Massive Blasts Hit North China City

There's been a huge explosion in the port city of Tianjin, southeast of Beijing. At the time of broadcast at least 17 people have been killed and hundreds more injured. We examine the economic implications of the explosion with Raymond Lee, Editor of the BBC Chinese Service, who was born and raised in the city.

India is seeking nearly 100 million dollars in damages from Nestle over claims that its hugely popular Maggi noodles contained illegal levels of lead and other chemicals. The noodles were banned earlier this year - after tests by Indian food authorities suggested the noodles were unsafe - but Nestle says other tests prove the noodles are completely safe. The Bombay High Court is expected to give a verdict later today, Thursday. The BBC's Tony Bonsignore spoke to Davinder Sharma, a food policy analyst in Delhi.

In recent months there has been a chronic drought in California. One big problem is the natural evaporation of the water in reservoirs. One solution - cover the water with 96 million little black balls. So how do they work? We speak to Sydney Chase, CEO of one of the companies making the balls.

All this and more discussed with our guests on either side of the Pacific - Stephanie Studer, Seoul bureau chief for The Economist and August Turak - entrepreneur, executive and author, who joins us from North Carolina.

(Photo: Smoke billows from the site of an explosion in Tianjin, in northern China, on August 13, 2015. Credit: Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images)