China

(Newser) - In the traditional world of classical music, no area has been less hospitable to women than the conductor’s platform. So it’s remarkable that one of the world’s hottest maestros is not just a woman, but a 35-year-old from China—Xian Zhang, associate conductor at the New York Philharmonic. “Having an unusual background means you view tradition in a totally different way,” Zhang tells the New Statesman . More »

(AP) - Gu Gu the panda has struck again, biting a third visitor at the Beijing zoo. A Chinese tourist went over a 4-foot barrier surrounding the panda's outdoor exercise area yesterday to get a toy dropped by his son; the 240-pound Gu Gu bit his legs and refused to let go until zookeepers pried his jaws open with tools. More »

(Newser) - The days of endless traffic jams are over in Beijing, thanks to an ambitious and suddenly popular new subway network, the Wall Street Journal reports. For decades Beijing’s subway has languished, ineffective and, because digging underground violates the mystic rules of feng shui, controversial. “The city’s surface was never breached,” said one sociologist. Then the Olympics changed everything. More »

(Newser) - China is taking slow and cautious steps towards unlocking its huge betting market, the Economist reports. Gamblers at a Wuhan racecourse recently became the first people allowed to try their luck on the horses since the Communists outlawed gambling in 1949—although a winning pick only rewarded customers 20 lottery scratch cards and a chance of scoring $4,500. More »

(Newser) - The former chair and general manager of China’s Sanlu group pleaded guilty to selling the tainted powdered milk that killed six children and caused a national food scare, the New York Times reports. Tian Wenhua said she knew that the firm’s milk contained dangerously high levels of the industrial chemical melamine in May but did not report it until August. More »

(Newser) - A Chinese court has convicted 11 people of violating copyright laws and sentenced them to as much as 6 1/2  years of prison for working with a counterfeiting ring that sold fake Microsoft products around the world. Microsoft hailed the crackdown on the pirates, whose organization may have made $2 billion, the New York Times reports. More »

(Newser) - China's decision to flex its burgeoning naval muscles by sending two warships to patrol Somalia's pirate-infested waters has been met with equal parts thanks and worry from the international community, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The mission is China’s first outside of its own waters, and many are wondering what the country will do next with its growing sea power. More »