US TV shows ordered off Chinese websites

VIDEO streaming websites in China have been ordered to stop showing four popular American TV shows, including The Big Bang Theory and The Good Wife.

The move suggests government attention is intensifying on the online industry, which is freer than state television and China's cinemas to show foreign productions and other content and has stretched the boundaries of what can be seen in the country.

A spokeswoman for a leading video site, Youku, said on Sunday it had received notification not to show sitcom The Big Bang Theory, political and legal drama The Good Wife, crime drama NCIS and legal drama The Practice.

The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television didn't give a reason for its order, she said.

A senior manager at another site, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said it received the surprise order last week to "clean their website".

The edict, which was identical to the one sent to Youku and other companies, also listed a Chinese slapstick miniseries made by another site, Sohu, as having to be removed.

Online streaming sites regularly receive orders to take down Chinese or foreign TV programs and movies, but usually because the regulator considers them too salacious or violent or because they infringe copyright laws.

Sohu's most popular US shows are crime drama Nikita - episodes from the first and second seasons have been watched a combined total of 472 million times - and Masters of Sex, which weren't included in the order.

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WA remains Australia's strongest economy

WESTERN Australia remains the nation's best performing economy but the Northern Territory is a close second.

The Top End is leading the way when it comes to economic activity, due to strong growth in construction, according to CommSec's quarterly State of the States report.

South Australia and Tasmania were the weakest performing states, while NSW came in third, followed by Queensland in fourth place and Victoria in fifth.

Every three months, CommSec uses eight key indicators to rank the states and territories - economic growth, retail spending, equipment investment, unemployment, construction work done, population growth, housing finance and dwelling commencements.

CommSec chief economist Craig James said the rebalancing of the Australian economy away from mining investment would soon cause a shake-up in the rankings.

"Western Australia continues to lead the rankings of best performing economies but in the latest quarter there was little to separate it from the Northern Territory economy," he said.

"The mining construction boom is over, replaced by the home construction boom.

"As a result, winners and losers will change across Australia, not just industries but also state and territory economies."

NSW lifted from fifth to third place following improvements in its economic growth, business investment, population growth and dwelling starts.

NSW is now the strongest state for new housing construction, with starts over 39 per cent above decade averages, Mr James said.

"The outlook for housing construction continues to strengthen, underpinned by low interest rates and strong demand by investors," Mr James said.

The jobs market was strongest in the Northern Territory and ACT and weakest in South Australia, where the jobless rate is up almost 28 per cent on the decade average, Mr James said.

He said the outlook for the Tasmanian and South Australian economies remained challenging.

"The hope is that property investors will soon switch attention away from NSW and Victoria to more affordable housing sectors," he said.

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Muslim world body heading to CAR

THE world's largest bloc of Islamic countries is sending 14 delegates to the strife-torn Central African Republic on a fact-finding and solidarity mission.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation said on Sunday delegates would be in the capital, Bangui, for three days from Tuesday.

Guinea's Foreign Minister Lounceny Fall will head the delegation, which will include Turkey's foreign minister and diplomats from some of the 57 member-states, as well as OIC Secretary-General Iyad Ameen Madani and the body's special envoy to the Central African Republic, Sheikh Tidiane Gadio.

The OIC said the delegates were expected to meet with interim President Catherine Samba-Panza, the prime minister and foreign minister, as well as Muslim and Christian religious leaders.

Central African Republic exploded into violence in early December amid mounting resentment toward a Muslim rebel government that had seized power in March 2013 by overthrowing the president of a decade.

The rebel leader-turned-president had little control over his forces, who were blamed for raping, torturing and killing civilians particularly among the country's Christian majority.

Once the government fell in January, Christian militia fighters began attacking Muslim civilians, prompting tens of thousands to flee the country and leaving an untold number dead.

The OIC visit follows that of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who was in Central African Republic earlier this month.

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