China Sunday became the latest country to declare war on plastic bags in a drive to save energy and protect the environment. Under new regulations, flimsy bags under 0.025 millimetres thick are banned and shopkeepers must charge for carrier bags. Those found breaking the law face fines and could have their goods confiscated. Shoppers in downtown Beijing and in Internet chatrooms seemed largely sympathetic to the idea. China, which goes through 3 billion plastic bags a day, is increasingly aware of the damage to the environment caused by its breakneck growth.

China will become the latest country to outlaw ultra-thin plastic bags, when a ban takes effect on Sunday, in a bid to cut pollution and save resources. The ban, announced by the State Council in January, halts the production of bags that are thinner than 0.025 mm and forbids their use in supermarkets and shops. It also requires retailers to charge customers for thicker plastic bags not covered by the ban. Environmentalists say plastic bags can take up to 1,000 years to disintegrate and pose threats to marine life, birds and other animals.

Pollution levels rose sharply in Beijing on Tuesday, just 2- months before the Olympic Games in the city, prompting authorities to warn residents with respiratory problems to stay inside. Air quality in the capital was rated as "heavily polluted" due to a sandstorm from Mongolia, the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau said. The bureau advised people susceptible to particles in the air to avoid outdoor activities. Such sandstorms usually hit the city in March and April.

The Chinese centre One Telecom International Holding Limited has offered to install very low consuming and zero power search LED solar lights at different places in Karachi, especially parks under Pak-China joint venture. A delegation of the company, led by its Deputy General Manager Yu Ping, called on acting City Nazim Nasrin Jalil at her office here on Saturday. The delegation informed acting City Nazim: "The LED solar lights not only consumes very low energy, but also flashes provide sharp lighting and has a life span of 20 years."

>> The Zambian Parliament has amended the Mines and Minerals Act allowing the government to levy higher taxes on mining companies by abolishing all existing agreements. Mining companies operating

With a smile on her tanned face, skiier Kazumi Furukawa can vividly recall the time three years ago she stood here on Mount Zao and looked down at fir trees turned into glittering crystals. "The sky was cobalt blue and I could see the tiny snow crystals on the tips of the tree branches," Furukawa, 56, remembers. But these days the natural phenomenon is growing rarer and scientists say the culprit is beyond Japan's control -- industrial pollution from China.

A major earthquake and two aftershocks hit China's north-western region of Xinjiang on Friday morning, the China Earthquake Administration said, but there were no initial reports of casualties or dama

Chinese group here to identify land for industrial zone