Somalian pirates have struck again! The unfortunate victims this time are 19 Chinese on board a Singapore-flagged cargo ship called The Golden Blessing. It was traveling to India from Saudi Arabia with a hold full of glycol ethylene when it got caught in the Gulf of Aden. more ›

• Apple Daily strikes again - this time bringing us the CG video rendition of that off-duty cop who was killed by too much "ganbei" and declared a martyr by his boss. His boss has now been fired. [ESWN]


• Mark MacKinnon talks to Feng Zhenghu, the Shanghainese activist currently stuck in Narita Airport in Tokyo. [The Globe and Mail]


• The ongoing gangster trials in Chongqing have now extended to the gangsters' lawyers. One in particular, Li, allegedly demanded to be paid 20 to 30 million to help one man avoid a death sentence. [WSJ]

We've had a couple laughs over Somalian pirates before, but they've now taken a turn for the scary. It seems China's luck in dealing with them in the past has run out and it's now facing its first real crisis: Pirates have hijacked a Chinese bulk carrier in the Indian Ocean and are threatening to execute the 25 Chinese crew members if anybody attempts to save them. more ›