Man sought in dinner bombing

Chinese police were searching for a man suspected of intentionally setting off explosives at a restaurant where he had invited dozens of guests, killing nine people and injuring 25, a police statement said.

The explosion at the House of Xiaoxiang restaurant in south China’s Hunan province Sunday night occurred as 30 guests gathered for a dinner hosted by a villager involved in a local dispute, a statement from the local Public Security Bureau said.

The man from Wenjiashi township in Hunan’s Liuyang city allegedly told guests he wanted to treat them to dinner and apologize for the dispute, which involved “family matters,” the statement said. It did not specify what the dispute was about or give the man’s name.