OLYMPIC SIGHTSEERS Students from the earthquake zone in Sichuan Province, who were transferred to Bejing because their own schools were ruined, visit a subway line that extends from Beijing's northern suburbs to main Olympic venues

China has a timetable for rebuilding the medical care system in southwest areas hit by a massive quake last month, Health Minister Chen Zhu said.

Chen spoke at a meeting attended by health department heads from across the country, which pledged to complete the reconstruction of medical facilities by the end of this year.

According to the timetable, by the end of July, basic medical care services should be available to all people living in resettlement areas and most of the quake-hit towns.

By the end of September, medical centers should be set up in counties and towns to provide regular health services.

By the end of December, modern buildings and basic equipment should be ready in all quake-hit areas so that medical personnel can offer indoor care.

Cross-Straits Tours

A delegation of 33 travel agency managers began an inspection tour of Taiwan on June 17, Taiwan-based media reported.

The mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits and the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation signed an agreement on June 13 that opened the island to mainland tourists.

The agreement, taking effect on June 20, will see the arrival of the first tour group to Taiwan in July.

The group will mainly inspect tourism facilities, Fan Guishang, head of the delegation said.

Fan, who is also deputy secretary of the mainland-based Cross-Straits Tourism Association, said they would have extensive contact with Taiwan's tourism industry and lay a sound foundation for exchanges and cooperation.

Migrant Family Planning

Local governments should not force married female migrant workers of childbearing age to return to their hometowns for pregnancy tests, according to a draft regulation created by the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council.

The draft regulation on family planning of migrant workers, which was put on the Internet on June 16 to solicit public opinion, stipulates that cities where the migrant workers currently live should provide them with basic childbearing services for free. These include pregnancy tests, training in safe and effective contraceptive measures, and providing certificates on their childbearing and conception-control status.

Previously, some local family planning commissions required migrant women workers of childbearing age, who were working outside their hometowns but had household registration certificates only valid at home, to take regular pregnancy tests in their hometowns.

Deadly Mine Explosion

The death toll from a coalmine blast in Shanxi Province was finalized at 34 on June 18, as rescuers retrieved the last six bodies. The tragedy was China's deadliest coalmine accident so far this year.

An explosion occurred in the mine at about 11 a.m. on June 13 when 58 miners were working underground, twice the permitted number. Fifteen managed to escape and another nine were rescued.

Illegal homemade explosives, which were concealed in the colliery tunnel, ignited on their own and triggered the blast, said Vice Governor Zhang Jianmin.

Air Freight Controls

China will ban the air transport of dangerous goods to Olympic host cities during the Games, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said.

Airlines will be prohibited from carrying explosives for civil use, guns and ammunition to Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenyang, Qinhuangdao and Qingdao from July 1 to September 30, a statement on the administration's website read.

Other hazardous materials, with the exception of some items for public health and medical use, will also be banned, it said.

Flights carrying high-risk chemicals, such as poisonous gas and radioactive substances, to other cities must be inspected and authorized by the administration.