Month: August 2019

A documentary, dedicated to the 70th anniversary of New China, follows three US TV hosts as they visit nine far-flung villages, Xu Fan reports.

Chris Bashinelli, a television host from New York, recently caught a glimpse of life in rural China through a Chinese documentary.

During his journey to Niujiaoshan, a village of more than 1,300 people in the mountainous region of Hunan province in Central China, he was “assigned” to pick leaves from tea plants. Joining him there were the mostly female villagers, where the best pickers among them often earn up to 500 yuan ($70.9) a day. Bashinelli received 10 yuan after an exhausting day of work. But despite the somewhat frustratingly low payment, he had a wonderful stay in the village, which is a tourist attraction and home to more than 300 ethnic Miao families.

Taking part in a series of activities from attending a local wedding to learning about Miao jewelry, Bashinelli, 32, had the chance to see how people in rural China are striving for a better life.

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His tour featured in one episode of Homestay China, a three-part documentary that has been running on Chinese streaming platform Youku since July 1. Translated into 43 languages, the program has also been broadcast on the National Geographic Channel since July 13. The documentary’s trailers have been released on several overseas streaming platforms such as You-Tube, and were watched more than 500,000 times across Asia, North America, Europe and Africa, according to the producers.

A museum based on the cult movie Valter (Walter) Defends Sarajevo has become a favorite meeting point and educational space for Chinese tourists visiting Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to the museum’s director, Jasmin Durakovic.

Since its opening on April 6 this year, the museum, which commemorates the cinematic story of Vladimir Peric Valter, a famous member of the Movement of Resistance and anti-fascist figure from World War II, has welcomed a total of 15,000 visitors, a third of whom were Chinese tourists.

Durakovic explains that around 5,000 Chinese visited the museum during the first four months of its “test phase”.

He says it is the first museum in the Balkan region dedicated to the cult movie, directed by one of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s greatest filmmakers, Hajrudin Siba Krvavac.

“Valter Defends Sarajevo is our country’s most famous export to China, this is for sure,” Durakovic says, adding that he was fascinated, when he visited China in May, by how much Chinese know about Sarajevo, the movie and the interest it has generated among the Chinese public.

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“There are many middle-aged visitors from China who visit the museum, but there is also a growing number of young Chinese who are visiting with their families and children,” Durakovic adds, recalling one particular tour group that arrived at the museum earlier this month where all the visitors were under 30 years old.

Hollywood A-lister teams up with fellow Fast and Furious star for new franchise, Xu Haoyu reports.

After the eighth installment of the Fast and the Furious franchise raked in 1.3 billion yuan ($184 million) at the Chinese box office in just three days last year, Universal Pictures decided to launch a spinoff to tap into the original series’ runaway success.

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs &Shaw centers around the duo of Luke Hobbs, an agent of the US Diplomatic Security Service (Dwayne Johnson), and Deckard Shaw, a former elite British military operative (Jason Statham), and the one thing they have in common: family.

In the film, the quarreling two are forced to team up to stop terrorist Brixton (Idris Elba) from gaining control of a biological weapon that could change the fate of humanity and rescue Shaw’s sister (Vanessa Kirby), an MI6 agent who had to inject herself with the virus during a special mission.

Hobbs and Shaw have been trying to take each other down with verbal insults and body blows ever since they first met in the seventh Fast and Furious outing.

“You know we hated each other,” Johnson jokes at a news conference in Beijing.

“Still do,” retorts Statham.

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BEIJING — The media center for the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China will open on Sept 23.

The celebration will be held around Oct 1 in Beijing, according to a statement provided to Xinhua Wednesday.

The media center for the event, based in the Beijing Media Center Hotel, will handle interview applications, organize press conferences, and provide necessary information and technical services for reporters.

An official website and WeChat account for the media center will also be available.

Reporters from Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and Taiwan, and foreign journalists can submit their registration online at http://reg70prc.zgjx.cn.

The application will remain open from Aug 22 to Sept 8.

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The Juventus star admits he has never been to dinner with his Barcelona rival but would have no problem doing so in the future

Cristiano Ronaldo has admitted that both he and Lionel Messi have benefitted from their long-running rivalry.  

Ronaldo and Messi have been at the top of the sport for more than a decade, winning 10 straight Ballons d’Or between them before their run ended with Luka Modric picking up the top individual prize in 2018.  

The pair were also La Liga’s headliners for nearly a decade, with Ronaldo starring for Real Madrid between 2009 and 2018 before he made his move to Juventus.  

That span saw Barcelona claim six league crowns to Madrid’s two, while Ronaldo and company held the edge in Europe with four Champions League crowns to the two won by Messi’s side, though Barca had claimed a win in the final against Ronaldo’s Manchester United prior to the Portuguese star making the jump to Spain.  

It all made for a heated rivalry, but Ronaldo says there is plenty of admiration between the two and believes that both players understand that they have helped each other reach record-breaking heights.  

“I really admire the career he has had so far and, for his part, he has already said that he had trouble when I left the Spanish league because it is a rivalry that he appreciates,” the Juve forward told Portuguese channel TVI.  

“It is a good rivalry that exists in football, but this is no exception. Michael Jordan had rivals in basketball, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were great rivals in Formula 1, the only common point between all the big rivalries in the sport is that they are healthy. 

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“Messi makes me a better player and vice versa” 

And, while the rivalry between the two superstars has often been viewed as a testy one, Ronaldo classified it as “excellent” and says he would have no issue sitting down to dinner with Messi at some point in the future.  

“I have an excellent professional relationship with Messi because we have been sharing the same moments for 15 years,” he said.  

“I have never been to dinner with him but why not in the future? I would have no problem with doing that.” 

The Italy international defender has been a man in demand this summer, with Arsenal and Monaco having previously shown an interest in signing him

Roma have opened negotiations with Juventus over a potential transfer for defender Daniele Rugani.

Goal can confirm that the two clubs held talks on Wednesday to negotiate the proposed move, with discussions centering around price and potential exchanges involved in the deal.

Juventus are open to selling the 25-year-old centre-half due to the arrivals of Matthjis de Ligt and Merih Demiral this summer.

Veterans Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci are also both still in the squad, serving as captain and vice-captain respectively.

That leaves Rugani as the odd man out with the club open to cashing in on the Italy international.

The centre-back has been linked with a Juventus exit all summer, with Roma, Monaco and Arsenal all linked with moves for the defender. 

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Arsenal saw a loan offer for the defender rejected in early August, with the Gunners eventually signing David Luiz from Chelsea to fill their void in defence. 

Roma, meanwhile, have also shown an interest Liverpool’s Dejan Lovren, but the focus is now on Rugani.

Juventus have requested a fee of between €20-25 million (£18-23m/$22-28m), but the Serie A champions are also hoping to bring 18-year-old midfielder Alessio Riccardi to Turin as part of the deal.

Roma Primavera striker Zan Cela is also an option to be included in the deal should Roma refused to budge on Ricciardi.

Negotiations are set to continue on Thursday as the two sides look to hammer out a deal prior to the September 2 deadline.

Rugani has made 87 appearances for Juventus since joining from Empoli in 2015, with 69 of those appearances coming in Serie A.

He has won four Serie A titles, three Coppas Italia and three Supercoppas Italiana during his time with the club.

The defender has also earned seven caps for Italy since making his international debut in 2016.

Juventus will open their Serie A title defence against Parma on Saturday while Roma will face Genoa the next day.

The striker is looking to continue his career in Turkey, but his current club’s CEO has told him that may not be so simple

Monaco CEO Oleg Petrov has warned striker Radamel Falcao that his desired move to Galatasaray may not come to fruition. 

Falcao has made no secret of his desire to join Galatasaray, with his agent Ahmet Bulut saying earlier this month that he is working on a deal to get his client a move to the Turkish side.

Monaco barely avoided relegation from Ligue 1 last season, finishing 17th, and the Colombian striker is looking to play Champions League football this season. 

But, at a news conference on Wednesday, the club chief said that the 33-year-old would still have to respect a contract that runs through the end of this season.

“Falcao is a great professional,” Petrov said. “He has ambitions obviously, he wants to play the Champions League and we understand him, but we want him to stay at the club, he has a contract and he has to respect it.”

Despite Monaco’s poor 2018-19 campaign, Falcao still managed to net 15 times in Ligue 1 last season, good for joint-fifth in the league’s top scorer rankings.

Earlier this month, the former Atletico Madrid, Chelsea and Man Utd striker indicated that he was considering a future away from Monaco. 

“I am studying the offers I have been offered. These are good opportunities for my career,” the Colombian said.

“I have to think about my family.” 

Perhaps in preperation for Falcao’s exit, Monaco completed the signing of striker Wissam Ben Yedder from Sevilla last week, paying the France international’s €40 million (£37.1m/$44.7m) release clause.

With Falcao out of the line-up, Ben Yedder was rushed into the squad on Saturday as Monaco fell 3-0 to newly promoted Metz. 

The defeat continued a poor start for Leonardo Jardim’s side, who sit bottom of Ligue 1 with two 3-0 defeats in as many games. 

Petrov, though, did not want to blame his manager for his side’s dismal start to the new campaign. 

“We are aware that the start of the season is not up to the ambitions of AS Monaco but I do not think it should be laid on Leonardo Jardim,” he added.

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The ex-England international has signed a three-year deal to play in the Super Lig after being released by Liverpool at the end of the 2018-19 season

Former Liverpool and Chelsea forward Daniel Sturridge will continue his career in Turkey after signing with Trabzonspor, the club confirmed on Wednesday.

Sturridge, 29, was released by Liverpool just days after picking up a Champions League winner’s medal following his club’s victory over Tottenham in the final. 

He went on to pick up a six-week ban from footballing activities in July when the FA sanctioned him for breaking betting rules over a potential move to Sevilla. 

But he arrived in Turkey at the start of this week and has penned a deal that will run for at least the next three seasons at the Super Lig club. 

“Our company has signed a three-year contract with the free agent professional footballer Daniel Sturridge, with a one-year option,” Trabzonspor revealed in a statement published on the club’s official website. 

While Trabzonspor did not release the details of Sturridge’s salary package, Goal learned that the forward will be earning €3 million (£2.8m/$3.3m) per season – one of the biggest deals in the club’s history.

The Birmingham native began his professional career with Manchester City following spells at youth level with Aston Villa and Coventry City. 

After failing to break through at City, however, he moved to Chelsea, where he spent a total of four seasons and lifted numerous titles, including the 2009-10 Premier League crown and the Champions League in 2011-12. 

Liverpool swooped for the player in January 2013 for an undisclosed fee, and he went on to make 160 appearances for the Reds, scoring on 67 occasions. 

But the arrival of the likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, as well as a run of injuries, meant that Sturridge saw his first-team chances become ever more scarce, as he became a bit-part player under Jurgen Klopp. 

He still featured in 27 games in all competitions in the 2018-19 season, scoring four goals – including the opening strike against Paris Saint-Germain in a 3-2 Champions League victory. 

Liverpool, however, declined to renew his contract, and he left as a free agent at the end of the season along with Alberto Moreno.

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The ex-Gunners midfielder believes Champions League qualification is the best the club can hope for this season

Ray Parlour believes Arsenal are nowhere near good enough to challenge Manchester City and Liverpool at the top of the Premier League.

Speaking on Talksport , the former Gunners midfielder responded to suggestions that Unai Emery’s side can challenge for the title this season ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Liverpool on Saturday.

“I heard a few shows yesterday saying we can challenge for the league, but they’re a million miles away from Man City and Liverpool at the moment, if I‘m honest,” said Parlour.

“How many Arsenal players would get into the Liverpool team?”

Last season, Emery’s side finished fifth, a point behind north London rivals Spurs who took the final English place at Europe’s top table, but 28 points adrift of eventual champions City.

Parlour said he would be more than happy with a top-four finish this time around, and qualifying for the Champions League is the most the club can hope for at this moment in time.

“The most important thing is getting back into the Champions League,” he said.

“Maybe they could push a bit higher, but if they get fourth place this season I’d be delighted.

“But they are so far behind Manchester City and Liverpool at the moment.

“They’ve started well with a good away win at Newcastle and they got the job done at the weekend against Burnley, but really, they are two games they were expected to win, so I’m not getting carried away.”

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Arsenal signed several players this summer, including Nicolas Pepe, Kieran Tierney, Dani Ceballos, and David Luiz who could all be considered improvements on to their first team, but Parlour believes this wasn’t enough.

“A lot of fans gave their season tickets back this summer. There were no signings and if you want to get in that top four you need to get players in to give them a chance of competing

“At one stage it looked like Arsenal weren’t going to get anybody, it was a bit worrying.

“In the end it was a decent transfer window for Arsenal and a lot of fans are excited about going into the new season.”

CARACAS – Power failures left “several zones” of Venezuela’s capital Caracas and the central state of Miranda without electricity on Tuesday, the National Electricity Corporation (Corpoelec) said.

Corpoelec technicians were working to restore service, the company said via Twitter.

The power outage interrupted subway service in Caracas, as well as train service linking the capital with Miranda.

The Caracas Metro notified commuters via Twitter that stations along lines 1, 2 and 3 were closed due to the power failure, while the State Railway Institute issued a similar notification.

Authorities at the National Institute of Transit and Overland Transportation launched a contingency plan to provide transport in cases of emergency.

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Since March, Venezuela has suffered from a series of crippling blackouts that have interrupted the supply of basic services, such as potable water, and caused the closure of schools and government offices.

The government has said investigations into the power failures uncovered sabotage against the country’s power infrastructure and software.

A blackout in July was caused by an electromagnetic attack, said Mexican Communication and Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez.

Officials have blamed the blackouts on the US-backed opposition and its campaign to generate widespread discontent in a bid to oust the ruling party.