【英语简明新闻】Headline News 2016 February 22

Chinese foreign minister to visit U.S. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will pay an official visit to the United States from Tuesday to Thursday. The Chinese Foreign Ministry says Wang Yi will meet with US Secretary of State John Kerry and other senior officials to discuss bilateral ties and other regional and international issues of mutual concern. North Korea and the South China Sea are expected to top the agenda during Wang Yi's stay in Washington. The ministry says this is the first visit to the US by China's foreign minister in the year 2016, adding that China hopes the visit will help set the tone for the development of the China-US relationship in the new year. China takes lead in providing aid to Fiji after severe tropical cyclone Winston struck China has provided emergency humanitarian aid of 100 thousand U.S. dollars to Fiji, becoming the first country to do so in the aftermath of a severe tropical cyclone that has killed at least 20 people in the Pacific island nation. A Chinese embassy official says China will to whatever it takes to help the Fijian people rebuild their homes following the disaster. Cyclone Winston tore through Fiji late on Saturday with winds of up to 325 kilometers per hour. Rescue workers say the death toll could rise as some of the worst-hit outlying islands have yet to be reached. Fiji has declared a state of natural disaster for a period of 30 days as a massive cleanup is underway. IS claims responsibility for Deadly blasts in Syria, killing 150 The militant group calling itself the Islamic State is claiming responsibility for a series of deadly bombings which have ripped through central and southern Syria. Local media say around 60 were killed in the central city of Homes. Over 80 people were killed following a car bombing and a pair of suicide bombers in the southern part of Damascus. The attacks come as the international community continues to discuss ways to implement a ceasefire in Syria, which was meant to take effect on Friday after initial agreements were made. However, there are still discussions underway about how bring the fighting to an end. Infighting among Afghan Taliban claims 33 lives: Police More than 30 Taliban militants have reportedly been killed because of infighting between supporters and opponents of Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor in eastern Afghanistan. The police chief in Ghazni province says up to 33 militants have been killed over the past week during fighting to control the Nawa district, some 200 km south of Kabul. However, a Taliban spokesman has rejected this, saying there has been no fighting in the district. New Zealand's Christchurch marks fifth anniversary of fatal quakes New Zealand's second largest city, Christchurch, is marking the fifth anniversary of a major earthquake that killed 185 people in 2011. The city has been a construction site ever since the 6.3-magnitude quake struck the Canterbury region in one of the country's deadliest disasters. The commemoration comes amid consternation about accountability and insurance delays. Many residents are angered that no one has yet been held accountable for the buildings that collapsed, and not all home insurance claims have been settled. China disciplines 5,459 violators of thrift rules in January More than 5,400 Chinese officials have been punished for violating thrift and integrity rules in January. The country's top anti-graft body says the violations include unauthorized allowances and subsidies, illicit gift giving and receiving, unapproved use of public vehicles, as well as using public funds for banquets. China established a monthly reporting system in August 2013 to monitor the implementation of thrift and integrity rules for officials. Last year, nearly 50 thousand officials were reprimanded for violating these rules. 25 punished for illegal disposal of hazardous chemicals 25 people have been punished after they were implicated in the illegal disposal of hazardous chemicals that left four people dead in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong. The four were killed while transporting liquid chemical waste to an abandoned coal mine in Zhangqiu city last October. Authorities later found out that five local companies had been engaged in the illegal transfer of hazardous chemicals with two of the victims. The Ministry of Environmental Protection says a total of 25 suspects have been dealt with according to criminal procedures while several others remain at large. Production at the five local firms has also been suspended. Beijing to set up more air quality monitoring stations The city of Beijing is updating its air quality monitoring system by doubling the number of monitoring stations. The local environmental authority says more than 30 monitoring stations will be added at schools, villages and mountains.