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☆ BTS’ Jin discharged from army service in South Korea
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-12 | by ( Reuters | Gawon Bae | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Wearing a uniform and black beret, Jin, the oldest member of K-pop phenomenon BTS, was discharged from South Korea’s army on Wednesday after 18 months of duty. He is the first member of the group to wrap up the mandatory national service that put their music careers on hold. The 31-year-old appeared emotional as he hugged his colleagues at a military base in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi province, television footage showed. “I cried during the ceremony,” Jin said later during a livestream which racked up over 3 million views on the Weverse fandom platform. Beyond music, BTS members are bankable fashion icons.

Persons: CNN —, Jin, “, ” Jin, Louis Vuitton, Angela Weiss, Suga, Jimin, Valentino, Dior, Kim Jones Organizations: CNN, BTS, Getty, White Locations: South, Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi, Seoul, South Korea

☆ Northern China hospitals overwhelmed with surge in respiratory illnesses among children
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Hong Kong CNN —Hospitals in Beijing and northern China are grappling with a surge of children with respiratory illnesses as the country enters its first winter since relaxing stringent Covid-19 controls nearly one year ago. Wait times to see doctors stretch for hours, with hundreds of patients queuing at some children’s hospitals in major cities across northern China, according to CNN reporting and Chinese state and social media. The surge in cases across northern China comes amid a rise in seasonal respiratory infections around the northern hemisphere, including in the United States, where RSV is spreading at “unprecedented” levels among children. Children receive intravenous drips at a children's hospital in Beijing on November 23, 2023. It’s unclear if there’s been an increase in respiratory illnesses or severe cases among children relative to pre-pandemic years because of limited public data released by China.

Persons: “, Jin Dongyan, ” Catherine Bennett, ” Bennett, Jade Gao, drips, ”, there’s, Jin, that’s, Christine Jenkins Organizations: Hong Kong CNN — Hospitals, CNN, Beijing Children’s Hospital, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Health, World Health Organization, WHO, Wednesday, “, University of Hong Kong’s, of Biomedical Sciences, Deakin University, Getty, Weibo, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, National Health Commission, NHC, ”, China’s, Hong Kong University, UNSW Sydney Locations: China, Hong Kong, Beijing, Tianjin, United States, Australia, AFP, Beijing’s

☆ China throws support behind 'strategic partner' Russia after Wagner insurrection
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Hong Kong CNN —China has voiced support for Russia after a short-lived insurrection posed the gravest challenge to the 23-year rule of Vladimir Putin, a close partner of Chinese leader Xi Jinping in his push for a new world order and strategic alignment against the US. “As Russia’s friendly neighbor and comprehensive strategic partner of coordination for the new era, China supports Russia in maintaining national stability and achieving development and prosperity,” it said. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Rudenko also held “scheduled consultations” with China’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu. According to the Chinese readout, Ma told Rudenko that under the leadership of Xi and Putin, the mutual political trust and cooperation between China and Russia had grown continuously. Despite its claims of neutrality, China has refused to condemn the invasion and instead provided much-needed diplomatic and economic support for Russia, a position that has alarmed Western nations, especially in Europe.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin, ”, Beijing’s, Prigozhin, Andrey Rudenko, Qin Gang, Rudenko, Ma Zhaoxu, Ma, Xi, “, ” Xi, Putin’s, Jin Canrong, Jin, Hu Xijin Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Russia, US, Foreign Ministry, Kremlin, Ministry, Russian Federation, United, Australia National University’s Taiwan Studies, Renmin University, Global Times Locations: China, Hong Kong, Moscow, Beijing, Russia, Belarus, Russian, Ukraine, Western, Europe, United States, Weibo

☆ China approves its first mRNA Covid-19 vaccine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Juliana Liu | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Hong Kong CNN —China has approved its first Covid-19 vaccine based on mRNA technology, months after the country lifted strict pandemic measures. The vaccine targets the Omicron variant and was tested in China with over 5,500 people, it added. “This is a positive step because there is strong scientific evidence that mRNA vaccines do much better than non-MRA vaccines,” Jin Dong-yan, a professor in molecular virology at the University of Hong Kong, told CNN. Until now, China has approved only inactivated vaccines made by Sinovac Biotech and Sinopharm Group, two Beijing-based drugmakers. The inactivated vaccines have been found to elicit lower levels of antibody response compared to ones using the newer messenger RNA technology.

☆ China says it successfully cloned 3 highly productive ‘super cows’
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

They were cloned from highly productive cows from the Holstein Friesian breed, which originated in the Netherlands. The chosen animals are capable of producing 18 tons of milk per year, or 100 tons of milk in their lifetimes. The scientists made 120 cloned embryos from the ear cells of the highly productive cows and placed them in surrogate cows, according to the Technology Daily. Jin Yaping, the project’s lead scientist, called the birth of the “super cows” a “breakthrough” that allows China to preserve the very best cows “in an economically feasible way,” the state-run newspaper Global Times reported. But some highly productive cows are not identified until the end of their lives, making it difficult to breed them, Jin said.

Easing Covid measures means accepting a rise in cases that is likely to get worse as winter approaches. Residents buy medications at a pharmacy in Shijiazhuang, China, last week. “There will always be complaints.”Though many people in China still support “zero-Covid,” the strict measures have also stoked growing resentment. China is thus now facing a dual challenge, said Donald Low, a professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. “You’re going to see the Hong Kong story played out on a much larger scale” in mainland China, Low said.

☆ China is caught in a zero-Covid trap of its own making
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“The new political ecology also provided more incentive for local governments to impose more draconian Covid control measures,” Huang said. Chinese health officials maintain that changing tack now would risk a huge surge in infections and deaths that could overwhelm the country’s fragile health care system. Zhengzhou, a city of 12 million, imposed sweeping lockdown measures last month after identifying dozens of Covid-19 cases. On Wednesday, the Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone, where the Foxconn plant is located, announced new lockdown measures. As the winter approaches, experts warn that China could be hit by a new wave of infections – and a new cycle of draconian lockdowns.

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