• Leave it to the Chinese to make a business out of anything. Richard Spencer of The Telegraph reports that a new breed of waste collectors has struck deals with jewellery makers to pan for gold in the sewage. This business is now proving to be so lucrative that one building has sold the rights to its sewage for 140,000 yuan a year. We wonder how much our sewage is worth.
• The Indians may be generally envious of their Chinese counterparts, but the latest news indicate that that may not be the case for the richest of the rich in both countries. In fact, according to Forbes, the four richest people in India are now worth US$180 billion, more than the top 40 in China put together after gains by the Indian benchmark stock index and currency.
• The Dalai Lama continues on his whirlwind tour after receiving warm welcomes from leaders of the United States, Canada, Australia and Germany, but has received a snub from Japan in his ongoing 9-day visit there. Nobody from the Japanese government will be meeting the Dalai Lama. Newly appointed Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has vowed to write a fresh page in Sino-Japanese ties and is steering clear of doing anything that may throw China into yet another hissy fit.

Photo from Slow Boat to China: Winter time at the Summer Palace in Chengde.