The video on the right is SMG's report on the global tour that the Olympic torch is currently on. Things are all bright and sparkley, everything is going according to plan, and the torch will be taken to places where it's never been before, including Almaty, Kazakhstan. No mention of the challenges the Olympic torch relay has faced, no mention of the protests that has dogged the torch everywhere it has gone, and no mention......

From the BBC:Stephen Sackur talks to Liu Mingkang, Chairman, China Banking Regulatory Commission. Will China escape the downturn in the American economy? UPDATE: The embedded video no longer works. To view this video, please use this link.......

BBC: "Protests in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu turned violent as police made arrests outside the Chinese embassy." AP: "Greek officials handed over the Olympic flame to organizers of the Beijing Games on Sunday amid small protests by a pro-Tibetan group. The ceremony was held where the first modern Olympics were staged in 1896. (March 30)" AP: "Eight giant pandas from a breeding center in southern China are set to travel to Beijing for the Olympic......

An Associated Press video on the Taiwanese Presidential elections Just in time for Easter, YouTube has come back from the dead after an absence of around a week. As we reported last week, the block was most likely due to certain sensitive content, a move that has left some people questioning whether Google/YouTube were involved at all. Unfortunately, its resurrection doesn't appear to be fully complete — some video clips don't seem to load......

Well, it's all over the news. Hunan TV is going to do a Chinese version of the hit US TV show Ugly Betty. According to a report from the BBC, the lead character—the Chinese Betty—has already been chosen. A Chinese article that we read, dated March 7, says that Hunan TV wants to hold nation-wide auditions to find the ugliest girl possible. So we're not sure what the case is, but in any case, whoever......

This evening will see the second week of the Shanghai International Literary Festival kicking off down at M on the Bund. Events will continue across the weekend and throughout the week, providing plenty of opportunities to see a whole host of great writers and performers. Ticket details can be found here as can the full line-up (which we suggest you check - there's far too much going on for us to cover it all in......

Now into its fifth year, M on the Bund’s Shanghai International Literary Festival kicks off this weekend and once again has an impressive line up featuring a string of famous names and expert figures from across the book world. Running for the next three weekends, the festival offers Shanghai’s literati the chance to see some of the best Chinese and international writers. With so many great events to choose from (you can buy tickets and......

BBC's take on inflation in China includes footage of the Chongqing Carrefour stampede for cooking oil that we haven't seen before.......

Gold and silver ingots have arrived at the Shanghai Mint for processing into Olympic medals! Quentin Sommerville of the BBC speaks to Clinton Dines of BHP Billiton China.......

BBC's Shanghai correspondent Quentin Sommerville goes to the Pingyang neighbourhood south of Shanghai and finds that the anti-Maglev protests have not quite abated. In his report [VPN required], he makes the following observation:Rarely have protests in China been so well organised, or the protesters so well-dressed. The Maglev protests are really a case study in acts of civil disobedience with Chinese characteristics. Knowing that their protests would never be approved by the authorities, demonstrators decided......

A BBC report (proxy needed) talks about the Confucian schools that are now thriving across China. And why are parents sending their kids to such schools?:"Traditional culture has many advantages that cannot be learned by modern education," says Yu Fang, the mother of a three-year-old pupil. "It emphasises virtues like kindness and self-discipline. It is very good for my son and very good for Chinese society as well." Another mother, Wang Ching, agrees: "This is......

It is no secret by now. China executes more people than the rest of the world put together (yes, even more than the Islamic world). In fact, Amnesty International says China carries out about 80 percent of the world's total capital punishments, if not more (1,770 people in 2005). The recent UN vote for a moratorium on executions saw a fractious two-day debate between the anti-execution camp led by Italy and the pro-execution camp led......

Not content with sinking its rabid fangs into our children, our metro system and our optometrists, it seems the sinister cabal behind the Hello Kitty brand now wants to ensnare 50 percent of YOU, dear readers. According to a strangely supine BBC report (proxy needed), a new "macho" Kitty is on its way. It's target: all you menfolk out there. Here's what fell out of the Hello Kitty PR litter tray: "Young men these days......

Business and Economy WSJ: China Takes Additional Step To Cool Economy AFP: Underground money traders flourish on Hong Kong border Religion Xinhua: China-based Christian group prints 50 mln Bibles Reuters: Dalai Lama says sorry he can't meet Pope SCMP: Student leader finds meaning in life with God's will on campus [Subscription] AP: Dallas evangelical Christian seminary offers online courses in Chinese Miscellaneous AP: China Detains 33 in Deadly Mine Blast CNSNews: For China, Even......

It may only be a spit away by plane, but for those of us too cheap environmentally concerned to fly, getting up to Beijing for the weekend is a bitch (despite our love of munching through a bottomless nosebag of sunflower seeds to looped pan-pipe renditions of Celine Dion songs). Which is why we don't go. So the proposed high-speed line between Shanghai and BJ, which will reportedly cane it along at 350km/h and take......

They say bad news travels fast. That Pudong gas blast we told you about on Saturday has made it to international news. The Associated Press, Reuters, the International Herald Tribune, BBC, Times of India, ABC (Australia) all reported on the blast. The AP reports that four deaths have been confirmed and more than two dozen people were injured from the explosion. Our hearts go out to the family of the 29 year old cyclist from......

Burma junta holds rally, arrests 4 activists [AP] On Saturday, the Burmese junta organized a mass rally in Rangoon to denounce Western powers and the foreign media, whom the military regime accuses of fomenting the recent protests. Officials said 120,000 people attended the event, some of whom were paid to be there. Among some of the slogans the crowds were made to chant include "Down with BBC! Down with VOA! Down with Radio Free Asia!"Singapore's......

The Shanghaiist Weather Center is 100 percent sure the answer will be yes (although is Shanghai Circuit really in Shanghai?). It's dry now in the French Concession, but the dark clouds above suggest it won't stay that way for long. Here's the latest weather update from the official Formula 1 website: Thus far Sunday has been dry with a little wind, but no sign of the edge of Typhoon Krosa, which is sweeping through the......

... at least that is what Shirley Phelps-Roper of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas would have us believe (h/t to Danwei). She recently wrote in to China Daily columnist Raymond Zhou after reading his opinion piece on recent comments by Chinese celebrity Sun Haiying (孙海英) who not too long ago ignited a huge debate with his comments that homosexuality was unequivocally "criminal in nature" ("同性恋就是犯罪“):Dear Raymond The very day that Godless China decriminalized......

Weekenders looking for a break from the usual club and pub offerings should consider these two interesting events this weekend. Saturday, September 8th m97 Gallery "Document/Portrait" exhibition Opening Reception, 5pm to 8pm m97 Gallery consistently showcases China's best contemporary photographers and their upcoming exhibition, "Document/Portrait" brings veteran and newcomer works together for what promises to be a very approachable and honest look at China today. Be on the lookout for works from perennial favorites, Peng&Chen......

Tokyo, Japan - China Airlines apologises for inferno horror [Channel News Asia] The head of China Airlines on Tuesday handed out apologies and cash to passengers who barely escaped a blaze that destroyed one of the Taiwanese carrier's planes on a runway in Okinawa, Japan. Amman, Jordan - Interpol issues arrest warrant for Saddam's daughter [BBC] Interpol has issued an arrest warrant for Raghad Hussein, the eldest daughter of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Meanwhile,......

What Crossing the Line - a documentary by VeryMuchSo Productions with Koryo Tours Synopsis Witness the stories of four US army defectors who abandoned their homeland to seek out a new life in communist North Korea in this fascinating documentary from filmmaker Daniel Gordon. It was August of 1962 that Private First Class James Joseph Dresnok crossed the heavily fortified border from South Korea into the North. Now, more than forty-years later, the last......

It's been about three days since the BBC apologised to the Queen for misrepresenting a sequence in a program in which she appeared to have lost her temper with celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz (the one who took the picture of John Lennon in the nude hugging Yoko Ono). But we find our dear China Daily still linking to the following story on its homepage about the BBC program, A Year with the Queen, which tells......

Kathmandu, Nepal - Living goddess loses status A 10-year-old Nepalese girl was stripped of her title as a living goddess because she traveled overseas to promote a documentary about the centuries-old tradition, an official said Tuesday. Singapore - Longer-term worry is talent: SM Goh Singapore's current property bubble is a short-term phenomenon that is not a cause for worry, said Singapore's Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, neither is rising costs as it will mean......

Though it sounds like a high school-student-and-soon-to-be-cocaine-addict's dream come true, in China, there is a real market for people with an acute sense of smell and masochistic tendencies! From the unlinkable without a proxy or psychic powers BBC:China is about to unleash a new weapon in the battle against illegal polluters - humans trained to sniff out foul gases, according to Chinese media. The southern city of Guangzhou will be patrolled by "professional noses" who......

Woman strangled and stabbed. A native of Hubei Province was charged with murder yesterday after Minhang District prosecutors allege Tian Qi, 27, strangled a woman with wire and then stabbed her with scissors because she refused to lend him money.Publicity toilet paper set to wipe out theft in Taipei. In a bid to deter roll bandits, the toilet paper would be sponsored by advertisers who will allow their names to be smeared for the public......

Panamanians Fall Foul of Chinese Poisoned Medicines "Researchers estimate that thousands have died. In many cases, the precise origin of the poison has never been determined. But records and interviews show that in three of the last four cases it was made in China" China admits companies responsible for melamine scandal Xinhua quotes Chinese government agency report that "the two companies illegally added melamine...in a bid to meet the contractual demand for the amount......

For our Beijing readers, from James Kynge: We are holding a candlelit vigil for Alan Johnston, the BBC reporter who has been held in Gaza for several weeks. Contrary to recent reports, Alan has been confirmed as alive by Palestinian authorities, and various initiatives aimed at his release are gathering momentum. This is a crucial time. The BBC is organising vigils for him in several capitals around the world to show support for his release.......

While April is Alcohol Awareness Month in the States (some of you might be in the dark). If you are living in China, it might as well be Promoting the Gay Agenda Month Online Gay TV Awareness Month with news of the arrival of three online gay TV shows. Earlier this month, we reported about China's first online TV show about issues relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities within China. Aired......

China's hospitals and in particular, Chinese hospital food, do not necessarily have the highest of reputations. Now the whole scare factor of heading off to a Sino hospital has just raised that little bit more with the recent story that a poisoner is at large in a Harbin hospital restaurant. The latest incident caused 203 illnesses and one death at Harbin's Heilongjiang Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Both staff and patients were affected by......