Couple's marriage starts in tandem on green issues

A newly married couple rode a tandem around downtown Handan, Hebei Province, to raise public awareness of environmental protection.

The newlyweds and about 100 people, mostly relatives and friends, formed a 200-m-long cortege of bikes and were joined by 30 local environmentalists.Their principal gripe was the pollution caused by exhaust fumes from cars.

(Yanzhao Metropolis News)

Robots useful learning tools in classroom

Up to 10,000 robots have been introduced to more than 4,000 elementary and middle schools in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province. The robots will help students learn about artificial intelligence and information technology.

Harbin Institute of Technology, which donated the robots, has been piloting information technology courses since 2005 and its top students did so well they gained admission to the country's best universities in Beijing and Shanghai.

(www.xinhuanet.com)

Catwoman with cash builds pets luxury pads

A businesswoman built three luxury houses for 10 stray cats found in a Beijing residential area, costing 4,000 yuan ($530) each.

To keep the stray cats warm during winter all the houses were built with high quality building materials, including vacuum insulated windows.

She also put up signs outside the completed cat houses appealing for residents to care for stray animals.

(Beijing Evening News)

Mynah welcomes burglar and scares him away

A burglar fled after breaking into a house when he heard a mynah bird talking and presumed it was a person.

The bird, in Hunchun, Jilin Province, started cawing, "Welcome" at the intruder on Saturday night.

The bird's greeting woke his owner, surnamed Zhang, and he was just in time to see the thief jump out of the living room window. Nothing was stolen.

"I never thought that my little pet bird could help me look after the house at night," Zhang was moved to comment.

(City Evening News)

(China Daily 10/16/2007 page4)