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.

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.

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.

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.

"We are disappointed that Japan still wants to go ahead and dump the nuclear polluted water into the Pacific, because we are not convinced by the scientific reports that it will be safe for marine life, or for communities who are going to be affected," former prime minister of Papua New Guinea Peter O'Neill told the Global Times in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.

He told the Global Times that efforts will continue to ask international agencies including the United Nations to attend to the concerns of people in the Pacific region.

On July 4, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and announced the final safety review report for the release of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. The report stated that Japan's plan for dumping the nuclear-contaminated wastewater "meets safety standards," but it also emphasizes that the report cannot serve as the standard for Japan's approval of the policy.

Japan's plan to dump the nuclear-contaminated wastewater has been met with strong protests and concerns from the international community since it was first proposed in 2021. According to the plan, Japan intends to discharge 1.3 million tons of treated nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean over the next 30 to 40 years.

In addition to neighboring countries such as China and South Korea, many Pacific island nations, which are ecologically vulnerable and heavily reliant on ocean fisheries, are also affected. Earlier this year, the Pacific Island Forum collectively opposed Japan's plan to dump the nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the ocean and sent a delegation to Japan for talks on the issue.

O'Neill was talking to the Global Times after attending an event organized by the think tank Center for China and Globalization (CCG). He said Japan owes it to the international community and to the Pacific to take the issue seriously, adding that they should not dump the nuclear-contaminated wastewater and should find other ways of trying to treat the water or to manage the problem.

He stressed that it isn't the Pacific that started the problem of the nuclear-contaminated wastewater in Japan.

"It is their own issue and they need to manage it better. Many countries in the Pacific are very disappointed. They do not support Japan in doing this," he said.

"We all know from experience that for nuclear waste of any form, it takes time, it takes years, it takes decades [to resolve]. It's not resolved in a few years. Over time you will still have the presence of nuclear content within the waste that has been disposed of," he said.

As Japan continues with its plan despite the protests from Pacific Island countries, O'Neill told the Global Times that they will raise their questions to international organizations including the UN.

"Is this water safe? Will this water affect marine life? Is this water not going to affect individuals who have to drink water in the Pacific? These are questions that need to be answered," he said.

On the IAEA's release of a comprehensive report on the dumping of nuclear-contaminated wastewater at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday that the report "failed to fully reflect views from experts that participated in the review." Also, "the conclusion was not shared by all experts. The Chinese side regrets the hasty release of the report," the spokesperson said.

"We believe that the IAEA report should not be a 'shield' or 'greenlight' for Japan's discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean. Due to its limited mandate, the IAEA failed to review the justification and legitimacy of Japan's ocean discharge plan, assess the long-term effectiveness of Japan's purification facility and corroborate the authenticity and accuracy of Japan's nuclear-contaminated water data. Therefore, the conclusion is largely limited and incomplete. We noted that Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi stated that the IAEA conducted the review at the request of the Japanese government and the report is neither a recommendation nor an endorsement of Japan's ocean discharge policy," said the spokesperson.

The UAE Ambassador to China Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi met with the Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Wang Zhigang, on July 19, to discuss strengthening bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the fields of science, technological development and innovation.
The ambassador gave a positive evaluation of the effectiveness of China-Arab cooperation in science and technology. He affirmed his willingness to work together with the Chinese side to further deepen cooperation in the field of science and technology innovation.

Wang said that China and the UAE have a long history of relations and technical that are constantly being strengthened. 

During Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the UAE in 2018, the two countries announced the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership, which opened a new chapter in China-Arab relations.

Wang said that scientific and technological progress is the key driving force of human progress, noting that China-Arab scientific and technological cooperation benefits both countries and peoples, and he is willing to work together with the UAE Ambassador to continue to deepen China-Arab scientific and technological innovation cooperation.

After enduring a bumpy 3.5-hour-long highway ride and a bout of traffic congestion, we finally arrived in Indonesian famous tourism city Bandung by car, which was only 130 kilometers from the capital Jakarta, during a fieldtrip to the Tegalluar Station, the last point on the Jakarta-Bandung HSR in July. 

Locals told us that the same journey sometimes takes up to six or seven hours during peak commuting hours, and the rainy weather only makes matters worse. 

Compared with the hustle and bustle of Jakarta, Bandung, nestled in the mountains, is calm, humid, and has an abundance of fresh air, making it a very popular weekend escape for Jakartans. 

Taking a trial ride on the train to Bandung was fairly a pleasant experience. On the trial run, and at a speed of approximately 180km/h, one could effortlessly balance a coin on its edge on the windowsill of the carriage without it falling, thanks to its smooth operation, which is also almost entirely silent. 

We learned that the train is equipped with intelligent sensor technology and a seismic monitoring and warning system. With over 2,500 detection points throughout the train, all critical systems can be monitored in real time. 

Facilities for those living with disabilities and an SOS call button, braille guide signs, and vending machines are easily found in the train's carriages. 

The train's design has also incorporated amenities that cater to local Indonesian customs such as a temporary prayer room. The train, both in its exterior and interior design, showcases a rich and distinctive representation of Indonesian local symbols and elements.

The HSR includes four stops - Halim, Karawang, Padalarang, and Tegalluar. Halim is the inaugural station located in the capital of Jakarta, and Tegalluar sits in Bandung. The other two stations are located near Indonesia's industrial bases, home to a number of foreign enterprises and industrial parks. 

During a visit, we were captivated by the modern and grand atmosphere of the Tegalluar Station. 

The overall design incorporates fluid curves to channel the elements of mountains and water, symbolizing Indonesia's emphasis on harmonizing development with nature. 

The extensive glass curtain walls reflect the boundless green fields and mountains in the distance, creating a soothing and pleasant ambiance. 

The waiting area at the station includes space for commercial shops and restaurants. The station is equipped with both manned ticket offices and unmanned ticket machines, mirroring the basic configuration of high-speed railway stations in China. 

With a building area of 15,000 square meters, the Tegalluar Station features two platforms and 4-5 railway lines, accommodating up to 1,500 passengers simultaneously, with a peak hourly capacity of 3,200 people. Departing from the station, travelers can easily access the renowned attractions of Bandung, such as the Asian-African Conference Museum and the Bandung Zoo.

During the visit to Tegalluar Station, local residents and employees would occasionally greet us with enthusiastic smiles and thumbs-ups, seemingly expressing their expectations for the railway project and their dreams for a new transportation dawn.