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☆ Companies Are Inventing Silly, Cute Executive Titles but It's a Trick
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Drew Limsky | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Chief amazement officers, chief heart officers, and chief empathy officers are popping up across companies. They also found that titles like chief people officer and chief happiness officer were gaining in use. If you thought home's where the heart is, think again, because the workplace now has a chief heart officer. Sometimes the chief heart officer exists in addition to the head of human resources, a role that is increasingly called, more humanistically, the chief people officer. Claude Silver, the chief heart officer at VaynerMedia and self-proclaimed "first chief heart officer," told Forbes in 2017 that she was "here to be of service" to her staff.

☆ Hong Kong’s hamsters sound shrill warning
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, Jan 5 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Almost a year to the day since Hong Kong culled 2,000 hamsters to combat Covid-19, the city is rescinding a ban on importing the creatures for sale, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. The rodents’ return is a small but welcome landmark in its gradual reopening. Imported hamsters must still test negative for the virus before they can be sold. As Hong Kong prepares to start reopening the mainland border next week, the city needs to cure lingering, illogical bureaucracy, which will hamper urgent efforts to heal the economy, and resurrect normal life. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ 'Communities like mine won't survive:' Queens residents battle monthly floods as sea levels rise, storms worsen
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

Still, it's unclear how these vulnerable coastal communities — and others across the country — will ultimately fare. In this scenario, most of the communities surrounding Jamaica Bay would be inundated every day by high tides. These types of natural projects, some of which are already underway at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, would be balanced with the Army Corp's man-made engineered solutions. Additionally, the proposed Jamaica Bay Storm Surge Barrier, located to the east of the Marine Parkway Bridge, would close during major storms. Shoreline restoration is underway at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens.

Instead, authorities will shift the focus of work from preventing infection to health protection and preventing severe disease, it said. The abrupt U-turn is especially stunning in Chongqing, one of China’s largest cities, with 32 million residents and annual GDP of $400 billion. Jerry Cheng, who works at a state-owned construction company in the city and is currently Covid positive, voiced concerns about the announcement. Cheng’s anxiety was reflected on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, on Monday as Chongqing residents reacted to the announcement. More than a million residents were told not to leave the city unless absolutely necessary, and several rounds of daily mass testing were rolled out.

☆ Henry Cavill won't return as Superman in franchise's next movie
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Things are heating up in Metropolis, as DC Studios co-head James Gunn has announced he is writing a new feature film about Superman. In step with the new project, Gunn has also revealed that Henry Cavill will not return as the hero. In the initial stages, our story will be focusing on an earlier part of Superman’s life, so the character will not be played by Henry Cavill. After being told by the studio to announce my return back in October, prior to their hire, this news isn’t the easiest, but that’s life,” Cavill wrote. On Tuesday, Jenkins tweeted a lengthy statement saying she was “was open to considering anything asked of me” in regards to a potential third project, which was scrapped.

“I haven’t seen sunlight in what seems like a long time,” Li told CNN, a week after the protests broke out. In recent years, Beijing has extended its crackdown on dissent to the foreign platform, detaining and jailing Chinese Twitter users who criticized the government. TwitterLi received thousands of submissions a day – and up to dozens per second at the height of the protests. Journalists, observers and activists monitored his feed closely, and some of his posts were aired on televisions across the world. And then they went to our house at midnight to harass my parents,” Li said.

☆ In China's Wuhan, a shadow of reserve and resentment even as COVID lockdowns ease
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Martin Quin Pollard | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"We know the country is reopening but we ourselves haven't let down our guard," said one Wuhan cornershop owner. "This has never happened before, not even at the start of the outbreak in 2020," said one Wuhan pharmacist surnamed Liu. Health authorities in Wuhan reported 229 new COVID cases on Thursday, while health authorities in Beijing reported more than 16,000 cases nationwide on the same day. REUTERS/Martin Pollard 1 2 3 4By November, as frustration towards the zero-COVID policies mounted, some Wuhan residents like Sam Yuen, a teacher, joined protests demanding an end to the lockdowns, alongside thousands of others in cities across China. City authorities put the official death toll at 3,869 in April 2020.

“The world changed overnight, and that’s really amazing,” said Echo Ding, 30, a manager at a tech company in Beijing. They said it’s good, so then it’s good … that’s what I feel right now. In Beijing, authorities on Wednesday said a health code showing a negative Covid-19 test would still be required for dining in at restaurants or entering some entertainment venues – in conflict with the national guidelines. Now, with the new rules she knew she could largely go out freely, but instead she stayed at home to “wait and see.”“We are still waiting and watching. It is not the case that people all rushed out once the seal is off,” she said.

☆ China eases controls but gives no sign when ‘zero Covid’ will end
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

BEIJING — China is easing some of the world’s most stringent anti-virus controls and authorities say new variants are weaker. That spurred hopes for a quick end to “zero Covid.” But health experts and economists warn it will be mid-2023 and possibly 2024 before vaccination rates are high enough and hospitals are prepared to handle a possible rash of infections. Ahead of the protests, the Communist Party promised to make “zero Covid” less costly and disruptive but said it was sticking to the overall containment strategy. Travelers at the Chinese capital’s train stations and three airports are required to show a negative virus test within the previous 48 hours. Xi’s government has held up “zero Covid” as proof of the superiority of China’s system compared with the United States and Western countries.

[1/5] Pandemic prevention workers in protective suits walk in a street as coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreaks continue in Beijing, December 4, 2022. Daily tallies of new COVID infections have also dropped in some regions as authorities row back on testing. CHANGING MESSAGEAlongside the easing of local curbs, Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, who oversees COVID efforts, said last week the ability of the virus to cause disease was weakening. That change in messaging aligns with the position adopted by many health authorities around the world for more than a year. The eastern province of Zhejiang said it planned to largely end mass testing, while the metropolis of Nanjing dropped COVID tests for use of public transport.

☆ Avoid the dust-collectors! Expert tips for finding hidden treasures at yard and estate sales
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Jen Glantz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

It's possible to discover valuable items at local yard sales, but having a strategy and tools is important. When browsing handbags, if an item has a high price tag, Hirsch advised searching for stains, repairs, and fabric damage. Look closely at vintage Christmas ornamentsHirsch said vintage Christmas ornaments are commonly found at local sales and are potentially valuable collector items. Figure out an approach and stick to a budgetIf you're completely new to hunting for treasures, Zurzolo advised having a set strategy. Zurzolo recommended selling finds on platforms like eBay, Craigslist, or even Etsy.

☆ Former NBA star Jeremy Lin fined for comments about Covid quarantine while playing in China
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Police fanned out across Shanghai, Beijing and other cities to try to prevent additional protests. A representative of Vision China Entertainment, which says on its website it represents Lin, didn’t respond to a request for comment. Jinzhou in the northeast lifted curbs on movement and allowed businesses to reopen. On Thursday, the metropolis of Guangzhou in the south, the biggest hotspot in the latest infection spike, allowed supermarkets and restaurants to reopen. Other major cities including Shijiazhuang in the north and Chengdu in the southwest restarted bus and subway service and allowed businesses to reopen.

☆ The inside story of Trump’s explosive dinner with Ye and Nick Fuentes
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Marc Caputo | Marc Caputo Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +15 min

“We saw everybody in the dining room get up and start applauding, and then the president entered,” Fuentes told NBC News. “He greeted us, and he invited Ye into dinner and Ye said that he wanted to bring us with him to the table. “Trump is really impressed with Nick Fuentes,” Ye said in the video. Giorno said she had been caught in the blast radius of the dinner with Ye and Fuentes but was an unwitting participant. About halfway to Mar-a-Lago, Giorno said in an interview, she realized that Ye, Fuentes and the other man weren’t properly attired.

While the protests were largely tamped down, there continued to be scattered incidents of unrest. Experts say China will have a tough time navigating its way out of the pandemic without getting more people inoculated. The National Health Commission said Tuesday that it was especially focused on increasing vaccinations among people older than 80, though it did not announce a mandate. With new, mostly asymptomatic infections still being reported across China — 38,421 on Tuesday, down from a record 40,052 the day before — some Covid restrictions are still tightening. An opinion article Tuesday in People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, said officials at all levels must “unswervingly implement” the government’s Covid policies.

☆ China police out in numbers to prevent more COVID protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Eduardo Baptista | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Epidemic-prevention workers in protective suits stand guard at a residential compound as outbreaks of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continue in Beijing, China November 28, 2022. Simmering discontent with COVID prevention policies three years into the pandemic ignited into broader protests in cities thousands of miles apart throughout the weekend. COVID in China keeps spreading despite significant sacrifices made by most of the country's 1.4 billion people to prevent its transmission, adhering to a zero-COVID policy of eradicating all outbreaks that has isolated China from the rest of the world. The lockdowns have exacerbated one of the steepest growth slowdowns China has faced in decades, disrupting global supply chains and roiling financial markets. In Hangzhou, the capital of the eastern Zhejiang province, videos on social media which Reuters could not independently verify showed hundreds of police occupying a large public square on Monday night, preventing people from congregating.

☆ China sees protests against COVID curbs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

CHINA PROTESTS Fire deaths fuel COVID lockdown fury How the protests gained momentumProtests have flared in several cities in mainland China in recent days, in a wave of civil disobedience unprecedented since President Xi Jinping assumed power a decade ago. Protests reported across China Protest mapAlthough the demonstrations in recent days are thousands of miles apart, they share elements in common. Video shows crowds topple police barricades in the street to protest against COVID curbs in China’s Guangzhou Crowds topple police barricades in the street to protest against COVID curbs in Guangzhou, China. Nov. 25 – Urumqi protests Crowds took to the streets at night in Urumqi, chanting "End the lockdown!" Video shows people in China’s Xinjiang protesting against COVID lockdown measures in China Protests against COVID lockdown measures in China's XinjiangIn the capital, Beijing, some 2,700 km (1,678 miles) to the east, some residents under lockdown staged small-scale protests or confronted local officials over movement restrictions.

☆ A Cozy Long Weekend in Dublin, a Truly Walkable City
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Matthew Kronsberg | Photographs Al Higgins For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

IF LOS ANGELES FEELS like it was designed for the driver, and New York City for the subway passenger, Dublin, one could say, was made for the pedestrian. It remains true today; few places better suit a weekend of wandering. That a historian can be a local celebrity testifies to the degree to which the past remains present here. Dublin is an ideal place to indulge, since you’ll be sure to walk it off. DAY 1 | SATURDAY8:30 a.m.: Arrive at Dublin Airport, just over 6 miles north of the city center.

In Beijing, hundreds of mostly young people demonstrated in the commercial heart of the city well into the small hours of Monday. Freedom of expression, freedom of the press, freedom of arts, freedom of movement, personal freedoms. A security guard tries to cover a protest slogan against zero-Covid on the campus of Peking University in Beijing. “Open your eyes and look at the world, dynamic zero-Covid is a lie,” the protest slogan at Peking University read. At Tsinghua University, another elite university in Beijing, hundreds of students gathered on a square to protest against zero-Covid and censorship.

☆ Review: I drove the $2.1 million Rimac Nevera electric supercar. It felt like piloting an ultra-luxury rocket.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Alanis King | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The $2.1 million electric supercar Rimac Nevera has 1,914 horsepower and 1,741 pound-feet of torque. But the Rimac Nevera taught me there's still a lot of that to be done on Earth. Alanis KingThe Nevera is a $2.1 million electric supercar from Rimac, a Croatian carmaker founded in 2009 by the now 34-year-old Mate Rimac. Rimac AutomobiliThe Nevera has four electric motors — one for each wheel — that, combined, make 1,914 horsepower and 1,741 pound-feet of torque. "The car will step out a little," they said, referring to the slide a car's wheels do when they begin to lose traction.

☆ China’s Xi attempts to claim diplomatic victory in battle for global influence after summit whirlwind
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Chinese leader Xi Jinping attends the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia on Wednesday. Since taking office, Biden has shored up relations with allies and partners to counter China’s growing influence. In a rare, candid moment caught on camera, Xi chided Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, accusing him of leaking details of a brief conversation between them. He also attended the Group of 20 dinner, where he shook hands and chatted with leaders including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Apart from the Dutch Prime Minister, Xi also invited US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italy’s newly elected Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to visit Beijing early next year.

☆ China COVID cases steady as many Beijing businesses, schools shut
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Authorities also said an 87-year-old Beijing man became the nation's first official COVID-19 fatality since May 26, raising China's coronavirus death toll to 5,227. China continues to reiterate its commitment to zero-COVID-19, a signature policy of President Xi Jinping that the central government argues saves lives. In the latest tallies, Beijing city reported 621 new infections for Saturday, up from 515 a day earlier. Guangzhou, a southern city of nearly 19 million people, reported 8,434 new locally transmitted infections, down from 8,713 a day earlier. The southwestern metropolis of Chongqing reported 4,710 new locally transmitted infections, compared with 4,744 a day earlier.

☆ More Americans are living and working in Mexico. Where does that leave the locals?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Jaylinn Herrera | Jaylinn Herrera Is A Nbc News Associate With The Nbc National News Desk. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Mexico City has seen an influx of people migrating to the historic metropolis, especially during the pandemic when remote work made it possible to work from different places. Currently, 1.6 million Americans live in Mexico, according to the State Department, and Mexico City is the fifth rated destination for digital nomads globally, according to nomadlist.com. He emphasized Mexico City isn’t cheap, but in comparison to other countries digital nomads are migrating from, it’s considerably more affordable. “If you’re making your salary in U.S. dollars, pounds, Canadian dollars, you’re better off living in Mexico City.” Romero said. He believes those areas with higher numbers of digital nomads are already economically out of reach for most of the locals.

☆ China tightens restrictions as rise in Covid cases reported
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Everyone in a district of 1.8 million people in China’s southern metropolis of Guangzhou was ordered to stay home Saturday to undergo virus testing and a major city in the southwest closed schools as another rise in Covid infections was reported. Guangzhou, 75 miles north of Hong Kong, has shut down schools and bus and subway service across much of the city as case numbers rise. In the southwest, the industrial city of Chongqing closed schools in its Beibei district, which has 840,000 people. Economists and public health experts say “zero Covid” might stay in place for as much as another year. They say millions of elderly people have to be vaccinated before the ruling party can consider lifting controls that keep most foreign visitors out of China.

☆ China's COVID infections reach peak since late April
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The National Health Commission reported 11,950 new COVID-19 infections for the previous day, of which 1,504 were symptomatic and 10,446 were asymptomatic. That compares with 10,729 new cases a day earlier – 1,209 symptomatic and 9,520 asymptomatic infections, which China counts separately. Excluding imported infections, China reported 11,803 new local cases, of which 1,452 were symptomatic and 10,351 were asymptomatic, up from 10,535 a day earlier. Beijing, the capital, reported 68 symptomatic and 48 asymptomatic cases, versus 64 symptomatic and 54 asymptomatic ones the previous day, local government data showed. The high-end SKP shopping mall in the capital's sprawling Chaoyang district, said it was closed on Saturday for COVID control and prevention measures.

☆ China eases Covid rules, shortening quarantine for inbound travelers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

BEIJING — China on Friday eased some of its draconian Covid rules, including shortening quarantines by two days for close contacts of infected people and for inbound travelers, and removing a penalty for airlines for bringing in too many cases. Under the new rules, centralized quarantine times for close contacts and travelers from abroad were shortened from seven days to five days. The requirement for three further days in home isolation after centralized quarantine remains. Inbound passengers are transported by bus to their quarantine hotels after arriving at Pudong International Airport in Shanghai in January. “This meeting further illustrates policymakers have started to focus more on optimizing the Covid control policies,” Goldman Sachs said in a note following Thursday’s Politburo Standing Committee meeting but before Friday’s announcement.

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