China

(Newser) - China's broadband network is now bigger than America's, InformationWeek reports. In fact the Asian nation has the planet's biggest high-speed network—which "means a lot more for building a modern, hi-tech economy" than China's spacewalk yesterday, one expert said. "This is a major milestone for China." More »

(AP) - A Chinese astronaut took the nation's first spacewalk today, floating outside the orbiter module's hatch for about 13 minutes. "Greetings to all the people of the nation and all the people of the world," he declared in a live broadcast on state TV, waving a Chinese flag. More »

(Newser) - China's 3-man spacecraft is now safely in orbit and all systems are go for the nation's first spacewalk tomorrow, reports Reuters. One of the astronauts is set to spend 40 minutes outside the shuttle in a $4.4 million Chinese space suit. Beijing plans to build a permanent space station within the next decade, and could eventually shoot for a moon landing. More »

(Newser) - China is set to become the third nation to send a human strolling through space this week, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The shuttle Shenzhou VII will launch tomorrow with a crew of three, one of whom will don a Chinese- or Russian-made spacesuit for the spacewalk, seen as another signal of China’s arrival among top-tier world powers. More »

(Newser) - Many Chinese mothers are returning to breastfeeding as infant formula sickens thousands of babies, reports the Wall Street Journal, but in a growing number of wealthy families the breasts are rented. The ancient practice of wet nursing has been reborn, but with a capitalist bent: "Many people look down on this job. I do it because I have no other method to earn more money," says one wet nurse. More »

(Newser) - China's quality-control chief has stepped down as the number of Chinese babies reported sickened by contaminated formula has soared to 53,000, CNN reports. Some 13,000 have been hospitalized; 40,000 more have been treated as outpatients. One ill toddler has been reported in Hong Kong. Chinese premier Wen Jibao toured hospitals and a supermarket, calling the makers of the milk “heartless” and pledging tougher regulations. More »

(Newser) - The number of Chinese babies hospitalized with kidney problems after drinking contaminated milk formula has skyrocketed to 13,000, the country's health ministry said today —more than double previous estimates of 6,000. Four children have died so far, AFP reports, in the outbreak blamed on melamine, the same chemical at fault in last year's widespread pet food recall. More »

(Newser) - Milk from some of China's biggest dairies has been found to contain poisonous melamine, prompting authorities to clear shelves of dairy products, in addition to the earlier recall of tainted infant formula, the BBC reports. A watchdog group found the banned chemical in 10% of samples from three dairies, including the two largest. Milk suppliers are suspected of diluting milk and then adding melamine to make the protein content appear higher. More »

(Newser) - The toll from contaminated infant formula in China continues to mount alarmingly, with more than 6,000 babies poisoned and at least three killed, reports the BBC. Another 158 are suffering from acute kidney failure. The chemical melamine—which caused widespread pet deaths in contaminated food last year—has now been discovered in 22 brands of powdered milk. The chemical is used in plastics manufacturing, but it also makes the protein content of food appear higher. More »

(Newser) - Two Chinese babies have died, 53 are in serious condition and 1,253 others are sick from widespread milk powder contamination, the New York Times reports. The baby formula laced with melamine—the same additive behind last year’s US pet-food recall—was recalled just last week by Sanlu Group, though parents have been complaining since March. More »

(Newser) - Baby formula made in China has been found to contain melamine, the same toxic substance that contaminated pet food and poisoned thousands of US dogs and cats last year. None of the formula is in the general US food supply—but some may be on the shelves in American Asian and ethnic markets, USA Today reports. More »

(Newser) - Rescuers are frantically searching through rubble for survivors of a landslide in northern China that killed at least 34 people, the AP reports. Hundreds are feared missing after a reservoir of mining waste collapsed in the northern province of Shanxi, sending a wall of thick sludge sweeping through a valley and burying buildings. The mine owner and eight others have been detained. More »

(Newser) - A Chinese official admitted today that shoddy construction led to the collapse of some schools during last May’s earthquake, which killed thousands of children. “The structures were not necessarily reasonable and the materials were not necessarily strong enough,” the chairman of the government’s quake probe conceded, reports the BBC. More »

(Newser) - A man in China's Fujian province got a shock when he asked the heavens to settle a score, CCTV reports. When a friend demanded an old debt be repaid, the man brandished an iron bar at the sky, swore he had never borrowed the money, and asked the gods to strike him down if he was lying. Lightning promptly stuck the bar. The debtor is recovering in a local hospital. More »

(Newser) - Beijing wants to create a greener and more modern economy without losing its grip on society—but that leaves officials in a bind, Thomas L. Friedman writes in the New York Times . A green, knowledge-based economy requires personal freedoms that China may be unwilling to provide. But it must act, writes Friedman, for the oil that fueled China's boom is now pricey and its labor force is no longer Asia's cheapest. More »

(Newser) - A 5.7 earthquake struck an area near Panzhihua City in southwest China yesterday, killing at least 22 people and destroying 1,000 homes in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, reports the Los Angeles Times. Rescue teams were racing to the area to help at least 126 injured. Heavy rains and difficult terrain were delaying relief efforts, officials said. Some 70,000 people were killed in Sichuan province when a massive earthquake struck in May. More »