China's Ministry of Education (MOE) on Thursday published a list of 184 primary and secondary school artificial intelligence (AI) education bases across the country including North China's Beijing, Tianjin, and East China's Shanghai, Shandong and Jiangsu provinces, and South China's Guangdong Province, aiming to promote AI education systematically nationwide.

The publicity period lasts from Thursday to January 17. Anyone who has objections can submit relevant information during this period, according to the ministry.

In May 2023, the MOE issued an action plan for deepening the reform of the basic education curriculum, in which it required teaching equipment and usage to be improved, and a group of characteristic high-level science and AI education primary and secondary school bases to be selected.

In Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and a few provinces, there are six schools on the list. Some schools started AI education in recent years in the face of the rapid development of AI technology, as a way to encourage more students to gain more knowledge in this sector, and inspire their creative capability to learn how to analyze data and identify patterns based on AI algorithms.

One example is Wenzhou No 22 Senior Middle School in East China's Zhejiang Province , which was founded in 2002. The school has always been at the forefront of information technology in the country, and has been awarded the title of one of the first "100 digital campus demonstration schools" in China.

"AI education has been explored in our school for nearly five years," Ding Die, vice principal of Wenzhou No 22 Senior Middle School, told the Global Times on Thursday.

The school has integrated the curriculum standards related to AI in the fields of information technology and general technology, and has incorporated the course content and practical applications into the school's AI education space. The space integrates the fields of design, teaching, and operation, and is equipped with 3D printers, laser engraving machines, high-end computers and other equipment, according to Ding.

Ding said that the schools will continue improving the relevant AI courses and popularize them among students. The school will also strengthen the connection between students and AI projects in universities, to make students' career planning clearer during their learning process.

Shanghai Luwan Senior High School has also been conducting AI education practice and exploration in recent years. This initiative to establish primary and secondary school AI education bases is highly beneficial to the public, and will be welcomed by parents and students, Zhang Xiaojun, a teacher who tutors students in science and tech classes from this school, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Due to the lack of equipment and teacher resources in some schools, students have limited space to learn more in this sector. With a nationwide drive to build AI bases, students will have the opportunity to delve into real technical content, participating in and gaining knowledge in this field, according to Zhang.

In the school, students are categorized into general courses, advanced courses, and high-level courses specifically designed for a few students. Every student can have access to some basic AI content, such as graphic programming, and using AI to solve practical problems. For advanced courses, they will study specific projects, such as autonomous driving, intelligent logistics, and drone programming, Zhang said.

Zhang said that systematic training and an incentive mechanism will be beneficial to cultivating more teachers in this sector. Ding, the vice principal, also echoed the opinion that it will encourage teachers to take every opportunity to train in AI teaching.

China will carry out further training sessions to boost the scientific competence of primary and secondary school teachers, said a circular jointly issued by the general offices of the MOE, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the China Association for Science and Technology in July 2023. More than 3,500 teaching staff and science counsellors in primary and secondary schools have participated in the training sessions, which started from mid-July, according to the authorities.

India's Enforcement Directorate, the country's financial crime-fighting agency, reportedly conducted probes across 19 locations against what it described as "potential violations of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act" by Chinese-owned companies, reported India Today, in another unscrupulous move targeting Chinese companies.

India's heightened scrutiny of Chinese companies, fueled by purely political motives, is tarnishing the country's image and transforming it into what resembles more of a "graveyard for foreign companies," Chinese experts warned.

The Enforcement Directorate alleged that the corresponding Chinese-owned fintech companies, collaborating with local non-banking financial companies and payment gateways, engaged in unethical lending practices, India Today reported on Tuesday.

The agency seized 13 million rupees ($1.6 million) in cash and several incriminating documents, the report said.

Indian authorities, exercising their right to investigate companies within the country, have increasingly concentrated on Chinese businesses, especially in the past three years, where major companies like Chinese smartphone makers Xiaomi and Vivo have frequently become targets, leading observers to believe in the existence of strong political motives behind these actions, Chinese experts said.

The latest move is  only making the country less favorable for international investors, especially those from China, that have played an important role in creating jobs, paying taxes and contributing to the industry chain's development, Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

India's discriminatory sanctions targeting Chinese companies and their employees include routine financial and tax audits, fines and abrupt spikes in import tariffs, while disregarding these companies' contributions to the local economy, an India-based industry veteran told the Global Times in a recent interview.

The probe came just about a week after the same government department arrested three senior employees working for Vivo's India unit under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in late December.

On December 30, only a few days after the arrest, an Indian trial court ordered the immediate release of the three arrested.

 "The phenomenon of politicizing judicial tools in India is already evident," Qian said, noting that it will have a significant impact on India's touted investment environment, and also affect bilateral economic and trade relations.

Since the border conflict between China and India in June 2020, there has been a noticeable escalation in Indian authorities' hostility toward Chinese companies, including the prohibition of more than 200 Chinese apps, initiating investigations related to taxation and anti-money laundering concerning Chinese businesses, and intensifying the examination of Chinese investments.

If India continues down this path, it will only add another negative aspect to its reputation as a "foreign enterprise graveyard," Qian noted.

Chinese police have offered a reward between 100,000 to 500,000 yuan ($13,958 to $69,793) for information related to each of the 10 key ringleaders from the telecom scam criminal syndicates based in the Kokang region of northern Myanmar, Capitalnews, the WeChat account run by Beijing Daily, reported on Sunday. The police have also vowed to decisively crack down on fraud targeting Chinese citizens.

In response to the grim situation of telecom fraud in northern Myanmar affecting China, Chinese public security departments have successively announced the pursuit of key figures in several telecom fraud criminal syndicate which created a strong deterrent.

Capitalnews learned from China’s Ministry of Public Security that local public security departments in localities including Northeast China’s Liaoning Province, East China’s Fujian Province and Southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality have put 10 key figures including Bai Suocheng, Wei Huairen and Liu Zhengxiang from the telecom scam criminal syndicate in the Kokang region of northern Myanmar on the wanted lists.

For a long time, various criminal syndicates from the Kokang region in northern Myanmar have organized and established criminal dens targeting Chinese citizens. They openly protect these criminal activities with arms, causing extremely serious harm.

In November of this year, Chinese public security authority publicly announced cash reward for four key figures of a family criminal syndicate led by Ming Xuechang. With strong cooperation from all parties in Myanmar, the chief criminal Ming Xuechang committed suicide in fear of crime, and three other individuals including Ming Guoping, Ming Julan and Ming Zhenzhen were apprehended and are being investigated for their criminal activities. They will be severely punished according to the laws.

At the same time, public security authorities in Liaoning, Fujian, Chongqing, and other places found during their investigations that three family criminal syndicates led by Bai Suocheng, Wei Huairen and Liu Zhengxiang, and another criminal syndicate led by Xu Laofa have long been engaged in telecom fraudulent activities targeting Chinese citizens, with huge amounts involved.

Despite highly pressured crackdown by the public security authorities, they have not restrained themselves from the crimes and continued to be involved in serious violent crimes such as intentional homicide, intentional injury and illegal detention. Their criminal facts are clear and there is abundant evidence for their crimes.

To effectively crack down on the telecom fraud related to northern Myanmar and protect the safety of Chinese people’s lives and properties and their legitimate rights and interests, the Dalian City Public Security Bureau in Liaoning has decided to publicly reward anyone who brings information of the whereabouts of Bai Suocheng, Bai Yingcang (also known as Li Yunchen), and Bai Yinglan (also known as Li Mengna). The Quanzhou City Public Security Bureau in Fujian has decided to publicly reward anyone who brings information related to Wei Huairen, Wei Rong (also known as Chen Rong), and Wei Qingsong (also known as Yang Song). The Longyan City Public Security Bureau in Fujian Province has put Liu Zhengxiang, Liu Jiguang (also known as Li Huaguang), and Liu Zhengmao on the wanted list. The Chongqing Municipality Public Security Bureau has put Xu Laofa (also known as Xu Faqi) on the wanted list.

According to Capitalnews, Bai Suocheng was former director of Kokang in Shan State, Myanmar. Besides, Wei Huairen, Liu Zhengxiang and Xu Laofa are all officials in the Kokang region.

The Chinese public security authorities urge the 10 criminal suspects to recognize the situation, stop their criminal activities, and surrender voluntarily to seek lenient punishment. At the same time, Chinese police also hope that all sectors of society and the public will actively report and assist in the capture and arrest of the criminal suspects. For those who provide effective clues and assist in the arrest, the public security authorities will give rewards between 100,000 and 500,000 yuan.

China's food safety governance has made positive progress with a decrease of 11 percent in the number of foodborne disease outbreaks and a 33.9 percent reduction in the number of related deaths since the beginning of the period covered by the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), officials from the National Health Commission (NHC) revealed at an event in Beijing on Tuesday during Food Safety Awareness Week.

Cao Xuetao, an official from the NHC, noted at the event that China has implemented a national food safety risk monitoring program, and conducted in-depth analysis of risk monitoring database information. This guides local authorities to release risk warning information and advises the public on rational food procurement and storage.

Li Ning, director of the National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, said at the event that in recent years the NHC has established three major monitoring systems: the national foodborne disease monitoring and reporting system, the foodborne disease outbreak monitoring system and the foodborne disease molecular traceability network. These systems play a role in risk monitoring, assessment, and early warning, effectively preventing systemic risks.

In the next step, the commission will guide local authorities to strengthen risk monitoring and assessment and it plans to build a nationwide reporting network for foodborne disease cases in secondary and above public medical institutions by the end of next year, according to Li.

With the help of big data, cloud computing, and other information technologies, the network will improve the multi-point triggered monitoring and early warning model, making regional risk warnings more sensitive and efficient.

Foodborne diseases are a significant global public health issue. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that up to 600 million people worldwide fall ill and 420,000 die each year due to consuming contaminated food. To address the challenges posed by foodborne diseases, the WHO recommends that countries strengthen monitoring and early warning systems for foodborne diseases, according to Li.

Li said that according to the foodborne disease monitoring network, from 2010 to 2022, a total of 46,430 foodborne disease outbreaks were reported nationwide (an average of 3,572 per year, among which 1,024 cases were due to mushroom poisoning), with 330,870 cases of illness (an average of 25,452 per year) and 1,679 deaths (an average of 129 per year, among which 70 were caused by mushroom poisoning).

The main places for foodborne disease outbreaks in China were households (50 percent) and catering service establishments (46.3 percent). However, catering service establishments contributed the highest number of illness cases, accounting for about 70 percent of the total, according to Li.

Li noted that people should avoid consuming or picking wild mushrooms, as the main cause of foodborne disease outbreaks in households is the consumption of wild poisonous mushrooms and contamination by pathogenic bacteria.

In terms of catering service establishments, attention should focus on preventing bacterial foodborne diseases, while school cafeterias should pay special attention to the contamination of rice with Bacillus cereus. Nearly 70 percent of Bacillus cereus outbreaks in China are caused by rice and other grain products.

The world's most advanced and China's first domestically developed ocean drilling vessel will commence its maiden voyage on Friday in South China's Guangdong Province, which marks an important step in China's deep-sea exploration capability, China Geological Survey said on Monday.

The vessel, which was developed by China Geological Survey and more than 150 research institutes and companies, was officially named "Mengxiang (Dream)" on Monday. 

Weighing about 33,000 tons, the ship can travel 15,000 nautical miles and operate for 120 days without returning to ports, CCTV News reported. It has the capability of operating in unlimited navigational areas worldwide and the ability to drill as deep as 11,000 meters in the sea.

Possessing deepest drilling depth in the world, the ship has the world's largest shipboard laboratory with more than 3,000 square meters, including nine major laboratories covering marine science, microbiology, and paleomagnetism. It integrates key technologies such as digital twinning to achieve comprehensive monitoring of drilling and mining operations and intelligent collaboration in scientific experiments.

Currently undergoing preparations at the dock in Nansha district of the city of Guangzhou, "Mengxiang" will set sail on Friday to complete its first trial voyage mission according to an official schedule. With construction beginning on November 30 2021, it is expected to be fully completed in 2024.

After completion, the ship will provide equipment support for the industrialization of natural gas hydrate exploration and exploitation, further enhancing China's energy self-sufficiency capability, according to officials from China Geological Survey.

People mourn victims after an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on Dec. 12, 2023. The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip announced on Tuesday that the Palestinian death toll in the Palestinian enclave has exceeded 18,400 since the eruption of the Hamas-Israel conflict on Oct. 7.(Photo: Xinhua)

The world's elite track and field competition is returning to China.

Xiamen, Southeast China's Fujian Province, will host a meeting of the 2023 World Athletics Diamond League on September 2, which will mark the world premier one-day athletics series' return to China for the first time in four years, according to a press conference held on Wednesday in Beijing.

The meeting, which will take place at Xiamen's newly built Egret Stadium, will be the only Diamond League event in China in 2023. Athletes will compete in 13 disciplines, with the men's 110m hurdle scheduled to be the finale of the day's competition.

Feng Bin, the women's discus gold medalist at the 2022 World's Athletics Championships, and Zhu Yaming, the silver medalist for the men's triple jump at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, are among the Chinese athletes who will participate in the Xiamen event.  

Starting from 2023, Xiamen will host the Diamond League for the next 10 years in a row, according to the press conference.

Inaugurated in 2010, the Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising 14 invitational athletics meetings across the world. The 14th edition of the Diamond League began on May 5 in Doha, Qatar. This year's Diamond League Final will take place in Eugene, the US in September.

Team China found itself in a perilous position after an 89-69 defeat to South Sudan in the second round FIBA World Cup Group B game, despite China's first naturalized player Li Kai'er's 22 points leading China's box score, a sharp bounce-back from his scoreless debut. 

Having losing two games in Group B, Team China is on the brink of elimination in the tournament held in Manila, the Philippines and even worse, risks losing a place at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after Japan bagged a victory over Finland coming from 18 points down on Sunday. China needs to be the best-performing Asian team in order to win direct qualification for the Paris Olympics in 2024.

Li, the 206-cm-tall Minnesota Timberwolves forward known to the National Basketball Association (NBA) as Kyle Anderson, broke his scoreless run early in the first quarter, as he drove and banked a floater in his rhythm. He then showed his basketball intelligence by drawing a foul with his shooting form ready. He bagged 22 points, three assists and five rebounds, the all-round player's chemistry with the team was increasingly noticeable. 

However, China standing in 27th place in the FIBA ranking, failed to match the firepower of opponent South Sudan, which is ranked a 62nd in the FIBA ranking during the Monday game. Even though China seemed to figure out how to play its game in the right way, South Sudan responded quickly with long shots behind the arc. Led by Carlik Jones, who just had a magnificent finish of 35 points and 11 assists against Puerto Rico, the World Cup debutants nailed a jaw-dropping 15 three-pointers with 50 percent shooting percentage during the whole game.

Team China had its chance to come back and beat the opponent as many would have predicted, and the young squad did force their game within a chasing range almost levelling at 49-50, meaning only one bucket behind in the third quarter. 

However, the Chinese squad seemed choked at both offensive and defensive end on the court, making the game end up in a drastic 20 points defeat. 

"I wish we could have come out with the win, more importantly than scoring 22 points," Li said during a post-game interview, stressing that the team has to figure it out how to play hard for 40 minutes rather than only 20 minutes in the game. 

China would take on the last Group B rival Puerto Rico, only a win of 36 points or more will propel Team China out of the group and enter the next elimination game, a scenario which now seems unlikely. 

Following their 20-point loss against South Sudan Monday, China head coach Aleksandar Djordevic said that the goal remains the same for the team to get to the Olympics.

And to win the 2024 Olympic ticket, China would have to hope that none of the other Asian teams makes it to the next elimination stage and China have to win both games in the ranking game after falling out of the group to secure a ticket to Paris.  

The team has now lost not only the two games but also its own control of future destiny.

However, we should have faith in the Aleksandar Djordevic, a proven winner in international basketball, Li Kai'er, a veteran NBA player, and more importantly the never-give-up spirit of Team China. 

Team China should keep their heads up and keep hold of the good momentum the young squad has built in the second game, just like Zhao Rui, who delivered 13 points on Monday with hot hands, said after the game, "stay focused as a team and we want to play in the Olympic Games." 

Chinese tennis players got off to a strong start at the ongoing Hangzhou Asian Games as four participants in the women's and men's singles progressed to the third round on Monday. 

There are five golds on offer in the tennis events at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre, attracting 11 Chinese athletes to participate. The winners of the two singles events will qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. 

In the women's singles, top seed Zheng Qinwen breezed past Maralgoo Chogsomjav of Mongolia with a 6-0, 6-0 clean sweep. 

Earlier, second seed Zhu Lin also marched to the third round with a straight-sets victory over Ushna Suhail of Pakistan.Zheng, who made it to the US Open quarterfinal in September, and Zhu were tipped to continue China's grip on the women's singles title since the 2006 Doha Asian Games in Qatar. However, resting only three hours after the singles match, Zheng and Zhu suffered a 6-7, 3-6 defeat to Momoko Kobori and Ayano Shimizu of Japan in the first round of the women's doubles.

In Zhu's third match of the day, she and Buyunchaokete eased past Shakhnoza Marimova and Amir Milushev of Uzbekistan 6-0, 6-0 in the mixed doubles in 43 minutes.

Liu Yu, a Beijing-based sports commentator, told the Global Times that China has fielded its strongest team for this Asian Games and the top two singles players in the men's and women's singles will fight for a spot at the Paris Olympic Games. 

"Chinese players are a favorite to win the women's singles title. But playing on the home court, our players will be under enormous pressure. It's important for them to forget their world rankings, stay composed and take it one game at a time," she said.

As the women's doubles champion in 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, Yang Zhaoxuan will team up with new partner Wang Xinyu to have a crack in the women's doubles this year.

Liu Feng, head coach of the Chinese national women's tennis team, said forging the new partnership is a bold attempt to prepare for the Paris Olympic Games. 

"We want to try and find the best partners for the Paris Games. Wang is skilled in serving and baseline rallies, while Yang is good at attacking the net. The Asian Games is like a trial run for this new pair," said the coach. 

In the men's singles, Zhang Zhizhen coasted to a 7-5, 6-2 win over Faleh Alhogbani of Saudi Arabia. 

Wu Yibing, who won the men's singles silver medal in the Jakarta Games, edged past Justin Barki of Indonesia 7-5, 6-1. The Hangzhou native has set his sights on becoming the first man from the Chinese mainland to win the singles title since the 1990 Beijing Asian Games.

Meanwhile in the men's doubles, Zhang and Wu reached the men's doubles quarterfinals after overpowering Mashari Naif and Mubarak Alharrasi of Qatar 6-3, 6-4. The Chinese duo seeks to become the first pair from the Chinese mainland to claim the men's doubles title since China's last triumph in 1990. 

In addition to the men's singles and doubles, Zhang, who reached the third round at this year's French Open and US Open, also competes in the mixed doubles with Yang.

China won two golds and two silvers in tennis events at the Jakarta Games in 2018. 

South Africa's mining production, one of the country's pillar industries, decreased by 2.5 percent year on year in August, with diamonds, manganese ore and other metallic minerals being the main contributors, data have shown.

In August, the production of diamonds dropped by 54.6 percent, becoming the largest negative contributor to the country's mining sector, while the production of manganese ore and other metallic minerals went down 7.9 percent and 17.6 percent in August, respectively, according to data released by Statistics South Africa Thursday.

In the three months ended August, seasonally adjusted mining production in South Africa decreased by 2 percent compared with the previous three months, with the largest negative contributors being gold, coal and manganese ore.

Gold production went down 6.5 percent in the three months ended August, and the production of coal and manganese ore dropped by 2.8 percent and 6 percent, respectively, Statistics South Africa said.