China Quake Toll Rises to 7,600

Police stake out whistleblower's studio, shut down blog

(NEWSER) - The Chinese artist who has made investigating the deaths of children in the Sichuan earthquake a personal crusade is facing a government crackdown, reports the CBC. Ai Weiwei's widely read blog has been deleted, and plainclothes police officers are staking out his studio in Beijing. Ai has relaunched his blog on an American server but said, "I don't know how long it will last before it is blocked." More»

6.1 rumble is latest setback

(NEWSER) - Another major aftershock rattled China this morning, Reuters reports. Thousands fled swaying buildings in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, after the 6.1 shaker, but no casualties were immediately reported. Hundreds of lesser aftershocks have rocked the area since last Monday's 7.9 quake that has now claimed at least 32,500 lives, with some 220,000 injured. More»

(NEWSER) - Ai Weiwei, China's leading artist and a prominent critic of the country's government, said yesterday he was beaten and detained when he tried to testify at a civil rights advocate's trial. Ai told the New York Times that dozens of police officers barged into his hotel room in Chengdu, the capital of earthquake-rocked Sichuan province. The artist, famous for his design of the Bird's Nest stadium has been leading efforts to account for the deaths of children in last year's quake. More»

A year after disaster, Ai Weiwei leads efforts to account for the dead

(NEWSER) - China today marked one year since the Sichuan earthquake that left nearly 90,000 people dead or missing. But the government has still not published results of an investigation, and parents whose children died in shoddily constructed schools have faced police intimidation. The parents have found an unlikely advocate, Time reports: Ai Weiwei, a star artist who has relentlessly pressed for information. More»

Wuhan zoo's star attractions get boost ahead of winter

(NEWSER) - Even pandas need tender love and chicken soup: Chinese zoo officials have been feeding two 3-year-old cubs the hearty stock to reduce their stress. “Hope” and “Greatness” have been worn out by thousands of tourists clamoring for their attention in central Wuhan during China’s weeklong holiday. “They had been getting less sleep,” one official tells AP, “and they had to run around more.” More»