China bans free plastic bags

China is banning free plastic bags common at shops and supermarkets and ordering customers to be charged for any they use, the government said Wednesday.

The rules, which take effect June 1, come as the country tries to tackle a significant source of litter, a statement on the government's Web site said.

The bags also are banned from all public transportation, including buses, trains and planes and from airports and scenic locations, the government said.

Companies caught breaking the new rules face fines and possible forfeiture of goods, the government said.

Shops have been instructed to mark the price of the plastic bags clearly and not fold them into the cost of other items.

Environmental organizations, including Greenpeace, praised China's move, and Christopher Flavin, president of Worldwatch Institute, an independent research organization in Washington, said "China is ahead of the U.S. with this policy," AP reported.

The Chinese use up to 3 billion plastic shopping bags a day.

Often, the flimsy bags are used once and discarded, adding to waste in a country grappling with air and water pollution as a result of rapid economic transformation, officials said.

"Our country consumes a large amount of plastic bags. While convenient for consumers, the bags also lead to a severe waste of resources and environmental pollution because of their excessive use and low rate of recycling," the statement at the Web site Gov.cn said. "The ultra-thin bags are the main source of 'white' pollution as they can easily get broken and end up as litter."

The government statement added, "We should encourage people to return to carrying cloth bags, using baskets for their vegetables."

More durable plastic bags still will be allowed for sale by markets and shops, The Associated Press reported.

When the ban goes into effect, China will join countries such as Uganda and South Africa, the statement said.

Bangladesh banned plastic bags four years ago when officials realized they blocked drains and led to flooding. Since then, customers have taken to using bags made of jute or cloth for shopping.

Last year, San Francisco, California, became the first U.S. city to outlaw plastic checkout bags at supermarkets.

Beijing unveils Olympic 'Watercube'

Known officially as the National Aquatics Center, the Watercube has been dubbed the "cool" building of the Games. The building's design and its translucent, blue-toned outside skin make it look like a cube of bubbles -- like "bubble wrap."

Forty-two gold medals well be handed out at the Watercube during the Olympics, which start August 8.

It was the public's first look at the building after a little more than three years of construction.

The venue has 6,000 permanent and 11,000 temporary seats. Like the 91,000-seat National Stadium -- the "Bird's Nest," which will be completed in March -- both are seen as works of art and will anchor the Olympic Green area.

While some argue the gargantuan "Bird's Nest" could become a white elephant, the Watercube has been built to be converted to a shopping area and leisure center with tennis courts, retail outlets, nightclubs and restaurants.

"This building was designed for use after the games," said John Pauline of PTW Architects, one of the lead architects on the Watercube. "We were looking at 30 or 40 years from now."

The outside skin is made of a Teflon-like material -- ETFE (ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene). Composed of two layers, it's separated by an interior passage that allows the building to breathe like a greenhouse.

The Watercube was built at a cost of more than US$200 million (euro136 million), with donations of US$110 million (euro75 million) from people in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

There will be 37 venues for the Olympics. Beijing is the site of 31 -- 12 new, 11 renovated, and eight temporary structures. Most are located in four clusters in the north of the city. Five more venues for soccer and sailing are located outside Beijing, and equestrian events will be held in Hong Kong.

Organizers will stage a swim meet in the Watercube on Friday to test the facilities

BEIJING, China (AP) -- China plans to launch its third manned space mission that will feature its first-ever space walk during 2008, and also send up 15 rockets and 17 satellites, Huang Qiang, secretary general of the Commission of Science Technology and Industry for National Defense, was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency.

He described Shenzhou 7, which will carry three astronauts into space, as a priority for this year.

China has denied any link between the manned mission and its staging of the Olympics, which start August 8, although both events are a source of huge national pride.

Huang was also quoted as saying that nearly 30 new technologies would be used during the Olympics, including the Olympic torch, security system and meteorological services provided by a new satellite.

In 2003, China became only the third country in the world after the United States and Russia to send a human into orbit. It followed with a two-man mission in 2005.

It launched a moon probe last year about one month after rival Japan blasted its own lunar orbiter into space.

China braces for Olympic wedding blitz

The Chinese government is bracing itself for a rush of people wishing to marry when the summer Olympics kick off on August 8 -- because the number carries a special significance in Chinese culture.

The number "eight" (ba) is considered auspicious by many in China because it sounds like the word for "wealth" and "fortune," the news agency Xinhua said.

"We've long been prepared for a stampede of newly-wed couples this year," Guo Xusheng, spokesman with the Beijing Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau, told Xinhua.

Every year, many couples choose the 8th of August -- the eighth month of the year -- hoping "eighth of the eighth" luck will rub off on them, the news agency said.

Nearly 3,400 couples got hitched on the day last year, some waiting all night outside the marriage registration office in Beijing.

This year, the civil affairs bureau is accepting online reservations for marriage registrations for the day.

The significance that numbers carry in Chinese culture often dictate various aspects of the people's lives there.

And of all the numbers, eight is considered one of the luckiest. Beijing, itself, opted to kick off the Olympic Games at 8 p.m. on 8/8/08.