Source - Bangkok Post (Eng)
June 07, 2006

Beijing-China unleashed the Yangtze River upon the world's largest
hydroelectric project yeserday by blowing up the temporary dam used during
construction.

The 2.25km-long Three Gorges Dam now holds back the full force of
the river and assumes its role in controlling the deadly floods that have
regularly ravaged China's farming heartland.

A series of blasts sent the 30-metre top section of the colfferdam
tumbling into the river.Specialists sent electric pulses into the water to
drive away fish ahead of the blast.Ultrasonic monitoring showed 90% of the
fish fled.

The Three Gorges Dam was completed last month but its power
generation system will not be finished until 2008.

It is designed to lproduce 22.4 million kilowatts of
electricity,more than enough to light up Shanghai for a day.

At its full height,waters will rise to 175 metres,although experts
claim that no one really knows how much they will increase because of
silting and the area's irregular geography.

More than one million people have been relocated to make way for
the dam and its reservoir.

Nine killed in wedding boming
A wedding in northest China ended in tragedy when the bride's
jealous former husband blew himself up at the ceremony,killing himself and
eight others.

Lu Wenfeng strapped himself with explosives and ignited them after
arriving at the wedding on Saturday in Ji county of Heilongjiang province.

It was unclear if the bride,Li Jingling,who had been married to Lu
from 2000 to 2005,or the groom were among those killed or injured.

Explosives are widely available in the Chinese countryside,where
they are used for construction purposes.

Beijing to clean up its nightlife
Beijing is to clean up its bustling nightlife ahead of the 2008
Olympics to stamp out drugs,prostitution an dunder-aged drinking in city
bars and dance halls.

In an effort to curb "unhealthy"tendencies,entertainment venues
will be rated A,B,or C in accordance with how out by city police and
commerce and cultural authorities.

However,the new rules will not affect bath houses and massage
parlours,traditional hot spots for prostitution.

In a three-month crackdown that ended this month,139 nightspots
were shut down in the capital,while 467 people working in 46 venues were
arrested for prostitution and drugs offences.AGENCIES

< Back