Xi rumour showdown

Talk of bee stings, a swimming injury and other wild explanations of Xi Jinping's continued absence have faded away

We're now down to a heart attack (The Telegraph, New York Times), liver cancer (The Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, The Standard), and the combination of clean bill of health and a nose to the grindstone to work out political reforms ahead of the 18th Party Congress, the dates for which have yet to be set (iSun Affairs).

The heart attack version, however, looks to be out of the game after The Telegraph's key source denied making the statements attributed to him in their report. Yet, Malcolm Moore, who filed the story, has not responded directly to an attempt to bring the contradiction to his attention.

While The Telegraph did give credit to iSun Affairs for their exclusive report earlier this week, part of which well-connected Australian journalist John Garnaut reaffirmed today - that Xi Jinping remains in "fine" condition - it did, however, omit the substance of the iSun scoop, which you can read about here.

Any other rumours out there?

(updated)