Unless you touched down in Shanghai just a few hours ago, you know that a horrific fire broke out at an apartment block in Jing’An earlier this week. To raise funds for the Shanghai Red Cross Jiaozhou Lu fund, BEAN and Kaiba are holding a fundraising event this Saturday night and your attendance/contributions would be greatly appreciated. more ›

• South China rains kill 20, force 700,000 from homes [Xinhua] "Torrential rains and floods in southern China have left at least 20 people dead and two missing. More than 700,000 people have been relocated as downpours have destroyed houses, flooded crops, cut power, damaged roads and caused rivers to overflow, according to the latest figures from the provinces of Hunan, Fujian, Jiangxi and Guangdong and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. "
• SHANGHAI BUILDING COLLAPSE: Hundreds protest [Straits Times] "HUNDREDS of Chinese homeowners protested outside government offices in Shanghai demanding refunds after a 13-story apartment building in a complex under construction toppled over, newspapers reported on Sunday. The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post said the protesters marched on Saturday through central Shanghai, holding handwritten signs and chanting: 'Lotus Riverside, refund (our) homes!'"
• China apologizes to Mexico for tough swine flu stand [AFP] "China's Health Minister Chen Zhu Friday apologized to his Mexican counterpart for failing to warn him about the tough measures Beijing imposed on Mexicans to combat swine flu. "I regret that I did not talk first" to Minister Jose Angel Cordova, Chen said on the sidelines of a meeting in Cancun about the swine flu pandemic."

Happy Cinco de Mayo Shanghai! In a city that doesn't really have a lot of Mexicans, we sure have plenty of ways of celebrating their commemoration day of a battle they won against France! And even the swine flu isn't dampening our spirits (nor should it, now that Mexico says it's feeling better and we've stopped trapping its citizens in quarantine here just because they happen to hold Mexican passports). Places you could hit up tonight include: more ›

Despite their draconian health measures at the airport, swine flu managed to enter Hong Kong anyway. On Friday, a 25-year-old Mexican national who had come to Hong Kong via a flight from Shanghai (sigh) was found to have Asia's first confirmed case of H1N1. So Hong Kong authorities decided to extend their draconian health measures to the rest of the island and have now quarantined tourists and employees at the hotel where he was staying. more ›

• Lest we have those twin luxury towers (which were to hold the Conrad Hilton) rot in the middle of the city, the Shanghai government is now trying to orchestrate a buyout of the stalled project. [WSJ]
• Thanks to the Expo, wait times are going to be slashed to 4 minutes or less on the No. 7 subway line. We just have to wait til next year before it goes into effect. [Shanghai Daily]
• Foreign firms are allowed to list on the Shanghai stock exchange for the first time ever in an attempt to turn the city into a financial center like New York or London. [Telegraph]

Whilst not everyone loves the regular toothpastey Haibao, it would take a cold, cold heart not to love him in his new outfit. more ›

It's not just the United States that has a gun problem. China too is now fighting a tough battle against illegal guns and explosives. While Chinese citizens are prohibited from owning guns, gunfights and gun murders are increasingly being heard of. Guns are now fashionable in paintings and on television, and legal shooting clubs allow you to fire away at targets for a fee. Recent reports are now suggesting that some of the illegals guns originating from China are now making their way overseas to places like Mexico. more ›