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☆ Chinese people are debating a superstition that says 2024 is the 'Year of the Widow.' Beijing is starting to pay attention.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. They asked Beijing to issue a public notice advising people against allowing superstition to affect their life decisions. The belief involves the lack of a "beginning of spring" day, also known as lichun, at the start of a lunar year. "There surely must be a reason behind thousands of years of folk tradition," another person wrote in defense of the superstition. Advertisement"First you need to find someone to marry," wrote law blogger Chen Yiyu.

Persons: —, Mao Zedong's, haven't, Chen Yiyu Organizations: Service, Business, China's Ministry of Civil Affairs, Weibo Locations: China, Beijing, Weibo

☆ Israel approves some fuel for UN trucks in Gaza, source says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

An aid truck arrives at a UN storage facility as the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas continues, in the central Gaza Strip October 21, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBEIRUT, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Israel has given approval for 24,000 litres (6,340 gallons) of diesel fuel to be used by trucks for United Nations operations in the Gaza Strip, a humanitarian source said on Tuesday. The fuel is only meant for U.N. trucks, and not for hospitals, the source said. Gaza health officials have suspended operations at many of the enclave's hospitals due to lack of fuel and other supplies. Colonel Moshe Terto, who heads an Israeli defence ministry body that handles civil affairs in Gaza, said Israel is monitoring the fuel situation "on a daily basis".

Persons: Mohammed Salem, Axios, Israel, Moshe Terto, Terto, Maya Gebeily, Emily Rose, Chris Reese, Howard Goller Organizations: Hamas, REUTERS, Rights, United Nations, ., United, UNRWA, Thomson Locations: UN, Israel, Palestinian, Gaza, Rights BEIRUT, United States, Egypt, Beirut, Jerusalem

☆ As Fighting Rages, Israel Says Ready to Evacuate Babies From Gaza's Main Hospital
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( Nov. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +7 min

The Israeli military said 46 had been killed since its ground operations there began. ISRAEL SAYS IT WILL HELP EVACUATE BABIESIsrael's chief military spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said the Israeli military would help evacuate babies from the hospital. "The staff of the Shifa hospital has requested that tomorrow we help the babies in the pediatric department to get to a safer hospital. Medical staff say patients could die if they are moved and Palestinian officials say Israeli fire makes it dangerous for others to leave. 'TOTALLY SCARY ATMOSPHERE'Ahmed al-Mokhallalati, a senior plastic surgeon at Al Shifa, told Reuters there had been continuous bombardment for more than 24 hours.

Persons: Nidal, Emily Rose, Maayan, newsborns, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Al Shifa, Ashraf Al, Qidra, Moshe Tetro, Daniel Hagari, Israel, Avi Dichter, Dichter, Ahmed al, Al Shati, Al Nasr, Ahmed Siam, Al, Nidal al, Maytaan, Maytaal Angel, Emily Rose Jerusalem, Crispian Balmer, Ari Rabinovitch, Adam Makary, Omar Abdel, David Brunnstrom, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Al, Reuters, Medical, Israel Defense Forces, Quds Brigades Locations: GAZA, JERUSALEM, Gaza's, Rafah, Egypt, Gaza, Israeli, Israel, Tel Aviv, Gaza City, COGAT, ISRAEL, Al, Quds, Al Shifa, Al Nasr, London, Brussels, Saudi Arabia

An Israeli military spokesperson said Hamas had lost control of northern Gaza. The Israeli military said 46 had been killed since its ground operations there began. ISRAEL SAYS IT WILL HELP EVACUATE BABIESIsrael's chief military spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said the Israeli military would help evacuate babies from the hospital. "The staff of the Shifa hospital has requested that tomorrow we help the babies in the pediatric department to get to a safer hospital. 'TOTALLY SCARY ATMOSPHERE'Ahmed al-Mokhallalati, a senior plastic surgeon at Al Shifa, told Reuters there had been continuous bombardment for more than 24 hours.

Persons: Netanyahu, Benjamin Netanyahu, Al Shifa, Ashraf Al, Qidra, Moshe Tetro, Daniel Hagari, Israel, Avi Dichter, Dichter, Ahmed al, Al Shati, Al Nasr, Ahmed Siam, Al, Nidal al, Maytaan, Maytaal Angel, Emily Rose Jerusalem, Crispian Balmer, Ari Rabinovitch, Adam Makary, Omar Abdel, David Brunnstrom, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Palestinian, Hamas, Israeli Defense Forces, Reuters, Al, Medical, Israel Defense Forces, Quds Brigades, Thomson Locations: Gaza, GAZA, JERUSALEM, Gaza's, Rafah, Egypt, Israeli, Israel, Tel Aviv, Gaza City, COGAT, ISRAEL, Al, Quds, Al Shifa, Al Nasr, London, Brussels, Saudi Arabia

☆ Ukraine has taken 17,000 Russians off the battlefield without firing a shot, US Army special-ops general says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Russia has taken hundreds of thousands of casualties since attacking Ukraine last year. Thanks to its information operations, Kyiv has helped take 17,000 Russians off the battlefield without even firing a shot, according to the head of US Army Special Operations Command. "Messaging has played a huge role just in the tactical and operational sense" in Ukraine, Braga said at the Association of the US Army's annual conference in October. During the Cold War, the KGB used information operations as part of a larger "active measures" campaign to subvert the West and undermine NATO. In the US special-operations community, the Army's Psychological Operations Groups and the Civil Affairs Brigade do most of the work when it comes to information operations and shaping the narrative.

Persons: —, Vladimir Putin, Valya, Jonathan Braga, Braga, We've, You've, Arkady Budnitsky, " Braga, it's, Kyiv's Organizations: Service, Russian, US Army Special Operations Command, Navy, Getty, Association of, Anadolu Agency, Kremlin, NATO, Keyboard, US Army, Psychological, Groups, Civil Affairs Brigade, Army Special Forces Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Europe, Kyiv, St . Petersburg, Rostov, Mackall, North Carolina, China

Hamas’ military wing said its militants clashed with Israeli troops who entered the northwest Gaza Strip with small arms and anti-tank missiles. Meanwhile, crowded hospitals in northern Gaza came under growing threat. The U.N. said Monday that strikes hit near Gaza City's Shifa and Al-Quds hospitals and the Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza in recent days. All 10 hospitals still working in northern Gaza have received evacuation orders in recent days, the U.N.'s office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs said. The Israeli military said early Monday that its aircraft hit military infrastructure in Syria after rockets from there fell in open Israeli territory.

Persons: KHAN YOUNIS, Benjamin Netanyahu, ”, Thomas White, “, Juliette Touma, Joe Biden, Netanyahu, Elad Goren, Israel, Robert Mardini, Khan Younis, Mohammed Qandeel, Umm Ahmad, Yoav Gallant, ” Karim Khan, ___ Magdy, Julia Frankel, Amy Teibel Organizations: Hamas, Gaza Health Ministry, Hamas ’, Palestinian, Tel Aviv . Communications, UNRWA, Associated Press, Crescent, International Committee, CBS, Nasser Hospital, Israeli, ICC, West Bank Locations: Gaza, Egypt, Israel, Gaza’s, Tel Aviv, U.S, COGAT, Al, Quds, Shifa, Khan, Palestinian, Lebanese, Jenin, Syria, Lebanon, Cairo, Athens, Jerusalem, israel

Gaza CNN —Three-year-old Joudi hasn’t uttered a word in 16 days, her father says. Her father told CNN she hasn't spoken in weeks, because she is still in shock. Abed Khaled/APEyewitnesses told CNN that Deir al-Balah was struck on Friday evening, alongside other locations in central Gaza. We were safe and suddenly everything changed and came crashing,” Hala told CNN at the Deir al-Balah refugee camp. Still in shock, Joudi is refusing to eat or drink, her father told CNN.

Persons: hasn’t, Hala Bin Naeem, Khan Younis, Daniel Hagari, “, Hala, Abed Khaled, Deir, Balah, ” Hala, ”, Thomas White, Crescent, Ashraf Amra, ” Elad Goren, Ibrahim Dahman, ” Dahman, Dahman, ” Hagari, Medhat Abbas, Joudi Organizations: Gaza CNN, Shifa, Israel Defense Forces, Hamas, of Health, Palestinian Ministry of Health, IDF, CNN, United Nations, UNRWA, UNRWA Affairs, Palestinian, Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, Anadolu Agency, Getty, UN, Civil Affairs Department, COGAT, Hospital Locations: Gaza, Gaza City, Al Karama, Israel, Ramallah, Hala, Beit Hanoun, Rafah, Wadi Gaza, Palestinian, al, Deir al, Egypt, Aqsa, U.S, Territories, WhatsApp

☆ China can't just rely on boosting births to address aging population issues, Renmin University professor says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING — China can't just rely on increasing childbirths to address its aging population issues, said Du Peng, vice principal of Renmin University of China. Du is director of the university's Institute of Gerontology, which means relating to the elderly. China's population growth has slowed as births drop and lifespans increase. In the last ten years, Beijing has started to unwind strict policies that for about three decades had limited households to one child each. High education and housing costs, especially in the big cities where more jobs are located, has also discouraged households from having children.

Persons: Du Peng, Du Organizations: Renmin University of China, university's Institute of Gerontology, China's Ministry of Civil Affairs Locations: BEIJING, China, Beijing

☆ Is the bride 25 or younger? Couples get cash reward to promote earlier marriage in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Cheng Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A newly-wed couple pose with their marriage certificates at the marriage registration center during '520 I Love You' Day on May 20, 2023 in Chengdu, Sichuan Province of China. Local Chinese officials trying to encourage earlier marriages are offering an incentive that all newlywed couples can appreciate: cash. The reward, which is restricted to couples marrying for the first time, is meant to promote "age-appropriate marriage and childbearing," the notice said. They include abolishing the "one-child policy" that reigned from the late 1970s until 2016, which was designed to limit the number of births to prevent China's population from growing too quickly. The China Population and Development Research Center, a government-backed institution, said the number of children per woman in China was the lowest among countries with populations over 100 million.

Persons: Couples Organizations: Development Research Center, Ministry of Civil Affairs, Young, Social, Twitter Locations: Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China, Local, Changshan county, Zhejiang, Weibo

☆ Video of man driving over woman repeatedly reignites China's domestic violence debate
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The wife had reportedly suffered years of domestic violence and was planning on a divorce, her family told state media outlet The Paper. “Given its prevalence, domestic violence is an issue everyone knows about, even if they have not encountered it themselves.”Volunteers in Ma Anshan city, Anhui province sign their names on a banner against domestic violence on December 14, 2011. TopPhoto/AP‘Family affair’In China, domestic violence has traditionally been regarded as a private family matter. The law defines domestic violence for the first time, covering both physical and psychological violence – though it fails to address sexual abuse such as marital rape. “Domestic violence allegations, even when they’re supported by evidence, make no difference – like judges just don’t care at all,” he said.

Persons: –, ”, Feng Yuan, Feng, …, Ethan Michelson, Michelson, they’re, it’s, “, Xi Jinping Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Twitter, “, ” Volunteers, Ministry of Civil Affairs, Indiana University , Bloomington Locations: Hong Kong, China, Shandong, Dongying, Guangdong, Chengdu, –, Weibo, Beijing, Ma Anshan, Anhui, Michelson

☆ China's Trip.com will pay its workers $140 million to have kids
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong CNN —China’s Trip.com, one of the world’s largest online travel agencies, is introducing new childcare subsidies worth 1 billion yuan ($138 million) to encourage its 32,000 employees to have kids. Trip.com’s announcement follows similar initiatives by smaller Chinese companies and comes as the country faces a demographic crisis. The country is now the world’s second most populous nation, having fallen behind India, according to the United Nations. Giving birth to a first or second child would lead to payments of 30,000 yuan ($4,130) and 60,000 yuan ($8,260) respectively, the reports said. Some 6.83 million couples married in 2022, according to data released by China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs earlier this month.

Persons: China’s, ”, James Liang, …, ” Liang, — CNN’s Simone McCarthy Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Workers, Communist, United Nations, Beijing, Beijing Dabeinong Technology, China Securities, QiaoYin, QiaoYin City Management, China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs Locations: Hong Kong, Communist China, India, Trip.com, Beijing, QiaoYin City, China

☆ China fails to release cremation data from late 2022 when its Covid-19 outbreak raged
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

A review of the past 10 years of ministry data shows the annual figure of cremations was consistently included in the fourth quarter data report – until now. China has faced criticism of its data transparency throughout the pandemic, including how it counts Covid-19 deaths. In January, a top WHO official accused China of “under-representing” the severity of its Covid outbreak, and repeated the agency’s critique of Beijing’s “narrow” definition of what constitutes a Covid death. At that time, Chinese health officials only listed those Covid patients who succumbed with respiratory failure and pneumonia as having died of Covid. It’s not clear if China plans to release the national data on cremations at a later date.

Persons: cremations, Yanzhong Huang, Covid, ” Huang, Hector Retamal, China’s, “, bode, It’s Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs, Council, Foreign Relations, Ministry, Civil Affairs, CNN, Getty, WHO, Covid, World Health Organization Locations: Hong Kong, China, New York, Shanghai, AFP, Wuhan, Communist, “

☆ Met Museum Trains ‘Monuments Men’ to Save Ukrainian Cultural Heritage
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Zachary Small | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Twenty men and women in military fatigues huddled around a 19th-century painting of a fiery sunset at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on a recent Saturday afternoon. They leaned toward the vivid picture of the Ukrainian wilderness as their tour guide spoke. The program was announced three years ago but interrupted by Covid and bureaucratic hurdles. Blake Ruehrwein, an Air Force veteran who also runs education and outreach at the Naval War College Museum in Newport, R.I., was instructing a new unit learning the ropes from some of the world’s top art experts. “Take what you learn from here and apply it,” he told the officers attending the museum workshop in early June.

Persons: ” Alison Hokanson, “, Blake Ruehrwein, ” Organizations: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 353rd Civil Affairs Command, Men, Air Force, Naval War College Museum Locations: Staten, Newport, R.I

☆ China records fewest marriages in more than three decades as population crisis looms
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Some 6.83 million couples married in 2022, according to data released by China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs on Friday. That’s down around 10.5% from the 7.63 million marriage registrations in 2021 and marks a record low since 1986, when the ministry began releasing statistics, according to state media. Chinese officials see a direct link between fewer marriages and falling births in the country, where social norms and government regulations make it challenging for unmarried couples to have children. Efforts from Chinese officials in recent years to reverse trends of falling marriages and births have yet to see results amid the looming economic and social issues at play. The Ministry of Civil Affairs’ recent data release also showed a slight fall in divorce registrations, with 2.1 million couples divorced in 2022, down from 2.13 million couples the previous year.

Persons: That’s, – Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs, Communist, United Nations, Authorities, Communist Party, Communist Youth League, China Family Planning, Ministry, Civil Affairs, China isn’t Locations: Hong Kong, China, Beijing, Communist China, India, Japan, South Korea

☆ Marriages in China slump to historic low
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A new couple holding marriage certificates poses for a photo outside a registry office of marriage on Valentine's Day in Beijing, China, February 14, 2017. China's birth rate fell last year to 6.77 births per 1,000 people, the lowest on record, from 7.52 in 2021. Demographers warn China will get old before it gets rich, as its workforce shrinks and indebted local governments spend more on their elderly population. To encourage marriage and boost the country's flagging birth rate, China said last month it would launch pilot projects in more than 20 cities to create a "new-era" marriage and childbearing culture. Reporting by Martin Quin Pollard and Ellen Zhang; Editing by David HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jason Lee, Martin Quin Pollard, Ellen Zhang, David Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Ministry of Civil Affairs, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, BEIJING, Demographers

☆ In first-of-its-kind drill, US Army special operators train to defend Taiwan against Chinese attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Drew F. Lawrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

At US Army Special Operations Command's annual capabilities exercise, soldiers trained to defend Taiwan. The training was part of the USASOC's annual capabilities exercise, or CAPEX, and the mission they were gaming out was an insertion into Taiwan to defend against a Chinese invasion. So instead of hovering 8,000 miles away in the South China Sea where the island actually is perched, the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment's Chinooks landed on Range 68 at Fort Bragg. US Army Rangers conduct an air-assault raid during Capabilities Exercise at Fort Bragg on April 20, 2023. Soldiers take part in US Army Special Operations Command's annual Capabilities Exercise in June 2019.

☆ India rejects China's renaming of places along disputed border
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW DELHI/BEIJING, April 4 (Reuters) - India rejected on Tuesday the renaming by China of places in what India regards as its eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as part of its territory. The statement included a map that showed the 11 places renamed by China as being within "Zangnan", or southern Tibet in Chinese, with Arunachal Pradesh included in southern Tibet and China's border with India demarcated as just north of the Brahmaputra river. "Arunachal Pradesh is, has been and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India," Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Twitter. But a spokesperson at the Chinese foreign ministry said the name changes were "completely within the scope of China's sovereignty". "The southern Tibet region is Chinese territory," the spokesperson, Mao Ning, told a regular media briefing in Beijing on Tuesday.

China's four new vice premiers:Ding Xuexiang, 60, is the first-ranked vice premier who also sits in the ruling Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee, China's top echelon of power. Wang Zhigang, 65, remains minister of science and technology. Huai Jinpeng, 60, remains minister of educationPan Yue, 62, remains head of the National Ethnic Affairs CommissionWang Xiaohong, 65, remains minister of public securityChen Yixin, 63, remains minister of state security. Considered a Xi ally, he had worked with Xi when the latter was party chief of Zhejiang province from 2002-2007. Tang Dengjie, 63, remains minister of civil affairsHe Rong, 60, remains minister of justiceWang Xiaoping, 59, remains minister of human resources and social securityWang Guanghua, 59, remains minister of natural resourcesHuang Runqiu, 59, remains minister of ecology and environmentNi Hong, 60, remains minister of housing and urban-rural developmentLi Xiaopeng, 63, remains minister of transportLi Guoying, 63, remains minister of water resourcesTang Renjian, 60, remains minister of agriculture and rural affairsHu Heping, 60, remains minister of culture and tourismMa Xiaowei, 63, remains head of the National Health CommissionPei Jinjia, 59, remains minister of veterans affairsWang Xiangxi, 60, remains minister of emergency managementHou Kai, 60, remains auditor-general of the National Audit OfficeReporting by Yew Lun Tian, Ziyi Tang, additional reporting by Albee Zhang; Editing by Raju GopalakrishnanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Blinken vows US support for Israel despite unease over govt
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday the U.S. will not shrink from its unwavering support for Israel despite stark differences with Prime Minister-elect Benjamin Netanyahu and concerns the Biden administration may have about potential members of his incoming right-wing government. Blinken said the Biden administration would engage with Netanyahu’s government based on its policies and not on personalities, including potential senior Cabinet ministers who have expressed vehement anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab views in the past. He said those would be detrimental to Israel’s long-term security or future as a Jewish democratic state. We will hold it to the mutual standards we have established in our relationship over the past seven decades,” Blinken said. He lauded the recent completion of a maritime border accord between Israel and Lebanon.

☆ 1 in 5 of China's urban youth are unemployed. That's a huge headache for Xi Jinping
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Laura He | Cnn Business | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The youth unemployment rate has repeatedly hit new highs this year , rising from 15.3% in March to a record 18.2% in April. In the past few months, mass layoffs have engulfed once booming Chinese industries ranging from private tutoring to real estate. Xi is seeking a historic third term when the Communist Party hold its congress next month. But youth unemployment will constitute a "major threat" to China's economic and political stability in the long run, he added. But the government seems unwilling to tackle the main reason behind China's economic slowdown this year — the zero Covid policy .

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