Things have been a little slow lately. So, in response to the editor's demand for some serious news, Walt passes on a report by Associated Press that a Chinese aircraft which was to land in Xinjiang province was diverted to another country.
Xinjiang was the scene of ethnic riots in July, as minority Uighurs attacked Han Chinese who they accuse of overrunning their territory. The Han Chinese mounted their own savage counterattack. Nearly 200 were killed and more than 1700 injured in the violence.
Today China's Xinhua News Agency said the airport in the Xinjiang capital of Urumqi had been ordered to prevent the plane, which it had earlier reported as hijacked, from landing. It did not say whether the aircraft was civilian or military, but said the reason for the diversion was a bomb threat.
Now here's the odd part. The Chinese were apparently so concerned about the safety and wellbeing of those aboard the plane that they diverted it to... wait for it... Kandahar, Afghanistan!
However, a spokesman for NATO forces in Kandahar said he hadn't heard any report of a plane forced to land there.
"I doubt that anything like that has taken place based on the information we have right now," U.S. navy Chief Petty Officer Brian Naranjo said. "That's a significant activity. If something that significant happens we would know about it.''
Yeah, right. Stay tuned.
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