At least 15 dead in boat sinking in Central African Republic » Capital News

BANGUI, April 21 (Xinhua) — At least 15 people died on Friday when a boat sank on the Mpoko River in Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), witnesses told Xinhua.

The provisional toll is at least fifteen dead and many wounded, including children and women, and several victims remain unaccounted for. The naval and gendarmerie forces are continuing the search in hope of recovering more bodies.

According to eyewitness accounts, the boat sank because it was overcrowded. Several lifeless bodies were taken to morgues in the capital, while others were recovered by their relatives.

The government of the CAR has yet to comment on the tragedy. More than 300 people boarded a boat bound for the village of Mokelo, in the commune of Bimbo, Ombella-Mpoko prefecture, for the burial of the remains of a group leader, when it sank, several witnesses at the scene told Xinhua.

The provisional toll is at least fifteen dead and many wounded, including children and women, and several victims remain unaccounted for. 

Xinhua Commentary: Global governance framework needed to bridge AI divide

GENEVA, April 21 (Xinhua) — Three decades ago, during the nascent stages of the Internet, mobile phone addiction was unheard of, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) remained a concept confined to the realm of science fiction.

To say that the times have changed rapidly is perhaps the greatest understatement of a lifetime.

As anticipated, AI took center stage this week at the annual UN session on science and technology in Geneva. Attended by scholars, industry leaders, and heads of UN agencies, the event at the Palais des Nations featured a plethora of panel discussions with attendees delving into strategies for harnessing the potential of AI while also addressing its inherent risks.

Experts agreed that AI-powered tools are capable of spectacular feats. With such frontier technologies, the world is embracing an era brimming with technological advancements and innovations that promise to push the boundaries of what is possible. However, the risks are real, too, ranging from cybercrime to the danger of disinformation and hate speech.

The biggest one, as UN’s trade and development chief Rebeca Grynspan put it, is the risk of leaving billions of people in the developing world behind, with cutting-edge AI technologies ending up in the hands of a few. She warned that a widening digital divide may breed new forms of marginalization fueled by algorithmic bias, lack of digital literacy and dwindling state capacities.

Fortunately, there are solutions. Governments worldwide are moving to establish a robust regulatory framework around AI.

Such momentum is good, but not enough. As noted by Maxime Stauffer, co-founder and CEO of Simon Institute for Longterm Governance, there is arguably a gap at the international level.

A global governance framework is needed for this rapidly developing suite of technologies and its use by various actors. To ensure that AI guardrails translate into tangible progress, all stakeholders, from industry leaders and policymakers to academia, should actively engage in the critical norms-setting process.

More investment is needed to fill data gaps and improve quality. Data is the “essential oil” behind most frontier technologies, including AI, an economic resource crucial in the future for all decision-making.

In particular, accurate and timely data enables researchers to understand complex issues, identify trends, measure progress toward development goals, and design more effective and targeted interventions.

However, developing countries often face challenges in data collection due to limited resources, infrastructure and capacity, according to a delegate from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UN’s tech agency. Digital literacy should not be ignored, either.

ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin disclosed that an estimated 2.6 billion people had no Internet access in 2023. Countless others are on the “wrong side” of the digital divide, struggling with slow Internet speeds, inadequate skills, affordability issues and other challenges.

These disparities underscore the urgent need for comprehensive efforts to bridge the digital divide. Access to the Internet is not just a matter of convenience; it’s increasingly becoming a fundamental requirement for participation in modern society, education, and economic opportunities.

Governments, international organizations, and private sector entities must collaborate to expand Internet infrastructure, improve affordability, and provide training programs to enhance digital skills. Initiatives aimed at fostering digital literacy and empowering marginalized communities are crucial steps towards creating a more inclusive and equitable digital world.

Humanity is navigating uncharted waters as AI and other frontier technologies have been seamlessly woven into the fabric of daily lives. Harnessing their power for good instead of evil requires guardrails and preparedness. And that’s never an understatement. 

Iraqi Shiite militia claims drone attack on Israel

BAGHDAD, April 21 (Xinhua) — A Shiite militia in Iraq on Saturday claimed responsibility for a drone attack on Eilat in Israel a few hours after unknown drones hit a military base of paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces in central Iraq.

The group, known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, said in an online statement that its fighters conducted a drone attack on “a vital site in the Eilat area within the occupied territories.”

The statement did not provide any detail regarding casualties, but stressed that the attacks were carried out “in solidarity with the people of Gaza” and underscored its commitment to continue targeting “enemy’s strongholds.”

Since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict on Oct. 7, 2023, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq has launched multiple attacks on Israeli and U.S. bases in the Middle East. 

Across China: China-Africa cooperation in agriculture continues to deepen

BEIJING, April 21 (Xinhua) — When visiting an egg production factory in Pinggu District, Beijing’s northeastern suburb, African diplomats were amazed by the automated breeding process and quality products produced.

During an organized trip on Wednesday, 28 diplomats from over 20 African countries visited the egg factory, a food technology company, and scenic spot known as “peach blossom sea”.

Modernization of agriculture and mechanization of agriculture at various levels of the value chain is quite relevant to Africa, said Willy Bett, Kenyan ambassador to China. Beijing boasts about half of Chinese academicians in agriculture, over 1,000 professional breeders, and almost 20,000 agricultural scientific and technical personnel.

As a traditional agricultural district of Beijing, Pinggu has made full use of its regional advantages to attract technicians by establishing laboratories for academicians and researchers, offering funds for scientific and technological innovation.

Chickens nurtured in Pinggu are a great example of local products going abroad. At a chicken farm in Tanzania, workers there are nurturing chickens and white-feather broilers from Pinggu.

Last summer witnessed 15,500 chickens and 1,000 white-feather broilers of Yukou Poultry being exported to Tanzania. To ensure the chickens could adapt to the environment of Tanzania, technicians of Yukou Poultry made field trips to Tanzania to examine the local production factors, including feeding environment, feed and vaccines before export and sent technicians to work in Tanzania to offer professional guidance.

“The chickens from China can adapt to the local environment, better-resisting diseases than local chickens,” said an administrator of the farm.

During the trip, the African diplomats discussed how to promote agricultural cooperation between Chinese and African enterprises to ensure food security. A new meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be held in Beijing this autumn. “When you talk about the FOCAC mechanism, the cooperation between China and Africa, one of the most important topics is agricultural cooperation between China and Africa,” said Ibrahima Sory Sylla, Senegalese ambassador to China.

“We have the Chinese embassy in my country that facilitated the project to grow rice. We are talking to China in terms of setting up agricultural demonstration centers in Botswana,” said Daphne Nomsa Mlotshwa, charge d’affaires of the Botswana Embassy in China.

Cooperation between China and African countries in other areas was also expected, such as photovoltaic energy, she added.

World Insights: Rising GOP star calls for ouster of House speaker as Republican infighting continues

WASHINGTON, April 21 (Xinhua) — A rising GOP star is calling for the ouster of the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, the latest sign of continued Republican infighting. Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green from Georgia has called for fellow Republican and House Speaker Mike Johnson’s removal, mostly over U.S. aid for Ukraine.

ANOTHER OUSTER ATTEMPT

The move came just a little over six months after Johnson’s predecessor Kevin McCarthy was ousted in an unprecedented move, which was initiated by hardline Republican Representative Matt Gaetz. Johnson “is publicly saying funding Ukraine is now his top priority when less than 7 months ago he was against it,” Green wrote in a recent letter to lawmakers.

“The American people disagree — they believe our border is the only border worth fighting a war over, and I agree with them,” Green said. Indeed, Republican voters are split over providing more funding for Ukraine.

According to a Pew Research Center survey released in December, 48 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say the United States is giving too much aid to Ukraine. This share is up modestly from June, when 44 percent said this, and is substantially higher than it was at earlier stages in the war, the report showed.

“That is why I will not tolerate our elected Republican Speaker Mike Johnson serving the Democrats and the (President Joe) Biden administration,” Green wrote. “He is throwing our own razor-thin majority into chaos by not serving his own GOP conference that elected him,” Green wrote.

Adding to Johnson’s woes, a second GOP lawmaker has vowed support for Green’s initiative. Rep.

Thomas Massie from Kentucky said earlier this week that he informed Johnson in person that he will be co-sponsoring a resolution to oust the speaker. If the effort is successful, it would mark the second time since October that a speaker was removed from office by his own party.

Critics label the former ouster and Green’s current efforts as a sign of disarray within the GOP, while supporters said a party has every right to fire a speaker it doesn’t like.

WILL JOHNSON GET THE BOOT?

It remains unknown whether Speaker Johnson will be forced out. With the resignation of Rep. Ken Buck from Colorado, Republican control in the House will stand at 218 to 213, which means the party can only afford to lose two members and still pass legislation. Clay Ramsay, a researcher at the Center for International and Security Studies at the University of Maryland, told Xinhua that a majority of Republicans might vote to save Johnson.

Christopher Galdieri, a political science professor at Saint Anselm College, told Xinhua: “I can’t say what the future holds, but it looks like Johnson would only survive a vote on a motion to vacate if he can win support from Democrats without alienating Republicans wholesale.” “This would be a very tough needle to thread,” Galdieri said, explaining that Democrats would want to extract policy concessions in exchange for their support.

But there’s only so far Johnson could give before Republicans would balk. “And this would turn Johnson into a coalition speaker, which would be pretty uncharted territory in the modern House,” Galdieri said. Meanwhile, Democratic representatives have indicated they will vote to save Johnson if Republicans try to oust him. “That should protect him in the short-term, although he remains vulnerable in the longer-term,” Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West told Xinhua.

COULD THIS HURT THE GOP?

The current conflict comes on the heels of the ouster of former Speaker McCarthy, who was given the boot in October. Fifty-four percent of Americans who labeled themselves conservative expressed approval for McCarthy’s ouster, according to a recent CBS News poll. It remains unknown how or whether this will impact November’s presidential elections.

“I suspect the Biden campaign and Democrats generally will use this as another part of their case against the GOP — asking voters if they want unproductive, nonstop chaos or competent, boring governing,” Galdieri said. West said Republicans turning on their own party is not good for the GOP.

It plays into the Democratic narrative that Republicans cannot be trusted with the future of the country, he said. Others, however, believe it may not make a difference. “I think this spectacle has repeated so many times that doing it again hardly even reinforces it. People have already come to judgement about it,” Ramsay said. 

Roundup: Mideast countries voice concern over military escalation after alleged Israeli attack on Iran

CAIRO, April 21 (Xinhua) — Countries in the Middle East have voiced their concern over military escalation in the region after Israel on Friday allegedly struck sites near the city of Isfahan, central Iran, in what appeared to be its military response to Iran’s recent attack.

In a statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry called on the two sides to exercise the utmost restraint and to fully comply with the rules of international laws and the UN Charter, warning against widening the conflict and instability in the region.

Egypt stressed that it will continue to intensify communications with all concerned and influential parties to contain the ongoing escalation and tension. In addition, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the ministry “is constantly monitoring the tension in the region,” expressing its deep concern about the attack targeting Isfahan this morning.

The ministry said that the escalation must not distract attention from the destruction and loss of innocent lives in the Gaza Strip, renewing its call on the international community to perform its duties and work to stop the suffering of the Palestinian people, according to the statement.

Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister Ayman Safadi on Friday stressed the need to reduce the dangerous escalation in the region and reiterated that “Jordan will not allow it to be turned into an arena of conflict between Iran and Israel, and to endanger its security and the safety of its citizens.”

Safadi, who also serves as the Jordanian foreign minister, added on social media platform X that, “the current escalation only serves to divert attention away from the Israeli aggression on Gaza, stopping which must be the priority.”

The Israeli attack came after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps confirmed Saturday that it had launched missile and drone attacks on Israel in retaliation for earlier airstrikes by Israel on April 1 on the Iranian consulate building in the Syrian capital of Damascus, which killed seven Iranians.

So far, Israel has not officially acknowledged the strikes on Isfahan, while Iran has not publicly accused Israel of carrying out them.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Foreign Ministry on Friday condemned the Israeli strikes on Syrian military sites earlier in the day as a flagrant violation of Syrian sovereignty and a threat to regional stability.

In a statement, the ministry warned that such actions could escalate tensions in the region, potentially leading to a broader conflict, and urged the international community, including the UN Security Council, to condemn the attack and take decisive measures to halt the “crimes” committed by Israel.

In the early hours of Friday, the Israeli military launched a series of airstrikes targeting Syrian air defense sites in the southern region, according to the Syrian Defense Ministry.

The strikes caused material losses, while no casualties were reported, it added. The attack was also confirmed by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, with it reporting that more than six Israeli aircraft were observed flying intensively in southern Syria. The radar battalion responsible for monitoring the airspace, located in the east of Syria’s Daraa province, was targeted, the war monitor added. 

UN peacekeepers turn over eastern DRC base to gov’t forces

UNITED NATIONS, April 21 (Xinhua) — UN peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Friday turned over the first of their military bases to government forces, a UN spokesman announced.

The handover of the Bunyakiri base in the South Kivu province to the Congolese Armed Forces is part of the mission’s plan for disengagement from the eastern DRC province, said Stephane Dujarric, chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

“Our peacekeeping colleagues describe this as a pivotal step of disengagement efforts that also reflects the Congolese army’s commitment to strengthen its presence as the mission withdraws from South Kivu province,” Dujarric said.

The base, located about 80km outside the city of Bukavu, was first established in 2004 as a mobile operating base and became a full-fledged permanent operating base in 2016, he said.

In November 2023, UN representatives and the Kinshasa government signed a note on the accelerated, gradual and orderly withdrawal of peacekeepers from the mission, known as MONUSCO, from the DRC. The note contained a plan for the complete disengagement in the country. A release from MONUSCO on Friday said the withdrawal did not mean the United Nations was leaving the DRC. “Rather, it is a reconfiguration of the UN’s presence in support of the people and government of the DRC,” it said.

“After MONUSCO’s departure, the UN agencies, funds, and programs will continue to provide support in accordance with their respective mandates. Responsibility for the protection of civilians and security will lie exclusively with the Congolese government.”

Dujarric said Volker Turk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, concluded his visit to MONUSCO on Thursday evening.

Turk told a Kinshasa press conference that all Congolese people have a right to peace, adding that it is imperative that the government is able to fully play its role in the country’s east, enforce security, and provide essential services such as education and health.

Turk also called on countries that support or have influence over armed groups in the country’s east to assume their responsibility to ensure fighting stops, the spokesman said. 

UN urges immediate action to halt conflict in Sudan

UNITED NATIONS, April 21 (Xinhua) — UN Under-Secretary-General Rosemary A. DiCarlo on Friday emphasized the urgent need for an immediate end to the war in Sudan during her address to the Security Council.

The UN political chief described the situation in Sudan as a “crisis of epic proportions” and “wholly manmade.” She highlighted the devastating impact of the conflict that has killed over 14,000 people and forced more than 8.6 million to flee their homes, including 1.8 million refugees.

DiCarlo reiterated the call for warring parties to cease hostilities and comply with their obligations under international law, stating, “Both parties have failed to protect civilians.” She criticized the continued external support to the warring factions, which contravenes the sanctions regime imposed by the council. She condemned this support as “illegal” and “immoral,” emphasizing that “it must stop.”

The fighting, which began over a year ago, has not only caused significant casualties but also crippled the Sudanese economy and destroyed critical infrastructure. DiCarlo pointed out that “thousands of homes, schools, hospitals, and other essential civilian infrastructure have been destroyed.”

She also urged for enhanced global support for aid and peace efforts, and called for renewed commitment to peace through international mediation. DiCarlo expressed hope that the Jeddah platform, a mechanism for dialogue between the warring parties, would soon reconvene to forge an agreement on ceasefire and transitional security arrangements.

DiCarlo also highlighted ongoing diplomatic efforts, including the work of the secretary-general’s personal envoy, Ramtane Lamamra, who has been engaging with stakeholders to coordinate mediation initiatives. She noted the support from the African Union and the European Union in empowering Sudanese civilians towards a political transition and praised the recent Paris Conference on Sudan for its unified approach to supporting humanitarian efforts in the region.

DiCarlo stressed the importance of building on the current momentum to help Sudan return to a path of inclusive democracy and recovery. She affirmed the commitment of the United Nations to work closely with multilateral partners to achieve a durable cessation of hostilities and ensure a peaceful future for the Sudanese people. UNGA president highlights success of first Sustainability Week

UNITED NATIONS, April 21 (Xinhua) — Dennis Francis, president of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), on Friday marked the successful conclusion of the inaugural Sustainability Week, praising the active engagement and contributions of global leaders and the public towards advancing sustainability goals.

Francis expressed his gratitude towards the heads of state and government, including the president of Poland and the prime ministers of Barbados and Uganda, for their participation in the week’s events.

Their presence “greatly enhanced” the discussions that took place across several high-level meetings focused on debt sustainability, tourism, sustainable transport and infrastructure connectivity, he said.

“This week, we convened a series of important discussions that addressed critical aspects of sustainability, including socioeconomic equality, sustainable tourism, transport, and the completion of the UN Decade of Sustainable Energy for All,” said Francis. The events aimed to foster dialogue and build global resilience through sustainable development.

In his closing remarks, Francis issued a “Call to Action” to the international community, urging increased efforts to provide access to electricity for over 600 million people and clean cooking solutions for over 2 billion individuals still relying on harmful fuels. He emphasized the need to “dramatically scale up finance and investment” for developing nations and boost public-private partnerships, especially for technology transfer to the most vulnerable countries.

“As we conclude, let us carry forward this momentum to the Summit of the Future and beyond and turn commitments made this week into actionable and sustained efforts to meaningfully benefit prosperity, planet, and people,” Francis said, calling for continued collaboration and action to realize these ambitious sustainability goals. 

Chinese Language Day celebrated in Ethiopia with call for multilingualism, cultural diversity

ADDIS ABABA, April 21 (Xinhua) — The United Nations family in Ethiopia marked UN Chinese Language Day on Thursday with the aim of promoting Chinese language and culture, calling for linguistic and cultural diversity.

The annual Chinese language commemoration event, co-hosted by the Chinese Mission to the African Union (AU), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), and the Liaison Office of UNESCO with AU and UNECA, was held on Thursday inside the UNECA Conference Center in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. Oliver Chinganya, director of the African Center for Statistics at the UNECA, said that the annual UN Chinese Language Day celebrates multilingualism and cultural diversity, and promotes linguistic equity within the UN system.

“We are gathered here today to celebrate Chinese Language Day, which is intended to bring peoples closer, promote international cooperation, and support multilateralism in international relations,” Chinganya said.

The celebration event serves as an important platform to acknowledge the contribution of Chinese to the achievement of the UN’s objectives, he said.

The Chinese language is one of the six working languages of the UN, along with English, French, Russian, Arabic and Spanish.

This year’s celebration event featured various activities and presentations promoting the Chinese language and culture, including traditional Chinese dance, Tai Chi performances and Chinese music performances by a group of UNECA staff. Members of the Chinese medical team in Ethiopia also demonstrated traditional Chinese medicine, including acupuncture and cupping, to the UN family in Ethiopia.

Hu Changchun, head of the Chinese mission to the AU, said that as one of the six working languages of the UN, Chinese is not only one of the oldest languages but also the language spoken by the largest population in the world.

The use of the Chinese language has ensured the effective work of the UN and has promoted cultural and people-to-people exchanges between China and countries around the world, he added.

Hu said that the Chinese language is attracting an increasing number of global learners, and China has supported Chinese teaching in over 190 countries through various cooperation projects to meet the growing demand for Chinese learning worldwide.

More than 30 million people are learning Chinese outside China, and over 70 Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms have been established across 47 African countries, the envoy said.

The UN family in Ethiopia commemorates this day annually in accordance with the UN’s decision to designate April 20 as Chinese Language Day in 2010.

The date was specifically chosen to honor Cangjie, a mythical figure in China credited with the invention of Chinese characters. Rita Bissoonauth, director of the Liaison Office of UNESCO with AU and UNECA, said during the occasion that the Chinese language serves as a bridge connecting generations, cultures and civilizations.

“The day celebrates the richness, beauty, and significance of the Chinese language by reflecting on the profound impact that Chinese has had on the world both historically and in the present day,” Bissoonauth said. 

87 killed, over 80 injured as heavy rains wreak havoc in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, April 21 (Xinhua) — At least 87 people have been killed and 82 others injured in separate rain-triggered incidents in Pakistan over the past week as heavy downpours continued to wreak havoc in parts of the country, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Friday.

The NDMA said that the rains have partially or fully damaged 2,715 houses across the country, adding that most of the people died in the incidents related to structural collapse, lightning strike and flash flood.

Most of the damages and casualties were reported from the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where 36 people lost their lives and 53 others sustained injuries due to torrential rains, followed by the eastern Punjab province, which has reported 25 deaths and eight injuries, according to the NDMA.

A total of 15 people were killed and 10 others injured in the southwestern Balochistan province, whereas 11 people died with 11 others injured due to heavy rains in the Pakistan-controlled Kashmir during the period, said the NDMA.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives and property due to recent heavy rains, advising the concerned departments to speed up relief activities in the affected areas and expedite work for opening roads that have been closed due to rains and land sliding.

Earlier in its weather prediction report on Friday, the NDMA forecasted that the ongoing rains would continue until April 22, saying the expected rainfall may trigger flash floods in several areas of the country. 

China In Perspective: Next-gen telecom to turbocharge China’s new productivity

BEIJING, April 21 (Xinhua) — China is pushing for the convergence of next-generation communication with technologies such as big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence (AI), aiming to empower various industries and develop new quality productive forces.

With innovation playing the leading role, new quality productive forces means advanced productivity that is freed from traditional economic growth mode and productivity development paths, features high-tech, high efficiency and high quality. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has reported that 5G applications have been successfully integrated into 74 of the 97 major sectors of the national economy.

This includes significant advancements in key areas such as industry, mining, power, and healthcare, where 5G is being promoted on a large scale. Zhao Zhiguo, chief engineer of the MIIT, stated that 5G is currently progressing towards 5G-Advanced (5GA) or 5.5G, and there is an increased focus on the research and development of 6G and terabit optical networks.

According to research by Zhongtai Securities, 5G-A is poised to become a cornerstone for the low-altitude economy, offering comprehensive information services that include lifecycle management, intelligent decision support, security, and AI-assisted drone supervision.

These capabilities are essential for the safe and efficient operation of low-altitude flights, a burgeoning sector within the economy and an example of developing new quality productive forces.

New quality productive forces are driven by revolutionary technological breakthroughs, innovative allocation of production factors, and deep industrial transformation and upgrading. A prime example is the emergence of futuristic industries.

The MIIT and several other departments have issued a guideline on the innovation and development of humanoid robots as part of efforts to encourage development of new quality productive forces, said Shan Zhongde, vice minister of industry and information technology.

A research note from Guosheng Securities said the humanoid robot market is expected to surpass the trillion-yuan mark in market scale in the future, with 6G playing a significant role in this growth.

It will be capable of supporting intelligent dialogue and training for robots by gradually enhancing their level of intelligence.

The research suggests that 6G will boast features such as ultra-high speed, ultra-low latency, global coverage, massive connectivity, ultra-high reliability, and ultra-low energy consumption. It is expected to fuel development of game-changing technologies like quantum communication.

Smart manufacturing is the core technology and main focus that will enable the transformation of China’s manufacturing industry from being large in scale to becoming stronger in capability and competitiveness, said Shan.

To this end, China is improving infrastructure including moderately and proactively planning for the deployment of information infrastructure such as 5G, computing power, and mobile Internet of Things (IoT).

In March, the world’s first 400G all-optical interprovincial backbone network officially became commercially available in China. Compared to the previous generation of backbone networks, its transmission bandwidth has increased by four times, and the energy consumption per bit has been reduced by 65 percent.

Data volumes that would previously take ten minutes to transmit can now be completed in just over two minutes thanks to the new network developed by China Mobile. It is expected that by mid-2024, the company will fully realize high-speed interconnection between the eight hubs of an initiative channeling computing resources from the country’s east to the west, establishing the world’s largest 400G all-optical interprovincial backbone network.

Zhao emphasized that the commercial operation of the 400G network will better support the efficient interconnection of computing power and data elements across entities, types, and regions. An industry report from a broadband development alliance indicates that China has built the world’s largest and technologically leading “dual-gigabit” network infrastructure, achieving gigabit access in every city, 5G access in every county, and broadband access in every village.

The telecom industry in China has developed rapidly in recent years. As of the end of March, the cumulative number of 5G base stations built nationwide has reached 3.647 million, with a 5G user penetration rate exceeding 60 percent, according to MIIT data.

As China continues to lift market access restrictions in the manufacturing sector, it will also promote the opening up of sectors including telecommunications to create more trade and investment opportunities for foreign investors.

In its latest move to expand opening up, China said that it will remove foreign ownership restrictions on some value-added telecom services provided within domestic pilot areas. By the end of March this year, 1,926 foreign-funded enterprises had been approved to operate telecommunications businesses in China.

By aligning itself with high-standard international economic and trade rules, the country aims to stimulate the vitality of market entities and share the development dividends of its digital economy with the world, said Wang Zhiqin, deputy director of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology. 

China Focus: Scientists use gut bacteria to prevent mosquito-borne diseases

BEIJING, April 21 (Xinhua) — Chinese scientists have developed a more natural strategy to prevent mosquito-borne diseases by changing insects’ gut microbes, which might be used as an alternative to controversial experiments that see genetically-modified mosquitoes released in Florida.

Mosquito-borne viruses, such as dengue and Zika, cause several potentially fatal human viral infections.

Dengue viruses infect approximately 390 million each year globally. An epidemic survey over the past decade documented frequent dengue outbreaks in Xishuangbanna and Lincang, both in southwest China’s Yunnan Province.

But few have been reported in neighboring cities of Wenshan and Pu’er. The very different prevalence stimulated the curiosity of researchers from Tsinghua University and Yunnan Academy of Animal Science and Veterinary Sciences.

GUT MICROBES

The team’s field investigation on thousands of blood-sucking female mosquitoes revealed that mosquitoes from two different habitats carry different symbiotic bacteria in their guts, the first tissue organ usually infected by viruses. Among the 55 strains isolated, a kind of bacterium called Rosenbergiella_YN46 was abundant in mosquito guts in Wenshan and Pu’er, but not in Xishuangbanna and Lincang, according to the study published on Friday in the journal Science.

Then, the researchers colonized the strain in the intestines of two common disease-transmitting mosquitoes — Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti. Those mosquitoes did become less likely to be infected with dengue and Zika via blood bites, according to the study. The further analysis suggested that an enzyme secreted by the bacteria can convert glucose into gluconic acid and rapidly acidify the intestines of blood-sucking mosquitoes. The mosquito-borne viruses will be neutralized in an acidic environment.

INTERVENTION TACTICS

The team made an experiment in the wild to breed “good mosquitoes” that do not transmit viruses.

They added Rosenbergiella_YN46 bacteria to the water where mosquitoes eggs were laid and hatched. Encouragingly, the intestinal colonization proved a success at a site in Mengla County of Xishuangbanna and the colony persistently resided in the guts of Aedes mosquitoes. The researchers also proposed another potential intervention strategy — the use of plants. Mosquito’s gut microbes in the wild are either derived from microbes in breeding waters, or in the sap and nectar of plants. “We are collecting a large number of plant samples in Wenshan, where the bacterium was isolated, in order to find plants that are enriched with this bacterium,” said Cheng Gong from Tsinghua, the corresponding author of the paper.

“Transplanting and cultivating this plant to the infected area may intervene in the ability of mosquitoes to carry and transmit the virus.” “If those plants are shrub or herbaceous plants, they can be grown in your backyard or residential compound,” added Cheng.

“Rosenbergiella_YN46 is derived from the natural environment and its potential environmental risk is relatively low, and will not make mosquitoes resistant to the drug, nor affect their survival in nature,” commented Xu Jianguo from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, who did not participate in the study.

Meanwhile, the team is conducting a study in Leizhou Peninsula in south China’s Guangdong Province, where the mosquito population is large but there is no dengue, to discover more bacteria that could inhibit the spread of mosquito-borne viruses.

“The spread of Zika and epidemic encephalitis B might be contained if more bacteria can be found,” said Cheng. This study has shown that the use of bacteria-colonized field mosquitoes could offer a feasible biocontrol strategy for reducing virus transmission and prevalence in nature, said the researchers.

Chinese scientists use AI algorithm to better predict unknown tumor origins

TIANJIN, April 21 (Xinhua) — A team of Chinese scientists have designed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that predicts hard-to-identify tumor origins with an accuracy rivaling or even surpassing human pathologists.

Cancer of unknown primary (CUP) site poses challenges to clinicians due to its elusive nature. The CUP, which accounts for 3 percent to 5 percent of all cancers diagnosed in humans, tends to be malignant, with only 20 percent of CUP patients achieving a median survival of 10 months.

The researchers, led by those from Tianjin Medical University and the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, developed a deep-learning method for tumor origin differentiation, trained via cytological images from 57,220 cases at four Chinese hospitals.

The tool called TORCH can identify malignant tumors in fluids accumulated in chest and abdomen and predict their origins, according to the study published this week in the journal Nature Medicine.

TORCH achieved a prediction accuracy for primary tumor origins of 82.6 percent, significantly improving the diagnostic scores compared with four human pathologists, according to the study.

Also, the treatment protocol given in conforming with TORCH-predicted origins resulted in an overall survival of 27 months as against 17 months for those who were administered discordant treatment.

The study highlighted the AI system’s potential as a valuable ancillary tool in clinical practice, although further validation in randomized trials is demanded, said the researchers.

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