8 dead in fireworks shop blast at start of China’s Lunar New Year holiday

The Ministry of Emergency Management has warned officials of the urgent need to prevent a repeat of the fireworks explosion that killed eight people in Jiangsu province, eastern China, on Sunday, the start of the country’s nine-day Lunar New Year holiday. The ministry convened an emergency meeting following the blast at a fireworks shop in Dongan village in Donghai county, which happened after a villager “improperly set off fireworks near the store”. According to state broadcaster CCTV, two...