China’s southern business capital of Guangzhou, just north of Hong Kong, was rushing today to safeguard its water supply as a toxic spill from a smelter flowed toward the city of seven million people, state media said.

Hong Kong will stage a week-long Bruce Lee festival featuring film showings, a fan gathering and a tour of Lee sites to celebrate the unveiling of Lee’s statue at the territory’s Avenue of Stars – Hong Kong’s equivalent of Hollywood’s Walk of Fame – on November 27.

Chinese authorities have arrested dozens of government officials and others accused in a scheme to steal 7.4 billion yuan (€681m) from a state bank through fraudulent loans.

WORLD Health Organisation (WHO) experts in southern China were yesterday continuing their hunt for clues to the origin of a mysterious and deadly flu-like illness that has killed more than 80 people worldwide.