Paul James with you on this Monday, February 4th, 2013.

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

Coming up on our program today.

The French military has confirmed its started large-scale air assaults in northern Mali.

The Iranian government has revealed the next round of P5+1 nuclear talks is going to be held in Kazakhstan in just under 3-weeks time.

Chinese authorities are going to start stepping up more roadside checks amid the holiday travel rush.

In Business, the non-manufacturing PMI has reached a 5-month high.

In sports, this year's Super Bowl is set to kick off in New Orleans within the hour.

In entertainment, Ben Affleck has taken the best director award from the Director's Guild for "Argo."

Weather

Fairly cool start to the day here in Beijing and windy too. Blowing in from the North East at 11 odd miles per hour, could possibly get slightly stronger later in the day - not by much though.

The day is expected to be sunny and clear, no warnings of any kind of precipitation whatsoever, that’ll come as a bit of a welcome, following the snow over the weekend.

Daytime high temperatures of 1 degrees Celsius. The mercury will dip down a nip at night though, lows of minus 7 expected. The wind also expected to reverse its direction and come in from the South East, not too strong though - around 5 miles an hour.

In Shanghai, it will see slight rain today, 12 the high, and will see moderate rain tonight, the low of 5 degrees Celsius.

Lhasa will be cloudy in the daytime the temperature's at 9, and tonight will be clear, with a low of minus 6 degree Celsius.

Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia

Islamabad, sunny, 14.

But parts of Northern Pakistan and the Indian north-west for that matter could have over twice the monthly average of rain over the coming few days - forecasters are predicting the 200 mm mark, which could lead to flooding. Risk of mudslides as well.

Kabul, sunny, with a high of 2.

And in North America

New York, overcast, with a high of 0 degrees.

Washington, moderate rain, highs of 3.

Houston, sunny, 23.

Honolulu, overcast, 26.

Toronto, snow, minus 5.

Finally, on to South America,

Buenos Aires, sunny, 26.

and Rio de Janeiro will be sunny with highs of 33 degrees Celsius.

Top News

France confirms "important air strikes" in northern Mali

France has confirmed that French forces have been launching a major air offensive in Mali's northern region.

The increased air assaults come just a few hours after French President Franois Hollande's visit to the West African country this weekend.

30 warplanes, including fighter jets and reconnaissance aircraft, have been pounding logistics and training targets in northern Mali.

With some 35-hundred French and African troops on the ground, the Malian army has quickly taken back the 3 main northern towns of Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal.

Hollande is promising to withdraw its troops from Mali once the government of Mali has restored sovereignty over its national territory and a UN-backed African military force can take over from French soldiers.

At the same time, Britain has begun airlifting Ghanaian troops into to Mali.

The British military says it's examining how best to assist Ghana's Armed Forces with training and equipment.

A number of international organizations are due to meet in in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Mali.

The European Union-brokered meeting will include the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States and the United Nations.

Six major countries propose to hold new Iranian nuclear talks in Kazakhstan late February

Iran's Foreign Minister has revealed his country's nuclear program will be discussed during a new round of talks in Kazakhstan on February 25th.

Ali Akbar Salehi has made the revelation at the annual Munich security conference.

The talks will include all five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany.

Salehi says Iran is also embracing the United States' willingness to hold direct talks with Tehran.

"If the subject is the nuclear file, yes, we are ready for negotiations. But we have to make sure this time -- and this is I think very fair of us -- to make sure that the other side this time comes with authentic intentions, with a fair and real intention to resolve the issue."

Salehi says the negotiations should continue until a mutually accepted resolution is reached.

Israeli PM says most important task faced by govt is to stop nuclear arming of Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has issued a new statement, saying the most pressing issue for the country's next government is stopping Iran's nuclear programme.

Netanyahu's comments have been made at the weekly meeting of his outgoing cabinet in Jerusalem.

"The most important task that the national unity government will face is stopping the nuclear arming of Iran. This task is becoming more complex as Iran is getting new centrifuges, which can shorten the enrichment process. They must not complete this process."

Israeli President Shimon Peres this weekend has formally asked Netanyahu to form the next government.

Netanyahu is promising his new administration will be committed to advancing peace talks with the Palestinians.

Peres has formally requested Netanyahu build a governing coalition after conducting consultations with all 12 parties that won seats in last week's election.

A majority of newly elected lawmakers have recommended Netanyahu as prime minister-designate.

Netanyahu now has six weeks to form a coalition government.

This will be his third term as Israeli prime minister.

Israeli defence minister suggests Israel behind air strike in Syria

Israel's defense minister has given strong indications his country was behind an airstrike in Syria last week.

Ehud Barak has brought the issue up at a gathering of the world's top diplomats and defence officials in Munich, Germany.

"We say that we don't think that it should be allowed them to bring in advanced weapons systems into Lebanon, to Hezbollah, to Syria when Assad phones."

It's being reported the Israeli strike targeted a convoy carrying anti-aircraft weapons bound for Lebanon.

The Syrian government says the strike hit a military research centre northwest of Damascus.

Israel hasn't officially commented on the strike.

However, in the days preceeding the strike, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials repeatedly warned of the dangers of Syrian weapons falling into the hands of Hezbollah.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is accusing Israel of trying to destabilize Syria by attacking the military research base.

Over 30 killed in Kirkuk suicide bombing

More than 30 people have been killed in an attack by suicide bombers in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk.

The attackers tried to storm a local police headquarters in the city.

The huge car bomb blast tore into the police directorate's concrete facade, destroying numerous cars outside.

It's being reported two of the gunmen were disguised in police uniforms.

Brigadier General Naseh Mohammed is the head of Kirkuk's police force.

"Two suicide car bombs went off in front of Kirkuk police headquarters and Kirkuk telephone exchange building, killing more than 30 people and wounding more than 70 others. The Kirkuk exchange building was totally damaged by the blast. Suicide bombers also attacked Kirkuk police headquarters with hand grenades, and Kirkuk police engaged them, killing two of them."

So far no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Kirkuk is an ethnically mixed city, and is the crossroads between Iraq's Arab and Kurdish community.

The area is at the center of a dispute between Baghdad and the Kurds over oil and land rights.

It is the third major attack in weeks in or near the northern city.

Several armed groups are active in the region.

Sunni Islamist insurgents tied to al Qaeda have been blamed for much of the recent violence.

Abu Sayyaf militants free 2 Filipino TV crew; still holding Jordanian reporter

Abu Sayyaf gunmen in the Philippines have released the 2 Filipino crewmen of a Jordanian TV journalist who were kidnapped last year.

However the al-Qaida-linked militants continue to hold the reporter and four other foreigners in their jungle hideout where a fierce clash between the extremists and another Muslim rebel group took place on Sunday.

At least 6 Moro rebels have been killed.

Scores of others have been wounded on both sides.

An unspecified amount has been paid to secure the hostages freedom.

The Abu Sayyaf is an extremist offshoot of a Muslim rebellion that has been raging in the southern Philippines for decades.

Detained Chinese fishermen released from Japan

The skipper and all other crew members from a Chinese fishing boat the Japanese coast guard detained on Saturday near Okinawa have been released.

The ship and its 13 crew are on their way back to China after the Chinese consulate bailed them out.

The boat was detained for allegedly unauthorized coral fishing in Japan's exclusive economic zone off Okinawa Saturday morning.

Major cities receive first round Spring Festival travel peak

The first major surge of travelers has begun in many of China's major cities through this weekend.

Additional trains have been put into service to try to cope with the increase of passengers.

It's estimated close to 5.9-million people traveled by train on Sunday.

The Ministry of Railways had to put an additional 642 trains into service to cope with the increase in traffic.

The railway service in the southern province of Guangdong had to handle over a million passengers on Sunday.

"The service is good. We didn't know we can enjoy these services. My son was hungry just then, the station staff gave him some noodles."

It's estimated around 88 million passengers traveled by bus on Sunday.

Stations nationwide mobilized 860-thousand large and medium-sized buses to meet the growing demand.

The surge in travel is only expected to continue to increase ahead of Lunar New Year's eve, which falls on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Security is tightening road inspections for speeding and drunk-driving.

The order comes after 5 separate crashes over the weekend in Guizhou and Gansu claimed nearly 60 lives.

Some 3.4-billion trips are expected to be made this Spring Festival, which officially begins on Sunday.

China Air Pollution

Anchor

The sale of face masks and other air-filtering products have been exploding through January across China amid the rampant pollution which has been blanketing much of northern and eastern China in recent weeks.

CRI's Li Dong has more.

Reporter

PM2.5 is one of the major pollutants of the air pollution in Beijing and it poses the greatest risk to human health. Its concentration reached a record high of 993 on January 12, almost 50 times the World Health Organization's recommended level.

PM2.5 levels across most of Beijing have been above 400 micrograms per cubic meter for much of the last two weeks.

When the air is this hazardous, the government recommends people avoid outdoor activities. But many must still go outside causing a sharp increase in the use of face masks. Lulu is a Beijing resident.

"I felt the smog was really thick yesterday, it hurts my throat and hurts to breathe. So I started to wear a mask today. The air pollution is really serious."

Face mask sales are going through the roof both online and in-store. The most popular face mask retailer on Taobao, China's leading online shopping website, has sold more than 112,000 masks in the past month.

Tong Ren Tang, a large pharmacy, has also seen a dramatic increase in mask sales in recent weeks. A sales clerk says:

"The pollution has been very severe the past weeks. There has been a sharp increase in face mask sales in recent weeks compared with the same period last year."

The ongoing air pollution is raising health concerns among Beijing residents. Many are choosing to travel out of the city to avoid the thick smog, while others are purchasing air purifiers to filter indoor air.

Officials have closed some factories and ordered some government cars off the road to reduce emissions. They have also proposed rules to scrap old vehicles and to ban new cement and steel factories.

TOTO Beijing is the only big ceramics factory in the capital city. One of its production procedures creates dust pollution. With air pollution escalating in the last several days, the city government told the factory to cut production.

Han Yong, deputy general manager of TOTO Beijing says halting production means big losses for the factory.

"Stopping our two plants in Beijing means we lose 1 million yuan or about 160,000 US dollars per day at the eastern factory and 0.8 million yuan at the western factory."

TOTO Beijing is only one of a 103 high-polluting factories that have completely stopped production since Tuesday.

Authorities say they were cutting the use of government vehicles by all departments by 30 percent.

However, once the smog gets lighter and the alert is lifted, factories will be back in production again. They may need to intensify production to make up for their losses, so the problem has not really been solved. Many believe that the government will have to do more to cut the pollution sources, because temporary responses are not enough.

For CRI, I am Li Dong.

Second, Third Tier Cities Popular for Grads

Anchor

This year's job hunting season has officially begun.

Statistics from university employment departments show more graduates are choosing to work in second and third tier cities.

CRI"s Wang Xiao has more.

Reporter

Gaoyao in Guangdong Province is a third tier city with the population of only 700 thousand. But in the past few years, more than 5 thousand graduates from all over the country chose to work here.

Feng Minqiang, Secretary of Municipal Party Committee of the city, says that many grads are willing to come here this year.

"Generally speaking, more graduates choose to work in our city. This year, about 1 thousand students sent their resumes to us."

Like Gaoyao, many second and third tier cities with a promising market have become hot places for job-seekers.

Zheng Jiafen is a graduate student from Zhongshan University. Four years ago when she stepped into the university, she was determined to stay in Guangzhou. But she signed a contract with a company in a second tier city –Shantou -- at a job fair. Zhen explains why she changed her mind.

"My major in college is urban planning, so I can have more opportunities in second tier cities."

At first, talented people all went to first-tier cities where there was higher production efficiency and more job opportunities, but with rapid economic development, big cities have become increasingly crowded and competitive. Living costs have also become higher, forcing some job seekers to choose smaller cities.

In recent years, many second-tier and third-tier cities have achieved rapid progress in their economies, infrastructure construction, city management and improved environments for starting businesses.

Li Mingzhang, the head of the employment guidance center at Zhong Shan University, says more graduates are choosing to leave big cities.

"Based on our survey, the number of the second and third tier cities chosen by the post and undergraduates is increasing year by year."

The survey also shows that the second-tier cities in the Yangtze River Delta have become the hottest places for job-seekers. Meanwhile cities in the middle and west regions are not popular. A student gives her reasons.

"I think the cities along the southeast coast have more dynamic economies. There are more opportunities here than in inland cities."

According to the survey, nearly 70 percent of graduates choose to get their occupations in the smaller cities in eastern China. And the number of students who choose the cities in the middle and west regions is increasing slowly, but still remains small.

For CRI, I'm Wang Xiao.

Biz Reports

Market preview

Anchor

Let's take a look at what's going to happen in the business world this week.

Joining me in the studio, CRI's Zhang Shuangfeng.

Reporter:

This week will offer news on how productivity performed in the U.S. in a quarter where growth basically stalled.

Elsewhere, Monday will see HTC publish its Q4 financial results and Lenovo publish its Q3 financial results.

On Tuesday, Apple launches its new iPad 4 128GB while China reports HSBC January services PMI.

Wednesday will see the World Energy Leaders Summit take place in New Delhi.

Thursday India reports annual GDP figures.

And on Friday, the monthly inflation and exports figures are expected in China.

Transport and retail sectors lift service PMI

The retail and transport sectors have given a lift to the service industry for the 4th straight month in January.

The non-manufacturing PMI is at its highest point in five months.

The National Bureau of Statistics is reporting the non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index has edged up to 56.2 in January.

Any reading above 50 signals expansion.

Among the sub-indexes, transport and the retail were all above 60.

The retail business has boosted the growth in the services PMI, with sales rising in the month ahead of the Lunar New Year, which starts on Sunday.

The new orders and the construction sub-indexes have dipped half a point.

China to further widen VAT reform

The Chinese government has announced plans to expand its Value-added tax reform program.

The Ministry of Finance says the program, which replaces the turnover tax with a value-added duty, had reduced burdens on lower taxpayers by an average of 40 percent.

As of the end of January, the government says the VAT has reduced the taxes of over a million ratepayers in the 12 pilot regions the VAT is active in by some 40 billion yuan.

The turnover tax is a levy on the gross revenues of a business.

The VAT is a tax levied on the difference between a commodity's price before taxes and its cost of production.

China introduced the VAT in Shanghai last year amid complaints by business owners of double taxation.

The program is now in place in a dozen locations in China, including Beijing, Tianjin and Shenzhen.

China has 10 million private enterprises

A new report has determined China has more than 10 million registered private companies.

The All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce says there are some 10.5-million registered private companies as of September.

The number of private companies in China is increasing 12 percent year-on-year.

The report also says the over 10-million private firms account for over 60 percent of the total GDP in the country last year.

The companies are worth a combined 29 trillion yuan.

The average registered capital of each firm is growing by 7.8 percent year-on-year.

Call-in Geely buys London Black Cab manufacturer

Chinese vehicle manufacturer Geely has acquired British Manganese Bronze, the manufacturer of the iconic London Black Cab, for 11 million British pounds.

The acquisition covers the business and principal assets of MBH.

The deal has been concluded through PricewaterhouseCoopers, which was appointed the administrator of the British business in October.

Geely says it will safeguard production of one of the most distinctive vehicles in the UK and make it profitable again.

The acquisition includes the plant, equipment and property, intellectual property rights and trade marks.

It also includes MBH's 48 percent stake in a joint venture in Shanghai set up by Geely and MBH in 2009.

For more on this deal, we now cross live to Mike Bastin, Researcher with Nottingham University.

1. Manganese Bronze has failed to turn a profit since 2007, and the company more recently has been plagued by a slate of problems such as recalls and huge business losses. Geely's goodwill aside, what else is the Chinese car-maker eyeing for by the deal?

2. As we know, Bronze's arch rival Eco City Vehicles' Mercedes Vito has gained considerable market share, and Japan's Nissan is also due to launch its own taxi in Britain soon. Will Geely be able to safeguard Bronze's distinguished name as it claims to do so?

3. Geely exported more than 100,000 cars last year, making it the top Chinese car exporter on a par with its close rival Chery. Do we expect this acquisition to help the company score higher when it comes to the high-end market such as Europe?

Back anchor: Mike Bastin, Researcher with Nottingham University.

Fiat's merger with Chrysler expected in 2014:CEO

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne says he expects to complete his company's merger with Chrysler next year.

Marchionne says the group's new name hasn't been decided yet.

He says all the Italian workers presently employed will be kept on.

Fiat took control of Chrysler in 2009 after the third largest U.S. automaker emerged from a government-financed restructuring.

Fiat initially took a 20 percent stake in the company in exchange for getting its hands on Chrysler's technology and leadership.

Fiat has since expanded its stake in Chrysler to 58.5 percent.

Chrysler reported a profit of 1.7 billion U.S. dollars this past year.

This is a dramatic increase from the 183-million dollars the company made in 2011.

Japan's loose money printing not to weaken yen: minister

Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso has issued a new statement, saying it's not Tokyo's goal to weaken the yen.

Aso says the Japanese government's loose monetary policity is designed purely to try to overcome deflation.

The comments have been made amid growing international concern about the value of Japan's currency ahead of a G20 meeting in Moscow.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's call for aggressive action by the Bank of Japan has prompted a slide in the yen in recent weeks.

The ultra-loose monetary policy has raised alarms in Europe that it could contribute to a "currency war" as other central banks adopt similar policies.

The BOJ last month agreed to double its inflation target to 2 percent and committed to buying assets from 2014.

Barclays' finance director stepping down

The finance director of British bank Barclays is stepping down.

Chris Lucas is one of several Barclays staff being investigated in connection with the bank's irregular cash infusions from Qatar's sovereign wealth fund in 2008.

Barclays has already been fined more than 450-million US dollars by U.S. and British authorities for rigging overnight interest rates, known as the LIBOR.

The bank is also involved in a scandal over the mis-selling of payment protection insurance to consumers.

That scandal has already cost Barclays hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation.

Headline News

France confirms "important air strikes" in northern Mali

France has confirmed that French forces have been launching a major air offensive in Mali's northern region.

The increased air assaults come just a few hours after French President Franois Hollande's visit to the West African country this weekend.

30 warplanes have been pounding logistics and training targets in northern Mali.

With some 35-hundred French and African troops on the ground, the Malian army has quickly taken back the 3 main northern towns of Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal.

Hollande is promising to withdraw its troops from Mali once the government of Mali has restored sovereignty over its national territory and a UN-backed African military force can take over from French soldiers.

Israel nabs Islamic Jihad cell plotting abduction

Israeli Security forces say they've managed to bust another Islamic Jihadist cell planning to kidnap an Israeli soldier.

The group of 7, including 2 Arabs and 5 Palestinians, have been arrested in the northern West Bank.

The group was busted in a joint operation carried out by Israeli police and Shin Bet internal security forces.

This follows the arrest of members of another cell of Palestinians this past week in the southern West Bank who were also allegedly preparing to try to kidnap an Israeli soldier.

4 dead, 24 injured in N China pile-up

4 people are dead and two dozen others hurt, following a massive pile-up on an expressway in Shanxi.

The accident, involving over 50 vehicles, took place on a highway in Yuanqu County, which is in the southern part of the province near the border with Henan.

Snow and ice on the road is said to be the main factor in the massive pileup.

The crash comes amid a tightening of road inspections across the country amid the travel rush in the lead-up to the Spring Festival.

Transport and retail sectors lift service PMI

The retail and transport sectors have given a lift to the service industry for the 4th straight month in January.

The National Bureau of Statistics is reporting the non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index has edged up to 56.2 in January.

Any reading above 50 signals expansion.

Among the sub-indexes, transport and the retail were all above 60.

The retail business has boosted the growth in the services PMI, with sales rising in the month ahead of the Lunar New Year, which starts on Sunday.

HK formula hotline receives 3800 calls within 2 days

A new hotline the Hong Kong government has set up to help local parents buy baby formula has been swamped with close to 4-thousand calls over the weekend.

The Hong Kong government set up the hotline to help refer local parents to infant formula suppliers.

This comes amid a huge run on infant formula from mainland tourists.

Authorities in Hong Kong have begun limiting the amount of infant formula being taken out of the city to 2 tins.

The surge in demand from the mainland comes amid concerns about the safety of infant formula from New Zealand, after reports came out saying one of the main suppliers of baby formula discovered high levels of a potentially harmful chemical in one of its products.

Newspaper Picks

GLOBAL TIMES

Headline

Improving living standards top task: poll

Summary

A new survey shows around half of those asked say they believe improving people's living standards and building a well-off society are the most important tasks for the Chinese government over the next 10 years.

One-third of those asked say maintaining social justice and stability is the most important task.

Another third say sustainable development and environmental protection are the most important.

BEIJING TIMES

Headline

Telecom fraudsters jailed

Summary

91 people involved in a telecom scam have been hit with jail sentences ranging from 18 months to eight years.

The group precipitated the fraud in countries including Indonesia, Cambodia and Malaysia, on top of targeting people here in China.

YANZHAO METROPOLITAN DAILY

Headline

120 food safety cases uncovered

Summary

Police here in China have arrested 350 people in connection with 120 food-related criminal cases since a crackdown on food-related crimes began last month.

The Ministry of Public Security says more than 220 under-ground food workshops have been destroyed in the crackdown.

SOUTH CHINA METROPOLITAN DAILY

Headline

Road inspections to be tightened

Summary

The Ministry of Public Security is ordering more road-side inspections in a bid to crackdown on speeding and drunk-driving during the Spring Festival holiday.

The order comes after fatal road accidents in Gansu and Guizhou left at least 30 people dead.

CHINA DAILY

Headline

Travel rush inspires elaborate journeys

Summary

Travelers who haven't been able to get a train ticket home for the Spring Festival are being advised to consider alternative solutions.

China Eastern Airlines is advertising a combination air and train products, the prices of which are relatively low.

SHANGHAI DAILY

Headline

Expat liaisons

Summary

Expats living in Shanghai are soon going to have more ways to have their complaints and suggestions heard.

The city's first foreign volunteer liaison group is being established.

The "foreign issue volunteer group" is going to be made up of 10 expats, will gather foreigners complaints and pass them to police.

BEIJING NEWS

Headline

Wife wins divorce

Summary

Li Yang, the founder of "Crazy English", has been ordered to pay his wife more than 12 million yuan in their divorce settlement because of domestic abuse.

Special Reports

Super Bowl excitement comes to Beijing

Anchor

The biggest sporting event in the United States is just getting underway as Super Bowl 47 is kicking off from the Superdome in New Orleans.

This year's event is showcasing the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers battling it out for football's most coveted prize.

And while the sport doesn't have quite the impact here in China as it does in the United States, it does have a following.

CRI's Nate Schlabach explains.

Reporter

As NFL China continues to develop its fan base and football development throughout China, a host of several promotional events take place throughout the year, including watch parties on the day of the Super Bowl.

This year is no different. In Beijing, fans can watch the big game with current NFL player Reggie Bush and past players like Jack Brewer and Akin Ayodele at the official NFL China Super Bowl party.

Speaking earlier in the Chinese capital, current NFL player Reggie Bush says he is excited to watch the game in China, adding that he believes football can and will succeed in the country.

"I think it could. It's obviously going to take time you know to just continue to promote football and the NFL you know into other countries, not even just China. But we have the one football game a year in London. If we could get some preseason games over here would be a great start too you know but I definitely think it can succeed."

Of course, on the field in New Orleans, the much-anticipated game for the first time ever will be a family affair, featuring John Harbaugh, head coach of the Ravens, and Jim Harbaugh head coach of the 49ers.

During the regular season, Jim Harbaugh's niners went 11-4 defeating the Atlanta Falcons in a record comeback in the NFL Championship game to send them to their first Super Bowl since 1995.

They have a perfect 5-0 record in Super Bowl history.

The Ravens meanwhile, went 10-6 on the year and then upset the favored New England Patriots in the AFC Championship to reach the title game.

They will be playing in their second Super Bowl ever. They last won in 2000.

Former NFL safety Jack Brewer says he likes Jim Harbaugh and the 49ers to come away with the victory.

"There physically the better team. They have more athletes on the field. There offense is coming in pretty strong. There a really hot team and defensively they can match up with anyone. You know I make my predictions based off of matchups and I think man for man San Francisco is you know the more superior team."

However, Reggie Bush disagrees saying he's picking the Baltimore Ravens to win the trophy. He points to the Ravens quaterback as being the difference.

"Joe Flacco is playing very well right now and I think if he plays well in this Super Bowl there going to win. I just think he's the better quarterback and the more experience quarterback. Not to take anything away from Kapernick from the 49ers who is a really good quarterback but I think this is a game that is going to come down to experience."

As for who will be correct, will just have to watch and wait to see whose holding the trophy at the end of the game.

For CRI, I'm Nate Schlabach.

Sports

San Francisco and Baltimore face off in NFL SuperBowl

The 2013 Super Bowl has kicked off now, big match-up for a variety of reasons, other than of course being perhaps the single biggest sporting extravaganza in America.

San Francisco 49ers taking on the Baltimore Ravens, like we heard just moments ago, both teams coached by the Harbaugh brothers, Jim and John respectively.

The 9ers looking for a record equaling 6th title - their last one coming nearly 2 decades ago.

Ravens themselves haven't been victorious since the season ender in 2000-2001. That was won in some style though, a 34-7 thrashing of the New York Giants.

This game will also be the curtain call on Ray Lewis' 17 year career. He was of course the MVP in that final against the Giants 12 years ago and this is his first appearance on this stage since then as well.

Lewis and the Ravens will be facing one of the toughest defences seen this season though. San Francisco 49ers have the likes of Navorro Bowman, Patrick Willis, Aldon Smith, and Ahmad Brooks.

The Ravens will be counting on Joe Flacco to maintain his good form up front.

The action beginning in New Orleans as we speak.

All the players, vying to lift that famous Lombardi Trophy by the end of it.

Manchester United and Barcelona still topping domestic leagues

European football now and

The English Premiership seeing weekend wins for leaders Manchester United and Tottenham, while Chelsea lost to Newcastle and champions Manchester City were held to a 2-2 all draw by Liverpool.

Man United beating Fulham at Craven Cottage while Tottenham also winning at the Hawthorns against West Bromich Albion and coming up to just a point behind 3rd placed Chelsea now.

Man City's draw also increases United's lead at the top to 9 points now.

In the Spanish La Liga,

League leaders Barcelona held to a 1-1 draw at Valencia, while 2nd placed Atletico Madrid beating Real Betis by the single goal to close the gap at the top to 9 points.

3rd placed Real Madrid meanwhile losing earlier to relegation threatened Granada and falling 16 points behind Barca.

This more or less rules them out of the title hunt for now with 16 matches to go in the season.

NHL: Pittsburgh and Montreal pick up wins

The NHL seeing 4 games today

Pittsburgh dominating Washington for a 6-3 win, while Ottawa unable to turn around a first period deficit against Montreal. The rest of the 2 periods ending goalless, giving Montreal the 2-1 victory.

NBA: Heat back to winning ways

And finally in the NBA, just the 2 games played today.

Defending champions Miami Heat back to winning ways against The Toronto Raptors 100-85.

LA Lakers just about edging past Detroit 98-97, while Boston also in a tight 2 point win over the LA Clippers. Final score there 106-104.

Entertainment

Ben Affleck wins Directors Guild of America award for 'Argo'

Ben Affleck has won the top prize at the Directors Guild of America Awards for his film "Argo."

(Argo trailer)

The actor has beaten fellow nominees Kathryn Bigelow, Tom Hooper, Ang Lee and Steven Spielberg for the prize.

The victory increases the likelihood of Argo taking home the hardware from the Oscars, following recent wins at the Screen Actors Guild and Producers Guild awards.

Affleck is not nominated for 'Best Director' at the Academy Awards.

He is only the 7th DGA winner not to receive a directing Oscar in the awards' 65-year history.

The 40-year-old picked up the 'Best Director' prize at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards over the past few weeks.

Meanwhile, Lena Dunham has won the DGA award for 'Best Comedy Series' for Girls, while Rian Johnson took the drama series award for Breaking Bad.

'Warm Bodies' takes number one spot at US box office

New film "Warm Bodies" has debuted at the number one spot in the US box office.

(Warm Bodies trailer)

The zombie comedy, starring Nicholas Hoult as a zombie and Teresa Palmer as a human, has taken in 20 million US dollars in its first week.

"Warm Bodies" has knocked off last weekend's number one film "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters" into second place.

(Witch Hunters trailer)

"Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters" is a modern retelling of the Brothers Grimm's fairytale "Hansel and Gretel."

In this version, the title characters grow up to be witch hunters.

"Warm Bodies" has beaten out Sylvester Stallone's new action release "Bullet to the Head," which debuted in 6th place, grossing 4.5 million.

Meanwhile, two films starring Jessica Chastain are still in the top ten.

Her film "Mama" has slipped from 2nd place to 4th.

Her other film "Zero Dark Thirty" is currently in fifth place at the North American box office.

Both "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Lincoln" have climbed up one spot from their previous place, ranking No-3 and No-10 respectively.

Beyoncé world tour name, poster leaked

(Sweet dreams clip)

A promotional poster for Beyoncé's upcoming world tour has been leaked.

A previously unseen image has been posted on ticketing website LiveNation.

It appears to show the 'Sweet Dreams' singer promoting a world tour named "The Mrs. Carter Show".

The poster has since been removed from the website.

The name would derive from Beyoncé's husband Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter.

The tour has yet to be confirmed.

(superbowl press clip)

During the news conference ahead of her Super Bowl half time show performance, Beyoncé revealed that she would return to touring "soon".

If the rumours prove to be true, it will be the Beyonce's first world tour since 2009.

Beyonce also admitted at that news conference that she did lip-synch to a pre-recorded track during US president Barack Obama's Inauguration.

Chinese comedy "The Chef,The Actor,The Scoundrel" coming out in April

Chinese comedy "The Chef, The Actor, The Scoundrel" staring Zhang Hanyu, Huang Bo and Liu Ye is set for release on April Fool's Day.

(The chef trailer)

The story is set in old Beijing after a pestilence outbreak during the second world war.

The three lead actors have all been honored at the Taiwan Golden Horse Awards.

Huang Bo's last film, "Lost in Thailand", is the highest earning Chinese film ever, generating over 1.2 billion yuan in the span of just a month.

"The Chef, The Actor, The Scoundrel" will compete with Zhao Wei's "So Young", Peter Chen's "American Dreams in China", Johnny To's "Drug War", and other films set for release in April.

That's it for this edition of the Beijing Hour.

A QUICK RECAP OF THE HEADLINES

The French militarty has confirmed its started large-scale air assaults in northern Mali.

The Iranian government has revealed the next round of P5+1 nuclear talks is going to be held in Kazakhstan in just under 3-weeks time.

Chinese authorities are going to start stepping up more roadside checks amid the holiday travel rush.

In Business, the non-manufacturing PMI has reached a 5-month high.

On behalf of the Beijing Hour staffers, this is Paul James in Beijing, hoping you'll join us for our next edition of the Beijing Hour to open a window to the world together.