Short-haul Plane Crashes in Heilongjiang killing 42
A short-haul passenger plane from He'nan Airlines carrying 96 people on board crashed during landing at the forest-surrounded airport in Yichun, Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China. This happened last night at 9:36. As of this morning, the death toll had amounted to 42 people. Fifty-four others were injured and are now being treated in hospital. The jet broke into two pieces before it smashed into the ground and exploded. The cause of the crash is still being investigated.
Hong Kong Mourn its Dead
Hong Kong flew its flag at half-mast yesterday (24th) as it mourned the deaths of eight Hong Kong residents killed in a dramatic bus hijack in Manila. The Chinese government has asked Manila to "thoroughly" investigate the incident. President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao and Vice-President Xi Jinping all sent messages of condolences to the families of the Hong Kong victims. The President of the Philippines, Benigno Aquino on Tuesday presented to China's ambassador Liu Jianchao the preliminary investigation into the hostage saga and the ambassador said many Philippine officials have apologized to him over what happened. Philippine Vice-President Jejomar Binay and Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo will fly to Beijing and Hong Kong to present their final report upon completion.
Moon-cake prices go up by 20%
With just a month away until mid-Autumn Day, moon-cakes, a specialty for the occasion, are already on sale. Our journalists went to several supermarkets and food stores to see what is on offer this year. They found moon-cakes 10 to 20 % more expensive than last year, which makes them the most expensive moon-cakes in history. The president of the Yuexiu District Chamber of Commerce of Food, Guo Yiqun, said the reason for the increase in price is because raw materials have gone up by an average of 23% this year.