CHINA

Apple Inc has announced a plan for a US$300-million clean energy fund in China, working with suppliers to invest in renewable energy projects that could power close to 1 million homes. The Beijing government has made cutting pollution a key priority, putting pressure on local and international firms to help reduce high levels of smog in cities and clean up the country’s waterways and polluted soil. The investment from the iPhone maker will be made along with 10 suppliers including Pegatron Corp and Wistron Corp over a four-year period. An explosion at an industrial park in Sichuan province has left 19 people dead and 12 others injured, according to the state news agency Xinhua. Authorities in Jiang’an county said the blast happened at a chemical plant run by Yibin Hengda Technology. Photos on social media showed a huge fire and plumes of smoke rising from the facility. The cause was not known.