Special report: 2008 Olympic Games

    BEIJING, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Crackers and fireworks will be banned across Beijing from July 1 to Oct. 8 for safety considerations before and during the Olympics and the Paralympics, the city's safety administration said Monday.

    According to new regulations published on the administration's website, Beijing's cracker and fireworks ban, formerly applicable only in the city proper, will be extended to outer areas beyond the Fifth Ring Road.

    Crackers and fireworks are banned in Beijing's city proper except for the festive week of the Chinese Lunar New Year. But the festive explosives are almost always available in outer Beijing, where dealers have distribution and storage facilities. The new regulations will request them to suspend operation during the ban and put away all their stocks at warehouses designated by the s...

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