Mangosteen season is upon us, and for those of you who aren't familiar with mangosteens, your deprivation of one of the world's greatest eats ends here. A tangerine-sized reddish-purple fruit resembling a small eggplant, the mangosteen grows on an evergreen tree native to Indonesia and Malaysia but can be found throughout Southeast Asia. more ›

The already testy South China Sea waters just got a little choppier. The US has proposed expanding its military presence in Southeast Asia with the pretty apparent (though undisclosed) goal of contesting China's clampdown in the region. The protocol calls for strengthening US alliances with Southeast Asian nations, and increasing its military operations in the area without establishing permanent bases in the region so as to avoid another Okinawa debacle. more ›

We'll have to add Unagi Don to the list of food to be leery of, alongside pork, beef and steamed buns: "A parasite that can cause epilepsy and lead to paralysis has been found in batches of eels imported from Indonesia and the Philippines, Shanghai authorities said yesterday. The city is to urge state-level authorities to ban eel imports from the two countries to ensure food safety. It was the first time the parasite, 'gnathostoma spinigerum,' had been found in China, officials with the Shanghai Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau said. The bureau tested 26 samples of eels imported from Indonesia, and the parasite was found in 14 samples. It was also found in nine samples from Philippines." [Eastday] more ›

Well, according to Indonesian media he is, but in reality, though, Jay Chou is doing just fine. News sources claimed that the Taiwanese pop singer had died of a drug overdose, but his record label quickly dispelled the rumors: he's just in America filming "The Green Hornet." It's not the first time that Jay Chou has supposedly died: in 2004, a Chinese website claimed that he had been run over by a truck, but that obviously wasn't true either. This attempt wasn't any more convincing: though we love him, we know deep down that Jay Chou is definitely not of death-from-overdose musician status. Shanghaiist's prediction for the next Jay Chou death hoax: death by green hornet sting. more ›

From Slate V: more ›