Entertainment venues closed as China's Iron Lady attacks SARS.

(From Agence France Presse)

China's new health minister began work by warning officials to come clean over SARS or face punishment, as the Beijing government shut down entertainment venues in a bid to combat the virus.

China's battle against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is seen as key to overcoming the global health scare caused by the illness, which claimed new victims in Canada and Singapore and continued to sow fear across the world.

Vice Premier Wu Yi, known as China's Iron Lady, took office after the resignation Saturday of Zhang Wenkang who was blamed for covering up the outbreak, which first emerged in the southern province of …