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First rainfall since Tianjin explosion leaves city covered in mysterious white foam The first rainfall to wash over Tianjin since a series of blasts struck a warehouse in the Binhai district last week has sparked a new wave of concern as an unidentified white foam has appeared on the streets. Some who made contact with it are reporting a burning sensation on their face and lips, while others are reporting a stinging sensation on their arms. Some have said they experienced an itchy sensation, according to a NetEase News report.

Automation poses an insurmountable obstacle to China's full employment and spells the end of Corporate America's vast skimming operation based on low wages and zero-regulatory costs in China.The general decline in the quality of tools and consumer goods predates the emergence of China as the workshop of the world, but the decline has gathered momentum with China's dominance of manufacturing. Young people have little to no experience of tools and consumer goods that function for decades; today, everything that isn't disposable is expected to fail/break within a few years. Whatever doesn't break must be upgraded or tossed as uncool. This...

Mainland markets fall China's Shanghai Composite index accelerated the pace of decline in the afternoon session, closing down 6.12 percent at its lowest level since August 7, as concerns over the yuan eclipsed data which showed monthly home prices up for a third straight month in July, indicating that country's all-important property sector may be finally bottoming. Prior to the market open, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) set the midpoint rate at 6.3966 per dollar, firmer than the previous fix of 6.3969. However, the yuan fell against the greenback, slipping modestly to last change hands at 6.4011. Among the...

A listed Chinese company is being accused of trying to sell a knockoff version of an advanced Israeli airborne fire-control radar, according to a report from Defense News, a US-based media outlet. Beijing's NAV Technology Company has reportedly claimed in a product catalogue that its active electronic scanned array (AESA) radar incorporates "decades of field-proven experience" from Elta Systems, a subsidiary of the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). In the mid-2000s, IAI was embroiled in controversy after it canceled a radar deal with China due to strong opposition from the US government. The AESA radar being promoted by the Chinese...

Shanghai stocks close down over 6% on economy fears By Bill Savadove | AFP – 10 minutes ago. Shanghai stocks closed down more than six percent Tuesday, their biggest fall in three weeks, due to worries over the slowing Chinese economy and the government's commitment to prop up shares, dealers said. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index slumped 6.15 percent, or 245.51 points, to 3,748.16 on turnover of 722.5 billion yuan ($112.9 billion). It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) was the biggest one-day drop since July 27, when it plunged 8.48 percent -- its sharpest fall in eight years. The Shenzhen...

Tianjin Blasts: Rains Could Turn Sodium Cyanide into Deadly Hydrogen Cyanide Gas By Mugdha Variyar | Updated: August 17, 2015 10:58 IST The woes for residents in China's Tianjin port city are far from over following the deadly explosion last week as the exposed sodium cyanide has the potential to release the lethal hydrogen cyanide if it rains in the region. Sodium cyanide, which is in a solid state in a powder form, releases the deadly hydrogen cyanide when it comes in contact with water, and environmental experts have raised an alarm of this happening as storms approaching the region...

Foreign companies around Tianjin blast suspend operationsSHANGHAI (AP) — Foreign companies have suspended operations around the Tianjin port as officials scramble to contain the toxic fallout of last week's deadly chemical explosions, which dealt a blow to northern China's emerging economic hub. Toyota said over half its China production capacity would be offline at least through Wednesday. The company has operations near the blast evacuation zone and said Monday that it had suspended three production lines, which can produce 530,000 vehicles a year. Thousands of Volkswagen, Toyota, Hyundai and Renault cars, mostly pricey imports, parked on lots near the...

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has delivered a warning to Beijing about the presence of Chinese government agents operating secretly in the United States to pressure prominent expatriates — some wanted in China on charges of corruption — to return home immediately, according to American officials. The American officials said that Chinese law enforcement agents covertly in this country are part of Beijing’s global campaign to hunt down and repatriate Chinese fugitives and, in some cases, recover allegedly ill-gotten gains. The Chinese government has officially named the effort Operation Fox Hunt. The American warning, which was delivered to Chinese officials...

On Tuesday, August 11, China began devaluing its currency unit, the yuan against the U.S. dollar. Later that day, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump denounced China, saying: "I think you have to do something to rein in China. They devalued their currency today. They're making it absolutely impossible for the United States to compete, and nobody does anything." For a candidate whose pitch is based upon being smarter than everyone else, Trump has taken a spectacularly stupid position with respect to China-not just economically, but politically. After all, it was less than three years ago that Mitt Romney threw away...

BEIJING: The Chinese PLA has claimed that its artillery force rockets, capable of hitting targets at 150 kilometres, are far superior in terms of automation and firepower than those of its US and Russian counterparts and can "inflict a metal storm" on the enemy. "The power of each of my battalion's rocket launchers is equal to that of a whole battalion equipped with traditional artillery guns," said Wang, political supervisor of the rocket artillery battalions of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the world's largest standing army. "To be specific, each rocket can cover and destroy a vast area equivalent to...

Chinese spies in U.S. hunting for man who could be the 'most significant defector in decades' are warned off by White House US warned Beijing about covert Chinese agents operating in America to pressure fugitives such as defector Ling Wancheng to return to China Operation Fox Hunt part of large effort by Beijing to repatriate fugitives China’s former president, Hu Jintao, employed Ling’s brother as an aide Brother in July accused of bribe-taking and illegally obtaining state secrets Ling may have got sensitive information about Chinese leaders from him Chinese President Xi Jinping will make his first state visit to...

August 16, 2015 China will start construction of a 600 MWe fourth generation nuclear reactor and it could be Terrapower traveling wave reactor china, energy, future, microsoft, nuclear, science, technology Facebook Twitter linkedin google Reddit Construction of the Xipu fast neutron reactor nuclear power demonstrative project in east China's Fujian province is designed to start at the end of 2017, China Business News quoted Xu Mi, an academician with Chinese Academy of Engineering, as saying. The demonstrative nuclear power project, designed with 600,000kw (600 MWe) installed capacity, will be a fourth generation reactor designs. The Shanghai newspaper speculated that this...

Intelligence officials are comparing a newly discovered secret Islamic State document to Hitler's "Mein Kampf," as it blames Israel for the rise of the Islamic State and crowns U.S. President Barack Obama as the "Mule of the Jews." Found in Pakistan's remote tribal region by American Media Institute (AMI), the 32-page Urdu language document promotes an "end of the world" battle as a final solution. It argues that the Islamic leader should be recognized as the sole ruler of the world's 1 billion Muslims, under a religious empire called a "caliphate." ...Retired U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency Director Gen. Michael Flynn...

Tianjin: Chemical warfare teams race to clear deadly sodium cyanide amid fears rain could generate new toxic gas cloud Tianjin: Chemical warfare teams race to clear deadly sodium cyanide amid fears rain could generate new toxic gas cloud Chinese soldiers including chemical warfare specialists are racing to clear hazardous materials at the Tianjin blast site ahead of forecast rain which could generate new clouds of toxic ... most of them fire fighters, state … ABC Online · 7 minutes ago

China currency devaluation signals endgame leaving equity markets free to collapse under the weight of impossible expectations It is only a matter of time before stock markets collapse under the weight of their lofty expectations and record valuations. Photo: Reuters When the banking crisis crippled global markets seven years ago, central bankers stepped in as lenders of last resort. Profligate private-sector loans were moved on to the public-sector balance sheet and vast money-printing gave the global economy room to heal. Time is now rapidly running out. From China to Brazil, the central banks have lost control and at the same...

Protests are underway in Brazil as hundreds of thousands take to the streets to call for the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff. Here's Bloomberg: An estimated 25,000 protesters in Brasilia marched toward Congress, chanting against Rousseff and corruption, carried a long banner demanding “Impeachment Now.” Rouseff monitored proceedings from her official residence, due to meet with some of her cabinet in the afternoon, said Justice Minister Jose Eduardo Cardozo. Protest in #Rio #Brazil: "Military intervention is not a crime" via @tariqpanja UNBELIEVABLE. pic.twitter.com/S8kcJmUJnq— juliana barbassa (@jbarbassa) August 16, 2015 Background: was chairwoman from 2003 to 2010. When the world’s foremost...

Tianjin explosions: sodium cyanide on site may have been 70 times allowed amount Official death toll rises to 112 as officials find what they believe to be hundreds of tonnes of the toxic chemical Fergus Ryan in Beijing Sunday 16 August 2015 09.26 BST Chinese officials have found what they believe to be hundreds of tonnes of sodium cyanide at two locations within the site of Wednesday’s deadly blasts in Tianjin as a massive cleanup effort continues, state media reported on Sunday. The discovery came after reports claimed that up to 700 tonnes of the chemical – 70 times the...

Journalist He Xiaoxin of The Beijing News (新京报) traveled to report from the scene of the massive explosion in a chemical warehouse at the Tianjin port, in which 104 people have been reported killed so far. Dramatic photos and videos of the explosion traveled quickly around the world via the Internet. But in this photo essay, He provides an up-close, personal look at the devastation. Propaganda officials have since banned media from reporting on the explosion or posting stories that did not originate from Xinhua:

Death Toll in Tianjin Explosions Rises to 112, With 95 Missing by Phil Helsel and The Associated Press More bodies were found in the aftermath of Wednesday's powerful explosions in the Chinese port city of Tianjin, bringing the death toll to 112, state media reported Sunday local time. State media agency Xinhua reported that 95 people remain missing, including 85 firefighters. More than 770 people remained hospitalized.

Japanese Emperor Akihito Saturday expressed "deep remorse" for his country's role in World War II, 70 years to the day following Japan's surrender to the Allies. Akihito makes a highly ritualized comment on this anniversary day every year, but this this is first year featuring such a statement. Akihito was born in 1933, and has reigned since 1989. He is the son of Hirohito, who was the reigning emperor during the war. Though the emperor's formal powers were degraded in the settlement with the Allied Powers, Hirohito was allowed to retain his throne in a largely ceremonial fashion, and famously...