9th abacus, mental arithmetic competition held in Beijing

The 9th Competition of Abacus and Mental Arithmetic was held in Beijing on Saturday, drawing to it over 200 contestants from around the world. Organized by the World Association of Abacus and Mental Arithmetic, the event brought together the contestants from 11 countries and regions, including Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Russia, the Republic of Korea, Tonga, the United States, Uzbekistan and the Chinese mainland, as well as the Hong Kong and Taiwan regions of China, setting a new record for the number of participants.

Abacus and mental math originated from the Chinese Zhusuan, a time-honored traditional method of performing mathematical calculations with an abacus.

"I started practicing Zhusuan when I was five, and I get A plus grades in math, so I think the training really helps," said a contestant from the U.S.

This year's competition also featured an exchange platform to present information of abacus and mental arithmetic competitions and showcase related culture.

Zhusuan, listed as an intangible cultural heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2013, has been promoted in over 130 other countries and regions worldwide, with millions of children taking part in its practicing.

The Competition of Abacus and Mental Arithmetic has been held eight editions since 2004, attracting over 2,000 top competitors from around the world.

9th abacus, mental arithmetic competition held in Beijing

A deadly Russian strike on the Kiev region killed 10 people and injured nearly 100 others, while Russia intercepted Ukrainian drone attacks and struck military targets, officials from both countries said on Friday.

In its daily update, the Russian Ministry of Defense said Friday that its air defense forces intercepted and downed 571 Ukrainian drones overnight.

It also said that Russian armed forces continued precision weapon and drone attacks between late Thursday and early Friday, aiming at military targets of Ukraine such as ports and destroying unmanned vessel storage depots and equipment hangars.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russian forces launched five missiles and 180 drones beginning at 18:00 Thursday, and Ukrainian air defense units intercepted or suppressed four of the missiles and 160 of the drones by 08:00 Friday.

Ukrainian forces used missiles to strike a factory in Russia's Kirov Oblast, according to Ukrainian media and Russian reports.

On the same day, Ukraine's Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko said that preliminary estimates from the Russian missile strikes on the Kiev region indicated at least 10 fatalities and about 100 injuries, as verification efforts continued.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has acknowledged the strikes on the Kiev region in a social media statement, but Russia has not yet commented on this.

Russian strikes on Kiev region kill 10, injuring some 100