
"The economic relations between the US and countries within this area are closer. Also some newly rising powers, or some regional hot issues, such as the nuclear issue in the Korean peninsula, the Diaoyu Island issue, or the South China sea issue, are potential challenges to the regional peace. So the US, as a strong power, thinks it should attach great importance to the region."
The Blue Book also indicates the relationship between China, the US and Japan is the most important trilateral relationship in the world and predicts there will be a complicated interaction between these three countries on the Diaoyu Islands dispute.
The paper points out the US government believes the Chinese disputes with its neighboring countries challenges its influence in the Asia-Pacific region.
However, Liu Weidong, a researcher on American studies from the think tank, believes China, the US, and Japan, can still experience stable development.
"Obama is in his first consecutive term and during which to promote a balanced relationship within the Asian-Pacific region is his priority task. He wants to suppress what he believes an aggressive diplomatic stance taken by China on the basis of maintaining cooperation with China, while to Japan, he aims to use it to stress the presence of US in the region, but meanwhile the US is also taking cautions on the country."
Liu stresses the US will take a defensive stance towards China's rise in the long run, but Sino-US relationships have improved recently and more bilateral cooperation is likely to happen.
For CRI, I'm SCC.
 
 
Top US military official wants Afghan security deal signed by October
 
The United States is urging for the signing of a security agreement with Afghanistan in October.
America's top military official General Martin Dempsey says that would give the U.S. and its allies enough time to prepare for a military presence after 2014.
However, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says he does not favour a so-called "zero option," meaning no U.S. forces in Afghanistan after 2014.
"There is no zero option, but there could be a zero outcome because we can only stay here if we are invited to do so. And so that's why I am so personally committed to doing anything I can do to set the conditions for this Bilateral Security Agreement."
Talks on the security agreement have made little headway after President Hamid Karzai decided to suspend the talks, due to disagreement over a Taliban political office in the Gulf state of Qatar.
 
 
3 foreign soldiers killed in eastern Afghan blast
 
Three soldiers of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force have been killed Tuesday in a blast in eastern Afghanistan.
The ISAF forces did not reveal the nationalities of the victims under the ISAF policy.
In June, Nato handed over security for the whole of Afghanistan to Afghan forces, but some 97,000 troops remain.
More than 100 Isaf soldiers have been killed this year.
Currently about 98,000 NATO-led forces, of which nearly 66,000 are Americans, are deployed in the country.
 
 
Biz Reports
 
 
Asian Stock
 
Chinese shares jumped on Tuesday as the country's securities regulator is reportedly delaying resumption of an initial public offering (IPO), easing investors' concerns over market liquidity.
when the market closed, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index surged nearly 2 percent
The Shenzhen Component Index jumped 3.6 percent.
In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng surged 2.3 percent.
Elsewhere in Asia,
Japan's Nikkei ended 0.8 percent higher on hopes of an economic recovery in Japan and a halt in the yen's climb against the U.S. dollar.
Meanwhile, South Korea's KOSPI gained 1.3 percent as foreigners snapped up local stocks on expectations for the second-quarter earnings season.
Singapore's Straits Times index picked up 0.6 percent.
and finally Australia's S&P/ASX 200 also gained 0.3 percent.
 
 
Foreign capital outflows hit China in June
 
New stats show a net foreign exchange outflow here in China throughout this past month.
Chinese banks sold over 41-billion yuan worth of foreign currencies in June.
This represents the first net outflow of foreign capital since November.
Net forex purchasing in May also hit a six-month low of just under 67-billion yuan, down significantly from the 294-billion purchased in April.
The State Administration of Foreign Exchange has since issued a statement saying they did notice signs of activity and sudden flight of foreign capital.
Many observers are suggesting that the slow growth of foreign trade and the weakening expectation of the yuan's appreciation are behind the capital outflow.
For more on the situation, the Beijing Hour's Paul James spoke earlier to Mark Hughes, Executive business editor of the China Daily.
…
Back anchor: That was Paul James speaking to Mark Hughes, Executive business editor of the China Daily.
 
 
New Zealand starts infant formula brand register for China
 
Later this month, the New Zealand government is expected to publish a list of registered brand names of New Zealand infant formula products exported to China.
The list will be made available to consumers as well as the Chinese authorities so they can check that formula carrying New Zealand labelling is valid.
China had asked for brand information to be added to export certificates as part of its efforts to crack down on false labelling.
The New Zealand's Ministry for Primary Industries said exporters from the Island country are now near the end of finishing their brand registration.
The registration includes copies of actual labels approved by Chinese regulators with translations and associated formulation information.
New Zealand exports approximately 170 million New Zealand dollars worth of infant formula to China each year.
 
 
China Southern Airlines brings forward Dreamliner debut on New Zealand route
 
China Southern Airlines has announced that it will debut its new Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft on its Guangzhou-Auckland route this October.
The airline will begin flying the Dreamliner on the direct route from October 28th, ahead of the previously announced debut of December 4th.
A second China Southern Airlines Dreamliner will service the route from December 4th to March 1st, when the number of flights will increase from seven to 10 weekly flights.
Boeing's 787 Dreamliner aircraft has suffered a string of bad luck in recent months and all of them were grounded because of safety fears earlier this year.
The most recent incident took place on July 12 when a Boeing 787 jet burst into flames on the tarmac at London's Heathrow Airport.
 
 
Diageo expands in China with Shuijingfang deal
 
The world's biggest spirits group Diageo has taken a controlling stake in China's white alcohol manufacturer Shuijingfang.
Diageo is paying 233 million pounds under the terms of the deal.
The British group says the new acquisition would increase its ownership of the Shanghai-listed firm from 21 percent to 39.7 percent.
Diageo is best known as the maker of Johnny Walker whisky.
 
 
China to top in express delivery market
 
China is expected to surpass the United States this year to become the world's largest market for express deliveries.
The State Post Bureau of China said express delivery volumes grew more than 50 percent year on year in each of the past 28 months.
The number of packages delivered by major courier companies grew 61 percent in the first half of the year, to 3.84 billion items.
Meantime, couriers' revenue grew 34.5 percent to 63 billion yuan or 10.3 billion US dollars.
The bureau estimates that 8.5 billion to 10 billion parcels will be delivered in China in 2013. That compares with about 9 billion in the US.
China's postal industry has maintained fast, steady development due to booming e-commerce in China.
 
 
Third Point to reduce Yahoo stake
 
Hedge fund Third Point has agreed to reduce its stake in Yahoo.
Yahoo will buy back 40 million shares from Third Point, reducing its stake in the internet giant to less than 2%.
As a result of his reduced holding, Third Point's boss Daniel Loeb has resigned from Yahoo's board.
The move by Third Point comes amid a surge in Yahoo's stock price.
Its shares have risen more than 70% since Marissa Mayer took over from Scott Thompson a year ago.
Yahoo has agreed to pay 1.16 billion US dollars for the buyback.
That will result in gains of almost 600 million US dollars for Third Point.
 
 
Headline News
 
 
Death toll rises to 94 in NW China quake
 
The death toll in an earthquake that hit northwest China's Gansu Province has risen to 94.
A 6.6-magnitude earthquake jolted the juncture area of Minxian and Zhangxian counties in the city of Dingxi.
Over one thousand others have been injured. One person remained missing.
At least 400 aftershocks have been recorded following yesterday morning's earthquake in the city of Dingxi.
The strongest aftershock has measured 5.6 on the Richter Scale.
The quake had caused the collapse of 51,800 houses and severely damaged about 240,000 homes.
Two helicopters and some 3-thousand search and rescue personnel have been deployed to the region, which is located about 200-kilometers south of the provincial capital, Lanzhou.
 
 
China to top in express delivery market
 
China is expected to surpass the United States this year to become the world's largest market for express deliveries.
The State Post Bureau of China said express delivery volumes grew more than 50 percent year on year in each of the past 28 months.
The number of packages delivered by major courier companies grew 61 percent in the first half of the year, to 3.84 billion items.
Meantime, couriers' revenue grew 34.5 percent to 63 billion yuan or 10.3 billion US dollars.
The bureau estimates that 8.5 billion to 10 billion parcels will be delivered in China in 2013. That compares with about 9 billion in the US.
China's postal industry has maintained fast, steady development due to booming e-commerce in China.
 
 
Fukishima nuclear plant may be leaking contaminated water
 
The Japanese Government says it is aware the crippled Fukishima nuclear plant may be leaking contaminated water.
A Japanese utility said earlier that Fukushima nuclear plant is likely leaking contaminated water into sea, acknowledging for the first time a problem long suspected by experts.
Tokyo Electric Power Company had persistently denied contaminated water reached the sea, despite spikes in radiation levels in underground and sea water samples taken at the plant.
The Fukushima accident was the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.
Most of Japan's nuclear reactors remain shut down for safety checks following the disaster.
 
 
NY's LaGuardia airport closed after plane landing accident
 
Air traffic at New York's LaGuardia Airport has been shut down after a plane's nose wheel collapsed during landing.
Officials say ten people were left with minor injuries. Six of the casualties were taken to hospital.
The aircraft is a Boeing 737 operated by Southwest Airlines.
The accident comes less than three weeks after Asiana flight 214, clipped the runway upon landing and burst into flames at the San Francisco airport.
The Asiana crash killed three Chinese female students and left 182 passengers injured.
 
 
Newspaper Picks
 
 
Global Times
“China's first online military game released”
Chinese People's Liberation Army or PLA has released China's first online military game, "Glorious Mission".
The game marks that military games have realized networked confrontation throughout the PLA for the first time.
And the game is included in the training subjects of the PLA.
The online game has many innovative contents, such as plots of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, anti-quake stories, map of China's first aircraft carrier and even defending the Diaoyu Islands.
It is reported that the game is also used to encourage young people to join the army for PLA's summer conscription.
Shanghai Daily
“Fake Brand Masks uncovered”
Eight gangs producing and selling counterfeit brand face masks have been busted.
900,000 masks worth 46 million yuan (US$7.48 million) have been seized, Shanghai police said yesterday.
The gang members sold the masks on taobao.com, one of China's largest e-commerce platforms, claiming they were made by US-based multinational 3M Co. Some were retailing for 1.4 yuan per mask - about 7 yuan lower than the usual price.
Police selected seven stores and bought 30 masks from each. They sent the masks to 3M for tests. The company confirmed that they were fakes and in fact could be harmful to users as they were made of inferior materials.
Reuters
“New apps simplify apartment search”
A new iPhone app, Lovely, is released to simplify apartment search and help apartment hunters find their desired houses.
Renters can attach information to landlords about their income, credit score and desired move-in date or even their photos through the app.
If the landlord is interested he or she can invite the applicant to see the apartment.
The design company says Lovely aims to make the rental process more transparent and to give more control to renters.
The app is available only in the United States.
NPR
“Skipping Breakfast Might Raise Risks of Heart Disease”
Harvard school of public health recently published their new study of the significance of eating a morning meal- reducing the risk of heart attack.
The long term, 16-year study included samples from 27000 men, finding that man who routinely skipped breakfast had a 27% higher risk having heart attack and dying from coronary heart disease compared to men who ate breakfast.
Cahill, one of the study authors, pinpointed that skipping the breakfast or eating very late at night may lead to adverse metabolic effects, which sets the stage for heart disease.
 
 
Special Reports
 
 
Xi Murong: poets and poetry never die
 
Anchor:
At the annual Hong Kong Book Fair, the appearance of renowned poet, Xi Murong, has brought poetry back to public attention.
When remembering the happy times they spent reading and discussing poetry in the 1980s and early 90s, when Xi Murong and her peers were making names for themselves, people sometimes ask why we don't have poets of their stature these days. It also raises the question, "Do we still need poetry?"
CRI's Hong Kong correspondent Xu Weiyi reports.
Reporter:
Xi Murong is the most honored guest speaker at this year's Hong Kong book fair.
During her lecture, the 70-year-old poet reads two of her best-known poems, one of which is her poem from the 1980s titled "A Blossoming Tree."
"How can we meet
at the most beautiful hours
which I have prayed
for the five hundred years
A tree thus he made me
by the path you passed…"
Poet, essayist, and painter, Xi Murong was born in Chongqing in southwest China. But she spent her childhood in Hong Kong and then moved to Taiwan with her family.
It was in the 1980s and early 90s, she became a well-established poet after publishing several collections of poetry including Seven-li Scent and Unregrettable Youth.
At the same time many other popular Chinese poets, including Hai Zi, Gu Cheng, Bei Dao and Shu Ting flourished, and reading poems became a fashion.
However, in the past decade or so, poetry gradually drifted away from people's lives and very few new poets have been heard.
At the annual Hong Kong Book Fair some readers admit they rarely read poems, though they like poetry.
College student Miss Chen shares why she thinks poetry is fading from contemporary culture.
"In our society, people, in most of the cases, live a fast-paced life, thus, there isn't much space available for them to meditate. People who want to write poems might not be able to afford the time to organize their thoughts. People who want to read poem might not have the luxury to relax and enjoy a good poem."
Meanwhile, as a poet Xi Murong reminds people that many poets in China are still writing poems, including herself.
She stresses poetry is a niche market for a small number of people, and not for everyone. However, poets and poetry never disappear.
"Poets never vanish. There are poets at any times of history. Sometimes poets might have bigger influence at this age, and have lesser influence at another age. But as someone once said, writing poems is a natural drive of humans, so is reading poems. Therefore, poetry never dies."
This year's Hong Kong book fair lasts for one week, and will end on July 23rd.
For CRI, this is Xu Weiyi from Hong Kong.
 
 
Sports
 
 
Li Shixin has won the gold medal in the men's 1-meter
 
The FINA swimming world championships are underway in Barcelona.
Chinese diver Li Shixin has won the gold medal in the men's 1-meter springboard .
Li is the first man to successfully defend the title in the history of the championships.
"My career was in a trough after 2011. I've lost several competitions in the past two years. But with the help of my coach, I stand on the podium again with gold. But the process has been very hard for me."
Chinese divers Chen Roulin and Liu Huixia won the gold medal in the women's 10-meter synchronized platform event.
This is Chen's fourth successive world medal in the 10-meters synchronized diving.
She also has two Olympic medals in the 10-meters individual and synchronized diving competition.
Also in the championships, Spyridon Gianniotis successfully defend his 10-kilometre open water title.
The 31 year old Greek became the oldest winner of the event in Shanghai two years ago.
Meanwhile, inside the Palau Sant Jordi arena, Russia won its third consecutive synchronized swimming gold, in the team tech event.
Events in open water swimming, water polo, synchronized swimming, and diving will run through until August 4th.
 
 
NBA: Nate Robinson will sign contract with Denver Nuggets
 
Denver Nuggets basketball team are reportedly on the verge of signing free agent guard Nate Robinson.
However, the deal has not been finalized.
Robinson is expected to sign a two-year deal by way of the Nuggets' bi-annual salary cap exception worth over 4 million combined, with a player option in the second season.
In addition to the Nuggets, Robinson has also been in talks with the Milwaukee Bucks, Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Mavericks.
If the deal is finalized as expected, this will be the sixth team Robinson has played for in his nine seasons.
 
 
Cricket India- India train after arrival for ODI series versus Zimbabwe
 
India's One-Day squad have taken part in their first training session since arriving in Zimbabwe ahead of their five-match tour of the African country.
India are being led in Zimbabwe by Virat Kohli in the absence of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has been rested by the national selectors to give him some respite from the rigours of international cricket.
The selectors have also rested several front-line seamers, plus one spinner.
India will play five One Day Internationals in Harare and Bulawayo over the course of their 11-day tour and will be hoping to do a little better than when they last visited Zimbabwe.
In 2010, they failed to reach the finals of a triangular tournament with the hosts and Sri Lanka.
 
 
Sailing France 24- In-port wins for Sodebo, Team Omansail and Ville de Geneve
 
Three different teams - Sodebo, Team Omansail and Ville de Geneve – have claimed victory in in-port races at the Tour de France a la Voile.
Groupama's skipper Franck Cammas recorded a third, fourth and second-place finish at the day's three in-port races at Gruissan, marking a relatively poor result after dominating the event for the past three weeks.
Despite being off pace, Groupama remains well out in front in the overall rankings.
Light winds have once again caused problems for all competitors, and choosing the correct course remains critical.
Wind permitting, the fleet will compete in further in-port races and the evening's offshore leg to La Seyne-sur-Mer.
 
 
Gerardo 'Tato' Martino to be new Barcelona coach
 
Barcelona has appointed Gerardo "Tata" Martino as their new coach.
The Argentinian will sign a three-year deal at Camp Nou.
It follows Tito Vilanova's decision to resign due to a recurrence of the cancer that he first suffered in 2011.
It is not yet clear if Vilanova's assistants, Jordi Roura and the recently signed Joan Francesc Ferrer Sicilia, known as Rubí, will stay on.
Contracts are yet to be formalized.
However, it is reported that Martino is not expected to take charge of the club's friendly against Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich in Barcelona .
 
 
Mickelson goes to No. 2 in world golf rankings
 
Phil Mickelson's win at the British Open boosts him to No. 2 behind Tiger Woods in the men's world golf rankings.
Mickelson is eighth in the rankings prior to winning the Scottish Open.
Six players are in different positions in the rankings' Top 10.
Adam Scott is again fourth while Matt Kuchar is sixth and Luke Donald keeps the No. 9 place.
Rory McIlroy, who misses the British Open cut, slips to third and Justin Rose goes from third to fifth.
Brandt Snedeker is up one place to seventh, forcing Graeme McDowell down one spot to No. 8.
Lee Westwood returns to the Top 10 at No. 10, up two places. Steve Stricker drops to 11th.
Liang Wenchong, the only Chinese golfer in the top 200, is 168th in the most recent men's world golf rankings.
 
 
Entertainment
 
 
US Star Dennis Farina passes away
 
US actor Dennis Farina has passed away at the age of 69.
The star, who is known for his tough guy roles, broke Hollywood after leaving his 18 year career as a police detective in Chicago.
His most famous roles found him on the opposite side of the law, as mob bosses in films such as Midnight Run, Get Shorty, and Snatch.
The Sicilian-American also gave a haunting performance in Steven Spielberg's World War 2 epic Saving Private Ryan.
However these films only offer a glimpse into the decades long career.
Farina was also a major force on the television series Law and Order and other shows like HBO's Luck.
The actor was known for the combination of dark humour and grittiness that he injected into his roles.
Farina passed in a hospital in Scottsdale, Arizona and is survived by 3-sons, 6-grandchildren, and his partner of 35-years.
 
 
Chinese film "Crimes of Passion" release trailer
 
Upcoming Chinese film "Crimes of Passion" has premiered its first ever trailer here in Beijing.
Actor Huang Xiaoming and director Gao Qunshu were both in attendence.
The romance thriller stars Angelababy as a detective on the case of the disappearance of a price artefact.
Korean heartthrob Jae Hee will play her badboy love interest.
The film hits Chinese cinemas on August 9th.
 
 
Woody Allen's "Blue Jasmine" premieres in NY
 
Film industry establishment Woody Allen premiered his latest film "Blue Jasmine" in New York overnight.
The film stars Cate Blanchett as an affluent woman whose dream life falls to pieces after her husband, played by Alec Baldwin, is exposed as a conman.
The Oscar winning actress hopes audiences will warm to the film.
"It's a fall from grace story. It's someone who once a terrifying borderline between fantasy and reality and ultimately opts for fantasy and in that way lies madness. It's not a morality tale. Hopefully it's an entertaining, absurd and moving story but that was what I was trying to inhabit."
The 44 year old had nothing but praise for Allen's technical finesse.
he's an extraordinary filmmaker but he's also an incredible screenwriter, and amazing dramatist so the screenplay was so impeccably structured and the characters he created - I mean, 99% of his direction is done before you even come up on set and then he just casts it so extraordinary; this bunch of guys and Sally Hawkins (who plays her sister) who is unfortunately not here."
The 77 year old's latest film also features Sally Hawkins, Louis C K and Andrew Dice Clay.
Blue Jasmine opens with a limited release in New York and Los Angelas from this Friday.
 
 
Terence Mallick facing million dollar court case
 
Legendary director Terrence Malick is facing court papers.
Investors Seven Seas Partnership is suing the director for compensation over investment in a project that has not surfaced.
In the complaint filed by Seven Seas, the company claims that they invested 43.3 million for a project entitled Voyage of Time.
The project was planned to include two 45 minute IMAX films along with a feature-length movie.
The investors are suing Malick alleging a "complete failure" to produce the films as contracted and accuse Malick of "stringing" their financial backers along with the promise of "extraordinary and successful works".
Seven Seas say that despite calling the project one of his "greatest dreams", Malick has instead channeled his energies into other films, including Oscar nominated The Tree of Life.
Seven Seas are demanding a full compensation for funds which they claim to have been spent without results.
Malick's company Sycamore films have responded to the complaint by branding it completely "without merit".
According to representative, the film was in the pipeline, with all funds appropriately designated.
 
 
Tribute episode for Glee star Cory Monteith
 
Glee creator Ryan Murphy has vowed to make a special episode paying tribute to tragic star Cory Monteith.
Monteith died of a heroin and alcohol overdose last weekend.
The 31 year old played main character Finn Hudson in the hit show.
Murphy says the tribute is planned to appear as the third episode of the fifth series of Glee.