BEIJING/SHANGHAI Amid a slowing economy and a slew of mixed signals from the environment ministry, China's embattled local governments are facing a dilemma: do they go all out to curb smog this winter, or do their best to keep factories humming?
* Industrial waste such as steel slag increasingly being targetted
ANSHAN, China/MANILA China's self-styled war on pollution is extending to a new front: the solid waste that makes up thousands of slag heaps around the country, a byproduct of its record steel output.
* Safety inspections curb output at China's coal mines (Recasts, adds analyst comment, updates prices)
BEIJING Attempts by Chinese companies and local governments to conceal pollution violations are "extremely stupid" and will not succeed, China's environment ministry said on Friday after a spate of cover-ups in the country.
MANILA/BEIJING Chinese steel producers ran up losses for the first time in three years this month as prices slid into a bear market on weak demand and near-record supply, ending years of solid profit margins.
BEIJING/MANILA China's imports of steelmaking ingredient iron ore fell to a four-month low in October, customs data showed on Thursday, reflecting slower shipments from major suppliers even as Chinese demand remained strong ahead of winter production curbs.
BEIJING/MANILA Production cuts ordered for this winter by China's top steelmaking city Tangshan look less restrictive than last year, analysts said, potentially keeping output high even as the city seeks to fight pollution by cutting smokestack smog.
BEIJING/MANILA Steelmakers in Tangshan, China's biggest steel producing city, are boosting output as local officials have failed to issue precise orders on output curbs even though the city's winter pollution restrictions took effect two weeks ago.
BEIJING/SHANGHAI China's eastern region of Yangtze River Delta is working on a new integrated winter pollution plan similar to the one in the country's northern areas, officials of two local environment bureaus in the region told Reuters.
British opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn moved a step closer to paving the way for another referendum on European Union membership by trying to use parliament to grab control of Brexit from Prime Minister Theresa May.