SW. China forest fire put out with joint efforts by servicemen, civilians

After nine days a major forest fire in southwest China's Yunnan Province has been put out with the efforts of more than 6,500 fire fighters and civilians.

The forest fire, which began in Anning City on March 29, was finally extinguished Friday morning, at 11:00 a.m.

The blaze burned 1,333 hectares, but caused no casualties nor damage to residential houses, according to official reports. All 700-plus villagers who had been forced to evacuate have returned to their homes.

Premier Wen Jiabao and other senior officials including Hui Liangyu, Zhou Yongkang and Hua Jianmin have shown great concern over the blaze, ordering rescuers to ensure the safety of local people and property.

Source: Xinhuancy DPA, the BND once admitted that one of its agents had worked alongside the U.S. military at its operations command center during the Iraq war.

Source: Xinhua