the state-run xinhua news agency quoted a source as saying a fire may have ignited a chemical called ammonium nitrate. more than 200 tons of the substance was stored near where the fire broke out. it was one of 40 kinds of hazardous chemicals in the warehouse. the explosions last wednesday killed at least 114 people. officials say 13 other dead are still unidentified. 65 people remain missing. residents are concerned about pollution from the blasts. chinese state-run broadcasters cctv quoted senior fire officials saying highly toxic sodium cyanide and nerve gas were detected tuesday in air samples. but xinhua on wednesday afternoon reported that specialists ruled out the possibility of nerve gas at the blast site. cctv deleted any mention of nerve gas from its website. >>> officials monitoring a volcano in southwestern japan are urging locals to stay alert. they've reported a very minor eruption and are warning a much bigger one could follow. officials are keeping an eye on the mountain. they say the eruption sent smoke 500 meters into the air. video they captured beforehand showed n

china's state-run xinhua news agency said two chinese tourists were confirmed dead. a japanese man is also among those hurt. the political situation in thailand has been unstable in recent years, however, this is the first such deadly attack since a military coup in may last year. >>> chinese officials say they've confirmed 114 deaths after huge explosions in and around a warehouse near the port last week. they say a massive amount of hazardous material was stored at the site. the city security authorities made this video. it says firefighters risked their lives to extinguish the blazes and reports that water sprayed by firefighters may have reacted with chemicals and triggered the blast. small explosions continue. city officials say 64 firefighters and six police officers are missing. [speaking foreign language] officials say about 700 tons of toxic sodium cyanide was at the site. chinese media say that was more than ten times more than the amount allowed to be stored there. people whose homes were destroyed are demanding government compensation. >> translator: we c

state-run xinhua news agency says dozens who were working at the nearby port are missing. firefighters carefuled tried to put out the flames throughout the night. they've been spraying sand and extinguishing agents as flammable chemicals are believed to remain at the site. it's expected to take some time for the full extent of the damage to become clear. >> translator: the rescue headquarters has set up five teams to treat the injured, clean up accident sites, relocate residents, maintain stability and investigate the cause of the accident. >> officials say they're still investigating what triggered the explosions. they say the first blast was equivalent to three tons of tnt exploding and the second to 21 tons. the two explosions occurred about 30 seconds apart. >>> japanese prime minister shinzo abe is poised to continue a war anniversary tradition undertaken by some of his predecessors. he will issue a statement about japan's role in world war ii. and its progress since then. abe told senior members of his liberal democratic party last friday that he'll release a stateme

state run xinhua news agency reports the landslide is near a man near shangluo in shaanxi province. four people have been rescued so far. ten others escaped on their own. >> translator: we heard the smashing rocks and ran away. some ran uphill and others down. we all panicked. the people who ran downhill were buried. >> chinese president xi jinping has ordered an all out rescue effort. but the steep terrain is hampering use of heavy machinery. fears of secondary disasters are also slowing down the rescue. >>> the head of the u.n. peacekeeping mission in the central african republic has been fired for his handling of sexual abuse allegations. >> the united nations deploys peacekeepers. we do so to protect the world's most vulnerable people and the world's most desperate. i will not tolerate any action that causes people to replace the trust with fear. >> ban said mission leader resigned as requested. u.n. peacekeepers have been deployed to the african republic where they have been fighting for years. some accused of abusing children. one accused of taking a 12-year-old from her home

the xinhua news agency demanded the emperor apologize for its country's past aggression. >> translator: the article is grossly disrespectful to the emperor and goes against the position previously expressed by the chinese government. >> reporter: the japanese government launched a strong protest with the chinese side through diplomatic channels. the news agency published the article on tuesday. it says the aggression japan initiated was the result of combined efforts by the emperor, the government, military and industrial conglomerates that nurtured and supported militarism. it says they cannot escape from their responsibilities. the article claims the current emperor's father was the chief agent responsible for japan's aggression. it says emperor shoa, hirohito, never expressed an apology to those victimized in the war and their citizens. it says the emperor akihito should melt ice with an apology and obtain trust through repentance. yoshida suga said the government does not think it is necessary for the emperor to apologize. >>> now for weather, the forecast calls for mostly overcast

the state-run xinhua news agency quotes a warehouse source as saying a fire started and may have caught on to a chemical called amoan yum nitrate. more than 200 tons of the substance were stored near where the fire broke out. but the report says the investigations are ongoing. it describes the situation at the blast site as complex. more than 40 kinds of hazardous chemicals were reportedly stored in the area. officials say 13 of the dead are still unidentified. 65 people remain missing. residents around the area are concerned about the hazards of pollution from the blasts. chinese state-run broadcaster cctv quoted fire officials as citing nerve gas and cyanide were detected tuesday from air samples. >>> thai police suspect the two separate explosions in bangkok were carried out by the same group. they say the bombs had similar features. the national police chief said the bombs were made from pipes and were of equal force. he suggested the bombings were intended to deal a blow to the military-led interim government. at least 20 people, including foreigners, died in monday's explosion in

the state-run xinhua news agency has reported that vice president lee yuan chow and another high-ranking official have arrived. they visited an arts and essay exhibition created by local schoolchildren. officials at the meeting are expected to discuss a new five-year plan of basic economic goals. they'll likely talk about how to promote stable growth while carrying out structural reforms in the face of a slowing economy. president xi has been trying to push forward with anticorruption measures. the communist party had earlier announced it expelled a close aide of president hu jintao and a top military officer. the moves come as senior party members close to xi are assuming important posts in beijing and other regions. >>> a u.s. veteran who took a flag from a famous japanese battleship is sending the war souvenir back home. the former marine says it should be back in its rightful place aboard the "mikasa." the 92-year-old handed the piece over to members of a u.s. veterans support group. he asked them to make sure it gets back safely to japan. the man says he took the souvenir from the "

the number killed has risen to 114, according to the chinois news agency -- the xinhua news agency. investigators are trying to confirm reports that the warehouse may have held as much of sodium cyanide. the tianjin port remains closed. businesses have been severely disrupted. looking ahead, an app-titude for making money. behind the scene at japanese makers -- game makers and those tricks they used to turn a profit. australia's largest free college company beats estimates. we will speak to a rising -- to aurizon when we return. ♪ welcome back. you are watching "asia edge." ustralia's leading rail freight company has beat estimates. despite having warned of flat call volumes and -- coal volumes, it said it would deliver on its financial targets. investors truly liking that. -- investors surely liking that. i would like to welcome aurizon ceo lance hockridge. it's great to welcome you, sir. can you tell us, despite some of the headwinds on the horizon, with falling commodity prices, why you were able to beat estimates here? lance: it has really been around what we call the transforma

the number killed has risen to 214 according to xinhua news agency. 95 are unaccounted for.tors are trying to confirm reports that the warehouse may have held 700 tons of sodium cyanide. closed.port remains businesses are disrupted. francine: japan has raised eruption warnings for the volcano on mount kyushu. it is close to the sendai nuclear plant at people have been advised to be ready to leave. manus: malaysia's currency has risen, battled by the yuan. slumping oil prices and the looming fed hike. the ringgit has hit lows not seen since 2008. malaysia's reserve bank has decided against capital controls. francine: the latest from tokyo, next. ♪ francine:, welcome to "the pulse," live from london. japan's economy contracted last quarter as consumers cut spending and exports tumbled. 1.6 percent, fell ending two quarters of growth. that was better than estimates of a one point percent drop. -- 1.8% drop. manus: brett miller joins us from tokyo. what do you make of this data, what does it say that abe's challenges are? abe has challenges ahead. getting consumers to spend has

the chemical material inside, unknown and dangerous according to xinhua, a state run news agency.inhua reporting firefighters are now suspended from tending to the billowing flames in fear the mysterious chemicals might pose a further threat. this, as the death toll continues rising. dozens now dead including firefighters and more than 500 injured. the house collapsed, we didn't know what happened, says one survivor. during my live report from outside the hospital, tempers flared. a group of apparently distraught survivors along with security officers demanding the s to see pictures on my phone, forcing me off the air. the massive explosions i kw equivalent to a small earthquake. the aftermath found far and wide, buildings destroyed and cars completely charred more than a mile away from the blast site. right now, thousands of people are spending the night in shelters. these normally densely populated neighborhoods, as you can see, are pretty much empty right now. there's thousands of people who live in these apartments alone. it just goes to show the scope of a disaster like this

the chemical material inside unknown and dangerous according to xinhua state run news agency reportingirefighters are now suspended from tending to the building flames in fear the mysterious chemicals might pose a further threat. this as the death toll continues rising. dozens now dead including firefighters and more than 500 injured. "the house collapsed. we didn't know what happened," says one survivor. during my live report from outside the hospital, tempers flared. a group of apparently distraught survivors along with security officers demand iing to see the pictures on my phone, forcing me off the air. police don't stop them. emotions running high. the massive explosions equivalent to a small earthquake according to a china data center. when you look around at all the devastation here it's really remarkable. the aftermath found far and wide, buildings destroyed, and cars are completely charred more than a mile away from the blast site. >> unbelievable. thank you. that's our cnn's will rippley on the scene for us. thank you, will. >>> so coming up for us, if you think having your l

over the weekend, the state-run xinhua news agency revealed more news about the detention of officialss regulatory commission. executives from a brokerage house and a financial journalist who supposedly wrote a fake article about the government intentions to stop intervening in the market. so this and other measures really have been caught heavy handed by some critics and wrong headed. they say what china needs is not this knee-jerk reaction, but more market-orient red forms that are more conducive to keeping a healthy economic growth in the long run. >> cnn's steven jiang keeping an eye on asian markets, thanks to you. >>> never before have three major hurricanes developed in one ocean simultaneously but it is happening today. pedram javaheri joins us more with more on this and why it's happening. >> it's an incredible event. when you think about all the typhoons and cyclones and everything we have touched on in the past. we have seen even three or four at the same time but never before have they been category 3 or stronger. we have that in place right now one west of the islands of h

now, chinese sensors immediately took down their post, and then xinhua put out its version.e can be sure that the death totals are eely understated because of the magnitude of what happened. clearly, there are more casualties than beijing is willing to admit to. >> will there be economic repercussions from this? >> this is a bad time for the party. you have the devaluation of the currency, which is spooking the people. you have the stock market coming down. you have the economy in very bad shape, much worse than beijing says it is. this is not a good thing for china right now, especially because if it changes people's psychology, and that could reverberate across the country, and you know what happens to china doesn't stay in china. it's going to affect the global economy, as it already has. we have seen in the last couple days with this devaluation. >> always a pleasure to see you. thank you for your time. >>> i want to get back to the story, the secretary of state, john kerry's trip to cuba tomorrow to formally open the u.s. embassy. he'll meet with the cuban foreign minis