Explosion at fireworks factory in southern China kills 9, injures 26
BEIJING – An explosion at a fireworks factory in the southern Chinese province of Hunan killed nine people and injured 26 others, the state-run Xinhua news agency said on June 17.
The blast occurred at around 8.23am local time on June 16 at a factory owned by the Hunan Shanzhou Fireworks Company in a mountainous area just over 60km north of the city of Changde.
Videos published by state media showed black and grey smoke rising into the sky as fireworks exploded out of a raging fire while emergency services surveyed the scene.
A team from the Ministry of Emergency Management was also sent to the site, Xinhua said.
The blast comes just weeks after an explosion at a chemical plant in north-eastern China that killed at least five people, and highlights the risk in storage of hazardous and flammable chemicals in the world's top manufacturer despite years of crackdown on unsafe practices.
Two massive explosions at warehouses in the port city of Tianjin in 2015 killed over 170 people and injured 700, prompting the government to overhaul its chemical storage laws.
It took firefighters more than 20 hours to contain the June 16 blaze, according to local media.
The governor of Hunan province, Mr Mao Weiming, visited the site on June 17 and urged the local authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of the explosion and hold those responsible to account, local media reported.
Hunan Shanzhou Fireworks Company, headquartered in Changde, was established in 2017 and employs 95 people, according to company information tracker Qichacha.
It produces the chemicals used for making explosives, detonators and fireworks. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Bolsonaro's son and allies accused in Brazil spy agency case, source says
FILE PHOTO: Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro reacts as he leaves the Federal Police headquarters after testifying, in Brasilia, Brazil, June 5, 2025. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File photo BRASILIA - Former President Jair Bolsonaro's son and allies have been formally accused by Brazilian federal police after a probe into the alleged surveillance of authorities by spy agency ABIN during Bolsonaro's time in office, a police source and local media said. A police statement confirmed that the investigation had concluded but did not mention names of suspects. Local media and a police source said earlier that the former president had also been formally accused in the case. Later, however, local media said he had not been accused. A second police source said he has not been formally accused because he is already a defendant for the same crime - being part of a criminal organization - in a separate case about an attempted coup. According to the police statement, the investigation is centered on "the illegal monitoring of public authorities and the production of fake news, using ABIN's systems." A final report has been submitted to the Supreme Court but is under seal. Carlos Bolsonaro, a Rio de Janeiro city councilor, was formally accused of using information obtained illegally through the scheme to attack targets via social media, according to the first police source. In a series of posts on social media, the younger Bolsonaro said the accusation aimed to harm him ahead of 2026 elections, adding that "even talking became a crime". Jair Bolsonaro's lawyer told Reuters that he was not aware of the case and had not seen the police report. Alexandre Ramagem, the former head of ABIN under Bolsonaro's administration, and Luiz Fernando Correa, the current head of the agency, were also formally accused, according to the police source who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue. Ramagem is believed to have set up the scheme while Correa is suspected of obstructing the police investigation during President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's administration, the source said. Ramagem said in a post on X that he will analyze the accusations once he has access to the police report. He called the probe an act of "creativity addressed to the press". ABIN declined to comment. The parallel structure in ABIN set up under the Bolsonaro government monitored at least three Supreme Court justices and a former Lower House speaker, according to Supreme Court documents. It will now be up to the prosecutors' office to decide whether to file charges. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Business Times
3 hours ago
- Business Times
Made in Vietnam: Hanoi cracks down on fake goods as US tariffs loom
[HANOI] Since the United States accused Vietnam of being a hub for counterfeit goods, Tran Le Chi has found it increasingly hard to track down her favourite fake Chanel T-shirts, Gucci sunglasses and Louis Vuitton handbags. As Vietnam's government tries to head off US President Donald Trump's threatened 46 per cent tariff, it has launched a crackdown on fake products – in part to show responsiveness to US concerns. Now there are streets filled with shuttered shops in Hanoi and rows of closed stalls at Saigon Square shopping mall, a major clothing market in Ho Chi Minh City – the kind of places Chi used to go to buy her latest gear. 'The clothes help me look trendy,' Chi said. 'Why would I care if they are fake or not?' Chi – a betting agent for an illegal game known as lo-de, where punters predict the last two lotto numbers of the standard daily draw – said she had never paid more than US$40 per 'designer' item. 'Only the super-rich people can afford the real ones,' she added. 'They are not for people like us.' A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 8.30 am Asean Business Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies. Sign Up Sign Up Communist-run Vietnam is a manufacturing powerhouse that produces clothing and footwear for international brands, with the United States as its number-one export market in the first five months of 2025. But it also has a thriving market for counterfeit goods. In a report published by the US Trade Representative in January, Saigon Square shopping mall was flagged as a major market for the sale of fake luxury items including handbags, wallets, jewellery and watches. The report noted government efforts to stamp out the trade, but said 'low penalties have had little deterrent effect' and 'counterfeit products remain rampant'. Shop owner Hoa, a pseudonym to protect her identity, said almost all of the fake Nike, Lacoste and North Face products she sells in her shop in Hanoi's old quarter are from China – but tagged with a 'Made in Vietnam' label to make them seem authentic. She insists that all her customers know what they are getting. 'My clients are those who cannot afford authentic products,' Hoa said. 'I have never cheated anyone.' Rolex watches, Marshall speakers Hanoi and Washington are in the thick of trade talks, with Vietnam doing everything it can to avoid the crushing 46 per cent tariff that could come into force in early July. Vietnam's trade ministry ordered authorities in April to tighten control over the origin of goods after the Trump administration accused the country of facilitating Chinese exports to the United States and allowing Beijing to get around tariffs. The public security ministry also said there would be a three-month-long crackdown – until mid-August – on counterfeit goods. Nguyen Thanh Nam, deputy head of the agency for domestic market surveillance and development, said last week that in the first five months of the year, more than 7,000 cases of counterfeit products worth more than US$8 million had been discovered. He added that 1,000 fake Rolex watches had been seized from the Saigon Square shopping mall. Mounds of vitamins, cosmetics and sweets – seemingly also counterfeits – have appeared at waste grounds outside cities including Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Danang, while fake electronics including Marshall speakers and smartwatches have been confiscated. Police have not specified the origin of the goods, but Vietnam was South-east Asia's biggest buyer of Chinese products in 2024, with a bill of US$161.9 billion. Nguyen Khac Giang, visiting fellow at the Iseas-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, said that although there were other aims of the drive, including improving Vietnam's business environment and formalising the retail sector, 'the campaign plays a role in Vietnam's strategy to appease the US'. 'The effort partly reflects Vietnam's intent to show responsiveness to US concerns,' he said. But for Hoa, her livelihood is on the line. Her shop has been closed for almost two weeks and she has no idea how to restart the business. 'I have sold these sorts of clothes for a decade and experienced no problem at all. Now they crack down on us, it's hard to figure out how I continue,' she said. AFP
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Singtel-owned Optus to pay $83 million fine over alleged sales misconduct
Optus was accused of 'unconscionable conduct' in its sales tactics with hundreds of consumers. PHOTO: OPTUS SINGAPORE - Australia's competition watchdog said on June 18 that Singtel subsidiary Optus has reached a settlement over allegations of 'unconscionable conduct' in selling telecom goods and services to hundreds of consumers. The settlement includes a A$100 million (S$83.4 million) fine, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said in a statement, adding that the federal court is yet to determine whether the penalty is appropriate. The legal proceedings, filed in the Federal Court of Australia, accused Optus of acting unconscionably and conducting inappropriate sales practices in dealings with around 429 customers between August 2019 and July 2023. The penalty is fully provided for in the previous financial year ended March 31, 2025, Optus said. Under the terms of the enforceable undertaking, Optus said it is taking steps to address the misconduct. These include making changes to its retail processes, systems and sales incentives. It added that it has apologised to affected customers and is providing them with remediation. Sales misconduct In October 2024, Singtel announced that ACCC had lodged legal proceedings against Optus for allegedly selling mobile phones and plans to vulnerable customers, including individuals with diminished cognitive capacity and learning disabilities. Sales staff allegedly manipulated credit check results without consumers' knowledge to sell mobile phones and plans they could not afford, as well as failed to explain the terms and conditions in an understandable manner. The company was also accused of engaging debt collectors to pursue customers, despite knowing that their contracts were created fraudulently. It allegedly referred and sold consumers' debt to third-party debt collection agencies. This caused many consumers to suffer financial harm, incurring thousands of dollars of debt, as well as non-financial harm, such as shame, fear and emotional distress about the debts or from being pursued by debt collectors, said ACCC chairperson Gina Cass-Gottlieb. In response to the allegations, Optus said it was addressing affected customers by providing refunds, waiving outstanding debts and allowing them to keep their mobile phones. Shares of Simgtel were up 0.8 per cent, or three cents, to $3.96 as at 11.13am on June 18. THE BUSINESS TIMES, REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
