DEADLY BLAST Smoke rises after an explosion at a chemical plant in Yizhou City,
in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on August 26.
So far 20 people have been confirmed killed in the blast

Open to Tourists

Beijing's Olympic venues will open to tourists during the weeklong National Day holiday beginning October 1, an official said on August 27.

The venues, including the National Stadium and the National Aquatics Center, will be open to the public as they appeared during the Games, and an aquatic amusement park project will begin operation in the National Aquatics Center at the end of the year, said Vice Mayor of Beijing Chen Gang.

So far, 80 percent of the media village flats have been sold, and buyers can move in by the end of the year.

Earthquake Rocks Tibet

A strong earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale rocked Zhongba County, Xigaze Prefecture in Tibet at 9:22 p.m. on August 25. No casualties have been reported.

The epicenter was about 10 km underground at 31 degrees north and 83.6 degrees east, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.

Gerze and Coqen counties in Ali Prefecture also felt the quake, but the county seats suffered no damage, said the regional earthquake bureau.

Zhongba, in the west of Xigaze, with a population of 18,000 and covering 43,594 square km, is located in an area with frequent quakes.

Airport on Plateau

Workers on August 27 completed construction of a runway for a new airport in the heart of China's Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

The 3,800-meter-long runway, 3,900 meters above sea level, is part of a planned airport about 20 km away from Yushu, also known as Gyegu, seat of the Tibet Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu in Qinghai Province, west China.

With a budget of more than 500 million yuan (about $73 million), Yushu airport began construction in May 2007. It also requires construction of a 4,000-square-meter terminal and is designed to handle planes such as the Airbus A319.

In accordance with the schedule, all infrastructure for the airport should be finished by the end of this year, so the facility can be put into service in June 2009.

School Bus Safety Campaign

Public security officials will conduct a national school bus safety campaign in September and October.

Buses that transport high school, elementary school and nursery school students will be included, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

Areas of concern include unmarked or overloaded buses and those that are driven by unlicensed or drunk drivers.

The ministry will also take steps to improve traffic flow during peak periods when students are going to or leaving school.

New Sports Award

Sergey Bubka, Senior Vice President of the International Association of Athletics Federations and a member of International Olympic Committee Executive Board, launched the Bubka Sports Award to promote the spirit of sport at Care for Children, an organization that facilitates orphaned children leaving institutions and becoming part of a long-term foster family, which has 30 project sites in orphanages across China.

Bubka, who is regarded as the greatest pole-vaulter of all time, makes visits to charitable sports establishments around the world in a bid to encourage more young people to take up sport and to offer his support to sporting initiatives worldwide.