Lead over India widens as China powers ahead

Commercially available rice imported into the U.S. contains levels of lead far higher than what's considered safe, according to a study by the American Chemical Society and reported by Jason Palmer of the BBC.

South Korea marched into the Asian Cup quarter-finals with a 4-1 defeat of an obdurate India in their final Group C game at a sodden Al Gharafa Stadium on Tuesday.Beneath pouring rain, the Koreans established a quick-fire 2-0 lead through Ji Dong-Won and Koo Ja-Cheol before striker Sunil Chhetri brought India back into the game from the penalty spot.Ji swiftly restored the Taeguk Warriors' two-goal advantage but minnows India's stout defending meant the Koreans had to wait until the 81st minute for Son Heung-Min to net their fourth goal.

By Evariste Lefeuvre: There were a lot of jitters after the publication of several key Asian PMI indices. A rebound in the Far East would drive Western GDPs and equity earnings on the upside. The export channel of GDP may benefit from better-than-expected growth in Asia. But will it lead to an over-performance of Asian stocks?

At first glance, the relative indifference of the government of China to climate change makes sense—environmental protection is a “superior good,” something countries worry about when they get rich and don’t need to worry about people living in horrible shacks eating low-protein diets. On the other hand, everything I’ve ever seen about the economic impact of climate change suggests it will be much more devastating to poor countries than to rich ones.

Coal will nearly overtake oil as the dominant energy source by 2017, and only a drop in world gas prices could curb the use of the dirtier fossil fuel in the absence of high carbon prices, the International Energy Agency said. The IEA, the energy agency for developed countries, said earlier this year that without a major shift away from coal, average global temperatures could rise by 6 degrees Celsius by 2050, leading to devastating climate change.

Arch-rivals India and Pakistan face off in a combustible field hockey clash as Chinese women's world number one Wang Xin guns for Asian Games badminton gold.On Saturday, Day 8 of the multi-sport showpiece, hosts China have an unassailable lead at the top of the medals table with 127 gold to South Korea's 43 and Japan's 24.Iran has jumped to eight after recent success in weightlifting and taekwondo, while Indonesia picked up its third gold Saturday in the 250m men's dragon boat.