Everest-Bound Plane Crash Kills All 19 Onboard

Everest crash
A tragic story out of Nepal has renewed concerns about flight safety in the area. According to AFP, a twin-propeller Sita Air plane carrying 19 people, including five Chinese people and seven British, caught on fire and crashed on Friday, killing everyone onboard. The pilot reported hitting a bird moments before the crash, though Toya... Read more »

“Christ, Xinhua, It’s FRIDAY NIGHT” And Other Tweets From Foreign Correspondents

Xinhua and foreign correspondents
“A fair few were drunks, philanderers and frauds and more than one was a spy,” writes Paul French in Through the Looking Glass, a book about China’s foreign correspondents from the Opium Wars to Mao. “They changed sides, they lost their impartiality, they displayed bias and a few were downright scoundrels and lairs of the... Read more »

Chinese Man On Flight Confuses Emergency Exit For Lavatory Door

Airplane exit
We want you to note that this particular 52-year-old Chinese passenger on a Hong Kong Airlines flight from Bali had to be restrained, as AFP puts it in a short five-paragraph story published yesterday: The door failed to open and crew stepped in to physically restrain the man, who was identified only by his surname Peng.... Read more »

Alert: Taxi Fuel Surcharge Raised To 3 Yuan Again

Taxi Beijing
Alright Beijing folks, taxi fuel surcharges are up to 3 yuan again, where they should have stayed after the April increase from 2 to 3 yuan. (The price went back to 2 yuan on June 18 due to a sharp decline in oil prices.) According to BJ News, gasoline prices are the main reason, again,... Read more »

Xinhua Announces: Bo Xilai’s Criminal Charges, Leadership Transition Set For Nov. 8

Xi Jinping and Bo Xilai
Two huge announcements from Xinhua this evening — concerning two men who are more or less intricately tied – impeccably timed for just the moment when everyone’s preparing to start their holiday and stop caring about news. First: Bo Xilai has been expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC) and his public office, according to a decision made at... Read more »

The Best Applications To Be Gigi Chao’s Husband, So Far [UPDATE]

Gigi proposal
Picture via the Guardian, caption: “Gigi Chao (right) is already taken, having apparently married her partner of seven years, Sean Eav (left), in France recently. Photograph: Apple Daily/AFP/Getty Images.” Gigi Chao says she’s “really quite touched” by her dad’s HK$500 million bounty for her hand in marriage, and with applicants like this, we can see... Read more »

Taiwan Ships Shoot Water That “Looks Like Urine,” Say Netizens

Taiwan Ships Shoot Water That “Looks Like Urine,” Say Netizens
While Japanese and Taiwanese ships continue playing with their super soakers in the South Pacific, netizens have commented that the Taiwanese ships don't shoot very straight or with force. Indeed, in the video above, you'll see that it does look like they're just pissing -- which completely makes sense, since Japan and China are just having a pissing contest at this point.