2025 International Congress of Basic Science opens in Beijing

The 2025 International Congress of Basic Science (ICBS 2025) opened in Beijing on Sunday, bringing together experts and scholars from home and abroad for in-depth discussions on cutting-edge achievements in the field of basic science while looking ahead to future developments.

The congress features over 50 academic presentations and satellite meetings. More than 80 Chinese and international academicians, along with nearly other 1,000 experts and scholars, will share cutting-edge achievements, engage in academic exchanges, and explore future developments with a focus on mathematics, physics, and information science and engineering at the event.

Meanwhile, the event, which will run until July 25, will also spotlight the latest advancements in artificial intelligence, considering its rapid growth, to explore the close relationship between this technology and basic science.

"Artificial intelligence is a crucial discipline that heavily relies on the contributions of basic science, especially mathematics. Therefore, we hope for in-depth cooperation, with scientists from around the globe exchanging ideas and collectively contributing to the future of humanity," said Shing-Tung Yau, chairman of the ICBS and a winner of Fields Medal, the highest international award for mathematics.

Additionally, the congress will also host a special event where outstanding young representatives from different age groups will engage in close dialogues with top scientists. The academic achievements of university and high school students will be showcased through a poster exhibition.

It marks the third consecutive year in which the congress is held in Beijing's Huairou Science City.

As of now, out of the 37 major sci-tech infrastructure facilities, science educational infrastructure facilities and interdisciplinary research platforms built at the Huairou Science City, 29 have been put into research operation, and 16 of the sci-tech infrastructure facilities are open to the world, with a total of 386 achievements having been rolled out.

2025 International Congress of Basic Science opens in Beijing

Air raid sirens sounded repeatedly across Tel Aviv on Saturday as Iran launched missile attacks at Israel, forcing residents to seek cover in underground spaces.

Earlier in the day, the United States and Israel launched "major combat operations" against Iran, prompting retaliation from Iran and plunging the war-torn Middle East into a new round of violence.

"It's 10:30 local time, 8:30 GMT. And you can hear sirens sounding in Tel Aviv, the first sirens for months here. We heard sirens in northern communities before. Now we're hearing sirens here in Tel Aviv. As I'm doing this, I'll be approaching the shelters. People behind me, you can see rushing to shelters, not in a very quick way, but people are not remaining in the streets," said Jonathan Regev, a reporter with China Global Television Network (CGTN).

Regev visited an underground parking lot that has been repurposed as a bunker, accommodating dozens of people after early warnings were issued.

"So for the 5th, or 6th time maybe -- it's hard to keep track -- sirens are sounding in Tel Aviv today. And here you can see behind me. As soon as the sirens are sounding, people are rushing to this place. It's not even an official shelter, but rather an underground parking lot and underground compound. You can see people. They are rushing right behind. More and more people are coming," Regev said.

Despite multiple sirens, there was no visible panic as residents followed instructions to remain under cover until the all-clear signal was given.

"I have to say, no real panic. People may be even finding solutions for a longer stay. And this is the situation here today. It will probably be the situation for quite some time to come. The instruction now is that people have to wait here at least for another 10 minutes or so until the all-clear siren comes from the home front command. This is just one example of the underground parking lot in the city of Tel Aviv. Tens such places exist in the city and in many other cities as well," Regev said.

Tel Aviv residents take shelter as sirens sound repeatedly across city