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[Metro & Sports]

• Metro
  
  The heated competition for next year's civil servant positions - in which 4,000 people might fight for one job - has not scared away job-seekers as the number of applicants is expected to hit a historical high.
  
  The central government is promoting an experimental community correction program nationwide to keep minor lawbreakers from being jailed.
  
  Authorities in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, are offering cash rewards for information leading to the arrest of beggar gangs that employ children and handicapped people.
  
  A new club in a university town that critics say caters to the rich, talented, pretty and powerful is getting a failing grade from many observers.
  
• Sports
  
  Benfica crushed injury-hit Everton 5-0 to end the English club's perfect record in Group I of the Europa League on Thursday night.
  
  Defending champion Sergio Garcia overcame extreme winds to take a one-shot lead at his home Castello Masters when play was cut short in the opening round on Thursday.

[China's Champion]  Cultural Roundup

Film, theatre, art, music and cultural exchange, there's always something going on. It's time for our weekly segment "cultural news roundup" where we review the major cultural events in the past week.

• The 11th China Shanghai International Arts Festival (CSIAF) opened Sunday evening as world-class artists convened in the host city of East China's Shanghai.
  
  
• A project called "New Drama: China/Germany" comes to an end this week in Beijing and has received wide attention.
  
  
• The star-studded film, "The Founding of a Republic," has become the box office blockbuster of China's domestically-made films after about 60 million U.S. dollars since opening on Sept. 16.
  
  
• The Icograda World Design Congress 2009, known as the Olympics of Designing will be held in Beijing from Oct. 24 to 30.
  

[Tour Tips] Daocheng

• Daocheng in Sichuan province is considered another Shangri-la as it's hidden within the mountains in southwest China. The area is enveloped by waterfalls, thick forests, snow-capped mountains, and shaped by the Tibetan culture of the people.
  

[Cultural Voyage] Online Dating

• Technology is fast changing the world, many would say, and yes it is. It has now become easier to get in touch with people across the border than it was a few years back. And even more advanced, the love game is changing with it.
  
  Relationships have gone beyond borders and that has introduced the world of online dating.
  
  This has brought color to how people now view relationships of love and how people find partners in life. Nillah Nyakoa brings the online dating scene in China.
  

[Showbiz News]

• Jackie Chan has found an ideal place to demonstrate his kung-fu skills - the Shaolin Temple.
  
  
• Taiwan singer-actor Nicky Wu confirmed he has parted with his actress wife Ma Yashu.
  
  
• British singer Lily Allen has given up on social networking after her boyfriend told her she spent too much time online.
  
  
• U.S. rapper Lil Wayne pleaded guilty on Thursday to attempted criminal possession of a weapon in a July 2007 incident and will serve a year in prison, New York City prosecutors said.

[Strange News]

• A man climbed up a cliff and found himself hanging from a tree trying to take a shortcut home in Dalian, Liaoning province, on Sunday.
  
  
• Police in Xiamen, Fujian province, rescued a college student who was attacked by his classmate after he farted during his birthday celebrations at a restaurant last week.
  
  
• A woman in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, was seriously injured when she fell off her bed trying to snatch the TV remote control from her husband on Sunday.
  
  
• A man who stabbed his wife after dreaming she was having an affair with another man will stand trial in Binyang county, the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

[Real China] Windows 7 Launched

• Windows 7, Microsoft's latest operating system, was officially launched yesterday. What improvements does Windows 7 have compared to Windows XP and Vitsa? So what's the price tag for this new system and will it be acceptable to Chinese consumers?