The Week July 8, 2011

Is she or isn't she?

I'm a Japanese pop star. No, I'm not. And neither is Eguchi Aimi, a member of the Japanese all-girl band called AKB48. The big news this week is that the singer is not real, but a computer-generated image. Let's check in with a clip from this SkyNews report to see how it was done.

Is it a zonkey or a donkra?

What's not fake is this week's news about the zonkey, or do we call it a donkra, born in an animal park in China's Fujian province. The rare hybrid cub has a zebra for a mother and a donkey for a father. That raises the question: What would you get if you mixed pop star Justin Bieber with a husky dog? You'd get a huskin.

Karaoke, American style

What's the biggest difference between China and the US? Karaoke. In China, singing karaoke is serious business. They rent special rooms in special karaoke clubs to keep it just among friends. And they sing in tune. In the US, karaoke night is free and there are no special clubs. Many Americans think it's fun to sing anywhere, even in front of strangers, even when they don't know how to sing. What happens when you introduce American-style karaoke to serious karaoke fans in China? The Week investigates …

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About the broadcaster:

Renee Haines is an editor and broadcaster at China Daily. Renee has more than 15 years of experience as a newspaper editor, radio station anchor and news director, news-wire service reporter and bureau chief, magazine writer, book editor and website consultant.