China

A wedding photographer shooting pictures of a bride and groom captured instead dramatic images of the catastrophic China earthquake. Photographers were shooting at a popular spot for newly married couples when the earth moved. The photos show young women in wedding attire, dusty and shaken, amid the ruins of China's deadly earthquake. More »

Casinos on the Chinese island of Macau create more gambling revenue than the ones in Las Vegas and Atlantic City combined, but US operators—permitted to set up shop there since 2004—are decidedly not rolling in the money. The Wall Street Journal looks at the bumps in the road for MGM Mirage, Wynn and Sands, and finds that local middlemen exert untold control over VIP players—and rake in huge commissions in the process. More »

The earthquake that killed more than 51,000 Chinese when it ripped through Sichuan province on May 12 also left more than 4,000 children parentless, a Chinese official said today—and the actual number could be yet higher because many remain missing. The Chinese people are rushing to adopt those orphans, another official said. “Every day my ministry receives hundreds of calls.” More »

Across Chengdu, the capital of China's earthquake-struck Sichuan province, citizens are camping out in tents in public parks, riverbanks, and even on the sides of the roads. But many of the tent-dwellers haven't lost their homes, reports the Wall Street Journal . Rather, they're reluctant to return to their high-rise apartments, fearful of aftershocks. More »

Mega-companies are defending themselves against harsh criticism on Chinese websites that they’ve done too little to help earthquake survivors, AP reports. Companies such as McDonald’s, Wal-Mart, and Nokia were labeled “International Super-Misers” on one site. "We've been involved in helping and responding since day one,” said a McDonald’s rep, who added that the company pledged $15 million and is donating 40,000 meals. More »

China’s official earthquake death toll has today topped 51,000, with almost 300,000 injured, and another 29,000 missing, CNN reports. Meanwhile, donations from home and abroad tallied $3 billion, while Beijing pledged another $10 billion to reconstruction efforts, including $3.6 billion for rescue and relief work. More »

The leaders of the Burmese junta don’t want you to think about the victims of Cyclone Nargis, writes Tom Jenkins for the Guardian , and the world and the media are only too happy to oblige. The Chinese government’s heroics in Asia's other natural disaster focuses attention on victims receiving help, while the Burmese who desperately need outside intervention die off-camera. More »

Though politicians and pundits alike are caught up in which foes the US should or shouldn't be reaching out to, Thomas Friedman, in the New York Times , points out that few world leaders of any stripe are sitting by the phone waiting for our call. Waning American influence and the rise of new powers in the developing world and outside the state system worry Friedman much more. More »

The Chinese people have responded to last week's Sichuan earthquake with an unprecedented outpouring of volunteer work and donations—outside the scope, and control, of the Chinese government, the New York Times reports. China’s regime doesn’t trust public activism, and has long restricted private charity groups. But the quake crisis and public reaction are so broad it has grudgingly accepted help. More »

The official quake death toll climbed to nearly 40,000 in China’s Sichuan province today, the Guardian reports, as foreign medical teams and equipment arrived on the scene. Relief efforts began shifting away from finding survivors to aiding the more than 200,000 injured and 5 million left homeless. Russia, Taiwan, Japan, the US, Germany, and Italy had all sent rescue workers. More »

The Dalai Lama arrived in Britain today for an 11-day visit, during which he will give lectures and meet with senior religious and political figures. Gordon Brown won acclaim at the height of the Olympic torch protests for agreeing to meet the Tibetan leader. But now, writes AFP, the PM is under fire for an element of protocol: the meeting will not take place at his residence of 10 Downing Street, but in a religious setting. More »

Americans’ donations to disaster relief this year fall far short of money given to victims of the 2004 tsunami and Hurricane Katrina—and it’s likely due to “disaster fatigue," say experts. With tragedies like Burma’s cyclone and China’s earthquake quickly piling up, people may feel they can’t make a difference, AP reports. As of Friday, Americans had given $12.1 million to Burma, while the tsunami garnered $1.92 billion in US donations. More »

A new quake warning sent thousands of frightened Chinese running into the streets of Chengdu today, Reuters reports. With nerves still raw from last week's disaster, drivers jammed roads and people dragged their bedding into open spaces. A 5.0 aftershock in Pingwu County also sent buildings swaying in Chengdu, roughly 150 km from the epicenter. More »

Hello Kitty has been tapped as Japan’s cultural envoy to China, the AP reports. Japan’s ministry of tourism chose the über-popular icon to represent the country in its drive to attract 10 million annual visitors to the islands. Last year, tourists from China and Hong Kong made up 16.5% of Japan's 8.35 million overseas visitors. More »

Three giant pandas are missing from the famed Wolong panda reserve that was hit by the magnitude 7.9 earthquake last week in China, AFP reports. Emergency supplies of bamboo—the panda's staple—and apples are being flown into the area to help save the endangered animals. More than 80 are safe—including two offered by Beijing to Taiwan as goodwill gifts. More »

Millions across China bowed their heads and observed 3 minutes of silence today in the first of 3 official days of mourning for the 71,000 dead or missing in last week's earthquake. Flags flew at half mast, rescue workers paused in their efforts and trading was halted on stock exchanges. State news reported that 200 rescue workers repairing damaged roads have been buried by mudslides over the last 3 days, as continuing heavy rain raised fears of new flooding and landslides. More »

As the death toll in Monday's 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit 32,500, China declared 3 days of national mourning beginning tomorrow, reports Reuters. The Olympic torch relay will pause for the duration. Rescue efforts are still under way in devastated Sichuan province, but hopes are waning of recovering any of the estimated 9,500 still missing. More »

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 »

Rescue efforts in Beichuan, near the epicenter of China’s earthquake, turned to chaos today as fear of flooding caused a stampede of thousands, the BBC reports. A flood warning was issued after a landslide-blocked river threatened to burst its banks, CNN reports. “Everybody just ran. People who were in the process of being rescued had to be left behind,” said a BBC correspondent. More »

Bankers and regulators across Asia have grown wary of the big US banks they once invited to underwrite major moves, the Economist reports. One Chinese regulator described the West’s big banks to the magazine as “shit,” among signs the East no longer trusts the West’s wisdom, or its regulation model, in the wake of the subprime collapse and the resulting credit crunch. More »