"Blast at China car parts plant kills 68, hurts 187" by Gillian Wong | Associated Press August 03, 2014
BEIJING — An explosion killed 68 people and injured almost 200 others, most with severe burns, at an automotive parts factory Saturday in eastern China that supplies General Motors, officials said.
It was China’s most serious industrial disaster since a fire at a poultry plant killed 119 people in June last year....
Those leftovers are for lunch.
A woman who answered the main phone line at the Zhongrong company said it is a Taiwanese enterprise. She refused to give her name, any other information, or the contact numbers of company staffers handling the case.
Gee, they had that plane go down that has all but been forgotten (same with the plane in Africa) and now this -- just when they are getting tighter with the Chinese. Hmm.
Calls to the city’s government and police went unanswered.
Workplace safety is a major problem in China, where safety regulations are often ignored and enforcement can be lax.
Mmmm, yeah.
Must be why AmeriKan factories moved there.
Either that or the cheap labor, because this corporate government doesn't enforce $hit.
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There is GOOD NEWS for GM, though:
"GM, despite a long string of recalls, sold more than 250,000 vehicles last month, up 9 percent from a year ago. Roughly half that growth came from commercial buyers, but the crossover SUV market is also strong."
Meaning the 1% -- the "commercial" market -- are on a $pending $pree.
Related: GM Post Stalled Out
Might as well get something to eat:
"China says 9 suspects killed in Xinjiang raid" Associated Press August 02, 2014
BEIJING — China said nine suspects were killed Friday and another captured in a police action in the restive northwestern region of Xinjiang after a wave of militant violence.
The official Xinhua News Agency described those killed and captured as terror suspects but gave no other details.
That followed the murder on Wednesday of a leading progovernment Muslim cleric in the western Xinjiang city of Kashgar.
On Monday, the government said militants armed with knives and axes killed or injured dozens of people in Shache county near Kashgar. The official death toll in that attack has not been released.
Xinjiang has experienced rising violence in recent months pitting the authorities against militants from the region’s native Muslim Turkic Uighur ethnic group who are seeking to overthrow Chinese rule over their resource-rich homeland. China says the militants are Islamic extremists linked to jihadi groups abroad.
I was just going to say I smell Al-CIA-Duh all over this!
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Maybe Korean would taste better?
"2 held in N. Korea ask US to help" Associated Press August 02, 2014
PYONGYANG, North Korea — Two American tourists charged with ‘‘antistate’’ crimes in North Korea said Friday they expect to be tried soon and pleaded for help from the US government to secure their release from what they say could be long prison terms.
In their first appearance since being detained more than three months ago, Matthew Todd Miller and Jeffrey Edward Fowle said they were in good health and were being treated well. They also said they were allowed to take daily walks.
Fowle, a resident of Miamisburg, Ohio, said he fears his situation will get much worse once he goes on trial.
‘‘The horizon for me is pretty dark,’’ he said. ‘‘I need help to extricate myself from this situation. I ask the government for help in that regards.’’
You smell like spy to me.
It was not clear whether they were speaking on their own initiative, or if their comments were coerced.
Think of it as a "terrorist's confession,"Americans. We get 'em all the time, and then the case doesn't go to trial and the guy(s) is holed up for decades.
North Korea says the two committed hostile acts that violated their status as tourists.
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Related: CIA Fowles Up North Korean Assassination Attempt
(Blog editor just shakes his head)
NEXT DAY UPDATE:
"Earthquake hits China, killing hundreds; 1,881 hurt; 12,000 houses toppled" by Jack Chang | Associated Press August 04, 2014
BEIJING — A strong earthquake in southern China’s Yunnan province toppled thousands of homes on Sunday, killing at least 381 people and injuring more than 1,800.
About 12,000 homes collapsed in Ludian, a densely populated county about 280 miles northeast of Yunnan’s capital, Kunming, according to China’s official Xinhua News Agency. With dozens of people reported missing, the death toll was expected to rise.
The magnitude-6.1 quake struck at 4:30 p.m. at a depth of 6 miles, according to the US Geological Survey. Its epicenter was in Longtoushan township, 14 miles southwest of Zhaotong, the Ludian county seat.
Ma Liya, a resident of Zhaotong, told Xinhua that the streets were like a ‘‘battlefield after bombardment.’’ She said the quake was far worse than one that struck the area in 2012 and killed 81 people.
‘‘I have never felt such strong tremors before,’’ Ma said. “What I can see are all ruins.’’
Xinhua said at least 381 people were killed, citing rescuers, with 1,881 injured. Most of the deaths were in Zhaotong, Xinhua said. Another 10 people were killed in Quijing City.
News reports said rescuers were still trying to reach victims in more remote towns Sunday night.
Photos on Weibo, China’s social media site, showed rescuers searching through flattened buildings.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon offered ‘‘his condolences to the Chinese government and the families of those killed,’’ according to a statement from his office. The statement said the UN is ready to ‘‘lend its assistance to efforts to respond to humanitarian needs’’ and ‘‘to mobilize any international support needed.’’
Many of the homes that collapsed in Ludian, which has a population of about 429,000, were old and made of brick, Xinhua said, adding that electricity and telecommunications were cut off in the county.
The mountainous region is largely agricultural and prone to earthquakes.
About 2,500 troops have been dispatched to the region, Xinhua said. The Red Cross Society of China allocated quilts, jackets, and tents for those made homeless, while Red Cross branches in Hong Kong, Macau, and Sichuan province also sent supplies.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said the quake was the strongest to hit Yunnan in 14 years.
In 1970, a magnitude-7.7 earthquake in Yunnan killed at least 15,000 people.
In May 2008, a powerful quake in Sichuan province left nearly 90,000 people dead or missing.
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