IN BRIEF (Page 4)

Beijing

Ministry: Smog starting to ease

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and neighboring provinces will see the ongoing severe smog gradually ease since Wednesday night, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said. Pollution levels are expected to stay at light to good levels for five days. Anyang, Henan province, has experienced the longest and most severe smog during the ongoing bout, the ministry said, adding that inspectors have exposed problems such as the weak implementation of emergency measures by the city government and excessive discharging of pollutants from companies.