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☆ Almaty, Kazakhstan: How a drab Soviet metropolis became Central Asia’s capital of cool
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-08 | by ( Joe Yogerst | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Almaty, Kazakhstan CNN —Several cities around the globe have reinvented themselves in recent years, but none more successfully than Almaty. Since the collapse of the USSR, Kazakhstan’s largest city (population 2.2 million and growing) has evolved from a drab, run-of-the-mill Soviet metropolis into the urban star of Central Asia. “It’s an incredibly livable city,” says long-time American resident Dennis Keen, a historic preservation advocate and founder of Walking Almaty. Over and underground artThe Abilkhan Kasteev State Art Museum is filled with more than 20,000 works of art. Other good collections include the Ihlas Museum of Folk Musical Instruments (in a Russian-style wooden mansion built in 1908) and the ethnographic artifacts of the Almaty Museum.

Persons: It’s, “, ”, Dennis Keen, ” Keen, “ It’s, Jama Nurkalieva, Charles O, Cecil, Alamy, Auyl, James Talalay, Lukas Bischoff, Keen, Roshcha Organizations: Kazakhstan CNN, Walking, Central, Cathedral, Astana, Tselinny Center of Contemporary, Dynamo, Prix Versailles, Park, Art, Louvre, Art Museum, Ihlas Museum, Folk, Almaty Museum, Eiffel, of Contemporary, Academy of Science, Turkish Airlines, Air Astana, Ritz, Carlton Locations: Almaty, Kazakhstan, USSR, Kazakhstan’s, Central Asia, Walking Almaty, “, Central Asian, China, Europe, Russian, Soviet Union, Shan, Lower Kolsai Lake, There’s, Soviet, Zholy, Almaty Metro, Almaly, Auezov, Istanbul, Beijing, Seoul , New Delhi, Bangkok, Arasan, Otrar, Lanzhou, Novotel, Darejani, Ascension

☆ Fossil analysis reveals how Denisovans thrived on the ‘roof of the world’
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-06 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The grasslands, glaciers and snow-tipped peaks of the Tibetan Plateau are breathtaking, but the vast expanse in Central Asia is also one of Earth’s harshest environments. Archaeologists long believed the Tibetan Plateau — more than 13,000 feet (about 4,000 meters) above sea level — was one of the last places on the planet to be settled. We are familyBaishiya Karst Cave is seen at the edge of Ganjia Basin on the Tibetan Plateau. Now, Baishiya Karst Cave, on the northeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, is helping answer many questions about who the Denisovans were. The analysis is shedding light on how the extinct humans thrived in the ice age environment for more than 100,000 years.

Persons: Bill Nelson, BRIN, Gerard Talavera, nestmates, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, Lanzhou University Researchers, China National Space Administration, NASA, Apollo, FBI, BRIN Google, Scientists, Botanical Institute of Barcelona, CNN Space, Science Locations: Central Asia, Ganjia, Siberia, Tibetan, China, what’s, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, Delta, Guiana, Talavera, Spain, —, Massachusetts

☆ How Denisovans survived and thrived on ‘the roof of the world’
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-03 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“We know that the Denisovans lived, occupied the cave and this Tibetan plateau for such a long time, we really want to know, how did they live there? Analysis of bone fragments unearthed during excavations at Baishiya Karst Cave have revealed what animals Denisovans butchered, ate and processed. Traces of Denisovan DNA found in present-day people suggest the ancient species likely once lived across much of Asia. Many of the bones recovered from Baishiya Karst Cave, like this spotted hyena vertebra, contain traces of human activities such as cut marks. Unlike Denisova Cave, which was occupied by early modern humans and Neanderthals as well as Denisovans, current evidence suggests that Denisovans were the only group of humans to live at Baishiya Karst Cave, Zhang said.

Persons: CNN — Denisovans, Denisovans, ”, Dongju Zhang, Zhang, Denisovan, Frido Welker, Xia Li, Welker, Dongju, Samantha Brown, ” Brown Organizations: CNN, Lanzhou University, Globe, Paleoanthropology, University of Copenhagen, Mass, Junior, Palaeoproteomics, Germany’s University of Tübingen Locations: Xiahe, China’s Gansu, —, China, Lanzhou, Cave, Altai, Siberia, Asia, Laos, Southeast Asia, Ganjia, Australia

☆ Shares of Alibaba tumble over 3% after outgoing CEO unexpectedly quits cloud business
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Lim Hui Jie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The move comes months after Alibaba said in June that Zhang was departing as chairman and CEO of Alibaba Group to focus on the cloud intelligence unit. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart iconIn a surprise leadership reshuffle in June, Alibaba announced that Zhang was bowing out as both CEO and chairman on Sept. 10 to focus on the cloud intelligence business. Zhang was Alibaba Group CEO since 2015 and the group chairman since 2019. He has also been chairman and CEO of the Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group since 2022. "The board of our Company expresses its deepest appreciation to Mr. Zhang for his contributions to Alibaba Group over the past 16 years," Alibaba said in the Sunday statement.

Persons: Daniel Zhang Yong, Daniel Zhang, Alibaba, Zhang, Eddie Wu, Wu, Joseph Tsai Organizations: Alibaba, Fund, Visual China, Getty, Alibaba Group, Cloud Intelligence Group, Company Locations: Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China, Hong Kong

The new market-based pricing system will also encourage distributors like ENN and China Gas that are expanding into global gas trading to look at importing LNG. "The policy will help the whole (gas) distribution sector and restore utilities' profitability," said Tan Yuwei, general manager of capital management at China Gas Holdings. Shares for listed gas utility companies briefly reversed this year's trend downwards after the policy was announced, but they remain under pressure from lacklustre industrial demand and China's struggling economy. China in recent years has liberalized natural gas prices by allowing distributors to pass costs on to industrial and commercial customers, although Beijing maintained tight control over household prices to avoid a consumer backlash. "This policy reform will result in more reasonable downstream gas prices in China, which will encourage city gas utilities to increase purchases from upstream importers," said Yi Cui, an analyst with consultancy Rystad Energy, referring to Chinese national oil companies.

Persons: COVID, Tan Yuwei, Tan, Yi Cui, Chen Aizhu, Emily Chow, Andrew Hayley, Tom Hogue Organizations: ENN Energy Holdings, HK, China Gas Holdings, China Resources Gas, Shanghai Gas, Chongqing Gas, Changchun Gas, China Gas, National Development, Reform Commission, China Gas Association, Rystad Energy, Beijing, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, BEIJING, China, Changchun, Qingdao, Nanjing, Shijiangzhuang, Lanzhou, Hubei, Guizhou, Shaanxi, Beijing, Hebei, Singapore

[1/3] The sign outside the Sam's Club is seen at its store in Shanghai, China July 12, 2023. The membership stores are also gaining ground amid a sales decline in China's hypermarket sector, which struggled with a shift towards online purchases during the pandemic. The club warehouse format "is the only bright spot," said Derek Deng, who leads Bain & Company's consumer products practice in greater China. "Sam's Club are doing well. But Sam's Club was ultimately confident it is currently miles ahead, one of the people said.

Persons: Aly, Liu Zheng, lockdowns, Derek Deng, Bain, Kantar Worldpanel, Judith McKenna, Bain's Deng, Christina Zhu, Sophie Yu, Brenda Goh, Jamie Freed Organizations: Sam's, REUTERS, Sam's Club, Costco, Walmart, HK, Freshippo, Carrefour, Yonghui, Bain, Reuters Graphics, Reuters, Sun, Retail, M, Beijing Yaodi Agriculture, M Club, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, BEIJING, Beijing, U.S, United States, Carrefour China, Peking, Yangzhou, Lanzhou, Sam's

As life in China returns to normal after the pandemic, hawkers are hitting the streets. They look to at least supplement their income amid an uneven economic recovery in which jobs and wage growth has been sluggish. For decades, street stalls and hawkers - common elsewhere in Asia - have been banned or tightly regulated in many Chinese cities, with authorities seeing them as unsightly. The tech hub of Shenzhen, which banned hawking in 1999, will ease restrictions on street stalls from September. Lanzhou in the northwest said this month it would designate areas for street stalls as it sought to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship.

☆ President Xi Jinping says he doesn't want a hodgepodge 'street stall economy' in Beijing, even as China's youth unemployment rates hit a record high
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke against having a "street stall economy" in Beijing last week. It cannot operate 'factories in alleys' and engage in the 'street stall economy," Xi said, according to Insider's translation of his speech which was first reported by state news agency Xinhua. "Street stall economy" in China refers to recent efforts by local governments to revive their regional economies and to create jobs by promoting small entrepreneurship. China's youth unemployment rates are at a record highXi's opposition to the "street stall economy" could dash local government efforts to boost the economy through small entrepreneurship, even as China's youth unemployment rate hit a record high of 20.4% in April. This means 11 million Chinese people aged 16 to 24 are out of work, per CNN's calculations on April 30.

☆ He smelled something strange in his Tibetan hotel room. It was a dead body under his bed
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —When a tourist at a Tibetan hotel noticed a foul smell in his room and asked to move, little could he have guessed he would get caught up in a murder investigation. The traveler spent half a day in the room wondering where the smell was coming from and initially suspected either the bakery downstairs or perhaps his own feet. But he was later informed it came from a dead body under the bed. So I asked them where,” he told Shangyou News. Recounting his experience to Shangyou News, Zhang said he had left Tibet as soon as he helped the police with their investigation.

☆ Great Wall of China: Six sections with beautiful views
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Whether you’re planning to visit the Great Wall for the first time or the 50th, the following destinations are sure to make your trip to China even more worthwhile. The juxtaposition of its ruins against the rammed-earth Great Wall makes Bataizi a unique place to spend a morning or afternoon. Laoniuwan (aka the Old Ox Bend Great Wall)Laoniuwan, where the Great Wall and the Yellow River meet. Alex SherrAs the locals say, Laoniuwan is where the Great Wall and the mighty Yellow River shake hands. The piled-stone wall at Dushikou is unique, as many other sections of the Great Wall close to Beijing were constructed using kiln-fired bricks.

Persons: CNN —, I’ve, Alex Sherr, ”, Alex Sherr Mutianyu, you’ll, William Lindesay, Pan, Zuoyun, You’ll, Simatai, Yatou’s, Emperor Jiajing, Lamb Organizations: CNN, Tourism, UNESCO, Northern Barbarians Locations: Beijing, China, Turtle, Gansu, Sitan, Jingtai County, City, Jingtai, Lanzhou, Gansu province, Turtle City, Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport, it’s, Mutianyu, Jiankou, Xizhazi, Bataizi, Datong, Shanxi province’s, Zuoyun, Zuoyun County, Laoniuwan, Pianguan County, Xinzhou, Shanxi province, Inner Mongolia, marveling, Pianguan, Tangjiazhai, Beijing’s Miyun, Miyun, It’s, Dushikou, Chicheng, Hebei province, Hebei, Liuliqiao

☆ SVB failure offers lesson for China - state media
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHANGHAI/HONG KONG, March 15 (Reuters) - The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) will not impact China's financial system but offers an important lesson for the country's banking industry, the official Securities Times said in an editorial on Wednesday. An SVB-style bank failure is unlikely to happen in China but the incident would have "important implications for the development of China's small- and medium-sized lenders, and the stability of China's financial system," the editorial said. In addition, China has been closing regulatory loopholes, the editorial said. In the latest move, China said last week it would set up a new national financial regulatory body consolidating oversight of the industry. "Although the SVB incident won't have material impact on China's finiancial markets, China's financial industry still needs to earnestly learn from this lesson, and always prioritise risk prevention and control," the newspaper said.

☆ Wrong Covid test results in China raise concerns 'the pandemic may never end'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesBEIJING — Local frustration with Covid controls in China has increasingly targeted virus testing requirements and the big business they've fueled. The article listed several instances of allegedly forged virus test results this year across the country, including in Shanghai and Beijing. Last week, Lanzhou city health authorities blamed one of those companies for reporting some positive virus test results as negative. In the U.S., a surge of pop-up virus testing stations raised concerns of fraud as well as identity theft. In May, the central government promoted the idea that in large cities, a Covid testing station should be within 15 minutes' walking distance.

☆ Volkswagen-FAW plant in Chengdu halts production amid COVID wave
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) and FAW's (SASACJ.UL) plant in Chengdu, China has halted production due to the rise in coronavirus cases in the country and two production lines at its Changchun plant are also on hold, a VW spokesperson said on Monday. Other plants are all stable but the situation is volatile, the spokesperson added. Protests erupted in cities across China over the weekend, including in Chengdu, Shanghai, Beijing and Lanzhou, as frustrations mount over the government's zero-COVID policy. While low by global standards, China's case numbers have hit record highs for days, with Chengdu residents subjected to mass testing from Nov. 23 to Nov. 27. Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Jan Schwartz, Christina Amann Editing by Paul Carrel and Rachel MoreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Protests against Covid controls erupt across China
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Demonstrators against Covid restrictions hold blank sheets of paper during a protest in Beijing in the early hours of Monday, Nov. 28. BEIJING — Rare protests broke out across China over the weekend as groups of people vented their frustration over the zero-Covid policy. The unrest came as infections surged, prompting more local Covid controls, while a central government policy change earlier this month had raised hopes of a gradual easing. People's Daily, the Communist Party's official newspaper, ran a front page op-ed Monday on the need to make Covid controls more targeted and effective, while removing those that should be removed. On Sunday, municipal authorities said temporary controls on movement should not last more than 24 hours.

☆ China COVID cases hit fresh record high after weekend of protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Martin Quin Pollard | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Thomas PeterBEIJING, Nov 28 (Reuters) - China posted another record high COVID-19 infections on Monday, after an extraordinary weekend of protests across the country over restrictive coronavirus curbs, in scenes unprecedented since President Xi Jinping assumed power a decade ago. The deadly fire fuelled speculation that COVID curbs in the city, parts of which had been under lockdown for 100 days, had hindered rescue and escape, which city officials denied. China has stuck with Xi's zero-COVID policy even as much of the world has lifted most restrictions. China on Monday reported a fifth straight daily record of new local cases of 40,052, up from 39,506 a day earlier. Reporting by Martin Pollard; Writing by Tony Munroe and Brenda Goh; Editing by Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 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.

☆ Blank sheets of paper become symbol of defiance in China protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In Shanghai, a crowd that started gathering late on Saturday to hold a candlelight vigil for the Urumqi victims held up blank sheets of paper, according to witnesses and videos. Other images showed dozens of other people subsequently taking to the university's steps with blank sheets of paper，illuminated against the night sky by flashlights from their mobile phones. In Hong Kong in 2020, activists also raised blank sheets of white paper in protest to avoid slogans banned under the city's new national security law, which was imposed after massive and sometimes violent protests the previous year. Several Internet users showed solidarity by posting blank white squares or photos of themselves holding blank sheets of paper on their WeChat timelines or on Weibo. By Sunday morning, the hashtag "white paper exercise" was blocked on Weibo, prompting users to lament the censorship.

Later on, they shouted, “lift lockdown for Urumqi, lift lockdown for Xinjiang, lift lockdown for all of China!”, according to a video circulated on social media. [1/3] Workers in protective suits keep watch behind a barrier at a sealed restaurant area, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China, November 26, 2022. Some posted screenshots of street signs for Wulumuqi Road, both to evade censors and show support for protesters in Shanghai. Shanghai's 25 million people were put under lockdown for two months earlier this year, an ordeal that provoked anger and protest. A video shared with Reuters showed Beijing residents in an unidentifiable part of the capital marching around an open-air carpark on Saturday, shouting "End the lockdown!"

☆ China reports new daily record COVID cases, curbs tighten across country
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHANGHAI, Nov 25 (Reuters) - China on Friday reported another record high of daily COVID-19 infections, as cities across the country enforce measures and curbs to control outbreaks. Excluding imported infections, China reported 32,695 new local cases on Thursday, of which 3,041 were symptomatic and 29,654 were asymptomatic, up from 31,444 a day earlier. China's capital, Beijing, reported 424 symptomatic and 1,436 asymptomatic cases on Thursday, compared with 509 symptomatic and 1,139 asymptomatic cases the previous day, local government data showed. Financial hub Shanghai reported nine symptomatic cases and 77 asymptomatic cases on Thursday, compared with nine symptomatic cases and 58 asymptomatic cases a day before, the local health authority reported. Chongqing reported 258 new symptomatic locally transmitted COVID-19 infections and 6,242 asymptomatic cases for Thursday, compared with 409 symptomatic and 7,437 asymptomatic cases the previous day, local government authorities 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.

☆ No immediate end in sight for China’s costly zero-Covid policy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Hong Kong CNN —China has reiterated its unswerving commitment to its longstanding zero-Covid policy, despite mounting public frustration the stringent measures are costing the very lives they’re intended to protect. Tragic cases perceived to be linked to the policy have gained momentum online as people question why it should continue. In another tragedy that sparked nationwide outrage, a 3-year-old boy died of gas poisoning Wednesday at a locked down compound in the northwestern city of Lanzhou after Covid restrictions delayed rescue efforts. VCG/Visual China Group/Getty ImagesA long way homeEven in places not under extended lockdowns, the constant Covid testing edicts and stringent travel restrictions have fueled growing discontent. In a series of Weibo posts, he openly questioned the far reaching travel restrictions and criticized propaganda efforts exaggerating Covid deaths overseas.

☆ Father in China says strict Covid policies ‘indirectly killed’ his son
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

BEIJING — The father of a 3-year-old boy who died this week from carbon monoxide poisoning in northwest China said strict Covid-19 policies “indirectly killed” his son by causing delays obtaining treatment, in a case that has set off social media outrage. The boy’s death on Tuesday is the latest incident to generate blowback over China’s strict zero-Covid policy, with one critical hashtag racking up 380 million reads on Wednesday on the Twitter-like Weibo platform. “I personally think that he was indirectly killed,” the boy’s father, Tuo Shilei, told Reuters by phone from the Gansu provincial capital, Lanzhou, which has been under lockdowns for several months. At around midday on Tuesday, after his wife slipped and fell after being affected by gas fumes while cooking, Tuo noticed that his son, Wenxuan, was also unwell. One hashtag, “Three years of Covid was his entire life” became a trending topic before being scrubbed, a common occurence on China’s heavily censored internet.

☆ China COVID cases surge to 6-month high as tensions in affected cities build
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Almost three years into the pandemic, China has stuck to a strict COVID-19 containment policy that has caused mounting economic damage and widespread frustration. Curbs and lockdowns became more frequent with the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron strain. China has yet to describe when or how it will begin to exit from its current approach. Earlier this week, Chinese shares jumped after rumours that China was planning a reopening from strict COVID curbs in March. Domestic tensions have steadily built this year as the endless curbs, restrictions and lockdowns fuelled unhappiness.

☆ China Covid: Death of boy in lockdown fuels backlash against zero-Covid policy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The boy’s father said his wife and child both fell ill around noon on Tuesday, showing signs of gas poisoning. The mother’s condition improved after receiving CPR from the father, but the boy fell into a coma, according to the man’s social media post. The father claimed in his social media post that the police did not show up until after he had taken his son to hospital. Demand for answersThe boy’s death also ignited anger from local residents. Videos circulating on social media show residents taking to the streets to demand an answer from authorities.

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