新闻纵贯线 The Beijing Hour updated 08:00 2013/08/19

 Rebecca Hume with you on this Monday, August 19th, 2013.

Welcome to the Beijing Hour, coming to you live from the Chinese capital.
Coming up on our program this morning...
Trains to and from Guangzhou suspended following landslides blocking the line.
In Egypt 36 members of the Muslim Brotherhood die during riot
UN chemical weapons inspectors arrive in Syria
Business
China reduces its holdings of United States debt by 1.7%
Sports
Rafael Nadal wins the mens singles at the Cincinnati Masters
Entertainments
American rapper Kanye West escapes felony Charges
Plus
Special reports goes to the Asian Youth Games in Nanjing to find out more about China’s young Chinese basketball players
First, let's check on what's happening on the weather front...
 
 
Weather
 
 
Beijing will be sunny today, with a high of 33 degree Celsius in the daytime, and it will be sunny tonight with a low of 23.
In Shanghai, it will see showers today, 32 the high, and it will see showers tonight, the low of 27 degrees Celsius.
Lhasa will be cloudy in the daytime the temperature's at 24, and tonight will be overcast with a low of 12 degree Celsius.
Elsewhere in the world, staying in Asia
Islamabad, sunny, 31.
Kabul, sunny, with a high of 31.
And in North America
New York, moderate rain, with a high of 24 degrees.
Washington, moderate rain, highs of 22
Houston, sunny, 34.
Honolulu, sunny, 31.
Toronto, overcast, 26
Finally, on to South America,
Buenos Aires, sunny, 18.
And Rio de Janeiro will see moderate rain with highs of 22 degrees Celsius.
 
 
Top News
 
 
Flash water cuts major railway line and kills dozens in China
 
Anchor
Trains to and from Guangzhou remain suspended after landslides blocked a major line linking Guangzhou and Beijing.
Marc Cavigli has more.
Reporter
An estimated 80-thousand passengers were not able to board their trains and passengers have been warned not to come to the station.
Wu Siya is a reporter with China Central Television.
"Huge crowds have gathered at the railway station in Guangzhou, queuing and waiting for their ticket refunds. There were about 6000 passengers waiting in the station this morning. The station has to open extra ticket refund counters to accommodate the crowds."
Authorities say the Beijing-Guangzhou high speed line is unaffected, but delays are expected.
Floods triggered by continuous downpours since Friday have left at least nine people dead in Guangdong Province.
61-reservoirs reported water levels surpassing the danger lines by Sunday evening.
Around 200-thousand people had been evacuated.
Meantime, relief work is underway as the worst flooding in decades in Northeast China killed at least 40 people since Friday.
15 deaths were recorded in Fushun City, Liaoning Province, where 4-thousand people are in need of temporary shelters after thousands of houses were damaged.
In Jilin Province, water levels of seven rivers and 33 reservoirs have gone beyond their danger lines.
Another two rainfalls are expected to hit the province this week.
Heilongjiang Province reported 11 flood-related deaths, wiith direct economic losses estimated at 7- billion yuan.
For CRI, I'm Marc Cavigli.
 
 
Kenya president visits China
 
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta is now in China for a 5-day visit.
His top agenda is expected to include cooperation in infrastructure, manufacturing, technological innovation and tourism.
This is Kenyatta's first visit to China since taking office in April.
Ahead of the Kenyan president said that "China is helping" in infrastructure development in his country.
Kenyatta has also taken time to discuss the eight-lane Nairobi-Thika superhighway, which is the first superhighway in East Africa.
The Chinese contractor of the major project is China Wuyi.
Our Africa Headquarters Chief Lin Shaowen got a chance to speak with a local project supervisor for the highway, Mr. J. M. Matu, chairman of APEC consulting engineering company.
Mr. Matu talked about the significance of the project and his experience of working with Chinese contractors.
(qa with matu on Kenya road)
That was Mr. J. M. Matu, chairman of APEC consulting engineering company, speaking with CRI's Africa Headquarters Chief Lin Shaowen.
 
 
36 members of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood died in riot: report
 
Egypt's official news agency MENA says a total of 36 members of the Muslim Brotherhood have died in a riot as they attempted to escape, when being moved to a jail on Sunday.
Armed clashes broke out between security forces and militants who attacked police vehicles carrying detainees affiliated with the Brotherhood.
Some 612 people were ordered to 15 days in custody, pending investigations over Saturday's clashes at Al-Fatah mosque, which left at least 79 killed.
Egyptian Defense Minister Abdel Fatah al-Sisi said on Sunday the armed forces will not retreat its mission from securing the country.
"We are reaching out with good intentions to all Egyptians, if it is good they want. If it is other than good that they want, then we are left with no other choice but to stand against this with all our strength and might, to protect Egypt."
Sissi also said his country would stand firm against any attempts to burn governmental and religious institutions.
37 churches have been set ablaze in different governorates following the dispersal operation against supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi on Wednesday.
Over 800 people have been killed across Egypt.
 
 
UN chemical weapons inspectors arrive in Syria
 
UN inspectors have arrived in Damascus to investigate the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria.
The team is set to visit three sites over the next two weeks, including a northern town near Aleppo which is at the centre of allegations of chemical weapons use.
Syrian government and the rebels are blaming each other for an alleged chemical weapons attack on Khan al-Asal in March, in which 25 people were killed with 130 others injured.
 
 
Syrian refugees poured into Iraq
 
(meantime,) Thousands of Syrian refugees have crossed the border in Kurdistan and are setting up makeshift homes.
A UN report says a total of 20-thousand refugees poured into the region of northern Iraq in just three days.
Many of the new arrivals came across a newly-constructed pontoon bridge over the Tigris River at Peshkhabour.
Refugees coming into Iraqi Kurdistan say they were fleeing threats from Al Nusra Front, one of the main rebel groups opposing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Refugees Shamo says he tried many times before crossing the border.
"We left Syria because the situation is getting worse and my young brothers who are here had sent after us, telling us to come to the (Kurdish) region. We came three or four times before, but we could not cross into because each time, they told us that the borders were closed and I have only just made it today."
The Kurdish regional government and NGOs are struggling to cope with the unusually high volume.
The UN says reasons for the increase remain unclear, but report there had been a sharp rise in clashes between Syrian Kurds and anti-government Islamist militants.
Kurds are the largest ethnic minority in Syria, making up more than 10 percent of the country's population.
 
 
Spanish fishermen protest against building of artificial reef near Gibraltar
 
Spanish fishermen in some 60 fishing boats have protested near the disputed area of Gibraltar against the building of an artificial reef.
Local fisherman Oscar Santos complains that he can no longer fish there.
"The boat now has to stay tied up here, and it's been tied up here for two months now, because they don't let me fish there for seafood any more. And no seafood using the net, they just won't let me. So here I am, I can't work, I can't do anything."
Gibraltar's government, led by Chief Minister Fabian Picardo, says the reef of around 70 concrete blocks protects fish stocks from being over-exploited.
Tensions between Britain and Spain are escalating over Gibraltar.
London is threatening to take "unprecedented" action against Madrid.
Spain says it's not backing down on the disputed territory.
 
 
China expects nationwide broadband by 2020
 
The State Council, China's cabinet, has rolled out a plan to complete broadband coverage of both urban and rural areas by 2020.
State Council elevated national broadband development as a national strategy.
It also announced a timetable for implementation over the coming eight years.
The strategy aims to achieve WiFi coverage in key public urban areas by 2013 and fixed broadband coverage for half of Chinese households by 2015.
A policy supporting information products and services was released last week in a bid to boost domestic demand and fuel economic growth.
 
 
Mobile Internet Generates New Opportunities for E-commerce
 
Anchor
Mobile Internet applications in China are not simply reserved for playing online games or checking the weather, they have also become increasingly popular shopping companions.
The rapidly growing mobile commerce or m-commerce sector is enabling companies to make increasing profits.
CRI's Xu Fei has more.
Reporter: At a recent internet forum in Beijing, participants agreed that mobile commerce, or m-commerce, is generating new opportunities for online businesses.
Cao Junbo, chief analyst with iResearch Consulting Group, says the business-to-customer format enables both sides to benefit from the country's mobile Internet market.
"The mobile Internet constitutes a new variable factor to increasing B2C growth. The birth of mobile Internet endows E-commerce with a new understanding. We estimate the growth rate of the B2C will accelerate from well into 2016, and relevant Q3 statistics may need modified."
According to Cao Junbo, 30-percent of online shopping is now being conducted via mobile phones or iPads.
Given the fact that mobile devices are one of the things that people don't leave at home, along with their keys and wallets, more companies are trying to get onto this device to sell their products, as analyst Cao explains.
"we've also found that lots of Internet and E-commerce companies have begun to transfer their business onto mobile Internet platforms under the belief that the future flow of business would mainly come from mobile apps. Cities in central and western China have become increasingly integrated with online trading activities."
Some business leaders shared their successful experiences with mobile Internet at the forum.
Xu Maodong is the CEO of a major group-buying service provider 55tuan.
"... Mobile Internet has become a major marketing tool for the businesses that provide city-life services thanks to the guidance from group-buying sites. The channel for the businesses to publish their advertisements has been changed from newspaper and TV.
Alibaba, another major online shopping company is forcasting China's m-commerce will hit 27 billion US dollars in 2014, and 41 billion in 2015.
For CRI, I'm Xu Fei.
 
 
Mobile Internet Industry Sees more Opportunities for Youth
 
Anchor
(also about China's IT sector,) Smartphones and tablet computers are continuing to rise in popularity. People working in the mobile internet industry are optimistic about the future of China's mobile internet market, and increasing numbers of young Chinese people are seeking to enter the sector.
CRI's Shen Ting has more.
Reporter
The rapid development of China's mobile internet industry in the past two years has produced numerous business opportunities.
Qiao Liang is a product manager working at an app-making company in Beijing. Like other IT professionals, Qiao believes the future of the mobile internet industry is bright.
"I joined the mobile internet industry two years ago; before that, I worked for an ordinary internet company. As a product manager, if I hadn't become involved in the mobile internet industry as soon as possible, it would not have been good for my future career, because I think the popularity of mobile applications will exceed that of the internet."
According to an annual statistical report on the Chinese mobile phone market, 450 million Chinese people accessed the internet with mobile phones by the end of 2012, which accounts for almost 88 percent of China's overall internet users.
Qiao believes the mobile internet era is approaching.
"I could feel the move towards mobile internet when the iPhone 4 was released two years ago. Now, the price of smartphones with Android systems has dropped significantly to become affordable for the general public."
Qiao adds that the convenience of mobile phones and tablet computers has surpassed computers; and computers will probably become office tools in some professional industries, whereas the word input on mobile phones is not that convenient.
However, having worked in the mobile internet industry for over 2 years, Qiao still has his concerns.
"Currently there are many companies making games or apps for mobile phones. At the initial stage of development of the mobile market, everybody had opportunities to produce products for users to download, but now the competition is tough for many small companies who are struggling to survive in the market."
Where there is competition, however, there is also a market. Due to the growing numbers of smartphone and tablet computer users, mobile industries are booming. Qiao says he made the right choice in entering the mobile internet industry.
"In the past, I could never imagine that there were so many functions the mobile phone platform could provide. Now the smart equipment of mobile phone has many sensors like the gravity sensor, and it contains GPS capabilities and cameras. There is a large space for people to consider developing the mobile internet industry."
Su Huazheng is a market manager with China Mobile's Guangxi Branch.
"Mobile phones and computers have almost the same functions. But with the improving technologies, mobile phone companies will provide people with more creative and higher quality products. It is a good supplement to people's demand."
For CRI, I am ST.
 
 
Biz Reports
 
 
Market preview
 
Anchor
Let's get a preview of what's happening in the business world this week.
Here's CRI's Su Yi.
Reporter:
This week is relatively quiet for the global markets as far as economic events are concerned.
The major events in the US are coming in the form of the Jackson Hole symposium, Federal Open Market Committee minutes and home sales figures.
The existing home sales figure in the US is due on Wednesday.
Also on Wednesday, the minutes from the last FOMC meeting are released.
Finally, the week is rounded off by the annual Jackson Hole symposium, due to be held on Thursday and Friday.
This is a meeting where central bankers, finance ministers, academics and alike can hold discussions away from the press.
In Eurozone, the release of crucial PMI figures for France and Germany, along with the region as a whole, is due on Wednesday.
In UK, the second GDP estimate for Q2 is to be released on Friday.
The major event of the week from an Asian perspective comes in the form of the Chinese HSBC flash manufacturing PMI figure for August.
Finally, the Australian markets will be looking towards the release of crucial Reserve Bank Of Australia monetary policy minutes on Tuesday.
 
 
Live call-in with Mike Bastin on China trims US Treasury holdings in June
 
Anchor:
New data is suggesting China has reduced its holdings of United States Treasury securities in June.
Figures from the U.S Department of the Treasury show China trimmed its holdings 1.7 percent to $1.28 trillion.
Meanwhile, Japan, the second-largest buyer of US debt, also cut its holdings by 1.8 percent to 1.8 trillion-dollars.
Combined, they accounted for about 40-U.S-dollars billion in net Treasury outflows.
Overall, total foreign holdings of US Treasuries dropped for the third straight month.
For more on this we're joined live on the line with Mike Bastian, Visiting Professor at China's University of International Business and Economics.
Questions:
1.What has prompted China to reduce its holdings of US debt? What are the government's considerations?
2.Do you expect any further cutback in China's holdings of T-bonds this year?
3.And for the U.S, does the sell-off bring any challenges to the Fed in terms of mapping forward monetary policy?
- Is this a good move for the U.S?
Back Anchor:
Mike Bastin, Visiting Professor at China's University of International Business and Economics.
 
 
Design flaws blamed for Everbright trading errors: CSRC
 
China Securities Regulatory Commission or CSRC is suggesting it was a system error that caused irregular trading last Friday.
CSRC says it was not human error, but design flaws in a trade unit of China Everbright Securities that triggered the inconsistent trading.
A spokesperson of the Regulator says Everbright's "strategy trading system" has some flaws including program calls and limit control.
The flaws were reportedly triggered last Friday and resulted in huge orders at market prices.
Spokesperson for the company says the total declaration for buying came to 23.4 billion yuan, but the actual transactions were only 7.27 billion yuan.
Erroneous trade caused a swift rise in domestic A-share stocks in minutes at the end of Friday morning trade.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index spiked 5.96 percent within three minutes on Friday.
 
 
China's home prices continue to rise in July
 
New stats show prices of both new and existing homes have continued to rise in most Chinese cities in July.
The National Bureau of Statistics or NBS, here in China is reporting a statistical pool of 70 major Chinese cities, 62 cities saw month-on-month home price rises.
However, the number was down from 63 cities that reported higher prices in June.
NBS says 57 cities reported month-on-month price gains in existing homes in July compared to 55 in the previous month.
But the figure was lower than the 64 cities that saw price rises in May.
 
 
Alibaba buys stake in online shopping firm ShopRunner: report
 
Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group has bought a minority stake in online shopping company ShopRunner.
Alibaba is reportedly paying $75 million for the stake in ShopRunner.
ShopRunner is run by former Yahoo Chief Executive Scott Thompson.
The investment is expected to add to a long relationship between Alibaba and Yahoo.
Yahoo owns almost a quarter of Alibaba.
Meanwhile, there has been reports that Alibaba is preparing for an initial public offering.
The world's largest e-commerce group has said that no final decisions have been made about where it will list its shares.
But bankers expect the IPO to take place in Hong Kong.
 
 
JPMorgan hit by U.S. bribery probe into Chinese hiring
 
U.S. authorities have reportedly opened an investigation into whether JPMorgan Chase hired the children of powerful Chinese officials to help it win business in China.
The probe is a civil investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission's anti-bribery unit.
JPMorgan made reference in its 10-Q quarterly filing this month to the inquiry from the SEC.
The firm said the inquiry related to it's "employment of certain former employees in Hong Kong and its business relationships with certain clients".
The news comes while the bank is under intense scrutiny following the 6-billion-US-dollar trading loss it suffered in the "London whale" derivatives scandal.
 
 
Lloyd's to sell German insurer
 
British banking group Lloyds is reportedly set to sell its German insurance business to Frankfurt-listed insurer Hannover Re for 400 million euros.
It's being reported as the last move as the group continues to streamline its business.
The 400 million euro price tag is less than half of what Lloyds had hoped for.
The lender is expected to announce the sale this week.
Lloyds and Hannover Re both declined to comment.  
 
 
Headline News
 
 
Over 40 killed as floods ravage China
 
Trains to and from Guangzhou have been suspended after landslides blocked a major line linking Guangzhou and Beijing.
An estimated 80-thousand passengers were not able to board their trains and passengers have been warned not to come to the station.
Floods triggered by continuous downpours since Friday have left at least nine people dead in Guangdong Province.
Meantime, relief work is underway as the worst flooding in decades in Northeast China killed at least 40 people since Friday.
 
 
Kenya president visits China
 
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta is now in China for a 5-day visit.
His top agenda is expected to include cooperation in infrastructure, manufacturing, technological innovation and tourism.
This is Kenyatta's first visit to China since taking office in April.
Ahead of the Kenyan president said that "China is helping" in infrastructure development in his country.
 
 
Koreas accept on family reunion
 
North and South Korea have agreed to re-open their talks over the reunion of families separated by the Korean War.
This will be the first of such talks in three years.
The North Korean government is proposing to hold the talks on Mount Kumgang resort.
Instead, South Korea says it prefers the meeting to be held on the South Korean side of the border village of Panmunjom.
The agreement comes days after the two sides reached a deal on operation of the joint Kaesong Industrial Zone.
 
 
Design flaws blamed for Everbright trading errors: CSRC
 
China Securities Regulatory Commission or CSRC is suggesting it was a system error that caused irregular trading last Friday.
CSRC says it was not human error, but design flaws in a trade unit of China Everbright Securities that triggered the inconsistent trading.
The flaws were reportedly triggered last Friday and resulted in huge orders at market prices, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index spiking almost 6 percent within three minutes.
 
 
China applauds appointment of Yi as deputy chief of WTO
 
The Chinese commerce ministry has issued a statement, applauding the appointment of Yi Xiaozhun as deputy director-general of the World Trade Organization.
Yi Xiaozhun will be the first Chinese national to play such a role.
The commerce ministry says the appointment demonstrates the role China and other developing countries play in the WTO.
Yi was China's vice minister of commerce before taking office in Geneva as China's permanent representative to the organization in 2011.
 
 
Newspaper Picks
 
 
China Daily
Headline: Chinese lawyers urge legal protection for gay partners
Summary:
A group of lawyers are calling for legislation to provide homosexual partners in China with similar legal rights to opposite-sex couples.
This comes at a conference organized by the United Nation Development Program over the weekend in Beijing.
Shanghai Daily
Headline: Man held for making fake threat
Summary:
A man has been detained for 10 days for falsely claiming his wife was going to take "dangerous goods" onto a plane at Pudong International Airport.
The man had an argument with his wife and wanted "to stop her" from taking a flight to Chongqing.
The airport's hotline received a phone call saying a passenger was carrying dangerous goods.
Global Times
Headline: Forensic expert steps down
Summary:
A famous female legal medical specialist claims she resigned from her position as vice president of the Chinese Forensic Medicine Association due to her disappointment with current forensic medicine in China.
Wang Xuemei, 57, said in her resignation video that her name could not be related to an academic organization that offers "ridiculous and irresponsible" conclusions.
Beijing News
Headline: Compulsory computer-based system to distribute donated organs
Summary:
A computer-based system distributing donated organs for transplant is to be compulsorily brought into use at 165 accredited hospitals nationwide, according to a new regulation to take effect from September.
The regulation will ensure fairness and transparency during organ allocation.
It will also shorten the waiting time for patients needing transplants.
South China Metropolitan Daily
Headline: Baby-hurting Policeman Investigated
Summary:
A policeman who is alleged to have seriously injured an infant by grabbing her and hurling her onto the ground have been detained in Central China's Henan province.
An investigation team has been set up in response to anger voiced by Chinese netizens.
The policeman was reportedly to be drunk and received a 15-day detention, without being further punished by law.
Guangzhou Daily
Headline: Passengers told not to come to Guangzhou railway station
Summary:
Train service of Guangzhou Railway Station, a rail hub in South China, has been suspended after landslides blocked a railway artery linking Guangzhou and Beijing.
The railway company could not confirm when the train service could resume.
More than 80,000 passengers have been affected.
 
 
Special Reports
 
 
Young Basketball Players Get Chances to Improve in Nanjing
 
Anchor
At the ongoing Asian Youth Games in Nanjing, young Chinese basketball players say they will take this opportunity to perfect their skills to give Chinese basketball, which is in a transitional period, a boost.
CRI's XYee has more:
Reporter
The China men's basketball team, which was in the past undefeated in Asia, has gone into rebuilding mode since 2010, in which year its superstar player Yao Ming announced his retirement from China's national team.
In early August, after losing five consecutive group games in the 2012 London Olympics, the national team stunned its hundreds of millions of basketball funs again by only attaining 5th place in FIBA's Asian Championships. This was their worst result since they started competing in the games.
The Chinese media have recently been highly critical of their basketball authority, saying that young players get little opportunity to learn by competing in international games. The main players in the national team are too old and it's already too late for the formerly unbeatable China team to return to its glory days.
However, at Nanjing, the host city of the 2nd Asian Youth Games, the much-anticipated opportunity for growth appears to be coming.
China's youth basketball team leader reaffirmed their aim after beating Malaysia in the Nanjing Asian games Saturday.
"Our aim for the Nanjing Asian games is to give the young players more chances to experience the international games. Every game here for us is tough. We bear the responsibility to fight for China, and we will try our best to win each game and get progress step by step."
Looking at Iran and Korea's national teams -- the winners of the gold and silver medals in the Asian Championships respectively, most of their players are youngsters born in the 1990s.
Payam Seifizaden, the coach of team Iran at the Nanjing Asian games, led his young team to start their training session at a much earlier time in the afternoon than any other teams.
"The senior team is very strong, because we have one player in NBA in position five."
Although he pointed out their NBA-level center player Hamed Haddadi, Payam also emphasised that they never make light of any chance to improve the young players' experience.
"At this moment, we have two national teams - under sixteen and under eighteen. About one week later the Asian Championship in under sixteen will be held in Iran. In my country, the basketball has a good situation."
The youth basketball games in Nanjing will last six days. The champion will be decided on August 22.
For CRI, I"m XYee.
 
 
Sports
 
 
Rafael Nadal wins mens singles title at Cincinnati Masters
 
In tennis,
Fourth-seeded Rafael Nadal claimed the mens singles title after beating unseeded American John Isner
It was the first time the Spaniard won back-to-back hard court finals in successive weeks, after his win last week at the Rogers Cup.
28-year old Isner had a good run at the tournament, upsetting three Top 10 players this week including no. 10 Milos Raonic, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, and No. 7 Juan Martin del Potro.
 
 
Bolt and Fraser-Pryce complete clean sweeps at IAAF World Championships
 
Let's start off by recapping the final day of competition at the World Athletic Championships, which wrapped up in Moscow yesterday.
Team Jamaica bowed out in style, after both Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce completed clean sweeps of the sprint golds.
Bolt anchored Jamaica to victory in the men's 4x100 meter relay, adding a third gold to his collection, and securing his second career sprint triple.
"For me, I am just happy to be continuing adding to my accolades. I have worked hard over the years, and I am proud of myself. And I will continue to try and dominate for as long as possible."
The Jamaican team, which also included Nesta Carter, Kemar Bailey-Cole and Nickel Ashmeade, just bareley beat team USA by .3 seconds. Britain came in third, but were disqualified for a bad change, giving Canada the bronze.
Fraser-Pryce became the first woman in world championships history to sweep the sprint events when she anchored Jamaica to gold in the womens 4,100.
In other events,
Kenya added two golds to its overall count.
First Olympic champion Asbel Kiprop defended his title in the men's 1500 meters. And then Eunice Sum, won the womens 800 meters.
Kiprop praised his country for consistently producing quality long distance runners.
"It's about the way we train, the kind of environment we live in. This kind of training, the altitude itself, it is where we come from, our nation that makes our achievements possible."
In the men's triple jump, Teddy Tamgho of France claimed the gold.
And German Christina Obergfoell took her first major javelin title at the age of 31. Australian Kimberly Mickle took silver, but was still excited about her medal.
"I do like silver actually! For jewelry I am a silver girl, so gold just wouldn't have matched!"
The next World Athletics Championship will be held in Beijing's iconic Birds Nest in 2015.
 
 
Team Europe retains Solheim Cup
 
In golf,
The Europeans led 5-3 after the opening day, but Team USA made a comeback in Saturday morning's foursomes.
Stacey Lewis and Paula Creamer helped the Americans slice the Europeans lead to two overnight.
I think Paula made the putt on 15 was huge and then my putt on 16 to top their virdie, I mean if you miss those two putts it is a completely different match. So, we just kept hanging in there, hanging in there all day and we both played really well and fed off each other and fed off the crowd.
But the Europeans needed only 3 and a half more points during Sunday's 12 singles matches to retain the trophy.
It was the first back to back title for the Euroepean team, and also the first time they won the title on American soil.
Another notable first was Anna Nordqvist's hole in one on Saturday. It was the first hole in one in the competition's history.
And over in the PGA,
Patrick Reed birdied the second playoff hole to beat fellow rookie Jordan Spieth at the Wyndham Championship.
It was Reed's first career win.
 
 
Springboks crush Argentina in Rugby Championship opener
 
In rugby,
Over the weekend, South Africa opened its Rugby Championship run by brutally crushing Argentina 73-13.
The whooping was a sort of vengeance after the two teams unexpectedly tied at last year's meeting.
Seven of the Springboks tries came in the second half. It was head coach Heyneke Meyer's seventh straight Test win.
"We also said we're going to make our country proud. We're very proud South Africans and we need something special to give our country hope and I think the main thing we said is that a lot of supporters haven't seen the Boks play, mostly soccer supporters and I said to the guys 'let's go out there and show the people how we can play and get the whole of South Africa behind us.'"
Argentina's coach Felipe Contepomi admitted it was a terrible game for his team. Everything seemed to go wrong, from the two yellow cards to poor line-outs and mauls.
In the other opening match of the Rugby Championship, the New Zealand All Blacks defeated rivals Australia 47-29 in Sydney.
 
 
Entertainment
 
 
Kanye West Will Not Face Felony Charges
 
Rapper and notorious bad boy Kanye West will not be slapped with felony assault and attempted robbery charges following his scuffle with a photographer lat month.
(west clip)
The 36-year-old was filmed last month reacting to a comment made by a photographer by wrestling the man to the ground at the Los Angeles International Airport.
The LA County District Attorney has decided not to pursue felony charges following an investigation though West may still face misdemeanor charges from the city attorney.
The paparazzo did not suffer any major injuries and it is unclear if the man's camera equipment was damaged.
West, who has no felony record, recently became a father with Hollywood socialite Kim Kardashian and released his 6th studio album Yeezus in June.
 
 
Foo Fighters to Release New Album Next Year
 
Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl has announced the band will return in 2014 with their 8th studio album.
(foo fighters clip)
The new album will be a follow-up to their 2011 LP Wasting Light which sold enough to top both the US and UK charts.
Though Grohl admits the new album is still a ways off he promises fans the new album will be made in a way no one has ever done before.
The news comes following Grohl's announcement last September the band would be going on hiatus for an indefinite period of time.
Grohl made the announcement during an electrifying live show in New York last year.
Guitarist Chris Shiflett has admitted in an interview it turned out to be a very short hiatus and the band plans on beginning recording early next year.
 
 
Steven Spielberg Expresses Desire to Work with Zhang Yimou
 
Academy Awards winning director Steven Spielberg has expressed a desire to collaborate with Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou.
Spielberg called Zhang a dear friend and longs to return to China to make another film.
His 1987 feature Empire of the Sun was shot in Shanghai with actor Christian Bale who appeared in Zhang's film Flowers of War.
Though no official plans have been made Spielberg pictures the pair working together on an international film which takes place in China.
 
 
Ewan McGregor to Reprise Role in New Star Wars Film
 
(star wars theme)
Reports are coming out suggesting actor Ewan McGregor will reprise his role as Obi Wan Kenobi in the upcoming Star Wars Episode 7.
It is speculated McGregor's character will return to the franchise as a Force Ghost given his character was killed in Episode 4 A New Hope and the new sequel takes place after Episode 6 Return of the Jedi.
The news follows claims actor Ian McDiarmid will also return to the franchise as Sith Ghost with his evil character Emperor Palpatine.
Last year McGregor expressed interest in returning to the franchise as the legendary Obi Wan Kenobi though he knew nothing about the film's production plans.
It is also rumored the actor's character may be getting an entire film dedicated to himself following the announcement from Disney's CEO several classic characters would have stand-alone films in between the final features.
 
 
More Details on Glee's Memorial Episode
 
More details have been revealed concerning the tribute episode the hit show Glee will air for actor Corey Monteith's death.
(glee clip)
Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy has announced the episode will focus on the grief felt by both friends, family, and fans following the 31-year-old's death.
Murphy also revealed the writers considered having Monteith's character Finn Hudson die of a drug overdose, but decided against it.
Monteith's death was the result of a heroin and alcohol overdose.
The writers may keep details about Hudson's death on the show a mystery and instead focus on how the death affects other characters on the show.
The memorial episode is set to begin filming this week before taking a 3-week break from production.
 
 
Hugh Jackman Turns Down $100-million Deal
 
Wolverine actor Hugh Jackman has denied rumors he has signed a 100-million US dollar deal to return as everyone's favorite mutant.
(wolverine trailer)
The actor recently revealed he was offered a contract to appear in 4-more films as the superhero.
However, the actor passed on the offer saying he doesn't have a good personal reason to continue acting as Wolverine.
Jackman will reprise his role as the tortured mutant for the last time in next year's X-Men Days of Future Past.