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Beijing/Hong Kong CNN —Married for seven years, Hansen and his wife Momo care for six little ones at their apartment in downtown Beijing. By 2030, the number of pets in urban China alone will almost double the number of young children across the country, according to its projection. The country’s pet ownership rate would be even higher if the number of dogs and cats in rural areas were included. Its birth rate also dipped to 6.39 births per 1,000 people, the lowest rate since the founding of Communist China in 1949. I think it’s just that we love dogs,” Hansen said.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN —, Hansen, Momo, ”, Beijing hasn’t, they’ve, Justin Robertson, Goldman Sachs, Mao Zedong’s, Goldman, It’s, “, Tao, CNN Tao, CNN Stuart Gietel, aren’t, Basten, “ We’re, ” Hansen, Xi Jinping Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Research, CNN, Publishing, Authorities, Communist, Hong Kong University of Science, Technology Locations: China, Beijing, Hong Kong, Australia, France, India, Japan, East China's Jiangsu, Communist China, Basten

☆ The controversial plan to regreen a desert
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-08 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

The Dutch engineer wants to transform a huge stretch of inhospitable desert into green, fertile land teeming with wildlife. “The only holistic way out of this situation is with large-scale ecological regeneration”So-called desert regreening projects are not new, and this is one of a number around the world seeking to transform arid landscapes. Costfoto/NurPhoto/Getty ImagesFor van der Hoeven, it was further proof his plan could work. “The scale reaches a level that helps prove that restoration can be done on a planetary scale.”It would add to other huge desert regreening projects also underway. The project was scheduled to kick off this December, but conflict has slowed everything down, van der Hoeven said.

Persons: der Hoeven, “, Van, van der Hoeven, Ali Moustafa, ”, Van der, der, it’s, John Liu, Wolfgang Kaehler, Liu, ” Liu, Susan Gardner, Gardner, Alice Hughes, ” Hughes, Raymond Pierrehumbert, Pierrehumbert, — “, Van der Heoven, He’s, Van der Hoeven Organizations: CNN, United Nations, World Bank, UN, Hong Kong University’s School of Biological Sciences, University of Oxford Locations: Dutch, Africa, Asia, Maryland, Dubai, Lake Bardawil, Sinai, Bardawil, Egypt, China, California, Gansu Province, Yongjing, Gansu province, Nairobi, Hong, Gaza

☆ Asia's governments seem to think declining birth rates have to do just with dating and sex. That's not the full story.
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-29 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

AdvertisementDeclining birth rates have been a huge bugbear for Asian countries like Japan and South Korea. Vanessa LeeLee, who owns two dogs and a cat, said that governments may be overestimating the effectiveness of one-off interventions in bolstering birth rates. AdvertisementShe added that a shift in societal mindsets toward work and family needs to occur for her peers to consider having children. But it also doesn't guarantee that having sex brings children and that not having sex is the only reason why people are not having children," Gietel-Basten said. Low birth rates, according to HKUST's Gietel-Basten, are a "barometer of the challenges in society" and should thus be seen as "symptoms of problems in a society."

Persons: —, Vanessa Lee, Lee, Elon Musk, Paulin Straughan, Poh Lin Tan, Tan, Jonas Hue, Vanessa Lee Lee, It's, Emily Huang, Stuart Gietel, Basten, SMU's Straughan, Straughan, HKUST's, we're Organizations: Service, Business, Internal, Ministry, Asahi Shimbun, South, Singapore Management University, Singapore's Institute of Policy, Nordic, Hong Kong University of Science, Technology Locations: Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Korea, Tokyo, Seoul, Sweden, Finland, Hong Kong, Basten

☆ How to 3D-print a school in a war zone
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Rebecca Cairns | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Project Hive will provide the school with four extra classrooms to help it accommodate additional students displaced by the war, said Bonis. But he continues undeterred: “(This) is also a way of taking technology to give back hope.”A model of the 3D-printed school showing the four new classrooms. Where 3D printing is really great is when you have special geometries and shapes, because you’re totally free. According to Lange, there are cheaper, faster alternatives to 3D printing, such as prefabricated and modular buildings. Team4UAReconstructing communitiesTeam4UA is not the only organization to see the potential of 3D-printed construction in disaster and conflict zones.

Persons: Jean, Christophe Bonis, “ I’m, ” Bonis, Team4UA, Olga Gavura, “, ”, DUS, Christian Lange, you’re, Hong Kong University Lange, Lange, Jack Oslan, Oslan, ‘, Andriy Zakaliuk, Bonis, “ It’s Organizations: CNN, Team4UA, United Nations ’ International Organization for Migration, ”, Balbek, Ars Longa, Dubai Future Foundation, Hong Kong University, Robotic, 7CI Group, Russian, Diamond, Kyiv School of Economics, Lviv City Council’s Locations: Lviv, Ukraine, Europe, Russia, —, Texas, Austin , Texas, Nacajuca, Mexico, Dubai, Malawi, Arizona, “, Kherson, Kyiv

☆ Kevin Hart shares his No. 1 'secret weapon' for career success—it's great advice, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Ashton Jackson | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

In addition to his comedy, actor Kevin Hart owns a plant-based restaurant chain, a tequila brand and an entertainment and production company called HartBeat. The single thread between them all, and the "secret weapon" to his success, the 44-year-old said in a recently published MasterClass course: the power of humor. "Humor has acted like the master key to every door that I've [gone] through," said Hart. In much tougher moments, humor is equally valuable, Hart noted. Making people genuinely laugh boosts their output by up to 12%, found a 2015 study that Sgroi co-authored.

Persons: Kevin Hart, Hart, you've, Daniel Sgroi, Warren Buffett Organizations: University of Warwick, CNBC, The University of Pennsylvania, Hong Kong University of Science, Technology

☆ 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 says no unusual pathogens found after WHO queries respiratory outbreaks
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The WHO had asked China for more information on Wednesday after groups including the Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases (ProMED) reported clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children in north China. No unusual pathogens have been detected in the capital of Beijing and the northeastern province of Liaoning. The U.N. health agency had also asked China for further information about trends in the circulation of known pathogens and the burden on healthcare systems. WHO China said it was "routine" to request information on increases in respiratory illnesses and reported clusters of pneumonia in children from member states, such as China. The WHO said that while it was seeking additional information, it recommended that people in China follow measures to reduce the risk of respiratory illness.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, pneumoniae, Ben Cowling, Deena Beasley, Andrew Silver, Jennifer Rigby, Emma Farge, Urvi, Robert Birsel, Miyoung Kim, Josie Kao Organizations: REUTERS, World Health Organization, WHO, International, National Health Commission, FTV News, Hong Kong University, Health Commission, Xinhua, Influenza, Thomson Locations: China, Beijing, Liaoning, Wuhan, WHO China, Taiwan, Los Angeles, Shanghai, London, Geneva, Bengaluru

☆ The GPT college classroom is almost here, but professors say AI isn't the real threat
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Kai Xiang Teo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

But some educators say the real threat isn't AI, but a "lagging and outdated approach to education." Rebecca Tan, a political science lecturer at the National University of Singapore, told Insider AI detection tools can be "notoriously inaccurate." Instead of relying on AI detection tools, educators need to get innovative as AI tools become ubiquitous — through ideas like having students submit the introductions to their essays first, Tan said. AdvertisementAdvertisementJonas said the key is to embrace AI tools in the classroom and teach students how to fact-check ChatGPT's responses. The real threat to education isn't AI, it's boring lessonsWhen asked about threats to education, Nanyang Technological University's Ang said: "AI tools are not the threat — a lagging and outdated approach to education is."

Persons: Madison White, Ian Chong, Rebecca Tan, OpenAI, Tan, Chong, Michael Rivera, Shannon Ang, Kai Jonas, Jonas, We've, Joana Cook, Ang, National University of Singapore's Tan, Hong Kong University's Rivera Organizations: Stetson University, Wall Street, National University of Singapore, Schools, Hong, Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, shouldn't, Maastricht University, Leiden University, Johns Hopkins University, Nanyang Technological, National University of Singapore's Locations: Florida, Singapore, Netherlands, Hong Kong, United States, Nanyang, Hong

☆ Jacky Wong — Reporter at The Wall Street Journal
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Jacky Wong | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Jacky WongJacky Wong is a Heard on the Street columnist based in Hong Kong. He covers technology, retail and real estate sectors in Asia. Previously, he was a Market Talk Reporter for the Journal in Hong Kong. He won a Google data journalism scholarship to study at Hong Kong University before joining the Journal. He started his career as a trader in BNP Paribas.

Persons: Jacky Wong Jacky Wong Organizations: Hong Kong University, BNP Locations: Hong Kong, Asia

☆ New box jellyfish species found in Hong Kong's waters -study
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HONG KONG, April 19 (Reuters) - A Hong Kong university team said it has discovered a new species of box jellyfish in the city's Mai Po Nature Reserve, the first discovery of the venomous species in China's waters. Baptist University (HKBU) together with WWF-Hong Kong, Ocean Park Hong Kong and University of Manchester said on Tuesday that the team collected jellyfish samples from a brackish shrimp pond over 2020-2022 and found they contained a new species. Box jellyfish "are poorly known in Chinese marine waters. Our discovery of Tripedalia maipoensis in Mai Po - a relatively well-studied area in Hong Kong - highlights the rich diversity of marine life in Hong Kong and even the whole of China," he said. Box jellyfish, scientifically known as class Cubozoa, includes some of the highly venomous marine animals that are widely known in tropical waters, the study said.

☆ Paternity leave: In Japan, it's four weeks, but men are too afraid to take it
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Japanese men are entitled to four weeks of flexible paternity leave, on up to 80% of their salary, under a bill passed by the Japanese parliament in 2021. While it is illegal to discriminate against workers who take maternity and paternity leave in Japan, Iwahashi said workers on fixed-term contracts were particularly vulnerable. And anyway, “A little tweak on paternity leave won’t significantly change a declining birth rate,” he added. He also unveiled a plan aimed at boosting the uptake of paternity leave by encouraging firms to disclose their performance. But he saw a silver lining in encouraging paternity leave.

[1/7] Farmer Wang Zhanling sits next to his wife in their house in Quansheng village, Heilongjiang Province, China, February 8, 2023. The state-run Chinese Academy of Sciences sees the pension system running out of money by 2035. "If the pension system does not change, this is unsustainable," said Xiujian Peng, senior research fellow in the Centre of Policy Studies at Victoria University in Australia. The province has the lowest birth rate in China, with just over 100,000 births in 2021 and 460,000 deaths. Many experts, including Macquarie's chief China economist Larry Hu, suggest implementing a unified national pension system, backstopped by the more resourceful central government rather than cash-strapped local administrations.

☆ A Chinese city is offering couples almost $2,900 to have a third child and some others are giving newlyweds paid marriage leave to help boost the birth rate
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Chinese city of Hangzhou is giving $2,900 to parents welcoming a third child this year. Some other cities are giving almost 30 days of marriage leave to boost the birth rate. Meanwhile, the northeastern city of Shenyang is offering subsidies of up to $72 a month till a child is three years old. Chinese employees are typically entitled to three days of paid marriage leave. The push for babies comes after China's population started shrinking for the first time in six decades.

☆ Explainer: What we know about China's medical reform protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Laurie Chen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

WHAT ARE THE MEDICAL INSURANCE REFORMS? Beginning Feb. 1, personal medical insurance benefits for Wuhan retirees were slashed from about 5% of the average basic pension to 2.5%, or 83 yuan ($12) per month, according to the Wuhan Healthcare Security Administration. In an essay published Thursday that did not refer to the protests, Finance Minister Liu Kun vowed to "deepen the reform of medical insurance payment methods". Following initial protests in Wuhan last week, the hashtag "Major adjustment in Wuhan medical reform" was viewed over 100 million times before being blocked. Since January, similar insurance reforms have been rolled out in provinces and regions including Jiangxi, Gansu，Shanxi, Qinghai, Sichuan and Guangxi.

China said last Saturday that nearly 60,000 people with COVID died in hospitals between Dec. 8 and Jan. 12 - a roughly ten-fold increase from previous disclosures. However, that number excludes those who die at home, and some doctors in China have said they are discouraged from putting COVID on death certificates. China's chaotic exit from a regime of mass lockdowns, travel restrictions and frequent COVID testing, has also prompted a run on drugs as people fend for themselves against the disease. To meet soaring demand, drugmakers in China are ramping up operations to triple their capacity to make key fever and cough medicines, the state-run China Daily reported on Thursday. Medical facilities are relatively weak in rural areas, thus prevention is difficult and the task is arduous," Xi said, adding that the elderly were a top priority.

If doctors believe that the death was caused solely by COVID-19 pneumonia, they must report to their superiors, who will arrange for two levels of "expert consultations" before a COVID death is confirmed, it said. "We have stopped classifying COVID deaths since the reopening in December," said a doctor at a large public hospital in Shanghai. Three other doctors at public hospitals in different cities said they were unaware of any such guidance. Before Saturday, China was reporting five or fewer COVID deaths per day. But the hospital told him it had run out of medicine, so they could only go home.

☆ With few entry tests, Southeast Asia may gain most from China's travel revival
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Xinghui Kok | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Except for airplane wastewater testing by Malaysia and Thailand for the virus, the region's 11 nations will treat Chinese travellers like any others. As many as 76% of Chinese travel agencies ranked Southeast Asia as the top destination when outbound travel resumed, according to a survey released in December by trade show ITB China. Thailand already expects to welcome 5 million Chinese travellers this year, or about half of the 10.99 million of 2019. Neighbouring Malaysia projects 1.5 million to 2 million Chinese tourists this year versus 3 million before the pandemic. "But for Cambodia, it’s an invitation to Chinese people: Chinese tourists, come to Cambodia."

China's health authority did not immediately respond to a request for comment on infections among medical staff. A few nurses at the fever clinic were tested positive, there aren’t any special protective measures for hospital staff and I believe many of us will soon get infected," Li added. A post on the Weibo social media platform recounted a recent experience at the emergency ward at Beijing Hospital. "Those who have not been to the emergency department of Beijing Hospital don't know what a mess it has become," wrote a Weibo user called Moshang. Beijing Hospital did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment.

Vindman first joined Twitter while working in the Trump administration because it was often the way his then-boss, the president, made policy. His wife, liberal activist and podcaster Rachel Vindman, has almost 400,000 followers, making them a progressive Twitter power couple. In a clubby city obsessed with status and information, Twitter delivers both, all from the comfort of one’s mobile phone. No one wants to leave Twitter until everyone else does, but there’s no obvious place to go next. Some think Musk will kill Twitter regardless of whether there’s a mass exodus of its users.

But the popular traditional Chinese medicine Lianhua Qingwen, used for symptoms like fever and cough, and antigen test kits remained harder to find. Online pharmacies across China have run out of drugs and test kits, prompting the government to crack down on hoarding. Heat was insufficient because of "unstable" coal supplies caused by COVID, state-run Baoding Daily reported, without giving details. "I have no fear" of COVID, said Yang, a farmer who is fully vaccinated and with no underlying diseases. China has reported no deaths since easing the COVID curbs, with fatalities to date around 5,200, versus more than 1 million in the United States.

☆ China to punish internet users for ‘liking’ posts in crackdown after zero-Covid protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Hong Kong CNN Business —Internet users in China will soon be held liable for liking posts deemed illegal or harmful, sparking fears that the world’s second largest economy plans to control social media like never before. China’s internet watchdog is stepping up its regulation of cyberspace as authorities intensify their crackdown on online dissent amid growing public anger against the country’s stringent Covid restrictions. For the first time, it states that “likes” of public posts must be regulated, along with other types of comments. This year, the country’s strict zero-Covid policy and Xi’s securing of a historic third term have sparked discontent and anger among many online users. “Cyberspace policing by Chinese authorities is already beyond measure, but that does not stop brave Chinese citizens from challenging the regime,” he 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.

☆ Musk's Twitter takeover sent thousands flocking to Mastodon. Here’s what I discovered using the app
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Sophie Kiderlin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

It has been reported that more than 200.000 new users flocked the social media app after the takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk. Hundreds of thousands of users have joined the platform since Elon Musk took over Twitter. On its website, it describes itself as "radically different social media, back in the hands of the people." To make a Mastodon account, you first have to pick a server — the source of my initial feeling of overwhelm. "Mastodon still looks too technical for the standard user, which will pose challenges to adoption," she told CNBC's Make It.

China's 'zero-COVID' policy – including stringent lockdowns, travel restrictions and mass testing - has taken a heavy toll on the country's economy. The government's crackdown on big technology companies has also had an outsized effect on the young workforce. Chinese households overall added 10.8 trillion yuan ($1.54 trillion) in new bank savings in the first eight months of the year, up from 6.4 trillion yuan in the same period last year. China is the only leading economy that cut interest rates this year, in an effort to spur growth. Fu said she switched her makeup powder brand from Givenchy to a Chinese brand called Florasis, which is about 60% cheaper.

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