Police said yesterday they had cracked down on a Shanghai terrorist cell planning violence at Olympic soccer matches in the city. Shanghai’s Olympic security office head Cheng Jiulong said police, who were put on “crisis” level several days ago, had learned of several international terrorist organizations and staged raids successful in arresting potential attackers. Information not mentioned in Jiulong's report included how many people were arrested, when they were taken into custody and where they......

Last weekend, we told you that Yahoo! is now apologizing for not telling the full truth to Congress at the February 2006 hearing where Yahoo! was taken to task for its role in the conviction of Chinese journalist Shi Tao. Now both Republicans and Democrats have launched scathing attacks on Yahoo. San Mateo Democrat Tom Lantos has called Yahoo "moral pygmies", and New Jersey Republican Chris Smith compared Yahoo’s cooperation with the Chinese government to......

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......

Southeast Asia - Southeast Asian nations are battling a surge in dengue cases, amid signs that climate change could make 2007 the worst year on record for a disease that often gets less attention than some higher-profile health risks. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Malaysia's top civil court has rejected the appeal of Muslim convert Lina Joy to be recognized as a Christian in a landmark case that has been seen as a litmus test......

The city is getting ready to purchase three police helicopters, a security improvement leading up to the 2010 World Expo. The Shanghai force decided to go with Eurocopter instead of a domestic manufacture because, as the PSB director put it, ""Flying over Shanghai, a densely populated city with about 20 million residents, demands absolute security insurance." Here's more: The helicopters will be initially utilized during the 2008 Olympic Games as some soccer matches are will......

The cheat is on - a look at adultery around the world "Urban parts of China show about 18.3 per cent of the married men cheating." Zhou claims first for China, Lel wins again "Zhou came to London to gain experience in an event she only began training for in 2002 and promptly gave warning to her better-known rivals that she would be one to watch at the world championships in August and next......

For most of the day yesterday, we here at Shanghaiist were wondering if we should post anything about the horrific mass shooting at Virginia Tech, a university in the United States. On the surface, the answer should have been an easy "no" — Blacksburg, Virginia, is nowhere near Shanghai. But news started to trickle in about the suspected killer: He was Asian, possibly Chinese. And then, yesterday morning, Chicago Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed posted a......

Gunman kills 32 in Virginia Tech rampage "She said the gunman 'was just a normal-looking kid, Asian, but he had on a Boy Scout-type outfit. He wore a tan button-up vest, and this black vest, maybe it was for ammo or something.'" Gunman may have been in U.S. on visa "The 24-year-old man arrived in San Francisco on United Airlines on Aug. 7 on a visa issued in Shanghai, the source said. Investigators have......

Are you in the Chinese stock market? No, this isn’t a reprint of the post from last month. We ask because yesterday, both the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges dropped about nine percent, registering their biggest decline in a decade, surpassed only by the sell off the day after late reformist leader Deng Xiaoping died in 1997. A month ago, Shanghaiist told you about the national mania that is the local stock market. While both the......

Education key to Shanghai life "Most immigrants who have a high level of education feel at home in Shanghai, a recent survey shows. ... That means not many Shanghai residents today refer to immigrants as country potatoes." (tags: china shanghai) Hong Kong and Shanghai vie to be China's financial center - International Herald Tribune "Hong Kong and Shanghai are locked in an increasingly public struggle to become the main Chinese financial center as a......

It seems that charming Shanghai has become the creative and commercial object of affection for yet another famous Tom (after Cruise and Friedman, of course) and is now featured as one of the backdrops for Ubisoft’s Splinter Cell: Double Agent. The fourth title in the Splinter Cell series is newly available on the Xbox 360, the Nintendo Wii, and the PC, and bears the name and coveted approval of noted author, bass fisherman and Sith......

"Xinjiang was know as 'Western Region' in history. It has been a component part of our unified and multi-nationality country for more than 2000 years. From 60 BC, when the Han dynasty instituted the Military Viceroy's Office in the Western Region, Xinjiang was under the direct jurisdiction of the government of the Western Han Dynasty." So we learned from, Xinjiang Information, a delightful little instruction-set from Xinjiang Learning Press. Well obviously, these guys haven't read......

The Observer runs a story entitled "Wikipedia defies China's censors," and therefore Wikipedia remains blocked here. Kind of.In a surprise win, Chinese film director Jia Zhangke took this year's Golden Lion, the top award at the Venice Film Festival, for his film Still Life. Even more surprising: Ben Affleck won an acting award.Gay students "too shy" to attend class on homosexuality at Fudan?The Chinese lose more than 600 billion yuan each year from gambling. During......

China to allow a free press during the Olympics -- this means foreign reporters can report about things other than sports, yet of course, there remain boundaries. It sounded like good news, and now we realize that we have no idea if this has any substantive meaning.Along those lines, there will be no TV delay during the Olympics. Get out your protest cards, your fifteen milliseconds of fame are waiting.Liu Xiang is bored with competing......

"Minor axis of evil" -- an elliptical (pun intended) statement by which we really mean China consorts with terrorists. Yes folks, this is what the US State Department spokesman implied through his comments regarding Iran's presence at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting. According to this spokesman, inviting Iran over casts doubt on the SCO's self-proclaimed mission of combating terrorism and extremism in the region. What's worse is that we are showing films from that......

The wonderful and great things awaiting Americans -- no, the world! -- since the U.S. government's murder of Al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi have begun! We got this email from American Citizen Services an hour ago: WARDEN NOTICE: Terrorist Threat against U.S. Interests in China June 9, 2006 The United States Government has received unconfirmed information of a possible terrorist threat against U.S. interests in China, especially in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai and......

Do you remember where you were on June 17, 1994 -- the day that O.J. Simpson was involved in one of the greatest high-speed (or was it low-speed?) car chases of all time? We're sure that most of you Americans out there do -- and what better way to celebrate this historic event than with a bonded nickel souvenir statue? More to the point: The Olympics are only two years away, and the Beijing cops......

Not long ago, Shanghaiist reported on a possible (and false) terrorist threat in China. Now with the largest civilian shelter built in Minhang district, maybe some of us can stop panicking and move on with our lives. Well, maybe 8,000-10,000 of us. According to this Dongfang Daily report (in Chinese), this shelter, located in Wujing Zhen, covers more than 30,000 square meters, spans Hongmei Nan Lu and is able to hold 8,000-10,000 people for temporary......

Shanghaiist recently caught wind of an article in the magazine Fast Company called "The Gucci-Killers", which we at first thought referred to some obscure antiglobalization terrorist group but was actually an article about the up-and-coming luxury fashion and lifestyle brand Shanghai Tang. We have to say that this article rubbed us the wrong way because of the damn near breathless way in which it describes Shanghai and China. For example, take this first paragraph: It's......

British PM Tony Blair came out of his visit to China a big winner after receiving China's backing for a United Nations Security Council resolution against terrorist incitement. In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on London, Blair pushed for new laws that would make public or private statements that indirectly incited terrorism an offense punishable by law. The new UN resolution, which is still in the works, is of the same drift -- it......

At least seven Four explosions rocked London's public transportation system during rush hour this morning in an apparent terrorist attack. Eyewitness accounts are horrifying and all too familiar. Visit Londonist for details and updates. UPDATE: Flickr photos, Wikipedia coverage, Guardian news blog, Yahoo! News video, Yahoo! News slideshow, BBC Radio live broadcast (does not appear to be blocked right now) UPDATE II: Associated Press reporting 40 dead, more than 300 injured......