Global Crude oil price of Indian Basket was US$ 50.39 per bbl on 20.03.2017

The international crude oil price of Indian Basket as computed/published today by Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas was US$ 50.39 per barrel (bbl) on 20.03.2017




4-year-old programmers shine in robot contest

Children take part in an educational robot contest in Shanghai, March 4, 2017. [Photo/Shanghai Observer]

A total of 100 pre-school children recently took part in an educational robot contest in Shanghai,with the youngest contestant only 4 years old, according to Shanghai-based newspapers.

More than 1,000 contestants, usually in teams of two or three, competed in the educational robotsmatch. Their ages ranged from 4 to 18 years old, with 100 of them being pre-school children. Clad in uniformed yellow vests, they were seen piecing their robots together or working on computers to do programming to get the robots going.

Yu Shengming, 4, is one of the contestants. He worked with 6-year-old Yi Yang. They had to assemble a machinery vehicle using plastics and metal parts, and afterwards did some programming to get the vehicle along a designated route to hit ping pong balls and then come back. The two accomplished the task easily.

Another kindergarten child, Dai Kuncheng, told the Shanghai Morning Post that he hasn’t learned writing yet but has already learned something about programming and can recognize programming-related and video game-related characters, touting jargon like “main program” and “reference variables.”

The newspaper quoted a judge surnamed Zhang who said such contests used to attract children from 10 to 15 years old, but now an increasing number of younger kids are taking part. A report last year revealed there are about 7,600 robotics educational firms in China, a 15-fold increase over the past five years. Some companies, like Lego, charge nearly 10,000 yuan (about US$1450) per yearfor training and more than 100,000 yuan for the entire learning process.

The newspaper quoted some educators who argued against pre-school children learning programming as they believe young children shouldn’t focus too much on intellectual training, and that long exposure to computers will hurt their eyes. But some educators argue that as times have changed, their interestschange too.




Passengers subdue man on airplane

Passengers aboard an Ethiopian Airlines jetliner on Saturday helped subdue a man attempting to break into the cockpit as the aircraft flew to Beijing from Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.

Aviation Industry Corp of China said on Monday that one of its employees, Cao Hongguo, who was a passenger on board Flight ET604, was the first to restrain the suspect, according to a news release and a video interview of Cao sent to China Daily by the State-owned aviation giant.

More than 200 passengers on the flight have returned safely to Beijing, though they were delayed for several hours as the Boeing 777 had to make a stop at the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore, Pakistan. The man was transferred to police at the airport.

Ethiopian Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Cao, 37, is a senior project manager at AVIC-INTL Project Engineering Co, a subsidiary of AVIC, who oversees a water supply project in Karimenu, Kenya. He was returning to his home in Henan province to take care of his pregnant wife.

Cao said that about five hours into the flight, one of the crew members rushed into the economy class cabin and called for help. Cao followed the stewardess to the first class cabin and saw a strongly built man fiercely hitting the cockpit door, according to the news release from AVIC.

Cao tried to restrain the man, who struggled against him. Two other passengers and four stewardesses then jumped in to help.

The struggle lasted about 20 minutes with the alleged attacker ending up being tied up using headphone wires, Cao said in the video interview.

The video shows Cao with slight facial injuries.

“I don’t think it’s a big deal that should be taken as the action of a ‘hero’. I didn’t think about it at the time. I just took action when I heard someone calling for help,” he said.

Kenneth Pellegrino, captain of the ET604, attached a handwritten letter to the news release from AVIC certifying Cao’s actions, saying “he was instrumental” in helping handle the incident.




China’s door opens wider to outside world: Premier Li

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang meets with foreign representatives of the China Development Forum (CDF) 2017 in Beijing, capital of China, March 20, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang meets with foreign representatives of the China Development Forum (CDF) 2017 in Beijing, capital of China, March 20, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

China will open its door wider to the outside world, said Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Monday.

Li made the remarks when meeting with overseas representatives at the China Development Forum (CDF) in Beijing.

China will relax market access in service industries, manufacturing and mining, said Li

China supports foreign-funded enterprises to list and issue bonds in China and participate in national science and technology programs as well as infrastructure construction, he said.

China will streamline the administrative procedures for foreign investments and create a fair competition environment for all companies registered in China, he said.

He welcomed more foreign companies to invest in China, cooperate with Chinese enterprises and enjoy development opportunities together.

Li said the Chinese economy has achieved steady growth, with continued improvement in its quality and efficiency.

China is making efforts to advance supply side structural reform, seek growth driven by innovation, promote entrepreneurship and the “Internet Plus” plan, and to streamline administration, he said.

China will continue to boost the healthy development of emerging industries and is willing to deepen cooperation with foreign governments and enterprises in this field, said Li.

He hoped that other countries overcome the problems of globalization and properly deal with frictions and divergences through dialogue and consultation.

China will steadfastly advance the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, safeguard multilateral trade and support open and transparent regional free trade arrangements, said the premier.

Li answered questions from Stuart Gulliver, the chief executive of the bank HSBC, former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Lawrence Summers, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator for the Financial Times and Columbia University professor Edmund Phelps.

Overseas representatives lauded China’s remarkable progress in stabilizing growth and restructuring the economy, as well as China’s active role in coping with climate change.

The representatives voiced their willingness of participating in China’s reform and opening-up process and expanding their partnerships with China.

The CDF, organized by the Development Research Center of the State Council, is a high-level meeting that gathers leaders from international institutions, academia and companies worldwide. It is usually held after the annual sessions of China’s national legislature and political advisory body.




China’s door opens wider to outside world: Premier Li

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang meets with foreign representatives of the China Development Forum (CDF) 2017 in Beijing, capital of China, March 20, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang meets with foreign representatives of the China Development Forum (CDF) 2017 in Beijing, capital of China, March 20, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

China will open its door wider to the outside world, said Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Monday.

Li made the remarks when meeting with overseas representatives at the China Development Forum (CDF) in Beijing.

China will relax market access in service industries, manufacturing and mining, said Li

China supports foreign-funded enterprises to list and issue bonds in China and participate in national science and technology programs as well as infrastructure construction, he said.

China will streamline the administrative procedures for foreign investments and create a fair competition environment for all companies registered in China, he said.

He welcomed more foreign companies to invest in China, cooperate with Chinese enterprises and enjoy development opportunities together.

Li said the Chinese economy has achieved steady growth, with continued improvement in its quality and efficiency.

China is making efforts to advance supply side structural reform, seek growth driven by innovation, promote entrepreneurship and the “Internet Plus” plan, and to streamline administration, he said.

China will continue to boost the healthy development of emerging industries and is willing to deepen cooperation with foreign governments and enterprises in this field, said Li.

He hoped that other countries overcome the problems of globalization and properly deal with frictions and divergences through dialogue and consultation.

China will steadfastly advance the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, safeguard multilateral trade and support open and transparent regional free trade arrangements, said the premier.

Li answered questions from Stuart Gulliver, the chief executive of the bank HSBC, former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Lawrence Summers, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator for the Financial Times and Columbia University professor Edmund Phelps.

Overseas representatives lauded China’s remarkable progress in stabilizing growth and restructuring the economy, as well as China’s active role in coping with climate change.

The representatives voiced their willingness of participating in China’s reform and opening-up process and expanding their partnerships with China.

The CDF, organized by the Development Research Center of the State Council, is a high-level meeting that gathers leaders from international institutions, academia and companies worldwide. It is usually held after the annual sessions of China’s national legislature and political advisory body.