Following a hot tip from the New York Times we were able to find Facebook's newest member, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao (温家宝). Initially Shanghaiist was excited about the prospect of being friends with 'Grandpa,' but then we realized he had more friends (13,280 supporters as of now) than all of the contributors combined and more supporters than the Shanghaiist fan page. Just leave it to the older generations to make it uncool for everyone else.......

"Any trivial matter multiplied by 1.3 billion will become a big problem;Any astronomical figure divided by 1.3 billion will become a tiny number."一个很小的问题，乘以13亿，都会变成一个大问题；一个很大的总量，除以13亿，都会变成一个小数目。 — Prime Minister Wen Jiabao (温家宝) — "A little kindness multiplied by 1.3 billion will become an ocean of love;A great problem divided by 1.3 billion will become a trivial matter."一点很小的善心，乘以13亿，都会变成爱的海洋；一个很大的困难，除以13亿，都会变得微不足道。 — Chinese netizens have turned Wen's quote above into a widely-distributed Internet meme in the wake of the Sichuan earthquake......

Al-Jazeera looks at the development of Sino-Indian relations through the experience of one yogi master's efforts in teaching Yoga in China. Through his short three day visit, visiting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh signed 11 wide-ranging agreements with Premier Wen Jiabao. The two Asian giants have raised the target for two-way trade to $60 billion by 2010. China has also assured India that it would ensure the "protection and rational use" of trans-Himalayan water resources......

India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is on his maiden visit to China. Today is the second day of his three-day tour. China and India are warming up to each other like never before, but apparently, not everyone is happy.......

SFist saw Christmas Day turn tragic after a Siberian tiger escaped from her pen at the San Francisco Zoo, killing a visitor and mauling two others. Phillyist counted down the top ten items on Philadelphia's New Year's wish list. Gothamist looked at the wooden bikes being offered for NYC's first bike share program on Governors Island. LAist received a Christmas present in the form of a drunk Santa Claus in a g-string. Bostonist launched......

Yesterday's copy of the Wall Street Journal has a very interesting observation: that few of China's top political and business leaders these days have white hair:It is possible that could have something to do with genes, but something else is involved, too. For aging men of influence here, the dye job appears to have become as commonplace as the Mao suit once was. Though they range in age from 52 to 67, the most senior......

This World AIDS Day, we witnessed an extraordinarily well-coordinated effort by Chinese media to raise AIDS awareness among the populace and to communicate the resolve of the central government to win the battle against the disease. This small sampling of stories that appeared in state-run English-language media is enough to give you an idea of what went out on Chinese news: President Hu: HIV/AIDS not scary President Hu tells HIV carriers, communities not to be......

Despite the fact that Kevin Rudd - the fluent Mandarin speaking leader of the Australian Labor Party - is widely predicted to romp it in at the Australian Federal election this coming Saturday, it seems he's not taking any chances. The latest salvo in Rudd's "earnestness offensive" according to the Sydney Morning Herald, takes form in a seven-metre billboard of The Great Rudd (see right) that has been suspended above Cameron Road in Hong......

Golf in China: All growing, all new, all raw [ESPN.com] In China, the sport of golf is younger than Tiger Woods himself. But the game has grown exponentially in recent years, leading to more courses and the development of some pros through the Omega China Tour. But as Dan Washburn reports, all is not without struggle.PM Manmohan Singh meets Chinese counterpart in Singapore [Times of India] Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday met Chinese premier......

PLUS LEE KUAN YEW AND HIS ROLE IN SINO-SINGAPORE RELATIONS The last week has seen top leaders zipping between China and Singapore to cement ties and sign new deals. Let's take you through the high-profile visits one by one before diving deeper into more detail (Warning: Long article!): Goh Chok Tong visits new Shanghai party chief and the Singapore-Suzhou Industrial Park Last week, Singapore's Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong swung by Shanghai to visit her......

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......

Yen Falls as BOJ's Fukui Says No Preset Time for Rate Increase [Bloomberg] The yen fell against all 16 of the most-active currencies as Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui said there was no set time for raising interest rates.Survey shows Singapore is Asia's most desirable city to live in [Channel News Asia] According to the latest Country Brand Index, Singapore is the top Asian city to live in. It was also ranked third globally......

Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao on Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's meeting with the Dalai Lama [Reuters]:"It's gross interference in China's internal affairs. The Chinese side expresses its strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition... This disgusting conduct has seriously hurt the feelings of the Chinese people and undermined Sino-Canadian relations... The Chinese side demands the Canadian side ... correct its mistaken conduct, immediately adopt effective measures to eliminate adverse impact (from the meeting) and stop winking......

South Korea starts construction of space centre [Channel News Asia] Asia's space race is heating up with China's latest launch of its first lunar orbiter. And neighbouring South Korea is working hard to catch up.Malaysian police officer denies illegally amassing US$8m in assets [Channel News Asia] The head of Malaysia's Commercial Crimes Investigation Division has denied allegations that he illegally amassed more than US$8 million in assets. India rediscovers East Asia [Asia Times] The visit......

Indonesia - ‘Little People’ of Indonesia Seem to Be Distinct Tribe [NY Times] In the continuing debate over the origin of the extinct “little people” of Indonesia, a team of scientists says it has found evidence in three wrist bones that these people were members of a distinct species rather than humans with a physical disorder. Putrajaya, Malaysia - Malaysia lawyers hold rare demonstration for reform [Reuters] About 800 Malaysian lawyers marched on the prime......

With the dust now settled on last week's APEC summit in Australia, we came on a juicy tidbit of news that either didn't get much mileage in the Chinese press or escaped the news that we read. Shanghaiist reader Fergus Ryan filled us in: Last weekend's APEC summit in Sydney had one success that the host, Australian Prime Minister John Howard, may not have foreseen. Opposition leader, Kevin Rudd (Labor Party), effectively gate-crashed the event......

... and we thought Xinhua's mistake of illustrating a story on the causes of the debilitating disease multiple sclerosis with an X-ray photo of Homer Simpson's brain was bad! In his latest blog entry, Richard Spencer of the Telegraph cites a report by a group of Sinophile Brits organising a festival called ChinaNow that supports the notion (held by well-educated Chinese types) that "Chinese people were better informed on foreign affairs than British people were".......

Indian Ocean / Malacca Straits - Five-power naval exercise gives China the jitters [New Zealand Herald] Are the warships from the United States, India, Japan, Australia and Singapore that are exercising together this week off the east coast of India harbingers of a new military alliance in Asia to contain China? Singapore - Pair of seats on inaugural A380 flight go for $100,000 [USA Today] Singapore Airlines, the first carrier in the world to fly......

Japan's idea of 'broader Asia' partnership irks China [Sydney Morning Herald] The Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, has called for a "broader Asia" partnership of democracies to include India, the US and Australia but omit the region's superpower, China. Jailed dissident's wife under house arrest in Beijing [The Guardian] The wife of jailed Chinese activist Yuan Weijing is under house arrest tonight less than 24 hours before she was due to fly to the Philippines......

Pyongyang, North Korea - Two Koreas to hold first summit in seven years South Korea's President Roh Moo-Hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il will meet in Pyongyang from August 28-30 -- their first summit in seven years to promote lasting peace on the peninsula, divided for 60 years by minefields and barbed wire. Kabul, Afghanistan - Taliban offer women hostages for female Afghan prisoners The Taliban said Tuesday they were willing to swap women......

Kabul, Afghanistan - Second South Korean hostage killed The second hostage among a group of 23 South Koreans to be kidnapped by the Taliban has been shot to death, and the bullet-ridden body of 29 year old Sim Sungmin has been found by Afghan police. Qari Yousef Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, has said that the militants would "kill more hostages if the Afghanistan government does not release prisoners by noon on Wednesday". Mumbai, India......

Kabul, Afghanistan - Taliban militia kidnap 23 South Korean Christians Taliban gunmen have threatened to kill a group of 23 South Korean Christians on a relief mission unless Seoul pulls out its 200 troops from Afghanistan. Already, the pastor of the group has been shot and tossed on the highway to Kandahar. Latest news from the AP suggest some of the hostages have been released. Reverend Park Eun-jo of the Saemmul Presbyterian Church has apologized......

Tokyo, Japan - 6.7 earthquake hits Japan and shuts nuclear plant The world's largest nuclear power plant by output capacity remained closed Tuesday, after seismometers indicated the magnitude 6.7 earthquake that hit northwestern Japan Monday produced shocks that exceeded the reactors' design strength. The quake, which occurred shortly after 10 a.m. Tokyo time Monday, caused nine deaths, more than 900 injuries and widespread damage Pyongyang, North Korea - DPRK shuts nuclear reactor U.N. inspectors on......

Chinese Benchmark, CSI 300 Closes Above 4000 To New Record; Analysts Concerned Over Market "Bubble" The Shanghai benchmark index has surged over the 4000 mark for a new record. Rising Chinese shares at a breakneck pace adds to concern over market overheating. Shanghai's benchmark index CSI 300 ended up 2.6 percent to 4,090.57. Since 2006, the index has increased four fold, and has doubled since the beginning of the year. China's outrageous claim The......

Kaesong, North Korea: The managers of this capitalist enclave in communist North Korea are appealing for the world's support, saying their experiment in free markets can pave the way for regional peace. Kaesong supporters are aiming for the city to emulate Shenzhen, the special economic zone bordering Hong Kong, which kick-started China's economic boom, and say this will narrow the huge economic gap between North and South Korea with the help of foreign support. Liupanshui,......

Singapore - Singapore will host a round of the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship, making it the home of Asia's first street circuit (the only other street circuits are in Monaco and Valencia). More exciting is the fact that this will be the first night-time event in Formula One history! Dili, Timor Leste - Asia-Pacific's newest and poorest nation turns five, and the success of the country's recent presidential election, won resoundingly by Nobel......

Pyongyang, North Korea: The DPRK has celebrated the birthday of its "Eternal President", the late Kim Il Sung, with a mass games involving thousands of performers clad in colourful costumes, while the rest of the world sweats over its missed disarmament deadline.Tokyo, Japan: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said Tokyo feels responsible for forcing women to work in brothels during World War II, in contrast to earlier remarks last month that there was no proof......

It seems like, all across the network, folks were up to no good. Maybe it was all the green beer from last weekend... Gothamist spent the week writing about New Yorkers behaving badly: at the post office, at the Garden, and at the fertility clinic. Calvin Klein may not be misbehaving, but he's just a little dirty, and in a completely different way than some NYC kitchens. SFist had its share of misbehave-rs, too, like......

The tiny Caribbean island of Grenada suffered a huge diplomatic embarrassment at the inauguration of a US$40 million China-financed stadium built as a gift from Beijing when its police band decided it would perform the Taiwan anthem instead of the March of the Volunteers. Oops. The Associated Press reports that Chinese Ambassador Qian Hongshan and scores of blue-uniformed Chinese laborers who built the new stadium were "visibly uncomfortable as Taiwan's anthem echoed inside the 20,000-seat......

Word on the street is Thailand had a little political shakedown this past week: Something about a Prime Minister being ousted and tanks rolling in the capital city. Kids these days … Not one to be out done, and perhaps to reclaim the spotlight, Shanghai (well, actually the order came from Beijing) stirred up a political tumult of its own, sans armored vehicles and AK-47s, but equally as CNN-worthy. Today, at 12 noon, news outlets......