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Here is the news. Beijing will host the 2025 World Robot Conference and the inaugural World Humanoid Robot Games in August. The conference will take place from 8 August to 12th, followed by the Robot Games from August the 15th to 17th showcasing cutting -edge advances in robotics and fostering global industry collaboration.
According to the organizers the conference will feature forums, exhibitions, competitions, and networking events, with about 200 robotics companies presenting their latest innovations.
Chen Ying, vice -president and secretary -general of the Chinese Institute of Electronics, highlighted the events expanded global engagement with over 30 international organizations, 30 renowned global experts, and over 100 international teams expected to participate.
International exhibitors will account for more than 20 percent of the total.
The main events of the Games, the world's first multi -sport competition for humanoid robots, will test the athletic and functional skills of robots in athletics, football, dance, as well as handling materials and medical sorting.
Peripheral events including badminton, table tennis and basketball will emphasize entertainment and audience interaction.
Jiang Guangjie, Director of Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology said the games will demonstrate how close robots are to achieving human -like capabilities.
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A group of Chinese scientists have jointly developed a global ocean circulation model with a horizontal resolution of 1 kilometer.
The ocean serves as a crucial regulator of energy and carbon sinks in the Earth's climate system, absorbing over 90 per cent of the additional heat from global warming, and more than 30 percent of carbon dioxide emissions by humans.
In recent years, with the increasing frequency of extreme climate events, simulating and understanding mesoscale and sub -mesoscale processes in the ocean, such as Eddies and France, have become key to improving the accuracy of climate predictions.
The global ocean circulation model, developed by the Institute of Atmospheric Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Laotian Laboratory enables the direct simulation of sub -mesoscale processes in the ocean.
This is akin to embedding a microscope into the global ocean map, allowing for the precise capture of complex dynamic processes such as ocean eddies and fronts.
These fine scale ocean dynamic processes directly affect the transport and distribution of heat and substances globally, and are of great significance for understanding and predicting extreme weather events such as marine heat waves, typhoons and extreme precipitation.
solution. The model provides technological support that facilitates global climate governance and advances sustainable development.
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China's broadcasting and online audiovisual industry posted strong growth in 2024, fueled by a boom in microdramas and a steady rise in digital media consumption.
That is according to a report released by the National Radio and Television Administration.
The report shows that the sector generated 1 .29 trillion yuan, around 178 billion US in revenue, marking a 5 .2 % increase from the previous year.
A notable highlight was the Online Content segment, including paid subscriptions and programme copyrights, which brought in 183 billion yuan, up 34 .6 % year -on -year.
Microdramas, a fast -growing format tailored for mobile viewing, emerged as a potent engine for both innovation and profits.
Revenue from short videos and live streaming platforms remained strong, reaching 451 billion yuan, a 5 .4 % increase.
Meanwhile, Chinese internet users spent more than three hours a day, on average, watching online audiovisual content, reflecting the deepening role of digital platforms in everyday cultural consumption.
From early morning school drop -offs to seniors booking rides to the hospital.
From suburban commuters seeking a faster link to the metro to families visiting ancestral graves, Shanghai is rolling out a new kind of public bus, one that's designed by commuters, and launched only when enough riders request it.
DZ for ding zhi or customized, the system invites residents to submit proposed routes through a city -run platform.
Others with similar travel needs can opt in or vote, and if demand and meets the threshold, typically 15 to 20 passengers per trip, the route goes live.
More than 220 DZ routes have already launched across all 16 city districts through an online platform opened on May 8th.
Users enter start and end points, preferred times and trip frequency.
If approved, routes can begin running in as little as 3 days.
One of the first test cases was DZ301, a pilot route linking a major metro station with surrounding residential blocks, schools and office buildings.
Wu Yongming, deputy manager at Zhexue bus company, said that the average daily passenger Air flow is 200 to 260 people, with 170 to 180 during the morning peak and 70 to 80 in the evening.
The route originated from a residence request submitted last December.
In response, transit staff conducted on -site research, observing foot traffic, speaking with commuters, and calculating turnover times during peak hours.
Drivers then ran trial runs to fine tune the schedule before the route officially launched.
Chen Xiaohong, a professor at Tongji University's School of Transportation, said the system builds on Shanghai's dense transit network to better match capacity with demand, improving both convenience and resource use during peak travel.
Proposed routes appear on a popular customisation page, where others can opt -in to help reach the launch threshold.
Group bookings can also fast -track approval.
Fares are market -based and, while they follow basic public transit standards, no discounts are currently offered for students, seniors or other groups." Wang Yixiang, deputy director of the city's Passenger Transport Department, said the new new platform shortens what was once a slow process for launching new routes.
But he also acknowledged early challenges, noting that passenger demand is uneven, public awareness Relations remains low and planning still relies heavily on manual field work.
Going forward, Wang said that the authorities need to improve route planning, upgrade platform functions and boost visibility.
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The number of participating teams in the FIFA Women's World Cup will be expanded from 32 to 48 late from the 2031 edition.
The FIFA Council said in a statement that it had made a unanimous decision on the expansion, given the remarkable recent strides made by women's football across the world", adding that the decision will offer more nations and players access to elite competition and accelerate investment in women's football worldwide.
According to the world's football governing body, the 48 -team FIFA Women's World Cup will adopt a 12 -group format, increasing the total number of matches from 64 to 104 and extending the tournament by one week.
According to FIFA president Gianni Infantino, this decision is not just about having 16 more teams playing in the FIFA Women's World Cup, but taking the next steps in relation to the women's game in general, by ensuring that more FIFA member associations have the chance to benefit from the tournament to develop their women's football structures from a holistic point of view.
The 2023 Women's World Cup, co -hosted by Australia and New Zealand, featured 32 teams for the first time.
The quadrennial event will be held in Brazil in 2027.
The Men's World Cup will be expanded to 48 teams in the 2026 edition to be co -hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
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Aquatic biodiversity in the Yangtze River basin in China has been recovering following the launch of a 10 -year fishing ban several years ago.
That is according to a meeting recently held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in central China's Hubei province.
As per the meeting from 2021 to 2024, 344 native 5 fish species were monitored in the basin, an increase of 36 species compared with the 2017 to 2020 period which preceded the fishing ban.
Notably, authorities have been cracking down on illegal fishing and achieving positive results.
Zhang Zheli, Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said that in 2024, administrative progressive cases related to fishing dropped by 24 .7 % compared to the previous year, with a further decrease of 3 .3 % recorded in the first quarter of 2025.
Jiang stressed efforts to accelerate flagship species conservation, enhance the restoration of critical habitats, implement scientific breeding and release programmes, as well as strengthen the protection of aquatic organisms and promote comprehensive ecological restoration of water bodies.
To improve biodiversity along the Yangtze, China imposed a full fishing ban in 332 conservation areas of the river basin in January 2020.
Protection measures were later expanded to a ten year moratorium along the river's main streams and major tributaries, a ban which took effect on January 1st 2021.
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That is the end of this edition of Special English.
To recap, I'm going to read two of the news items again at normal speed.
Please listen carefully.
Beijing will host the 2025 World Robot Conference and the inaugural World Humanoid robot games in August. The conference will take place from August 8th to 12th followed by the robot games from August 15th to 17th showcasing cutting -edge advances in robotics and fostering global industry collaboration.
According to the organizers the The conference will feature forums, exhibitions, competitions, and networking events with about 200 robotics companies presenting their latest innovations.
Chen Ying, Vice President and Secretary -General of the Chinese Institute of Electronics, highlighted the event's expanded global engagement with over 30 international organizations, 30 renowned and global experts, and over a hundred international teams expected to participate.
International exhibitors will account for more than 20 % of the total.
The main events of the Games, the world's first multi -sport competition for humanoid robots, will test the athletic and functional skills of robots in athletics, football, dance as well as handling materials and medical sorting.
Peripheral events, like badminton, table tennis and basketball, will emphasise entertainment and audience interaction.
Jiang Guangzhe, director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology, said the games will demonstrate how close robots are to achieving human -like capabilities.
You're listening to special English.
From early morning school drop -offs to seniors booking rides to the hospital, from suburban commuters seeking a faster link to the metro to families visiting ancestral graves, Shanghai is rolling out a new kind of public bus, one that's designed by commuters, and launched only when enough riders request it.
Branded DZ for Dingzhe, or customised, the system invites residents to submit proposed routes through a city -run platform.
Others with similar travel needs can opt in or vote, and if demand meets the threshold, typically 15 to 20 passengers per trip, the route goes live.
More than 220 DZ routes have already launched across all 16 city districts.
Through an online platform opened on May 8th, users enter start and end points, preferred times, and trip frequency.
If approved, routes can begin running in as little as three days.
One of the first test cases was DZ301, a pilot route linking a major metro station with surrounding residential blocks, schools and office buildings.
Wuyong Ming, deputy manager at Zhou Shi bus company said, the average daily passenger flow is 250 to 260 people with 170 to 180 during the morning peak and 70 to 80 in the evening.
The route originated from residents requests submitted last December.
In response, transit staff conducted on -site research observing foot traffic, speaking with commuters and calculating turnover times during peak hours.
Drivers then ran trial runs to fine -tune the schedule before the route officially launched.
Chenxiao Hong, a professor at Tongji University School of transportation, so the system builds on Shanghai's dense transit network to better match capacity with demand, improving both convenience and resource use during peak travel.
Proposed routes appear on a popular customisation page, where others can opt in to help reach the launch threshold.
Group bookings can also fast -track approval.
Fares are market -based and while they follow basic public transit standards, no discounts are currently offered for students, seniors, or other groups.
Wang Yixiang, Deputy Director of the city's Passenger Transport Department, said the new platform shortens what was once a slow process for launching new routes but he also acknowledged early challenges, noting that passenger demand is uneven, public awareness remains low, and planning still relies heavily on manual field work.
Going forward, Wang said that the authorities need to improve route planning, upgrade platform functions and boost visibility.
That is the end of today's programme.
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