embassy

shanghaiist.com — Staff at the Libyan embassy in Beijing have raised the flag used by the National Transitional Council of the Libyan Republic as the regime led by strongman Muammar Gaddafi draws to a close. This was the flag used by the Kingdom of Libya which ruled the country for 19 years until a coup led by Gaddafi in 1969 successfully overthrew the king.

www.guardian.co.uk — Since the US embassy in Beijing began tweeting hourly pollution reports last year, many smog watchers have been horrified at the frequency of "bad" and "hazardous" readings. But this week, the depth and murkiness of the haze was so appalling that the automated system briefly entered the realm of black comedy with a "crazy bad" analysis of our air.

az-china.com — Rio Tinto: All foreign staff to leave China. BHP Billiton, similar. Monopolistic companies flee China fearing fallout from the establishment of a monopolistic competitor.

shanghaiscrap.com — A follow-up on the alleged kidnapping/ransom of a British national by a Chinese state-owned scrap firm in Ningbo. "If you ever find yourself in a tight spot, don’t count on foreign service officers to get you out of it. Fortunately, I’ve never been in a position where I’ve had to test such advice.