CCTV News formerly known as CCTV-9 is a 24-hour English news channel, of China Central Television (CCTV). The channel grew out of CCTV International, which was launched on 15 September 2000. CCTV News coverage includes newscasts, in-depth reports, and commentary programs, as well as feature presentations. It is run by China Central Television (CCTV). Free-to-air satellite signals can be received by more than 85 million viewers, in over 100 countries and regions. It is also carried by Cable, DTH, IPTV, and Terrestrial TV platforms or systems in many nations. It caters to a global English-speaking audience, including overseas Chinese and English speakers in China.

CCTV began considering English-language international news bulletin actual coverage programming in 1 January 1979 at the start of China's "Reform and opening up". English news bulletins began on CCTV-2 in 1984 and became available to overseas viewers when they moved to CCTV-4 in 1991. CCTV News launched as a 24-hour English-language channel and it was then known as CCTV-9 on 15 September 2000. CCTV News entered the United States cable market in 1 January 2002 as part of a deal that allowed AOL, Time Warner, and News Corporation access to cable systems in Guangdong. After the launch of the 24-hour service, the channel was revamped a number of times. A rolling service was instituted with news at the top of every hour, although the channel remains heavily dependent on features and entertainment as part of its function to show China to the world.

Céline Marie Claudette Dion, CC OQ, (French pronunciation: [selin djɔ̃] ( listen); born March 30, 1968), is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record. In 1990, she released the English-language album Unison, establishing herself as a viable pop artist in North America and other English-speaking areas of the world.

Dion had first gained international recognition in the 1980s by winning both the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival and the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest. Following a series of French albums in the early 1980s, she signed on to CBS Records Canada in 1986. During the 1990s, with the help of Angélil, she achieved worldwide fame after signing with Epic Records and releasing several English albums along with additional French albums, becoming one of the most successful artists in pop music history. However, in 1999 at the height of her success, Dion announced a hiatus from entertainment in order to start a family and spend time with her husband, who had been diagnosed with cancer. She returned to the top of pop music in 2002 and signed a three-year (later extended to almost five years) contract to perform nightly in a five-star theatrical show at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada.

Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known by her stage name Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Perry grew up with gospel music, and during her first year of high school she pursued a music career as Katy Hudson, releasing her first studio album called Katy Hudson which failed to chart. She recorded a solo album later, which was never released. After signing with Capitol Music Group in 2007, her fourth record label in seven years, she adopted the stage name Katy Perry.

She first gained recognition with the release of her first mainstream album, One of the Boys in 2008, which spawned three Billboard Hot 100 top-ten songs—"I Kissed A Girl", "Hot n Cold" and "Waking Up In Vegas". Perry supported the album with her Hello Katy Tour. In 2010, her third studio album, Teenage Dream (2010), which topped the Billboard 200 chart, and spawned five number one singles—"California Gurls", "Teenage Dream", "Firework", "E.T." and "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)"—Teenage Dream was the only album (after Michael Jackson's Bad)—to do so, and the first female in history to achieve this milestone. She embarked on the California Dreams Tour, which grossed nearly $60 million worldwide. Perry re-released the album under the name of Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection on March 26, 2012, and the re-release has already spawned the number-one single "Part of Me".

The Mekong River massacre occurred in the morning of 5 October 2011, when two Chinese cargo ships were attacked on a stretch of the Mekong River in the lawless Golden Triangle area of Southeast Asia. All 13 crew members on the two ships were killed and dumped in the river. It is the deadliest attack on Chinese nationals abroad in modern times. In response China temporarily suspended shipping on the Mekong, and reached agreement with Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, and Laos to jointly patrol the river.

The Mekong is a major waterway of Southeast Asia. It originates in China, where it is called the Lancang River, and flows through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, where it empties into the South China Sea. It is a major trading route between China's southwestern Yunnan Province and the countries of Southeast Asia. However, after leaving China the river flows through the Golden Triangle area where the borders of Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos meet. The region has long been plagued by lawlessness and is notorious for drug smuggling. An owner of one of the hijacked ships stated that almost every Chinese boat in the area had been robbed by river gangs.