The British Geological Survey (BGS) and the UK Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) are pleased to announce the release of the 21st Century Exploration Roadmap (21CXRM) Palaeozoic Project, aiming to improve the knowledge and data from the underexplored Palaeozoic petroleum systems of the North Sea and Greater Irish Sea.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday stressed the role of supervision in implementing reform, demanding such work be carried out in a wider and deeper scope to detect and solve problems.

All departments and localities should attach greater importance to delivering reforms and devote more effort to examining reform’s effects, Xi said during the 34th meeting of the Central Leading Group for Deepening Overall Reform, which he heads.

Regarding major reforms and “intricate matters,” authorities should review the results, according to a statement released after the meeting.

The group called for timely corrections to problems uncovered during supervision and those found making insufficient efforts should be called to account.

Leading departments and local authorities should regularly track reform implementation and report the effects, the statement said.

The group also passed guidelines and plans including more policy support for new agriculture business models.

The leading group pledged favorable tax policies, better infrastructure, improved financial services and wider insurance support to foster new business models in rural areas.

Stressing the role of entrepreneurs, the group promised to create a fair legal and market environment to bring out their creativity.

The regulatory mechanisms on money laundering, financing for terrorists and tax fraud should be improved, and regulations should be enhanced to “significantly” reduce the categories and volume of waste imports, according to the statement.

During the meeting, the leading group ordered intensified efforts to prevent forced confessions and illegal collection of evidence, saying it is important in punishing crimes in accordance with law, safeguarding human rights, and preventing wrong verdicts.

The criteria and procedure of excluding illegal evidence should be clarified during the whole process of investigation, arrest and trial, according to the statement.

Meanwhile, a modern hospital system should be established to ensure clear responsibilities, scientific governance, efficient operation and forceful supervision, the statement said.

More efforts should be made to improve the management and operation of public hospitals as well as to promote healthy development of hospitals run by non-government sectors.

The leading group also decided to reform related sectors to prevent a shortage in medicines by boosting coordination and improving monitoring, early warning and inventory management.

The meeting was also attended by Li Keqiang and Liu Yunshan, members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and deputy heads of the group.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday stressed the importance of accelerating the shift from traditional economic growth engines to new ones.

Li made the remarks at a symposium on new development ideas and developing new growth drivers at the Chinese Academy of Governance, attended by senior government officials and business leaders.

Faced with a challenging world economic recovery and relatively heavy downward pressure in the domestic economy, the old growth pattern will not be able to continue, said Li.

China must speed up replacing old growth drivers with new ones to transform and upgrade the economy, Li said, adding that the key to the shift of growth drivers lies in technology.

The focus should be on new technology, new industries and new business models, supported by the development of new production factors including knowledge, information and data, the premier said.

The Chinese economy has not only been able to avoid “hard landing,” but is stabilizing and improving with better structure and more jobs, said Li

He attributed the strong performance to a policy direction, administrative streamlining, mass entrepreneurship and innovation.

While attaching importance to developing promising new industries, Li also highlighted the elimination of excess production capacity, and upgrading traditional sectors using new technologies.

The premier also called for more efforts to let effective investment and upgraded consumption promote each other and use the domestic market as a “navigation light.”

He urged market players to participate in international competition and take the opportunities provided by the new round of science and technological revolution and industrial evolution.

The government should also make innovations in policy making, in areas such as stock option incentive mechanism, insurance, financial support, and government funding, to boost innovation and entrepreneurship, he said.

In a survey, 71.8 percent of respondents said they buy new mobile phones every two years or less on average.

A total of 16.8 percent said they change cellphones every year.

According to a survey published by the China Youth Daily Tuesday, among the 2,004 respondents, a total of 42 percent said they may upgrade their handsets even if there are no problems with their current phones.

More than 60 percent of them said brand is a major element when choosing a cellphone.

The newspaper said about 51.6 percent of the people surveyed were born in the 1980s, a total of 21.1 percent were born in the 1990s and 19.6 percent were born in the 1970s.

In the survey, about 82.4 percent of the people said smartphones have become an indispensable gadget in their lives, while they also heavily rely upon laptops, desktops and tablet computers.

About 63 percent of respondents said they would consider buying a new mobile phone if their old one has problems, while 42 percent said they might swap the old for new even though their old phone still works well.

Also, more than 32 percent said they would buy the latest model from their favorite brand.

While choosing a mobile phone, brand is the first element for most consumers, with other considerations being price, processor and camera performance, the survey said.

A total of 59.9 percent of survey respondents said smartphones and other digital products have made their lives more convenient, but 30.6 percent of the people also blamed them for the negative effects of their heavy reliance on such devices.