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☆ Spring equinox: First day of spring arrives
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Forrest Brown | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The spring equinox will arrive exactly at 3:06 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) on Wednesday, March 20, according to EarthSky. Click here to look up the exact moment of the spring equinox where you’re located. Spring equinox has another nameIf you ever hear anyone say “vernal equinox,” it means the same thing. Zhang Xiaoyu/Xinhua News Agency/Getty ImagesIn Japan, Vernal Equinox Day is a public holiday (on Wednesday, March 20, this year). In China, trying to stand an egg upright is a popular game during the spring equinox, according to VisitBeijing.com.

Persons: Tuesday •, •, • Chiang Mai, David Silverman, Alex Pena, It’s, you’ve, it’s, Hugo Borges, Itzá, El Castillo, Zhang Xiaoyu, ” Organizations: CNN, Tuesday, United, Southern, Anadolu Agency, Getty, NASA, Northern Hemisphere, Northern, Southern Hemisphere, National Weather Service, Heritage, Xinhua News Agency Locations: • Anchorage, Alaska, Vegas ( Nevada, Tuesday • Guadalajara, Mexico, Chicago, Illinois, Toronto, Canada, Jacksonville, Florida, Halifax, • Dublin, Ireland, Accra, Ghana, • Berlin, Germany, • Alexandria, Egypt, • Ankara, Turkey, • Dubai, United Arab Emirates, • Mumbai, India, Thailand, • Hong Kong, • Tokyo, Japan, Stellenbosch , South Africa, Northern, South, Quito, Ecuador, Singapore, San Andrés, Zapotitán, El Salvador, Pole, Scandinavia, Itzá, Yucatan State, AFP, England, Malta, Yoyogi, Tokyo, Vernal, Persian, China

☆ A photographer’s fantastical portrait of rural China during Lunar New Year
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-11 | by ( Oscar Holland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —In photographer Zhang Xiao’s images of the Shehuo festival, an ancient celebration still observed in parts of northern China during the Lunar New Year, rural life comes alive with something altogether more fantastical. (Lunar New Year celebrations usually last more than two weeks, with Shehuo festival taking place on the season’s 15th and final day.) “In some villages, virtually the entire population has been mobilized to produce and sell Shehuo props,” the photographer writes in his book. Shehuo performers reenact a battle between China's Eighth Route Army and Japanese forces from the Second Sino-Japanese War. “People are not focused on how to improve product quality and craftsmanship,” said the photographer, who is currently working on a documentary about life in rural China.

Persons: Zhang Xiao’s, ” Zhang, “, …, ”, Zhang Xiao, —, Zhang, Zhang Xiao “, — Zhang, reenact Organizations: CNN, roosters, dreamworld, UNESCO, Harvard University’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, Eighth Route Army, Aperture, Peabody Museum Press, Peabody Museum of Archaeology, Ethnology Locations: China, Huanghuayu, Shaanxi, Henan, Huozhuang, Henan province, China’s Shandong, Chengdu, Cambridge , Massachusetts

☆ A top city official used a downtown billboard to secretly funnel 'huge sums' of cash into his family's pockets, Chinese state media says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-09 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Zhang Xiaopei, the former party secretary of Jilin, had people pay "huge sums" to rent a billboard. AdvertisementA top Communist Party official had for years used a digital billboard in the downtown area of the Chinese city of Jilin to channel illicit funds toward him, Chinese state media reported on Saturday. Zhang Xiaopei, Jilin's now-disgraced former party secretary, was expelled from the ruling party in June 2023 after anti-graft officials announced he had been taking bribes. As party secretary, Zhang held the top position in Jilin starting in 2011 before being assigned vice-chairman of the province's political advisory body in 2014. Related stories"Some companies didn't even have advertising needs, but they took the initiative to buy these ads, typically in an effort to obtain benefits from Party Secretary Zhang," Tang added.

Persons: Zhang Xiaopei, —, Jilin's, Zhang, Zhang's, Tang, Xi Jinping's, Xi Organizations: China, Service, Communist Party, Business, Party, Central Commission Locations: Jilin, China

Local governments plan to use the proceeds of the latest bond sales to purchase equity or convertible bonds from smaller banks, most of them state-owned, effectively recapitalising them, according to the deal prospectuses. DEEPER IN DEBTThe intensified efforts to support smaller banks also come amid growing worries about the impact of ballooning local government debt on the economy. While policymakers are highly concerned over rising debt levels, Beijing has little option but to support smaller banks to contain spillover risks, analysts said. It was not immediately clear if the central authorities had given any guidance to the local governments on recapitalising smaller banks, and who were the buyers of these special-purpose bonds. "Local governments are a likely the first line of defense whenever regional banks become stressed," they said.

Persons: Kim Kyung, Gavekal, Zhang Xiaoxi, Pan Gongsheng, Ziyi Tang, Ryan Woo, Sumeet Chatterjee, Kim Coghill Organizations: People's Bank of China, REUTERS, Rights, China Electronic Local Government Bond, Authorities, National Financial Regulatory Administration, International Monetary Fund, Beijing, Thomson Locations: Beijing, Rights BEIJING, China, Henan, China's, Liaoning, Yunnan, Inner Mongolia

☆ China blames Canada for ‘malicious, provocative’ moves after close midair intercepts over South China Sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Nectar Gan | Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Hong Kong CNN —China has accused Canada of carrying out “malicious and provocative” actions in the South China Sea, after the Canadian Navy said Chinese fighter jets endangered a helicopter in two close intercepts above international waters. However, the Canadian helicopter not only refused to respond, but also took provocative actions such as flying at ultra-low altitudes,” Zhang said in a statement posted on the ministry’s website. China claims historic jurisdiction over almost the entirety of the vast South China Sea, which is a resource rich and vital international shipping route. In 2016, an international tribunal in The Hague concluded that China has no legal basis to claim historic rights to the bulk of the South China Sea. In mid-October, a Chinese fighter jet came within 5 meters (16 feet) of a Canadian CP-140 reconnaissance and surveillance plane over the East China Sea.

Persons: Rob Millen, Bill Blair, ” Zhang Xiaogang, Canada’s, ” Zhang, Millen, Iain Huddleston, Huddleston, ” Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Canadian Navy, CNN, Canadian, People’s Liberation Army, PLA, Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, . Canadian Defense, China’s Defense Ministry, Chinese Defense Ministry, Liberation Army, 1st Air Division, Radio Canada, Canada’s Defense Ministry, Ministry Locations: China, Hong Kong, Canada, South China, Chinese, Ottawa, China’s, Vietnam, Taiwan, Beijing, The Hague, East

☆ Japan's Kishida announces $113-bln package to combat inflation pain
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Yoshifumi Takemoto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida poses during a photo session with his new cabinet members at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo, Japan, September 13, 2023. To fund part of the spending, the government will compile a supplementary budget for the current fiscal year of 13.1 trillion yen, Kishida told reporters. Reuters reported on Wednesday the government is considering spending over 17 trillion yen for the package, which will include temporary cuts to income and residential taxes as well as subsidies to curb gasoline and utility bills. The rising cost of living is partly blamed for pushing down Kishida's approval ratings, piling pressure on the prime minister to take steps to ease the pain on households. ($1 = 150.5100 yen)Reporting by Yoshifumi Takemoto, writing by Leika Kihara; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Fumio Kishida, Zhang Xiaoyu, Kishida, Yoshifumi Takemoto, Leika Kihara, Kim Coghill Organizations: REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, COVID

SHANGHAI, China (AP) — American Ballet Theatre returned to China on Thursday for the first time in a decade in the latest sign that strained U.S.-China relations are beginning to improve. The tour marks a revival of cultural exchanges between China and the United States. She said cultural exchanges between the U.S. and China “are very necessary" at this time. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns said Monday during an event celebrating American World War II veterans who helped China battle Japan. But the two peoples of the countries have always been together.”The ABT last performed in China in March 2013 in Beijing.

Persons: ”, Susan Jaffe, ABT, Giselle, “, Jaffe, —, Zhang Xiaoding, Zhu Xiaoyi, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, China Nicholas Burns, ” Burns, Dwight Eisenhower’s, ___ Mistreanu, Caroline Chen Organizations: Ballet Theatre, Shanghai, Theater, Philadelphia Orchestra, National Center, Performing Arts, Shanghai Grand Theatre, U.S, Economic Cooperation, U.S ., Soviet Union Locations: SHANGHAI, China, U.S, New York, United States, Shanghai, Beijing, ”, Washington, Asia, San Francisco . China, Ukraine, Japan, American, Taipei, Taiwan

☆ iPhone Photography Awards 2023: Winners unveiled
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Christy Choi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Organizers announced the winners of the 2023 iPhone Photography Awards on Monday. Scott Galloway/iPhone Photography Awards"Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana,"Rome, Italy, by Leon Wang (United States) won 3rd place in Architecture. Sofia Ershova/iPhone Photography Awards"Duet," Zhejiang, China, by Zhang Xiaojun (China) won 3rd place in Children. Zhang Xiaojun/iPhone Photography Awards"Kapkungkap Tadau" Phuket, Thailand by Juan Castaneda (United States) won 2nd place in Series. Juan Castaneda/iPhone Photography Awards"Bi Mo," Zhaojue County, China, by Jian Wang (China) won 2nd place in People.

Persons: Ivan Silva, Heroe, Lionel Messi, Thea Mihu, Ba Jia Jiang, Surong Zhu, Scott Galloway, Leon Wang, Sofia Ershova, Zhang Xiaojun, Juan Castaneda, Jian Wang, Sasa Borozan, Beata Krowicka, Barry Mayes Organizations: CNN — Organizers, Italiana, Diesel Locations: Mexico, Sweden, Hanoi, Vietnam, Germany, Fujian, China, Ohio, USA, United States, Rome, Italy, Architecture, California, Zhejiang, Phuket, Thailand, Zhaojue County, People, Nature, Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Grande, Argentina, Poland, Travel, Sierra Leone, United Kingdom

CNN —Japan will soon begin releasing treated radioactive water into the ocean following approval from the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog for a controversial plan that comes 12 years after the Fukushima nuclear meltdown. Radioactive wastewater contains some dangerous elements, but the majority of these can be removed from the water, said TEPCO. The real issue is a hydrogen isotope called radioactive tritium, which cannot be taken away. A survey by Asahi Shimbun in March found that 51% of 1,304 respondents supported the wastewater release, while 41% opposed it. People in Tokyo protest against the Japanese government's plan to release nuclear wastewater into the sea on May 16, 2023.

Persons: Rafael Grossi, Fumio Kishida, Daniel Campisi, Grossi, ” Robert H, Richmond, ”, ” Grossi, “, Han Duck, Yonhap, aren’t, Tim Mousseau, Wang Yiliang, Zhang Xiaoyu Organizations: CNN, United Nations, International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, UN, Tokyo Electric Power Company, TEPCO, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Kewalo, Laboratory, University of Hawaii, Forum, World Health Organization, State Department, Atomic Energy Council, Pacific Islands Forum, Korean, US, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, University of South, Reuters, Getty, Asahi Shimbun, – Locations: Japan, Fukushima, China, Manoa, Richmond, Asia, Pacific, California, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, University of South Carolina, South Korea, Seoul, Xinhua, Tokyo

CNN —China’s first large homegrown passenger jet made its inaugural commercial flight on Sunday, flying from Shanghai to Beijing, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported. Flying as China Eastern Airlines flight MU9191, the new narrow-body C919 plane left Shanghai at 10:32 a.m. local time. With a range of up to 5,555 kilometers (3,452 miles), the C919 will take on the world’s two major aircraft manufacturers, Airbus and Boeing. It will be a direct competitor to their A320 and B737 narrowbody jets, most commonly used for domestic and regional international flights. Many of the plane’s major elements such as the nose, fuselage, outer wing, vertical stabilizer and horizontal stabilizer were designed by COMAC.

☆ China’s property easing is minor capitulation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Pete Sweeney | Thomson Reuters | Asia Economics Editor Pete Sweeney Joined Reuters Breakingviews In Hong Kong In September Previously He Served As Reuters' Chief Correspondent For China Economy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HONG KONG, Nov 14 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Beijing has rolled out more measures to support its flagging real estate sector, including extending repayment periods, facilitating financing for developers and lowering mortgage down-payments. Real estate, contributing roughly a quarter of China’s $17 trillion of output, is a speculative monster that has cannibalised capital better used for other endeavours. Together with other easing steps announced since March, UBS estimates the new policies could contribute more than 1 trillion yuan ($142 billion) in fresh financing to the struggling industry. But if property must correct in the name of rebalancing, that makes boosting the rest of the economy more urgent. Measures include allowing real estate firms to defer repayment on some loans, and trust lenders are instructed to help finance companies seeking to complete rental housing construction or acquire other companies.

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