Beijing, with a population of over 20 million, has suffered from hazardous air pollution since last January, which has threatened the people greatly since the pollutants can cause fatal health problems.

On January 12, the air quality monitor run by the U.S. embassy in Beijing reported an air pollution level of 886, which directly indicated PM2.5 – a fine particulate less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter – is off its maximum level of 500. This warns that everyone should refrain from all physical activities outdoors. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the average concentrations of PM2.5 per cubic meter should not be more than 25 micrograms, yet the readings on some days in January exceeded 40 times of the standard.

The effect of the PM 2.5 is even more disastrous: The U.S. embassy Beijing air quality monitor website stated “PM 2.5 particulates are of concern since they are small enough to directly enter the lungs and even the blood stream,” and warned that ‘hazardous’ level of air quality can result in “Serious aggravation of heart or lung disease and premature mortality in persons with cardiopulmonary disease and the elderly; serious risk of respiratory effects in general population.”

Nonetheless, you did not need to check the Air Quality Index (AQI) to see how dreadful the air quality was. The darkness from the extreme dustiness lasted the whole afternoon on that day, and the thick dusty layers hindered sight within approximately 300 meters, where even the huge skyscrapers were hardly visible. “The smog was so thick that more than 50 flights were cancelled at Beijing Capital International Airport, causing chaos ahead of Chinese New Year, when city-dwellers travel to see relatives” reported the Independent on January 29. The effect of the ‘hazardous’ level of the air quality was immediate. Dr. Huang of the Beijing Shijitan hospital said in an interview with CBS News that the number of patients hospitalized because of chronic bronchitis or other respiratory illnesses had increased by 20% after the hazardous air quality days.

Yet, this catastrophic phenomenon did not just happen for an occasional day. Beijing has been besieged by the hazy and dusty skies for the last several months at a consistent level, and there have been only a few days of blue skies; the AQI reads under the degree of ‘Unhealthy’. Even China’s national newspaper, China Digital Times, published an article titled “Beijing Air Quality: Worse than SARS.”

As a response to the people’s outcry, the city government took urgent action. According to Bloomberg on the last January 29, Beijing decided to temporarily shut down the 103 factories around the city, and the government agencies and state-owned companies were commended to reduce vehicle use by 30% until the end of January.

The scenery of Beijing in the past months has been changed visibly. People started wearing PM 2.5-blocking masks outside, and frequently check AQI via the application on their mobile phones. The term ‘PM 2.5’ is often being discussed everywhere – in newspapers, television and people’s daily dialogue. Some companies distribute free 3M dust masks for college students on campus instead of their traditional marketing strategies of giving a small gift such as stationary.

It is estimated to affect the job market in Beijing as well. On April 1, Financial Times reported that the ‘Airpocalypse’ has made it difficult for companies to find international work talent, and many expatriates are planning to leave Beijing due to the concern for health. There are nearly 200,000 foreign residents in Beijing and many of the expats are professionals with high-earning jobs, which contribute greatly to the socio-economic development of the city, the news report said.

“Air pollution is a major problem in China because of the country’s rapid pace of industrialization, reliance on coal power, explosive growth in car ownership and the sometimes disregard for environmental laws,” said CNN news on January 19. China has been the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter since 2007, and approximately 70 percent of its total energy still comes from coal.

The 2012 Cancer Registry Annual Report showed that cancer-related mortality in China has increased by 465 percent in the past three decades and the lung cancer was the top cause among all the cancers.

According to the World Bank (WB) report, 20 cities in China listed on the 30 most polluted cities in the world. In the recent study by Greenpeace and Peking University’s School of Public Health, it is estimated that the exposure to PM2.5 caused more than 8,500 premature deaths in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Xi’an in 2012.

Image credit: People in Beijing via Flickr.com

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The 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature has been awarded to Mo Yan, a Chinese author whose works have often been compared to magical realists such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Günter Grass. The novel “The Garlic Ballads“ has been described as the best book of his to start with. One of his shorter novels, it may not be as well-known as some of his other works, but it is definitely a great introduction to the Chinese author, and not only because it is only $4 on Amazon for the Kindle.

The book describes life in a peasant village where farmers are told by the government to plant only one crop: garlic. When those same officials refuse to purchase the crop one year, the townspeople resort to violence, which brings down the hammer of law enforcement. The farmers are rounded up and put in jail, where they find themselves trapped in Kafakesque situations. The police at times seem almost human, but in the end they are as distant as the government that oppresses the people. Traditional Chinese marriages are also examined in the book, with one of the larger sub-plots concerning two hapless garlic farmers falling in love and trying to find happiness in spite of the ongoing garlic crisis.

As already mentioned, Yan has garnered many comparisons to magical realists, but another apt comparison would be to Chuck Palahniuk, of Fight Club fame. Both authors use shocking content (whether it be peeing into a waiting customer’s soup or playing a game that involves drinking one’s own urine) that simultaneously revolt and engage readers. The narrative hops from person to person and back and forth in time, which rarely leads to confusion. Instead, it enhances the book by allowing the reader to see events from multiple perspectives. The result is a page-turner that even the most casual of readers can enjoy. The prose, even in translation, is still a wonder:

“The noonday sun beat down fiercely; dusty air carried the stink of rotting garlic after a prolonged dry spell. A flock of indigo crows flew wearily across the sky, casting a shadowy wedge.”

 Interestingly, this book was once banned in China for its portrayal of farmer’s lives, and was brought back into circulation only after the writer achieved fame. Mo Yan, who  has been criticized for failing to criticizing the Chinese government, and for refusing to associate with dissident writers, is not someone you would expect to write such a work. As harsh in its message as “The Grapes of Wrath,” the book is sure to silence any who do not think the Nobel winner is as critical as he should be.

The Nobel Prize in Literature has been under fire recently for choosing little-known and lightweight authors over living legends, but this book alone proves that Yan not only deserved the award, but also the money the prestigious prize brings in. He is not a writer to be taken lightly.

Image Courtesy : Johannes Kolfhaus, Gymn. Marienthal ([1]) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

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Within the last few months, people everywhere have been fixating on certain aspects of each candidate for the upcoming presidential election. Many will say, “How can you support that candidate? They did this or they support this!” However, the sad fact is that both candidates have several strong reasons why they should not be president. Here is a condensed version of the considerable list for each candidate, the “top five” reasons why neither candidate is ideal to even step foot into the White House.

Five Reasons Not to Vote for Barack Obama

1) “The president said he’d cut the deficit in half,” Romney said. “Unfortunately, he doubled it — trillion-dollar deficits for the last four years. The president has put in place almost as much debt held by the public as all presidents combined.”

2) Borrowing money from China is forcing America even more in debt and making China that much more powerful.

3) He makes excuses for his shortcomings, perhaps his most prominent being that Bush left this country so far in debt and destruction, so Obama has not been able to make many changes. It is clearly Bush’s fault, even though Obama knew the challenges when he campaigned for president.

4) Other than enacting Obamacare, he has done nothing he has promised within the last four years…but that is Bush’s fault, right?

5) Many connect Obama’s views and policies to socialism and communism.

Five Reasons Not to Vote for Mitt Romney

1) Romney has promised to immediately take away federal funding for Planned Parenthood, ultimately taking away vital resources to women.

2) Since Romney grew up wealthy, he will make changes to support the rich. What will happen to the middle class?

3) According to “I Acknowledge Class Warfare Exists,” 203 Republicans voted to make abortion illegal for rape victims in July 2012. As a Republican, Romney punishes the victims of rape.

4) Romney has Mormon beliefs that heavily influence his policies and treatment of women.

5) He is not for gay marriage and gay rights like Obama.

These are some of the main reasons people are totally against one candidate, but what people forget or disregard is the fact that the candidate they support is not perfect. Both candidates have clear flaws and compelling reasons they should or should not be president. As voters, we should be well aware of both candidates’ flaws so we can make more of an educated, informed choice.

Image Courtesy : Center for American Progress Action Fund from Washington, DC (Barack Obama at Las Vegas Presidential Forum) [CC-BY-SA-2.0

], via Wikimedia Commons

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Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney and many other Republicans have been criticizing President Obama for what they consider to be failed economic policies and are accusing him of trying to get rid of work requirements in order to receive a welfare check.

Former 2012 hopeful Rick Santorum recently posted on his blog about “Obamanomics,” a term used to explain that Obama’s economic plans, instead of “spreading wealth around, in reality only spreads poverty and economic decline.”

The former Republican presidential candidate wrote that Obama does not understand the challenges many working families are facing. He thinks that the government’s economic management has led to a situation that forces companies to outsource jobs, while many American families are losing them.

Santorum asserts that the situation is so chaotic that 41 months have passed with the unemployment rate above 8 percent, something that hasn’t occurred since the Great Depression. Since WWII, no president that served while the unemployment rate was above 8 percent has been reelected. If this continues into November, President Obama will have to challenge history for reelection.

Santorum also added that one out of six Americans is currently below the poverty line and that one in four children is receiving food stamps.

The other aspect Santorum criticized from Obama’s government is unnecessary spending. Santorum wrote, “national debt has grown by over $5.2 trillion to $16 trillion dollars—an increase of 49 percent.”  Santorum also explained that this is the fourth consecutive year in which the deficit exceeds one trillion dollars.

Another accusation Santorum made against Obama is that he has only made cuts in the defense spending budget, which Santorum considers wrong. He believes that the defense system should be a priority for the federal government, but Obama’s cuts have exceeded one trillion dollars.

President Obama has defended himself from this type of accusations, an example is on a speech on Cleveland in June he explained that the Bush tax rate cuts where somehow guilty for the recession, not his economic policies. Obama stated: “The failure to pay for the tax cuts and the wars took us from record surpluses under President Bill Clinton to record deficits. And it left us unprepared to deal with the retirement of an aging population that’s placing a greater strain on programs like Medicare and Social Security.”

Obama defended his economic policies on Cleveland, he stated: “We acted fast. Our economy started growing again six months after I took office and it has continued to grow for the last three years.” He added: “Our businesses have gone back to basics and created over 4 million jobs in the last 27 months; more private sector jobs than were created during the entire seven years before this crisis, in a little over two years.” But this is exactly what Republicans like Rick Santorum are criticizing, they accuse him of not reacting in time and maintaining the unemployment rate above 8% for too long.

Image Courtesy of  pennstatelive

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New York, U.S.A. — Asian institutional investors planning to increase investments in non-Asian companies express a preference for the equities of companies that draw revenue from Asia or have a secondary equity listing on a local exchange, according to a survey conducted by BNY Mellon, the global leader in investment management and investment services. The survey, titled Asia’s Evolving Investment Landscape, is BNY Mellon’s first-ever formal study of this category of investors.

Recognizing Asia’s potential as a source of investment, BNY Mellon undertook a survey to gain further insight into current investment practices in the region and conducted 40 in-depth interviews with investors in Hong Kong, Singapore and China, representing more than US$60 billion in equity assets under management.

The report focused on these locations as they are the primary destinations for companies considering secondary equity listings. Investors provided views on their need for portfolio diversification, their appetite for global equities, and the potential opportunities in these markets for global equity issuers.

“We’ve known for years that ‘home market bias’ to invest in domestic companies is more pronounced among Asian institutions, and that there’s a strong desire to correct that,” said Michael Cole-Fontayn, CEO of BNY Mellon’s Depositary Receipts business. “Now, we can see how ripe the opportunity is for global issuers and how they can increase their chances of cultivating ties to investors in Asia.”

The report focused on three types of investors: mainland Qualified Domestic Institutional Investors (QDIIs); Hong Kong– and Singapore–headquartered investment firms; and Hong Kong– and Singapore–based subsidiaries of global asset management firms.

The study uncovered a strong desire among institutional investors in these markets to diversify more globally their equity holdings. Nearly half (47%) plan to increase investments in companies domiciled outside their home market over the next one to five years. They cited client requests, portfolio diversification, and opportunities for growth as factors motivating them to look abroad. “We are moving in a direction to increase the rate of investment outside of Asia,” said a survey respondent from a Hong Kong-headquartered investment firm. “We are striving to increase our global mandate.”

BNY Mellon found that each additional percentage point in global allocations of Asia-based institutional portfolios potentially equates to $7.3 billion in equity assets. This figure underscores the substantial opportunity for global issuers as the portfolio allocations of Asian institutions fall in line with peers in North America and Europe that invest larger proportions in equities of non-domestic companies.

Several factors impact on a global issuers’ decision to raise equity capital in Asia, the study found. The investors surveyed were particularly open to investing in companies that derive revenue from Asia, with 54% saying that it was a key criterion. In addition, a listing on a regional exchange universally increases both the awareness of non-Asia-domiciled companies and the likelihood that institutions in Asia will invest in them. More than half of the investors surveyed (53%) said a secondary listing on an Asian exchange increases the chances they will invest in foreign-domiciled companies.

“I do not differentiate between the Hong Kong, Singapore and other Asian exchanges. The company simply has to be listed on one of the regional exchanges for us to invest in it,” said a respondent from a Hong Kong-based subsidiary of global asset management firm.”

“There’s a substantial overlap of interests between investors in Asia looking to diversify their portfolios and global companies looking to raise capital,” said Guy Gresham, New York head of the global IR advisory team in BNY Mellon’s DR group. “A secondary listing and open investor communications policy go a long way in helping these companies gain access to long-term equity capital in this part of the world.”

Additional findings of the survey include:

• Overall, 62% of institutions surveyed said a local exchange listing increases their awareness of a company.
• Hong Kong- and Singapore-based investment firms were the most definitive in stating that a local listing increasing their likelihood of investing in a foreign company, with 57% responding affirmatively and 62% saying that a listing in Asia increases their awareness of a company.
• Over half of the investment community surveyed (61%) does not definitively differentiate between the regional exchanges in Asia where foreign companies have secondary listings.
• More than half of investors (55%) are not required to meet with senior management of foreign companies before making an investment, and many report that as long as they can correspond with management throughout the year, a face-to-face meeting is not vital to their decision-making process when considering investment opportunities outside of Asia.
• Over two-thirds (70%) of investors surveyed would like to meet management teams at least semi-annually for meetings and informational updates, and 97% would like to correspond with management at least once a year.

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Hangzhou, China – - Neologic Animation Inc., an educational software company in the People’s Republic of China, released the results of its 7 year research and development study into effective early childhood education methods.

Led by Dr. Jisheng Wang, the Company’s head Psychologist, the team of renowned, published psychologists and early childhood education experts released a report outlining the “Eight Areas of Intelligence” of human beings.

“By incorporating these eight basic areas of intelligence into all of ‘Naniya World’s’ games, children will learn not only at a conscious, but also unconscious level,” said Chief Psychologist Dr. Wang.  “Language, Mathematics, Logic, Music, Space, Body-Sport, Interpersonal Relations, Self-Cognitive and finally Nature-Observing Intelligence are all carefully and meticulously incorporated into the Company’s game development model.”

The team has studied several thousand cases and has concluded that non-cognitive factors directly influence a child’s learning performance.  They have concluded that these areas of intelligence development play a large role in a child’s overall development and performance.  The team has meticulously arrived at a series of 108 learning capacity tests that can systematically analyze current educational status, learning capacity, and most importantly can recommend suitable learning methods.  Studying the results of the tests combined with advanced network techniques ultimately came about and created the website “Naniya World”, which is geared towards students from, grades one through six.

The site’s many exciting methods of study, including interactive flash games, animations, videos and other content to explain subject knowledge and content.  One of the major intentions of the website is to foster independent and creative thought.  This is done by incorporating art, music, sports and other such modules instead of forcing students to take in knowledge passively and mechanically.  Children can simultaneously absorb cultural knowledge while also improving their comprehensive learning capacity.

For more details about the study, please refer to the R&D Results Fact Sheet.

 About Neologic Animation Inc. (the “Company”)

The Company is an educational software development and marketing company; currently developing a website to be marketed as “Naniya World” for primary school students in China.  The website’s goal is to educate children how to develop and hone their creative skills through interactive educational games that incorporate Adobe Flash. The games incorporate a curriculum that has been developed by some of China’s top professors and child psychology experts. It sets itself apart from other after school programs in China because it deviates from the traditional methods of Chinese education.  The Company’s mission is to inspire every child in China to become the best student they can possibly be by showing them that learning is fun.

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United Nations Peace Envoy, Kofi Annan, has decided to hold an international conference regarding the ever-growing war in Syria, which has left several killed and severely injured. The meeting will take place in Geneva this coming Saturday, but cause for concern is arising, as the United States is having mixed emotions about being a part of the conference.

Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has confirmed that despite the United State’s lukewarm feelings about the conference, it will be in attendance, in addition to representatives from various countries including Russia, China, Britain, France, Turkey, and others from European Union, as well as the Arab League.

According to Annan, the purpose of the meeting, “is to forge a consensus on the terms for a political solution among international players with stakes and influence in the Syrian conflict over terms for a political solution. The U.N. envoy believes that the best hope of pressing the combatants on the ground to observe his peace plan to which they signed up in April but have not implemented, is for the foreign powers on whose support they variously depend to agree on terms.”

And the main problem that needs to be addressed this coming Saturday, is the conflict in different approaches and decisions that Russia and the United States both want to make. One of the countries that has yet to announce its appearance is Iran, which is a key factor in resolving conflict. “I have made it quite clear that I believe Iran should be part of the solution,” Annan said in Geneva last Friday. “If we continue the way we are going and competing with each other, it could lead to destructive competition and everyone will pay the price.”

The reason for both Iran and Saudia Arabia being excluded from the conference is based on the Obama Administration not wanting them there. According to Tony Karan, reporter for Time World, “The Obama Administration cited Iran’s role in backing up Syria’s bloody crackdown to declare Tehran’s involvement a “red line” for participating in the Geneva talks, and Annan presumably left out Saudi Arabia as a compensatory gesture to Russia which insists that those countries arming and funding Syria’s rebels share major responsibility for escalating the conflict.

A state department official told reporters last week that “If Kofi Annan can get the proposed participants to agree on such a plan for political transition then there will be a meeting, but that’s what we need to find out before we go to any meeting. There’s no point in going just for the sake of it.”

Image Courtesy of  United Nations

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Last week, well-known activist Li Wangyang was found dead in his hospital room. Protests and controversy have stirred up those who have loved and supported the activist after speculations of suicide have been questioned.

According to the ChinaRealTimeReport, “Mr. Li’s body was discovered hanging from a window in the hospital by family members on June 6. Photos of his corpse, which circulated online, appeared to show his feet touching the ground. Those images, plus testimony from friends about Mr. Li’s mood prior to the discovery of his body, have prompted skepticism over whether the death was truly a suicide.” As authorities are claiming Li committed suicide, outrage has been expressed by several protestors in Hong Kong as well as Li’s family and friends. A lot of the controversy over the way Li died is caused by the fact that he was interviewed by a Hong Kong-based news station just four days before his death. Li spoke out about the brutal treatment he received while in prison and according to his closest friends, that treatment is the reason that Li was nearly completely blind and deaf when he died.

While authorities say it was suicide, those that knew him well are completely against the idea. Huang Lihong, a fellow Hunan activist, said she last spoke with Mr. Li on June 3, three days before he died.

“At that time, he was still very well. We chatted very pleasantly. He loved life and had a lot of plans, so I’m convinced he absolutely couldn’t have committed suicide.”

Additionally, Zhang Shanguang, one of Mr. Li’s close friends, spoke out about the accusations of Li’s suicide by stating, “Li was extremely optimistic and strong, his disposition was unyielding. He had experienced much suffering and never thought of committing suicide.”

Wangyang was a Chinese dissident and labor rights activist and a member of the Workers Autonomous Federation. In spite of the Chinese government, Wangyang created a labor union in 1983 and for the next six years several protests ensued causing numerous deaths all over China. As a result, Li organized a memorial for the victims who had died. He was then arrested in 1989 on charges of subversion, counterrevolutionary propaganda and incitement. He was sentenced to an original ten years of imprisonment, but after appealing his sentencing, he was ordered to 13 years and ended up serving a total of 21 years in prison. The entire time of his sentence term, Li was ordered to hard labor, despite his deteriorating health.

Li was released from prison in May of 2011 and sent to a medical health facility to be treated for his health conditions. Li suffered from both diabetes and heart disease. Li was found dead on June 6, 2012 in his room at the Daxiang Hospital.

A petition launched by fellow Chinese dissidents, requesting a ‘credible investigation of Li’s death’, has already collected 5,000 signatures from Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan and continues to grow rapidly.

City of Shaoyang officials are declining to make any statements at this time, claiming the case is still being processed.

Those who believed in the same freedoms, values and justice the same way that Li did and defended to his death, will continue through his legacy.

Image Courtesy of  Leung Ching Yau Alex

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Washington, U.S.A. - The United States Department of Commerce has preliminarily found that a United Kingdom company, UK Carbon and Graphite Co., (UKCG) was unlawfully circumventing an antidumping duty order covering small diameter graphite electrodes (SDGE) from China. The preliminary determination was publicly announced on May 30, 2012. The Commerce Department plans to issues its final decision on July 31, 2012.

Commerce found that circumvention was occurring because the UK company was importing unfinished SDGEs from China to the United Kingdom, performing minor finishing operations on these items in the UK, and exporting the finished product to the United States. The Commerce Department rejected UKCG’s claim that these SDGEs were of UK origin for purposes of the U.S. antidumping law.

Importantly, Commerce has preliminarily determined that UKCG’s exports of these products may be subject to antidumping duties up to 159.64 percent.

“We are pleased that the Commerce Department is acting decisively to protect the integrity of this dumping order,” said David A. Hartquist of Kelley Drye & Warren, counsel to the U.S. industry. Mr. Hartquist also noted that the petitioning group has recently asked the Commerce Department and the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection to investigate other circumvention efforts by Chinese SDGE exporters. “Circumvention of existing antidumping orders, particularly on imports from China, is a very serious problem that deserves the full attention of our government. Exporters and importers who circumvent must be aware of the possible consequences of their behavior.”

The anticircumvention inquiry, like the antidumping duty proceeding, covers SDGEs which are defined as 16 inches (400 mm) or under in diameter; are produced from various grades of petroleum coke; and are used in ladle metallurgy and specialty furnace applications in industries including foundries, smelters, and steel refining operations. Graphite electrodes act as conductors of electricity in furnaces and generate heat to produce steel and other materials.

The petitioners are Superior Graphite Company and SGL Carbon. They are represented in this investigation by David A. Hartquist, a partner in the International Trade and Customs Practice at Kelley Drye & Warren.

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Chicago, U.S.A - Aon Benfield, the global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor of Aon plc, has released the latest edition of its Global Catastrophe Recap report, which reviews the natural disaster perils that occurred worldwide during May.

Published by Impact Forecasting, the firm’s catastrophe model development center of excellence, the report reveals that two earthquakes and subsequent aftershocks struck northern Italy within a nine-day period, killing 25 people, injuring more than 400 others and causing extensive damage to the cultural heritage throughout the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, in addition to businesses and personal property.

An initial, combined economic loss estimate from both tremors stood at EUR5 billion (USD6.25 billion), following significant damage in the provinces of Modena, Ferrara, Reggio Emilia, Rovigo and Mantua.

In Asia, severe and prolonged periods of rain impacted China throughout the month, affecting at least 22 provinces and killing at least 102 people.

According to China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA), at least 143,000 homes were damaged or destroyed during one prolonged event. More than 949,400 hectares (2.34 million acres) of cropland were also affected, contributing to a total economic loss listed at CNY16.88 billion (USD2.68 billion).

Meanwhile, powerful thunderstorms struck eastern Japan, resulting in high winds and tornadoes that killed at least three people, injured 59 others, and damaged more than 1,845 buildings in six separate prefectures.

Steve Jakubowski, President of Impact Forecasting, said: “The Italian earthquakes resulted in the largest natural disaster loss for the country since the L’Aquila earthquake event in 2009. The seismic activity was not unexpected, as Italy has long been recognised as a region exposed to the possibility of significant earthquake activity. Given the level of insurance coverage in the region, it is anticipated that insured losses would reach minimally into the hundreds of millions of dollars (USD). However, it remains too early to determine how negligible re/insurance losses may be from this event.”

In the United States, two periods of severe weather impacted central and eastern sections of the country; the first causing widespread hail and wind damage from the Dakotas to Maryland, resulting in an economic loss estimated at USD275 million, and more than 30,000 insurance claims valued atUSD150 million. A secondary severe weather outbreak across the central and eastern U.S. at the end of the month spawned significant damage as well. According to a preliminary report from the South-western Insurance Information Service, insured losses in Oklahoma alone were estimated at USD400 million.

Tropical Storm Beryl made landfall near Jacksonville Beach, Florida at peak intensity with 70 mph (110 kph) winds but did not cause any significant damage, injuries or fatalities.

And wildfires burned in several U.S. states during the month, including the largest fire ever recorded in New Mexico.

Excessive rainfall affected areas of the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec in May. In Thunder Bay, at least 1,100 homes were damaged as well as businesses and infrastructure, and flood damage with a 100-year return period was recorded in Montreal, where personal property and infrastructure were widely affected.

Additional flood events were recorded in Nepal, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Nicaragua, Cuba, Georgia, Brazil and Venezuela.

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Social Media is everywhere; it’s all over the world. There are blogs, social networking sites, podcasts, discussion forums, photo sharing and microblogs. China even has its very own microblog. It is so popular and rapidly growing that, in fact, an anonymous group of individuals in China have created their own version of Twitter. This is China’s largest microblogging service, and “critics are saying this is the latest attempt of the Chinese Government to censor social media,” according to Chinese Correspondent, Angus Walker. This microblog is known as Sina Weibo and has an estimated 300 million users.

Speculation of censorship of the website began earlier this year after people began spreading false rumors of senior politician and former Governor of Chongqing, Bo Xilai. The government had warned users to stop, but users continued to post photographs of tanks in the streets of Beijing, “claiming a military coup was underway in the wake of the sacking of Xilai,” according to ITV News.

As a result, the government has created a rule system for all users of the microblogging system to abide by. Under this system, every user of the site will start with 80 points. A convention for the rules has been created known as the “community convention” and if a user breaks any of the rules, they will receive a deduction in points. If enough points are deducted, they will be banned from the site. Thus far, the rules are as follows:

As stated by Walker, “the company that runs the site, Sina, has not come up with the idea itself and it remains to be seen whether the regulations will be imposed and policed. Using social media to criticize government policies or chat about political events has become a new way for “netizens”, as they are called, to voice their opinions.” And, “with a half a billion people online in China, around 300 million are using microblogging sites – that is roughly the population of the United States all making comments on a regular basis.”

China has some of the strictest social media censorship regulations in the world, with Facebook still being banned in the country to this day. According to Clifford Coonan, a Beijing Reporter with ‘The Independent,’ even though micro-blogging in China started less than three years go, it has become enormously popular, with growth quadrupling last year. Nearly half of all Chinese internet users now use micro-blogs.”

Thus far, Sina has been incredibly cooperative with the rules and regulations proposed in order to avoid further censorship and clashes with the Chinese government in the future

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Beijing, China – PR Newswire issued a new white paper that provides essential information about the media landscape in China, as well as tips for building successful communications strategies and media outreach programs. Designed specifically for companies looking to learn more about China that may not currently have a presence here, the white paper, titled “Navigating China’s Complex Media Landscape,” is a must-read for marketing and communications experts interested in learning about what drives the world’s most populous nation.

Breaking down China’s complex media landscape into bite-size segments, the white paper provides useful and usable information about how to navigate both traditional and online media in China. Confusing and contradictory at times, Chinese media can also be summarized by their fast transformation, and while traditional media still play an important role, online media are becoming more and more influential.

The white paper includes: a detailed breakdown of both traditional and online media, with an emphasis on the power of traditional media and the growing impact of social media and new technologies; a comprehensive list of Do’s and Don’ts for marketers and communicators; tips for writing Chinese press releases, building media relationships and getting noticed online and a selection of case studies highlighting international companies that got it right.

“The goal of the white paper is simple. We want to provide companies with a clear and concise picture of China’s media landscape and how best to navigate it,” said Lee Green, Director of Operations (Asia) at PR Newswire. “We hope that the knowledge we’ve gained over the last decade, since PR Newswire first opened its Beijing office, will help guide companies as they look to crack what can be a very complex industry, and we’re also delighted to be conducting a three-part webinar series on ‘Understanding China’ that runs in connection with this white paper.”

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New York, U.S.A. – New Report Added in ResearchMoz Reports Database Crop Protection Chemicals Market - Global And Developing Countries (China, India And Brazil) Analysis, Market Size, Trends And Forecasts (2009 – 2016)

Global crop protection chemicals market continues to grow and discover new growth opportunities in emerging economies. However, market maturity attained by some of the most widely used crop protection chemicals will slow down the growth of the global crop protection chemicals industry substantially.

Developed economies including North America and Europe are expected to show average growth due to market maturity and restriction imposed on usage of certain crop protection chemicals by regulatory authorities; however developing countries are expected to enjoys healthy growth rate in near future because of rising demand for crop protection chemicals.

To Browse Full TOC, Tables & Figures visit

China crop protection chemicals industry is the largest among the three developing markets covered in the report, both in terms of revenue and volume. Herbicides segment is the highest contributor towards the China crop protection chemicals market in terms of consumption throughout the forecast period. Fruits, vegetables and nuts crop segment was the largest consumer of crop protection chemicals and will remain so in the coming years.

This report analyzes the worldwide markets for Crop protection Chemicals in USD million (revenue) and thousand tons (volume) by segmenting the market on the basis of Pesticides Type, and end-use segments. The report provides separate comprehensive analysis for China, India and Brazil. Annual sales estimates and forecasts (volume and value) for three emerging markets are also provided for the period 2009 to 2016.

The report helps in providing a comprehensive overview for

- Market forces driving and restraining the growth of the market

- Up-to-date analysis of the latest industry trends

- Acumen into the size and shape of the market growth

Reasons to purchase this report

- Leading industry opinion keeps you abreast of latest news and trends-

- Forward-looking outlook on a category, market or issue affecting the industry

- Latest six year forecast assesses how the market is predicted to develop-

- Make more informed business decisions from insightful and in-depth analysis of

the country level markets

- Obtain sales forecast for the period 2012 to 2016 for all the major markets

Latest Market Research Reports on Crop Protection Market

Crop Protection Chemicals Market

Global Crop Protection Industry

NAFTA Crop Protection Industry

Europe Crop Protection Industry

Asia Crop Protection Industry

Global Crop Protection (Pesticides) Market

This report is an effort to identify driving forces behind the crop protection chemicals industry of India, China and Brazil over the next five years. The report provides extensive analysis of the crop protection chemicals industry, and current market trends and presents a comprehensive assessment on the basis of:

Pesticides Types

- Herbicides

- Insecticides

- Fungicides

- Others

Crops

- Cereals

- Sugarcane

- Fruits, Vegetables and Nuts

- Corn

- Soybean

- Cotton

- Rice

- Others

Countries Covered

- India

- China

- Brazil

Geographies

- Asia Pacific

- Latin America

Browse All Transparency Market Research - Latest Reports & Industry Analysis

Latest Reports by Transparency Market Research

Pesticides Market

Polyurethanes (Pu) Market

Computed Tomography (CT) Market

Nutraceutical Ingredients Market

Organic Electronics Market

U.S. Lighting Products Market 

Baby Care Products Market

Ultrasound Market 

X-Ray Market

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Market

Toluene Diisocyanate (TDI) Market

Methylene Diphenyl Diisocyanate (MDI) Market

Nutraceuticals Product Market

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California, U.S.A. – Lionsgate a leading diversified global entertainment company, announced that The Hunger Games, which has already grossed nearly $620 million at the worldwide box office, has been approved for release in China in the first half of June.

The film will be released nationwide in China with both dubbed and subtitled prints by The China Film Group in conjunction with Lionsgate’s promotional partner, Talent International.  The Hunger Games will be one of the first Hollywood studio films to be released in China under the new blockbuster revenue sharing agreement announced in February that allows Western distributors to collect up to 25% of a film’s receipts in China.

“The Hunger Games juggernaut continues to gain momentum around the world, and we’re thrilled that we can now share the exciting first installment of THE HUNGER GAMES franchise with Chinese moviegoers in June,” said Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Co-Chairs Patrick Wachsberger and Rob Friedman.  “China is already one of the leading territories at the international box office, and the launch of The Hunger Games in this key market is another sign of the franchise’s continuing emergence as a truly global phenomenon.”

The Hunger Games has already grossed more than $380 million at the North American box office where it ranks 13th among the highest-grossing films of all time.  It has grossed nearly $620 million worldwide with upcoming launches in China and Japan.

“We view China as an increasingly important market for our content in Asia,” said Wendy Reeds, Executive Vice President of Content Sales & Distribution for Celestial Tiger Entertainment (CTE), Lionsgate’s venture with Saban Capital Group and Astro’s Celestial Pictures in Asia.  “The Chinese box office grew by more than 30% last year to over $2 billion, and The Hunger Games’ approval for nationwide release in China is a major step in translating the enormous commercial potential of this huge market into reality.”

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Power plant services represent a growing market that offers steady revenues and solid growth, in contrast with the much more cyclical market for new-build power stations. Fastest growing regions of China, India and ASEAN to account for almost quarter of the market by 2017, but China will not overtake the USA before 2025.

In the developed regions of Europe and North America, the main drivers are ageing power capacities that need replacing and, linked to this, the growing adoption of gas-fired generation.

Key drivers in emerging markets are rapid electricity demand growth, and industry privatization and liberalization which, in turn, push outsourcing of services. In the developed world, meanwhile, utilities struggling with skills shortages are also increasingly relying on outsourced services.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan World Power Plant Services Markets finds that the markets earned revenue of $27.40 billion in 2011 and estimates this to reach$35.41 billion in 2017.

“Global growth in electricity demand is a key driver behind the growth of the power plant services market,” notes Frost & Sullivan Industry Director Harald Thaler. “As electricity demand rises, new generating capacities are added to the system, which in turn, require servicing.”

The services market is, however, forecast to grow somewhat more rapidly than electricity demand. The global correlation, comparing forecast growth for both indicators, is 1.55.

Whilst the services market is forecast to grow by 4.2% between 2010 and 2017, world electricity demand growth will be 2.7% over that same period. Greater outsourcing and the increasing proliferation of gas-fired technology, where reliance on the equipment providers for servicing is high, are major contributory factors.

“Geographically, the balance of power in the power plant services market will gradually shift towards the emerging economies, as they progressively liberalize not only their power but also their gas markets,” remarks Thaler. “Such trends will allow for a much greater penetration of modern gas-fired plants which attract higher outsourced maintenance spend.”

The fastest-growing regions will be the emerging Asian giants of China, India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Their combined share will rise from 18.1% in 2010 to 23.4% in 2017.

Gas turbines account for the largest share of the services market, globally. Their share will expand, albeit slowly, as ongoing coal-fired investments based on increasingly sophisticated supercritical technology fuel growth in emerging economies. This will partly offset the strong growth in gas-fired generation in some other parts of the world.

“Unlike in the market for new-build power plants, where China has been the leading world market for some time, the country’s position in the power plant services market is much more modest,” concludes Thaler. “Frost & Sullivan forecasts that in the lucrative services market, China will not overtake the USA before 2025.”

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Annec Green Refractories Corporation, one of leading refractory enterprises in China, has announced that it was the recipient of Scientific Achievements and Government Grants in 2011.

Zhengzhou Annec Industrial Co., (“Zhengzhou Annec”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, received government grants in 2011 which amounted to RMB1.16 million. Of the total amount,RMB300,000 was appropriated as project funds for the Research and Development Center of the Zhengzhou Green Refractories Engineering that was established by Zhengzhou Annec.

In 2011, Zhengzhou Annec was awarded the second prize for Science and Technology Progress of Henan Province and the first prize for Science and Technology Progress of Zhengzhou City for a project called “Optimal Design of the Primary Refractories in the Top-combustion Hot Blast Furnace and Research and Application of the AH Series Andalusite Bricks.”

The project with Zhengzhou Annec as its primary contributor was chaired by Zhengzhou Annec’s chief engineer Professor Sun Gengchen. In the process of the project’s research and development, more than RMB10 million was invested to set up an integrated laboratory of CFD numerical simulation, cold-state and hot-state simulation tests stoves.

The thermal parameters Zhengzhou Annec collected from the test stoves have helped Zhengzhou Annec scientifically formulate the optimal design and standard of the refractories in the top-combustion hot blast stove, and  develop the ideal refractories, namely, AH series and andalusite bricks with high thermal shock resistance that are used for the top-combustion hot blast stove and its hot blast pipeline.

Since its establishment one year ago, the laboratory has successfully contributed to advancing iron-making technology in our country. It provides valuable data for developing low-carbon and energy-conserving hot blast stove with ultra-high temperature and provides guidance and direction for the technical research in the supportive refractory materials.

Mr. Fuchao Li, Chairman of the Company, commented as follows: “With such support from government, we believe that we could maintain our technical leadership in the industry, thus we intend to focus on high-end products, which we believe will increase our gross margin and enhance our customer bases.”

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On the morning of January 11, as Yao Ming opened their cages, six young pandas stepped into their new home in the “Chengdu Panda Valley”, where they will undergo survival training in their natural habitat in their last step before their eventual return to the wild. This release marks the official beginning of the Chengdu Giant Panda Rehabilitation Project, launched by the Chengdu Panda Base and supported throughout by the national Ministry of Forestry.

“I’m honored to be a part of this important conservation effort,” said Yao Ming, “through the hard work and dedication of the experts at the Chengdu Panda Base, the Giant Panda will continue to flourish for generations as a symbol of China and as a symbol of what we can do when we all work together for conservation.”

For over three decades, the Chengdu Panda Base has been devoted to Giant Panda research and breeding, making it an invaluable part of the global Giant Panda conservation effort. Starting with six rescued pandas in the 1980′s the center’s captive population has grown to 108, making the Panda Base home to the largest captive-bred population of Pandas in the world.

As the number of pandas has steadily increased, the Panda Base has carefully planned the transition of pandas into Chengdu Panda Valley – a controlled natural environment, which will allow the pandas to steadily acclimatize and eventually rejoin their counterparts in the wild.

In order to find the best “candidates” for this morning’s first release, experts spent one year carefully examining individual pandas based on criteria such as age, health and genetic background, personality, and ability to socialize within their community. Twin brothers, Xingrong and Xingya, together with Gongzai (the inspiration for the main character in “Kung Fu Panda”), Yingying, Zhizhi, and Qiqi were chosen as the pioneers of this rehabilitation training.

“The main goal of this project is to ensure the sustainable growth of the Giant Panda population; we hope that soon they will be able to reproduce sustainably in the wild without the help of human breeders. We do not want to keep them in captivity forever; they need to return to nature, to their natural home.” commented Dr. Zhang Zhihe, Director of the Chengdu Panda Base.

Giant Pandas once flourished in the Sichuan Mountains surrounding Chengdu where boundless bamboo forests supported their grazing lifestyle. The connection of the Panda with Chengdu has made it a symbol of the city and has fostered a deep commitment from the community to their conservation. The Chengdu government has given full backing to the conservation efforts and has made the Panda Rehabilitation Project one of the hallmark elements of their program to develop Chengdu as a world-class Garden City.

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Countries across the world are currently experiencing extreme weather and droughts. The largest freshwater lake in China is at its lowest water levels for years thanks to a drought, according to state officials and media. The shrinking lake does not bode well for fishermen who rely on it for their livelihoods and for the local ecology.

The Xinhua news agency stated that Poyang Lake, located in East China’s Jiangxi province, is shrinking quickly and has experienced over a decade-long dry spell. This is due to the Gan River, which is connected to the lake, not receiving enough rain and causing the water levels to hit record lows. “This year’s level is very low,” an anonymous official declared, affirming that the rainfall for the area was 65 percent less than average for December.

Texas is also experiencing its worst drought on record. The year 2011 was the driest ever for the state, says the National Weather Service, and it was the second hottest. Meteorologists do not believe this will improve for the year 2012 and the result will be further restrictions on water and the death of millions of trees. Lake Lavon has shrunk by 12 feet due to North Texas’ lack of rain and record-setting heat. “It is a challenging time, especially to bring awareness to our consumers and businesses how critical our drought has impacted our reservoirs,” stated Denise Hickey, spokesperson for the North Texas Municipal Water District. “As we’re planning to move through this drought period, we’re also planning and initiating additional strategies to bring additional sources online.” The Texas Forest Service believes that so far, the severe drought has killed 500 million trees.

In Latin America, nations have also been dealing with a plethora of problems stemming from the extreme weather, including wildfires, droughts, and floods. Many have wondered if climate change and global warming are responsible for the unusual weather and according to experts, this is most likely the case. Chile experienced an uncharacteristic heat wave, which resulted in rampant burning wildfires, while Northern Mexico has been dealing with its worst drought in 70 years.

On the other hand, Colombia has had two seasons of heavy rain, which has killed 182 people and resulted in about $2 billion in damage. A rose farm in a Colombian town named Chia sustained an estimated $6 million dollars in damages from the April and December floods. Javier Castellanos, the rose farm manager, stated, “Never in the history of this farm- and it’s a business with 30 years in the market- have we ever had any such problem.” Researchers assert that Latin America is at more risk to the extreme weather changes worsening in the future than any other region in the world because of deforestation and its sprawling construction. These elements cause it to be more vulnerable to landslides and flooding.

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It has long been a pleasant consistency to be well received as a Canadian the world over. This year, that generally well-earned reputation has become soiled. It is still a beautiful country, with friendly folks and a lot of talent, but several high profile events have begun eroding its cherished character as champion of peace and the environment.

Certainly, Canada was a global example of environmental progress: North America’s west coast is widely considered extremely health-conscious, with some of the first anti-smoking laws in the world. Canada is consistently listed among the cleanest, nature-loving countries, with cities topping the lists of ‘best places to live.’

The current Conservative government, led by Prime Minister Steven Harper, has withdrawn Canada from the Kyoto Accord. The government’s antagonistic behavior, as well as its policy, was roundly criticized at the climate talks in Durban, South Africa. Indeed, Canada was awarded the ‘Fossil Award’ for its inaction against climate change. Sadly, the country’s emission levels have “risen by 30 percent over 1990 levels,” according to beloved geneticist, environmentalist, and broadcaster David Suzuki.

China expressed regret over Canada’s decision to withdraw. Among the vocal critics was Nobel-Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu: “Canada, you were once considered a leader on global issues like human rights and environmental protection. Today, you’re home to polluting tar sands oil, speeding the dangerous effects of climate change.”

The Keystone XL Pipeline proposal, to run from the oil-rich province of Alberta into the U.S., has further stained Canada’s reputation over environmental concerns, including the plan to pass across the U.S. Ogallala-Aquifer, which provides drinking water for over two million people in eight states. On a smaller scale, Toronto, Canada’s largest city and host of the respected Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), elected mayor Rob Ford, who slashed his own popularity along with funding for public transportation, the arts, libraries, day-cares, and other popular services.

Archbishop Tutu’s reference to human rights is particularly poignant to a country with a long and proud tradition of peace-keeping and its reputation as a gentle and humane nation. As leader of the opposition at the time, Harper’s minority supported the invasion of Iraq. After the Conservatives became the ruling party, they deported U.S. war deserters. The party later defeated an attempt to end the deportations on humanitarian grounds.

The world-famous Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) also fell into considerable disrepute. After several years of recent scandals involving a Taser death and the fatal shooting of a man in custody, this year saw more outrage involving sexual harassment, incompetence, and negligence in the handling of the famous ‘Pickton’ serial killings.

Not last, nor least, is Vancouver. Often credited for its beauty, its cultural and culinary diversity, and its high living-standards, the city became the media focus this year for its riots following the local team’s loss in the ice-hockey championship. Over all, it was a conspicuously poor year for Canada, marked by a loss of the respect and fondness it had earned for so long. What will happen in the following years depends largely on the patience and shifting attitudes of the Canadian people.

However, there have been many positive Canadian events. Its economy did not slide significantly, as did many others, and has held strong. Moreover, the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement began with a blog by Canadian magazine ‘Adbusters.’ Canada’s combat role in Afghanistan ended. Charitable donations increased.

There is a consistent swing of the pendulum in Canadian politics. The RCMP has begun to focus on cleaning its image and its house, and hockey is undergoing intense scrutiny. Next year might not be the disaster the Mayans predicted.

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Google launched a new website in China which allows users to search for goods online more easily. The website, beta aggregation Shihui, allows people to shop by searching different categories, products, locations, and prices. The group-buying market has exploded recently for China, and there are now approximately 4,000 such services in the country.

Groupon is not in the picture, which can work as a major positive factor in Google’s new business venture. While Google is suffering in the face of Groupon in the U.S., Groupon has not been able to get a foothold in China, despite its efforts to do so, starting this year. Currently, it appears that Google has its place in the Chinese market.

To accelerate the project, Google bought several sales sites, such as Lashou, Meituan, Gaopeng (also known as Groupon China), Groupon.cn (also known as a clone) and Nuomi. Virtually every major group involved. However, a Google representative said that Google Shihui is built entirely in China and has nothing to do with the Dealmap, for now.

As Google is entering the industry according to date, it has won the early stages of brand recognition – Google China could become a very powerful asset. According to Shihui, the new site is still in the early stages of development.  Right now, the main priority is to test things out; Google wants to get traffic to their sites and develop features that guide users to the offers that are most valuable to them.

The Chinese government’s censorship has been a bit of a road block for Google. Such censorship makes it difficult to conduct business. But Google is hopeful that the Chinese government’s attention will not go to a simple search service. And even if they did, the probability of any set of results that require censorship appearing would be far less than with web searches.

Additionally, Google will begin to shift traffic from its search site in China to servers outside the mainland while other operations will remain within the country. It has been very difficult to enter to the Chinese market, therefore, Google is interested in growing their business in the China market to the best of their abilities.

Shihui Google seems to be a promising endevor, but not without up and coming competition. There are a handful of sites of its kind in China that are going strong. So, despite censorship, it seems the Chinese people have the ultimate “say” in what they want and like.

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With the demand for aircrafts growing in China, Boeing Co. has started keeping the Chinese market in mind when designing new planes. Features, such as seating arrangement, size, and fuel efficiency, are some of the things the Seattle-based aircraft company is looking over, said Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president of sales and marketing for greater China and Korea for Boeing at the Aviation Expo/China 2011 in Beijing on September 21, 2011.

At the same convention, Mounir also said that Boeing predicts that China’s aircraft purchases would increase over the next 20 years to 5,000, worth about $600 billion, and that Boeing would like to capture at least half of that market share. Last year, Boeing predicted that China would increase to just over 4,300 aircrafts, worth about $480 billion.

The China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC) predicted just under 4,600 passenger planes would need to be added in China in the next 20 years to keep up with passenger growth and replace aging aircraft.

“China is one of the world’s fastest growing and dynamic aviation markets, driven by the urbanization of China, the growth of its economy, and an ever increasing personal wealth,” said Randy Tinseth, vice president of marketing for Boeing, at a 2010 press conference in Beijing.

Currently, Boeing holds almost 60 percent of the Chinese market, while Airbus, a European-based aircraft manufacturer, holds almost 40 percent the Chinese market. Boeing wants to sell its 737 planes to Chinese airlines, while Airbus wants to sell its A320 airplanes to the same market. The 737 aircrafts seat between 110 to 160 passengers, according to the Boeing website. The A320 seats 150 passengers, according to the Airbus website.

However, both companies face stiff competition from the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), the first commercial-jet manufacturer in China. The Chinese company revealed the C919 last year. The aircraft would seat up to 190 passengers.

The plane’s first flight is scheduled for 2014, and is expected to be in service by 2016, said Chen Jin, marketing director for COMAC. Other than the C919, COMAC currently makes the ARJ21, which seats up to 90 passengers. China is currently in third place in aircraft manufacturing, behind the US and Europe. However, it is a large supplier of parts to companies that build airplanes.

“There is not a plane we build that doesn’t have parts from China in it,” said Jim Albaugh, president and CEO of Boeing, last year. Boeing, unlike Airbus, does not assemble its planes in China, but has 35 Chinese parts-suppliers, making it the largest buyer of parts in China.
Christopher Parypa / Shutterstock.com

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China’s capital Beijing plans to implement congestion fees on some of its major, highly trafficked roads, Chinese Xinhua news agency reported on September 2 The measure is primarily meant to help reduce the heavy pollution caused by the high number of cars and it should lead to a decrease in traffic jams.

Hopefully, it will also encourage the residents of the Chinese capital to rely more on alternative-energy, environment-friendly vehicles. Officials also hope that the new congestion charge will inspire Beijing residents to start using public transport more than personal vehicles.

However, the reports did not mention how the fees would actually be collected or any other specific details regarding the manner in which the authorities plan to implement the measure. The plan encourages nevertheless the use of the so-called new energy cars, such as electric vehicles, as an environmentally-conscious alternative to cars which use fuel.

Unspecified incentives to buy new energy vehicles will also be provided. For the same purpose, the plan pledges to build more electric-vehicle charging stations and to upgrade the equipment in the already existing ones.

Measures to reduce traffic pressure have been introduced since the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, when car owners could use their vehicles only on certain days, depending on the number of the license plate. However, the measures have not had the desired impact and traffic jams continued to remain a problem.

In January 2011, Beijing began capping new car registrations at a price of 20,000 per month, available through a lottery. That has not slowed the increasing traffic to a significant extent, however, it has deprived tens of thousands of hopeful car owners of the possibility of  buying a car.

Beijing also continued to raise parking fees, expand its subway system and build parallel roads, all in an attempt to relieve its heavy traffic. There are voices saying that the measure will probably not have the expected effects, due to the complexity of the problem. “Neither traffic restrictions nor congestion fees can end traffic jams, because they fail to address the essence of the problem,” said Zhang Chang Qing, a traffic law expert at Beijing Jiaotong University.

“Although the plan does not clarify the exact road sections the government is going to charge tolls on, it is simple logic that if it is the Second Ring Road only, people will swarm to Third and the Fourth Ring Road and cause traffic congestion there. Currently, all the rings are already seeing heavy traffic, so I believe the government will have to set up tolls everywhere.”

In 2009, China became the world’s largest auto market, which has led to a constant growth of car ownership. By 2012 the already heavily-trafficked Beijing is expected to have a total of 7 million vehicles on the road.
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China’s environmental regulators say they are planning a campaign that will target dumping and improper storage of hazardous materials. Special attention will be given to heavy metals and electronic waste.

Deputy director Zhang Lijun, a representative of the Ministry of environmental protection, mentioned in early September that the situation in Qujin city, in the southern province Yunan, was deteriorating. A local chemical company dumped more than 5,000 tons of chromium in June.

The case is not a singular one, as China has been confronting a crisis of heavy metals poisoning after years of lax policies regarding safety standards. This has led to a rise in the number of reported pollution emergencies, usually involving lead and other various toxins from chemical and electronics factories.

According to Zhang Lijun, the situation in Qujin, and many other similar cases, reflect “widespread inadequacies in handling and disposal of hazardous waste in the country and pose a threat to public health.” Zhang also added that companies handling chromium, polycrystalline silicon used in solar cells, sewage sludge and electronic waste would be facing closer scrutiny in the future.

The Qujin case caused national alarm after the chromium dumped by Yunnan Luliang Chemical Industry in June killed livestock and tainted rivers supplying drinking water for cities situated in the densely populated Pearl River Delta. The amount of chromium slag stockpiled at the chemical plant in Qujing reaches more than 140,000 tons, the environmental group Greenpeace reported.

The figures released recently by the government also point to the gravity of the situation. According to China Daily, the country produced 45.7 million tons of hazardous waste in 2007, an amount expected to increase by 5 percent to 7 percent a year in 2011-2015.

China’s environmental regulators have said they plan to clean up contamination of the soil and water supplies from factories scattered across the country, a side-effect of the concentration of so much of the world’s industrial production in China. Implementing efficient measures is also hindered by a lack of compliance at the local level.

In Qiujing the drivers who were meant to haul the chromium waste to a processing plant in a neighboring province, instead dumped the hazardous loads near a reservoir. According to media reports, rains washed some of the toxins into the lake, killing livestock.

After news of the incident surfaced, authorities in Yunnan initially denied complaints, voicing the fears of a public health hazard caused by inappropriate handling of toxic materials. In such instances, local officials heavily dependent on tax revenues from big factories usually try to downplay or cover up such problems.

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The energy company CronocoPhillips and their Chinese section has not effectively stopped or cleaned up offshore spills in the Bohai Bay, according to China’s Oceanic Agency. The spills, which occurred on June 4 and June 17, releasing approximately 700 barrels of oil into Bohai Bay and 2,500 barrels of mineral oil-based drilling mud onto the seabed, have raised an outcry among environmentalists.

The State Oceanic Administration said its investigation discovered that the company had failed to completely clean up damage from the spills and to ensure leaks would not recur. The agency also ordered the company to halt all gas and oil production in the area off China’s eastern coast, until effective measures are taken to prevent further oil leaks as well as ensure that any remaining spills are completely removed.

It also called for a full environmental impact assessment before production can be resumed. CronocoPhillips said it was drawing up a compliance plan along with its partner in the Bohai Bay, China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC). “Activities that are related to depressurizing the field will continue in a safe and environmentally responsible way,” it said in a statement released by CronocoPhillips at the beginning of September.

CronocoPhillips China holds a 49 percent stake in the venture in the Penglai 19-3 oil field, being its sole operator, with CNOOC holding 51 percent. Both companies have publicly apologized for the incident. Initially, CronocoPhillips reported that the spills have been entirely removed. The company also said the fault causing the leak was sealed and that the situation was basically under control.

Despite the companys reassuring statements, the State Oceanic Administration and the Chinese press clearly expressed its dissatisfaction towards the manner in which the oil giant has handled the problem. The People’s Daily severely criticized the company, saying that CronocoPhillips issued misleading statements over the spills while displaying “indifference” over the harm caused to the environment.

According to the publication, CronocoPhillips strove more to protect its image and did not put enough effort into safeguarding the environment after the spill was made public in early June. “There is a sharp contrast between the company’s sensitivity regarding its image and its indifference to the pollution,” People’s Daily commentator Jiang Hongbing said in unambiguous terms.

“After repeated delays and a series of cover-ups and deceptions, production at the Penglai 19-3 oil field has finally been ordered to stop.” The government also says that the spills spread up to 5,5000 square kilometers(2,124 miles) and may have killed scallops.

CronocoPhillips declared that damage to the marine environment was minimized and that oil traces discovered onshore were not related to the spills but were from fuel in the water. The comments made by the oceanic administration at the beginning of September suggest a clash of opinions over how to handle the seeps.

It is believed that pressure had built up underground due to injections used to help force oil from the wells. The notice issued by China’s Oceanic Agency ordered CronocoPhillips to accept CNOOC’S “strict supervision” in preventing further spills and recently has also threatened to sue the company.

Environmental groups complained about the slow pace of the cleaning operations, while fishermen in Shandong, Hebei and Liaoning provinces claim that oil has killed off most marine life. Another consequence of the incident was a drop in CNOOC’s shares in early September, which fell 8.8 percent in Hong Kong.
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Vinegar tainted with antifreeze is suspected of killing 11 people and sickening 120 after a communal Ramadan meal in China’s far western region of Xinjiang on August 21. Investigators suspect the victims consumed vinegar that was put in two plastic barrels which had previously been used to store toxic antifreeze, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

According to official Chinese media the mass food poisoning occurred on a Saturday night in a village close to Hotan City in Xinjiang, a border region that abuts Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia. The victims were ethnic Muslims sharing an evening meal after the daily fast observed during the holy month of Ramadan.

Xinhua said children as young as 6 were among the dead. One person among the 120 sickened was in critical condition. Authorities were still testing to confirm the source of the poisoning, it said. China’s food safety record has been battered by the rampant use of illegal or substandard additives by unscrupulous food producers.

Milk powder laced with the industrial chemical melamine killed at least six children and sickened 300.000 in 2008. Producers added the nitrogen-rich melamine powder so their milk would seem higher in protein. Revenge attacks using rat poison or other chemicals are also common in China, where access to firearms and other deadly weapons is tightly controlled.

In April, three children died and another 35 were sickened by milk tainted with nitrite. An investigation showed that a local dairy farmer had put the poison into their competitor’s milk supply. Accidental contamination is also a problem, caused by low hygiene standards, particularly in rural areas, and weak quality control by regulators.

Moreover this year there has been hundreds of people, seriously sickened by clenbuterol-tainted pork. In fact, around twelve noodle makers were ordered to stop production because they were using ink, industrial dyes and paraffin wax as ingredients, and 16 tons of pork was pulled from the marketplace for containing sodium borate.

This chemical seemingly transforms cheap pork into darker, higher-value “beef.” Except from that, Chinese authorities became conscious of a 40-ton bean sprout debacle — farmers were using sodium nitrite (a known carcinogen), urea, antibiotics and a plant hormone called 6-benzaledenine to make the sprouts grow faster and look shinier.

Chinese officials have made 12 arrests and have investigated 1.200 criminal cases concerning “the illegal adding of non-edible materials in food” till now. Chinese officials have also destroyed key elements of black market food production as part of the latest crackdown, leading to 2.000 arrests and 5.000 business shutdowns.

Furthermore, exploding watermelons and pork scandals, caused by excessive chemical use, took hold of international media headlines. In the first six months of 2011, 45 people died from food poisoning, mostly from toxic chemicals according to China’s Ministry of Health, but despite all the government crackdown efforts food safety scandals continue in China.

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A kindergarten class in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan, uses dolls with lifelike parts – including genitalia with pubic hair – to teach children about sex. An agency, Imagine China, provided photographs of the dolls to the Huffington Post. The photos were taken in April at Yaolan Kindergarten.

The Shanghaiist, reported that a typical conversation in a Yaolan classroom involves a 4 or 5-year-old student asking if babies fell from the sky only to be corrected by another student who explains: “Daddy’s sperm finds mommy’s egg, and then a baby grows inside mommy’s stomach!”

The graphic dolls used to teach kindergarteners about sex have produced debate and concern among parents. “I am worried that it’s not good for the kids to know sexual knowledge so early,” a parent said, according to The Shanghai Daily. Yaolan has “managed to transcend traditionally retrograde attitudes on sex education, having reportedly taught 4 and 5-year-old children sex-ed since 2008,” The Shanghaiist said.

Discussion on whether or not to teach sexual education to children of various ages is taking place in many places in China. According to CNN, a report in a local Beijing newspaper about a new sex education textbook for elementary school students has spurred much debate on this issue online and beyond.

The Beijing Times, a popular local tabloid, said that the textbook titled “The Steps of Growth,” uses images that are too graphic for young children. “Is it for elementary school students? That’s way too early for them…unacceptable!” a person wrote on Sina Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter.

According to CNN, authorities in China said the textbook is only an experiment in some schools but claimed that the teachings of the textbook are important.  In a fax statement to CNN, they said, “it’s very important to carry out health education, including sex education, to elementary and middle school students.”

Those in support of teaching sexual education point to China’s abortion rates to prove the need for early education on sex. China has one of the highest abortion rates in the world – a number which is growing. According to a government tally, 9.2 million abortions were performed in 2008, up from 7.6 million in 2007.

But the count only includes hospitals, and state media report the total could be as high as 13 million. The Huffington Post said that many blame the high abortion rate on liberal attitudes toward premarital sex, as well as a lack of sex education.

According to a report by China’s National Working Committee on Children and Women under State Council in 2010, 60% of young Chinese aged 15-24 were open to pre-marriage sex, while 22.4% actually had sexual experience. Among those who got pregnant before marriage, 91% had an abortion, while only 4.4% of unmarried people aged 15-24 had the “correct knowledge” about reproduction.

It also added that only 14.4% of that group understood the risks of HIV, CNN reported. Deciding on the right age to teach children sexual education remains a heated, ongoing debate. “Children still need sex education when they’re little,” opined Li Yinhe, a sociologist who specializes in sexology studies in China.

“They need to know basic knowledge such as gender differences. What matters is that the teachers should also tell children what is right and what is wrong in terms of sex morality, and teach the children to protect themselves from sexual assaults.” China is not the only place where opinion is split on the issue of sexual education.

On August 31, The Vatican referred to New York City’s new sexual education classes as “useless, and even harmful.” The curriculum involves teaching middle school students how to correctly use condoms.

 
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Fake Apple stores have begun popping up in China, fooling not only the customers, but the workers as well. The quickly developing country is renowned for creating and selling remake products, however this is more than a step up from product recreation.

A blogger who goes by BirdAbroad found the store, located in China’s Yunnan province in the city of Kunming. The blogger says that the first giveaway was the glowing apple outside the storefront. Instead of standing alone as it should, the words Apple Store accompanied it, giving away its mirage of reality.

Inside all things would appear fine, exactly identical to any authorized Apple store found across the world. However, the blogger admits that upon closer inspection little things including paints jobs and intricate staircases appear to be unprofessionally done.

In a recent update from BirdAbroad, she explains that many different media outlets have been able to contact workers or managers from the fake store. The Toronto Star said they spoke with a manager who claims that while they now know they are unauthorized, the products they are selling are real.

BirdAbroad has also begun taking heat from the population of Kunming, as well as other cities across China. She has recieved many different complaints about her blog and posts commenting on the fake apple store.

Some are looking for a public apology for mudding their good name, while others are irritated at the ongoing attention to knockoff production in China. They are saying, “shanzai is unstoppable in China;” shanzai, meaning knockoff.

Regardless, while the store is unauthorized, and there remains to be confusion on whether the products are real or not, many citizens in Kunming are saying that they don’t mind the knockoff store.

BirdAbroad quoted someone saying, “Apple deserves to have shanzhai stores, since their products are absurdly expensive, despite being made right here in China.”

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At least 38 people died while more than 200 were injured when two bullet trains collided in Zhejiang province on Sunday. Local television reported that the first train had been forced to stop after losing power due to a lightning strike, when it was rear-ended by another train, causing two carriages to fall off the elevated tracks.

While rescue and disposal efforts were set in motion, the Chinese authorities are facing mounting public anger over what is believed to be a ‘cover-up’ of the reasons for the collision. There has been reports that authorities have attempted to control coverage by ordering journalists not go to the scene, not to investigate causes and urging them instead to report on rescue efforts and blood donation under the banner of ‘great love in the face of great disaster’.

Microbloggers are attacking the overt pressure from propaganda authorities. “We have the right to know the truth!” wrote a web user under the name Kangfu Xiaodingdang. “That’s our basic right!”

Rail minister Sheng Guangzu has apologized for the collision and has launched a two-month nationwide safety review of the high-speed railway network. The government has also proposed compensation to relatives of the victims.

Still, the cause of the crash remains unknown and the reason for this is believed to be the propaganda directives that have muzzled investigation efforts.

“There must be no seeking after the causes [of the accident], rather, statements from authoritative departments must be followed,” read one directive, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. “No calling into doubt, no development [of further issues], no speculation, and no dissemination [of such things] on personal microblogs,” read another.

The development of high-speed railway is seen as a symbol of China’s development, but its prestige is viewed as a symptom of the country’s problem. Microbloggers blame officials for what they believe is a man-made disaster.

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Yao Ming retired last week after nine seasons with the Houston Rockets. Yao was a force both on and off the court, revolutionizing the game of basketball, and yet many hall of fame voters are merely on the fence about him getting in.

Yao came into the league as the tallest player ever to grace an NBA court, standing an uncanny 7-foot-6. This alone was going to make opposing teams create a specific game-plan to guard him, but it didn’t stop there.

He influenced an entire country to become fans of such an American-driven sport. Chinese culture had never been strongly tied to basketball, but now we see more and more Chinese players growing up playing, and trying to get into the NBA to follow in Yao’s gigantic footsteps. He is a true ambassador.

Though these two facets of his game indeed made him an incredibly popular player, and very important to the Houston Rockets for having so much economic value, his on the court game was nothing to ignore.

When he first came into the league, he was somewhat feared because of his height, and yet wasn’t expected to be as much of a force as other centers because of his scrawny build. The word soft was thrown around in his presence. But that was 2002, and this is 2011.

Yao was an incredibly intelligent player, knowing how to use his height to the best of his advantages. He had an extremely efficient post game, throwing up unblockable hook shots with both hands whenever he wanted. If somebody let him get position on the block, there wasn’t much they could do to protect the goal (unless you’re Nate Robinson).

He also had a great face-up game for his size. Yao’s mid-range jumper was up there with the best in the game, even out to 20 feet, not to mention the occasional thee point attempt. He also was known to put the ball on the floor from the elbow, and with his unmatched size, one dribble would get him right by a defender and to the rim for an easy bucket. It was never easy to guard Yao.

To be fair, every hall of fame player has to perform well on both sides of the ball. The same reasons that top teams were afraid to take Jimmer Fredette too early were why Yao was often not respected as much as he should have been: defense.

Any player with his height should be able to block shots. No doubt about that, so let’s look at the stats.

As far as blocks per game went over his career, Yao landed at a respectable 1.9. For comparison, one of the greatest centers of all time, Shaquille O’ Neal, had a career average of only 2.3. Granted, Yao had 5 inches on Shaq, but the difference in jumping ability surely made up for that. Maybe people just expected too much, but that doesn’t mean his game lacked a defensive element.

Speaking of Shaq, the two gargantuan centers had countless Western Conference battles that were some of the most watched games of the time. These games were run through both giant men, each of which getting the ball in the post nearly every possession for isolation offense on one another. It will surely be a long time until fans get to see another match-up like those. Yao surely held his own, and though nobody is saying he is as good as “the diesel,” respect should surely be given.

Yao also averaged 9.2 rebounds for his career. Still think he should have grabbed more boards because of his height? Take a look at Shawn Bradley’s career numbers. He was 7-foot-5 and yet only grabbed 6.2 total rebounds per game over his twelve seasons. Too bad we never got to see those giants duke it out.

The points barely need to be talked about, everybody knows that his offensive game is surely hall quality. Even though he landed at an average of 19.0 points per game, when you factor in some of the tragic injuries that plagued him, he surely would have been a career 20-10 guy.

Hey, we also can throw in 1.6 assists per game while we’re looking. His passing was probably the most underrated part of his game.

This might be one of the tougher decisions that the hall of fame committee will have to make in the coming years. In all probability, if he never had to deal with his injuries he should have been a lock to be there, but for that matter we may have been able to say the same thing about Sam Bowie (check out the 1984 draft if you’re not familiar).

Once you throw in his intangibles, and what he meant to the game both on and off the court, this gentle giant deserves to be given his due credit one way or another. It was definitely fun to watch him play.

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A British calculator that estimates the financial costs of a divorce has become a great phenomenon in China. As a consequence, several Asian couples have begun to reconsider if it’s worth it break up with their partners or not.

The calculator was released at the end of 2010 by a British company. It was invented by the U.K. Financial Education to the Consumer Department, and it’s a free online service that anyone can use in order to avoid any divorce financial problems.

According to the Chinese online media outlet Global Times, the calculator results have frightened a lot of couples that were considering divorce. This invention calculates division of property expense, economic child support litigation and the costs of losing hours of work. Based on these factors it shows the costs of divorce.

Despite the fact that this product was first seen as an entertainment tool, one of its users named Zhanghas has has recently said at the Global Times that after using this calculator he changed his mind on divorce. For him, getting divorced would leave him with only $29. In addition, in the future he would have to pay $247 per year to care for his son and pay rent on his house. It’s important to clarify that this calculator was configured based on the British standards, however most of people use this little machine to calculate estimate expenses data.

“If I would have known how expensive it would be to get divorce I would have never married,” Zhang said to the online media outlet.

He also pointed out that the calculator showed that he may lose more than half the property he shares with his wife. He admitted that thanks to this machine he learned how to better appreciate his marriage and family.

This calculator is not the first created to calculate the consequences of divorce. Divorce 360 provides help, advice and community for people contemplating, going through or recovering from divorce and the issues around it, such as custody, child support, alimony and litigation.

Divorce 360 has created a calculator   that the user can use to know what is going to happen to his marriage in five years. With just five quick questions they can calculate the chances of divorce:

Question 1: What is your gender?

Question 2:  When did you marry?

Question 3: What is your education?

Question 4: How old were you when you got married?

Question 5: How many years have you been married?

According to the Ministry of Civil Actions more than 465,000 marriages ended in divorce by the beginning of this year, making a total of 5,000 divorces per day.

Divorce has become an unfortunate reality. It is difficult, painful and complex. Only time will tell i  f these two “inventions” help to prevent or avoid the number of divorces in a close future.

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