The former soap star from Stockport who has an audience of millions in China

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Latina Powerhouse athlete Marta Vieira da Silva is already one of the most iconic soccer players in the world, and now, she’s making history once again.In the opening match of the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday, the Orlando Pride star became the first women’s soccer player to score in five straight Olympic Games after netting a pair of goals in Brazil’s 5-0 win over China.Cristiano Ronaldo posts cryptic message about his ‘decision day’The epic way Messi’s wife and kids celebrated his iconic

BEIJING -- A popular Chinese-Canadian singer, Kris Wu, has lost endorsement and other deals with at least 10 brands including Porsche and Bulgari after a teen-ager accused him of having sex with her while she was drunk.The former member of Korean boy band EXO denied the accusation, which prompted an outpouring of supportive comments for the woman online and criticism of Wu.“There was no ‘groupie sex’! There was no ‘underage’!" Wu said on his social media account, which has 52 million followers.

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Rebecca Davis editorActor Kai Ko, the mournful star of Un Certain Regard film “Moneyboys,” declined to jump the queue for vaccinations in his native Taiwan, and so couldn’t walk the red carpet in person at Cannes this year.Nevertheless, his performance in first-time director C.B.

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Rebecca Davis editorChinese authorities in a number of counties nationwide plan to bar residents who have not been vaccinated from entering indoor entertainment venues, like cinemas, as part of its attempt to significantly ramp up its vaccination campaign.Policies restricting the movement and entry of unvaccinated people will been rolled out in various places around the country throughout the month of July. Chinese cinemas have been operating at 75% capacity since re-opening nationwide in July

Read more: At home with the Welsh entrepreneur who flopped on The Apprentice but now runs a £16m business and drives a Ferrari From being mobbed in the supermarket by fans to learning Welsh while living in China, Iain has revealed how he ended up as a celeb on the other side of the world. Born in Southampton and raised in Cardiff, the now 43-year-old is currently a bilingual presenter on a prime time Chinese television show.

Rebecca Davis editorThe tear-jerking, patriotic pandemic film “Chinese Doctors” locked down a $53.5 million China opening weekend, according to Maoyan, setting itself up to become the most commercially successful political tribute film so far this year.Such films have been helped along by a line-up cleared of competitors.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Nocturna,” an Argentinian-made fantasy film that played last month in the Shanghai International Film Festival’s midnight fantasy section, has been picked up by Chinese company Naropean.Naropean, which shares executives with HGC Entertainment, one of the more prominent Chinese IP groups, has taken rights for China, Asia and Oceania, as well as remake rights.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChinese regulators have formally blocked the proposed merger of Huya and Douyu, two of the country’s largest live streaming operators. The planned merger had been orchestrated by social media and gaming giant Tencent and had been valued at approximately $5.3 billion.The announcement was made by the State Administration for Market Regulation in an online statement on Saturday morning, after relevant stock markets had closed.

Rebecca Davis editorThe U.S. film industry is heaving a sigh of relief that “Black Widow” is poised to become the highest grossing domestic debut of the post-pandemic era, marking America’s return to moviegoing in force.The Scarlett Johansson-starrer is projected to earn around $80 million in its North American opening weekend, beating out “F9” last month.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefNa Jiazuo, one of the few Chinese directors to make it to the Cannes Film Festival this year, says he learned from the best in the business. His “Streetwise” (aka “Gaey Wa’r”) unspools in Un Certain Regard and is eligible for the Camera d’Or, reflecting Na’s status as a rookie feature director.The picture is a gritty, largely nocturnal, portrait of a group of young adults in an unfashionable town as they come to terms with life’s uneasy lot.

Endeavor China, which just named a new group CEO, Thursday announced the acquisition of Shanghai-based Mailman Group, a digital agency for sports brands and rights holders.

Tencent has announced that it is using facial recognition on mobile phones software to stop children from playing games late at night.According to The Register, Tencent sent out a press release stating that players will need to use facial recognition software that stops children playing between 10pm and 8am.

Rebecca Davis editorEndeavor’s China offshoot announced Thursday that it has acquired the Shanghai-headquartered digital marketing agency Mailman Group and its Seven League subsidiary. Prior reports estimate the deal to be valued at $60 million.The move comes as Endeavor seeks to expand its footprint in the sports marketing space in China and the broader Asia-Pacific region.