south China tiger species was not extinct. Zhou, who proclaimed that he had risked his life to get the pictures, was soon made a hero, and received 20,000 yuan ($2,914) as a reward for his discovery.

But the "great" discovery triggered boiling controversies on authenticity of the photos over the Internet. South China tigers have been missing in the wild since the 1980s, and thus were thought to be extinct.

Top Swimmer Gets Life Ban

China's top backstroke swimmer, 25-year-old Ouyang Kunpeng, has been banned for life by the Chinese Swimming Association due to a positive doping test for steroid.

According to a statement released by the Chinese Swimming Association on June 27, Ouyang, along with his coach Feng Shangbao, have both received life bans after he failed a routine random urine test on May 1.

Ouyang was considered a possible medal winner at the Olympics, as he is the reigning 50-meter backstroke Asian-record holder and won three silver medals at the 2006 Asian Games.

The move shows China's determined commitment to cracking down on dope offenders and following through the pledge made to give out automatic lifetime bans, rather than temporary bans for first-time offenders as in other competitions.