China, in Surprise Step, Puts Large Dam on Hold

Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has unexpectedly suspended plans for a massive dam system on the Nu River in western China that scientists had warned could ruin one of the country’s last unspoiled places. Wen’s intervention signals that China’s top leaders have not approved a plan that most opponents had considered a fait accompli. However, environmentalists cautioned that the dam project could still eventually go forward in some form