Briefs, February 16, 2013

Fireworks sales drop 45pc in Beijing

Sales of fireworks - and the number of people injured by them - in Beijing dropped significantly during this year's Spring Festival holiday. A total of 313,000 cartons of fireworks were sold in the capital between Lunar New Year's Eve last Saturday and Thursday, down 45 per cent from the 564,000 cartons sold during the same period last year, according to figures from the Beijing municipal government yesterday. Mayor Wang Anshun thanked residents who cut back on fireworks or shunned them altogether during the holiday, given the smog crisis that has afflicted the city during the past month. Xinhua

Fifth meeting with African Union

China and the African Union held their fifth strategic dialogue in Beijing yesterday. Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said China was willing to expand co-operation with the AU in a range of development projects including infrastructure, agriculture, human resources and media to help advance Sino-African ties. AU Commission chairman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said Africa would like to draw on China's experiences in economic reform. Xinhua

Holiday fires kill 36, ministry says

Nearly 6,600 fires across the mainland between Lunar New Year's Eve and yesterday left 36 people dead and 11 injured, the Ministry of Public Security said. The fires caused property losses of 58 million yuan (HK$71.5 million) during the seven-day Spring Festival, it said. Meanwhile, 2,350 firefighters in Yunnan province were battling a forest fire that broke out on Thursday. Helicopters were involved in the operation. The fire erupted in the border areas between the towns of Longpan and Lashi in Yulong Naxi autonomous county, a county government information office official said. Xinhua