SW China forest fire extinguished

The forest fire that broke out on Thursday afternoon along the border between the towns of Longpan and Lashi in Yulong Naxi autonomous county, Yunnan province, was extinguished at about 11:30 am on Saturday, a county government information office official said. No casualties have been reported and it is not clear how much of the forest area has been affected, the official said. The site of the fire is 100 km from Yulong Snow Mountain, a famous scenic spot. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Shanxi

Evacuation follows reservoir collapse

The top of an irrigation water duct at Quting Reservoir in Hongtong county, Shanxi province, caved in around 7 am on Friday, leading to the partial collapse of its dam walls. Residents near the reservoir have been evacuated, said a local official on Saturday. No casualties have been reported, and residents downstream were evacuated. The Ministry of Water Resources has sent a work team to the scene to deal with the flooding.

Gansu

33 punished over coal-mine flood

A total of 33 colliery staff and civil servants have been punished over a cover-up of a coal-mine flood that left four people dead in Gansu province in January, local authorities announced on Saturday. Four people from the Jinyuan coal mine in Yugur autonomous county of Sunan, Zhangye city, where the accident happened, will be subject to criminal prosecution. The mine and those responsible for the accident were fined 8.8 million yuan ($1.4 million). The accident occurred on Jan 3. Mine owners attempted to conceal the accident, but a whistle-blower tipped off work-safety authorities on Jan 9.

Beijing

Fires kill 36 people during holiday

Across China 6,597 fires broke out from Feb 9 through Feb 15, leaving 36 people dead and 11 injured, fire officials at the Ministry of Public Security said in a statement on Friday. The fires caused property losses of 58 million yuan ($9.2 million) during the seven-day Spring Festival holiday, according to the statement.

New Year fuels bank-card business

China saw rapid growth in cross-bank card transactions during the Spring Festival holiday, statistics from national bank-card network operator China UnionPay showed on Saturday. The total value of domestic cross-bank card transactions rose 43 percent year-on-year during the holiday, which lasted from Feb 9 to 15, while overseas card transactions gained 33 percent during the period, China UnionPay said in an online statement. Card transactions in jewelry shops experienced a boom during the period, surging 119 percent year on year thanks to Valentine's Day, the statement said. Marked transaction growth was also recorded in tourism-related businesses, including ticket purchases at tourist attractions and spending in hotels, while card payments in shopping malls and supermarkets continued to show robust growth.

News Watch

China bracing for new cold snap

A cold front will sweep most parts of China on the weekend, according to the National Meteorological Center. Temperatures are expected to drop by 6 to 8 degrees C in most of North China, some regions in Southwest China and areas near the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers through Feb 19. Rain, sleet and some snow are forecast for Northwest China, areas south of the Yellow River and some areas in Northeast China.

Xinhua