Briefly

YUNNAN

Locusts swarm more than 10,000 hectares

Locust swarms have invaded an area of 10,389 hectares in Yunnan province as of Sunday, local authorities said on Tuesday. A total of nine county-level regions in four prefectures and cities were affected, including Pu'er city and Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture, according to the office leading the work to curb the insects in the province. The surge was caused by the second migration of the locust swarms as the weather clears and the temperature becomes more suitable. Local authorities have used chemical and biological means including spraying pesticides by drones to curb the spread of the swarms on about 34,640 hectares since the locusts were first found on June 28.

GUANGDONG

Five dead in road accident in Qingyuan

Five people were killed in a road accident on Tuesday in Guangdong province, according to local authorities. The public security bureau of the city of Qingyuan said that the accident occurred early on Tuesday morning when a seven-seat minibus collided with a heavy semitrailer at an expressway section in the county-level city of Lianzhou. Three people were found dead at the scene, and another one died after on-site first-aid failed. The other person, who had suffered serious injuries, died in hospital. Further investigation is underway.

HEBEI

Ancient marine life fossil discovered

A fossil of Armenoceras, an ancient marine creature, was discovered in Hebei province, local authorities said. The fossil was embedded in a piece of limestone in a local park in the Congtai district of Handan city. The grayish-brown fossil fragment is about 6 cm long and 3 cm wide. The fossil dates back to the Ordovician period about 438 million to 510 million years ago. The fossil is of great significance to the study of paleogeography.

BEIJING

Coast Guard busts smuggling network

The China Coast Guard has busted a major criminal network suspected of smuggling goods worth 12.3 billion yuan ($1.76 billion) since 2019. The coast guard cooperated with public security authorities for the operation, which saw the seizure of a foreign "mother ship", a domestic barge, 6,600 metric tons of smuggled white sugar, and 15 vehicles, as well as the arrest of 50 criminal suspects. An investigation is ongoing.

Xinhua