US strikes Iran for tenth straight night as Tehran hits Kuwait base; American death toll reaches 17Iranian missile hit US troop housing at Jordan base; Aqaba airport and port evacuatedHouthis declare Saudi naval blockade as fresh tanker attacks hit the Strait of HormuzBrent crude back above $90 as Gulf war rattles stocks, currencies and rate-settersTrump imposes 50% tariffs on Canadian goods under untested 1930 trade lawMerz signals cabinet reshuffle after Spahn quits as parliamentary leader over surrogacy rowBurnham takes office as UK prime minister, names Healey chancellor and calls TrumpRussia hits Kyiv with one of the war's largest ballistic barragesUkrainian drones and sea drones strike Russian oil terminals, power grid and Black Sea shipsFerry with about 133 aboard capsizes off Guyana; dozens missingAt least 50 Malian soldiers killed in jihadist–separatist ambush near AnefisChina uses WAIC to press its claim to lead 'global AI governance'Heatwave fuels major wildfires in Spain and Greece; nearly 50,000 hectares burnedUS strikes Iran for tenth straight night as Tehran hits Kuwait base; American death toll reaches 17Iranian missile hit US troop housing at Jordan base; Aqaba airport and port evacuatedHouthis declare Saudi naval blockade as fresh tanker attacks hit the Strait of HormuzBrent crude back above $90 as Gulf war rattles stocks, currencies and rate-settersTrump imposes 50% tariffs on Canadian goods under untested 1930 trade lawMerz signals cabinet reshuffle after Spahn quits as parliamentary leader over surrogacy rowBurnham takes office as UK prime minister, names Healey chancellor and calls TrumpRussia hits Kyiv with one of the war's largest ballistic barragesUkrainian drones and sea drones strike Russian oil terminals, power grid and Black Sea shipsFerry with about 133 aboard capsizes off Guyana; dozens missingAt least 50 Malian soldiers killed in jihadist–separatist ambush near AnefisChina uses WAIC to press its claim to lead 'global AI governance'Heatwave fuels major wildfires in Spain and Greece; nearly 50,000 hectares burned
Bota
← All topics

Narrative thread · 1 event

China's Information Control

Symbolic image

Timeline in detail

Wednesday, 1 July 2026Geopolitics

China covers up plane crash in Beijing's tallest skyscraper

A small aircraft flew into Beijing's tallest skyscraper. Instead of clarifying the incident, the Chinese authorities imposed a news blackout.

According to a report by the Economist, a small aircraft flew into Beijing's tallest building in the center of the Chinese capital. The accident was followed not by an official investigation but by a news blackout: reports and images were suppressed in the state-controlled media and on social networks. The incident is a textbook example of how the leadership in Beijing handles events that could raise questions about safety or control over the capital's airspace. Independent information on the cause, the number of victims and any intent is not yet available. The sourcing is one-sided: so far there is only the Economist's Western account, and a Chinese counter-account is naturally absent precisely because of the news blackout. Whether this was an accident or a deliberate act therefore remains open.

The Economist