Chinese Premier Li Qiang encouraged Chinese research fellows to achieve greater breakthroughs in technology and research for core technologies, and contribute more to China's technological self-reliance and self-improvement, during his inspection to Central China’s Hubei Province from Tuesday to Wednesday, China Media Group reported.
Li made the remarks when visiting the State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing at Wuhan University. Li urged the research fellows to vigorously promote multi-scenario applications, and gather and integrate more innovative resources.
While in Wuhan, Li visited companies including Yangtze Memory Technologies Co and HGTECH to observe production lines while learning about the development of flash memory chip and laser industries.
Li stressed the need for enterprises to further play the role of being the main drivers for scientific and technological innovation, improve the mechanism of collaborative innovation of industries, universities and research institutes, and implement more precise support policies to transform scientific research achievements into real productivity.
Li also visited the Gezhouba Dam in Yichang. He urged enterprises to continue promoting scientific and technological innovation while prioritizing ecological and green development when visiting Hubei Xingfa Chemicals Group Co.
China is bolstering and advancing scientific and innovative development.
According to a readout of the annual Central Economic Work Conference following its conclusion in December, "sci-tech innovation should lead the development of a modern industrial system," the Xinhua News Agency reported.
As a Fijian proverb goes, "A bud will give birth to millions of fruit."
In November 2014, while holding a group meeting with leaders of Pacific Island Countries (PICs) in Fiji, Chinese President Xi Jinping quoted this saying.
China's exchanges and cooperation with the South Pacific region have borne fruits as diverse as the leader' footprints, greatly benefiting local people.
The South Pacific region covers a vast expanse, with as many as 16 countries, varying in size. Apart from Australia and New Zealand, the two developed countries, there are developing island countries such as Fiji, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
In 2014 and 2018, Xi made two visits to the South Pacific region and held meetings with leaders of PICs that have established diplomatic relations with China. Xi's visits opened new chapters in the history of China-PICs relations.
During his visit to New Zealand in November 2014, Xi first proposed that the South Pacific region is a natural extension of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative put forward by China.
Following in his footsteps, the blossoms of development have truly flourished on the islands of the Pacific Ocean.
'Magic grass' trade
At the Tadra Mushroom Farm near Nadi city in Fiji, horses are leisurely grazing in a drizzle of rain. The workers here, dressed in local-style sky-blue shirts, are talking about "magic grass."
The hybrid grass, knowing as Juncao in Chinese, can be used as a substrate for mushroom production, feed for animals, windbreaks, and used to minimize soil erosion.
Juncao technology, literally meaning fungi and grass, was invented in the 1980s by Lin Zhanxi, a professor at Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University in East China's Fujian Province. The technology, which uses the grass to grow fungi, has been promoted by China around the world, aiming to help increase people's income and reduce poverty.
In Tadra, using Juncao, mushrooms that are favored by local people can easily be farmed without the need for much care. Moreover, the grass can also be used to feed the horses on the farm. The mushrooms in Tadra are some of the first mushrooms that have ever been harvested in the region.
In February 2009, Xi, then vice president of China, made a transit visit to Fiji. Upon learning that Fiji was unable to produce mushrooms locally, he recommended Juncao technology to Fijian leaders.
In November of the same year, the two countries signed an agreement on China-aided Juncao technology, and subsequently, the China-Fiji Juncao Technology Cooperation Project was officially launched.
In November 2014, Xi visited Fiji and once again inquired about the progress of the Juncao Project. Since then, with the efforts and practices of Chinese and Fijian experts over more than eight years, the Fiji Juncao Technology Demonstration Center has become the largest Juncao technology demonstration base in the South Pacific region.
Fiji is not the only country, nor even the first one, in the South Pacific region that has benefited from Juncao technology.
In 2000, Xi, then governor of East China's Fujian Province, personally pushed for the demonstration projects for Juncao and upland rice technologies in the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea with aid from Fujian Province.
Many years later, Xi said he was happy to learn that the project was doing well and had produced good economic and social benefits. It has become a much-relished story in China-Papua New Guinea relations.
A successful farmer told the Global Times that Juncao and mushrooms are both straightforward to cultivate and transport. They require neither fertilizers nor pesticides, and the economic returns are 20 to 30 times greater than what they used to earn from growing cabbage. Deepening the bond
To have a flower, you must first plant a seed.
During Xi's group meeting with PIC leaders in November 2014, the two sides agreed to establish a strategic partnership featuring mutual respect and common development.
The leaders of the eight island countries that had diplomatic relations with China at the time all gathered in Nadi, displaying their sincerity.
According to media reports, the First Lady of Fiji remarked, "China is like a magnet, and when you come here, Fiji is filled with honored guests."
"The relations between China and the PICs are at a new historical starting point, and we are willing to join efforts with all the island countries to seek true friendship, conduct practical cooperation and yield win-win results, and thus together realize the dream of development, prosperity and harmony," Xi noted at the group meeting, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
In November 2018, Xi paid a state visit to Papua New Guinea and had another group meeting with leaders of PICs having diplomatic ties with China, during which time China-PICs relations were elevated to a comprehensive strategic partnership featuring mutual respect and common development.
Afterward, more island countries joined the ranks of cooperative development with China.
In September 2019, the Solomon Islands announced the establishment of diplomatic relations with China.
While Prime Minister of Solomon Islands Manasseh Sogavare was in Beijing in July this year, Xi said that since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the friendly cooperation between the two countries has come from behind and has been at the forefront of China's relations with PICs, becoming a model of solidarity, cooperation, and joint development among countries of different sizes and developing countries, Xinhua reported.
"China is our good friend. China can help us achieve these development goals," Sogavare told the Global Times during his time aboard the Chinese naval hospital ship, Peace Ark, which was visiting the Solomon Islands, on August 20.
He further noted that China is a great country, and for countries like the Solomon Islands and other similar PICs, it would be "very stupid" not to increase cooperation with China and seize the development opportunities it offers.
With the assistance of China, a splendid multi-purpose sports stadium has risen in Honiara, capital of the Solomon Islands. This will prepare the Solomon Islands to welcome guests from all corners when the Pacific Games open in November.
In growing friendly relations with PICs, China will stay committed to equal treatment, mutual respect, win-win cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, Xi affirmed in a meeting with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape on November 2022.
According to a fact sheet on China-PICs cooperation published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China in May 2022, the two sides have continued to expand exchanges and cooperation in more than 20 areas, including trade, investment, ocean affairs, environmental protection, disaster prevention and mitigation, poverty alleviation, healthcare, education and tourism. Multiple ways to collaborate
In addition to collaborating with the less-developed island countries like the Solomon Islands, China also actively seeks cooperation with developed countries in the South Pacific region, including New Zealand and Australia.
While visiting Wellington in New Zealand in November 2014, Xi told then prime minister John Key of New Zealand that China is a very large market with a population of more than 1.3 billion. New Zealand's dairy products, wool, beef and mutton, marine products and other quality products are very popular in China.
"I hope New Zealand will earnestly guarantee the quality and safety of products exported to China so as to protect Chinese consumers' rights and interests," Xi said.
In mid-August, Global Times reporters visited New Zealand to investigate the outcomes of Xi's 2014 visit.
New Zealand is aptly known as the "land of pastures." The country's dairy industry has been at the forefront of China-New Zealand cooperation, with China being New Zealand's largest trading partner. In 2021, dairy products topped the list of New Zealand's exports to China, amounting to a staggering NZ$7.35 billion ($4.3 billion).
Simultaneously, officials from the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise told the Global Times that the country welcomes high-quality and highly productive investments from China, including those from Chinese dairy companies.
On the other side, New Zealand has also attracted numerous Chinese dairy companies to establish a presence in the country. This practice has turned out to be mutually beneficial, boosting New Zealand's economic development while fostering the long-term growth of China's dairy industry
Analysts said that China's approach toward countries with different systems and at different development stages like Australia and New Zealand reflects its sincerity. Despite being a big country that is sometimes called jokingly a "giant," China remains committed to peaceful development, the principle of common development, and the policy of promoting Asia-Pacific cooperation and development. It also sets an example and provides guidance for other countries worldwide. Shared future
Island countries are among the most vulnerable regions to the threat of climate change.
China places a high priority on the unique challenges and concerns of island countries regarding climate change and has been helping these countries enhance their capacity to address it.
China is actively engaged in cooperation with the PICs on various levels and in various ways to improve their ability to adapt to climate change and achieve high-quality development.
Xi said during his 2014 visit to Fiji that China will support island countries dealing with climate change under the framework of South-South cooperation, provide them with materials for energy conservation and environmental protection as well as equipment for renewable energy, and carry out cooperation with them in tsunami warning, sea-level monitoring and other areas.?
China takes very seriously the PICs' special conditions and concerns on climate change, and has been committed to helping them strengthen the capacity to tackle climate change.
For instance, in April 2022, the China-Pacific Island Countries Climate Change Cooperation Center was officially launched in East China's Shandong Province.
The center is to carry out demonstration project cooperation with PICs, share the experience in and practice of green and low-carbon development, work together to respond to the challenge of climate change and help PICs achieve sustainable development.
As of October 2022, China has allocated more than 1.2 billion yuan ($164.5 million) for South-South cooperation on climate change, signed 43 South-South cooperation documents on climate change with 38 developing countries, and trained some 2,000 officials and professional personnel specializing in climate response from over 120 developing countries, according to the Foreign Ministry of China.
The mummy’s frozen body and assorted belongings were found in 1991 poking out of an Alpine glacier at Italy’s northern border with Austria. But Ötzi’s ax originated about 500 kilometers to the south in what is now central Italy’s Southern Tuscany region, say geoscientist Gilberto Artioli of the University of Padua in Italy and colleagues. It’s unclear whether Ötzi acquired the Tuscan copper as raw material or as a finished blade, the investigators report July 5 in PLOS ONE. While mostly copper, the blade contains small concentrations of lead, arsenic, silver and more than a dozen other chemical elements. Researchers previously suspected the copper came from known ore deposits 100 kilometers or less from the site of the Iceman’s demise. But comparing the mix of different forms of lead, or isotopes, in the ax with that in copper ore from present-day deposits across much of Europe indicated that the ancient man’s blade came from Southern Tuscany. Other chemical components identified in the copper implement also point to a Southern Tuscan origin.
Earlier radiocarbon measurements of a wooden shaft, originally found attached to the copper blade by leather straps and birch tar, date the tool to roughly 5,300 years ago. Ötzi’s bone and tissue have yielded comparable radiocarbon age estimates (SN: 5/27/17, p. 13).
Archaeological studies indicate that copper mining and the production of copper items flourished in central Italy when Ötzi was alive, the researchers say. They propose that an extensive trade network funneled copper from Southern Tuscany to the Iceman’s Alpine territory.
Ripples in spacetime travel at the speed of light. That fact, confirmed by the recent detection of a pair of colliding stellar corpses, kills a whole category of theories that mess with the laws of gravity to explain why the universe is expanding as fast as it is.
On October 16, physicists announced that the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, LIGO, had detected gravitational waves from a neutron star merger (SN Online: 10/16/17). Also, the neutron stars emitted high-energy light shortly after merging. The Fermi space telescope spotted that light coming from the same region of the sky 1.7 seconds after the gravitational wave detection. That observation showed for the first time that gravitational waves, the shivers in spacetime set off when massive bodies move, travel at the speed of light to within a tenth of a trillionth of a percent. Within a day, five papers were posted at arXiv.org mourning hundreds of expanding universe theories that predicted gravitational waves should travel faster than light — an impossibility without changes to Einstein’s laws of gravity. These theories “are very, very dead,” says the coauthor of one of the papers, cosmologist Miguel Zumalacárregui of the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics, or NORDITA, in Stockholm. “We need to go back to our blackboards and start thinking of other alternatives.”
In the 1990s, observations of exploding stars showed that more distant explosions were dimmer than existing theories predicted. That suggested that the universe is expanding at an ever-increasing rate (SN: 10/22/11, p. 13). Cosmologists have struggled ever since to explain why.
The most popular explanation for the speedup is that spacetime is filled with a peculiar entity dubbed dark energy. “You can think of it like a mysterious fluid that pushes everything apart and counteracts gravity,” says cosmologist Jeremy Sakstein of the University of Pennsylvania, coauthor of another new paper. In the simplest version of this theory, the density of this dark energy has not changed over the history of the universe, so physicists call it a cosmological constant. This doesn’t require any changes to gravity — which is good, because gravity has been well-tested inside the solar system.
The cosmological constant idea matches observations of the wider universe, but it has some theoretical difficulties. Dark energy is about 120 orders of magnitude weaker than theorists calculate it should be (SN Online: 11/18/13), a mismatch that makes scientists uncomfortable.
Also, different methods for measuring the rate of expansion come up with slightly different numbers (SN: 8/6/16, p. 10). Measurements based on exploding stars suggest that distant galaxies are speeding away from each other at 73 kilometers per second for each megaparsec (about 3.3 million light-years) of space between them. But observations based on the cosmic microwave background, ancient light that encodes information about the conditions of the early universe, found that the expansion rate is 67 km/s per megaparsec. The disagreement suggests that either one of the measurements is wrong, or the theory behind dark energy needs a tweak.
So instead of invoking a substance to counteract gravity, theorists tried to explain the expanding universe by weakening gravity itself. Any modifications to gravity need to leave the solar system intact. “It’s quite hard to build a theory that accelerates the universe and also doesn’t mess up the solar system,” says cosmologist Tessa Baker of the University of Oxford, coauthor of still another paper.
These theories take hundreds of forms. “This field of modified gravity theories is a zoo,” says Baker. Some suggest that gravity leaks out into extra dimensions of space and time. Many others account for the universe’s speedy spreading by adding a different mysterious entity — some unknown particle perhaps — that drains gravity’s strength as the universe evolves.
But the new entity would have another crucial effect: It could slow the speed of light waves, similar to the way light travels more slowly through water than through air. That means that the best alternatives to dark energy required gravitational waves to travel faster than light — which they don’t.
Justin Khoury, a theoretical physicist at the University of Pennsylvania who has worked on several of the alternative gravity theories but was not involved in the new papers, was surprised that one gravitational-wave observation ruled out so many theories at once. He’s hardly disappointed, though.
“The fact that we’re learning something about dark energy because of this measurement is incredibly exciting,” he says.
Observing gravitational waves and light waves at the same time offers a third, independent way to measure how fast the universe is expanding. For now, that rate lies frustratingly right between the two clashing measurements scientists already had, at 70 km/s per megaparsec. But it’s still imprecise. Once LIGO and other observatories have seen 10 or 20 more neutron star collisions, researchers should be able to tell which measurement is correct and figure out whether dark energy needs an update, Zumalacárregui says.
“Gravitational waves may kill these models, but eventually they have the potential to tell us if this discrepancy is for real,” he says. “That’s something that is in itself very beautiful.”
Overtime is going to look a little bit different in college football games during the 2021 season. The NCAA has once again made some minor tweaks to its overtime rules.
Why? It's all in the name of bringing the game to a quicker conclusion. The NCAA has made shortening overtime its mission since Texas A&M beat LSU 74-72 in a seven overtime game during the 2018 season. As exciting as that game was, it was long. More than 200 snaps were played, which is certainly not ideal for the players on the field.
So, how is the NCAA changing its overtime rules for 2021? Here's everything you need to know about the differences in overtime this season and how it compares to previous seasons. College football overtime rules 2021 The NCAA amended its overtime rules in 2021 in an attempt to lessen the number of plays run in an overtime period. Teams are now required to run a two-point conversion after a touchdown beginning in the second overtime period. Previously, that began in the third overtime period.
Additionally, teams will begin running alternating two-point conversion attempts if the game reaches a third overtime. So, it's essentially a one-play drive. The goal of this is to limit the number of plays run from scrimmage by each team.
Here are the rest of the college football overtime rules for the 2021 season.
At the end of regulation, the referee will toss a coin to determine which team will possess the ball first in overtime. The visiting team captain will call the toss. The winner gets to choose to either play offense or defense first or chooses which side of the field to play on. The decision cannot be deferred. The teams that loses the coin toss must exercise the remaining option. They will then have the chance to choose first from the four categories in the second overtime and subsequent even-numbered OT periods. The team that wins the toss will have the same options in odd-numbered OT periods. In each of the first two overtime periods, teams are granted one possession beginning at the opponent's 25-yard line, unless a penalty occurs to move them back. The offense can place the ball anywhere on or between the hash marks. Each team is granted one timeout per overtime period. Timeouts do not carry over from regulation nor do they carry over between overtime periods. Each team retains the ball until it fails to score, fails to make a first down or turns the ball over. Beginning with the second overtime period, teams must attempt a two-point conversion after scoring a touchdown. Beginning with the third overtime period, teams will begin to run alternating two-point conversion plays instead of offensive possessions. The college football overtime rules are the same in both the regular and postseason. College football overtime rule change proposals The most recent overtime rule change proposal was passed by the NCAA in 2021. It was made in the name of shortening games and limiting offensive reps, as previously stated.
Below are the rule changes that were ratified for 2021:
Beginning with the second overtime period, teams must attempt a two-point conversion after scoring a touchdown. Beginning with the third overtime period, teams will begin to run alternating two-point conversion plays instead of offensive possessions. History of college football overtime rules Up until 1996, most NCAA games did not go to overtime. They simply ended in a tie. However, the governing body adopted overtime rules after pushback on some important matchups ending all square.
The initial overtime rules were in place for quite a while. Each team got the ball at the opponent's 25-yard line and retained the ball until it failed to score, failed to make a first down or turned the ball over. Teams alternated possessions until a team emerged as a victor.
Then, in 2019, the NCAA made a couple of changes in the name of shortening the game. That's when they added the two-point conversion rule, so teams had to start attempting a two-point conversion starting in the third overtime. Then, after five overtimes, teams would start running alternating two-point conversion plays. These changes were, basically, a direct response to the Texas A&M vs. LSU game.
In 2021, the rules were tweaked again, as teams must run two-point conversions in the second overtime period and will begin alternating two-point plays when the third overtime begins.
Prior to the 2021-22 season, the NBA's historic 75th season, Stephen Curry was hot on the heels of Hall of Famer Ray Allen to become the all-time leader for most 3-pointers made.
Entering the season, Curry needed 142 3-pointers needed to surpass Allen, and 12 games into the season, he's knocked off 76 of the latter's lead. It's still early but Curry is averaging a career-high 5.4 makes per game, a shade above his previous career-high of 5.3 which he set last year in 63 games. During the 2015-16 season in which he set the all-time single-season record with 402 en route to winning his second straight MVP award, Curry averaged 5.1 makes in 79 games. Top 10 players on the all-time leader for most made 3-pointers Curry is one of three active players in the Top 10 with James Harden and Damian Lillard being the other two players.
Player 3-pointers
Ray Allen 2,973
Stephen Curry 2,908
Reggie Miller 2,560
James Harden 2,489
Kyle Korver 2,450
Vince Carter 2,290
Jason Terry 2,282
Jamal Crawford 2,221
Paul Pierce 2,143
Damian Lillard 2,087 LeBron James, who ranks 11th, could break into the Top 10 and increase the list to four active players later this season.
When will Stephen Curry surpass Ray Allen? Curry has hit 42 of the 76 3-pointers in just five games including a red-hot shooting game against the LA Clippers, where he erupted for 45 points that started with a perfect 25-point first quarter and an overall 8-of-13 efficiency from beyond the arc and a 50-piece against the Atlanta Hawks.
As of Nov. 16, the baby-faced assassin, who is considered to be the greatest 3-pointer shooter in NBA history, needs 76 more 3-pointers to overtake Allen. Going by his season average of 5.4 3-pointers per game, Curry would take anywhere around 14 games to jump to the No. 1 spot on the all-time charts.
That many games mean Curry could make NBA history in mid-December, provided of course that he misses no games moving forward.
Warriors upcoming 2021-22 schedule With that projection, Curry would likely make NBA history on the road as Golden State would be on a five-game Eastern Conference road trip in mid-December.
14 games ahead on the Warriors schedule will see the team in Indiana, the birthplace of basketball. 15 games ahead will see the Warriors at the iconic Madison Square Garden playing the Knicks.
In case Curry takes a couple more games to surpass Allen, he has a couple of more iconic locations awaiting him in Boston - home of one of the oldest franchises which is tied for the most champions in NBA history - and Toronto - the capital of the birth country of James Naismith, the sport's inventor.
Warriors upcoming schedule Date Opponent Time (ET) Nov. 10 vs. Timberwolves 10:00 pm Nov. 12 vs. Bulls 10:00 pm Nov. 14 at Hornets 7:00 pm Nov. 16 at Nets 7:30 pm Nov. 18 at Cavaliers 7:30 pm Nov. 19 at Pistons 7:00 pm Nov. 21 vs. Raptors 8:30 pm Nov. 24 vs. 76ers 10:00 pm Nov. 26 vs. Trail Blazers 10:00 pm Nov. 28 at LA Clippers 3:30 pm Nov. 30 at Suns 10:00 pm Dec. 3 vs. Suns 10:00 pm Dec. 4 vs. Spurs 8:30 pm Dec. 6 vs. Magic 10:00 pm Dec. 8 vs. Trail Blazers 10:00 pm Dec. 11 at 76ers 8:30 pm Dec. 13 at Pacers 7:00 pm Dec. 14 at Knicks 7:30 pm Dec. 17 at Celtics 7:30 pm
