Chinanews, Beijing, November 27 ¨C According to a research by Zhang Zhigang, an environmentalist from Liaoning Province, from April to October every year, about 466 million insects are killed by crashing into cars on the highways in Liaoning, and Zhang estimates that the national figure can be as high as 160 billion.

¡°When we talk about highways, most of my fellow environmentalists only pay attention to car-emission, noise and the construction projects¡¯ impacts upon the environment, but the insects living near the highways are neglected,¡± said Zhang.

A car running at 60 km per hour is fast enough to kill all the insects that crash into them, added Zhang.

Chinanews, Beijing, Nov. 27 - Recently, a group of three scientists went to Lichahe River in Shennongjia to conduct an on-site investigation on the possible discovery of wildmen there. Scientists copied the footprints they found on the ground and collected and analyzed all the evidence they came by. After two days of work, they concluded that “no wildmen had been found here.” However, they said that the footprints belonged to an animal they had never known before, that it was similar to human yet it was not human. Scientists also excluded the possibility that the footprints were left by wild boars or bears, the Beijing Evening News reported.

When they arrived on site, scientists found some clear footprints near the highway and by the river bank. The scientists carefully made models of these footprints with wet limestone. They soon followed the traces where the animal ran away, hoping that they could find more evidence of the mysterious animal, evidence such as scratches, footprints or the animal’s hairs, said Xu Xiaoguang, a member of the China Association for Scientific Expedition, who is also a member of the Rare and Exotic Animals Investigation Committee.

“On the way, we found that lots of trees branches and vines were broken. Many things were in a mess. We found some clear footprints on rocks and decayed wood. This might have been left by the animal when it was scared and wanted to run away hurrily,” said You Wenhai, another member in the expedition team.

During the expedition, scientists found that the animal’s footprints had some arches, indicating that it might walk upright, You said.

“The height of the broken branches and vines suggests that the animal might have a height of around 1.75-1.80 meters,” said You, who added that the animal might be large and almost as tall as he.

“I tested with my own feet. However, even if I treaded hard on the ground, my footprint was not as clear as the animal’s,” You said.

The investigators found a lot of footprints placed irregularly on the ground. The distance between every two footprints was around one meter. At a place behind a large rock, they found two kinds of footprints left on humus, one large and the other small. The footprints were in the same direction with one in front and the other behind. The scientists recognized that both the footprints were left by the left foot.

During the expedition, the three scientists brought GPS devices with them so that they could pinpoint the exact location of the footprints they discovered. With this, scientists might be able to know the animal’s living range and its food sources.

After two days’s on-site investigation and close scrutiny, the scientists concluded that the animal might be a large, apelike animal that was similar to humans, and yet not humans. It could stand upright. It was an animal that the scientists had never seen before.

Chinanews, Beijing, November 26 ¨C According to the National Meteorological Administration, 2007 is the warmest year ever since China kept meteorological records, and a warm winter is expected to visit the country.

¡°2006 was the second warmest year in the world, and the warmest year in China, as the average temperature was 1.1 degree centigrade higher than the previous years. However, the record was broken in 2007, when the average temperature in the first 9 months of the year was 1.3 degrees higher,¡± said Zheng Guoguang, the director of the National Meteorological Administration.

Most parts of China have kept warming since 1950. Warming has already led to a series of disastrous weathers. Northeast China was hit by the strongest storm last March, bringing so heavy a snowfall that surpassed the total snowfall of several previous years. A hurricane in Xinjiang earlier in last spring toppled a train. Coastal areas witnessed several deadly storms and typhoons this year. Chongqing suffered from the strongest rainstorm in 115 years following a severe drought in 2006. The Huai River Valley saw the second strongest flood since 1949. Quite a number of Chinese cities had to deal with suffocating heat last summer.

(Source: Xinhua)
China publishes its first picture of the moon captured by Chang’e-1, the country’s first lunar probe, on Monday. (Photo: CNSA)BEIJING, Nov. 26 - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao asserted in a passionate and inspiring speech on Monday that China has jointed the world’s select few powers that have the capabilities to engage in deep-space exploration.

After unveiling the first picture of the moon surface taken by Chang’e-1, China’s first lunar probe, Wen said that the dream of the Chinese people of flying onto the Moon for more than 1,000 years had started to materialize.

(Photo: CNSA)Nov. 26 - China publishes its first picture of the moon captured by Chang’e-1, the country’s first lunar probe, on Monday, marking the full success of its lunar probe project.

Chinanews, Guangzhou, Nov. 24 ¨C According to Chongqing Morning News, several fishers in Chongqing claimed on Wednesday that they had captured a wild Chinese sturgeon in the Yangtze River. Such sturgeon had never appeared in the region for several years.

The 35-cm sturgeon has been sent to a local submarine species protection center. It will be sent back into the river after experts examine on it.

The Chinese sturgeon is a first-class national-protected animal in China, and a large sturgeon can be as long as 20 meters. Because of the building of hydroelectric power station, the sturgeons have lost their inhabitants, so artificial reproductions has been introduced.

Ma Longhua, a local fishery official, took the sturgeon to the center. He revealed that it should be a wild Chinese sturgeon.