Society

Details: By Yahoo.com; 01 February 2009; Hits: 1028

Revelers celebrating a birthday set off fireworks inside a bar in southern China, triggering a blaze that killed 15 people and injured 20, state media said.

The fire in Changle, a city in the southern province of Fujian, started just before midnight on Saturday, when 10 people lit the fireworks at their table, the Xinhua News Agency said. Fireworks are sold and set off everywhere during Lunar New Year festivities, which lasted all week and ended Saturday. Also known as Spring Festival, it is the country's biggest holiday.

The explosion "set the ceiling on fire and the entire place was soon engulfed in flames," Xinhua said, citing a city government spokesman.

The spokesman said it took 30 minutes to put out the fire and that 35 people were found in the bar. The 15 dead suffocated, he said. Three of the injured were in critical condition, while the other 17 were treated overnight at the Changle City Hospital, he said.

A city government official confirmed the incident when telephoned Sunday, but declined to give any other details.

Details: By David Cao; 31 January 2009; Hits: 1368

Traffic accident cause 7 chinese tourists dead in the USA

Accident spot

An accident cause 7 Chinese dead

Yesterday, a bus accident at least caused 7 Chinese tourists dead and 15 wounded on highway 40KMs from Hoover reservior in Arizona.

These tourists came from Shanghai by airplane. There are 5 seriously wounded tourists still being taken care in local hospital.

Details: By David Cao; 31 January 2009; Hits: 1042

The area around Bird's Nest stadium will be turned into a shopping and entertainment complex in the next few years, a state owned news agency said Friday.

known as the Beijing National Stadium, the showpiece of the Beijing Olympics has fallen into disuse since the end of the Olympic games. Paint is already peeling in some areas, and the only visitors these days are tourists who pay 50 yuan (about $7) to walk on the stadium floor and browse a pricey souvenir shop.

Plans call for the $450 million stadium to anchor a complex of shops and entertainment outlets in three to five years, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing operator Citic Group. The company will continue to develop tourism as a major draw for the Bird's Nest, while seeking sports and entertainment events.

The only confirmed event at the 91,000-seat stadium this year is Puccini's opera "Turandot," set for Aug. 8 — the one-year anniversary of the Olympics' opening ceremony. The stadium has no permanent tenant after Beijing's top football club, Guo'an, backed out of a deal to play there.

Details about the development plans were not available. A person who answered the phone at Citic Group on Friday said offices were closed for the Chinese New Year holiday.

A symbol of China's rising power and confidence, the stadium, whose knickname described its lattice of exterior steel beams, may never recoup its hefty construction cost, particularly amid a global economic slump. Maintenance of the structure alone costs 60 million yuan (about $8.8 million) annually, making it difficult to turn a profit, Xinhua said.