Work safety administration's chief removed after Tianjin blasts

Head of the State Administration for Work Safety Yang Dongliang has been stripped of his position by the Communist Party’s Organization Department following massive explosions at the port city of Tianjin earlier this month, Reuters reported, citing state media. The party’s graft watchdog began an investigation into Yang last week following the blasts in a warehouse storing dangerous chemicals. The official government death toll from the blasts has risen to 139 people and 34 remain missing. The government has also confirmed there were about 700 tons of deadly sodium cyanide in the warehouse that blew up in proximity of a dozen residential apartment blocks.