Fire safety hot topic in Beijing

The Beijing municipal government will hold a press conference on fire safety today. The capital is under pressure to improve fire safety after a blaze killed 17 people and injured 24 in the Daxing district on April 25. Most of the victims were workers in an illegally constructed four-storey building housing many garment sweatshops.

Air France crash data to be revealed

Investigators are expected to release information about an Air France plane's plunge into the Atlantic Ocean in June 2009, which cost 228 lives. The data comes from two flight recorders, or black boxes, recovered from the sea bed early this month.

4,000 booths at nation's biggest book fair

The largest book fair in China opens in the city of Harbin, Heilongjiang, today. The 21st National Book Expo will run until Monday. About 100,000 business representatives from 31 provinces and municipalities, including Hong Kong, will promote publishers who have set up about 4,000 booths.

Japan's improving economic numbers

Economic figures from Japan are expected to show that the world's third-largest economy broke free from deflation in May, with prices rising 0.1 per cent year on year, after slipping by the same amount in April.

Fans wanted for charity football match

Kitchee chairman Ken Ng Kin is hoping Japanese legend Hidetoshi Nakata will spark a stampede tonight - into the Hong Kong Stadium - for a charity fund-raiser against Spanish side Villarreal. Only 4,000 tickets have been sold for the game, aimed at supporting relief efforts for the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. Ng needs at least 10,000 fans to cover costs before any serious money can be donated. 'Yes, tickets sales have been poor but most tickets are sold at the gates and I expect a large crowd will turn up,' Ng said.