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The death toll from an explosion at a fireworks plant in China rises to 37

BEIJING (AP) — The death toll from an explosion at a fireworks plant this week in central China has risen to 37, state media reported Friday.

Local authorities said one person remains missing, according to China’s official news agency Xinhua.

The blast occurred Monday at a fireworks plant in the city of Changsha in Hunan province. Authorities have said they are still investigating the cause and have ordered the halt of all fireworks manufacturing in the surrounding area.

Initial reports also said that more than 60 people were injured.

State media China Daily said that the plant was operated by the Huasheng Fireworks Manufacturing and Display Co. in the Changsha-administered, county-level city of Liuyang, a prominent fireworks powerhouse in the country.

Liuyang has a long history of fireworks production. The Guinness World Records organization said that the first accurately documented firework, the Chinese firecracker, was attributed to Li Tian, a monk who lived near Liuyang during China’s Tang dynasty dating to around 618 to 907 C.E.

In February, China reported two deadly explosions at fireworks shops around the Lunar New Year period.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
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