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☆ Cloud seeding probably didn't cause Dubai's floods. The UAE has been trying to control its weather for years, and the US does it too.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Photos show how the UAE, United States, and other countries have been seeding clouds for decades. Historic floods in Dubai didn't come from cloud seeding, but humans' climate impacts are playing a role. Related storiesAccording to several scientists, cloud seeding isn't the driving force behind Dubai's historic floods. Packets of salt are pictured during a cloud seeding operation at a military airbase in Subang, Malaysia. The real threat behind Dubai's floodsMany atmospheric scientists have dismissed the idea that cloud seeding was behind Dubai's floods.

Persons: GIUSEPPE CACACE, Getty, Prometheus, Frankenstein —, Thomas Peipert, Al Hayer, Amr Alfiky, Andrea DiCenzo, Lim Huey Teng, there'd, Friederike Otto, John Marsham, Jeff Big Jeff, Gary Coronado, Marsham, Fred Greaves, Otto Organizations: Dubai didn't, Service, United Arab Emirates, United Arab, UAE, Reuters, National Center of Meteorology, United, UAE's National, of Meteorology, Militia, Imperial College London, Science Media, SMC, University of Leeds, Los Angeles Times, Getty, UAE isn't, National Park Service, AP Locations: UAE, United States, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Rocky, Lyons , Colorado, China, Australia, Al Ain, Utah, Dongkou county, Shaoyang, Hunan province, Subang, Malaysia, Bannon, Sacramento, , California, California's Sacramento County

☆ China’s spectacular dragon dance is hundreds of years old. Here’s why it continues to dazzle
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Maggie Hiufu Wong | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Grab your camera and slap on something flame resistant, it’s time to witness one of China’s most incredible displays – the fire dragon dance. Dragon dances have been documented at ceremonial events since the Han Dynasty (202 BCE to 220 CE), while fire dragon dances began appearing in records during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and in the Republican era (1912-1949). Some historians say fire dragon dances date back even further, to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Puzhai Fire Dragon, Fengshun County, GuangdongEntertainers perform a fire dragon dance to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Puzhai town, in China's Guangdong province. Tongliang Fire Dragon, ChongqingVideo Ad Feedback See a dragon dance with molten iron fireworks 00:56 - Source: CNNThe Tongliang Fire Dragon in Chongqing province is undoubtedly one of the grandest fire dragon dance performances of them all.

Persons: ”, Kwok Kam Chau, Kwok, We’ve, Liu Long Organizations: CNN, Republican, Hong Kong Baptist University, China’s, Steel Locations: Fengshun County, Guangdong, Puzhai, China's Guangdong province, Imaginechina, China, Hunan, China’s, Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hunan province, Huanglongxi, Sichuan, Chengdu, China's Sichuan province, Chongqing, Chongqing province, majestically, Qicaimeng, Guizhou, Dafang County, Guizhou province

☆ China gives suspended death sentence to Tian Huiyu, former China Merchants Bank president
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The court said he had used his privileged access to information to make more than 290 million yuan ($41 million) in illegal gains from the stock market. He also leaked inside information about stocks to other people, which yielded more than 8 million yuan ($1.1 million) in illicit profits, it said. In return, he accepted bribes worth more than 210 million yuan ($30 million), it said. In 2013, Tian was promoted to head China Merchants Bank, serving as its president and its Communist Party boss. The Communist Party has stepped up its crackdown on the country’s state-owned financial system since last year.

Persons: Tian Huiyu, Xi Jinping, Tian, Wang Qishan, ”, Li Xiaopeng, Liu Liange, Bao Fan, Bao Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, China Merchants Bank, China Construction Bank, China Cinda Asset Management, Beijing, Communist Party, Central Commission, Communist, Adobe, China Everbright Group, Bank of China, China Renaissance Locations: China, Hong Kong, Changde city, Hunan, China’s, Shanghai, Changde

☆ South China soaks as rains from Haikui continue to pound region
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] An aerial view shows flooded villages in Minhou county after heavy rains brought by typhoon Haikui, in Fuzhou, Fujian province, China September 5, 2023. cnsphoto via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING, Sept 7 (Reuters) - The remnants of Typhoon Haikui drenched China for a third day since making landfall, as moisture-laden clouds dumped rain onto the country's south despite weakening cyclonic winds. Later this week, the storms are expected to continue in Guangxi bringing the southwestern region extreme rainfall on Friday and Saturday before potentially dissipating on Sunday. Haikui's storms flooded parts of southeastern Fujian province where it landed early on Tuesday, forcing 294,100 people to evacuate, inundated 9,949.7 hectares (24,586.24 acres) of crops and damaged nearly 2,540 homes. Intense rains in the city of Fuzhou shattered 12-year-old rainfall records, surpassing the amount brought by Typhoon Doksuri late July.

Persons: Typhoon Doksuri, Liz Lee, Christian Schmollinger Organizations: cnsphoto, Rights, China Meteorological Administration, Authorities, Thomson Locations: Minhou county, Fuzhou, Fujian province, China, CHINA, Rights BEIJING, downpours, Guangdong, Tangxi, Jiangxi, Hunan province, Guangxi, Hainan, Guilin, Laibin, Fujian, Xiamen, Shanghai

☆ China's Chongqing to remove marriage requirement for maternity benefits
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Acquire Licensing Rights Read moreHONG KONG, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Chongqing, a sprawling municipality in southwest China, announced this week that insured residents no longer need to provide marriage certificates to get maternity benefits, the most recent move to encourage women to have children. China's fertility rate is estimated to have dropped to a record low of 1.09 in 2022, state media reported. China's fertility rate is already one of the world's lowest alongside South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. Young Chinese women cite factors including high childcare costs, career hindrance, gender discrimination and not wanting to get married as key reasons for not having children. Low consumer confidence and growing concerns over the health of China's economy are also key factors cited by young Chinese for not wanting to get married and have children.

Persons: Farah Master, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: South, Singapore ., Thomson Locations: Xujiashan, Haitang, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province, China, HONG KONG, Chongqing, China's, Guizhou, Shaanxi, Hunan, Jiangsu, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Singapore . Young, Beijing

☆ Heavy rains, floods inundate China; Hunan province sees record rain, thousands evacuated
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

More than three thousand people were evacuated in northwestern Hunan province over the weekend as heavy rain was unleashed on Sangzhi, Shimen and Yongshun counties, and Zhangjiajie City, according to state media. It was the most extensive and widespread rain in Sangzhi since 1998, CCTV said. China has been gripped by weeks of rains and floods amid an unusually wet summer. In late July, storms from Typhoon Dokusri caused record rains to hit China in over a decade, with Beijing experiencing its heaviest rainfall in 140 years. There is also uncertainty over Typhoon Saola's path, said China Meteorological Administration, but it will bring heavy rainfall in the coastal areas including Fujian and Zhejiang provinces from Wednesday to Friday.

Persons: Sangzhi, Dokusri, Saola, Bernard Orr, Ethan Wang, Michael Perry Organizations: China Central Television, Beijing, Flood, Drought, Ministry of Emergency Management, China Meteorological Administration, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Hunan, Yongshun, Zhangjiajie City, Sangzhi, China, Guangdong, China's, Fujian, Zhejiang

☆ Biden resists pressure from lawmakers and seeks short extension to key China science pact
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Jennifer Jett | Abigail Williams | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The Biden administration is seeking a short-term extension to a landmark science and technology agreement with China despite pressure from some U.S. lawmakers who say Beijing could exploit it to gain a security and military advantage. A six-month extension to the Science and Technology Agreement, or STA, will keep the pact in force as the U.S. seeks "authority to undertake negotiations to amend and strengthen the terms," a State Department spokesperson told NBC News on Wednesday. "If it were to go away, not only would it impede government-to-government cooperation, but it would also put other science cooperation at risk," said Seligsohn, a former environment, science, technology and health counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. China also considers it the enabling document for all other science cooperation with the U.S., including with academic and research institutions. The State Department spokesperson said it was aware of the issues involved with working with China in the are of science and technology.

Persons: Biden, Jimmy Carter, Deng Xiaoping, Deborah Seligsohn, Antony Blinken, Elise Stefanik, Mike Gallagher of, Blinken, Sen, Rick Scott, Donald Trump Organizations: Central South University, Science, Technology, State Department, NBC News, U.S, Villanova University, Embassy, House Republican Conference Locations: China, Central, Changsha city, Hunan province, Beijing, U.S, New York, Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, United States

CNN —At least 21 people are dead and six others missing after a flash flood and landslide following torrential rains in the outskirts of northwestern China’s Xi’an city, local authorities said Sunday. Parts of China have seen record high temperatures and deadly flooding in recent weeks, with experts linking extreme weather around the world to climate change. Flooding killed at least 29 people in Hebei province and 33 in the capital Beijing, according to local authorities. Another 14 people were reported dead in the city of Shulan in Jilin province, as the rains moved northward, inundating farmlands in the country’s grain-producing area. Seven people were taking shelter from heavy rains at the house when it collapsed, according to China National Radio.

Persons: ” Organizations: CNN, Emergency Management, Xinhua, Restaurants, Authorities, China National Radio Locations: China’s Xi’an, Xi’an, China, Weiziping, Hebei province, Beijing, Shulan, Jilin province, Hebei, Hunan province, Leyu, Hengnan county

☆ Yushi Li’s dream-like photo challenges notions of the male gaze
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Stephy Chung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Despite Chinese photographer Yushi Li’s gentle staging, her title for the photograph, “The Smothering Dream,” suggests something more sinister is at play. Although a canon of male nudes does exist, it largely comprises images shot by gay male photographers. When Li began the series in 2017, she noticed a lack of images depicting naked men as objects of desire from a woman’s perspective. She brings these ideas into “Paintings, Dreams and Love,” an ongoing project to which “The Smothering Dream” belongs. “There’s also the gaze from the algorithm, and the gaze from the screen that reflects yourself when you look at it… the internet (means) we’re subjected to the gaze more, in a way.”

Persons: Yushi, Lawrence Alma, “, ”, gazes, Li, Henry Fuseli’s, Yushi Li, Titian’s, Diana, reinterpretations, There’s Organizations: CNN, Shanghai Locations: London, China’s Hunan, Swiss

Chinese developers are allowed to sell residential projects before completion but are required to put those funds in escrow accounts. Local city governments permit them to withdraw a portion of the funds, depending on the progress of construction. China's housing ministry did not respond to Reuters request for comment on the tightening of developers' access to escrow funds. FALTERING HOUSING DEMANDThe new measures come as property demand is sluggish - China's property sales between May and June showed the largest monthly drop this year, based on sales by floor area, and investment in property also slumped. Under those rules, the authority has asked the bank to make escrow funds available only to developers who have other sources of funding to cover construction costs, said the person.

Persons: Gary Ng, Ng, Clare Jim, Tang, Sumeet Chatterjee, Muralikumar Organizations: Asia Pacific, National Bureau of Statistics, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, BEIJING, Asia, Hunan, Hefei, Xiamen, Hong Kong, Beijing

☆ Factbox: China's major germanium and gallium producers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

China produces around 60% of the world's germanium, or 180 metric tons in 2022, and over 90% of the world's gallium, about 606 tons last year, according to research firm Antaike. YUNNAN GERMANIUM, AN ESTABLISHED PRODUCERHeadquartered in southwest China's Yunnan province, Yunnan Lincang Xinyuan Germanium Industry Co. Ltd. (002428.SZ) extracts germanium from its own germanium mines and germanium-containing lignite coal mines. It has an annual capacity of 47.6 metric tons of germanium ingot, 60 tons of germanium tetrahydride - used to build 5G infrastructure - and 300,000 germanium wafers for solar cells. CHINALCO, A MAJOR GALLIUM PRODUCERState aluminium giant Chinalco has three gallium production plants, one each in central China's Henan and southwestern Guangxi and Guizhou provinces. It has annual production capacity of 200 metric tons of gallium metal and produced 146 metric tons in 2022.

Persons: Duan Xiangdong, Hope, Zhuzhou, Dominique Patton, David Evans Organizations: . Ltd, Aluminum Corporation of China, Zhuhai Fangyuan, Xing'an, Gallium, AXT Inc, Beijing, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, YUNNAN, China's Yunnan, Yunnan, China's Henan, Guangxi, Guizhou, Shanghai, Zhuzhou, China's Hunan, Zhuhai, Guangdong, Shanxi, Nanjing, U.S, Beijing

☆ China's capital grapples with scorching summer heat
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —Beijing’s temperature soared past 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) again Thursday, as the Chinese capital grapples with what is shaping up to be one the most severe heat waves on record. China has been gripped by scorching heat waves for weeks, which authorities said had arrived earlier and been more widespread and extreme than in previous years. People shield themselves from the sun amid extreme heat on July 5, 2023 in Beijing. The persistent heat waves have put huge stress on the country’s power grids as demand for air-conditioning soared, with some local governments urging companies and residents to curb the usage of electricity. As the climate crisis intensifies, scientists say dangerous, record heat waves are set to become more frequent and more severe.

Persons: Tianyong Jia, heatstroke, Niño, El Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, heatstroke, China News Service, Beijing Daily, World Meteorological Organization, El Locations: Hong Kong, Beijing, China, Northern China, Hebei, Henan, Hunan, 17.18C

☆ Off-the-radar destinations every China visitor should consider
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Maggie Hiufu Wong | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

JingdezhenLarge chimneys, used for firing porcelain, dot the skyline of Jingdezhen city. gui yong nian/Adobe StockDubbed the porcelain capital of the world, Jingdezhen has been firing quality pieces of “white gold” for more than 1,700 years. For a crash course in the city’s porcelain history, visit the newly built and photogenic Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum of China. LinhaiLinhai's historic city wall stretches more than 6,000 meters in length. Food aside, travelers should leave time to admire this historic city that dates back more than 2,000 years.

☆ General Motors' China business is hurting, and it's not just because of Covid
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

He purchased his Nio over models from rival Chinese automakers Xpeng , Li Auto and IM Motors. GM's operations in the country are much larger than those of its crosstown rival Ford Motor, for example. Equity income from GM's Chinese operations and joint ventures has fallen 67% since its peak of more than $2 billion in 2014 and 2015. And the rising quality of domestic-made electric vehicles helped support — and tap — growing nationalistic pride among China's consumers. In February, Ford named Sam Wu, a former Whirlpool executive who joined the automaker in October, as president and chief executive of its China operations, starting March 1.

☆ As parliament meets, China keeps would-be protesters at bay
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Engen Tham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Demonstrators hold up signs during a protest over the freezing of deposits by some rural-based banks, outside a People's Bank of China building in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China July 10, 2022, in this screengrab from video obtained by Reuters. Text in foreground reads, "Henan Bank, return to us our legal deposits! The people's life-saving deposits!" China has a low tolerance for group displays of discontent, even if anger is not directed against the government. Some of those who spoke with Reuters declined to use their full names due to the sensitivity of the matter.

☆ How China's millionaire crowd stacks up against America's, in wealth, spending, and how they made their fortunes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

China has 780,000 millionaires, while the US has nearly 7 times that. Visual China Group via Getty Images/Visual China Group via Getty ImagesWhile China and the US are comparable in nominal GDP, there are far more wealthy individuals in America than in China. That data came from a wealth report by the consultancy Henley & Partners, published in 2023. "America is in a league of its own, with three times the total wealth of China and seven times as many dollar millionaires," the report said. The US has 9,630 centimillionaires, or people with a net worth of $100 million or higher, and 770 billionaires, according to the firm.

☆ China has to figure out how to care for 400 million people over the age of 60 by 2040 — and it's off to a rocky start
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

By 2040, it's expected to have 400 million people above the age of 60 — more people than in the entire US. "It's obvious that relying on contributions from medical insurance schemes to fund age care services is not likely to be viable in the longer term," she said. Alzheimer's is quickly rising as a concern in China, Luk said. "Is China aging rapidly? Beijing has been pressuring the private sector into building daycare centers, wards, and other age care infrastructure to shore up gaps in local government finances, Gu said.

☆ China's cities are struggling to pay their bills from three years of Covid and a real estate crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Rolling lockdowns seriously dented household incomes, leading many to reduce spending, which in turn resulted in less tax revenue for local governments. “China’s runaway local debt poses a serious threat to the country’s overall economic health and will weigh heavily on China’s still-nascent recovery,” said Singleton. Debt that is backed by local governments but which doesn’t show up on their balance sheets could be much bigger. That’s more than 20% higher than the estimate of 53 trillion yuan made by Goldman Sachs in 2021. Their debt squeeze could pose a serious threat to China’s financial system, particularly to small regional banks.

☆ Covid Hits China’s Rural Poor: ‘The Impact on the Village Economy Is Huge’
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Brian Spegele | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

SHAZHOU, China—For years, thousands of tourists flocked almost daily to this village in China’s southern Hunan province—an early stronghold of the Communist forces during the country’s civil war—to steep themselves in revolutionary history. Pandemic-related travel restrictions and lockdowns over the past 12 months slowed that flow to a trickle. China moved this year to drop the curbs but the wave of Covid infections that followed has caused continued disruptions, Shazhou residents say.

The flurry of deals comes even as warnings emerge that lithium prices, driven to records by rapid growth in electric vehicles, may peak next year because of a looming supply glut. It also bought majority stakes in the Lakkor Tso Lithium Salar mine in China's Tibet region and the Xiangyuan lithium mine in Hunan province. Zijin has a market capitalisation of about $35 billion and net profit of 15.7 billion yuan ($2.2 billion) last year. Some firms are also working to develop alternative battery materials, which could reduce lithium demand in the long term. Zijin told investors recently it made its mine acquisitions based on lithium carbonate prices of 100,000 yuan a tonne.

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